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How to Reduce Sense of Loneliness on the Seder | Israel today

2020-04-07T17:51:36.000Z


Jewish culture


It is worth thinking in advance about suggestions for ideas for order, which will allow us to feel our loved ones, even remotely • In addition, it is worthwhile to make part of the arrangement - before the holiday • Fight loneliness

  • Illustrative image // Photo: Getty Imagis

"Why is this night different from all the other nights?". Tomorrow night (Wednesday) this question will be asked in many homes, and probably will not be a home where these words will have no new meaning. A night of canning is a night when we are saved from going outside, in which we will be very confused if we open the door to any Dachafin and Elijah the Prophet - someone will indeed come and go. So how can we still prepare for a halachic night (beyond the hope that until then everything will change and we will happily celebrate the exit from isolation to freedom)?

These days, I hear about the arbiters who are concerned about whether a technological connection of some kind can be allowed even during the holiday. The halakhic question is not simple, especially since it is a good day and not a Sabbath, and there are quite a few arbiters who have permitted the use of electricity on a good day. In addition, the work ban is also easier, and there is a certain permit to use fire. However, a technology connection also involves the use of a computer, camera, microphone and speaker. These uses involve additional crafts and it is difficult to avoid doing those crafts.

Just as their faces are different, so are their ways of being different Jews, and each person chooses the way in which he wishes to have his or her Seder night and may be more than one halakhic position worthy. But in my opinion, except in exceptional cases where we fear a mental danger ("mental health provider") facing a lonely person, we should also consider the reality that we are forced to pursue an order that is designed according to the needs and character of the few participants. Next year we can compare what things were in order this year that will never come back, and we may want to add something of these to our common order with others. That is why I have collected some of the halakhic bids that are allowed for the unique Seder that we are about to edit every man and woman in their home:

Preparation for Seder

As part of the preparations for the Order, it is worthwhile to consider how we can send all kinds of suggestions and ideas into order, and thus allow us to feel the presence of others and they will feel in our presence. For example, even though the parents are fine alone, this year there will also be a presence for all the siblings and grandchildren in short proposals for the order they sent. This year, whenever possible, it is worth preparing with special Epikomen gifts that take into account the concern that we will continue to spend more time in the isolated spaces and therefore they will be the kind to fill the leisure in doing (games / books and so on).

Seder - first stage

The "Maggid" (the main ingredient of the Haggadah) can be held early - about an hour and a half before Passover, while everyone sits at a table or on couches in holiday clothes. This way, you can gather around the computer and connect with all the other people who were supposed to be okay with them, and even invite anyone who wants to join (all your wishes and passports). In this section you can read all the Maggid from Ha'am to Hama Aya, etc; To sing what has changed and she stands; And say the two chapters that praise the part of the Maggid. It is also possible to sing the songs at the end of the Haggadah "One Who Knows" "Had Gadya" and more, even if they are intended to take place at the end of the Seder. Those interested can also devote time to questions regarding bondage and liberty that we discovered during this period and questions of community versus gathering each one in his home.

Seder - second stage

A few minutes before the holiday starts, the computers should be shut down, stop organizing and pray in Arabic. Then we will sit down at the holiday table, doing sanctification, washing, carping and squeezing. We will then say the opening house of what was changed and to which he replied "slaves were to Pharaoh in Egypt ...". From there we will skip to the opening section with the words "Rabban Gamliel says: Passover Matzah and Marror."

In this section, or during dinner, you can share surprises and messages we received (and haven't yet read) from our partners for the first phase of the Seder: excerpts they sent us to read, games they suggest we play or songs that will be sung, paintings and pictures, etc.

After the holiday is over

After the holiday, it is advisable to re-assemble on the computer and make a short round between all the participants of the arrangement, with each telling something about the continuation of the arrangement that was in their home, and about the things that happened during the day.

In Tu in the month following the closure, it is definitely advisable to hold a family gathering and celebrate the exit from loneliness to liberty (to me it is a one-off celebration rather than a holiday that will enter the circle this year).

Editing the Seder night under the shade of the Corona is a challenging matter. For some of us, this will be our first Seder night, without our intention. But it is precisely in this situation that I want to see an opportunity for renewed Judaism, an opportunity to create something that is unique to each and every one of us, to reconnect with this repetitive night of repetition every year. And who knows, we may find ourselves adopting new customs on the next night.

The writer is the dean of the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary

Source: israelhayom

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