2020 Life Logs, Day 99: Passover
Date: Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Weather: Overcast and Cooler; High 48 degrees, Low 38 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today at sundown was the beginning of the week-long observance of Passover for millions of Jews from around the world. It is a time to celebrate the journey out of Egypt from slavery to freedom. Jed’s father was Jewish, and just as Jed’s family always observed Passover, Heather and Jed continue that tradition with the Goldpebbles and they always invite me over for the Seder. This is the dinner that includes eating special foods, reading the story of the exodus from Egypt, singing, and drinking wine. Tonight our seder plate in the center of the table included special items. There was the zeroa or shankbone. This is on the seder plate to remind people of the outstretched arm of God that led the Hebrews out of Egypt. Then there was the beitzah or egg that was boiled and then roasted. This represents the sacrifice that was traditionally eaten on seder night during Temple times. Next was karpas which is a vegetable that is dipped into salt water and eaten to remind us of the tears of the Israelite slaves. Our vegetable tonight was lettuce and all three boys asked for more. Maybe we should use salt water as a salad dressing all the time to get them to eat more lettuce. Maror is a bitter herb meant to remind us of the bitterness of slavery. Our maror tonight was China Rose radish sprouts. I made a traditional charoset for tonight which consisted of apples, walnuts (I substituted pecans), cinnamon, honey, and a sweet wine. It has the color of clay and represents the clay the slaves used in making their bricks and mortar. And there was lots of matzo or unleavened bread. On my last trip to Costco before the days of the coronavirus, I bought a five pound box of matzos for Passover. Matzos are like large, flat crackers and the Goldpebbles love them. 
For dinner we had matzo ball soup, a celery and sardine salad, beef roast over egg noodles, and glazed carrots. It was a feast and was extra special because we were joined via Zoom by Jed’s mother, Marti, who lives in Washington, DC, and Jed’s brother Toby who lives in Portland, Oregon. They sat at the head of the table and stayed with us through the readings and rituals, the singing, and the dinner. Heather and Jed made it a wonderful evening despite the BIG move looming over their heads. Tomorrow is the final packing day and Friday is moving day. We joked tonight that we were having the last supper at 60 Vidal. Tomorrow night will be take-out, probably at the new house, and Friday night will be the first supper in the new house.
