Global Initiatives
Chabad-Lubavitch will be distributing millions of shmurah matzahs and holiday guides in 17 different languages around the world this Passover. Chabad-Lubavitch will also be hosting thousands of community Passover seders in hundreds of cities around the globe.
Seders are featured on the world’s largest seder directory at Chabad.org/seders. The directory, which features events in hundreds of cities around the world, is constantly being updated.
Chabad.org, the world’s largest Jewish faith-based website, is poised to see record-breaking traffic to its Passover site, Passover.org, with more than 7 million unique visitors expected during the 2018 holiday season. The site offers an extensive selection of Passover guides, videos, songs, insights, recipes, holiday customs and the international seder directory.
With more than 80,000 people selling their chametz through Chabad.org in 2017, website administrators say they are expecting even more to use the service this year. More than a million people around the world will sell their chametz via their local Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi, either in person or via mail.
Snapshots of Passover Initiatives Around the World
United States
U.S. Virgin Islands: Rabbi Asher and Henya Federman of Chabad-Lubavitch of the U.S. Virgin Islands will host an estimated 100 Jewish local residents as well as private and government contractors, on the island for the relief and rebuilding effort, for the first night’s seder. With their traditional picturesque outdoor seder location destroyed during Hurricane Irma, the seder will take place indoors.
Still feeling the effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the handmade shmurah matzah will be flown in this year by Bloomberg L.P., on one of their many transports of relief supplies to the islands. These boxes of matzah will later be delivered to more than 150 people across the islands for use at their own seders.
Parkland, Fla.: From the first word of the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, which had left 17 dead and rocked the community, Chabad of Parkland has been at the forefront of the local response to the tragedy. Passover in Parkland will be a difficult one this year, but come the first night of the holiday, more than 100 people will gather for a communal seder. Prior to that, on Sunday, March 18, a model matzah bakery will teach 250 area children how real shmurah matzahis made.
Coral Springs, Fla.: Stoneman Douglas High School sits in Parkland at the border of Coral Springs, and many of the school’s 3,000 students are drawn from there. Chabad of Coral Springs will be hosting community Passover seders at four locations (one for Spanish-speakers), and with the assistance of a sponsor, all students at Stoneman Douglas and their families are invited to join without charge. Some 300 people will attend those seders. Chabad is also coordinating guest placement, for those who prefer to join a family seder.
Orlando, Fla: Orlando, Fla., has become a popular Passover destination for families—with as many as 20,000 Jewish tourists flocking to the central Florida city to celebrate Passover in the “Theme Park Capital of the World.” Rabbi Yosef and Chani Konikov of Chabad-Lubavitch of South Orlando will host hundreds at two simultaneous community seders run in Hebrew and English respectively. Prior to Passover, 700 pounds of handmade shmurah matzah will be distributed, along with some 8,000 pounds of kosher-for-Passover food and wine delivered by two tractor-trailers to the area from New York. Chabad is offering kitchen koshering services for guests renting vacation homes in the area for Passover.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota: Rabbi Mendel and Mussie Alperowitz, who direct the South Dakota Jewish Center-Chabad Lubavitch, will be hosting Passover seders in Sioux Falls on the first two nights of the holiday. In the weeks leading up to the holiday, the rabbi has been distributing handmade shmurah matzahs and seder guides to Jews dispersed across the state. For decades, the historic Jewish communities of South Dakota relied on visiting rabbinical students, until the Alperowitzes arrived in 2016.
The Aleph Institute:
U.S. Military and State Department: The Chabad-Lubavitch-affiliated Aleph Institute will provide social services and Jewish resources to thousands of Jewish U.S. military personnel and their families for the upcoming holiday of Passover.
The organization is preparing kosher-for-Passover food items that include 3,200 pounds of matzah, 480 seder plates and 920 bottles of grape juice, stored at a commercial warehouse in Bayonne, N.J. The items will go to some 2,000 individuals serving on U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine bases in the United States and all over the world.
The Incarcerated: The Chabad-Lubavitch-affiliated Aleph Institute will also provide kosher-for-Passover foods, including 7,800 pounds of matzah, 720 seder plates and 1,680 bottles of grape juice, to 4,000 inmates in 250 prisons throughout the United States.
Cayman Islands: On the Cayman Islands, Rabbi Berel and Rikal Pewzner, co-directors of Chabad Cayman, are advertising the Passover seder and available kosher-for-Passover food on local radio. They are also running a Passover-awareness program at local schools, educating students about the matzah, four cups of wine and other signature Passover traditions. Approximately 150 local community members and visitors are expected to attend the seder.
Cancun: In the tourist-heavy city of Cancun, Mexico, Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Mendel and Rachel Druk are organizing a large community seder for local residents, in addition to hundreds of visiting vacationers. Some 400 people are expected to attend the seder.
Playa: In nearby Playa del Carmen, Rabbi Mendel and Chaya Goldberg, co-directors of Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Center of Playa Del Carmen will distribute 100 pounds of matzah and will host a “Model Matzah Bakery” workshop for local Jewish children to educate them about the upcoming holiday. A large community seder is planned for about 500 people.
Jamaica: Chabad-Lubavitch of Jamaica will distribute handmade shmurah matzah to Jewish residents in Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Negril, Mandeville and Kingston. Rabbi Yakov and Chaya Raskin, co-directors of Chabad of Jamaica, will host community seders near the historic Rose Hall in Montego Bay for an estimated 100 locals and 700 tourists.
Rural Australia: Chabad of Rural and Regional Australia will bring rabbinical couples and students to hold seders in 11 locations, for nearly 1,000 Jews in remote cities across Rural Australia. Areas visited will include Darwin, NT; Geelong, VIC; Townsville, Qld; Wollongong, NSW; Freemantle, WA; Coffs Harbour, NSW; Albury Wodonga, NSW; Cairns, QLD; Blue Mountains, NSW; Newcastle, NSW; and The Central Coast, NSW.
Venezuela: Chabad held its first communal Passover sederin Venezuela back in 1975, when Rabbi Moshe and Chaya Perman first arrived there as emissaries of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory. The Jewish community of that time was booming, but in recent decades has lost large numbers due to economic collapse and security issues. Nevertheless, Chabad will once again put on a communal seder, and organizer Rabbi Yehoshua Rosenblum says they are expecting 100 attendees. Despite the turmoil, Chabad has imported kosher food, wine, and shmurah matzah from the United States, ensuring that Passover in Caracas remains unaffected. In the weeks before Passover, Chabad is also running a model matzah bakery, attracting Jewish children from throughout the capital city.
Iceland: Over the last seven years, Iceland has had beautiful Pesach seders led by visiting rabbinical students. This year, for the very first time, the Jewish community will celebrate Passover together with their first permanent rabbi and rebbetzin, Chabad Rabbi Avi and Mushky Feldman. The Feldmans are moving to Iceland’s capital, Reykjavík, where they will establish a Chabad-Lubavitch center and country’s first synagogue in the last major European capital without one. The seder will be attended by many locals and visitors. The Feldmans will visit Jews in the Icelandic villages and neighboring islands to help them prepare for the holiday and to distribute handmade shmurah matzah that they are bringing with them from New York.
South Korea: Rabbi Osher and Mussy Litzman, co-directors of Chabad-Lubavitch of Korea, will host about 100 guests on the Chabad center's front lawn for both seder nights, including U.S. military personnel who have been deployed to the region. They will also sponsor another seder about 150 miles away. In preparation for the holiday, they will ship handmade shmurah matzah to 200 Jewish households across Korea. Additionally, the kosher grocery store located at the Chabad-Lubavitch center has imported a large variety of kosher-for-Passover food items.
Central Africa: For the holiday of Passover, Chabad-Lubavitch of Central Africa will be having groups of rabbinical students to host seders throughout the region and to help Jewish residents, expatriates, dignitaries, and visiting businessmen celebrate the holiday. Among the locations where seders will be held: D.R. Congo, Congo Republic, Lagos, Nigeria, Namibia, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Senegal, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Ivory Coast. Matzah will also be distributed in other countries, including Benin, Ethiopia, Liberia and Niger.
Rabbi Shlomo and Miriam Bentolila, directors of Chabad-Lubavitch of Central Africa, will host seders for local community members and traveling businessmen in Kinshasa, Congo.
Angola: Rabbi Levi and Devorah Chekly of Chabad-Lubavitch of Angola will host 70 local residents and businesspeople from the United States, Israel and France for seders there.
Uganda: Kampala, Uganda, will be hosting a community Passover seder organized by Rabbi Moishe and Yocheved Raskin, who established a permanent Chabad center in the landlocked East African country in October 2017, becoming the 100th country or territory with a Chabad center. The first Passover seder in Uganda was held in 1999, when Roving Rabbis traveled there under the aegis of Chabad of Central Africa, based in the Congo. The Raskins hosted their first seder in Kampala last year while visiting the capital city in advance of their relocation there. This year they are expecting between 100-150 guests, from businesspeople to backpackers. The Raskins are importing some 60 pounds of handmade shmurah matzah from Israel, which will be used at their seders and distributed throughout the country.
Ghana: This year, Rabbi Noach and Alte Majesky of Chabad Lubavitch of Ghana will host a community seder at their center in Accra. Guests will range from members of the business community to Peace Corps and Israeli volunteers, who spend months at a time in Ghana. Among those joining the seder this year will also be Ghana’s Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious affairs, Kofi Dzamesi. The Majeskys are also planning a “Model Matzah Bakery” workshop to bring the joy and inspiration of Passover to the dozens of local children who will attend. Additionally, they will distribute some 70 pounds of matzah to people across the country, imported from the United States and Israel, with wine being flown in from France.
Thailand: Visiting travelers and backpackers throughout Thailand will be able to join one of the many local seders. In Bangkok alone, Chabad-Lubavitch will hold multiple seders that are expected to draw more than 4,500 attendees. Additional seders will take place in locations across the country, including two seders in Phuket, two seders in Chiang Mai and three seders in Koh Samui, attracting another 2,000 people.
Nepal: Rabbi Chezki and Chani Lifshitz are preparing for the mass Chabad-Lubavitch Passover seder in Kathmandu. The seder—considered to be the largest in the world—has become a tradition among Israeli backpackers who frequent the country, drawing close to 2,000 Israeli and other Jewish travelers each year. This year marks thirty years since the establishment of the massive seder on the top of the world. To mark this milestone, Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Mendel Kastel of Sydney, AU—who first hosted the annual seder in 1989—will be attending with his wife and children. Already, Chabad-Lubavitch of Nepal has locally produced 240 gallons of kosher-for-Passover wine, and a whopping 1,100 pounds of matzah have been delivered.
The Lifshitzes are also arranging seders in Pokhara, Nepal, near the famous Annapurna trail and in Manang, Nepal, which at an altitude of 11,545 feet will represent the world’s highest seder. Transporting supplies to Manang is difficult, as the road is often blocked by landslides. Supplies are transported by helicopter, motorcycle or horseback, depending on the conditions.
Kharkov: The seemingly never-ending war in Eastern Ukraine has taken a deep toll on the country, bringing with it a host of problems, including continuing economic struggles. In the Jewish community, some have chosen to leave to Israel, Europe or the United States. Despite all this, Chabad-Lubavitch of Kharkov is preparing for about 800 guests at five separate communal Passover seders, to take place simultaneously in the Jewish Community Center on both seder nights. Hundreds more are expected at a seder for preschool children along with their families; a separate seder will also be held for university students. Before the start of Passover, some 4.5 tons of matzah will have been distributed to the local Jewish community across the city, including Jewish inmates currently incarcerated in Ukrainian prisons.
Russia: Chabad-Lubavitch will hold nearly 400 seders in more than 200 communities across Russia. In the larger cities, such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, Chabad-Lubavitch will run multiple seders; smaller cities such as Taganrog and Ulan Ude will have one seder each night of the holiday run by rabbinical students. Throughout the holiday, an estimated 40,000 people are expected to participate in Passover celebrations run by Chabad-Lubavitch in Russia, with more than 160 tons of shmurah matzah to be distributed to Jewish communities throughout the region.