18 | MARCH 28 • 2024
J
N
S
eder is such a core part
of Jewish identity,
” says
David Stryk, a lifelong
member of Congregation Beth
Ahm in West Bloomfield and a
Bloomfield Hills resident. “This
year, for me, more than ever,
with everything that’s going on
in the world, the communal
seder gives you a chance to get
together with the broader com-
munity.”
This will be the second time
that Stryk and many members
of his family will celebrate one of
their two Passovers at synagogue
with more than 200 people who
annually turn out for the Beth
Ahm communal seder. What
began as a way to lighten the
load of preparation and cleanup
now presents an opportunity to
shore up Jewish pride and con-
nect with the greater community.
“Being visible and being
together now is more important
than ever,” Stryk says. “I feel like
people want Jews to be quiet,
in isolation, don’t be seen and
heard from. This is a way for
us to demonstrate that despite
the never-ending hardship and
challenges we face, we will get
together, we will celebrate, we
won’t hide in our basements.
More than ever, it’s important
that we demonstrate that we’re
practicing.”
That may not have been the
intent when a variety of Detroit-
area synagogues started offering
communal seders at different
points in history, but since
Hamas attacked Israel on Oct.
7, 2023, the forthcoming com-
munal events are taking on new
resonance for many Detroit Jews
like Stryk.
Last year was the first time
he and his family participated
in Beth Ahm’s communal seder.
First offered in 2011, Beth Ahm’s
communal seder is open to syna-
gogue and community members
alike.
“Our communal seder is a
great event,
” says
Rabbi Steven
Rubenstein of
Congregation Beth
Ahm. “While I
always encourage
people to do seder
at home, lots of peo-
ple appreciate the
experience of celebrating with a
large crowd, singing all the songs
in the Haggadah, and touch-
ing on all the themes of the
seder. And it is a flexible experi-
ence, so people are welcome to
stay with us through the end of
the night — we always make it to
Chad Gadya! — or leave when
the kids (or adults) need to head
out.
”
While Beth Ahm hosts a seder
on the first night of Passover,
there are communal seders
the second night at Temple
Israel, Temple Beth El, Temple
Shir Shalom, Congregation
Shir Tikvah and Congregation
Shaarey Zedek. Temple Beth El’s
communal Passover seder dates
to the 1930s, while
other synagogues
have been offering a
communal seder for
a quarter century or
longer.
Melanie Weber,
OUR COMMUNITY
Let All Who Are
Hungry Come and Eat
Metro Detroit synagogues offer
communal Passover seders.
LYNNE GOLODNER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Rabbi
Steven
Rubenstein
Melanie
Weber
Last year’s
communal
seder set up at
Congregation
Beth Ahm