Happy Pesach To You All!!

[+ Gar1eth]

My  family is getting together on Saturday for the Seder.  Due to intermarriage there will be more non-Jews there than Jews.  Our  Seders are nothing like they were when I was growing up.
 

While growing up, we  used the venerable  ***Blue Maxwell House Haggadahs as   all righteous  non-orthodox Jews (since the 1930's at least) did.

It was familiar but with many incomprehensible passages unless you were  a well-versed Jewish Scholar. But the familiarity was comforting. We  don't use it anymore unfortunately-actually we might use a few passages from it. But we don't use the entire book. I really miss the portion that goes "yea thine, surely thine, to Him praise is becoming. To Him praise is always becoming...". That was my favorite part. I used to love to be the one to read it. Usually I'd had a few glasses of wine by that time. So there was usually a bit of laughing/giggling  while I read. (My brother likes that part too).  

For the last 10 years  or so since we broke off from having it with my cousins, our Seders have been much briefer. My cousins usually do a bit more traditional. But  they may have over 20 people at their Seder-and with our 15 or so-it was just too many to keep on doing combined.  This year may even be briefer for us as  the usual main hostess has a broken leg and hurt knee cap. So we are having it at one of her children's houses. 
 

I usually try to make a dessert although there's not a real need for it  as the 'wimmen -folk'  do all of the cooking (there is also a nephew-in-law who is a professional cook who usually fixes something-although he won't be there this year) .  One year I made these apple muffin things. The recipe was weird. I can't find it. But my vague memory is that  there was no real bottom to the muffins. You put the apples in the muffin tin and poured the batter on top of it. 
 

This year I'm not feeling great. I've got hip arthritis. And a bad knee.  I was looking for something simple just as an add on to whatever else we had. I know we are having  a flourless chocolate tort. There will probably be matzah crack (it's delicious -here's one recipe for it in case anyone is interested https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/chocolate-toffee-matzo-crack.html

 

My sister-in-law usually makes homemade macaroons (notice the extra "o"), but she's the injured person. So I don't know. There's usually a fruit mixture too. 
 

So if I can psych myself up-I'm going to do these candied pecans. 

Candied Pecans

PREPPYKITCHEN.COM

---

Candied Pecans with brown sugar are a sweet, salty, and crunchy nut treat that is easy to make. Great for...

If I don't psych myself up, I'll bring a bouquet of flowers. 

** For the non-Jews who probably know already-but for those who don't -Passover (Pesach in Hebrew )  is the holiday Yeshua was celebrating at 'The Last Supper'. For us it commemorates the delivery out of slavery in Egypt. We  celebrate it by holding a Seder which is a combined meal and service. The service is read out of a book called a Haggadah. At most Seders people take turns reading the passages from the Haggadah. 

Edited April 11 by Gar1eth

[samhexum]

When I was a young'n we had a set of passover dishes and cutlery.

That tomfoolery ended when my mother decided it wasn't worth getting on a step stool twice in a week to get them out of then back into the top cabinets.  They eventually got mixed in with the regular dishes.

Enjoy your Seder.  I am planning on making a pot roast and some chicken soup as soon as I open up some room in my freezer.  I always portion out my pot roast and freeze it all as soon as it cools down so that I don't pick at it all night and eat half of it.  I use wonton soup pint containers to make sure I make small portions...  I have enough veggies in there that I average a bit less than three ounces of meat per serving and I have no idea why I am telling you all this.  But, again, enjoy the Seder!

 

 

Edited April 11 by samhexum
because it is 3:15 AM and he is wide awake

[samhexum]

I hope you feel better by the way.

[+ Gar1eth]

14 minutes ago, samhexum said:

 

Enjoy your Seder.  I am planning on making a pot roast and some chicken soup as soon as I open up some room in my freezer.  I always portion out my pot roast and freeze it all as soon as it cools down 

 

 

And a happy Pesach to you @samhexumAre your matzah balls hard or soft?  My Mom's are the delicate kind-usually. 
 

We usually have a brisket. But it's neither  the traditional Jewish   sweet/sour one  nor a smoked/barbecued one. Ours is browned usually on the stove. And then roasted with a Lipton Onion Soup Gravy. 

Edited April 11 by Gar1eth

[samhexum]

My matzo balls come out soft; they and the egg noodles are both Manischevitz.   

I always add some chicken bullion to the water when making either.

[+ Gar1eth]

8 minutes ago, samhexum said:

My matzo balls come out soft; they and the egg noodles are both Manischevitz.   

I always add some chicken bullion to the water when making either.

I believe my Mom does that too. When I was young she made the matzah balls from scratch.  Now she uses the Manischevitz Matzah Ball Mix-but truthfully I'm not sure I can taste a difference. 
 

One thing I don't like -my siblings don't really like the traditional Mogen David or Manischevitz Concord Grape Wine. Nowadays as I'm sure many people know you can find dry kosher for Passover wine. But I don't like them. I'm going to pick up some traditional Concord grape wine. I have a (whisper) gentile platonic friend supposedly coming for the Seder. And he likes sweet wine too. It's very possible at this late date I won't be able to find Pesach wine. But considering I'm not going to refrain from bread for 8 days -it really shouldn't matter about the wine. 

[ShortCutie7]

I’ll be at two very different Seders this year.  The first night will be in the home of some “ConservaDox” family friends (I love them but their Seders take HOURS and I am frankly not looking forward to it)… they do it both in Hebrew and English and I have to contain giggles whenever the word “bondage” is used. The second night will be with other family friends in a non-kosher restaurant after a long day of church (don’t ask lol).

Regarding the food, I love charoseth and always thought it should be a year-round condiment!  I usually just give up bread for the first two and last two days but don’t keep kosher so always joke about eating ham and cheese on matzoh.

[cany10011]

I'm a Jew by association, know the Mah Nishtanah  and have been to countless Seders since I've moved to NYC about 30 years ago.  My best friend's mom taught me her kugel and matzoh ball recipes before she would consider teaching them to her daughter in law. She's now Olam Ha Ba, but whenever we have the Seder and enjoy her kugel and matzoh balls (love the fluffy kind), we think of her. 

Edited April 11 by cany10011

[samhexum]

6 hours ago, Gar1eth said:

And a happy Pesach to you @samhexumAre your matzah balls hard or soft?  My Mom's are the delicate kind-usually. 

We usually have a brisket. But it's neither  the traditional Jewish   sweet/sour one  nor a smoked/barbecued one. Ours is browned usually on the stove. And then roasted with a Lipton Onion Soup Gravy. 

 

1 hour ago, ShortCutie7 said:

I’ll be at two very different Seders this year.  The first night will be in the home of some “ConservaDox” family friends (I love them but their Seders take HOURS and I am frankly not looking forward to it)… they do it both in Hebrew and English and I have to contain giggles whenever the word “bondage” is used. The second night will be with other family friends in a non-kosher restaurant after a long day of church (don’t ask lol).

Regarding the food, I love charoseth and always thought it should be a year-round condiment!  I usually just give up bread for the first two and last two days but don’t keep kosher so always joke about eating ham and cheese on matzoh.

 

20 minutes ago, cany10011 said:

I'm a Jew by association, know the Mah Nishtanah  and have been to countless Seders since I've moved to NYC about 30 years ago.  My best friend's mom taught me her kugel and matzoh ball recipes before she would consider teaching them to her daughter in law. She's now Olam Ha Ba, but whenever we have the Seder and enjoy her kugel and matzoh balls (love the fluffy kind), we think of her. 

 

Queens Holocaust survivors gather for early Passover Seder in Forest Hills

[+ Gar1eth]

3 hours ago, ShortCutie7 said:

I’ll be at two very different Seders this year.  The first night will be in the home of some “ConservaDox” family friends (I love them but their Seders take HOURS and I am frankly not looking forward it.

 

As I'm sure in most families, we always talk about how when we were children   the service seemed to last forever before dinner was served. And this was in a Reform Seder setting.
 

There was some vague talk about attending a Chabad Seder this year  -or at least my brother posted the info for general knowledge without expecting anyone to make use of it. I can't  even imagine sitting thru an  Orthodox Seder.
 

 

3 hours ago, ShortCutie7 said:

Regarding the food, I love charoseth and always thought it should be a year-round condiment!  I usually just give up bread for the first two and last two days but don’t keep kosher so always joke about eating ham and cheese on matzoh.

As you can see my family also  loves **charoseth. I used to have mock fights with a gentile cousin-in-law who loves it too over how much I was taking-maybe they weren't so mock. 
 

As I always say after posting this picture, it's too bad my mom didn't make enough charoseth for anyone else. 
 

Occasionally my mom will fix it for Rosh Hashanah. One trick is to add a lot of Mogen David to it. Once as a young man I was out of town and invited to a local family's Seder. I was so excited to be getting some charoseth away from home. Unfortunately for me, they made a Sefardi version of charoseth with probably figs and dates. I'm sure it was great but just wasn't what I wanted.  I'd actually not mind trying it again but only if 'normal' charoseth was there too.

 

I've never made charoseth. But I should try one of these days. It can't be that hard. 
 

I also really like matzah. I even eat it occasionally when it's not Pesach. I'll spread it with butter-or sometimes peanut butter and jelly. I just wish it wasn't so crumbly. I leave matzah crumbs all over the place. 

**Charoseth for those who might not know is a chopped apples and nut dish (Recipes online often use Walnuts.  In Texas pecans are more common). It contains chopped apples, pecans, honey, cinnamon, and in our version concord wine. It has a chunky texture. It's supposed to be an edible representation of the mortar the children of Israel used to make Pharoah's monuments.  

Edited April 11 by Gar1eth

[+ BOZO T CLOWN]

11 hours ago, samhexum said:

 and the egg noodles are both Manischevitz.   

Kosher for Pesach egg noodles? Sounds very goyish to Bozo,

BTC
🤡

[samhexum]

21 minutes ago, BOZO T CLOWN said:

Kosher for Pesach egg noodles? Sounds very goyish to Bozo,

BTC
🤡

Who said they were kosher for Pesach?  They've been in my pantry for months.

My parents forced me to go to yeshiva until Dec 4th of 5th grade (when I transferred to a school where the yard had been hung out in at one point by a couple of kids named Paul & Julio) and since I was paroled I have never even looked for a kosher symbol.  

In fact, the three years I went to college in Syracuse I made it a point to eat at the on-campus Burger King every year on Yom Kipper because I had so enjoyed the yeshiva culture.

 

[viewing ownly]

I loved playing "find the matzah", which I believe is where Easter egg hunts took the idea from, much like Hanukkah presents - 8 nights of them are so much better than the 1 my Gentile friends would get!

One sad memory I have in the distant past is a very Anti-Semitic grocery store owner would deliberately make up his own "Food Day Celebration" coinciding with Yom Kippur. This was in a heavily Jewish neighborhood. 

Shabbat Shalom to all posters. We are the 2% 🙂

[+ Gar1eth]

1 hour ago, viewing ownly said:

I loved playing "find the matzah", 

Or as it's known in Hebrew -"find the afikomen". My mother had my brother bring her some $5 bills for the great-grandchildren(talk about escort fees being higher -I never received $5 dollars for finding the afikomen. Inflation, my friends, has struck the religious sphere too). In my family they are all finders/winners-even if they aren't. 

Edited April 12 by Gar1eth

[samhexum]

5 hours ago, Gar1eth said:

Or as it's known in Hebrew -"find the afikomen". 

My brother in law is Catholic, but they raised the kids Jewish.  He used to call it "find the Abbie Hoffman".

[pubic_assistance]

8 hours ago, viewing ownly said:

I loved playing "find the matzah", which I believe is where Easter egg hunts took the idea from, much like Hanukkah presents - 8 nights of them are so much better than the 1 my Gentile friends would get!

Actually it's more likely the other way around. Oestre is an ancient Pagan holiday and the "Easter " egg hunt was typical to Germanic regions of Europe for hundreds of years. "Hiding the Afikoman" is specific only to Ashkenazi (German) Jews...and is a much newer tradition than the Oestre Egg hunt. So the custom was likely taken from their native German neighbors.

Same for Hannukah. Traditional Germanic families (such as my own) celebrate for 12 days and children would get a small gift on each of the days as you would go around and visit family or host an evening meal for friends or family. (Typically we would invite our Jewish neighbors for the Feast of the Innocents).

Likewise... Channukah celebrations never included gifts until Jewish merchants brought the idea forward in America around the 1890s.   I don't know why Christmas got boiled down to one day of an orgy of gifts for a lot of Americans. My family still observes 12 days and 12 gifts.

Edited April 12 by pubic_assistance
spelling

[viewing ownly]

That's an interesting delve into history - I figured the song about 12 Days of Christmas must've had a back-story!

I can proudly know what culture I belong to, as my favorite fish is Gefilte. 

[samhexum]

8 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

My family still observes 12 days and 12 gifts.

...and Shirley Partridge in a pear tree.

4 hours ago, viewing ownly said:

I can proudly know what culture I belong to, as my favorite fish is Gefilte. 

a former friend's german shepherd's favorite stuffed toy was a fish was named Gefilte.

Edited April 12 by samhexum
for absolutely NO @%!*ING reason at all!

[ShortCutie7]

6 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

Actually it's more likely the other way around. Oestre is an ancient Pagan holiday and the "Easter " egg hunt was typical to Germanic regions of Europe for hundreds of years. "Hiding the Afikoman" is specific only to Ashkenazi (German) Jews...and is a much newer tradition than the Oestre Egg hunt. So the custom was likely taken from their native German neighbors.

Same for Hannukah. Traditional Germanic families (such as my own) celebrate for 12 days and children would get a small gift on each of the days as you would go around and visit family or host an evening meal for friends or family. (Typically we would invite our Jewish neighbors for the Feast of the Innocents).

Likewise... Channukah celebrations never included gifts until Jewish merchants brought the idea forward in America around the 1890s.   I don't know why Christmas got boiled down to one day of an orgy of gifts for a lot of Americans. My family still observes 12 days and 12 gifts.

Yes, most of my Christian friends are surprised when I tell them that Chanukah is actually a minor holiday in the Jewish religion and is only celebrated in the manner that it is because of its proximity to and inspiration from Christmas.

[pubic_assistance]

2 hours ago, ShortCutie7 said:

Yes, most of my Christian friends are surprised when I tell them that Chanukah is actually a minor holiday in the Jewish religion and is only celebrated in the manner that it is because of its proximity to and inspiration from Christmas.

Both Holidays were pumped up with "gift giving" by the many successful Jewish Merchants in the United States. Most of the major name brands in Department Stores were started by Jews.

R.H. Macy, the Bloomingdale Brothers. Abraham and Strauss, Horace Saks, Bergdorf and Goodman. Filenes, Gimbles, Sakowitz, Neiman Marcus and Kaufmanns...all went out of their way to decorate for Christmas but were all Jewish owned.

Once the Christians were hooked on buying a gift for everyone they knew...the extended the custom into Channukah (which as you stated) was a formerly minor holiday only celebrated by religious Jews who would light a candle, recite a prayer and break bread.

 

Edited April 12 by pubic_assistance
spelling

[pubic_assistance]

16 hours ago, viewing ownly said:

I figured the song about 12 Days of Christmas must've had a back-story!

Again...Pagan tradition. The holiday as Americans celebrate with decorated trees and mistletoe is actually "YULETIDE". The ancient celebration of the Winter Solstice. We burn a Yule Log for 12 days and ask the Gods to return the sun to the world. We bring pine branches and decorate with small gifts because the Uber God Wotan dwells in a pine 🌲 tree. Nothing to do with Jesus. And if you follow religious canon, Jesus was born in the Spring, not in December. His birth was plugged in to existing holiday celebrations by the Christians. Pennsylvania Germans  still recognize the holiday as 12 days with a variety of special feasts and solemn days during the period.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

On 4/10/2025 at 9:53 PM, Gar1eth said:

Due to intermarriage there will be more non-Jews there than Jews.  

Please be gentle with them.  Or is it pronounced gentile? 😉 

[+ Gar1eth]

56 minutes ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

Please be gentle with them.  Or is it pronounced gentile? 😉 

Passover Seder 2025 is done and entered in the books. It was a good Seder-not the best. But far from the worst I've been to.

The total count was 18 people -and we were missing one niece, her hubby, and child  who would have normally been there but were in New York with his family. So the breakdown was 12 people I was related to by blood, 4 people by marriage, one almost related to by marriage (my sister's significant other who she's been with for probably over 8 years), and a platonic friend of mine -who by the by I met thru the Message Center here (he doesn't participate anymore) who had never been to a Seder and wanted to attend. 
 

My mother made her incredible chicken soup and matzah balls. My goyische niece-in-law made the charoseth. And it wasn't bad. Personally I would have added more wine  to it. Normally (and I may have described this before)we have a brisket-not a smoked brisket or a traditional sweet and sour Jewish brisket.  My Mom's has a brown onion soup gravy. Unfortunately we didn't have that this year. My Mom is 90 for one thing. In addition she hurt her shoulder and arm in a fall several years ago and can't lift heavy things. My sister-in-law often does it. But she has a broken leg and is in a wheelchair. For simplicity's sake they bought brisket from Rudy's BBQ. I'm not overly fond of it. I mean I don't hate it. But it's nothing special. I was full  from my two bowls of soup and four matzah balls. So I skipped the brisket. If it had been my Mom's, I would have stuffed more.

 

I ended up bringing flowers  instead of the candied nuts I had thought about. I also brought two small bottles of Manischevitz-the Concord and the Blackberry. I was surprised that we used them up. Last year when I brought sweet wine I was the only one to drink it. The others prefer a drier Kosher wine. 
 

As for the service of the Seder-we've dumbed it down for the kinder for years. It's more comprehensible. But the older I get the more I miss the Maxwell House Haggadah I grew up with. I might not want to do all of it. But bringing in some of the passages would be nice.  
 

To paraphrase my departed father and the Pesach service -Next year may we all be here together  again  in our beloved Message Center. Amen!

Edited April 13 by Gar1eth

[ShortCutie7]

6 hours ago, Gar1eth said:

 

As for the service of the Seder-we've dumbed it down for the kinder for years. It's more comprehensible. But the older I get the more I miss the Maxwell House Haggadah I grew up with. I might not want to do all of it. But bringing in some of the passages would be nice.  

The Seder I was at last night ended around 1am!  We used the Art Scroll Haggadah and I also found myself missing the Maxwell House one… it’s hard to explain, but the Art Scroll felt a lot drier and colder than the Maxwell House.

[+ Gar1eth]

7 hours ago, Gar1eth said:

Passover Seder 2025 is done and entered in the books. It was a good Seder-not the best. But far from the worst I've been to.

The total count was 18 people -and we were missing one niece, her hubby, and child  who would have normally been there but were in New York with his family. So the breakdown was 12 people I was related to by blood, 4 people by marriage, one almost related to by marriage (my sister's significant other who she's been with for probably over 8 years), and a platonic friend of mine -who by the by I met thru the Message Center here (he doesn't participate anymore) who had never been to a Seder and wanted to attend. 
 

My mother made her incredible chicken soup and matzah balls. My goyische niece-in-law made the charoseth. And it wasn't bad. Personally I would have added more wine  to it. Normally (and I may have described this before)we have a brisket-not a smoked brisket or a traditional sweet and sour Jewish brisket.  My Mom's has a brown onion soup gravy. Unfortunately we didn't have that this year. My Mom is 90 for one thing. In addition she hurt her shoulder and arm in a fall several years ago and can't lift heavy things. My sister-in-law often does it. But she has a broken leg and is in a wheelchair. For simplicity's sake they bought brisket from Rudy's BBQ. I'm not overly fond of it. I mean I don't hate it. But it's nothing special. I was full  from my two bowls of soup and four matzah balls. So I skipped the brisket. If it had been my Mom's, I would have stuffed more.

 

I ended up bringing flowers  instead of the candied nuts I had thought about. I also brought two small bottles of Manischevitz-the Concord and the Blackberry. I was surprised that we used them up. Last year when I brought sweet wine I was the only one to drink it. The others prefer a drier Kosher wine. 
 

As for the service of the Seder-we've dumbed it down for the kinder for years. It's more comprehensible. But the older I get the more I miss the Maxwell House Haggadah I grew up with. I might not want to do all of it. But bringing in some of the passages would be nice.  
 

To paraphrase my departed father and the Pesach service -Next year may we all be here together  again  in our beloved Message Center. Amen!

 

56 minutes ago, ShortCutie7 said:

The Seder I was at last night ended around 1am!  We used the Art Scroll Haggadah and I also found myself missing the Maxwell House one… it’s hard to explain, but the Art Scroll felt a lot drier and colder than the Maxwell House.

YIKES!!! Ours never took long. I feel for you. Were there any children present? If there were I can't even imagine.  And if there were, luckily it was on a Saturday night with no school today. 
 

I've think I've heard of the Art House Haggadah but not seen it. Wikipedia says the Maxwell House was revised for the first time in 2011. So even the Maxwell House Haggadah is no longer the one I remember. Wikipedia also mentions a 2019 version with a Mrs Maisel tie in that included a brisket recipe. 
 

Speaking of revisions -my synagogue growing up was composed of around 100 families. We were Reform-but might have been considered on the more religious side. The men for the most part all wore yarmulkes as opposed to some going without. During the Kaddish (the Mourner's Prayer) for the most part only those who had a parent or possibly a child die stood up in line with directions from the Union Prayer Book rather than the more modern custom of having everyone stand-which I have been  told has to do with commemorating the Holocaust. 
 

Our prayer book at the time was the standard Union Prayer Book which had I think last been edited in the 1940's. When I was a teenager, they came out with the new prayer book, Gates of Prayer (which has now itself been superseded at least once by a newer prayer book). But my synagogue didn't change over-probably due to both tradition and money costs. I don't think my congregation changed to Gates of Prayer until I was in college or possibly beyond that-a time which has corresponded to me going to services less and less (right now I can't even remember  the last time I went to a service).

 

 I had been to services occasionally at other synagogues over the years that did use Gates of Prayer, but I never really grew used to it. I missed the readings from the old  Union  Prayer Book. And I'm sure I'll still feel the same about wanting the Union Prayer Book when eventually  at a service  using Gates of Prayer's successor.