At the microphone of Europe 1, the Chief Rabbi of France Haïm Korsia calls on practicing Jews to respect confinement during the Passover holiday, which begins Wednesday evening. "I realize that it is hard to imagine spending the party alone, but you are never alone when you experience things at the same time as everyone else," he said.

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In confinement for three weeks to try to stem the spread of Covid-19, the French who practice a religion will have to celebrate their faith without being able to find themselves in places of worship or with their family. On Sunday, the Pope celebrated alone in a Saint Peter's basilica deserted Palm Sunday Mass. Guest of Europe 1, the Chief Rabbi of France Haïm Korsia called on practicing Jews not to exempt themselves from the rules of confinement to celebrate Pesach, an important holiday of Judaism which recalls the Exodus of Jews from Egypt .

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"Our time is one of containment and protection"

"The rule of confinement is essential, and must not be lifted (...) The risk is always present and I believe that at the edge of these festivals, we must resist the temptation to regroup by family as tradition in Judaism suggests, "began Haïm Korsia. "This tradition is in normal times".

"But the time which is ours now is that of confinement and protection", he continued at the microphone of Europe 1, finding paradoxical those who were tempted to regroup during the holidays. "Because it would take a risk for the people we love the most, that is to say our families."

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Protecting yourself by confinement, "a religious imperative"

"I find that there is a duty to protect themselves and others, to protect society as a whole," continued Haïm Korsia, saying that this imperative was a "religious imperative". "It also meets the demands of the government, a republican imperative, so it is imperative to respect confinement".

Celebrating Pesach during a period of confinement is very symbolic, continues the Chief Rabbi of France. "Because the exit from Egypt, remembered by the Passover holiday in Judaism, is a confinement that announces liberation. We are locked up, we celebrate Pesach, and it will announce the next deliverance, the next release ", explains Haïm Korsia, who understands" that it is difficult to imagine spending the party alone ".

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"Living Pesach like no generation has ever lived it"

"But you are never alone when you experience things at the same time as everyone else," he said. "There is this strength of the feeling of sharing what we are living and this certainty that we will really live this liberation at the end of the confinement". Because, if we stick to religious texts, the use of electronic devices to make calls or to celebrate Pesach via videoconference with his family is prohibited.

"You have to have the strength to seek within yourself this impetus to live the celebration in a full and whole way. Everyone will do it as they see fit, but I think there is something strong in living it in this confinement ( ...) I have the feeling that to live this moment is to live it like never before has any generation lived ", answers Haïm Korsia.

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The Chief Rabbi of France insists that we must continue to celebrate binding holidays, despite the confinement. "Whether it is our Catholic and Protestant fellow citizens for the Passover who is approaching, or whether it is our Muslim fellow citizens with Ramadan who is approaching, we must live these festivals in joy", he concludes. "Because joy is not the observation that everything is going well, it is the will to be happy".