April 11, 2014 | The Jewish Press | B5
My favorite holiday, period by DAVID GOLBITZ e all celebrate the same, and yet a little differently. Passover is a family holiday, where personal stories, preferences and traditions grow slowly over time. Below you will find a small example of how we celebrate, what we love (and what we love maybe not so much), and who we celebrate with.
W
What does Passover mean to you? It’s such a significant Jewish celebration. It means cleaning my kitchen, and planning special meals. ~ Janie Murow It means everything. Not quite as much as Shabbat, but it’s very, very important to us. ~ Rita Amster Freedom. ~ Ida Banner Passover means reflecting on where the Jewish people have come from, and a reminder of the hard times our ancestors had to go through. Thinking about that makes my life seem simpler. ~ Julie Stein Freedom! Passover means freedom to celebrate as I wish, and gratitude that Moses led us out of Egypt. ~ Karen Pollak Pesach means connecting with the breadth and depth of Judaism. Broadly, I feel connected to Jews around the world, who are celebrating seders at the same time. Deeply, I feel connected to the stories and traditions of my own family. ~ Dan Gilbert What is your favorite part of Passover? My favorite part is family, when we all get together for Passover. It’s quite a celebration! Also, the songs we sing together. And, of course, matzah ball soup. ~ Rita Amster Matzah ball soup! ~ Cindy Goldberg Reading commentaries on the haggadah, giving us insight in how to apply the themes of Passover in our daily lives. ~ Cheryl Lerner All of it. It’s my favorite holiday, period. Not just of the Jewish holidays, but of any holidays. The first night’s seder is super special to me. All the family traditions, reading the haggadah with my kids. We go through 95% of the haggadah. ~ Jordana Kurtzman Listening to my daughter Destiny reading from the Haggadah in beautiful Hebrew. ~ Sarah Howard What is your favorite Passover memory? When I was growing up in Los Angeles, my mother would have everybody over. There would be 25 people, from one end of the house to the other. My grandmother would be cooking, and I’d be smelling everything. It was just a wonderful family time. ~ Karen Pollak Getting together with the whole family during the seders. ~ Ida Banner We used to have big family gatherings, with the parents and grandparents, the whole mishpucha. ~ Gloria Jones
Sitting around my grandparents’ table when I was little. ~ Janie Murow Finding the afikomen when I was younger; it was always a race with my siblings. ~ Julie Stein Where are you having seder this year? We fly out two days before Pesach and go to Wyoming. We have friends who meet us there; they have a place in Jackson Hole. We cook together and have people over, have fun and relax. It’s a vacation! They have a beautiful Jewish community that holds a seder the second night. About 120 people come to that. It’s a beautiful setting. ~ Karen Pollak We go to my parents’ house. ~ Cindy Goldberg I usually go to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, or I attend seder at the synagogue. ~ Gloria Jones We’re having it at my parents’. Seder is at my mom’s. ~ Julie Stein What is your favorite matzah topping? Butter. ~ Cheryl Lerner Cream cheese. ~ Ida Banner I’ve never actually made it, but making a pizza out of matzah sounds good. My mother always made matzah brei for breakfast. ~ Gloria Jones Cream cheese and apricot jelly. ~ Janie Murow What’s your favorite Passover food? Anything with potatoes. ~ Shirly Banner Matzah ball soup! ~ Shelly Fox Flourless chocolate torte. ~ Andi Willensky Who do you celebrate with? This is the first time in many years that I will have all my kids and my son-in-law around my table. ~ Janie Murow Usually the first night is my children and me; it makes it more comfortable. We celebrate the second night with Dani and Leon Shrago. ~ Jordana Kurtzman What is your least favorite plague? Anything involving bugs. I’m not into bugs. I can handle frogs pretty well, but I think the bugs -- I would be screaming non-stop! ~ Jordana Kurtzman Locusts. I don’t like locusts. ~ Karen Pollak Slaying of the firstborn. That’s the one that always brings up the most discussion. ~ Cindy Goldberg See Favorite holiday, page B6