Passover Inspires Mixed Emotions In Essex County For 2024

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — As Jewish residents throughout Essex County prepare to mark the beginning of the Passover holiday on Monday evening, there is celebration and hope in the air – but also sadness.

Passover is one of the more important holidays among observant Jews, marking their ancestors' escape from Egypt under the pharaoh and their return to Israel. While it is traditionally a holiday that lasts for a week, many people — particularly in the United States — observe just the first two nights.

Some school districts in New Jersey give their students and staff the day off class for the Passover holiday, including Livingston, which will have a partial day on Monday and will be closed on Tuesday.

Many residents in Essex County and New Jersey will be taking part in beloved traditions such as hosting a Passover Seder meal and sharing stories about the Jews' exodus from slavery in Egypt. But this year – amid the Israel-Palestine war – some Garden State residents will be adding an empty chair at their own tables in tribute to the victims of the war, including the deceased and those taken hostage.

“It's the reality that is unfolding right now in our lives,” a New Jersey resident told NorthJersey.com.

“Passover won't be the same this year for anyone in the Jewish community,” he added.

Rabbi Ari Isenberg of Congregation B’Nai Israel in Millburn – which is hosting a Festival Service on Tuesday and Wednesday that will be available via Zoom and YouTube Live – said that many families will be gathering around the Seder table with “broken hearts” (watch the video here).

Other New Jersey residents have reported similar mixed feelings for the 2024 Passover holiday. And complicating the matter is a rise in antisemitic incidents including harassment, vandalism and assault, which more than doubled in New Jersey last year, a recent report says.

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More than a half-million Jewish people live in New Jersey, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Despite the sorrow that many worshippers are experiencing as the Passover holiday approaches, there is also hope and solidarity in the air, as well.

In Montclair, the Bnai Keshet synagogue will be holding a community Seder on Tuesday, April 23 at 6 p.m., complete with gefilte fish (with horseradish, of course), Matzoh Ball Soup, roast chicken, brisket, a vegetarian option, side dishes, wine and tasty Passover desserts (the event is currently full, but there is a waiting list).

Recently, more than 800 volunteers participated in hands-on service projects with the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, celebrating the Jewish values of “tikkun olam” (repairing the world) and “tzedakah” (charitable giving) through initiatives such as packing 1,000 kosher Passover food packages and documenting hundreds of headstones in a historic Newark Jewish cemetery.

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Other messages in Essex County this Passover holiday included:

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