Passover
Don’t let COVID 19 kill the synagogue!
By Jeffrey Salkin — April 15, 2020
This pandemic could prove dangerous to American synagogues. Don't let it.
Passover, Easter, Ramadan — and interfaith America in action
By Eboo Patel — April 10, 2020
(RNS) — In American hospitals, doctors and staffers from Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Baha'i and other faith backgrounds all work together to care for patients suffering from COVID-19. Together, they are bringing an interfaith version of the Good Samaritan to life.
A new book explores the evolution of the DIY handbook for Passover
By Yonat Shimron — April 8, 2020
(RNS) — Vanessa Ochs’ new book, ‘The Passover Haggadah: A Biography,’ recounts how this wine-stained ritual manual, handed to each participant around the seder table, evolved. And no, she doesn’t think the coronavirus will emerge as the 11th plague.
Yes, this Passover will be different
By Jeffrey Salkin — April 7, 2020
"Game changer" is no longer a cliche. Welcome to the new Passover.
A Passover Haggadah with a focus on Earth care takes off in a time of pandemic
By Yonat Shimron — April 7, 2020
(RNS) — In a year that has seen the deaths of thousands to a virulent virus sweeping the world, many are welcoming a focus on the health of the planet and finding it especially meaningful in a time of social isolation.
An extra symbol on this year’s seder plate: Chewing gum
By Jan Zauzmer — April 6, 2020
(RNS) — This year's spatially distant, socially malleable holiday observance is nothing if not an attempt to stretch the bounds of tradition. Let's add something meaningfully elastic.
This won’t be the first ‘social distancing’ Passover
By David Rosen — April 2, 2020
(RNS) — Judaism has a long tradition of isolation in times of contagion, but this Passover many Jews are trying to strike a balance between technology and true community.
In this Episcopal church, the co-leader of the Lenten study is a rabbi
By Yonat Shimron — March 19, 2020
(RNS) — Rabbi Raachel Jurovics is now rabbi-in-residence at the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina — one of a handful of such posts in Episcopal dioceses.
What if Easter, Passover and Ramadan get canceled?
By Religion News Service — March 17, 2020
(RNS) — The coronavirus pandemic may disrupt major religious holidays such as Easter, Passover and Ramadan.
Why Easter is called Easter, and other little-known facts about the holiday
By Brent Landau — April 21, 2019
(The Conversation) — Among the important disputes settled at the A.D. 325 Council of Nicaea, the church council also resolved that Easter should be fixed on a Sunday, not on the traditional day of the Jewish Passover.
Kitniyot or not? As Jewish traditions merge in Israel, a Passover debate emerges
By Paul O'Donnell — April 18, 2019
JERUSALEM (RNS) — At Passover, Jews of Eastern European descent abstain from eating legumes such as chickpeas and soybeans. Sephardic Jews have no such prohibition. What does seder look like when the two groups come together?
How to make your seder memorable and un-lame
By Jeffrey Salkin — April 18, 2019
Seder sans substance seems sad. Say something significant.
‘Hip-Hop Haggadah’ celebrates Jewish roots with a beat
By Yonat Shimron — April 17, 2019
(RNS) — For Jewish educator Matt Bar, there’s no better way to involve kids in the Passover seder than through the rhythmic, rhyming recitation of rap.
How to be a mensch at your seder (or Easter dinner)
By Joshua Hammerman — April 16, 2019
(RNS) — As we gather for the holidays, we all need someone who sees the spark of divinity in everyone at the table — even those whose views we can't stand.
Telling the Passover story in the shadow of the Pittsburgh massacre
By Yonat Shimron — April 15, 2019
(RNS) — Joyce Fienberg wanted to make people feel loved and cared for. Her daughter-in-law is using that example to invite non-Jews to the seder table.
