18 | MARCH 28 • 2024 
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N

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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