Our Passover Story...

Passover is a Jewish holiday celebrating the Jews' exodus from Egypt and thus, their liberation from a life of slavery under the tyranny of the Egyptians. If you aren't familiar with the story, here is the short version: the Jews were slaves in Egypt, God finally responded to their plight by sending 10 plagues upon the Egyptians (fun stuff, like lice, locusts, boils, etc.- I cannot believe I am writing these words on a wedding blog). The final plague was the killing of the first-born of every Egyptian. Jews would be spared from this, by putting a drop of blood on their doorpost, and God would know to pass over their house (hence the holiday's name). The plagues were effective, the Pharaoh let the Jews go and freed them. As they fled, he had a change of heart, sent his soldiers after them, and it was then Moses parted the Red Sea and the Jews escaped into Israel. It is suspected that Jesus' last supper was actually a Passover seder, so that's an interesting connection. Again, this is like the Cliff Notes of the Passover story, which actually takes several hours to retell (though our family has streamlined things a bit).

Passover is one of my favorite holidays, the food is tops (especially my mom's melt-in-your-mouth brisket, my aunt's matzo ball soup and the cheesecake I make) and the company is the best. Over the years, the size of our celebrations has ebbed and flowed. Some years, we'd cram nearly 40 people into the living room. This year, it was a more manageable 10, including my grandparents, who always come up from New York (which is why I think I love this holiday so much). I especially appreciate the ritual of it all –both familial and religious– and I think the messages of hope, peace, and faith conveyed during the ceremony, which is led by my Uncle Dennis, are most applicable today.

This was the first year I thought to bring my camera to document the festivities. It certainly made everything go by much faster. Here is what I saw:
The seder requires dedication (and that you've eaten a big lunch). Even though all this yummy food is within your reach, you can't dig in until the service allows it, which can take a while. While my uncle leads the service, we follow along in the seder book. As you notice, we are not very patient: we use the Concise version!

The seder table, set for ten. This is the first time our seder table included an orange, which represents the role of women within the Passover story.

This is the seder plate. Each food upon it is symbolic, for example, the horseradish (at top right) represents the bitterness of life under the yoke of slavery, while the charoset (that apple chutney looking stuff in the top left corner) represents the mortar Jewish slaves used to build storehouses in Egypt.

There is lots of wine at Passover. If you follow the seder exactly, you would have drunk four goblets worth! I tend to stick mostly to grape juice to keep pace. One of the cups of wine on the table is for Elijah... I'll admit I am a bit confused about the whole Elijah thing, but apparently, he is a prophet and we open the door for him and leave a cup of wine on the table for him in hopes he'll come, which will signal that the Messiah is coming behind him. (Like I said, a little fuzzy on this (I am not very religious)but I think the detail on this cup my parents have for this part of the service is stunning.)

I think that "yarmulke" is one of the coolest words ever. It's pronounced ya-mu-ka and it is the skullcap Jewish men wear on their heads at a service. Though Kyle isn't Jewish, here he is wearing one while he listens to my grandfather.

And another yarmulke shot- I love how it matches those funky faces on the wall and also the stripes on Kyle's shirt. Maybe he is a better dresser than I give him credit for!

My grandmother lights the candles as the start of the service.

Kyle follows along in the seder book.

A reading inside the seder.

My uncle holds up a piece of matzo- this is the unleavened bread which shows how quickly the Jews fled Egypt when they were freed- their bread baking on the rocks didn't even have time to rise!

Passover in our family is never boring, one because of the company (I'll get to them soon) and two, because it is very interactive. A fan favorite it when we put drops of wine on our plates, one for each of the 10 plagues. Some use their spoons. Others use their fingers (and therefore the wine never makes it to the plate, usually landing in his mouth or on the white tablecloth).

Enough blood and boils... let's get to the people who make this holiday so great:
My beautiful grandmother.

My mom, wearing her queen crown.

My aunt is always smiling.

My uncle, who just celebrated a birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday.

My stepdad, who converted to Judaism several years ago.

This year, we were lucky to be joined by my friend Moshe, who is a graduate student from Israel in my department.

I love this shot of Kyle.

My grandfather is a man who is larger than life and thus is hard to capture in just one image. I am his only grandchild and I adore him. He always sits across from me at Passover, so I was able to get some shots that really captured his infectious personality. Can't you just tell how much fun he is?




As we always say at the end of the service: Till next year!