Wild Evening of Chocolate Fun

For the third year in a row, Congregation Etz Chaim played host to Atlanta’s most decadent adults-only Passover seder.

A twist on traditional seders, the Chocolate Seder on Thursday, April 14, was put on by the Etz Chaim Sisterhood and Marcus Jewish Community Center and featured the JCC’s Rabbi Brian Glusman as the seder leader.

Rabbi Glusman began by encouraging guests to fill their glasses to the top with wine and their cups with Vincent Van Gogh Rich Dark Chocolate vodka. From there, the evening evolved into a wild and sometimes educational pre-Passover celebration.

In place of karpas (usually parsley) dipped in salt water, a strawberry was dipped in chocolate fondue. The matzah was covered in chocolate, and the maror (bitter herb) was bittersweet chocolate.

Throughout the night, Rabbi Glusman led songs on his guitar while guests sang along. From Passover standards such as “Avadim Hayinu” and “Go Down, Moses” to more contemporary tunes like “If I Had a Hammer,” the crowd joined in loudly, no doubt with the assistance of the sweets and the vodka.

Etz Chaim Rabbi Shalom Lewis joined in the festivities and put on a matzah kittel (linen robe) that he said he breaks out only for the Passover seder and Yom Kippur lunch.

After the seder, guests agreed that they appreciated the fun take on the 3,000-year Passover tradition.

Photos by David R. Cohen

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