Merrick Chabad to offer Public Passover Seders in Merrick

For over 3,300 years, Jewish families the world over have gathered around the festive table on the eve of Passover to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt and celebrate the "Seder" feast.

For the past seven years in Merrick, the Chabad Center for Jewish Life held its community-wide public Passover Seders on both nights, open to all members of the Jewish community, regardless of affiliation, synagogue membership or financial means.

"After last year's successful seders, during which we used up every seat to the max, in order to accommodate all the guests, we are looking forward to doing it again. It is always an exciting opportunity to meet new people and returning friends, share thoughts together and enjoy great food," says Chanie Kramer, Seder Coordinator. "The Seder meals are interactive, warm and vibrant, interspersed with lively discussion through group participation as well as individual involvement."

During the celebration, children ask questions, such as 'Why is this night different from all other nights?' They also re-enact the 10 biblical plagues, including frogs and hail, which rained down on the Egyptians after the Pharoah denied Moses' plea to free the Jewish people. Children also search for the afikomen or hidden matzoh.

Held on April 10 and Tuesday evening, April 11, the unique Seder experience will be led by Rabbi Shimon Kramer and will feature explanation and commentary based on mystical and Kabbalistic insights, humor and song. A sumptuous and Glatt Kosher four-course holiday dinner and choice of wine will be served. The food for Passover is very traditional and everything is handmade. Even the Matzoh is handbaked!

This is no ordinary meal; the Passover Seder incorporates 15 multi-sensory steps which reach deep into the human psyche in every way possible and all at once.

The Seder is a time to retell the story of the Exodus and the history of the Jewish nation's birth, but also much more. The observances at the Seder table allow one to actually re-experience a modern-day Exodus; facilitating one's own spiritual rebirth and enabling him or her to forge a new path toward a life of holiness and spiritual meaning.

The Passover Haggadah, which records the Seder's narrative, says that in each generation man must see himself as if he had personally gone out of Egypt. Judaism teaches that Egypt and its nefarious Pharaoh symbolize the negative forces that constrict man. The slavery in Egypt represents the emotional and psychological shackles that confine and enslave the human spirit, constraining one's ability to live up to his or her fullest spiritual potential.

Space is limited. RSVP is required by March 31. Call 516-833-3057, or you can visit www.ChabadJewishLife.org.