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Local families discover a more relaxing togetherness during holiday travel.
I
Shell! Liebman Dorfman
Contributing Writer
A
t Passover, some families have
discovered a magical way to
bypass all the hard work by
gathering in a place of neutral territory — a
town where none of the guests reside, a
venue where no one has to clean, shop, host
or cook for the holiday, and no one even
has to go home after dinner.
Tourist centers and hotels worldwide,
including a five-star ski resort in the
Austrian Alps and even cruise ships, are
converted into venues to accommodate
groups who are entertained and fed on the
holiday.
"They may offer kosher-for-Passover
food, a room to hold a seder and even a
rabbi to lead it" said Michael Hochheiser,
travel consultant/Israel travel specialist
at Travel Leaders/The Travel Exchange in
Troy.
"Families meeting at a hotel for Pesach is
more common on the East Coast, but I have
arranged these kinds of trips for Detroiters,
often to Florida and California. It is a great
way for an entire family — including the
wife — to enjoy Pesach without the mess
and stress"
He says Israel is also a popular Passover
destination. "Many Detroiters have chil-
dren who are students there," Hochheiser
said. "Instead of flying them home, parents
may look to take the rest of the family to a
Pesach hotel there.
"Hotels in Europe — with very nice
programs in Italy — are also a place for
Americans to meet up with their Israeli
family and they are cheaper than in the
U.S., making up part of the cost of the
flight"
There's even a unique setup in Orlando,
created by a former Detroiter, her husband
and some friends who all live in Passaic,
N.J. The couples rent homes in a resort
area outside of Walt Disney World, clean
them for Passover and then rent them to
other families — including some from the
Detroit area.
The couples, who also each use one of
the homes, provide kosher-for-Passover
food to those who request it. Each renting
family holds their own seders but gather
together in one of the homes for synagogue
services. On the non-holiday days, they
take advantage of the area's warmer weath-
er, theme parks and family activities.
Multi - City Trips
The Gilan family of West Bloomfield has
28 April 9 • 2015
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The extended Gilan family met in Miami for Passover in 2008.
joined relatives for the holiday in various
countries and cities over a dozen or so
years.
Past trips have taken them to kosher-for-
Passover hotels in Florida, Israel, Niagara
Falls, Puerto Rico and California.
"We only have gone back to the same
hotel once said Lisa Gilan, who travels
with her husband, Ethan, and their chil-
dren, Eden, 14, and Jonah, 12. "We nor-
mally like to try to new places, areas and
hotels. This year, we are going to a hotel on
the Jersey shore in Long Branch, N.J., main-
ly because our nephew's wife is expecting
a baby just after Pesach and can't travel too
far away from their New York City home"
The Gilans are typically joined by 12-15
of Ethan's immediate family members, all
of whom live on the East Coast.
"Our tradition of going away for Pesach
was conceived and enabled by my parents
(the late) Daniel and Ruth Gilan, a former
Detroiter and longtime teacher at Hillel
Day School, who lives in Springfield, N.J.,"
Ethan said. "They wanted their children
and grandchildren, who all live in differ-
ent places, to be able to spend the holiday
together in a comfortable and relaxing
manner. We are forever indebted to them
for their generosity and love of family"
The group has sometimes included
extended family and friends from Michigan
and New Jersey. "For the third time, this
year my parents are also joining in the
Gilan family fun" Lisa said.
Look Who's Here!
Most resorts and hotels that provide
Passover programming offer choices of
locations for family seders. The Gilans usu-
ally request a private room for theirs. "We
do this mainly so it's easier for Ethan's mom
to hear what is going on and so our family
can have our privacy" she said. "We tend to
get a little loud when we get to the singing
at the end of the seder, especially our rendi-
tion of 'Who Knows One?'
"The programs also usually offer semi-
private seders in a large room or a commu-
nity-led seder by a cantor or rabbi"
Some years, the Gilans seder has been
held in a group room, which creates a dif-
ferent kind of experience.
"I love looking around and seeing all
of the various families conducting their
seders and hearing a chorus of the 'Four
Questions' or singing `Dayenu,"' Lisa said.
"I am reminded of the customs and mitzvot
that we all share in common as a Jewish
community"
And sometimes the ties shared are even
closer.
"Over the years, we have also met various
families from all over the world at each of
these hotels" she said. "It is amazing how
much we have in common and how we can
almost always figure out at least one person
or family we know in common"
A couple of years ago, they were able
to spend time with Janice and Dr. Irving
Goldfein of Southfield, a family they had
met before but didn't know well, but with
whom they had some fun connections.
Ethan Gilan was a counselor at Camp
Ramah in Canada when the Goldfein's son,
Ami, was a camper. Ethan and Ami, who
lives in New York, were able to reconnect.
"We enjoyed getting to know the
Goldfeins," Ethan said. "I joked that I knew
Ami's mother was a lamah-nik' because I
could hear her singing loudly and proudly
from the women's side of the mechitzah
[synagogue partition separating men's and
women's sections]. Lisa's sister was also
Passover Away on page 30