Seder

[lethargic_man]

So I'm now back from spending Pesach in Gibraltar with my parents (having put my foot down about accompanying the rest of the family back to Eilat for the nth time *shudder*). We went on one of those prepackaged deals where the hotel (or part of it) is taken over and rendered kosher le-Pesach; I thought there would be a communal Seder, but it turned out to be done on a table-by-table basis.

So, at the beginning of the evening, I said to my table, "Who's going to be our leader, then?", and they all replied, "You are." Which was my first time leading the Seder, which was an instructive experience—I hadn't noticed beforehand such fine details as when the מַצוֹת are covered and when the bottom one is put down, etc. (The latter probably to reduce the number held to the customary two.) It also hadn't occurred to me that the reason the head of the household washes his hands at the start, despite any hermeneutical or mystical explanations later attached to it, was probably originally because it was going to be him that would be handling all the foodstuffs on it.

Anyhow, if wein_glass hadn't happened to have also been in Gibraltar for Pesach, and at my table, I would have ended up as not only leading the Seder, but also the youngest person at our table and asking the Four Questions. Even so, after wein_glass flaked out and left early on the first seder, I ended up the youngest person and having to find the Afikoman that, in my role as leader, I had hidden myself. <whisks Afikoman out from hiding place> "That was easy!" :o)

Comments

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

You are not that forgetful then. (Very amused.)
I believe that you did a good job. Your Hebrew is good enough for that.

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

We went around the table with each person reading a bit out. I said at the beginning those who wanted could read in English (something introduced to our family seders not by me but by my Modern Orthodox brother).

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

Sounds like all the seders I went to. Most them let people choose the language. Everybody read a bit. It was not always like that. I once had to make the effort to read something in Hebrew.

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

My first seder night was with people from NNLS who don't go to Assif (or maybe not so often) but I had seen them before. I have seen the first time people hitting with spring onions other people. They did not use the root to hit just the leavy bit. The children just made more brutal then it should be. We hit each other when we sang dai daiyenu... I learnt it is done in the Iranian community of the host's mother. They had no rice nor kitniot anyway to my disappointment. He tried to keep a mixture of ashkenasi and sfardi custom. When I was invited to Peach Shabbat dinner they were all ashkenasi and had rice and kitniot.

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

Spring onions???

Weren't you supposed to hit people with leeks? Is this a feature of the recession?

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

Those spring onions were large. They were leeks. There is no big difference of a spring onion and leek except its size. They called them spring onion at the table.

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

There is no big difference of a spring onion and leek except its size.

They're different species. You wouldn't eat a leek raw, would you?

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

They ate it. I had large spring onions myself and I ate it. Tastes the same to me.

[snjstar.livejournal.com]

Now I don't feel so young having been the youngest at 2nd night doing Mah Nishtanah for the 1st time I can remember and finding the Afikoman, which I got a chocolate bar for finding!

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

Chocolate, yeah! I will probably never be the youngest. There were always children at the table or at least a teenager whenever I went or they just decided to do it together if they thought the child couldn't do it properly.

[zsero.livejournal.com]

In my family everyone asks the questions. First all the children ask the questions, one at a time, order by age ascending, and then all the adults ask the questions together.

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

That is a nice compromise.

[seilduksgata.livejournal.com]

Ha ha, I almost ended up being the youngest at one seder - luckily there was a teenager so I was saved. I did, however, get specifically asked to ask any extra questions I wanted. I assumed this was rhetorical so I asked why there were olives, a cup of water and a beetroot on the seder plate...(you know about this, right? if not, take a guess!)

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

Nope, I know nothing about this. I'd guess the cup of water was extra saltwater for the כרפס, and the olives were an unusual choice for מרור, but I have no idea about the beetroot. Do tell...

[seilduksgata.livejournal.com]

http://www.miriamscup.com/

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Passover/The_Seder/Seder_Plate_and_Table.shtml

(scroll down to 'on the table')

http://heebnvegan.blogspot.com/2009/02/perfect-seder-plate-for-your-vegetarian.html

(see, its even in the Talmud!!)

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you were at quite an alternative Seder!

[naath.livejournal.com]

Oh, was it you complaining about needing to fly to get to Israel? Birdies (and seat61.com) inform me that http://www.varianostravel.com/Cruises/ferry_service.htm exists (Cyprus<-->Haifa by ferry). Of course that's not even remotely convenient from Gibraltar.