Like many Twitter users, twenty four-year old Leslie Gacsalyi joined #Exodus11 last night -- a pre-Passover Twitter chat hosted by @Lubavitch, the official Twitter handle of Lubavitch.com -- to discuss Passover themes and rituals with other Jewish tweeters in 140 characters or less.

Gacsalyi, a freelance blogger living in Nashville, TN discovered that she was Jewish three months ago. Prior to #Exodus11, she didn’t plan on participating in a Seder this Passover.

“I was apprehensive at first, about taking part in #Exodus11. I felt inexperienced and was, to be honest, scared,” she admits. “But I decided to [join] anyway and I was greatly rewarded. I was so interested in seeing everyone’s plans for Pesach and I got ideas for my own Pesach. Not only that, I also learned there is a Chabad house right around the corner from me.”

This year, says Gacsalyi, “I’ve decided to hold my own Seder.”

According to William Daroff, vice president for Public Policy and director of the Washington office at the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), this platform proved to be effective in creating a discussion forum about Passover and stimulating thoughtful conversation that anyone could join.

“#Exodus11 was a fun and lively way to mentally prepare for the coming holiday,” says Daroff (@daroff), who has been ranked by JTA as one of the top three most influential Jewish tweeters. “The range of topics discussed, from deep Halachic questions to silly jokes and everything in between reminded me of conversations held around the Seder table during particularly memorable years.”

While “social media miracles” don’t happen every day, Gacsalyi counts #Exodus11 as her personal miracle. Her month’s long journey to trace her Jewish roots was one she embarked on alone, and she hasn’t been in contact with many other Jewish people.

“The most important thing was the sense of community I felt for the first time as a Jew. The interest people expressed in my story meant so much to me. I am happy that I happened to come across the #Exodus11 hash tag chat because tonight I experienced and felt community for the first time as a Jew,” she told Lubavitch.com after the event.

“I just can’t tell you how much that means to me.”