Just One Seder (Article #45) 4/12/07

It snowed there? On Pesach?

We had the most beautiful weather; it might have even been a little on the hot side, but we'll take it. The weather here has been kind of funny, we've alternated between chilly and boiling hot for a couple of weeks with a little bit of rain thrown in every once in a while, although we don't expect much in the way of rain from now on.

We were a little nervous going into the Pesach season. In America, we were familiar with the hashgachot (kosher supervision) and products and had developed (almost) a routine in what we needed to buy and in what quantities. However, and this is an issue we have struggled with since arriving here, there are so many different hashgachot here that we really have to focus each and every time we go grocery shopping to make sure that we buy products that we would actually eat. Often, the same exact product with the same exact package comes with two different hashgachot and you need to be sure you buy the right one (milk is a very good example).

Yet, for Pesach there is another level of confusion added to the mix. Specifically, kitniyot.

In the US, where the majority of consumers follow the traditions of the Ashkenazim and do not eat kitniyot, finding a product that is kosher for Pesach AND contains kitniyot is the exception. If you go to the average store and buy Kosher for Pesach products – you can rest assured that they do not have kitnoyot at all.

Here in Israel, we have the exact opposite circumstance. The majority of the population here follows the Sephardic traditions and eat products that contain kitniyot. Hence, every supermarket carries a preponderance of items that are listed as Kosher for Passover and yet we could not buy or eat them.

So we had to be extremely careful about what we bought and make sure that it was appropriate for us. Often, if a products label did not clearly state that it did or didn't have kitniyot, we decided to just skip it, since we weren't sure if it was acceptable for us or not.

So, there was almost no Pesach cereal to be had (hey – they eat CORNFLAKES), lollipops were a big deal (and I am the candy man so I really had to find some), mayonnaise was a tough find, there was no coffee whitener at all and pareve margarine was a total dream, just to name a few items. We had been warned about these issues, so we were approaching the whole issue cautiously.

Then, one of our neighbors mentioned to us that they went to a specific store in Yerushalayim, which carried many American products for Pesach. They specifically shopped there so that they could not only have an easier time dealing with the hashgachot and kitniyot issues, but also because they were able to find many of the products they were familiar with and make the whole experience a little simpler.

We decided to follow their lead and are very glad that we did. Mayonnaise? Gefen (from America). Gefilte fish? Meal Mart. Cereal? Crispy O's (Yeah – they taste horrible here too, but we had to give the kids something).

They still had some kitniyot stuff there (imagine – Kosher for Pesach Chummus), but for the most part we were able to avoid most of the aggravation of shopping for Pesach Israeli style.

Cleaning for Pesach was also a little different. We had never had granite counter tops before, which was a real treat. Our oven here does NOT self clean (what a pain). However, we have only been living in this house for about eight months, and we are the first people to live here, so it was pretty easy as a whole.

Here's another benefit of living in Israel – food prices do not automatically rise for Pesach. Imported items are of course as expensive as they would normally be year round. However, basic items keep the same prices. So our meats, dairy and grocery items like ketchup and jelly (well, we bought Kedem Concord Grape jelly – so it was a little more) were the same price for Pesach as they are year round. The only thing that was more expensive was the shankbone for the Seder plate. In the US, they always gave it to us for free, but here we had to buy it.

Another good adjustment we had to make was in the amount of things we needed for the Seder. After all, we only needed enough for one where in the past we had two. So we bought less wine and grape juice, less matzot, less romaine lettuce, less of a lot of things. We even bought less meats and prepared less food, since we only had six meals (two on the first day, two on Shabbat Chol Hamoed and two on the last day) instead of the ten we used to have.

We did have to buy some new appliances. Our food processor and blender we used with a converter. But our hot water urn and microwave weren't compatible, so we bought the cheapest ones we could lay our hands on (we only use them one week a year) and added them to our Pesach boxes.

We were really in a groove heading into Pesach, when of course the usual happened. We all got sick.

It is so normal for us that we took it pretty much in stride. It made us alter our preparation schedule a little and do some things at the last minute, but everything was done on time and we were ready when our company showed up and the Chag started.

People had commented to us that they were surprised that we had decided to host guests. After all, Goldie still isn't driving and we have other pressures that we were dealing with.

At the end of the calendar year in the US, the newspapers run story after story about the fact that people often get depressed during “the holiday season” and I never understood why. Until this year.

So for us, there was really no other consideration. Once her parents couldn't come and we realized we would be alone (my brother had already committed to be in a hotel and my sister's husband is Sephardi and we can't eat the same food), we knew that we had to have company no matter what.

I cannot remember a time that I didn't know Steve Kirshner. Our families have been friends for as long as I can remember and as teenagers through the time he made Aliyah in the mid-90's, we spent a lot of time together (even after I was married).

I came to Israel to be at his wedding to Amy, and for those who remember, Goldie and I were privileged to attend the Brit Mila of their youngest son which coincided with both Yom HaAtzmaut as well as our pilot trip to Israel last year. Although we now live 20 miles apart (instead of 6,000), we still rarely get together, so we were thrilled when they accepted our invitation to join us for the Seder.

We are not known for our long lasting Sedarim, so it was a little bit of a surprise when we finished a bit after 2 AM, which is an hour or more longer than usual for us. However, the kids had a great time and it wasn't like we had to hold anything back and save it for the next night anyway.
Our kids got along very well and kept themselves occupied (and out of our way) for most of the day and before we knew it, Yom Tov was over. It was definitely strange to count Sefirat HaOmer day One at the minyan in the parking lot AFTER Yom Tov and not at the Seder as usual.

People have asked us if it was strange to only have one Seder and one day of chag. It really wasn't. I think that the fact that everyone else here only has one of each made us feel as if we fit in. It would have been strange to have a second seder.

We took advantage of the terrific weather on the first day of Chol HaMoed and took the kids to a jeep/ATV place just outside Bet Shemesh. We had a chance to drive through a rock quarry, vineyards, the woods and had spectacular views from the top of a mountain. After the ride, we sat at a scenic overlook and enjoyed a picnic lunch (matzo and just about anything) before heading home. It was an awesome day that we all enjoyed.

The next morning we headed to Teveria for the Bar Mitzva of Goldie's first cousin, Chaim Sinensky. His family had come to Israel for Pesach and we joined them for davening and his Siyum Mishnayot in their hotel. Goldie's grandmother was also there and her sisters, who left Russia in 1990 and now live in the Maalot and Acco areas and their families joined us as well.

After breakfast in the hotel, Goldie's aunt and uncle had arranged a day of touring for the whole family (and friends). Our first stop was Tzfat, where we visited the shul's of the Ari HaKodesh and Rav Yosef Karo and also toured the artists market. We then headed to a local ranch, where we went horseback riding for an hour through the mountains near Tzfat. Even the little kids had a chance to ride a pony in the corral while the adults were on “the trail.”

By Erev Shabbat we were very tired, so we essentially took the day off and relaxed.

Two weeks ago I wrote about an organization called Standing Together and their Pesach project of distributing chocolate and other treats to the chayalim (Israeli soldiers) who are standing guard at various checkpoints.

The people of Standing Together actually deliver pizzas, felafel, coffee and other items to the soldiers throughout the year. They have a specially outfitted trailer that they use to bring hot food and our wishes of support directly to the chayalim who are putting themselves in danger in order to ensure our security from terrorists.

We had actually taken it upon ourselves to distribute mishloach manot to the chayalim on Purim, and when we were asked to volunteer with Standing Together, we jumped at the opportunity.

So we headed off on the last day of Chol HaMoed to meet the Standing Together trailer at a checkpoint, and try to visit as many chayalim as possible, offering them our thanks for leaving their families (most of these chayalim are actually reservists) to stand their posts – especially while the rest of us were busy with our various Chol HaMoed entertainment activities.

Words fail me. There is no way to describe the emotions and bond we felt in interacting with the chayalim. Without fail, when we wished them a Chag Sameach and said thank you to them, they not only expressed their appreciation for our coming to visit them – but also their feeling that no thanks was needed since they are “just doing their job.”

We must have seen 100+ soldiers at the various checkpoints (plus a couple of jeeps that we flagged down while driving on the highway between checkpoints) and there was not a single one who did not give us and our children a big smile, a loud wish of “Chag Sameach” and a real sense of appreciation for what we were doing for them. And all this when WE were trying to say thanks to THEM and not the other way around.

It wasn't the chocolate bars, the potato chips or the soda. It was the smiles of the kids and the letters we delivered from schoolchildren in the US. It was the understanding that we knew exactly what they were giving up in order to protect us and that we were willing to come out and say thank you. That made all the difference in the world.

As we drove home with the kids still bursting with excitement and pleasure from the experience, Goldie commented to me that she would love to go out every week and do the same thing. No matter how many times we go out to support pur chayalim, I hope that each time I have the same excitement and emotion as I had that Sunday.