By Janet Ekstract
İSTANBUL- Anyone who is Jewish in Istanbul is well aware that Rabbi Mendy Chitrik doesn’t do anything halfway. As the Turkish Rabbi of the Askenazi Jewish community in Istanbul since 2003 and the chairman of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States since 2019, Rabbi Mendy is extremely busy. And he’s used to large crowds for Shabbat and the High Holidays but Passover Seder 2023 was exceptional with over 100 people in attendance. It was extra special because the Seder took place at the Intercontinental Hotel in Istanbul with each table divided by language – with tables for speakers of English, Russian, Hebrew and Turkish.
Another treat was that each table had beautiful boxes of handmade, kosher matzah from the rabbinate as well as gorgeous flower centerpieces. The Passover Seder began with the women lighting candles and the men praying off to the side. Then the ritual handwashing tradition took place, where everyone splashed water three times over their right hand and three times over their left hand to get rid of bad spirits and become clean before prayers. All the while, there was lively banter, reading from the Passover Seder books and getting to know others at the tables.
For those who don’t know anything about Passover, the holiday celebrates Moses liberating the Jews from slavery in Egypt. There is always a Passover plate with the symbols of Passover, bitter herbs to recall the suffering the Jewish people went through as slaves, a lamb shank represents the Passover sacrifice, a boiled egg represents spring and the circle of life while haroset represents the mortar and brick used by Hebrew slaves to build Egyptian structures.
The highlight of Passover Seder was Rabbi Mendy, who is always enthusiastic and ready for a song or a dance. He climbed onto various chairs to lead the singing and before that, he was giving his youngest son, a piggyback ride. Truly the spirit of Judaism is alive and shining wherever Rabbi Mendy is. To be sure, there is never a dull moment at his holiday gatherings whether it’s Shabbat dinner, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur or Passover – Rabbi Mendy creates a caring, spiritual ambiance at all his events. And as the final refrain of the night was sung – the promise to meet in Jerusalem next year, emotions in the room were running high because as Jews everywhere know, being Jewish is as much a culture within one’s heart as it is within one’s religious beliefs.
So here’s to life – L’Chaim!
