“The Most Exciting Nights of the Year”

Rabbi Benny Rapoport, Director of the Chabad’s Jewish Discovery Center in Clarks Summit, said Passover Seder was an exciting part of his childhood.

“As a kid, I remember Passover Seder in my home was one of the most exciting nights of the year. It was late, the entire family got together, 10 siblings, and everyone was a part of the festivities. Everyone had a role to play at the table: each of the kids had notes and tidbits about the holiday that they learned in school which was shared around the table,” said Rabbi Rapoport. He has lived in the Scranton and Abington areas with his wife and family since the fall of 2000.

He added, “Of the two Seders, one was only our family and the other was guests, tons, usually about 50 total. I really felt the richness of the Exodus. Tonight we’ve become a free people as the destiny of the Jewish people was born. And the excitement and drama of the evening was really palpable.”

Passover is celebrated in the early spring from the 15th through the 22nd of the Hebrew month of Nissan, commemorating the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. It is celebrated March 29 through April 6.

“Passover is the birth of the Jewish people. We were a nation within a nation and we were in the caldron of fire of Egypt. We really were suffering for 210 years and then when the Exodus happened, the new people were born. Ultimately, Passover, the time of our birth, the defining moment of the Jewish people, is celebrated around a table,” said Rabbi Rapoport.

“You would expect midnight mass, this big service, and this two-hour sermon. But the real experience of Passover, the real learning opportunity is around the table. It’s all about the children and teaching the biblical commandment of telling your children the story of Passover. It’s all about giving to the next generation and it’s not in a synagogue. It’s around a table. Many people don’t know this, but the center of Jewish life has always been the home and not the synagogue.”

The highlight of Passover is the two Seders observed on the first two nights of the holiday. A Seder consists of a 15- step, family- oriented, tradition and ritual- packed feast. The focal points are eating matzah, a cracker-like unleavened bread made of white plain flour and water that is not allowed to rise before or during baking, thereby producing a hard, flat bread; bitter herbs to commemorate the bitter slavery endured by the Israelites; and four cups of wine or grape juice, a drink to celebrate their newfound freedom.

“Passover is the one time of the year when we celebrate the Jewish people. It’s all different sensory experiences. We’re not just going to talk about the royalty and the freedom of the Jewish people, we’re actually going to drink four cups of wine while we’re toasting our freedom. And we’re going to drink it reclining like the kings and queens of old,” said Rabbi Rapoport.

Families recite the Haggadah, a liturgy that describes in details the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The reading of the Haggadah is the fulfillment of the biblical obligation to recount to children the story of the Exodus on the night of Passover.

The Israelites left in such a hurry, in fact, that the bread they baked as provisions did not have time to rise. It is estimated that more than 600,000 adult males, plus many more woman and children fled Egypt on that day and began the trek to Mount Sinai.

Locally, the Jewish Discovery Center in Clarks Summit opened its doors in 2003 and is located at 749 Northern Boulevard in Clarks Summit. It is a unique center rich in Jewish history with cases lined with books about Jewish holidays, culture and other topics relevant to the local Jewish community.

“It’s like a Jewish Community Center, but we focus on education, not on recreation. It’s about classes, Jewish educational programs, holiday celebrations. We don’t do sports and gym. It’s really an exciting place that really has no membership and everyone in the Jewish Community is automatically a member. And we have non-Jewish people come here as well,” said Rabbi Rapoport. A Chabad House is a Jewish community center, serving the needs of the entire Jewish community; offering Torah classes, synagogue services, and assistance with Jewish education and practice.

“I do classes, we do public seders, we do Friday night dinners and we do all different types of programs that are rich, engaging, we do a teen program which are actually classes for teens. There are topics like Hollywood values or life and death topics – different moral decisions. Then we have senior programs and we show films. It’s just a really rich and cultural and educational center to teach and present Jewish values.”