![]() Rabbi Nevins wrote a paper last year saying that such devices violated the spirit of the Sabbath and the holidays, traditionally viewed as a sanctuary from the workaday world. The use of the electronic Haggadot comes just as Conservative rabbis are embroiled in a debate over whether to make e-readers permissible on the Sabbath. Even among less religious families, replacing a book that has been used for centuries with a phone or tablet can seem a taboo. In the most traditional circles, of course, there will be no e-Haggadot at the table. “There is a place for using apps and all kinds of technology to prepare for the holiday, but I would prefer to do that beforehand so that when you’re actually at the Seder you’re actually speaking to one another,” said Rabbi Daniel Nevins, the dean of the rabbinical school of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, which ordains rabbis in the Conservative movement. Joshua Lott for The New York TimesĪs with so many aspects of Judaism, this digitization of Passover is not without controversy. “We want to keep the kids paying attention, instead of dryly rushing through something with people all looking at how-many-pages-until-we-eat while the kids are trying to start tossing parsley at each other,” said David Salama, 36, an anesthesiologist in Huntington Woods, Mich., who downloaded four Passover-related apps on his phone in recent weeks.Īn e-Haggadah app displayed on an iPad. Despite the fact that traditional Jewish law considers the devices forbidden on Passover - strictly observant Jews refrain from using any sort of electronic device on holidays, as they do on the Sabbath - dozens of versions of the Haggadah are now available in digital formats, where enhancements to the text include pop-out windows and videos meant to bring alive the story of the Exodus.īut for the many Jews who do not follow such strictures, downloading the familiar Passover service may make their annual ritual more interesting. It is a remaking of the Seder for the e-reader age. ![]() Instead, they will be tapping on their Kindles, tablets or cellphones, downloading in unison whatever version of the ceremony they plan to follow. ![]() For many Jewish families, this Passover night will indeed be different from all others.Īs they gather around the dinner table on Monday for the Seder, some families will forgo passing around wine-stained copies of the Haggadah, the book used to guide the evening and one of the most ubiquitous volumes in Jewish homes.
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