The Last Night of Passover, Quarantine Version

How To Do a Traditional Moshiach Feast When You’re Locked Away As the final hours of Passover slip away, Jews in every part of the world celebrate the Feast of Moshiach (Moshiach’s Seudah in Yiddish), a custom of the Baal Shem Tov and his students. Just as we enter Passover with a celebration of the […]

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The upside to celebrating in isolation: This might be the holiest Passover ever

NEW YORK (JTA) — Sitting at my Seder table with my two eldest daughters and my wife, I was struggling to find something to say that would provide meaning to this moment. Here we were: alone, beginning a Passover unlike any other we had ever experienced and, please God, will ever experience.  Moments before Passover began, […]

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With Synagogues Closed, Omer App Sees Spike in Use and New Downloads

With synagogues shuttered indefinitely, Jewish life is evolving to conform with the new home-based reality. When possible, technology is taking a more prominent role, facilitating Torah study, fellowship and more. Perhaps one of the most difficult mitzvahs to fulfill in an ordinary year is the counting of the Omer, which requires that each sequential day […]

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Second Synagogue in Alabama City Vandalized With anti-Semitic Slurs Day After First

Chabad of Huntsville was spray-painted with swastikas and racial slurs after a different synagogue was vandalized on the first night of Passover A second synagogue was vandalized in Huntsville, Alabama, days after another one was plastered with anti-Semitic slurs. The Chabad of Huntsville was spray-painted with swastikas and what local media describes as anti-Semitic graffiti and racial slurs […]

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A Nation is Born

A transcendent vision of nationhood enables others to convert and become full-fledged Jews. The Exodus is the story of a small family, connected only by the ties of kin and consanguinity, that grew into a community, connected by a covenant and a creed. It is this transcendent vision of nationhood that has enabled others to […]

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Matzah And A Priest

A tenacious attempt to bring students matzah leads to a Jewish priest. In a small Canadian city sits an exclusive boarding high school, home to many international students from Brazil, Mexico, Russia and elsewhere. Though no longer an official faith school, the priests on staff and the ornate chapel are lingering evidence of its strong […]

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Mitzvah Tanks Deliver Matzah to Those Hunkered Down in New York

Repurposed RVs as “Mitzvah Tanks” are a familiar sight on the streets of New York City every year during the days before Passover. Staffed by young yeshivah students armed with shmurah matzah, these “tanks” roll through the city and deliver the traditional handmade discs to thousands of Jews across the metropolis. This year, the repurposed […]

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