Local synagogue gets creative to celebrate Passover during COVID-19 pandemic

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — One of the most widely celebrated Jewish holidays began this evening. 

Despite the coronavirus pandemic canceling many events locally, members of Congregation B'nai B'rith — the oldest and largest synagogue in Santa Barbara — were not going to let COVID-19 get in the way of Passover festivities. 

This year, California’s state-wide lockdown limited typically large Passover Seder meals to immediate family members only. 

“Typically people would gather in their homes with family and friends with as many as thirty to forty people,” Congregation B’nai B’rith Rabbi Steve Cohen said. “Of course everybody now is at home.”

In order to continue celebrating the Seder, the congregation partnered with Rincon Events to offer Passover meals in a box.

“We put all these meals together, as the bigger ones are in boxes and the really big ones are in two boxes,” Rincon Events owner Marc Borowitz said. “People are staying in cars, so we can bring it to them during the social distancing thing and it’s worked out really well.”

More than 475 meals were distributed locally for Passover this afternoon. 

“This is utterly beyond anything that I might have been able to imagine,” Rabbi Cohen said. “It’s making it possible for people to have a really nice meal under very difficult circumstances.”

One woman picking up her meal expressed gratitude.   

“I’m alone, so I don’t have anybody to celebrate with,” congregation member Cynthia Thurber said. “I have my meal already prepared, so we have a lot to be grateful for.”

Some of the meals were donated to those in need.

“We wanted to make sure that everybody is able to celebrate passover,” Rabbi Cohen said. “We’ve been inviting people to make donations.”

“Eighty of the meals were purchased by the clients to be given away by the temple, so that was really special,” Borowitz concluded.  

While this is not a typical Passover by any means, this holiday allows Jews to join together in spirit and hope for better days to come.

This evening, Rabbi Cohen led a virtual Seder for over 200 participants on Zoom.