Snippets of Seder

Yael helped me to make the charoset. No one else wanted to help...

They did help to spoon it onto the Seder Plate, though.

And put out the matzah...

I seriously could have written a blog post just of the out-takes from this family photo...but maybe next time.

The annual wearing-of-the-plagues.

And playing with the froggies...

Ima's little matzah ball - isn't he delicious?

Thanksgiving Rituals

This is mostly re-posted from last year, but it's worth having as the holiday of Thanksgiving approaches. (EDITED TO REMOVE THE BAD LINKS!)

It's hard to believe that the holiday of Thanksgiving is nearly upon us.

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful American holiday. It's simple - say thank you for the blessings in life and share a meal with those you love.

But often, the meal takes over, stress of family and needing a "picture perfect" celebration cause a little fraying at the edges. Creating an atmosphere of gratitude can be tricky when you're just trying to keep your 3-year-old from pulling the tablecloth off the table, don't you think?

I have created 3 different Thanksgiving services, based loosely on the idea of the Passover seder. After all, one good holiday centered around the table deserves another, doesn't it?

Feel free to read all three and pick and choose from within them! Your family might be somewhere between the longer edition and the quick version.

The first, a Thanksgiving Seder, is the longest of the three - suitable for strong attention spans.

Thanksgiving Seder 

The second, a Thanksgiving Seder for Families with Young Children, is a quick version, meant to be fun and light for the preschool and elementary school set.

Thanksgiving Seder for Families with Small Children 

And finally, an ecumenical version. What do I mean by that? It talks about God but it's not particularistic, i.e. not really very Jewish. (I know that some of you loyal readers aren't Jewish or share your table with people of many faiths and still might enjoy this concept!)

Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service for Families 

All three include ideas for usage and suggestions for incorporating your own cultural and ethnic heritage. I hope you like it and I hope you let me know if you use it.

May your celebration be full and enriching!
Happy Thanksgiving!

From Slavery to Freedom...

We've had a great Passover around here.

Our Seder was a lot of fun! (we actually did two Sedarim, the first with our family, and the kids made it through that one entirely. So I really consider that to be our "real Seder." The second night, I helped lead the Seder at the synagogue. My kids didn't really make it through that one....)

 Our Seder table, featuring the huevos haminados that I made with David. They were beautiful but interestingly enough, didn't taste any different from regular hard-boiled eggs!

 

  

My kids had a great time with the plague masks. I felt that the lice plague was most fitting for them...

Everyone always wants to know if I conduct our family's Seder, being a rabbi and all. Nope. My dad (who wrote my omer counter) has always done it and he does a great job! I pipe up occasionally with new ideas and comments, and sometimes move things along...

 

Each year, we open the Seder with a reading from Mark Twain's "Concerning the Jews." My 93-year-old grandmother offers this reading, which she found many years ago and brought to the Seder.

And....David offered the Four Questions:

The rest of the week has been relatively uneventful. Sam has persisted in asking each day for waffles. I'm quite sure that he did not eat a single bite of matzah in protest. Luckily, he's only 3 so it doesn't matter too much. Our digestive tracts were, um, healthy all week. We made popovers, toasted farfel, grilled fish, potatoes, eggs, tuna, and ate a lot of babaghanoush and cream cheese on matzah. I think I made matzah pizza 4 or 5 times and I made matzah brei twice. (For the Matzah Brei cookoff at the shul, I made Matzah Brei Italian - with marinara sauce, onions, garlic, basil and mozzarella - garnished with Salad Caprese. A huge hit!)

The dishes are packed away, the crumbs are swept off the counter, and another Pesach has come and gone. So much work to prepare and it all seems to end so quickly. But it really is one of my favorite weeks of the year. It is a total change of routine and behavior that consumes us and reminds us with every mouthful of the meaning of freedom.

How was your Pesach?

Thanksgiving Ritual

Earlier this week, I posted my Thanksgiving Family Ritual, best for tables with young children present.
And over here, I posted an Ecumenical Version.

Today I present a more "grown-up" edition. Offering songs and readings from our nation's founding documents, I think it's a nice simple way to bring religious ritual to the table, so to speak.

Thanksgiving Seder


I'd love to hear your feedback!
Happy Thanksgiving!