First Two Days of Pesach

Another Peach (Passover) with a partially Zoomed seder. In person: Rich, our chef extraordinaire; my sister; and a non-related guest. On Zoom: our son and daughter-in-law from Pittsburgh and, depending on the efficacy of the connection, my other sister from suburban Philadelphia. Our daughter will be attending a seder in California in person. In terms of connection, though not content, this is quite different from the seder at which Rich was introduced to my family, just as a college friend who needed a seder to go to. There were 22 of us from 4 generations, plus Rich. Luckily, there were also four little cousins present, aged 5 and under, who drew attention away from him. Before Rich came, he realized he only had enough cash for either a haircut or a box of candy for my mother. His father’s advice: candy. After the seder, I asked my mother what she thought, and she expressed her approval, except that he needed a haircut. I told her he’d used his haircut money for the candy for her. She appreciated that.

I doubt many of you are thinking about the Torah and haftarah readings for the first two days, but here they are.

April 23, 1^st day Pesach	Exodus 12:21-51 The first Passover, the Exodus, and laws for future Passovers (duh).	Numbers 28:16-25 The Passover sacrifice (also duh).	Joshua 5:2-6:1, 27 [or 3:5-7; 5:2–6:1, 27] Circumcision of the males who were born in the wilderness.
April 24, 2^nd day Pesach	Leviticus 22:26-23:44 The holidays (“set times”).	Numbers 28:16-25 Same as the first day.	II Kings 23:1-25 or 23:1-9, 21-25] King Josiah’s religious revival.

I assume if you are reading this that you are reasonably familiar with the story of the first Passover (Pesach) and the Exodus. If not, you can either read the first 13 chapters of the Book of Exodus or (re)read my first three TPH’s for 2024: Shemot (Exodus 1:1 – 6:1), Va’era (Exodus 6:2-9:35), and Bo (Exodus 10:1 – 13:16).

Here are some random thoughts on the holiday. If you’d rather read my personal reminiscences, check out the 2016 TPH for the beginning of Pesach.

The holiday lasts seven (Reform or in Israel) or eight (Conservative and Orthodox outside of Israel) days. Dietary restrictions hold throughout.
The word “Passover” refers to the Angel of Death passing over (get it?) the homes of the Israelites while smiting the Egyptian firstborn. It was coined by William Tyndale in 1530 when he was translating the Bible into English. The word “paschal,” pertaining to Passover or Easter, which came into use in the early 15^th century, derives from the Hebrew “Pesach” via Aramaic, Greek, Late Latin, and Old French.
Scholars used to try to show how the Last Supper was a Passover seder. It wasn’t. The seder and Haggadah (the booklet used during the seder) as we know them didn’t really take shape until after the Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E., thus well after the Last Supper. Instead, scholars have come to focus on scholarly attention has focused on “varying attempts of Jewish parties, notably rabbis and Christians, to provide religious meaning and sanctity to the Passover celebration after the death of Jesus and the destruction of the Temple. (Joshua Kulp, “THE ORIGINS OF THE SEDER AND HAGGADAH,” Currents in Biblical Research 4.1 (2005) 109-134).
The Haggadah contains the parts of the seder in a prescribed order (rhyming, so they are easy to remember). I have one, the Polychrome Historical Haggadah, that shows the origin of the various texts through color coding. Seven colors. Haggadahs vary widely in composition and slant, depending on Jewish denomination, politics, popular entertainment (like The (unofficial) Hogwarts Haggadah for Harry Potter fans), and so on. See more at https://www.ifitshipitshere.com/the-ten-quirkiest-passover-haggadot/ .
Some contain exquisite illumination. Geraldine Brooks wrote a historical novel, People of the Book, which focuses on “imagined events surrounding the protagonist and real historical past of the still extant Sarajevo Haggadah, one of the oldest surviving Jewish illuminated texts.^[1]” Interestingly, wine stains and matzah crumbs enhance the value of antique haggadahs.
Remember model seders in Hebrew School? These were intended to teach the students how to participate in, even lead, a seder. My mother told me that many in her generation had less ritual knowledge than their (largely immigrant parents), so it was hoped that their children would learn enough to lead the seder themselves.
I like matzah, especially with cheese melted on top.

It’s a little more difficult this year, but try to have a zissen Pesach (sweet Passover) and chag sameach (happy holiday).

Irene

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From the New Yorker

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https://www.bangitout.com/passover-jokes-full-list-bring-to-your-seder/#google_vignette

Passover Jokes

Man hands a blind man a piece of matzah. Blind man: “Who wrote this crap?”
What army base is off limits on Passover? Fort Leavenworth
An Egyptian task master fell down a wishing well, The Jewish slave was amazed, “I never knew they worked.”
What make a great Seder like a piece of matza? They both should take less than 18 minutes! (Matza has to, but seders can go on and on and on and…)
What kind of shoes did the Egyptians where during the plague of Frogs? Open toad!
What do you call someone who derives pleasure from the bread of affliction? A matzochist.
How many cups of wine does it take to screw in a light bulb? Enough to realize the room is spinning, not the bulb
How many Pharoahs does it take to screw in a light bulb? One, but he won’t let it go.

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Bangitout Seder Sidekick 2015

Top 10 Signs Your Seder might be Awesome!

10. 4 words: “Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Haggada”
9. Charlie Sheen is attending and will perform a paragraph entitled “The Warlock Son”
8. You skip straight to the meal: That’ll get’em asking questions
7. Hagaddah now has an improvisational part about Rabbi Akiva, R’ Tarfon and R’ Eliezer pulling an all-nighter…in Vegas
6. Top Chef: Charoset Quick-Fire challenge
5. Your neighbor is bringing live frogs
4. The handmade matzah your stoner brother made smells “special”
3. Make your own Afikomen Ice Cream sundaes! (cue the Kosher for Passover Marshmallow toppings)
2. Edible Haggadahs
1. One cat, one baby goat, one cage

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