April 2001 - נִיסָן .. אִיָּר תשס״א Nisan..Iyyar 5761

“Let all who are hungry come and eat!” is a familiar quote from our Haggadah. This year I am proposing that we give this phrase renewed meaning. This is an invitation to others to come and join us for the Passover Seder. So we have come to the conclusion that the best way for us to meet the needs of our synagogue family for community seders is to call upon our members to open their homes to others in our congregation for Passover.

The number of people attending the second night community Seder at Temple Beth Sholom in the past few years has been dwindling. Last year we were not even able to meet our fifty-person minimum that we committed to the caterers.

Many if not most of these people who did attend are not members of our synagogue. The cost to the synagogue for our losses coupled with the time that it takes Cantor Hirschhorn and me can no longer be justified. The best solution is for members of Temple Beth Sholom to open their homes to the other members of our synagogue family who are unable to have a Seder at their own homes. Some of the members of Temple Beth Sholom live in assisted living or nursing care facilities where it is impossible to host an individual Seder. Some of the members of our synagogue are physically unable to prepare a Seder and others are still unsure of the traditions and need the guiding hand of those who are more seasoned and knowledgeable about the Pesach rituals. There are members of our congregation who, in the face of recent losses of loved ones, do not have the heart to prepare a Seder for those left behind. Can you open your home to other members of our synagogue and make a few additional places at your Seder table? Allow me to share the additional expense that you may incur. I will be happy to help you from the Rabbi's Tzedakah Fund, allowing me to share in your mitzvah.

If you are not hosting a Seder this year, please call the synagogue office so that we can match you up with someone like you, with whom you can share the joy of Pesach. Those of us who volunteer to do this mitzvah need you to allow us to fulfill the words of the Haggadah. Please do not be shy, you are helping us to do what God commands us to do.

Finally, if you are hosting a Seder, please set a place for Elijah the Prophet. But do not put any food on his plate. Rather, calculate what it would cost to serve him (i.e. one more guest) and then donate that amount to MAZON, the Jewish Response to Hunger. Inside of this Kol Sholom we have placed an envelope for MAZON. Since the hungry may not respond to our invitation to come and eat at our Seder, we have an obligation to go out and find those who are lacking food and feed them. We do this by donating to MAZON and other worthy institutions fighting hunger here and around the world. MAZON has donated millions to projects that combat hunger at its roots in the Jewish community and throughout the world. They have collected money from people like us celebrating a simcha or a holiday. Then we tax ourselves 3 % or the price of one more guest, to support MAZON's great work. Please use the envelope enclosed in your monthly Kol Sholom newsletter to help.

Chag Pesach samayach ve-kasher!

—Rabbi Harry A. Manhoff, Ph.D.

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