Jewish community celebrating Passover with added grief

ST. LOUIS – At sundown, Jewish communities all over the world are celebrating the Passover holiday, which is meant to be a joyous time celebrating freedom.

“Passover is typically a time of much joy as we celebrate our freedom, but this year, it just doesn’t feel the same,” Rabbi Brad Horwitz said. “Given the situation with so many of our people in the Jewish community who are held hostage in Gaza. Over 129 people and families are not feeling very free right now, and we are all kind of feeling the same way, in terms of a muted joy this year.”

The eight-day-long holiday celebrates the Israelites exodus from Egypt after years of slavery, as told in the Bible.

During what is known as a time of celebration, there has been an added weight of grief after the Hamas attack that killed more than 1,200 people and held many more hostage.

Catholic group buys Boeing’s sprawling former leadership campus

“I also think it’s hard for the Jewish community this year for Passover because of all the rise of anti-Semitism here in the United States…when we appreciate our freedom, we also know that some people are not wanting our freedom to be held in the same regard as we would like,” Horwitz said.

Monday morning, Rabbi Brad held a Seder with early childhood students at the St. Louis Jewish Community Center. As the meal and celebrations begin at sundown, many are preparing for their own family gatherings.

“It’s a tradition to invite others to join us to celebrate this freedom and so, we want to share and realize that it’s important for the entire community to hear the story of what happened to the Jewish people and learn lessons from that,” Horwitz said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.