The White Sheep's Lament
As the only relatively observant Jews in the family, we're sort of the family Levites (Bad Cohen's actual status notwithstanding). We do the praying for everyone. We do the Pesach cleaning, the learning about halacha, leading the seder, etc. And so the rest of the family feels that they don't have to.
(OK, so it's more complex than that, but I'm feeling cranky.)
The "family" seder is always on the Saturday night that falls during Pesach.* Whether it's the first night or the 5th, the last night, the 2nd night, whatever. Since nobody else observes Shabbat, this gives them time to cook and clean and get themselves ready.
For the sake of shalom bayit, we go, we take part, we ignore the fact that Bad Cohen's uncle !always! brings his own beer.** We always bring the gefilte fish, which has to be made well ahead of time anyway.
Well, this year it was perfect, because Saturday night actually IS the first night, and we can fulfill the mitzvah while also fulfilling our family obligations.
Except that some family members are already planning to be out of town that night. And don't want to miss it. So, rather than rescheduling THEIR plans to accommodate everyone else (and, you know, the actual holiday), I'm guessing we'll have the family seder on the 26th, instead. And Bad Cohen and I are either going to have to find a child-friendly first-night seder to crash, or host our own.
Not that's it's not fun to host, but it's a lot more work than I wanted this year...
*Well, there was that one year when they held the seder on the Saturday night just BEFORE Pesach, and I told Bad Cohen I would bring the challah...
**You think I'm kidding. But I'm not.
(OK, so it's more complex than that, but I'm feeling cranky.)
The "family" seder is always on the Saturday night that falls during Pesach.* Whether it's the first night or the 5th, the last night, the 2nd night, whatever. Since nobody else observes Shabbat, this gives them time to cook and clean and get themselves ready.
For the sake of shalom bayit, we go, we take part, we ignore the fact that Bad Cohen's uncle !always! brings his own beer.** We always bring the gefilte fish, which has to be made well ahead of time anyway.
Well, this year it was perfect, because Saturday night actually IS the first night, and we can fulfill the mitzvah while also fulfilling our family obligations.
Except that some family members are already planning to be out of town that night. And don't want to miss it. So, rather than rescheduling THEIR plans to accommodate everyone else (and, you know, the actual holiday), I'm guessing we'll have the family seder on the 26th, instead. And Bad Cohen and I are either going to have to find a child-friendly first-night seder to crash, or host our own.
Not that's it's not fun to host, but it's a lot more work than I wanted this year...
*Well, there was that one year when they held the seder on the Saturday night just BEFORE Pesach, and I told Bad Cohen I would bring the challah...
**You think I'm kidding. But I'm not.
posted by Tzipporah at 4:32 PM
4 Comments:
Feel free to come out east and crash ours... it's very child-friendly.
Beer? BEER?!?!?! Drittenyu, beer!!?????
Unless, of course, it's Chaang:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhaang
Okay then. Even fat-tailed sheep will not be upset by this. Poo.
By the way, it might interest you to know that the criterium currently in the search bar for this internet connection reads: Hikayat Parang Sabil.
But in Indonesian that would be 'Hikayat Perang Sabil'. In Atjehnese 'Hikayat Prang Sabii'.
Light lunchtime reading, you understand.
i'm not sure if i am supposed to be laughing or not
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