Everyday’s a holiday in Jewish Venice!
B”H
A grand celebration was enjoyed by all who passed the “City of Shushan”- decorated yeshiva. First stop: the Purim character backdrop. Everyone popped their head into place and posed for a photo-op! With red silk adorning the walls and buffet tables lined with jewels, everyone dined and danced in their Purim costume finest.
As the festive meal came to a close, thoughts of Pesach already came to mind, because Pesach in Venice is no small matter. GAM GAM Kosher Restaurant gets competely kashered for Passover, with a special crew of yeshiva students who come to help with the endeavor. 250 kilo of hand-made shmurah matzah was delivered by plane then boat and distributed by the rabbinical yeshiva students to people all over North Italy and to the hundreds of tourists who were traveling through Venice and whom otherwise wouldn’t have had matzah for the holiday.
No pita or humus, no pasta or biscotti were to be found, as GAM GAM was converted to “kosher l’Pesach” status, in preparation for the hundreds of people who would enjoy some part of the holiday in Jewish Venice. Hundreds and hundreds of kilo of fresh vegetables and countless cases of wine for the “four cups” arrived, and the tables were beautifully set and lined with haggadahs and seder plates. Some came for seders, yom tov or chol hamoed meals, some came for the last days of the holiday, but great fun was had by all.
And now, as we count the omer each night until Shavuos in a few weeks, when we will receive the Torah again like new, we have a chance to take a few moments each night to stop thinking about everything else, and to think about ourselves, how we can improve our lives, and ultimately, improve things for those around us as well. For more info on counting the omer, or just to say hello, drop us a line at info@jewishvenice.org. We love hearing from our guests, and don’t forget to include some photos!
