“Night of 1,000 Jewish Stars,” billed by organizers as the first Clubhouse Passover Seder, will begin at 4 p.m. on the Hot on the Mic Club on the invitation-only audio-chat iPhone app and PassoverSeder.club.
The Seder will be officiated by Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple in Westwood and Rabbi Sandra Lawson, director racial diversity, equity and inclusion for Reconstructing Judaism, the central organization of the Reconstructionist movement, and founder and spiritual leader of the North Carolina-based Jewish community, Kol HaPanim.
Guests include Emmy- and Grammy-winning comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish, Emmy-nominated actress Mayim Bialik and actor Jeff Garlin.
The Clubhouse Seder will also include a high-tech adaptation of “hiding the afikoman,” the portion of the Seder where the leader breaks the middle piece of matzo into two, sets aside the larger portion as the afikoman and hides it.
The Clubhouse Seder’s afikoman will be a matzo non-fungible token, a one-of-a-kind collectible piece of digital art created for the event. The NFT will be auctioned during the Seder with all proceeds benefiting Value Culture, a San Francisco-based nonprofit public benefit corporation the produces and supports artistic, educational, charitable and spiritual events to inspire individuals to give back to their communities.
Donations to Value Culture from “Night of 1,000 Jewish Stars” will go toward supporting anti-hate, food security and mental wellness initiatives, founder Adam Swig said.
The eight-day celebration of Passover began at sundown Saturday. It commemorates the time between the Exodus from Egypt on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Nissan and the parting of the Red Sea seven days later to allow the fleeing Israelites to make their getaway.
A number of contemporary scholars, including Jewish historians and archaeologists, believe the story of the Exodus is apocryphal and that the Israelites were never among the peoples subjugated by the ancient Egyptians.
However, regardless of any historical debate, most rabbis believe it should not obscure the themes — faith, freedom and redemption — inherent in the biblical tale.
According to the book of Exodus, the enslaved Israelites used the blood of lambs to mark their doors so the Angel of Death would “pass over” their homes and instead slay the firstborn sons of Egyptians — the 10th and most horrific of the plagues that finally persuaded the pharaoh to accede to Moses’ demand: “Let my people go.”
During the Seder, people drink four cups of wine or grape juice, symbolizing the promises that God made to the Israelites, including deliverance from bondage. Also as part of the ritual, a child traditionally asks the four questions of the Seder, which means order.
The introductory question of “Why is this night different from all other nights?” is followed by “Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzo, but on this night we eat matzo?” “Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables, but on this night we eat bitter herbs?” “Why is it on all other nights we do not dip even once, but on this night we dip twice?” and “Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?”
The purpose of the questions is to spark discussion and learning, as teaching the story of the Exodus to children is one of the most important elements of the Seder. The meal is accompanied by reading from the Haggadah, or “narration” book, which tells the story of the Israelites’ deliverance from bondage.
The Seder features six symbolic foods, including matzo, a cracker-like unleavened bread symbolizing the Exodus from ancient Egypt when there was not enough time to let the bread rise.
While Passover rituals vary in different parts of the world, Jews are traditionally not permitted to eat or possess any foods made with wheat, barley, rye, spelt or oats.
Bitter herbs, often horseradish, represent the bitterness of slavery; parsley dipped in saltwater symbolizes the tears the Israelites shed in bondage; and an apple, nut, spice and wine mixture called charoset represents what the Torah, the Jewish holy scripture, describes as the mortar used by Jewish slaves to build Egyptian edifices.
The holiday is observed for seven days in Israel, with one Seder, and eight days outside Israel, with two. The difference is that people in ancient times who lived far from Jerusalem could not know when a new month under the Hebrew lunar calendar had been officially declared and, in turn, could not be sure of the exact date.
“Passover is known by many names, and one resonates a bit more this year: Chag Ha’Aviv — the Festival of Spring,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted on Saturday. “As the ice of this pandemic starts to melt, let us make this our season of rebirth, our time of renewal and embrace a future brimming with hope.”
Garcetti is Los Angeles’ first elected Jewish mayor. Bernard Cohn was appointed acting mayor in 1878 by his fellow members of what was then known as the Common Council following the death of Frederick A. MacDougal. Cohn was defeated by J.R. Toberman and was mayor for 15 days.
In his Passover message, President Joe Biden said, “At its heart, the Passover story is one of overcoming adversity and finding hope, of summoning the resilience and resolve to emerge from a long dark night to a brighter morning.
“It’s a story of recognition that our own rights are bound up with the rights of our neighbors, and that none of us is free until all of us are free. It’s a story of faith, a reminder that even in the face of oppression, there is reason for hope.
“Though this celebration is Jewish, its message is universal. This year, it resonates anew for a generation that has seen a terrible virus leave empty chairs at too many of our nation’s tables, one that knows the oppression and injustice of our world all too well.
“This year, we need the Passover story and the hope it provides more than ever.
“As we close our Seders with the familiar refrain, `Next year in Jerusalem,’ we will now offer an additional prayer: `Next year in person. Next year, together.”’