Virtual Passover Seder Broadcast From The West Coast

Dear Friends,

We have been hard at work recently developing creative ideas to help the members of our community feel less lonely this Pesach. I’m pleased to share with you one such idea that we hope will be helpful to those celebrating Pesach alone.

In consultation with poskim at Yeshiva University, my friend, Rabbi Mark Wildes and I have arranged a virtual Seder on the first night of Pesach. The Seder will be run by our colleague, Rabbi Yonah Bookstein in Los Angeles. By conducting the Seder before the onset of Yom Tov on the West Coast, we are able to sidestep the halakhic challenges that attach to a live Zoom seder. Participants will tune in before Yom Tov begins and will use one-way audio and video. They will be able to see and hear the Seder leader live and in real-time. Of course it won’t be the same as being a guest in someone’s home, but we hope it will be the next best thing.

This remedy will not help connect family members to one another. But it will allow individuals who are alone to participate in a larger Seder and feel a sense of community at a time when such a feeling is not easy to achieve. And if this makes staying home more viable for even one more person, we will have contributed, too, to slowing the spread of the virus.

It should be understood that this dispensation applies uniquely to the circumstances created by the current pandemic. It is my fervent hope that, come next year, discussions of a virtual Seder will be a distant memory as we will be celebrating Pesach together with our families and friends.

Below, please find the information you will need to join by Zoom or by phone. Please be sure to join early to guarantee your participation.

With warmest regards,

Yosie Levine
Rabbi

Be sure to join or call prior to Yom Tov (which begins at 7:10pm). The video function must be muted. (You will be able to see the Seder leader, but no one will be able to see you.) Your device must be muted. Remember that your computer or phone cannot be moved or adjusted in any way once Yom Tov has begun. The program will begin at approximately 715pm.

When the Seder has concluded, the Zoom session will end automatically. There is no need to do anything further. Your computer will act as it always does when it is not being used and will likely go into “sleep” mode on its own.

West Coast to East Coast Zoom Passover Seder
Time: Apr 8, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Meeting ID: 125 354 951
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