A few weeks before Passover, I logged in to my account on the Lubavitch Headquarters Shlichus placement website, and saw that I’d be going with a few friends to run a Seder in Cusco, Peru.

I contacted the Shluchim in Cusco, Rabbi and Mrs. Ofer and Yael Kripor to work out the details, then promptly went Pesach shopping. I had a long checklist of food staples that would not be available in remote Cusco. 

We arrived to Cusco, a beautiful city 11,000 feet above sea level and found ourselves in a lively, well traveled tourist destination. We had dinner in the kosher restaurant where streams of backpackers joined us.

Amid the chaos, Ofer and Yael found time review the details of the outreach activities we’d be involved in over the next few weeks.

“The restaurant must operate until the Holiday, and then again on Chol Hamoed--the intermediate days-- from 10am until 10pm so that any Jewish visitor can have easy access to kosher – and then kosher for Passover – food. From our recent years’ experience, hundreds of tourists will be coming in daily for kosher meals, even on erev chag—in the hours before Passover sets in.

“One of you has to in the restaurant area at all times to help the visitors with whatever they need, register them for the Seder and other holiday and Shabbat meals. Someone needs to be in the kitchen to supervise the kashrut; there’s still shopping to do before the holiday, and we need to go to immerse “toivel” some new Passover dishes in the swamp. The kitchens have to be koshered as well for Passover at least two days before the holiday, so that there is enough time to prepare food for the Seder.

“On one of the upcoming days, we’ll all have to go to the chicken farm to slaughter 3,300 pounds of chicken for the Seder night. It’s tough, dirty work; we’ll have to take off all their feathers, and clean the guts. On Sunday night we’ll press grapes for fresh juice that we will use for the Four Cups at the Seder night.”

We lost no time dividing the tasks among ourselves and moved at a swift pace through Friday. On Friday the matzahs and other Passover items arrived.

15 Chefs, 30 Hired Hands, 170 Security Agents

Shabbat before the holiday, there were some 100 people in the synagogue, and some 350 for the meal. These numbers, which exceeded the usual, gave us some indication of what to expect at the Seder—said to be the largest in the world. 

Saturday night, 30 hired hands, of which 15 were chefs, and a large number of Israeli tourists arrived at Chabad to help for the Seder, all under the guidance of Yael Kripor. Cleaning, washing, cooking, checking vegetables for bugs. A small group was also drawing the Seder steps on large placards. This work lasted until Monday afternoon.

Monday at 2pm, a truck came to the Chabad House to haul all the food and equipment to the hall in which the Seder would take place. We too, finished our preparations and took a few pairs of tefillin with us, and drove to the hall.

On the way, Rabbi Ofer told us that in the morning he met with the Cusco sheriff and 12 colonels regarding security for the event. When we neared the hall, we saw that all the surrounding streets were blocked off, so we parked the car and walked the distance to the hall.

Police forces were spread across the entire area, and we saw snipers on rooftops. We passed no less than three security screenings before being allowed into the hall itself, where we met a security agent contracted for this project from the  Israelis. He told us that there were some 170 of Cusco’s police and 30 Israeli tourists – themselves veterans of special unit forces of the IDF – dispersed the breadth of the area to secure our Passover Seder event. He confirmed that his superiors in Israel had advised him that this would be the “biggest Seder in the world.”

An Astounding View

The sight of the huge hall, set with 1,200-plus seats was stunning. At around 4:30pm the guests started arriving. At the hall entrance, we opened our tefillin bags and started wrapping tefillin with the guests. There was no rest until sunset.

When the hall was full, the women lit holiday candles and the men went to pray the maariv evening prayer. Guests then made their way to the tables. Rabbi Ofer divided the hall between us (eight students) into four groups, making each pair of rabbinical students “in charge” of 300 people.

The Rabbi himself got up on a chair in middle of the hall and spoke loudly, laying out the schedule. He requested that no one take photos during the event out of respect for the holiday. At the end he raised the first large placard: Kaddesh. The eight of us followed with our placards.

The enormous hall filled with more than 1200 people was silent. The waiters came in and filled every individual's cup and the Rabbi made Kiddush reminding everyone to drink their Kiddush while reclining. We proceeded with Urchatz, Karpas, Yachatz.

Maggid was extraordinary. Each of the four groups sang one of the Four Questions of the Ma Nishtana, and so we continued the haggadah while every page and a half, the entire hall joined the singing. 

What amazed me and my friends was that we indeed did not see a single camera throughout the duration of the Seder, which added immensely to the spirit of holiday. Clearly, Rabbi Ofer had the ear and respect of his guests.

The Rabbi lifted the placard of Rachtza and everybody got up to wash while the waiters rushed in to bring everyone their matzah. Silence again. The Rabbi made the blessing and all followed. No one spoke, as is the tradition, while they broke and ate the first of the matzah. And so the Seder continued: marror, korech... 

Chad Gadya

Shulchan Orech. The evening moved along without too much interruption. The kitchen staff moved like clockwork. There was plenty of food for everyone. Salads, soup, chicken . . . I and the other rabbinical students went table hopping, giving us a chance to chat with groups of guests and share some of the Rebbe’s insights on the Haggadah, tell stories and sing. 

Towards the end, Rabbi Ofer got up on a chair and announced that most of the evening is now behind us, “but the best part is yet to come.” We weren’t sure what he meant until the hall reverberated with the Chad Gadya. I haven’t experienced such lively spirit in a very long time. It was as if the entire Cusco was singing and dancing together with us.

Slowly people started to leave. We remained with a small group of people, singing holiday songs and discussing Torah thoughts deep into the night. On my way out, as I passed Rabbi Ofer speaking with the heads of the Israeli security personnel, I overheard one of them tell him, “The cords of my soul were vibrating to the songs of this Seder.”

Next year in Jerusalem.