Planning My Virtual Seder

Michelle Oxman
2 min readApr 8, 2020

Passover has been my favorite holiday since I was a child. Since my parents died five years ago, the Seders have been at my house. But even before then, I helped to make the Seder with vegetarian matzo ball soup, the orange on the Seder plate, or a song.

This year is different. COVID 19 keeps us from gathering in person. It seems pointless to make the big meal for the two of us. Hosting an online Seder means having a Seder plate but not passing around all the items we eat as part of the ceremony.

I have spent hours learning to use video conferencing technology instead of cooking. I like technology, and I’m grateful for it. But it doesn’t come easily to me. Many thanks to my husband and my cousin for their patience.

Photo by Allie Smith on Unsplash

We can’t read in unison because of the echo. And we certainly can’t sing together. We have to mute everyone’s microphone except a reader’s. We can’t just rotate readers and have everyone know who’s next, because no two people’s tile or gallery view will be the same.

The best we can do, for singing and reading together, is see others’ lips moving but hear only ourselves. Dayenu? Will it be enough?

Gratitude

On the bright side, my sister in Florida and my son in Columbus can join us without leaving their homes. We can welcome another guest without worrying about whether there is enough food.

I know I’m fortunate. I am working from home. As a gig worker, I still have work, and we’re told we will have work through next month. Although I’ve been exposed to COVID 19, it’s been more than a month since then, and I have no symptoms. Whoever you are, ailing colleague, I hope you are recovering.

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Michelle Oxman

Writer, retired attorney, knitter, mom by adoption, activist. Interested in racial justice, religious freedom, feminism. Always open to learning and growth.