Seventh Day of Passover

Growing up in Soviet Russia, the Passover Seder was one of my favorite holiday traditions. The Seder is celebrated at home with family and actively involves children in narrating the story of the Exodus. Many parts of this narration are in question-and-answer format [to engage the childrens’ attention] with the highlight being the Ma Nishtana, the 4 questions, typically recited by the youngest child.

My recollection of Seders past in Russia – privately at home with my immediate family – no large gatherings with extended family at that would draw attention to a religious celebration which was not permitted. Our celebration ritual included the traditional 4 cups of wine, the stack of 3 matzos, the bitter herbs signifying the bitter times the Jews endured in Egypt and the sweet charoset (made the Ashkenazi way with apples, nuts and wine) symbolizing the mortar they used in their hard work. The wine we drank was home-made by my father – concord grapes grown in our backyard, crushed in a barrel and fermented in our cellar. The matzos prepared under the watchful eyes of my melamed (Hebrew teacher – an elderly Holocaust survivor) with a stopwatch to be sure the matzos were ready in only 18 minutes from start…to…finish. I participated in this 18-minute process with my mother by rolling out the dough into paper-thin circles to be baked in the oven. The bitter herb—typically horseradish, and apples were stashed away in our cellar from the fall harvest (no fresh produce grew in Russia in the early-spring months) and were saved for the Seder.

Those were the Seders of my childhood in Russia. More recently, in the States, I’ve prepared Seders with my children, and now with my grandchildren. Some Seders included extended family. Celebrations are still home-centered but larger and open thanks to the United States’ constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of religious practice. Ritual foods are easily accessible and available commercially in any season – just import from another country! The weeks leading up to Passover and the Seder are spent on thorough detailed cleaning to get rid of chometz (leavened breads), shopping for the holiday, planning, cooking and, often, traveling to family or friends.

But now we come to Passover 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic raging across the globe. In the United States, New York City - my home town - is the current epicenter. With the CDC and other health guidelines recommending social distancing, sheltering-in-place and other restrictions on social interaction (including with family that do not live under the same roof), I will be staying home. As one of the Ma Nishtana questions ask “Why is this night different?” For me, this Seder, for the first time in my life I’ll be celebrating solo with fond memories of Seders past and plans for future celebrations with my children and grandchildren.

But, the fundamental message of Passover that will be again recounted at the Seder this year is the recollection of the past as well as the plans and hopes for a better and brighter future. The Seder concludes with the declaration of L’Shana Haba b’Yerushalayim – Next Year in Jerusalem! – to represent our looking forward to brighter times and I will certainly be proclaiming that heartfelt statement.

Esther E. Klein, Ph.D.

Professor of Information Technology