Grapevine, April 19, 2024: A sad Seder

It used to be that the Passover Seder in Kathmandu was considered to be the largest in the world, with Israeli and other Jewish backpackers in Nepal flocking to the Chabad-hosted event presided over by Rabbi Chezki Lifshitz and his wife, Chani. But the first public Seder in Kathmandu was hosted by Israel ambassador Shmuel Moyal with the help of two Chabad yeshiva students, who had specially flown in from Australia. It was 1989 and Moyal had put up a sign in a popular restaurant announcing that the Israel Embassy was hosting a Seder and that Israelis would be welcome. He expected 30-40 people, but three weeks before Passover, close to 90 had already signed up. Desperate, Moyal sent a telegram to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, and in very short order, help was on the way.

Chezki and Chani Lifshitz arrived in Kathmandu a year or two later as directors of the Chabad Center and took over the running of the Seder, although there was always some input from the Israel Embassy. The attendance grew from year to year increasing to around 2,000 people at its peak, and developed a reputation for being the largest Seder in the world.

But apparently that’s not so.

Writing for Algemeiner, Debbie Weiss states that the Seder in Gondar, Ethiopia, will be the largest in the world, with expectations of 4,000 participants who are residing in camps and are awaiting emigration to Israel.

They’ve been waiting a very long time living on hope and broken promises.

Weiss learned from Jeremy Feit, the president of the Struggle to Save Ethiopian Jewry (SSEJ) aid group, that more than 80,000 matzot had been baked in recent weeks by members of the community.

A somewhat smaller Seder with close to 1,000 in attendance, will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital.

Due to a shortage of funds and high prices, it is unlikely that there will be any meat at the Seders, and this year’s feast will consist largely of potatoes and eggs.

The final words in the official part of the Seder are “Next Year in Jerusalem.”

It is unlikely that the Ethiopian Jews waiting so desperately to set foot in Jerusalem will do so, but at least they are a little better off than the hostages in Gaza, who will have no Seder at all, and who do not know if and when they will ever see Jerusalem again.

In the days Jews of the free world were campaigning for the freedom of emigration for Soviet and Syrian Jews, empty chairs would be placed at the Seder table to remind everyone of who should be sitting there but were prevented from doing so by the respective regimes under which they lived.With regard to Ethiopia, Weiss writes: “The Seder comes on the heels of an airlift of medical supplies for the beleaguered community, facilitated by SSEJ. Ten pallets of aid were delivered to a medical clinic established by the group a year ago in Gondar, serving 3,300 children and 700 elderly. The aid was dedicated in memory of former US senator Joe Lieberman, who served as SSEJ’s honorary chairman and who passed away during the weeks-long airlift operation.”

Sermon by Israeli rabbis on Shabbat Hagadol

■ THIS SHABBAT– the last Shabbat before Passover, is known as Shabbat Hagadol – the Great Sabbath. Logic should dictate the reason for the name, but for those whose knowledge of the history of the Children of Israel is perhaps lacking in detail, this was the Sabbath of anticipation of freedom – the last Sabbath in which they would be slaves to the Pharaoh of Egypt. Symbolically, it now applies to the hostages in Gaza, who hopefully will be free just as Passover begins, but if not then, during Passover.

Shabbat Hagadol is celebrated with special services in most synagogues. In the Jerusalem Great Synagogue it is customary for the service to be given by the chief rabbi – and not necessarily by the Ashkenazi chief rabbi, though he is the one more often than not. Chief Rabbi David Lau will deliver a sermon Saturday afternoon between Mincha and Maariv. On Friday night, Rabbi Yitzhak Aharon Korff, the grand rabbi of Boston who is also the chief rabbi of the Jerusalem Great Synagogue, will deliver a sermon.

Cantor Yechezkel Klang will lead the services on both Friday and Saturday accompanied by the Great Synagogue choir conducted by Raymond Goldstein.

Family hosts siyum in memory of family members killed and held hostage in Gaza

■ WHETHER RELIGIOUSLY observant or otherwise, most Jews honor the memories of departed loved ones in some traditional manner – be it to recite kaddish, to light a memorial candle, to give money to charity, or to help sponsor a project geared to religious education and heritage. In the case of Dr. Harold Goldmeier and his wife, Ethel, they are this year sponsoring the siyum (study completion ceremony) for bechorim (first-born) this coming Monday morning before the onset of Passover in memory of his father, Meier, and their son Meier and all the children killed and held hostage in the October 7 massacre. This is the 68th consecutive year that the Goldmeier family is making this siyum, which will be held at Kehillas Shivtei Yeshurun, 12 Nachal Dolev, Bet Shemesh.

KSY is headed by Rabbi Yaacov Haber, who was the senior rabbi of Congregation Bais Torah in Monsey, New York, and served as the national director of Jewish education for the Orthodox Union before leading KSY, a congregation committed to unity, inclusion, and a firm hold of Torah values.

Omer Adam sings in Hayarkon Park

■ TRANSPORTATION MINISTER Miri Regev, who is in charge of the opening event for Independence Day, should surely rethink her decision to have it videotaped in advance without a live audience. This week, an estimated 30,000 people showed up in Hayarkon Park for a very patriotic concert by popular singer Omer Adam, who conveyed all the correct messages, singing not only appropriate songs, but also talking about national unity, prayers for the return of the hostages and for the safety of the soldiers. Popular entertainers can sometimes be far more effective than the best orators. Israel’s entertainment industry has pulled out all the stops – singing to the troops, singing to wounded soldiers in hospitals and rehabilitation centers, entertaining children in kindergarten – and more, They also do a lot to boost morale on Independence Day by doing much the same as Omer Adam did in Hayarkon Park.

European commissioner will be honored at Ben-Gurion University

■ AMONG RECIPIENTS of honorary doctorates at the meeting next month of the Board of Governors of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev will be Katharina von Schnurbein, the first European Commission coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life.

Appointed in December 2015, together with her team, she has drafted and is now implementing the EU Strategy on Combating Antisemitism, which will pave the way for the 27 EU member states to adopt their own national strategies for combating antisemitism and promoting Jewish life.

Von Schnurbein collaborates closely with Jewish communities and organizations. Twice a year, she gathers special envoys and coordinators from all EU member states and representatives of national Jewish organizations and co-chairs the global network of special envoys.

“In a world characterized by ever-increasing hatred of Jews to levels unknown since World War II, the clear and moral voice of Katharina von Schnurbein stands out as a lighthouse of sanity and moral clarity. Her unreserved support for Europe’s Jewish community reminds us that even in these dark times, we have righteous individuals who call out antisemitism,” says Ben-Gurion University of the Negev President Prof. Daniel Chamovitz.

“It is a tremendous honor to receive this honorary doctorate from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. And it humbles me because as an EU official and a citizen, I am simply doing my job,” said von Schnurbein. “ Amidst the current tsunami of antisemitism, I am determined to use all tools at hand at the European Commission to work towards a society free from antisemitism and all forms of hatred, and speak up against injustice and discrimination, so that Jewish life in Europe can flourish.

Prior to her current position, she served as an adviser to European Commission president José Manuel Barroso for five years, responsible for the dialogue with churches, religions, and non-confessional organizations.

Acclaimed Israeli photojournalist to launch book and exhibition in early May

■  INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED photojournalist Ziv Koren’s photographs have graced the pages of numerous prestigious publications. Among them are Time Magazine, Newsweek, New York Times, US News and World Report, Sunday Times Magazine, Paris Match, L’Express, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, Stern and more. In addition, he has participated in more than 120 exhibitions around the world, has won more than 40 international awards, and has published more than 20 books.

He will launch his latest book and exhibition at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation at 132 Kedem Street, Jaffa, on Friday, May 3 at 11 a.m. The book and the exhibition both appear under the title of October 7. Koren has documented Israel and Israeli reactions to that horrific day and its repercussions to more or less the present moment in a visual chapter in history that in one way or another has affected each and every Israeli.

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