That grocery receipt in Rabbi Joe Hample’s hand a couple of weeks back was a revelation.
It showed that he made it through self-checkout — without ringing up the same item twice.
Now, the leader of Morgantown’s Tree of Life Congregation ventures out wearing facemasks fashioned with yarmulkes from bar mitzvahs gone by.
“You do what you need to do to keep people safe,” he said Tuesday, as he readied for Passover.
Today marks the eight-day observance of the holiday.
Passover is commemorated around the globe by Jews to mark the emancipation of Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt.
These days, it’s the COVID-19 pandemic keeping people enslaved by the virus, which can be fatal.
That’s why today’s Passover services at the synagogue on South High Street will be especially meaningful, Hample said.
Congregants won’t be there, but the rabbi will.
A minimalist version of the services will be streamed live starting at 5:30 p.m., he said.
“Just go to our Facebook page,” said the rabbi, who, in the pre-pandemic days of last month, was an avowed technophobe.
Since then, he’s gotten himself proficient with Zoom and other teleconferencing platforms, with the help of tech-savvy synagogue-goers at Tree of Life.
That’s the delivery system, though.
At the heart of every Passover, is the meal, the seder, a word that translates to, “order.”
The order of the seder menu includes bitter roots and unleavened breads, serving to represent the sacrifice and struggles of a people fighting for its collective, spiritual lives.
Symbolism abounds: Wine means redemption. Saltwater means tears.
Meanwhile, at the Lurie house in Miami this year, the seder table will also mean technology, tenaciousness — and togetherness, from afar.
While Noti Lurie and his wife live in South Florida, their now-grown children have their own lives and careers in the coronavirus epicenter of New York.
This will be the first time in years they won’t be coming to their mom and dad’s for Passover.
A virtual seder will commence, however.
Which will have to do, the family patriarch told Associated Press.
“In whatever situation you’re in,” Lurie said, “you’re supposed to see the good in it and accept everything with joy.”
That’s long been the order for Passover in Stan Cohen’s house.
Cohen, a retired WVU professor, will observe Passover in Morgantown with his wife, Judy.
Like the Lurie family, the Cohen kids now live elsewhere and other family members do too.
Technology will connect them first with Hample, and then their family later.
Virtual, or otherwise, the seder meal is of the utmost for Cohen, who logs a lot of time in the kitchen anyway.
Before social-distancing and self-qurantining, he stocked up on Passover staples.
And a buddy made a run to Pittsburgh for the items one can’t get here.
“We’re good,” he said.
Eight days from now, the Cohens of Morgantown will break from Passover with a repast perfect for a college town.
“Pizza,” the professor said.
“I’m making pizza. A Cohen family tradition.”
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