Woman Tweets about CNN Reporter She’d Never Met Bringing Her to Passover Celebration
Chag Samaech all! #Passover2017 pic.twitter.com/4mz2HjSAh9
— James Masters (@Masters_JamesD) April 10, 2017
On LinkedIn, James Masters is listed as a sports and news reporter for CNN. On Twitter, he’s more of a hero.
Check out this story from reporter Samantha Gross, who is currently in the UK and had nowhere to go for a Passover Seder this year:
1. Today, something incredible happened. And I will tell this story via Twitter, which is fitting for how this incredible thing came to be.
— Samantha J. Gross (@samanthajgross) April 10, 2017
2. I was scrolling through Twitter at lunch today, when I saw this tweet from a London-based CNN reporter I follow: https://t.co/2nZ5RiTRFu
— Samantha J. Gross (@samanthajgross) April 11, 2017
Tonight is #Passover so if you’re in London and you’ve got nowhere to go for Seder, get in touch. Nobody should be alone tonight.
— James Masters (@Masters_JamesD) April 10, 2017
4. He picked me up in N. London, and we drove with his wife Hannah to his parent’s home a few blocks away, where I was immediately welcomed
— Samantha J. Gross (@samanthajgross) April 11, 2017
.@Masters_JamesD 6. They were all so interested in me, and me in them. James’ 91-year-old grandfather whistled a song he knew about Indiana.
— Samantha J. Gross (@samanthajgross) April 11, 2017
.@Masters_JamesD 8. I joked about how strong the maror was to James’ uncle, but really I just cried for my own grandparents, who loved Passover so much.
— Samantha J. Gross (@samanthajgross) April 11, 2017
.@Masters_JamesD 10. In between (vegetarian!!) meal and prayer, James and I talked journalism. He gave me advice on reporting and passion for the field.
— Samantha J. Gross (@samanthajgross) April 11, 2017
.@Masters_JamesD 12. While we were singing Hebrew words engrained in both my brain and theirs, I couldn’t stop thinking of how little an ocean really means.
— Samantha J. Gross (@samanthajgross) April 11, 2017
.@Masters_JamesD 14. I also thought about how little geography means between us (blessed Jews, freed from suffering) and others (those still suffering daily)
— Samantha J. Gross (@samanthajgross) April 11, 2017
.@Masters_JamesD 16. I couldn’t stop thinking about how James changed my Pesach from a meaningless abstinence from bread to a mindful week. All with a tweet.
— Samantha J. Gross (@samanthajgross) April 11, 2017
.@Masters_JamesD 18. He restored my faith that no matter where you are in the world, even thousands of miles away from home, you can always find a friend.
— Samantha J. Gross (@samanthajgross) April 11, 2017
.@Masters_JamesD 19. Chag Sameach to all my friends, Jewish or otherwise. May you be inspired to perform mitzvot, for you never know the impact it might make
— Samantha J. Gross (@samanthajgross) April 11, 2017
Okay, now that you’ve read Gross’s tweets, let’s get into it all. We reached out to both of them and Masters said to go ahead and let Gross tell the story.
Gross explained to us that since she’s been “quite busy” lately, she had no plans for the holiday other than what she said in her tweets, which was that she planned to “steer clear of bread, mope about it and maybe feel one or two healthy pangs of guilt.”
Still, she has some experience being away from home for the holiday. Gross attends university in Boston, where she has spent a few Passovers with the Jewish student organization on campus. She pointed out, however, that their seders “are nice, but nothing like the lively, rambunctious family meals” she had back home.
Obviously, for someone used to a “lively, rambunctious” meal for the holiday, being alone can be tough, so we here at Mediaite are glad she and Masters found one another, especially since Gross said they’ve still been in contact and she expects to stay friends for a long time.
Chag Sameach, everyone!
[image: screengrab]
