Passover is by far our favorite Jewish holiday — not so much because I’m pleased the Hebrews escaped Egypt (though I am) but because it is associated with the most loving, quirky family traditions and memories.
Like most traditions, they will seem banal or un-funny to those who aren’t there, but I cant help but smile when I think about…
The annual debate over whether gefilte fish is repulsive or divine (and the inevitable compromise that it all depends on how much horseradish you apply)…
The violent rush of screaming kids searching for the afikomen, and the increasingly teenaged reactions from the winner, “Pwnd!”…
My wife (who is Chrisitan) worrying about whether her matzoh balls are Jewish enough and light enough. Her anxiety peaked the year she used a Heroset recipe from Martha Stewart, (“Fruit and Nut Spread”..).
Necktie or nice sweater?
Oldsters searching for reading glasses…
My brother’s annual suggestion that gefilte fish would gain more popular acceptance if we called it “European fish pate.”…
But most important is the Waldman Family Haggadah itself. My mom, a gifted writer, pulled this together years ago, and updates it each year. It’s an idiosyncratic collection of classic Passover stories and songs, contemporary Jewish writings (such as a passage from the Diary of Anne Frank), celebrations of family achievements, remembrances of friends and family who have passed, and a paragraph or two of hilariously inappropriate political commentary.
Here’s Mom’s creation, sans political commentary.
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posted April 10, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Hi Steven,
I really appreciated your interview with Pete Dominick today. I am going to purchase your book this evening. I am African American who grew up in the protestant faith. For some reason, I have lost my way and have become very disenfranchised with the religious institution. I often wonder if I have been believing in a falsehood due to all the hypocrisy in the christian church. I want to believe in the good and not the bad. I have always been facinated in what the founding fathers thought about the religious institution. I hope your book will shed some insights on their ideas and thoughts. In paticular,how religion impacted their views on slavery.
posted April 10, 2009 at 6:17 pm
How great to build your own dynamic family Haggadah. Thank you for sharing it!
In a somewhat similar vein, here is a timely, political Haggadah supplement written by Rabbi Lerner that was printed in the latest issue of Tikkun — another possible source of inspiration for others who want to create their own Haggadah.
http://www.tikkun.org/article.php/2009040515565345