AP – A year ago, Giordana Grego’s parents spent Easter at home in Israel, alone but thankful that they had escaped the worst pandemic in Italy. This year, the whole family will come together to celebrate a celebration of deliverance and relief from the pandemic.
Israel has vaccinated more than half of its population of 9.3 million, and as coronavirus infections have fallen, authorities have allowed restaurants, hotels, museums and theaters to reopen. Up to 20 people can now gather indoors and 50 outdoors.
It ‘s very sad since last year, when Israel was in the first of three locks across the country, with businesses closed, checkpoints set up on empty roads and people confined to their homes. There were many who could only see their old friends on video calls.
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“For us in Israel, really celebrating the festival of freedom this year has a completely different meaning than we have experienced,” said Grego, who came to Israel from Italy. “It’s amazing that we can celebrate together this year, also considering that everyone in Italy is still locked up.”
An ultra-rectangular man holds a candle while performing a ritual in which he looks for leaven remains after cleaning his home, on the eve of the Passover holiday, in Safed , on 25 March 2021. (David Cohen / Flash90)
Passover is a Jewish holiday celebrating the biblical deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt after a series of divine plagues. The spring week festival kicks off Saturday night with the ceremonial food seder, when the story of Exodus is retold. It’s like a feeling of Thanksgiving with family, friends, a party and four cups of wine.
Throughout the week, spectators enjoy eating bread and other melted food as a reminder of the hardships of flying out of Egypt. Instead, they eat uncooked matzah.
Ultra-Orthodox men and children burn leavened items as final preparation for a Passover holiday in the ultra-rectangular town of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv,, 26 March 2021. (Photo AP / Oded Balilty)
Holiday preparation includes spring cleaning to remove the very head even the smallest crumbs of melted bread from homes and offices. Pots of boiling water are set up on street corners to boil kitchen utensils, and many burn the thrown bread, known as chametz. Supermarkets move back corridors with leavened goods, wrapping shelves in black plastic.
Most Israelis – religious and secular alike – wear the Seder with an extended family. Last year’s Easter was a major break in tradition.
Government restrictions on the closure of synagogues and limited movement and collection led to the spread of the virus. Some would make ritual food with their nuclear family, others watch video conferences, and a few were unlucky enough to keep the Seder in solitude.
Orthodox help get their cooking pots to soak in hot water to get rid of any signs of leavening in preparation for a Passover Jewish holiday, in Safed, March 25, 2021 (David Cohen / Flash90)
Another lockout was imposed over a Jewish holiday in September, again banning family gatherings, and a third came earlier this year when more infectious variations of the virus emerged.
Prior to the third lockout, Israel had launched one of the most successful inoculation campaigns in the world after the government received millions of doses from Pfizer and Moderna. Israel has now vaccinated more than 80% of its adults.
It is too early to say that the Israeli coronavirus crisis is over, as new changes could emerge that oppose the vaccines.
For now, however, Israelis are enjoying what feels like a post-pandemic reality, giving Easter a special loan.
“Not only is it symbolic that it is a freedom holiday, but it is also a family holiday,” said Rabbi David Stav, Shoham’s chief rabbi and leader of the Liberal Orthodox group Tzohar.
“This year, families are uniting. People who were so lonely, especially the elderly, who had separated from their families, suddenly find their freedom and the joy of being with them. “
