Seder Began With Tefillin

Chabad of NW Metro Denver hosted its 7th annual Passover Seder at the Westin Westminster with over 120 people from many parts of the Metro Denver area participating.

The diverse crowd included an 89 year old Holocaust survivor and an entire Jewish family of Native American descent.

“The Seder truly resembled the gathering of Jews from all corners of the world,” said Rabbi Benjy Brackman, shliach of Chabad of NW Metro Denver who along with his wife Leah led the Seder.

The Seder preparations were a combined community effort with many community members volunteering their time to help prepare for the Seder feast.

The Seder began an hour before sunset allowing for rabbinical students Shmuel Shapira of New York and Levi Ceitlin of Montreal to offer the male participants the opportunity to lay tefilin while sitting at the Seder table before the onset of the holiday.

While tefilin are typically laid in conjunction with the morning prayers, they can be worn anytime during the day. Since Tefilin serve as a sign and remembrance of the rescuing of the Hebrews from slavery by G-d this really was a great segue in to the holiday of Passover, explains Brackman.

The rabbinical students who were visiting NW Metro Denver for Passover are part of a contingent of 600 students who traveled to all parts of the world to provide inspiration to Jewish communities during the Passover holiday. This effort is sponsored and coordinated by Merkos L’Inyone Chinuch the educational arm of the world wide Chabad movement.

Aside from helping at the community Seder the students visited Jewish inmates in Adams County Jail, distributed matzahs to local families before Passover and set up Passover booths at local supermarkets, all in an attempt to bring Passover awareness to the local Jewish community.

By the end of the evening participants left inspired and uplifted by the Seder experience that included not only the traditional Seder fare of kneidelech and brisket but also many insights into the Passover story that were both practical and meaningful.

A special thank you goes to The Westin?s general manager Dani Stern and his wonderful hotel staff who made this event possible.