Seder night is one of the most family and domestic events - and especially the preparations for it;
But the hidden dream of almost every traditional, religious or ultra-Orthodox family in Israel - and this is not an exaggeration - is actually to wander away from home that evening.
As the holiday of Passover quickly approaches, the traditionalists begin to realize that the cleaning is ahead of them, and the desire to run away, lock the house and escape for a week tickles again.
This is a well-known scene in the religious and orthodox sector.
Immediately after Hanukkah, the Shabbat brochures distributed in synagogues begin to be filled with flashy advertisements: "Passover at a vacation home in Thessaloniki," offers one company, promising performances every evening and international chefs who will be responsible for the food (kosher, of course).
"The best Passover," promises another company, attaching photos of Israeli artists who will enjoy the time of the families, who will get on planes and go on vacation for a week instead of cleaning the house, against a background of a dreamy picture of hotels in Rhodes and Abu Dhabi.
Yeshi Lapidot in a concert for meals at a hotel abroad,
And why not, actually?
If we put aside for a moment the consideration of the price, which is of course very significant, this is a magic solution for people who do not want to brush their house for Passover.
According to the Halacha, it is strictly forbidden to see leaven on Pesach, and in practice people clean their house even from every speck of dust, which creates enormous tension in the house and a strong desire to run away from everything.
In Israel, they know, every corner of the house is waiting for its turn in cleaning, but abroad nothing will haunt you - the phone is disconnected, the drink in hand, the food is prepared and served non-stop. In short - life is beautiful.
The commercial companies know this feeling well, and market the dream to consumers.
It's hard not to be tempted by the magical advertisements: Passover from the legends in Cyprus against a beautiful beach, a luxurious Passover in Thailand with suites that include a private pool, a royal Passover from the legends in Sinai - the place that provides both an artificial oasis and trips in the desert - and a strict Passover Galat in southern Italy, against the background of a lake and a dreamy city that you can't refuse her.
The tourist companies take care of activities for the families even on the scheduled weekdays.
A special complex for families at the hotel, photo: none
"This is a growing phenomenon," explains Israel Sheinfeld, the owner of the "Sheinfeld Tourism" company.
He says that his company operates both a hotel in Israel and rents entire hotels abroad for the benefit of the Passover vacationers, and says that the difference in price is relatively negligible when it comes to prices of this magnitude, so that it already pays to go abroad instead of staying in a hotel in Israel.
"Prices in Israel are very high," he says.
"For the sake of comparison, a hotel in Israel for a week during Passover can cost a couple about NIS 19,000, which is half board. Abroad, you get a luxury Sheraton hotel, including flights, transfers and full board, for nine days, at a price of about NIS 21,000.
For this reason, people prefer to go abroad on Passover, and the demand is only increasing."
Beor Chametz for the hotel
Indeed, this is a very significant phenomenon.
According to NTA data, in April 2022, almost half of which was Passover, more than one and a half million Israelis passed through the airport. Since a large part of the companies that operate the hotels issue special flights, the volume of traffic in Terminal 1 can also be seen as a factor - 121 thousand passengers went abroad. to April last year, compared to 57 thousand in March 2021, when Passover fell a year earlier.
Kosher along with a high level of food, photo: none
In order to understand the scope of the phenomenon, one must first understand how complex this operation is.
Within the religious community there are different types of people who hold different traditions.
Unlike any other holiday, Passover is a holiday of prohibitions.
While members of the Mizrahi tribe eat legumes, such as rice, the Ashkenazim are not allowed to do so.
Among the Ashkenazim there are descendants of the Chassidim, who do not eat matzah that has been soaked - that is, matzah that has touched water - which causes an even greater challenge for the diners, and of course for the hoteliers and tourists who have to provide for their needs.
There are almost no vacation packages that currently offer a stay for leguminous eaters only, and the travel companies mainly offer the strictest type of kashrut - no shuriah.
The reason for this is simple: appeal to the broadest common denominator.
But this requires preparations many months before Passover itself.
"We start the preparation between seven and eight months before the holiday, around Rosh Hashanah, or even before," says Sheinfeld.
He explains that the tourism companies already close the agreement with the hotels in August and September, the vast majority of which are in Europe, alongside the United Arab Emirates and China, which have become a hit in recent years, in light of the Abraham agreements and the direct flights to Egypt.
The reason is technical: since the companies want the entire hotel to be at their disposal, so that it is clean of vinegar, it is necessary to take the place early.
There is also clear competition between the different companies which hotels will be taken.
Since many of the people who book a vacation through the companies are repeat customers, it is also necessary to diversify and choose a hotel in a different country or city each time.
Order as usual in Rhodes, photo: none
After that, the companies begin to close the food deliveries.
Since it is kosher food for Passover with fancy kosher, it is necessary to take care of the orders early.
Sheinfeld says that in his case, the meats come from the USA and Poland, the cheeses come from France and the dry goods from the USA and Israel.
Advance teams arrive around January and February at the hotels to check that everything is done properly and to brief the hotel employees, who are of course not Jewish, what is allowed and what is not allowed on the holiday.
The cooking teams arrive about two weeks before Pesach, and with them the training teams.
Dozens of workers from Israel come to the hotels, equip them and prepare everything so that the guests are satisfied.
"Unlike hotels in Israel, where you get a room when you arrive and whoever arrives first in the dining room chooses where they sit, everything is very organized on Passover," says Sheinfeld.
"People know in advance which plane they will be on, the number of the bus they will travel to the hotel and which room they will stay in, and the luggage arrives there from Israel. They also know exactly where they will sit in the dining room. People who come with families ask for rooms next to each other, and even private dining rooms for holding a night meal Order. They want the family atmosphere."
Returning to Rhodes with the children, photo: GettyImages
Unlike other holidays or the summer vacation, traditionalists are very strict about the food during the Passover vacation.
During the year, many religious people eat in cafes abroad even if they are not kosher, but since there is a strict prohibition of eating sour cream on Passover, this is not possible. Therefore, many of them avoid leaving the hotel area, which requires the various companies to provide them with entertainment for an entire week.
For this reason, many of the vacations are in a complex that is entirely armored for spending time abroad. One company offers a vacation at a resort in Taba that includes pools, a private beach, organized day trips and many attractions. Another company offers a vacation in Bulgaria, which includes comedy shows with Jackie Levy, Iran Tsanhani and Noya Mendel. Those who come to Thailand will be treated to performances by Narkis and the artist of the senses Manny Hollander, and in Brodos the vacationers will be entertained by Dodo Fischer and Vishy Lapidot.
Almost like at home, but without the hassle of preparing the holiday dinner.
Seder night at a hotel, photo: None
Seder and an underwater observatory
It's hard not to be dazzled by the advertisements: the colors, the hotels, the attractions - everything requires the religious to give up the exhausting annual house cleaning and jump on a plane on the way to their dream vacation.
But is it really a deal you can't give up?
Well, it depends on who you ask.
On the one hand, tens of thousands of people vote with their feet and do not give up their annual vacation specifically during Passover;
On the other hand, there are those who were there and decided to give up the pleasure.
Yehiel Radotsky, a well-known ultra-Orthodox network influencer, says that for years he has been giving up Passover in Israel in favor of a vacation abroad. "When you do a chametz test, I'm on the plane with my wife," he laughs. in Georgia and more.
This is amazing.
The companies take the most prestigious hotels in Europe.
Imagine a hotel where there is an underwater observatory with sharks under your feet, or a botanical garden, a cinema and a water park within the complex where you are, all within a fairytale forest, with deer and mushrooms like in the movies.
This is amazing.
On Passover I'm only abroad."
Radotsky says that he was exposed for the first time to the possibility of celebrating Passover in a hotel through a Google search.
"An advertisement jumped out at me, I left details and they got back to me. I saw the light. You book the vacation in the month of Kislu (December), and you have in your mind that in three months, instead of cleaning the house, you are going to rest. It is an experience that is difficult to describe. Food is brought in quantities and at a level that is not Normal. True, it's not cheap, but it's also not crazy for spouses who work, and the payoff is a whole week of real rest instead of cleaning the house like a slave."
"I felt out of place"
Fazit Freilichman, on the other hand, went on such a vacation, and decided that even though it was a nice experience - she will not return abroad on Passover. "We were on vacation once during Passover, but that was the first and last time, we will not do it again." Freilichman went out with Ben Her partner went to Crete in the year when all her children and grandchildren were on Seder night with the other party's parents, so she took advantage of the opportunity.
"We decided that we wanted to experiment. It's not that we don't go on vacation on Passover, and we happened to be in a hotel in Israel on Passover, but something about vacationing abroad was unpleasant.
An inner feeling that this is not the right place to celebrate Passover."
Freilichman says that the problem was not the vacation or the company that provided it, but the way in which such vacations are conducted in general.
Since it is Passover, it is very challenging to travel around the city, because it is not possible to purchase products due to the leaven - which actually caused them to be imprisoned in a hotel for a whole week.
"I felt very restricted when we went on trips. You are not allowed to drink even a cup of coffee in a restaurant, and this made things very difficult. In Israel you can travel anywhere you want outside the hotel and find food, but abroad the feeling is that we cannot go out.
Vacations like this have become very common, and I admit that we wanted to see what it was like, to be part of the party, but we will not travel again on Passover.
I'm glad we tried, but that's it, it was a one-off."
In conclusion, there is no clear answer to the issue of the Seder night in a hotel abroad. Tens of thousands who lock their houses and get out of the Seder task prove that it has magic, but it is also understandable for kosher keepers who feel they are going on vacation, but that the price is to stay in a hotel without experiencing the country they are in. A vacation in Thailand or Crete with all the treats, and someone else will worry about preparing the holiday table - or a Seder night in Israel that allows you to shop at the supermarket and go out to a restaurant on Hol HaMoed? Or maybe you just grab a tent and go down to the Sea of Galilee? In the end, it's your decision.
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