16 | MARCH 26 • 2020
continued from page 14
for 11 canceled events were
instead delivered to people in
the community.
“Paul Wertz [caterer at Dish
Kosher Cuisine] had a kitch-
en full of food,
” said David
Goodman, Beth Ahm’
s execu-
tive director. “What we decid-
ed to do as a congregation was
to purchase that and distribute
it throughout the community
as a way to help him, and as
a way to help those folks who
are either food-insecure or do
not want to go out in public
now to have fresh food at
home.
”
Wertz also does individual
orders and has already fielded
requests for Shabbat dinners,
Goodman said. He will also be
fulfilling take-out orders for
Passover seders and additional
kosher-for-Passover meals.
PASSOVER PLANS IN FLUX
Passover, which begins April 8,
provides another challenge for
local Jewish families.
For many young adults who
now live out of town, Passover
presented a great opportunity
to come home and see fam-
ily and friends. Nate Lawler,
originally from
Farmington Hills,
now lives in
Portland, Oregon.
When he saw the
price of plane
tickets drop after
the outbreak
began, he considered going
home to surprise his family for
the holiday.
Then he started thinking
about the risks of travel.
He didn’
t want to contract
COVID-19 on the plane and
bring it to his relatives.
“That’
s especially because
my mom has pre-existing
conditions, and some of my
[other] family members do.
The disease could be worse for
them,
” he said.
Lawler also knew he
couldn’
t guarantee he’
d be
able to return to Portland in a
timely matter.
“I’
m afraid I might get
quarantined back home, or …
something might happen, and
I’
ll have to wait an extended
period of time just to get out,
”
he said.
Lawler thinks he’
ll now
try to find a way to celebrate
Passover in Portland.
Susan Feber’
s family had
just started to plan their
annual seder when COVID-
19 became a
serious concern
in Michigan. She
said her family
hasn’
t decided
what they’
ll do
about the holiday
yet.
“We were just in the plan-
ning stages, with the extended
family deciding who was going
to have the seders and where
they were going to be. We said
we’
ll play it by ear,
” Feber said.
“We’
re all on the same page.
”
Feber of West Bloomfield
is grateful this isn’
t one of the
only times her extended family
gathers throughout the year —
that might make a decision to
nix the large seder easier. For
now, though, they’
re all just
taking it one day at a time.
“If people are still sick and
it’
s continuing and the curve
hasn’
t flattened, then we’
ll
have to determine if we do it
with just immediate family or
broader than that. And I think
we’
ll all make that decision
when the time is right,
” she
said.
Nate Lawler
Susan Feber
Ar
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