How a regional centenarian is celebrating Passover

Despite living by herself in the small northern NSW town of Gleniffer, the centenarian has found through constant communication, she is not alone.

However, every year she braves the cold and travels 1,300 kilometres from her home in Gleniffer to Melbourne to celebrate the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, with her family.

"It's nice, I enjoy it. If I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't come down here, because it's so cold," Ms Phillips said.

Ms Philips is one of around 10,000 practising Jewish people who live in regional Australia, according to Chabad of RARA.

From Monday April 22 until Tuesday April 30, she and millions of Jewish people around the world will gather for the festival which celebrates the exodus of the Israelites from exile in Egpyt.

Ms Phillips and her late husband moved to Gleniffer 43 years ago, and originally had several Jewish friends in the area.

"We had enough of the rat race and we wanted to live a quiet life," she said.

She is the only one left out of her friends, who have all since passed away, but Ms Phillips finds her community and connection by staying in touch on the phone.

"I light Shabbat candles, I speak to my family every Friday, I speak to the rabbi every Friday, and that's what I do," she said.

For Tsipora Jensen, Passover is a very joyful occasion where she opens her home to friends both Jewish and non-Jewish people.

"Passover is a message of a miraculous escape from a very scary situation," she said.

"I would say the message of passover is hope for everyone regardless of their background or religious belief."

She's lived in Boat Harbour, in Tasmania, for five years, and says that she doesn't mind living away from larger Jewish communities.

"I'm very self-contained, but I do have some Jewish friends in Tasmania," she said.

Ms Jensen regularly speaks with Rabbis who help her feel connected to her faith and to the Jewish community.

"The rabbis are really nice and they come visit, ring and make sure everything is alright," she said.

"I really am thankful, I don't feel disconnected, because I'm talking to them, which is great."

Rabbi Manachem Aron is the director Chabad of RARA, a Jewish outreach organisation for regional and rural Jews.

In the lead-up to Passover, he, other rabbis and volunteers travel around Australia visiting isolated Jewish families and individuals.

"It's a very busy time because a lot of people want to connect with the holiday of Passover," he said.

The organisation plans Sedar events around the country to help Jewish people celebrate and relieve the message of Passover.

They also distribute passover packages containing products unavailable in regional communities.

"The message is that Jews left a place of exile, a place of constraint, and confinement and became a free people," he said.

"Which is something that is very relevant today, that we are able to leave our constraints and go beyond ... to help people."

Rabbi Aron said that he is seeing more people wanting to get together for the religious event.

"You can't go without mentioning the hostages who are stuck in Gaza, stuck there for six months, who want to be home with their family," he said.

He said that the story of Passover is extremely relevant today.

"We're looking at an event that happened three and a half thousand years ago, and the relevance of it is perhaps the most relevant today than it has ever been for Jewish people around the world, and definitely in Israel."

"God is the one that has stood beside us despite all the adversaries and challenges that have come our way."