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Passover 2021 (Pesach) begins the evening of March 27 and ends at sundown on April 4. Once again, Jewish families around the world need to make decisions about how to observe the holiday together… while apart.
At this writing, the global COVID-19 pandemic is in a state of flux: Vaccines are giving people hope that we can finally get the coronavirus under control, and infections and hospitalizations are down. However, more infectious variants of the virus are becoming more dominant, and medical experts are urging the public to continue with the measures we’ve become accustomed to over the last year: masking, social distancing, and staying home.
The spread of the pandemic last spring forced Jewish families around the world to create virtual Passover seders on the fly. Alas, Passover 2021 is going to look a lot like Passover 2020. The difference is that after an entire year’s worth of Zoom schooling, meetings, and celebrations — we have a better idea of how to make them work.
Online Passover: Celebrating in 2021
Mom.com checked back in with Carly Starr, who shared her plans in 2020 when her socially distanced Passover had her family calling in from six different homes scattered across two different states.
Starr says this year will definitely be different for her. Her parents have been quarantining themselves, but mostly so they can be nearby for her baby’s birth.
“There are high odds I'll be giving birth during my favorite holiday,” she said. “I am hoping the kiddo will be born before or after Passover so I can maybe attempt to participate. I’m definitely not making any commitments,” she laughed.
She thinks there’s a good possibility that they can gather around the table together for at least one seder dinner, with the rest of the far-flung family Zooming in.
Support struggling businesses: Take out your meal or order Passover food online
If you’re used to hosting your annual seders, the virtual format gives you an opportunity to break with family tradition and try something new. An online search for Passover ideas will give you many options, including ordering your meal online — companies like Glatt Kosher Store will ship Kosher for Passover food anywhere in the US. Even Amazon has a small selection of foods to add to your Passover table.
You also have the option of ordering your Passover meal ahead of time from a number of local restaurants (thereby performing the mitzvah of helping your community’s small businesses through this difficult economic time). If last year is a guide, those living in cities with a large Jewish population will have a lot of interesting options.
Passover celebration tips
1. Make a plan.
One advantage we have this year is time. Hosting a large in-person gathering of 20 or more family members is still unsafe — but what if some of them have been fully vaccinated? What if everyone agrees to quarantine for two weeks prior to the holiday so you can gather together? And can you trust everyone to adhere to it?
Have these conversations with your people NOW and make your plan. But make sure to adhere to guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — being vaccinated doesn't necessarily provide a pass to freely socialize.
2. Get organized.
Videoconferencing with a huge group can be wearying. Decide now how many people will join you via Zoom, and for how long, and whether you will keep the cameras on during the meal or shut it down and re-engage for the second half of the seder.
OneTable is an organization that facilitates Jewish community by bringing young adults together around the weekly Friday Shabbat dinner table. As stay-at-home orders proliferated last spring, they opened up their platform to help folks of all ages plan online Passover seders. They are doing it again this year, with updated resources.
3. Evaluate your haggadah.
The haggadah is the book that lays out the evening’s service, and the traditional one your family has used for generations may not be the best one for a virtual seder. Something simpler may serve you better. You might even try creating a customized haggadah of your own.
Decide ahead of time who will read each part of the service and let them know. This will ensure your seder runs smoothly.
4. Don’t let technology get in your way.
Is your network reliable? Does your equipment work? How will you ensure that everyone at your table will be seen and heard by those connecting from other households?
Set everything up ahead of time and test it so you’re ready to go. Invest in a tripod or stand for your telephone, tablet, or laptop and adjust it for camera height and microphone range.
Consider designating a chair for whoever is reading or performing a ritual (i.e., breaking the matzo or filling the cups) and take your turns there.
5. You don’t have to give up the fun of finding the afikoman.
Chances are, your children’s favorite part of the seder is the hunt for the afikoman, that piece of matzoh that was broken off during the ceremony and hidden somewhere in the house for them to find after the meal. Whoever finds this treasure is traditionally rewarded with a cash prize.
This is a tough activity to perform when you’ve got multiple households meeting virtually, but where there is a will, there’s a way. To simulate the excitement of the hunt, Slate’s Jeremy Smith concocted a game last year that the whole extended family can play after the meal. A much simpler option is this online hunt — where you hunt for the afikoman in online images — that’s a spin on Where’s Waldo.
