KosherToday.com
An estimated 80,000 people spent the Pesach holiday in Orlando, Florida in what became an instant holiday observant community. Makeshift pop-up synagogues were everywhere.
Well-known independent kosher supermarkets sent truckloads of food to Orlando. The popular destination with its many private homes was a favorite for many Orthodox Jewish families from around the country.
An additional 100,000 Jews participated in one hundred programs throughout the world according to Raphi Bloom of totallyjewishtravel.com.
Although the programs responded to unprecedented demand, some forty programs that operated in 2019 did not open this year. This led to many programs being oversubscribed.
“I couldn’t believe how many people were calling me less than a week before Pesach,” one operator said.
Most programs were full to capacity including Italy, Mexico, South Africa, Dubai and many US destinations like Las Vegas and Phoenix.
According to Bloom, the huge demand was beyond expectations as people sought to break a two-year hiatus mostly due to Covid. Travel experts say that the Pesach experience bodes well for kosher travel worldwide in the coming summer months.
Moshiach Now!!!
Wow Amazing For those that spend Orlando I’m sure you all had a good time
I’m confused how people can afford to spend upwards of $10,000 on a 9 day vacation??
I’m curious too, if someone who went can please explain…
who said they can afford it?
While there are in fact programs that will cost that much, in Orlando, if you are not going anywhere fancy you can do the whole pasach for $5-6k and allot of that cost would have been spent if you stayed home.
Those that can afford it BH. They probably work very hard and need the getaway. But if your on a tighter budget it can be done as well. Its not a Mitzva to suffer.
Why not at home ? Never heard such a thing is this new ?
Some money to places that need it
I spent this past winter break in Orlando and I will tell you that as far as vacations go it was rather affordable. We rented an 8 bedroom home that housed three families (split the cost) and then we did all of the cooking there. So besides for air travel and car rental, it was very reasonable. Making Pesach at home is pretty pricey too!!
So many observant Manhattanites went away for Pesach that four Upper West Side shuls actually shuttered for Pesach. One shul had just 11 congregants on Yom Tov while on the Upper East Side, the second day of Yom Tov there were also just 11 for the minyan at the vaunted Fifth Avenue synagogue.
im blown away by that stat cud you tell me which shuls were closed for yomtov or barely open