Passover among the Jewish inmates of the Federal Penitentiary this year will be observed on a more elaborate scale than ever before.
Contrary to the usual custom, the prison administration will supply the Passover food for the forty Jewish prisoners at the institution, whose entire population was recently reduced from 3,000 to 1,900 men due to overcrowded conditions. Heretofore the Jewish prisoners themselves provided the money for their Pesach observance, but this year on account of the comparatively small number the government bought the matzoths and other necessary items.
Rabbi David Marx, prison dollar-a-year chaplain, will preside. The seder meals are being prepared by a Jewish chef who is an inmate of the institution. A small group of local Jewish leaders have been invited to the traditional service.
In addition to the two seders, throughout the entire Passover week Jewish prisoners will be served matzoths. Hyman S. Jacobs, who has been active in prison welfare work for the past sixteen years, was instrumental in arranging for Pesach observance.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
