After experiencing a grassroots renaissance, the Great Synagogue of Tel Aviv is continuing its revitalization by holding a public seder on Pesach (Passover) night - the first such event in a full 20 years.
The public seder was made possible by a generous donation from a source - who asked to remain anonymous - who turned to the synagogue's president Shlomo Pivko with a request to renew the old tradition of holding a seder at the site.
Pivko quickly got on board, and now over 200 people are expected to take part in the event, a large portion of them elderly people living alone, Holocaust survivors, and lone soldiers who recently made aliyah (immigrated to Israel) and are serving in the IDF without the comfort of having their families in the country.
The seder will be led by the synagogue's rabbi, Rabbi Yitzhak Bar-Ze'ev, accompanied by a cantorial choir.
"In the new spirit we have brought into the synagogue, we have renewed after many years the Shabbat eve prayers at the synagogue, the tradition of the central kiddush after the prayers, hosting soldiers and students to Shabbat meals and more, so it's natural that we would also renew the custom of holding a public seder night at the site," said Pivko.
The community president added that "thanks to the donation of a righteous Jew for whom it was important to renew the tradition, we have succeeded in a short time in arranging a public seder at the highest level including a magnificent meal, and enlisting a cantorial choir to lead the seder and the holiday prayers together with the synagogue rabbi."