OHIO — Rabbi Noam Marans, with the global advocacy group the American Jewish Committee, says not only will people not be gathering in their homes this Passover, but they won't be gathering at the synagogue or temple. He says we have to put our health above observing in standard ways.

“Our focus has to be on the real issues. There are people dying. There are people who have died. There are people battling for their lives. There are first responders in hospitals, doctors, nurses, law enforcement, people who make our lives run, that are at risk,” said Rabbi Marans. 

The rabbi says having Passover Seder virtually can have its benefits, and Clevelander Matt Buder-Shapiro is in agreement about the ritual feast.

“People from all over the country that, you know, traditionally, you kind of have to choose, you have to pick families or, you know, prioritize whoever's closest and now you can incorporate people from all over the world, which is gonna be really really fun,” said Buder-Shapiro.  

He says he and his fiancé will have to do some cooking themselves, but there are plenty of ways to honor the tradition safely. 

“Little bit bummed I don't have my mom's matzo ball soup, so I've been practicing cooking a lot with my fiancé and I’m feeling confident we're going to nail it this year. But we're also going to try to integrate and incorporate some of the local restaurants to help us,” Buder-Shapiro said. 

Buder-Shapiro says it will definitely be different, but he and many other members of the Jewish community are looking at the positives. 

“First time we've ever had like a big, you know, Jewish tradition online, at least that I've ever been a part of, so I think we're all kind of excited and we're definitely going to be trying to see who has the best-looking food. So a lot, a lot of competition there,” he said.

“Let's do the holiday the way we need to do it this year so that we can do it for many more years to come, the way we had become accustomed to,” said Rabbi Marans.