Somewhere to celebrate

Two schools of thought inform this year’s Passover celebrations at Newport Beach synagogues.

The typical Jewish congregation celebrates the liberation of the Jews from slavery in Egypt at home with a traditional meal called the Seder and a communal reading of the Haggada, a book that tells the story of the Exodus.

That’s what most of the members of Temple Bat Yahm will be doing, including Executive Director Bill Shane, who plans to have 25 to 30 people come to his house for dinner and take turns reading the story of the 10 plagues and Moses’ parting of the Red Sea to escape Pharaoh’s armies. The temple will have a community Seder the following night at 6 p.m. and a short prayer service at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.

Just down the road, at Temple Isaiah, Rabbi Marc Rubenstein has a different vision for the holiday. Instead of retreating from the synagogue to the more private environs of the home, the temple rented an exhibit hall at the Orange County Fair and Events Center and hired a professional magician to reenact the 10 plagues Wednesday night. Rubenstein has a penchant for putting together unusual and attention-grabbing celebrations. For Hanukkah this year, the temple made what it called the “world’s first and largest solar-cooked potato latke.”

“If one knows anything about Judaism they would know that when God brought the Jews out of Egypt he brought them out as a community; therefore, at Passover the only way you can approach God is as a Jewish community,” Rubenstein said.

He said events that stand out are a good way to attract people to the synagogue. The magician, Ron Royals, plans to turn water to blood, produce a plague of plastic frogs and levitate his first-born son after “killing” him. Royals said this will be the first time he has included the plagues in a magic show and is adapting past tricks to meet the challenge.

“The rabbi originally came up with the idea to find someone to part the Red Sea, but that’s not doable. You can’t go down to Huntington Beach or Newport Beach and part the ocean. That’s one that only God can do. But getting into the realm of reality, the 10 plagues are doable,” said event planner Carolyn Price.

Royals will perform during a catered dinner that starts at 6:30 p.m. in Building 12 at the fairgrounds — the exhibit hall where President Obama spoke in March. The festivities cost $50 for adults and $10 for children.

Rabbi Reuven Mintz, of the Chabad Jewish Center, said that although many people visit family and celebrate Passover at home, the center does a variety of things to make sure that those who can’t celebrate at home for one reason or another have somewhere to go.

The center distributes Seder meals to the elderly and convalescents, and holds a community dinner at the Newport Beach Hyatt Regency at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

“Putting on a Seder in the home is not an easy task by any means; there are a lot of families who like to come to a community center. There are many people who don’t have families, and the last thing we want is for people to feel alone that night,” Mintz said.

The Seder at the Hyatt costs $60, and Mintz said many of the tables have already been filled.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Passover Seder in Newport Beach

Calling ahead for reservations is strongly recommended in all cases.

 TEMPLE ISAIAH

WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday

WHERE: Orange County Fair and Events Center

COST: $50 for adults, kids $10.

CALL: (949) 548-6900.

 CHABAD JEWISH CENTER

WHEN: 7 p.m. Wednesday

WHERE: Hyatt Regency in Newport Beach

COST: $60.

CALL: (949) 721-9800.

Reporter ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at alan.blank@latimes.com.