Ma nishtanah halailah hazeh mikol haleilot? As Rabbi Gadi pointed out at the shul’s first of two Seders this year, this night — April 8, 2020 — is indeed different from all others, and from all, in fact, in the 3,500 years since the story of the Passover unfolded. This night, thanks to the technological wizardry of an application called Zoom, we sat at a communal table in front of our computer screens or our tablets or mobile phones. On the screen, at the head of the “table,” sat Rabbi Gadi, pointing to the foods on his Seder plate that symbolize the flight to freedom of the Jewish people, who had been enslaved in Egypt for 500 years. Each of us who chose to join the rabbi, was pictured on our screens, as though seated with each other around a communal table.

The unusualness of this particular Seder night was precipitated by a lethal virus encircling the globe, keeping families and friends physically separated, and yet, this night, spiritually united. The chain of Seder observance — “a commemoration of history and a celebration of hope and new beginning,” the rabbi said — remained unbroken.

Participants numbered about 50 for the Seders. Shul members, family members and guests recounted the story, tasted the foods that reminded us of the tears of tyranny, the hasty escape, and a rebirth of the Jewish people freed from bondage. Our Seders connected us to generations past, and marked the way to future continuity. At the end of each virtual Seder, we sang joyously as we began another year together as a free nation. Baruch HaShem.