From Havana Bureau Chief Lucia
                      Newman

                      HAVANA (CNN) -- In Cuba, celebrating the Passover Seder is a
                      community affair, with Havana's small Jewish population joining
                      together for the traditional ceremonial meal.

                      This year, the sense of community extended beyond Cuba's
                      borders. A delegation of Jews from the United States was the
                      guest of honor, and members brought with them many of the items
                      needed for a proper Seder.

                      In a country where everything is in short supply, the Americans
                      brought the matzo, gefilte fish, ceremonial wine and horseradish, all
                      vital to the ceremony that marks the end of the Jews' slavery in
                      ancient Egypt.

                      "There's not a lot of variety of food, but, especially here, it would
                      be impossible to find the special foods that are symbolic and
                      needed for the Passover meal to celebrate the tradition as it really
                      should be," said Debbie Rubenstein, one of the American guests.

                      For years, Canadian Jews had been the main suppliers of
                      specialty foods for their counterparts in Cuba. But now,
                      U.S. Jews are becoming increasingly involved in helping
                      Cuba's small community, which doesn't even have a rabbi.

                      After the 1959 Cuban revolution, the majority of the country's
                      Jewish community, which numbered about 30,000, left. Today,
                      there are fewer than 2,000 Jews here. But in the last few years,
                      thanks in part to the support of Jews from abroad, the community
                      is experiencing a revival.

                      Community leaders boast that younger generations are
                      participating more actively, and say it won't be long before three or
                      four young men who are studying abroad to become rabbis return
                      in leadership positions.

                      "We try to do our best, putting as much of our heart into it as we
                      can so that our Judaism becomes like an eternal flame that never
                      dies," says Luis Chaniveki of the Jewish Community Center.

                      And in a country where the economic and religious influence of the
                      Jewish community is not strong, the moral as well as material
                      support it is receiving from abroad is being viewed as a blessing
                      this Passover.