I’ll admit it. I didn’t even know when Passover started this year … until I asked Google.
But something hit me on March 24th and I decided I was going “all in” on Passover.
For all you practicing Jews out there, I’m sure you are saying, “So? We are ‘all in’ every year!” Well, for me, it was kind of a big deal.
After all, I’m a non-practicing, Atheist Jew who has not really “done” anything remotely close to Judaism since I was Bar Mitzvah’d over 24 years ago. There were 5 reason I chose to celebrate Passover this year.
1. Tradition and Memories
2. Challenge and Sacrifice.
3. Fun and Unique.
4. Matzo and Wine.
5. Sharon and Ruth.
I’m happy to report that I did it. And, well, I survived.
Along the way, I learned a few things:
1. Tradition and memories are important to me. I did my best to prepare a Seder Dinner on the first night of Passover. I made a Passover Seder Plate complete with homemade Haroset, a hard-boiled egg, parsley with salt water, a shank bone (well, it was a chicken bone, but close), some horseradish, and lettuce. I also made Matzo Ball Soup and Noodle Kugel (which my mother later told me was *not* a traditional Passover dish. I later found evidence to prove her wrong!). We drank Manischewitz Wine. We ate Matzo. I even attempted to read a short, English-only version of the Haggadah. During the Seder, I hid the Afikoman which Eva found after we finished eating.
It was far from perfect. Then again, there really is no such thing as perfection. Cal was a bit fussy at dinner (rare for him). Eva didn’t love the Haroset. Kristina reminded me she doesn’t love sweet foods for dinner (Kugel!). Oh, and our dog Morocco ended up eating half of the Kugel. But … we started a new tradition. We created a memory – one I hope to create every Passover.
2. I can survive for a week without flour, wheat, or beer. It really wasn’t that hard. I ate a lot of Matzo. I want to say that I ate healthier during Passover, but while I gave up bread and other “high-carb” foods (beer!), I still ate Brisket. This Passover Brisket recipe from Emeril Lagasse is to die for!
I’m a big believer in challenging myself. That’s why I’ve run a few marathons. Trust me, it’s not because I loved training. I like the challenge. I like pushing myself. In this case, giving up some foods (and beer!) for a week was a pain, it was certainly doable.
3. There are many ways to eat Matzo. As you can read in Matzoh-Palooza, Renee Schettler Rossi actually lists 100. I made Matzo Brei 3 times during the week. (watch how it’s done – in 6 seconds!) Eva liked it. So did Cal. I put butter on my Matzo. I slathered it with peanut butter. I tried whole wheat Matzo. I made Matzo Lasagna (just substitute Matzo in for the lasagne noodles – easy and pretty darn good!). I even ate some Matzo plain.
4. It’s hard to keep Kosher when Easter falls within Passover. Kristina is also a big believer in tradition and creating memories. That’s why we celebrated Easter this year – complete with Easter Egg hunt for Eva and Honey-Baked Ham. As it turns out, ham is not Kosher. Not even close. Who knew? (kidding)
5. It was worth it (and I’ll do it again next year). It was worth it for my mom’s comment alone. I mean, truly. Read her comment and you’ll understand what I mean. Besides that comment though, it was fun. As mentioned in #1, I’m all about traditions. My parents have taught me that. Their parents taught it to them. Kristina and I are teaching it to our children.
What traditions does your family have? I’d love to hear your story too. Please leave a comment below!
DJ Waldow
Waldow Social
@djwaldow
