Happy Passover!

And A Fervent Hope For Passover 2027

All around the world Jews are getting ready for Passover which begins at sundown tonight (Wednesday). For my non-Jewish readers, Passover is a lot like Easter, but totally different. More work, less fun, and like all Jewish holidays, goes on way longer than it should. The holiday is eight days and nights but to me it feels like twenty.

During the first two nights of Passover, we have a Seder, which is a ceremonial meal during which we read from the Haggadah, the text which retells the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt.

We don’t eat any leavened products like bread or pasta during the eight days of Passover because the Jews left Egypt in haste and didn’t have time to let their bread rise. Instead of bread, we eat matzah which is a flat, dry, cracker-like concoction.

In my pantry I have all different kinds of matzah- egg, whole wheat, regular, garlic and rosemary, schmura (which is handmade), and gluten-free. And it’s all bad. (I know, I’m really selling this holiday.)

The Seder plate, which remains on the table during the entire Seder, contains various symbolic food items, such as charoset which is a mixture of apples, wine and nuts which represents the mortar used by the Israelites slaves when they laid bricks for Pharaoh’s monuments and maror, bitter herbs, which represents the bitterness of slavery.

As a child, my favorite parts of the Seder were the songs and the spilling of the ten drops of wine, which symbolizes the ten plagues G-d inflicted on the people of Egypt so that the Pharaoh would let the Israelites go. And of course I loved hunting for the Afikomen, a piece of hidden matzah that when found, would earn me a present.

When a Jew meets another Jew before Passover one traditionally asks, “How many people are you having to your Seder?” because Seders usually have a lot of guests and it’s a point of pride to be able to say 15, 25 or 30 (while then complaining about all the work involved- it’s our way.) It’s all fun and games until you’re the one doing it. For a variety of reasons, my husband and I will be doing low-key seders this year and I’m okay with that.

I do feel that it’s important to retell the stories from the past so that we remember and also so that we can learn from history. Something people seem to have great difficulty doing.

At our Seders we like to discuss current events and relate them to the events leading up to the exodus and we ask the traditional Four Questions. I would propose a fifth- why is Trump president?

This year we are all slaves, next year may we have a Democratic House and Senate and may Trump be impeached.

Happy Passover to all who celebrate!