Passover (Pesach) begins this Friday night. The first 2 nights, we hold Seders, where we re-tell the story of our redemption from Egypt, accompanied by much food and wine, and generally enjoy being with family and friends. The reason we call it a Seder, is that there is an order (seder in Hebrew) to the service, one that we all learned when we were children in Hebrew School.
The main part of the Seder is called "Magid" or "telling the story". There is singing, story telling and rituals that are followed, family by family. In my home, we sing some of the story in Hebrew, tell some of the story in English, and generally have a good time. This year, we're going to try something new, I've asked everyone to think about what Pesach or the Seder means to them. Hopefully it will go over well, and will be the beginning of a new tradition in the Schulman family.
Bottom line? Pesach, like all Religious and Secular Holidays, is about tradition. When we sit down for our Seder, I'll think about my father leading Kiddush, my asking the 4 questions (unless we were with my NJ cousins, I was ALWAYS the youngest at the table) and my mother's chicken soup, chopped liver, brisket or turkey. But I'll also think about the decorations that my girls have made that we put out every year, my wife's brisket, my mother-in-law's soup (almost as good as my mom's but there's disagreement about that), and other things that I hope my girls will remember and build on at their Pesach Seders when they are older.
The Pesach Seder is a serious ritual, but it's also very fun for us. Isn't that the way the best traditions are?
I know I promised you "Pesach is a lousy time to start a diet", but I decided to go with this, so sue me...
This past Sunday I was talking to my class about what Pesach meant to them. The picture that I posted was what the holiday meant to me, family, and having fun at the seder.
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