GLASTONBURY, Conn. — After a dormant winter comes to a rebirth in the spring.
"The Jewish calendar works around the moon actually but the one thing that’s set in stone is that this holiday of Passover must be in the spring," said Batya Wolvovsky of Glastonbury.
Both share a similar message.
"Everyone goes through tough times and sometimes even dormant times. And idea of the personal spring is the personal Passover. The ability to regenerate our spirits," said Rabbi Yosef Wolvovsky, director of the Chabad Jewish Center in Glastonbury.
He said the holiday marks the birth of the Jewish people.
"Each one of us, we experience some level of slavery or limitation, things that hold us back things that even oppress us. And the hope and inspiration of Passover is that we have the ability to break free," he said.
Passover, which begins Wednesday, April 5, is celebrated with a Seder. Serving matzah and wine, among other traditions.
"We dip a vegetable in salt water to remember the tears. We eat bitter herbs specifically horseradish to remember the slavery," Yosef Wolvovsky said.
It is spent with family.
"It’s really fun when like family comes over and like sometimes we have cousins and that’s really fun," said Sara Wolvovsky of Glastonbury.
But Yosef Wolvovsky said anyone is welcome.
"We open up the meal with a text. And the text is, all who are hungry. Please come join us all of our needy feel comfortable. And this is not just for hungry navy. This means that it's open to all," he said.
After a year that brought record-high reported anti-Semitic incidents according to the Anti-Defamation League, the belief in the opportunity to change helps light the way.
"We strongly believe that through education, through kindness, through shining more light, so we could dispel a lot of documents including the darkness of antisemitism," Yosef Wolvovsky.
He is welcoming people to the Chabad Jewish Center of Glastonbury for Seder. He can be contacted at (860) 659-2422. Wolvovsky will also be delivering authentic Shmurah matzah to those who are interested.
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at mmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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