With Kosher for Passover goods from Brooklyn, and the sponsorship of the Israeli consulate, a local restaurant is koshered and signs are posted throughout Katmandu inviting young people to attend the Seder. When the article appeared in the press about this Seder, the author wrote that more than 800 people joined together for the recitation of the Haggadah and a homemade Jewish meal. Today more than 1200 people attend the Seder. But it takes more than just nostalgia and homesickness to draw young Jews together for a Jewish celebration. Something magical and magnetic happens each year at Passover time it Katmandu.
Total strangers come together to retell the story of the Exodus and to celebrate tradition.
That same magic exists in our homes as well. Even if the Seder is no more than a glorified meal, there's something holy about gathering together with family and friends which moves us and touches our lives. Far from home, young Jews from communities around the world try to recapture that spirit by coming together to celebrate this special event. And doing so, they reaffirm their identity as Jews. At home, our seder must seem more mundane and less exciting than the one held in Katmandu.