Why is April 23rd different from all other nights? Part II

For years Mattie and Hershel have been inviting me to the great, big "Orphan Seder." It started out with just a few law school friends who couldn't get home for Passover and just kind of grew. Now there are about 35 of us, very few of whom are acually Jewish (or in my case, even a lawyer). John (Mattie's husband) and I have been deemed "Virtual Jews" because we've done this so often that we know it better than the lapsed Jews. (My friend Ira calls me an "Honorary RSP" or "Honorary MOT," depending on his mood. RSP stands for "Red Sea Pedestrian" and MOT stands for "Member of the Tribe.")

I love going to Seder. ("Seder," by the way, does not mean "dinner" or "first night of Passover" or "please pass the Matzo." It means "order," because one of important parts of the Seder is that everything is done in a particular order.) As there are so many of us - and so many dietary restrictions - the cooking chores are distributed among everyone. Long ago I dibs making the Matzo Ball Soup. My friends at Manishevitz make a dandy "Matzo Ball and Soup Mix" and I follow the directions and follow the directions until I have roughly 70 (+/-) Matzo balls.

In real life, I tinker with recipes, but Passover isn't the time for that. I don't instinctively know which ingredients are okay to add and which are a bad idea, so I follow the directions. I have, however, found some really nifty (and Kosher and pareve) bullion cubes which I add to the soup mix. My soup tastes chicken-y, but is actually vegetarian. Not vegan - Matzo balls are made with eggs, after all - but at least containing no meat, no chicken, no milk, etc, etc. Which is good because at any of our Seders there will at least a half dozen vegetarians.

Pareve, by the way, means "neutral" - i.e., neither meat nor dairy and Kosher means "proper" or "fit" and refers to ingredients and cooking methods and utensils. Obviously, something can be Kosher without being pareve.

Hershel roasts a (fab-u-lous) turkey and Mattie makes the best Haroset ever. In general, Haroset is a chopped apple and walnut and Kosher wine dish that represents the mortar of Egypt and that we pile onto Matzo. Yummmmmm. Mattie's is a Lebanese (I think) recipe and has a buncha different fruits in it. Yummmm. I usually find a way to take some Haroset home with me and have it on toast over the next few days. Yummmmmm.

There's lots of wine - Kosher for those who wish it and not-so-Kosher for those who don't.

So after the initial cocktail party style catching up and general conversation, we distribute the Haggadahs (the booklets which tell the story of the Exodus and outline the events of the eveing), gather round the tables, pour some wine, and get started. As our host - and as one very well versed in what we are doing - Hershel gives an overview of Passover, the Seder, and the plan for the evening. He explains some of the symbolism behind what we are doing and what we about to eat and drink.

Each of us reads a paragraph in turn from the Haggadah and each of us pronounces "forefathers" however we are most comfortable. Being a pretty progressive bunch, some say "forefathers," some "forefathers and foremothers," some say "ancestors." I say "ancestors." Pablo likes to say "forefathers." More years than not the question about the bad child will come up when it's Beth's turn to read. She regards this as part of a universal conspiracy. We just regard it the universe making obvious what we already know.

My favorite part of the entire evening, even more than singing Dayenu, is the listing of the ten plagues that befell the Egyptians. Not because I'm pro-plague or Anti-Egyptian, but because as the plagues are recited (in both Hebrew and English), we dip a finger into our wine glasses and remove a drop of wine, symbolizing that no cup of happiness can be complete if that happiness comes at the expense of someone else. That kind of ethical observance is what draws me to Judaism.

But this year the first night of Passover fell on Saturday, April 23rd. And I had a performance, so I couldn't go.

But I do have some "Matzo Ball and Soup Mix" in the cupboard. It won't be the same without all the good folks (or Mattie's Haroset), but I think I'll be making some soup and considering the events of the book of Exodus tonight.