Sedorim in Israel

The title of this blog is actually an oxymoron.

Why is it necessary to have more than one Seder? I won’t bother you with the Halachik ramifications but I will regale you with tidbits from the joyous occasions.

At the first Seder there were approximately 15 people; some from Queens, some from Philadelphia, others from elsewhere around the USA, all now living in Israel. In addition, there were people of course from Israel. Moreover, to my right were Hungarians and to my left were two twenty-something girls from Poland, reading from their Polish-Hebrew Haggaddahs.

And as different as everyone was, we were actually all the same. Everyone read from their Haggaddahs and spoke a bit of their own slavery and their own liberation. It was a moving experience.

The second Seder was an all-English affair. Most of the 19 people in attendance were from Great Britain. The Ma Nishtana, however, was read in French, Italian, Dutch and, I believe, even in Japanese, though you could have fooled me. The rest of the Haggaddah was read in Ashkenazi Hebrew with instructions in an Oberlander German – Ashkenazi Yiddish.

All in all, two wonderful evenings spent with wonderful people. Leshana Haba’a Berushalayim Habnuya.