With Passover right around the corner, memories of past holidays always arise.
As a small child, we all used to gather at our grandparents’ house. Aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings – it was chaotic at times and yet perfect. We would listen as our grandfather led the seder, sharing points of wisdom that he had gathered over the course of the year. Then when it took too long, Grandma’s voice would ring out telling Pops to save it for later and move it along! That interchange took place for decades, even as the scenery changed and seder was held in other locations. As time went on, the children would share that which they learned in school and our grandparents would kvell (take pride) in those moments. The foods of course, being a Jewish home, took their own special place, with dishes only served at the seder or at Passover. If you would have told me then that I would miss Grandma’s boiled turnips, I would have laughed. Not anymore.
New generations come forth and changes come. Seder at cousins’ homes, in-laws’ homes, retirement locales of parents. And yet traditions remain. And that is the element that is precious to Passover. The celebration of all that came before and all that will come in the future.