Seder!

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25 Responses

  1. Jeff No-Last-Name says:

    I’m sure he would be.

    We often had the Sedar at our house, with maybe a few friends or neighbors. I remember searching for the afikoman and “holding it for ransom”, drops of wine instead of whole glasses for us youngens, being the youngest male and therefore the reciter of the Four Questions for many years (if someone says “I’m going to do [X] tonight” when they do [X] most nights, I’ll still bust out with a “mah nishtana …” and my dad making bad jokes (I came by that honestly).

    If we were in LA, my uncle would lead the service — it would be longer and a bit more but still fun. Last Sedar I was at was at my cousin’s house — we used a “progressive haggadah” and it was fun. I don’t think I’ve done one with m y current wife — I should find a good one so she sees this side of my heritage.

    Thanks for the memories.Report

  2. Camille says:

    I really enjoyed this!

    Grandpa would be very proud 🙂Report

  3. BlaiseP says:

    Chag Sameach… remembrance is always a good thing.

    At turns, in the middle of a festival, I’ve stopped and just looked around, attempting to memorise the scene, the people, the food, but especially the people. I save such memories for dark moments, when I can unwrap and savour them. Now we’re lucky, we have nice cameras. But they’re no substitute for what you can put away in your own mind.

    Tragedy we remember with exquisite clarity. But we can remember joy, too. It just takes a little more work. It takes ritual. Unique among all such festivals and feasts, the seder is a meal of memory.

    That you may remember the day you left Egypt all the days of your lifeReport

  4. NewDealer says:

    We would always do the first night of Passover Seder and often go to a family friend for the second night.

    Now my parents sold their suburban house and all the kids have flown the coop. Last year, I went down to my brother and sister-in-law in Venice Beach. This year I am in New York and my dad is leading the Seder at his alma mater’s club*. This is his second time doing it. Last year, he said there were about 75 people. There are also kids so I am no longer required to recite the 4 Questions.

    *Fancy I know. He went to one of the less fancy Ivy Leagues but they are still pretty fancy. My alma mater just does Happy Hour at Perry’s. We have no physical club in any city as far as I know.Report

  5. May you have a joyous and blessed holiday. I hope a certain best friend, whose house was always welcoming to me and mine, has a wonderful holiday, too.Report

  6. Ken says:

    As Sir Greenbaum said upon joining the Round Table,

    Mah nishtana halayla hazeh mikol halaylot.Report

  7. James Hanley says:

    I married a woman who’s not Jewish, and, as she’s far more religious than I am, the kids were brought up in her faith.
    Mysteriously unspecified. Here’s hoping wife and kids are devoutly faithful Satanists!

    charoset, which is a sweet made from chopped apples, raisins, walnuts and honey,
    [garrgglearrgae (Homer Simpson drool)]. Recipe, please?Report

    • J.L. Wall in reply to James Hanley says:

      Well, if you’re me, you just kinda chop everything in tiny pieces and stir it all together. Then, if it’s not sweet enough, add Manischewitz to taste. Then, if it needs a bit more bite, add orange or lemon juice to taste (but be careful there). Like Mike said, it’s hard to screw it up — just add sugar.Report

      • James Hanley in reply to J.L. Wall says:

        What if I just go with the wine and leave out all the other ingredients?

        (Actually, I don’t like sweet wines, but what the hell, it’s a celebration, right?)Report

    • NewDealer in reply to James Hanley says:

      There is also the Sephardic version* which involves bananas, dates, and honey.

      *FYI Western/Middle Eastern Jews fall mainly are either Sephardic or Ashkenazi. Sephardic Jews are from the Middle East and Mediterreanean countries. Ashkenazi Jews are from Central and Eastern Europe. I am not sure if Jews from sub-sarahan Africa and Asia count as being Sephardic or not.Report

      • Matty in reply to NewDealer says:

        My reading tells me that Sephardic is from a Hebrew word for Spain and, at least in the original usage, only refers to the descendants of those Jews who were expelled by the Catholic monarchs.Report

    • Mike Schilling in reply to James Hanley says:

      This one works well, but feel free to improvise.Report

  8. J.L. Wall says:

    When I was young, my grandparents used to fit somewhere between 50 & 60 people in their house — somehow my grandfather, through force of personality, would corral distant cousins into coming home for the holiday. But it’s been a while since that would happen.

    We’ve got people coming over tonight; gotta go cook; gotta go review the seder; gotta go talk with students about their essays. Ugh. Somehow, my appreciation of Passover is bound up in bringing myself to the very brink of insanity during the preparations, and then sitting down at the table — and everything relaxes.Report

  9. Matty says:

    Yes, yes but do you get chocolate eggs?Report

  10. Tod Kelly says:

    Hey! I wrote a comment here, and now I can’t find it!

    So I’ll repeat myself: This was a really excellent post, Mike.

    Of all the various religious holidays for which I do not have the right membership card to partake in, Passover is one I most want to celebrate. I think this has to do with a lot of shows that do Seder episodes that I always find quite moving. (The two that come to mind at the moment are from Sports Night and Northern Exposure.)Report

    • Kimmi in reply to Tod Kelly says:

      For this one, all that is required is to know a friendly Jew. (and to not be an Atheist Jew, which in some circles are not invited).Report

      • BlaiseP in reply to Kimmi says:

        Once I started in learning Hebrew (I narrowly missed getting married to a quasi-Orthodox Jewish woman, newly-minted Ba’alat Teshuvah, longlong story) the family took me in with a will. But once they’re back on the derech, it becomes more difficult to interact with them.Report

    • Mike Schilling in reply to Tod Kelly says:

      It’s one of those “everyone is welcome” holidays. Tell any of your Jewish friends what you just wrote here, and next year you’ll be in like Flintstein.Report

    • recovered republican in reply to Tod Kelly says:

      I am seeing that happen a lot.Report

  11. Miss Mary says:

    Seder sounds delicious.Report