Springtime traditions are in full bloom

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It’s April, the season of showers, flowers, spring, cleaning and Passover!

Yes, Passover. It’s not too early to begin thinking about our springtime holiday commemorating our deliverance from slavery.

In our house, we cook and clean before the eight-day holiday and then focus on family. This is one of two times each year when everyone gathers at our house, and they all stay a few days. It’s really a lovely time to reconnect with my siblings and continue our family traditions, which we have observed for as long as we can remember.

Over the years, spouses, children and significant others have been pulled into the gathering, along with some friends who don’t mind the constant talking and interrupting. This year, we even have a new grandchild in the mix, and everyone is looking forward to the holiday. We hope our parents will join us, but we realize that travel is no longer easy for them. We recently celebrated my mother’s 90th birthday.

Here at Jewish Rhode Island, spring also means that we are kicking off our annual Patron Campaign. You’ve probably already noticed the annoying envelope that fell out of the paper when you opened it to read the latest Jewish community news.

But, here’s the thing. Your donation to Jewish Rhode Island helps us bring you that news. Our annual Patron Campaign is our only community fundraiser. If you live in Rhode Island or southeastern Massachusetts, you receive Jewish Rhode Island at no cost. You can go online and read the paper on our website, jewishrhody.org, at no cost. You can receive our middle-of-the-month newsletter, Inside Jewish Rhode Island, at no cost.

Donations to the annual Patron Campaign help us bring you the paper, and everything that comes with it. We hope you like the new monthly paper and the newsletter. Most readers do; we’ve received a lot of positive feedback. And we hope you will give to our campaign to help sustain us.

Advertising is another way we finance the paper that you hold in your hands. As you read through this Passover issue, you’ll see a lot of advertising. That’s normal for a holiday paper. We thank each and every advertiser who bought ads in this and every Jewish Rhode Island or on our website. These individuals and businesses support the Jewish community and your newspaper, while the ads help them grow their businesses.  

We can’t put out a paper without the support of our advertisers. So, dear readers, please support businesses whose ads you see in Jewish Rhode Island and at  jewishrhody.org. And make sure you tell them that you saw their ad in our paper. We know they get value from their ad, but when you mention us, they know they get value from their ads.

Lastly, we could not publish without a generous grant from the Jewish Federaton Foundation. And we appreciate the support and encouragement of the Jewish Alliance, our publisher.

So, this Passover, please remember to be grateful for those around you and to support your community newspaper.

Our best wishes for a warm spring and a happy Passover.

Editor, springtime, passover