PBS高端访谈:疫情下犹太人如何庆祝逾越节

Hari Sreenivasan: This holy week, celebrated¹ by christians² worldwide, coincides with the jewish holiday passover, usually that means being with family for religious gatherings³. But these are not normal times. NewsHour Weekend's Melanie Saltzman recently met a neighbor who is finding ways to cope and observe the holidays, while being away from her family.

Gloria Strong: Some parsley to dip in salt water.

Melanie Saltzman: Gloria Strong is my neighbor in Brooklyn, New York. We met just a couple weeks ago when I saw her on the elevator. She lives alone. That means this year, because of social distancing, she'll be celebrating the Passover holiday alone, too.

Andrea Strong: I think Emily's teacher has it.

Melanie Saltzman: Her daughter, Andrea Strong, lives nearby and visits when she can.

Andrea Strong: We're going to get through it. We will.

Melanie Saltzman: Andrea stands outside of the apartment. Gloria uses a measuring tape to reassure⁴ her daughter that she's far enough away. What has this time been like for you with the social distancing and the isolation⁵?

Gloria Strong: It's kind of lonely. I find myself crying at the silliest things. You know, I just start crying. And then I'll be okay. But I miss being able to touch, to hug my kids. That's the worst part. You know, with my daughter saying, "You're not to go down for the mail. I don't want you leaving your apartment." It's too much.

Melanie Saltzman: That's how we met. I ended up seeing you going down and saying what are you doing, 'I'm going to go get the mail for you. Stay home.'

Gloria Strong: You know, going down at least I could see the doorman, talk to someone. I mean I feel like I'm losing my voice. I don't talk at all.

Melanie Saltzman: Strong, who normally eats Kosher food, says it's been harder to find it these days.

Gloria Strong: All the supermarkets say they have no delivery. They're not taking orders online. There's a lot of work preparing for Passover usually but this year it's become very difficult because of being unable to get out to the stores and get what I need, so I'm just making do. You know when I was younger I don't think I appreciated family as much as I do now. I used to get annoyed with some of my cousins. Spoiled brats⁶. But now it's different. I do miss seeing them all.

Melanie Saltzman: Strong says she'll especially miss a Sephardic tradition that commemorates⁷ the Jewish captivity⁸ in Egypt. What do you normally do for Passover; how do you celebrate?

Gloria Strong: One of our customs which the kids love, we all love, is we take scallions and we whip each other to remember what used to happen to the Jews when they were in Egypt and they were slaves.

Melanie Saltzman: So are you going to be doing that virtually?

Gloria Strong: Oh, I bought scallions. I'll just beat myself (laughs).

Melanie Saltzman: On Wednesday, the first night of Passover, Strong's seder plate had the traditional symbolic⁹ items, including a boiled egg and lettuce¹⁰. She used substitutes for the things she couldn't find, like a chicken bone instead of lamb shankbone.

Granddaughter: What will be different about this seder from all other seders?

Melanie Saltzman: And she's still managed to be with her family like so many people this holiday season: online.

Gloria: Why aren't you hitting each other?

Son-In-Law: We need to sing.

Gloria: Well, come on, start singing!

Andrea Strong: Love you, Mom.

Gloria Strong: I love you.

哈里·斯里尼瓦桑：本周是神圣的一周，世界各地的基督教徒都在庆祝。与此同时，犹太人在庆祝逾越节，每逢这个节日，大家都会跟家人一起进行宗教集会。不过，现在不似平时。我台记者梅勒妮·萨尔茨曼最近遇到了一位邻居，这位邻居想找办法在家人不在身边的情况下庆祝节日。

格洛里亚·斯特朗：把欧芹浸在盐水里。

梅勒妮·萨尔茨曼：格洛里亚·斯特朗是我在纽约布鲁克林区的一位邻居。我们是几周前认识的，我在电梯上看见了她。她过着独居的生活。这就意味着，今年由于要保持社交距离的原因，她也要自己过逾越节了。

安德烈·斯特朗：我想艾米丽的老师有。

梅勒妮·萨尔茨曼：她的女儿格洛里亚·斯特朗住在附近，有空的时候都会过来坐坐。

安德烈·斯特朗：我们会挺过去的，一定会的。

梅勒妮·萨尔茨曼：安德烈站在公寓楼外。格洛里亚用卷尺量着距离，确保女儿离自己足够远。在需要保持社交距离和隔离的情况下，你过得怎么样呢？

格洛里亚·斯特朗：很孤独啊，我经常因为不值得的事情就傻傻地哭出来，就是那种直接就哭了，然后又好了。但我很想念能触碰并拥抱孩子的日子，这是让我最难熬的。我女儿会喋喋不休地说，“你不能下楼取信，我不想让你离开公寓”。感觉疫情期间行动很受限制。

梅勒妮·萨尔茨曼：我们就这样相遇了。我遇到你下楼，问你怎么样，“我去帮你取信吧，你就待在家里吧。”

格洛里亚·斯特朗：你知道吗？下楼至少能看见保安，能跟人说说话。我现在感觉自己都失声了，不会说话了。

梅勒妮·萨尔茨曼：斯特朗一般都吃清真食物，但现在越来越难寻觅了。

格洛里亚·斯特朗：所有超市都不外送了，也不接受在线订单。通常情况下，逾越节有很多准备工作要做，但今年，做准备工作的难度很大，因为大家不能出门去商店买所需的东西，只能将就。我还年轻一些的时候，对家庭的重视程度没有现在这样高。我经常觉得堂兄弟姐妹挺烦人的。但现在不同了，我很想念他们。

梅勒妮·萨尔茨曼：斯特朗说自己尤其想念埃及赛法迪犹太人的传统。

梅勒妮·萨尔茨曼：逾越节你一般会做什么呢？你如何庆祝呢？

格洛里亚·斯特朗：有一个习俗是孩子们很喜欢的——也是我们也很喜欢的——我们会用葱拨弄彼此，来铭记犹太人在埃及为奴的历史。

梅勒妮·萨尔茨曼：你这次要这样做吗？

格洛里亚·斯特朗：嗷，我买了葱。我只能拨弄拨弄自己了（笑声）。

梅勒妮·萨尔茨曼：周三是逾越节的第一晚，斯特朗家宴盘子上摆着传统的物品，包括煮熟的鸡蛋和莴苣。她找不到的东西就用来替代品，比如用鸡骨代替羊胫骨。

孙女：这次家宴和其他时候有什么不同吗？

梅勒妮·萨尔茨曼：像许多人一样，她依然能跟家人一起——网上相聚。

格洛里亚·斯特朗：你们怎么不互动呀？

孙子：我们需要唱唱歌。

格洛里亚：那来吧，开始唱！

安德烈·斯特朗：爱你哦，妈妈。

格洛里亚·斯特朗：我也爱你。

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

3 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

4 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

5 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

6 brats   

n.调皮捣蛋的孩子( brat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I've been waiting to get my hands on you brats. 我等着干你们这些小毛头已经很久了。 来自电影对白
• The charming family had turned into a parcel of brats. 那个可爱的家庭一下子变成了一窝臭小子。 来自互联网

7 commemorates   

n.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的名词复数 )v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A tombstone is erected in memory of whoever it commemorates. 墓碑是为纪念它所纪念的人而建的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A tablet commemorates his patriotic activities. 碑文铭记他的爱国行动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

9 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

10 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。