Religious holiday crossover: 'It’s a time of unity'

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (PIX11) --  Jews, Christians and Muslims are all celebrating hope this weekend in a rare holiday crossover.

It only happens every three decades that Passover, Easter and Ramadan coincide.

And now religious leaders are seeing a message in that coincidence.

“The message is that there’s a blessing that says may the branches be as strong as the root,” Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, told PIX11 News. “It’s a reminder we are different branches, but we come from the same roots.”

At Bnai Avraham synagogue in Brooklyn Heights, the candles and wine were blessed after Shabbat ended on Saturday night on the fourth night of Passover.

“When all these holidays come together, it’s a time of unity,” Rabbi Aaron Raskin, Bnai Avraham synagogue, told PIX11 News. “To see how we complement one another to see how we can work together to make the world a better place.”

Mayor Eric Adams attended and spoke at an Iftar dinner at Emir Palace in Brooklyn as part of his five-borough Ramadan tour.

“We cannot merely worship,” Mayor Adams told the crowd. “We must practice what the Imam teaches us in not only in our mosques but in churches and synagogues and we must implement what we’ve learned.”

Brooklyn Catholic bishop Robert Brennan blessed Easter food baskets at Polish community churches.

The Polish tradition includes colorful baskets filled with eggs, meat, sweets, and bread.

The food has special significance and is typically Blessed on Holy Saturday and eaten on Easter Sunday.

“Blessed the lamb, the sweets, the eggs, the candy, the joy of his resurrection in Christ, our Lord, Amen,” Bishop Brennan told a packed church.