Community

Keeping traditions alive during the ‘new normal’

Photos by Tech. Sgt. Jocelyn A. Ford
86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
April 23, 2020
U.S. Air Force Maj. Sarah Schechter, 86th Airlift Wing staff chaplain, and her family greet virtual guests in a video group chat from their home in Kaiserslautern, Germany, April 8, 2020. Schechter and her family hosted a virtual Passover Seder to maintain physical distancing protocols put in place to slow the spread of coronavirus disease 2019. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Jocelyn Ford
U.S. Air Force Maj. Sarah Schechter, 86th Airlift Wing staff chaplain, her husband, Rabbi Joe Charnes, and their daughter Yael, lightly strike one another with scallions during a virtual Passover Seder from their home in Kaiserslautern, Germany, April 8, 2020. The ritual of striking one another while singing the Passover song “Dayenu,” a song of gratitude, is a Jewish tradition originating with Jews in the Middle East. This lighthearted ritual symbolizes “chiding” each other, with chives, for their lack of gratitude over their redemption. Physical distancing, implemented due to coronavirus disease 2019, encouraged many to look towards technology as a way to share in traditional communal rituals. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Jocelyn Ford
U.S. Air Force Maj. Sarah Schechter, 86th Airlift Wing staff chaplain, and her family lead a virtual Passover Seder from their home in Kaiserslautern, Germany, April 8, 2020. Schechter used technology to maintain physical distancing protocols while performing the 3,000-year-old ritual ceremony with members of the Jewish community. More than 25 individuals from Europe, Asia and the United States, signed in to join the family for Passover while at home due to coronavirus disease 2019. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Jocelyn Ford
U.S. Air Force Maj. Sarah Schechter, 86th Airlift Wing staff chaplain, breaks a piece of matzah during a virtual Passover Seder from their home in Kaiserslautern, Germany, April 8, 2020. Matzah is an unleavened bread made of only flour and water, and a significant piece to the Passover rituals. More than 25 individuals from Europe, Asia and the United States, signed in to join the family for Passover while at home due to coronavirus disease 2019. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Jocelyn Ford
Rabbi Joe Charnes lights a candle as the Passover Seder begins at his home in Kaiserslautern, Germany, April 8, 2020. Lighting candles is a ritual performed for Jewish holidays to represent the energy of the season. Passover represents the season of redemption and renewal, the candles represent the light and energy, behind that redemption. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Jocelyn Ford
Rabbi Joe Charnes prepares the Seder plate for his family in Kaiserslautern, Germany, April 8, 2020. The Seder plate is a traditional observance in the Jewish religion, each food item on the plate is symbolic of an aspect of the Passover story. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Jocelyn Ford
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