Passover

Last night, my family and I had the honor of being guests at a friends’ Passover Seder. This is the third year we were invited to the traditional dinner, but the first year we were invited, I was pregnant with Rebecca and so very skeptical of trying new foods. Last year, we had a scheduling conflict of some sort. This year, I tried to come up with another really great excuse as to why we couldn’t make it – but nothing came to mind.

From Wikipedia, “The Seder is integral to Jewish faith and identity. If not for the Exodus, as explained in the Haggadah, the Jewish people would still be slaves in Egypt. Therefore, the Seder is an occasion for praise and thanksgiving and for re-dedication to the idea of liberation. The Seder goes on until late at night, with the participants reading the Haggadah, studying the meaning of various passages, and singing special Passover songs.”

Seeings how I’m not Jewish and I know very little of the Jewish faith, I was intimidated and quite apprehensive about accepting the invitation to last night’s festival. But, I love my dear friend that invited us, and I could spend hours just listening to her tell stories of her family, her faith, and all her other life experiences. After concurring with the dear husby, we decided that we would attend this year’s Passover Seder at her house – and would do so willingly and with open minds. I’m so glad we did.

We’d been looking forward to the date for a long time, so the anticipation started to feel a little overwhelming for me. I was nervous and excited at the same time. I found myself on google a lot yesterday, researching what I could about the Passover Seder. But, when my dear friend called me yesterday to give last minute details, all my fears faded away and I got really excited!

When we arrived, I was happy that there was some time to visit with the other guests that were there for the festivities. Another couple that Rich and I know from church were also invited to the dinner – so we spent the first half hour or so in my friend’s living room chatting and catching up, getting to know each other and anticipating the dinner together. We had visiting time while my friend and her family were finishing up preparations in the kitchen and dining area.

The table was set beautifully and meticulously. There were 12 place settings; for my family of four; the other couple we knew who were also invited; my friend and her family of four; and my friend’s parents – who hosted the Seder. Each place setting had several nice dishes – plates piled on top of each other, silverware delicately laid out, and wine, water, and festival glasses adorning each setting. The dining table was covered in a pretty white linen cloth, and the table and chairs together took up the entire dining room and a good portion of the living room in their house.

After we got settled and the kids ran off to play together in the downstairs of the home, I had a moment to take it all in. The Jewish paintings, needlework, statues, figurines, pictures, photographs, and various trinkets and decorations were covering every wall and surface of the house. I enjoyed finding similarities in each of the art pieces while my mind tried to describe the aroma from the kitchen. I can’t say that it was an overly pleasant smell, but it did help set the mood for the rest of the evening – a smell that comes from days and days of cooking and preparations. I knew that I was in a home that was rich in faith and heritage – the sights, the smell, and the company we were in was evident of that.

Keeping our kids entertained throughout the night was a little bit of a challenge. Neither Rebecca nor Julia took a nap in the afternoon – and both girls woke up fairly early in the morning. Rebecca didn’t sleep well because she is cutting her eye-teeth and Julia couldn’t sleep because of the anticipation and excitement of going to another person’s house for a special dinner. But, despite the sass that Julia displayed at times and the extreme crankiness of Rebecca, the host and hostess, as well as all the other guests present, were extremely warm and comforting, patient and accepting. Rebecca interrupted many of the rituals with bouts of attention-grabbing cries, while Julia ran amuck with my friend’s two boys – who Julia has no come to adore with all her heart. But, all of the chaos my family brought into the home – all of the interruptions and even the few moments where I needed to (disrespectfully) remove myself from the festivities – were all answered to with gentle acceptance. I felt so welcomed and comfortable there, even with my crying baby and needy 4 year old.

I would love to go into detail about the evening – explaining some of the things we read from the Haggadah, telling you about the courses that were served throughout the night, sharing with you the experience of hearing someone read in Hebrew during a holy occasion, explaining the reverence I share for my friend and her family, and even sharing with you the conversations that were shared about Jewish tradition…. But, I do not have the time, the space, the knowledge or even the memory to paint a very accurate picture.

I can share with you that I was surprised to find a few dishes that I loved. There was on appetizer that was a fruit spread for the matzo that was uber delicious. And we enjoyed an egg salad of some sort that was super delicious. The matzo soup was my favorite. I didn’t get to try all of the main course dishes because I was trying to lull Rebecca to sleep on my shoulder, but the desserts were also fabulous… a kosher ice cream that I simply must obtain the recipe for and make with my kids. I won’t speak of the gefilte fish as I wish to remain respectful to the hostess and all her other wonderful dishes. There were many other entrees, I just can’t possibly remember them all at this time. Here's a picture of the matzo ball soup that I liked so much.

We sat and visited for over 5 hours, learning and sharing traditions and fellowship. The dinner was not like the traditional holiday dinners that I’m used to – where you hurry up to cook, hurry up to eat, hurry up to clean, and then go about your business. Instead, it was more of a sacred celebration – where each significant part of the night was discussed and shared in great detail. And, though I missed parts of it because of the kiddos needing me, I enjoyed every minute of it.

I feel like I soaked in a whole world of culture last night. I know that Julia enjoyed herself, and I’m so thankful that my family was invited to be a part of something so important, so sacred, so holy to another heritage. I don’t regret staying up until midnight last night and then waking at 5am this morning. (Though, I do feel badly for Julia who had to get up and go to school tired today.) The evening passed fairly quickly last night and I wouldn’t give up those 5 hours of being soaked in another culture with my family for a few extra hours of sleep. The commitment and dedication they have to their Jewish faith during this time of Passover is one that we could all learn from as we claim to be on a quest to be more Christ-like.

I woke up this morning with fond memories of the culture I absorbed last night, but then immediately went into a panic wondering how I behaved myself. Was I respectful enough? Did I thank the host and hostess properly? Did I comment too much on the gefilte fish? Were my kids really not-a-bother? Should we have stayed to help with dishes?

But, something tells me that the nature and genuine love in these people should assure me that even I handled myself just fine last night.

Now, I really can't wait to start that 30 day shred! One more week!!