Well, we made it through the first Seder (although with the way this morning has gone, a 2nd Seder might be easier). First, I thank those on my LJ friends list who joined us at the Sedar. Some observations from last night:
- Setting the table with your finest china and silver sure does look pretty. It would be nice, however, if the sets were more complete, or it got more use than once a year. Maybe nowadays folks know to get stuff that is more practical; 20+ years ago when I got married, one still did china and silver. However, it is still an effort to wash and put away afterwards.
- I hear stories of how the Orthodox do the entire evening exploring nuances of the story as they go through the haggadah. How they do this is beyond me; I haven’t had it happen in my my 30-so years doing sederim. Between family members who was “God brought out out of Egypt, we survived, let’s eat”, children who are hungry and want dinner *now*, adults who want to leave before 9:30 pm because they have to drive home/work the next day… it just doesn’t happen.
- Next year, we need to start earlier… and not care whether everyone else has arrived. This might permit us to finish. Perhaps we should consider serving the soup after the first cup of wine.
- There seems to be one spot in our haggadah that triggers political controversy, usually (given our crowd) against the Republicans. This is growing to bother me. Not because I agree with the party positions, but during the seder we’re supposed to remember the Egyptian’s sorrow as well. Thus, it would seem, we should realize that the vast population of those in power (the common Egyptians) might not agree with the stances of their leaders (Pharoah)… and we should not demonize the large for the actions of the few. The increased polarity and black/white thinking in our socity is not good.
- My daughter is wanting to become more the performer, or at least it seemed that way. I think she started playing for the humor a bit much.
- I need to remember to proofread the haggadah better. I still have some bad typos in there. I should fix it now while I remember them. What were they again?
- If you’re going to take a while to get your kids settled down at the table, don’t then rush me when it takes longer to get to dinner. There are parts I just can’t cut out, although I can cut them down.
- Even with all of this: I still find this ceremony one of the more meaningful ones, and there are nuances one can grasp, independent of the spiritual aspects. I just wish I could explore them more.
Oh well. Now it is off to my leftovers…you think Thanksgiving leaves you with leftovers… try hosting a Seder!
So, with all this tsuris, why do I host the seders. My enjoyment of running a seder is the result of being given a Seder Plate as a confirmation gift from Wilshire Blvd Temple. Since then, I’ve always hosted my own. Certainly much more influential than being given a scroll in 4-pt type or a Tanach in 6 pt type. Have you had any gifts that have influenced your life in a similar way?
