BlogHer - Passover - Comments

It is wonderfully flexible

Mata H — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:40:23 -0500

The joy of this holiday is partly how it can be personalized for every family -- the Haggadah is far from a rigid document.

But you might want to update the plagues to the original 10. Heaven knows (no pun intended) that we have 10 modern ones, too. (sigh)

Have a great Passover!

~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs right along at Time's Fool

secular passover

laurie — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:28:09 -0500

We will be hosting 21 people for Passover on Saturday. The interesting thing is that while there will be five couples present, four are cross-cultural (my sister and I were raised Catholic and BOTH married Jewish men)and out of all of us, there will only be one practicing Jew.

I love the way Passover can lend itself to secularism and how the story of the Haggadah is one of social justice. We always add to the seven plagues of the original Haggadah (locusts, famine...), seven modern plagues that need to be eradicated (sexism, racism, homophobia, war, poverty...).

Laurie

www.notjustaboutcancer.blogspot.com

Child-Free Pesach

babysmiling — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 00:49:00 -0500

I've never experienced any of the stormy elements you're talking about, because:

--we always hold our own seders instead of seeing family

--even if we did see family, there are no siblings or cousins with kids (just younger sibs)

--for our own seders, we invite friends (usually those who've never attended a seder before), never with kids

--I'm almost always the youngest person at the seder, therefore I usually ask the 4 questions

Obviously ditching family is not a solution for everyone, but we really enjoy having our own set of traditions. The alternative would be traveling to join DH's family, and for many many years they couldn't get through the whole seder without one of his younger siblings bursting into tears and being sent away from the table. We never had any impulse to join his family whatsoever.

http://babysmiling.wordpress.com

Poppy..ROFL

Mata H — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 19:08:31 -0500

"However, there is (in my opinion) no reason to try to convert the Jews,
because the Jews already get it. And got it for thousands of years.
While my people were painting themselves blue and worshipping oak trees."

Beautifully put!!!!

~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs relentlessly at Time's Fool

I'm not a Jew, nor yet a Catholic ;-)

poppy — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:38:08 -0500

(And I'm not a Britney fan either, so I can't figure out why I'm misquoting her song.)

As an Episcopalian--without a dog in this fight--here's my take on the idea of praying for the conversion of the Jews:

I'm against it.

I believe that G-d revealed Himself first to the Jews. He made them His chosen people.

Then he revealed himself to the Gentiles by means of the early church.

Remember, Jews don't evangelize, and the religion is passed down primarily by birth. However, Christians can evangelize--in fact, we are expressly ordered to evangelize. We are supposed to go around annoying people by introducing them to our faith, which should, if it's done right, introduce people to the scriptures Jesus knew.

However, there is (in my opinion) no reason to try to convert the Jews, because the Jews already get it. And got it for thousands of years. While my people were painting themselves blue and worshipping oak trees.

And these opinions (among many other disqualifying factors) explain why I am never going to be Pope.

Poppy

The Opiate of the Masses

Rituals as Linchpins

Rachelle Mee-Chapman — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:25:18 -0500

Rachelle Mee-Chapman http://www.magpie-girl.com

Oooh! Rituals are the linchpins of my year. I can't imagine life without them. But I also have left behind rituals that no longer function for me. It's always a quest for balance, isn't it? And balance is always fluid.

Next up on the season ritual calendar...stuff for May Day! Wooh Hoo!

You are so right

Mata H — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:05:21 -0500

Some ritual gives us all a place to come home to. I love the sweater image -- that is just how it feels.

~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs at Time's Fool

You said it perfectly when

Melissa Ford — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:13:19 -0500

You said it perfectly when you mentioned that idea of being able to be away from the seder for years and come back and still recognize it. At its best, it can be like a favourite sweater that always makes you feel familiar and grounded when you put it on.

Venting about infertility since 2006
www.stirrup-queens.blogspot.com
and we're not talkin' cowgirls...

yes indeed

Mata H — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:58:13 -0500

I am just back from my time with my tribe..and it is so refreshing and wonderful!

~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs at Time's Fool

Thank you!

Mata H — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:57:18 -0500

Thank you for the quote....I also thought your article was spot-on!

--Mata

~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs at Time's Fool

Mata, I quoted you!

Laracolvin — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:47:31 -0500

Thank you for this beautiful post, Mata. I quoted you in my latest entry.

Lara

Notions of Identity

thankyou mata

kazari — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:28:56 -0500

i am missing my family very much right now. your post reminds me that i am part of many tribes, that some are near and some are far, but they are still MY tribes.

This is just a cool thread

Jill Miller Zimon — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:53:04 -0500

So thank you for kicking it off.

I'm procrastinating on making the kosher le pesach rocky road brownies and matzah caramel crunch right now... :)

Jill
Writes Like She Talks

Cousins

Toby Bloomberg — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:49:21 -0500

Toby Bloomberg, Diva Marketing

Brings back memories of Passovers when the tables went from the dinning room into the living room to end with the 'cousin tables.'

Thanks for the links to the Jewish Women bloggers.

Thanks All!

Rachelle Mee-Chapman — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 04:18:10 -0500

Thanks everyone, for writing and reading. Happy Passover, chag sameach. At this time next year, may we all celebrate peace. "Next year, Jerusalem!"

Rachelle Mee-Chapman http://www.magpie-girl.com