SUNDERLAND — Last Friday night, Ilana Schmitt’s family gathered for a Passover Seder. Along with her husband and 92-year-old mother, several other guests came to dinner.
Schmitt’s decades-old tradition: hosting people at Seder whom she doesn’t know.
“The commandment is to let all who are hungry come and eat,” said Schmitt, who works as a pediatrician. “It’s that kind of an inclusive holiday.”
On Friday, some of the guests were sent to Schmitt’s home through the Jewish Community of Amherst. JCA’s Rabbi Benjamin Weiner has been matching people up for Seders since he came to the organization in 2010. This year, he found Seders for six people.
“I didn’t invent it by any means,” he said of the Seder matchmaking project. “General hospitality around the Sabbath is a Jewish value … It’s got long and deep roots in our tradition to make sure that anyone isn’t isolated.”
Passover is one the most observed holidays of the year for Jewish people, he said. The weeklong festival, which begins with the ceremonial Seder meal, marks the freeing of the ancient Hebrews from slavery in Egypt.
When Schmitt was in medical school in Buffalo, New York, she was looking for a place to have Seder and was on the receiving end of a matchmaking program through Hillel, the organization for Jewish students.
“It’s usually a fun experience. You just have to go with the flow as a host and a guest,” she said.
“Sometimes you wind up with more people than you expected or wanted,” she added, “but it’s better to squeeze around the table to share.”
Occasionally, she recognizes her guests from the Jewish community, but she doesn’t know them well. One year, she was at a viola concert a week before Passover and invited the two musicians to her Seder; they continue to stay in touch.
“Having a Seder is a major project,” she said. “If you’re just one or two people, it can be daunting.”
Other people are looking for a Seder because they aren’t familiar with the process. “They’re interested, but they’ve never learned how to conduct a Seder,” Schmitt said.
On Friday, Schmitt put out a cup of wine for the prophet Elijah, a Seder plate of bitter herbs, egg and parsley, a figurative shank bone representing the paschal lamb, and a basket of matzo for their table of 10.
“This is one of the rare events where our guests outnumber our family members,” said her husband, Bill Schmitt, as the first guests arrived at their home on Friday evening. “So, we’ve really achieved something special.”
Others in the Valley also opened their homes for Seder over the weekend, while many congregations and Jewish organizations hosted group Seders.
Janet Hodos, of Florence, hosted a family of Congolese refugees at her Seder on Saturday evening. The family — a mother, father and their 6-year-old son — has received support from Catholic Charities.
Through Congregation B’nai Israel in Northampton, Hodos has spent time with the family over the past year, helping them with appointments and taking them to activities.
“They were refugees, and the Passover story resonates with the Israelites having been refugees,” she said. “It just seems like a special thing to welcome to our home people who have been brought to another land.”
On Sunday, she reflected, “It was a particularly meaningful Seder.”
With reporting from Kevin Gutting
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com.