By Julia Rosier

As a result of the spread and outbreak of the coronavirus, Jewish students are unable to observe Passover with their families and friends in person. This year, some students held Passover seders over Zoom. Passover began on April 9 and lasts until April 16.

Passover is one of the biggest Jewish holidays and it is celebrated with a dinner, also known as a “seder,” the first two nights. During Passover, Jewish people avoid eating bread and other leavened grains.

“The Zoom seder actually went very smoothly,” sophomore cell biology and genetics major Sari Brusso said. “I think it was truly engaging and actually nice to celebrate the holiday with so many people we are not normally around. It was also nice because my family only had to worry about preparing food for ourselves and it took a lot of the stress off.”

Brusso said that she was originally supposed to spend Passover in Baltimore at her aunt and uncle’s home so she would be in close proximity to the university. She said she was disappointed at first that she wasn’t going to be spending Passover at her own home.

“Since my dad is a rabbi, I grew up having all the seders at my house, hosting various members of the congregation each night and each year. We would put on a whole show and get dressed up as Israelites and turn our studio into a huge tent for everyone to sit under,” Brusso said.

The biggest difficulty for Brusso’s family was trying to figure out the technology.

“I have mixed feelings about having a Zoom seder. On the one hand it’s a lot less stressful having to get our house prepped and ready for everyone to come but it also makes the holiday lose some of its spirit without our usual crew of people,” Brusso said.

Junior elementary education major Alex Spadacenta said that prior to the pandemic, she didn’t have any seder plans since she planned to be at school. She said she most likely would have gone to a friend’s house close by.

“Instead of being at school, I was with my mom for Passover and we attempted to cook all of the food we would eat at our family Passover,” Spadacenta said. “It was no big seder, but it was the first time I have been home for Passover in three years, so it was nice to be around family.”

Spadacenta said that her family doesn’t typically do a “traditional” seder but she enjoyed seeing her family members on Zoom.

Sophomore journalism major Dylan Spilko said that he was supposed to go to his grandmother’s house for Passover and celebrate with his family. He said that this year, he connected with his family members on Zoom.

“The Zoom seder was interesting to say the least. It was a little chaotic but at least I got to see everyone in my family over my computer. There was a lot of talking over each other and everyone had to repeat everything a few times,” Spilko said.

Spilko called his Zoom seder a “success” since he was able to see his family members.

“I loved that we could all come together through technology and enjoy each other’s company,” Spadacenta said. “We were all checking in on each other to see how everyone was doing. I think it’s so special during this time that families are coming together in ways they never have before and supporting each other no matter what.”

Featured photo courtesy of Dylan Spilko.