Palm Beach temples celebrate 'the power to be free' as Passover begins
The Jewish holiday of Passover begins today, and temples around the island plan to celebrate with food, prayer and community.
The holiday, which commemorates the Jewish people's exodus from ancient Egypt, continues through April 13 and includes special prayer services and ceremonial dinners, called seders.
Temple Emanu-El of Palm Beach, at 190 N. County Road, will mark the holiday with Passover services on Thursday and Friday and a second-night seder and sing-along on Thursday.
Rabbi Michael Resnick said the holiday is an important one not just because of its historical significance, but also because of the 'beautiful' interpretations which have been added to it over the years.
"Passover has become a holiday of freedom, not simply political freedom, but one that celebrates freedom from anything — both personal or interpersonal — that keeps us stuck in the same place," Resnick said. "Whether is be our fears, anxieties, destructive habits or numbing routines, the idea of metaphorically leaving Egypt for a new-found freedom is something everyone can relate to."
Rabbi Zalman Levitin of Chabad Palm Beach Island, at 361 S. County Road, agreed that celebrating freedom is a key focus of Passover.
One of the holiday's central themes is commemorating the Jews leaving Egypt after 210 years of enslavement, he said, while another is a more modern interpretation.
"Egypt is not only a geographical location," he said. "It's a mindset. We all have slaveries that hold us back from being free. Some of them are externally imposed limitations, and then there are the self-imposed slaveries, too, of addiction, negative mindsets and unhappiness. The story of Passover reminds us that then, and now, it is only with G-d's hand that we can achieve true freedom. And this is what we affirm at the seder table. We acknowledge the bitterness of being enslaved, but we also celebrate the power to be free."
Chabad Palm Beach is marking the holiday with a variety of activities that began Tuesday and conclude Saturday.
New Synagogue began its holiday celebrations early with a special Passover event Sunday that coincided with the reopening of its newly renovated space.
The temple, at 235 Sunrise Ave., closed last summer for a major renovation and expansion project.
Going forward, Rabbi Barak Bar Chaim said, all services and programs, unless noted, will be held in person for Shabbat and holiday services, starting with Sunday's "Passover Story and Song" event.
"Passover signifies the birth of the independent Nation of Israel," he said. "It occurs during the spring, symbolizing the ideas of rebirth and rejuvenation. It is therefore incredibly fitting that we reopen our newly decorated sanctuary for services on Passover."
Palm Beach Synagogue, at 120 N. County Road, will host a pair of of communal seders to commemorate Passover, and both will feature a sign-language interpreter for the first time.
After a congregant asked Rabbi Moshe Scheiner if that accommodation could be made as part of the temple's Project Connect program for children with special needs and their families, Scheiner said he happily made the arrangements.
"It will be so fitting and appropriate," he said. "The whole idea of Passover is freedom. People with special needs have limitations. The whole message of Passover is that regardless of your physical circumstances, you can choose to be free internally and rise above it. There were Jews who conducted Passover seders in concentration camps. We don't just see Judaism as a physical state."
Passover events
Passover ends April 13. Here are ways to learn about events at local temples:
Temple Emanu-El, www.tepb.org, 561-832-0804
The Chabad House, www.palmbeachjewish.com, 561-659-3884
New Synagogue, www.newsynagogue.org, 561-514-4064
Palm Beach Synagogue, www.palmbeachsynagogue.org, 561-838-9002
Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach temples to mark Passover beginning today
