By: Daniel Frankel, Hasbara Fellowships High School Intern
We are currently in the midst of the holiday of Passover. This holiday commemorates when the Jewish people were freed from slavery in Egypt, and were able to return to the Land of Israel. On the first two nights of the holiday, there is a special meal called a seder. The seder includes reading from the haggadah (the telling of the holiday of Passover), eating a symbolic meal, and much more. Every family has their own traditions, and my family is no exception. My family spends one seder with each side of the family, and each side conducts the traditional seder in different ways. On my mother’s side, we eat potatoes for the Carpas step of the seder and eat eggs prior to the main meal. However, on my father’s side, we eat parsley for Carpas and eat a potato, egg, and saltwater “soup” before the main meal. Additionally, my mother’s side reads through the entire haggadah while my father’s side reads the first half of the haggadah up until the main meal. There are also many dishes that are staples at both seders, like the frozen lemon meringue, chocolate torte, and my mother’s famous meringue cookies. While I was not able to spend the previous Passover with my family in Montreal, and will not be able to do so this year either, I will still feel as though I am at the seder with the rest of my family as I munch on the delicious meringue cookies.
