July 25th, 2010
Fond Memories of Passover by Susie Klein
It’s been a long time since we celebrated a Passover Seder at my parent’s
home. My mother had changed the dishes, cleaned the refrigerator & stove,
used a feather and candle to be sure all of the chumetz were removed, and
we switched to “Kosher for Pesach” foods.
As our relatives and guests entered our home, they kissed the mezuzah,
which was on the doorpost of our house. We also had personalized
mezuzahs by our bedroom doors.
Our guests brought us beautiful Jewish gifts. We received candlesticks, matza
plates, Kiddish glasses, cute aprons, platters with Passover pictures
painted on them and many other Jewish gifts.
Each person was asked to recite a part of the Passover story from the
our beautifully illustrated Hagodahs, which were written in both English and Hebrew.
There were separate Hagodahs with easy-to-read text for the younger children.
Each year a different child asked the four questions as our family
continued to increase in number. As the child finished, his or her
parents would kvell with pride at the recitation.
After a couple of hours of prayers, we began to pass around the foods on
the beautiful Seder plate: haroses, matzoth, gefilte fish etc. We would open the door
for Elijah to be welcomed to the dinner. For the children, it was
exciting to think someone might mysteriously enter the house and join us.
Then the dinner began…from chicken soup with matzah balls to brisket to
potatoes. We also had mandrel brot, chocolate cake, sponge cake, and
cookies for dessert.
After dinner, with stomachs full and eyes getting droopy, we sang
songs… with some of the men pounding the table to the beat of the song.
Some of us had practiced the songs from recordings. The children went
to play with their Jewish holiday gifts as they waited for the dishes to be
cleared. Later, everyone kissed one another goodbye.
As a child, the Seder seemed to go on forever. Now, as an adult and with
my parents deceased, it is one of my favorite memories…those of my
father leading the prayers and my family participating in a very
ritualistic experience. During the Seder, we told the story of the
Egyptians and the Jews. It was a story of our history and made us proud for being Jewish. It also gave my extended family a
perfect time to spend a warm and friendly evening together.
by Susie Klein