Chabad Passover experts offer help to shoppers
April 11, 2008
You're standing in the supermarket Passover aisle and start scratching your head, wondering how many boxes of matzah you'll need for the 20 people who will be participating in your seder.
Or you go to the store to buy the items for your seder plate and suddenly realize that you can't remember what they are.
Help is at hand at ShopRite of Marlboro, located on Route 9. Chabad of Western Monmouth County has set up a table at the front of the Passover aisle, where local rabbis, their wives, and Chabad volunteers are answering questions about everything from food to preparing the home for the holiday. They are offering haggadahs, holiday recipes, magazines for children, and information about Passover sale items. In addition, chametz (foods not allowed during Passover) can be "sold" on the spot.
The Chabad table is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Passover begins at sundown on Saturday, April 19 and the table will be in place until two days before the holiday begins.
Shoppers can easily find the table, which has a sign proclaiming "Chabad Passover Experts," and the experts that they find are likely to be one of the four local Chabad rabbis: Rabbi Boruch Chazanow of Manalapan; Rabbi Levi Schapiro of Marlboro; Rabbi Avraham Bernstein of Freehold; or Rabbi Levi Wolosow of Morganville.
The idea of establishing a "help desk" came to Rabbi Wolosow after he recently made what he thought would be a quick trip to ShopRite.
"My wife sent me out to shop for a few items but I didn't come out of the store for several hours," Wolosow recalled. "People stopped me with so many questions."
The result, which has attracted people of all ages, has been a huge success, according to Wolosow, who has answered questions such as "I can't drink wine; what could I use as a substitute during the seder?"
"The Kosher Experience department at ShopRite has welcomed us," Wolosow added. "People will be thrilled by the variety of kosher for Passover items that are being offered."
The experts have a variety of books that cover every kosher-for-Passover item, from food to cleaning supplies. Some of the questions demand a bit of research but others can be solved pretty quickly.
"A man came up to the table and just sat there looking at us," Wolosow recalled. "One of the volunteers asked him if there was anything they could help him with. The man replied, with a straight face, 'Yes, you can. Please help me. I'm looking for my wife.' Not surprisingly, the volunteer knew exactly where she was. She was found in the Passover aisle."