The Marlene Meyerson JCC in Manhattan along with the National Yiddish theatre Folsbiene are the forces behind the Third Seder, a Passover concert in Yiddish, which will premiere on March 21. This year, Passover falls on March 27, and will continue until April 3.
The initiator behind the event is Rabbi Avram Mlotek, Yiddish activist and spiritual leader in Manhattan.
"We hope this virtual offering will allow people from Melbourne to Manhattan an opportunity to incorporate songs or poems from our seder into their own family Passover celebrations," said Mlotek. "Though we can’t gather in person physically, we can still come together virtually."
Yiddish Klezmer and theater legends from all over the world will perform at the event, like Frank London from the US, Marilyn Lerner from Canada and Zisl Slepovitch from the US, Sarah Mlotek from Israel, and Sahsa Lurie from Germany, among others.
Last year, the throes of the pandemic challenged the in-person aspect of the concert, so it was moved online, garnering massive success, drawing 20,000 views.
"A year later, as we continue to battle the pandemic, a cast of brilliant Yiddish artists has once again been assembled to tell the story of the Jewish People," Mlotek said, "its moments of liberation from bondage, its resilience in the face of inquisitions and pogroms, its resistance to the genocide of the Holocaust, its continued determination to flourish as a nation in Israel, and as a culture around the world."
The virtual Third Seder will be only two years old this year, but the tradition of leading a Yiddish-centered seder when nearing Passover dates back to the 1960s, organized by the Workers Circle.
Holocaust survivors came together at the time to enliven and revive the language of their parents and communities.
The chief organizer of the Third Seder when it first began was Mlotek's grandfather, Joseph.
The Folksbiene is over a century old, and has claimed its place in the canon of the Manhattan Yiddish theater scene.
Their Yiddish run of Fiddler on the Roof, Fidler Afn Dakh, began in the National Yiddish Theatre Folsbiene in 2018, moving to the off-Broadway Stage 42 a year later.
The performance has received critical acclamation.
"Telling the story with Yiddish songs and poetry brings our history alive," Mlotek said.
Zalmen Mlotek, musical director for Fiddler on the Roof, will take charge of the concert.