Coronavirus And Passover: Delaware Valley Rabbi Gets Creative To Celebrate Holiday Amid Pandemic
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Jewish holiday of Passover began at sundown Wednesday. The celebration that traditionally includes a reunion of extended family and friends during a Seder meal had to change shape this year due to the coronavirus.
The crowded Seder meals could not happen this year, but with creativity and resilience, the celebration persisted.
"Just open the box and you have everything you need for a Seder," said Rabbi Yossi Kaplan, of Chabad Lubavitch of Chester County.
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Kaplan has been busy dropping off Seder meal kits to individuals who have been safely self-isolating.
"Most of us are used to getting together with family," Kaplan said.
Of course, sitting down for a Seder meal to signify the start of Passover with anyone outside the immediate household is not acceptable this year.
"Please celebrate from a distance. Use the internet, telephone, whatever you have at your disposal," Dr. Valerie Arkoosh, chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, said. "But please just stay with your household contacts."
Earlier in the day, Hymie's Deli on the Main Line enforced social distancing within the store. Passover is typically very busy for Hymie's Deli. This year, they offered traditional meal items, but for pickup only.
"I think a lot of people are having that intimate experience that they weren't expecting to have," Kaplan said.
Kaplan says there are plenty of lessons to be found this year and themes, such as plagues, that have felt even more relevant.
"It's sad, but we are resilient people," Kaplan said.
One Seder tradition Kaplan encouraged to stay the same this year? Dressing up for the occasion.
"Take out that pressed shirt, put on your regular suit and tie and put on your nice dress and sit down at a Seder," Kaplan said, "and make it real, even if you are alone, just like you would be going out and having it with 30-40 other people."
Kaplan is originally from New York. He says he's lost friends to the coronavirus but feels fortunate that his parents are currently recovering from it.