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A Boca Raton gathering of cousins around the Passover Seder table won’t happen this year. Nor will a gathering of more than 20 family members at Jay Kaminsky’s St. Petersburg home.
With the coronavirus continuing its stealthy pace, Jews across Tampa Bay are preparing to celebrate Passover — which begins at sundown next Wednesday — in unprecedented and determined ways.
Hana Cowart had planned to drive with her husband, Lyle, and daughters, Sarah, 6, and Maddie, 2, to the annual get together at her Aunt Lory Brenner’s home in Boca Raton.
“This year, my aunt, who is immune-compromised, can’t host us. She can’t even see her grandchildren. We have decided as a family to have a Zoom Seder,” Cowart said. “On every given year, we will have between 20 or 30 people. We do a lot of cooking in the house. My daughter is the official apple peeler. Everyone has their jobs. We spend hours in the kitchen talking and cooking and catching up. That’s the piece that I’m going to miss.”
Next week, Cowart, communications director for Congregation B’nai Israel in St. Petersburg, and her family will sit at their Seder table with a laptop to connect with relatives across the state.
