I think there are 2 kinds of Seder leaders. The first is the leader that goes too fast and the soup isn’t even heated yet by the time everyone’s singing dayenu. The second is the leader who sees  every line as an opportunity for  discussion and every story a novel to be pondered and evaluated. The dinner gets hotter and hotter and the fifth question (when do we eat?) is raised. This year, I realized that I am the second kind of leader. I’m the one who wants to examine every aspect of the Haggadah as a jeweler looks at a diamond. This year, though, even I got hungry. 

It’s not easy to run a seder, especially because every year is a little bit different; be sure to thank the person/people who did. There were probably new people and old timers around the table. The leader wants to make sure everyone feels comfortable, add a few new things, be sure to include the older things, make it quicker for the kids, deeper for the adults who want it to be deep, and accessible to all. They want the food to be gourmet (don’t even get me started on how we get all the food in Maine) and plentiful.  Gluten free, Hebrew speaker, carnivore, vegetarian, traditionalist, not Jewish, younger, older…everyone around the table(s) is celebrating this feast of freedom and redemption in their own way. Finally, the door is opened and Elijah comes in and takes a sip from his cup when no one is looking, the afikoman is found and passed around, tea is served, songs are sung and the seder is over. It truly takes a village to have a seder: you need the seder leader, the cooking leader, the setting the table leader, and the finding the afikoman leader. Though it’s a lot of work, it’s worth every minute.  And it was especially  nice to be together this year, even in smaller and covid careful groups. 

We are now counting the omer - counting the days until the Torah is given to us at Shavuot. 

Wishing you moadim l’simchah, very happy intermediate Pesach days. We celebrate the last two days of Pesach together on Friday and Saturday. Come join us Friday morning and/or Friday night and/or Saturday morning for in-person services, lunch and/or oneg Shabbat. 

Chag Sameach and Happy Earth Day!