This will be a short post. Last night was the first night of Passover. As a kid, this was my favourite holiday, the havoc it wreaked—and still wreaks—on my stomach notwithstanding. We would always have one Seder with close family friends at their house. My mother had been friends with the other mom since high school and conveniently, they also had three kids who were almost exactly the same ages as my sisters and I. As we all got older, boyfriends/girlfriends (some of whom would eventually become spouses) of the kids would also be welcomed, so it was always a raucous affair, with lots of loud conversation and laughter.
In those ancient days, the Montreal Canadiens used to be a lock to make the playoffs, and the Seders would inevitably “conflict” with a playoff game or two, so our friends’ sons, who were a couple of years older than me and exactly my age, respectively, would huddle together with me before the Seder began to work out a “bathroom break system”, where one of us would excuse ourselves to go to the bathroom and then sneak into the other room to flip on the tv for a few minutes and get the score of the Canadiens game. Whoever did so would then dutifully report back to the others about what was going on in the game, followed by a whispered conversation on whether or not the Habs would win that night………
The other Seder would take place at our house. Of course, it would be preceded by another Habs discussion between our friends’ sons and I, as well as to who would sneak out to the tv and when. These second Seders would often be even bigger because not only would our friends be there, my sisters and I would almost always have a friend present (and often more than one). It could be a Jewish friend who had nowhere else to go (my parents had a firm rule that no Jewish kid should ever be alone for the High Holidays or the Passover Seders), or it could be a non-Jewish friend who would always be welcomed with open arms (or both!). Other families would also often join us. I have a recollection of one Seder where we had close to 50 people, forcing my parents to set up two separate tables, one upstairs and one downstairs, to accommodate everyone in attendance. I don’t recall how my mother made sure how the people downstairs were fed, or how we did all of the Passover Haggadah readings, but I do remember it being EXTREMELY loud! But, my mother was truly in her element during insanely large meals like those—she would start cooking days (and sometimes even weeks) in advance of the holiday, and nothing made her happier than to be surrounded by her family and friends.
The memories of those Seders still make me smile, and they always will.
This year, of course, the Seders are more than a little bit strange and sad, with Israel at war and record levels of antisemitism. Still, I hope that for all for whom it applies, you have a wonderful holiday.
Thank you for sharing your childhood memories, especially during these troubled times. Your family sounds so loving and giving, both are very special traits to have. I have childhood memories of having one particular Jewish boy in my class, who lived near our elementary school. The mom would invite the class to walk to their house as a field trip, to teach the rest of the class about Jewish holidays & holy days.
That sounds so nice. I'm going to the Second Night Seder at my synagogue tonight. Thank you for welcoming non-Jewish friends and making sure all the Jewish kids had a place to go. That's the kind of welcome I've always gotten too.