The Book of Proverbs instructs us to “speak up for those who cannot speak...to raise our voices on behalf of the vulnerable and downtrodden.” (Proverbs 31:8-9). The individuals who make up America’s prison population are isolated, vulnerable, and voiceless.

We see everything around us through a coronavirus-colored lens these days, searching the past for clues about what is to come. This month, I'm using the rhyme about April showers and May flowers as an occasion for hope, seeing every holiday in May as part of this unfolding pandemic.

As challenging as these days of quarantine have been, I take comfort in the many ways this strange time of separation have enabled us – however ironically – to come together. Here are a few of the “blessings of separation” I’ve experienced in the age of COVID-19.

Today especially
i am grateful for a life to call mine
the bright sunshine 
on a day we remember when millions died

Frankly, I was skeptical about attending services online – but it was the occasion of the yahrzeit (anniversary of death) for my wife’s brother, and this was our only option for respecting her wish to recite the Mourner’s Kaddish with our Jewish community.

In this time of COVID-19, my mother will likely spend her upcoming 100th birthday sheltering at home with her caregiver.  I asked her how this tsura (tragedy) is different from the time of Hitler.

Instead of longing for traditions of years past, we reveled in the joy that comes with stepping away from convention and creating new rituals that hold deep symbolic meaning –  just like the Jews who fled Egypt so many years ago.

For our students, the loss of their end-of-year plans and graduation festivities is indeed a very real loss – and we should recognize it as one. I’m reminded of a powerful anecdote in Martin Buber’s Tales of the Hasidim.

Whether you're hosting a seder via Zoom or doing a small, in-person seder with those quarantined with you at home, these two new video resources may be helpful in guiding you through the steps of the seder.