It's almost a given that Passover is spent with one's family, but when iron bars separate loved ones, the approach of the holiday can portend feelings of loneliness and despair.
Inmates and Families Face Passover With Outside Help
It’s almost a given that Passover is spent with one’s family, but when iron bars separate loved ones, the approach of the holiday can portend feelings of loneliness and despair.
This year, however, the Aleph Institute, a Florida-based Chabad-Lubavitch service that caters to the needs of Jewish inmates and their families, is working to ensure that those in and out of jail cells appreciate the spiritual freedom that Passover represents.
Participants of support groups coordinated by Aleph’s Family Services Division, for example, are organizing their own communal Seders. One of them will take place at the home of a Florida woman whose husband is incarcerated in another state.
“It’s the only way I’ll have a Seder,” said another woman, a 93-year-old whose 56-year-old daughter is serving time behind bars. The woman explained that she wouldn’t go to a Seder anywhere else because of the stigma of having a child in prison. But at the Aleph Seder, she’ll be able to bond with people facing similar challenges. Everyone will bring a separate dish, and Aleph will provide the matzah, wine and other assorted items.
in awe
wow wonderful work!