For years, Chabad-Lubavitch of Southern Minnesota has delivered Passover Seders to people unable to attend the Jewish holiday feast.
But this year, as Chabad staff and volunteers make their rounds to hospitals, senior living facilities and homes in preparation for the holiday, the meal will be delivered for the first time in conveniently packaged Seder-to-go boxes.
"Every component that’s needed for a Seder from A to Z is in one box. And we’re going to be delivering them to patients and individuals that are unable to attend the Seder," said Rabbi Shloime Greene.
The eight-day festival this year is celebrated from sundown Friday until nightfall Saturday, April 7. Passover commemorates the Jewish people’s freedom from enslavement by the Egyptian pharaohs.
To convince the pharaohs to release the Jews, God inflicted 10 calamities on the nation, the last being the killing of every Egyptian family’s first born. But God spared or passed over the houses of the Jews.
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The Seder-to-go dinners are just one aspect of Chabad’s outreach efforts as part of the buildup to the Passover feast. Last Sunday, Greene and five school-age volunteers held a "model" Passover Seder for about 20 residents at Endenbrook Senior Living. The next day, Greene held a Passover class designed to make the holiday more meaningful.
Chabad will cap the week with a Community Passover Seder at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Chabad, 730 2nd St. SW, Rochester. Greene said RSVPs are required and that space was already tight because "we’ve already got quite a crowd coming."
"It’s something that I’m very proud of is the fact that Chabad is very active within the community, making sure that we’re reaching out to people from all walks of life to share our culture," Greene said.
Greene said Passover is not only a history lesson of the Jewish people’s liberation from Egyptian bondage. It also holds personal lessons for individuals about the need to break from limitations and distractions that "impede a person from exercising their full potential."
"It’s a global message. It’s not a specific message for the Jewish people," he said.
