Pesach of Old and New

By Michael Misrachi, Education Director of The Shalom Institute

In many ways, the Pesach (Passover) Seder is a classic 'old meets new' moment in Jewish life. The premise of the Seder is בכל דור ודור חיב אדם ליראת את אתצמו כעילו הוא יצא ממיצרים - In every generation, one must see him/herself as if they themselves had left Egypt. We are essentially instructed to tell the same old story every year but with renewed purpose, renewed feeling and to a new generation.

In my family's celebration of the Pesach Seder, there's a lot more 'old' and 'new' than just that. I'm sure this is the case for many families. We perform traditions which have been in my family for generations and which long precede our lives in Australia, while also adding new ideas and rituals.

I'll highlight two of our favourite generations-old traditions. Both are drawn from my Sephardi heritage. The first shapes the very beginning of the Seder. Each family member stands and holds the Seder plate up for all to see, and recites the order of the Seder (Kadesh, Urchatz, Karpas, Yachatz... and so on) as well as the הא לחמא paragraph – This is the bread of affliction... There are various origins and reasons for this ritual but I think one of the most compelling goes back to the Seder's premise that I referred to earlier - that each and every one of us is enjoined to actively participate and internalize the Seder and what it commemorates (our personal 'slavery to freedom' moment).

The second tradition is terrific fun, albeit quite a culture shock for new guests or boy/girlfriends! During the song Dayenu, each person receives a shallot which promptly becomes whip as we sing each chorus. That's right - as we sing Day-day-dayenu, we whip each other. The person next to us, the person across from us, the person sitting at the other end of the table for whom you deliberately get up from your chair to reach, anyone for whom you wish you had an excuse to whip more often (but gently of course, we do not condone violence!), etc. It's fairly obvious where this comes from – it's reminiscent of how the Egyptians beat their Jewish slaves – but these days it's a great pick-me-up just as things are becoming a bit drawn out, and fun for all ages.

Now to the new stuff. There's always new clothes (an Israeli custom) and new guests. But most important are the new tunes and the new rituals those guest bring (we like our Seder to be welcoming of such cross-pollination) as well as the new ideas, interpretations and insights that we all offer. One custom that my wife and I have instituted to ensure this happens is to purchase a new Haggadah every year. Yes, it’s possible! A sample of the last few years alone ranges from former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks' Haggadah to Jonathan Safran Foer and Nathan Englander’s New American Haggadah, to the Koren Ethiopian Haggadah which tells in parallel the Ethopian Jews’ own journey to freedom in Israel, to a Haggadah produced by the Israel Defence Forces. And this year, thanks to the kids, we’ve added the Joyous Haggadah into the mix too. Not only does this support Haggadah publishing industry but it adds new excitement, enrichment and explanations to our Seder.

To end on a lighter note, I will share one new (and amusing) custom that was brought to our Seder a few years ago. This custom involved single women eating the burnt egg (from the Seder plate) while standing behind a door. Apparently that helps with finding your life partner… Oh, and Ben and Jerry’s just released Charoset flavoured ice-cream. Yum!

On behalf of the whole Limmud-Oz team, we wish you Chag Sameach and hope that your Passover Seders are filled with warm traditions and new and interesting innovations.

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Limmud-Oz - The Festival of Jewish Ideas

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