Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights?

It’s different because I am NEVER up at midnight on a work night, for one thing! We actually had one of the best seders ever. We got the Jews out of Egypt and back to the promised land, this year via Darfur. David had planned a very thoughtful seder that included looking at the issue of genocide in Darfur and talking about how the world might make a difference.


We all did our usual complaining about when we would be able to eat that seems to be the mainstay of any seder. It’s really hard to plan a meal that must be fully cooked and then put on hold for 2 hours. But slow simmer and aluminum foil kept things reasonably edible and everyone said it was good, whether it was or not.

This year’s leftovers have a special destination. Florence, our 91-year-old friend with a brain tumor, could not join us at our seder. So we are taking a seder to her tomorrow. There was plenty of food left over and that way her family can have a final seder with her. She’s getting everything from the roasted lamb shank bone to the homemade macaroons.

Getting everything ready for this meal is a real challenge. But perhaps the most daunting challenge is cleaning up afterwards. Contrary to my younger years, I now recognize that any mess will still be there the next day and I insist only on getting the leftovers into the refrigerator.



And me? I’m just about sedered out for this year. I’m sure there will be more fish in my future, but this year is history.