A star-studded virtual Passover “seder” that took place on Saturday night helped raise $2.35 million and counting for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation’s Coronavirus Emergency Response Fund.
The hour-long “Saturday Night Seder” featured celebrities such as Jason Alexander, Mayim Bialik, Rachel Brosnahan, Andy Cohen, Henry Winkler, Fran Drescher, Josh Groban, Whoopi Goldberg, Nick Kroll, Idina Menzel, Debra Messing, Bette Midler, Isaac Mizrahi, Busy Philipps, Ben Platt, Billy Porter and others.
The famous individuals shared personal stories about Passover, explained the biblical story of the Jewish exodus from Egypt and sang songs connected to the holiday, which began on April 8 at sundown.
The eight-day holiday outside of Israel lasts through the evening of April 16.
The celebration began with actor and former “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander singing a catchy, updated version of “Dayenu.” Israeli chef Michael Solomonov, with help from actor Daniel Levy, showed viewers “how to make a seder plate in 90 seconds (quarantine edition).”
TV host Andy Cohen also engaged viewers in a game of “find the aficohen” game, and a handful of rabbis participated to explain different laws and customs about the Jewish holiday, as well as its history.
The CDC Foundation is an independent nonprofit created by Congress to support the work of the national public-health institute.
