Volume XX, Issue XXIX | www.thejewishvoice.org Serving Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts
11 Nisan 5774 | April 11, 2014
PESACH GREETINGS
WENDY JOERING
More than 100 community members participated in the model Seder on April 4.
JFS BRINGS SEDERS TO SENIORS Senior Café celebrates one of the most widely observed holidays on the festival calendar BY KARA MARZIALI kmarziali@jewishallianceri.org Why is this night different from all other nights? It’s the question asked at every Passover Seder – usually by the youngest person at the table. On April 4, at a model Seder sponsored by Jewish Family Service (JFS) and held at Temple Am David, it was asked instead by Wendy Joering, the community concierge for the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. As a volunteer (and the youngest person) at the Seder, Joering knows that this
type of community Seder was different from most others. For more than 25 years, JFS has been holding Seders for senior citizens and people with disabilities in greater Rhode Island. Families were encouraged to attend the Seder meal, so several of the elderly participants were surrounded by their children and even a grandchild. Some modifications were made with the population in mind. For example, the Seder lasted a bit more than two hours instead of the usual four or more.
COURTESY MATAN GRAFF
Yossi and Ilana Graff with their four sons (left to right) Nitsan, Omer, Matan and Nimrod
Passover in Israel BY MATAN GRAFF mgraf@jewishallianceri.org Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew, is probably my favorite holiday (no offense, Purim). It is really hard to choose a favorite holiday. In a way, choosing your favorite holiday is like choosing your favorite child or your favorite sibling. You love them all, but there has got to be one little something that tips the scale toward one of them. As a kid, I really liked Pesach (mainly because we got two weeks off from school). Like many other kids my age, I used to participate in many activities and trips with my youth group friends. I saw many places, hiked in many areas and slept under the sky. I absolutely loved the fact that I got to spend my time off from school that way. Pesach also marks the unofficial beginning of the spring in Israel. It is the most beautiful time of the year. Everything is green, and the weather
SENIORS | 19
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ISRAEL | 18
COURTESY DANI STIEGLITZ
In an Israeli market: “Pesach like you need it. (20 shekel) Products you need for the holiday table.” The sign below “Kosher for Passover Products.”
“From our Jewish Home family to yours, best wishes for a Happy Passover” Howard Freedman, President