LOS ANGELES, CA — Besides the eating of matzah, the Passover Seder is characterized by the drinking of four cups of wine. But more than 100 people attending a Seder next week in Los Angeles will not let even a drop of low-alcohol sacramental wine from passing their lips.
Recovering Addicts to Attend Sober Passover Seders Nationwide
LOS ANGELES, CA — Besides the eating of matzah, the Passover Seder is characterized by the drinking of four cups of wine. But more than 100 people attending a Seder next week in Los Angeles will not let even a drop of low-alcohol sacramental wine from passing their lips.
Such is the world of the Sober Seder, a decidedly dry rendition of the traditional Passover meal and service. At L.A.’s Westside JCC, Seder participants – almost all of them recovering from some type of addiction – will substitute grape juice for wine.
Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Mendel Cohen, whose Friedman Chabad Center and Shul is sponsoring the annual Sober Seder, stressed that those who are able at their own Seders to use actual wine should do so because of the festive nature of the holiday. Alcoholics and people dealing with other addictions, however, have no such luxury. For them, the next sip could represent falling back into the pit of dependency, he said.
“I especially appreciate that we have all escaped the same disaster of alcohol and addiction,” said Shelly Komtel, 58, who together with her husband has been sober for 18 years and two months.
