As Passover comes to a close, we take a moment to reflect and honor the generations of Jews who have helped carry the legacy and spirit of the holiday into our lives. At Aviva, Passover has always been one of our community’s most cherished traditions, a time when our entire community comes together, joined by friends and family, to celebrate, remember, and honor the enduring legacy of the Jewish people.

Aviva’s Passover celebration is a joyful, multiday, multilocation affair. We host over a dozen individual seders across two days, ensuring all residents, regardless of their health needs, can fully engage with the beloved traditions they grew up with. Our largest seders are held at Kobernick Independent Living, where over 150 residents, guests, and staff gather on both the first and second nights for a retelling of the Jewish people’s exodus from Egypt and the enduring legacy of survival through unity.

This year, our seders were filled with both sadness and deep gratitude, as we mourned the loss of a truly incredible resident, Carolyn Linz Kaplan z”l.

For 14 years, Carolyn was a cherished fixture at Aviva. She helped shape our community as both a loving home and a place deeply rooted in Jewish tradition. She served three terms as President of the Resident Association, stepping in even when no one else could, and always led with unwavering devotion and grace. Carolyn fostered a true sense of mishpucha by founding the WeCare Committee, ensuring residents and families felt supported through illness, recovery, and loss. In her early years, she visited fellow residents in the hospital, arriving with her signature gift of comfort: chicken noodle soup. Beyond Aviva, she shared her powerful story of survival with students near and far, offering a meaningful firsthand testimony of the Holocaust.

Passover held a deeply special place in Carolyn’s heart. For many years, she led the second-night Seder, fondly known as “The Carolyn Seder,” working closely with our rabbis to preserve the traditions, songs, and passages she loved. Though she often joked about her singing voice, hers was always the loudest and most joyful during Chad Gadya. Carolyn was a true light on our campus: warm, devoted, and endlessly giving.

This year, thanks to the Kaplan family’s generous and loving gift, our community gathered around newly dedicated Seder plates inscribed in Carolyn’s memory and opened the new Our Community Haggadah. These are not simply ritual objects; they are vessels of memory, generosity, and love. They reflect Carolyn’s belief that Passover is meant to be shared, that stories must be passed on, and that every person at the table belongs. In every ritual and every song, we felt her presence.

We extend our deepest appreciation to the Kaplan family for this beautiful and enduring tribute. Through their love and generosity, Carolyn’s light continues to guide us, sparking connection, inspiring participation, and nurturing mishpucha at Aviva for generations to come. We are deeply honored to officially recognize our second night seder as “The Carolyn Kaplan Passover Seder.” May her memory forever be a blessing and always serve to inspire each of us.