Mat-Su Jewish Center celebrating Passover

PALMER — The Mat-Su Jewish Center Chabad is preparing to celebrate one of their religion's most cherished annual holidays with the community.

Local followers of the Jewish faith are encouraged to partake in a Passover Seder event Monday, April 22 at 8:30 p.m.

“We're really looking forward to it. We're very excited,” Mat-Su Jewish Center Director Rabbi Mendy Greenberg said.

According to Greenberg, Passover is annual Jewish holiday that serves as a celebration commemorating the Jewish peoples’ freedom from slavery in Egypt.

“This is a holiday of hope,” Greenberg said. “Passover teaches that we have that ability to rise above those limitations and boundaries.”

Greenberg noted that the meaning of Passover is particularly prominent this year due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas War and humanitarian crisis.

“Passover is a very special holiday… I think this year has an additional meaning after what the Jewish people have been watching unfold in our holy land… Every generation, there are those that try to rise up against us but God saves us from their hand. I think this year, it’s extremely relevant to what Jewish people have been experiencing now: which is the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust,” Greenberg said.

The Seder is a ritual feast that takes place at the start of Passover. It's practiced across the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar.

The Seder features traditional foods such as matzo, drinking four cups of wine, reading, storytelling, singing, and other festivities. Greenberg encourages locals to join them.

“There is a place for everyone in the Jewish community at the Seder,” Greenberg said.

The Mat-Su Jewish Center is located at 9530 East Horse Play Circle near the Palmer-Wasilla Highway.

For more information, visit matsujewishcenter.org.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com