Wilmington’s Temple of Israel prepares for Passover, celebrating freedom amidst reflection

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Passover begins at sundown Monday. Passover is one of the most sacred Jewish holidays that celebrates the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in biblical Egypt. 

The Temple of Israel in Wilmington joins temples and synagogues around the world as they set up the Passover Seder. Seder is where the story of the Israelite’s exodus is recounted through the use of symbolic foods and the reading of the Haggadah. 

During Passover, Jewish people will also give up leavened bread for Matzah. As the story goes, the Israelites left Egypt in such a hurry that their bread didn’t have time to rise.   

Other foods that tell the story of the Israelites are laid out on the Seder plate. 

“A lot of the things you do during the service will say ‘eat this,’ or ‘make a sandwich with this,’ or ‘taste that,’ and it’s on the plate, so it sort of organizes it,” temple member Jane Brody explains. 

Brody notes while the holiday celebrates the freedom of the Israelites, it also recognizes that freedom can come at a cost. 

“The idea is that even within the celebration of our own freedom, with moving that drop of wine, we also remember that sometimes freedom comes at cost, and that we’re not happy with that,” she said. 

Brody added that at this year’s Seder, the temple will leave one table open for the 133 Israeli hostages who are still being held within Gaza. 

Judy Apfelbaum notes that the celebration Passover this year is bittersweet. 

“I wish everybody could get along, but they don’t. It’s unfortunate and, you know, it yanks at us too.”