‘We will face our fears’: Jewish families prepare to celebrate Passover during challenging times

Amid steep challenges both in the U.S. and abroad, Jewish families will gather around their Seder tables Wednesday evening to celebrate the first night of Passover and the perseverance of their people.

“I think the central essence of the holiday hasn’t changed: We as the Jewish community, just like our ancestors from years ago in Egypt, are a resilient people who journeyed from darkness to light and slavery to freedom,” said Rabbi Morris Zimbalist of Congregation Beth Judea in Long Grove.

“We’re able to face the challenges that might come our way with fortitude, strength and faith in God.”

The ancient story of oppression and the quest for liberation remain relevant in 2026, especially with a surge of antisemitism, anti-Israel rhetoric and a world where synagogues need security guards and in some cases police protection.

Zimbalist said he hears from Jewish college students who are afraid to wear a Chai, hamsa or Star of David necklace on campus, for fear of facing verbal or physical aggression.

“What we want to do this (Passover) is show that even in the worst of times, we the Jewish people are resilient and we will face our fears with courage,” he said.

Rabbi Lisa Sari Bellows of Congregation Beth Am in Buffalo Grove said Passover serves as a reminder that her ancestors suffered similar pain and challenges as the Jewish community today.

“When we sit around the table, I want to talk about what freedom means to us right now in 2026,” she said. “How can we help others who are feeling constricted and in pain and are also suffering?”

Passover is also a time for hope, especially in the act of opening the door for the Prophet Elijah at the end of the festive meal.

“Elijah symbolizes hope for a better time, a better day. The fact that we gather back after the meal and perform the part of the Seder that welcomes Elijah is hopeful,” Bellows said.

For Rabbi Yaakov Kotlarsky of the Chabad Jewish Center of Arlington Heights, the holiday is important in uniting the Jewish people and making the Passover story relevant today.

“The Seder is a 15-step program, if you will, toward personal liberation,” he said. “We do that through the different Passover customs, through the eating of the matzah, through the four cups of wine and wording that the Torah uses to describe the exodus from Egypt.”

The ritual washing of hands before the first course also carries deeper meaning.

“We're also washing our hands from our past or anything which may be holding us down, anything which may be limiting to us,” he said. “And we're saying, no, we're no longer going to be that person. We're preparing ourselves to be another person.”

The idea of humility is contained in the matzah — eating of leavened bread is prohibited during Passover.

“The matzah is flat,” Kotlarsky said. “It represents humility. Leavened bread rises up. It represents ego.”

Kotlarsky said the ideal type of matzah is the shmura matzah — Shmura means “guarded” in Hebrew. This, he said, is to replicate the matzah the Jewish people baked as they fled Egypt.

The round, handmade matzahs are made from wheat that is guarded from the time of milling, and sometimes from the time it is harvested, to ensure it doesn't come into contact with water, which could cause leavening.

One of the staples of many Seder tables over the years has been the Maxwell House Haggadah, first issued in 1932.

Maxwell House became the first coffee brand certified kosher for Passover in 1923. Later, with the involvement of the Joseph Jacobs Advertising Agency, Haggadahs containing the Maxwell House logo were obtained in supermarkets.

Buffalo Grove resident Stan Zoller has collected about two dozen of them, including one from 1933.

“It's comprehensive; you can do it in Hebrew or English or hybrid, and there are a lot of opportunities for participation,” he said.

The Seder is a tradition that varies in practice from one family to another. Some laboriously go through every line and ritual, while others tend to rush to the festive meal.

But, Bellows said, the Seder acknowledges the importance of bringing together loved ones to share in the food, the story and the conversation.

“It is good fortune that we can sit down together,” she said.