SPARTANBURG, S.C. – An upstate synagogue took part in an ancient tradition for the first time in decades.
On Sunday afternoon, Temple B’nai Israel of Spartanburg took part in a tradition whose origins stem from a distant past.
“We can say our ancestors did it and their ancestors did it and theirs and theirs and theirs,” said Elliott McCarthy, the temple’s Spiritual Leader.
McCarthy said Saturday kicked off the start of the Passover, an “8-day Jewish holiday that commemorates the Exodus of Egypt.”
Every year, Jewish people celebrate by coming together to do a Seder, “A Seder literally just means order, it means the order in which you do things, and it has been the same order been done as long as anyone can remember.”
McCarthy says the holiday focuses on conversation and symbolic foods, “we bless the wine, then we do the matza then we do all these things, where we get together for our festive meal, we chat, we talk we tell the story of Passover. We eat, we chat some more; we talk about the symbolism of the whole thing and there is more eating and more chatting.”
This is the first time in 20 years the temple has held a “Sedar” commemorating Passover, making it even more special for those taking part in the yearly Jewish tradition.
“It has been over 20 years since this building hosted a Passover Seder. It’s pretty extraordinary you are all gathered here today, 75-80 people all in one place,” Mccarthy told the Temple.
As the community comes together to reflect on the Passover and tell the story of Exodus, Temple leaders hope everyone will walk away with something new.
“It’s an instructive time to learn about something you maybe didn’t know about before, maybe you never thought about the Exodus story a certain way or maybe you want to look at it just a little bit differently,” McCarthy added. “The Last Supper that Jesus attended was a Passover supper, so it has been going on for at least that long and it’s so important for us Jewish people to keep this tradition alive.”
McCarthy said the Seder took months of planning and weeks of preparation.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS.
Read the full article here
