In what may be one of the boldest rulings issued on technology in recent years, several Sephardic Orthodox rabbis in Israel have declared that families may conduct their shared Seder over videoconference.

While Orthodox religious law normally bans the use of electronic devices on Shabbat and festivals, the ruling, signed by 14 rabbis, permits the use of software to connect the elderly to their families on the first night of Passover.

The written ruling (Hebrew) comes as leaders are warning the elderly not to heighten their chance of coronavirus infection by meeting with young relatives — and as Israeli families are discussing the pain this separation causes them. It states that the coronavirus crisis has created an extreme situation that merits drawing on special leniencies in Jewish law. Read More….