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Apr
14
I didn’t plan it this way, I really wanted to post yesterday but it wasn’t a happening thing. So, there it was, as of today, Good Friday, I’ve made 666 posts to WLST. As I said, I didn’t plan it.
It was the best of seders, it was the worst of seders. We convinced the leaders of each to truncate the services – hooray. But, at the second seder, the food arrived so late that we’d all filled up on soup and wine by the time the prime was ready. While at the first seder, the usually most raucous guest (my “baby” brother who is more than a foot taller than me) arrived a few hours late (if you haven’t driven through NYC or its environs on before seder afternoon, you don’t know the true meaning of traffic jam).
Still, mayhem prospered, children ran amok and made money from finding the afikomen (I remember getting a box of baseball cards and gum when I was a kid – as I’ve said, my four cousins, whose mother hosted Passover, were major jocks, with a dad also very into sports) and dishes were washed well into the night (although not so much by me).
For both seders, we included a fourth matzah to recognize the suffering in Darfur. I’m sad to say that there were a few guests who actually seemed to actually be serious when they said they didn’t know about Darfur or where it is. That depressed me. Having been at the Aswan dam and just a couple of hours from Sudan in the mid-80s, I don’t know what it’s like there exactly, but if it’s anything like the tiny villages I visited up and down that area of the Nile, it’s as third world as I’ve ever witnessed, though my memories are of it being very placid. I’ll post some pictures of it soon.
Anyway – Elijah showed up, and as usual, we tossed his wine, as usual (it’s amazing, given how Jews have suffered with paucity at different times in history how it is that I’ve also come to stereotype Jewish mamalas as always making too much food – but then the idea of leftovers is also very popular – never waste anything, I guess Elijah’s cup is a luxury and once a year recognition).
The Binding of the Innards isn’t going too badly. I’ve been noshing on huge bags of raw carrots for three days. Likewise, I easily passed up gifiltefish without anyone caring. Big sigh of relief.
Being wrapped up in parenthood leaves less time to get wrapped up in the poignancy of many of the prayers and readings associated with Passover, many which I enjoy. But I did take time to locate Beckett’s I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On and stole it from my parents’ house. It appears that it actually was a gift to my younger brother, all those years ago! There’s even an inscription. But, like some of his favorite musical albums, I appropriated it. 
Sisters are such a wonderful thing.
On now to the next leg of our trip. Seems we can’t go a day without driving somewhere and today it’s back to CT (from Boston).
Happy Good Friday to all, and enjoy the memories you’re making. Because after doing the same event so many times, I find anyway, that it’s the memories of all the celebrations past, in the aggregate, that make the holiday or event what it is for me now.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:22 pm April 14th, 2006 in Politics
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I envy you your wonderful traditions and the celebration you have this time of year. I was raised by agnostics and didn’t begin to explore religion until I was an adolescent.
I suppose a ‘shalom’ would be alright to wish you blessings today and always?
Always and any time. Thanks, Dawno.
This break from Ohio I’m also hoping will help me get on a new track, more productive than the one I left. Although it hasn’t been a rejuvenating break in the way, oh, a trip to the spa might be, ha, it’s been a good mental break from some bad habits that developed all too easily over the last few months. Driving on the open road of Pennsylavania’s I-80 for six hours helps a lot.
As for the tradition and ritual of it all, yeah, you know? What I do take the most from it is probably the family of it, the togetherness of it. I find the religious nature of it poignant at times, of course, but I’ve always had such skepticism about religion and its purpose and value that I’ve kind of shunned its existence, relegated it to a secondary reason for getting together and being loyal to the traditions. I stay loyal more because it provides an excuse to be together, to think alone, to teach my kids about being together etc. I guess you can do all that without religion too – you make up your own traditions. Nothing wrong with that at all.
But I do like Judaism over all. Not to be equated necessarily with the state of Israel, as many people do, but as a stand alone religion, I like it fine.
How many people try to imagine being another religion? It’s almost a pointless exercise, I guess, since, when I do that, I realize, you’re just swapping one set of stories and devotion to them – or blind faith – for a different one that makes more sense for you, no?
I’m a skeptic, but I’m not a skeptic, since I do believe in fate, so I guess that means I must believe in some power that knows more than I do (well, that’s not hard!).
Hope you’re good, Dawno, thanks for still reading. One of those places on my new track involves getting back into reading AW and everyone’s blogs. I miss ya’ll!
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