At first I was really surprised how fast Pesach flew by -- I hardly even missed bread at all! But then I remembered that Passover is actually shorter here, since Israelis only celebrate for seven days. Jews in the diaspora observe an additional day because when the new moon was originally sanctified in Jerusalem, the messengers couldn't get to the Jews living in the diaspora in time in order to let them know when the festival was to begin. As such, Jews in the diaspora kept an extra day because of the doubt.
Another reason why my Jerusalem Pesach was so easy is because many Israelis generally eat kitniyot -- that is, the corn and rice products that many Ashkenazi Jews avoid during Passover. When I'm in the states, I pay tribute to both the Sephardic and Ashkenazi sides of my family by refraining from kitniyot during the first half of Pesach and then having an all-out sushi feast on the fourth night. I think it's a pretty good compromise. Of course, here in Israel I fully embraced my Sephardic heritage!
Kosher for Passover rice cakes -- only in Israel!
I also had the chance to eat in restaurants that were fully certified as Kosher l'Pesach! Here's an ad for Cafe Joe's Pesach Pizza. I didn't actually get to try it, but I did try various disgusting Passover rolls made out of potato flour. Let's just say that it was a low-carb kind of week for me....
At the grocery store and the shuk, it was also very easy to determine which products were Kosher for Passover. In fact, in order to maintain their kashrut certification, the stores need to either close or refrain from selling chametz (aka bread products). I got a real kick out of the dropcloths covering the חמץ at Supersol -- not to mention the macaroon mania at the shuk!
I was lucky enough to spend my one seder with Laurie and Chaim, close friends of my mom's friend Emily (and one of my loyal blog readers). We joined up with their neighbors Naomi and Eli for a seder that was very close to what I'm used to back home. Eli even tried really hard to insert lots of commentary, just like my dad -- not to mention cheesy Village People-style Passover spoof songs like "Matzah Man." I felt right at home when all the teenagers at the table started complaining that he was talking too much and that they couldn't wait any longer to eat!
One of the highlights of the seder was going around the table and coming up with modern day "plagues." Mine was media-hungry paparazzi; other people mentioned the economy, racism, and even the intense religiosity that permeates Jerusalem! Chaim presented some unusual Passover melodies that come straight from the Kibbutz movement -- I'm going to see if he can teach them to me before I leave so that I can bring them back to the states! Apparently he's thrilled about this because his family doesn't always appreciate his singing during the seder. We also enacted the supposedly ancient Persian custom of beating each other with stalks of scallions in order to simulate the whipping of the Egyptian taskmasters, which of course erupted in a tiny bit of chaos. We tasted two delicious versions of charoset (one Sephardic and one Ashkenazic) and enjoyed an incredible vegetarian matzah ball soup. Overall, it was a relaxing and enjoyable evening. Oh -- and here's an interesting article about some other fun Sephardi seder traditions, in case you're interested in learning more....
Like all good Israelis, I took full advantage of the week-long vacation that accompanied the Passover holiday by doing some traveling around the country. Although the drive between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea should normally take about 30 minutes, it took us almost three hours to get there this week. Fortunately I was amongst some fantastic company. Below you'll find Mike, Josh, Assaf and I floating in the salty water; the shot below it adds Shannon, Miriam and Aviella to our motley crew.
I also explored some of the fascinating archeological sites in the Old City, paricularly the Southern Wall excavations. I had seen some of these places before with my parents and on my Birthright trip, but it was fun exploring them with a big group -- especially since our friend Malca is working in antiquities right now and gave us our own personal tour with lots of historical insights! There were also lots of kids programs going on especially for Passover, and us big kids had fun climbing on things and crawling into pyramids (see below).
During the final days of Pesach, I returned to the town of Kochav Yair, the same place where I had led services for Yom Kippur. Wendy, who had hosted me last time, coincidentally came to one of our 1776 productions in Ra'anana and invited me to lead seventh-day Pesach services for their Conservative congregation. The services there are usually run by Danny, whose mother Roz is a tournament Scrabble player. More than anything, I was excited about having a chance to play against her -- but alas, she scored two "bingos" and beat me, despite the fact that my own score was in the respectable 200-range! I've really grown to love this community, both for its beauty and for its hospitality, and I hope to stay in touch with many of the wonderful people I've met there.
Next up is a slew of sentimental holidays like Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) Yom HaZikaron (Day of Memorial for fallen soldiers) and Yom Haatzmaut (Israel Independence Day). And of course, with my year in Israel drawing rapidly to a close, I can proudly say the following:
Next year (most likely) in my own homeland -- New York!
Of course, I'll also be fondly thinking of all the amazing memories I've had from this year in Israel -- what an incredible experience this has been!
1 comment:
Your Pesach sounds amazing. I'm so glad that you're enjoying your time in Israel so much!
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