Table for Two, Passover, 2020, Pesach 5780 מה נשתנה הלילה הזה?

?מה נשתנה הלילה הזה

Here are two views of our Passover Seder Table, which for the very first time in history was set and ready before I lit the holiday candles. I'm not sure exactly how many of the forty-nine, yes 49 s'darim we've had as a married couple we hosted. It's most probably just over half or two-thirds.



But one thing for sure; I never had the table fully set before lighting candles before. So we have no old photos of the table all set up.

In addition, from the time our daughters were old enough, they took charge of setting the table, so I probably haven't done it alone for well over forty years.

I had too many matzah covers to choose from. I gave my husband his traditional one, which had been given to us by my parents. And I used mine, which I had embroidered from a kit over forty years ago. Others we must have inherited from my parents' stock of Judaica.

On the table there are lots of memories plus the mosaic hotplate I made in our local senior citizen group. The Seder Plate and other hotplate were gifts from friends. The two-handled washing cup was from (one of) our children. I'm pretty sure that the glass wine goblets date back to a rather large seder we hosted in our small Jerusalem apartment over forty years ago.

Another first time in well over forty years, my husband did the entire seder on his own. All I contributed was the ?מה נשתנה הלילה הזה Mah nishtanah...? Why is this night...? aka the Four Questions. And of course I planned and cooked, while he followed his tradition of preparing the charoset (chopped apples and nuts) and chrain, horseradish paste.

Now I must prepare for Shabbat. No time to rest/goof off.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Pesach Kasher V'Sameach

What's Your Passover Diet Killer?

OK, yes, I'll admit it, al hachait, on the sins I sinned...

I gave in and ate too much of something which is too calorie-laden, not that I'm counting calories, but it definitely stretches the limits of fat and fruit...

The good news I can be proud of is that I didn't buy a single box of macaroons, those sticky sugary concoctions which I just can't stop eating, even if they make me nauseous. So far, and we've passed the half way mark for Pesach, I haven't had any.

But I have eaten too much of something else. It was my Passover staple when I was a vegetarian. And now it's my diet killer. OK, maybe it's not that awful.

I'm referring to charoset, the "fruit nut paste," which is supposed to resemble the mortar between the bricks our ancestors used when they were slaves in Egypt. Ours isn't all that mushy and gooey. There are neither dates nor bananas. My husband and the men of the family make it in a large wooden bowl, chopping away. It contains almonds, walnuts, apples, sweet red wine and cinnamon. That's it. I'm the taster, and I always say:

"Add more wine, and some cinnamon, too. Then some more wine."

I just finished off the last of this year's batch. Just before eating those last spoonfuls, I walked twice around the neighborhood, equalling about two kilometers, or a mile and a quarter. I'm afraid to weigh myself this week.

Pesach so far

I goofed again
and

did spellcheck
after

posting all the
pictures,

so I have to
repost the pictures!

As I've already kvetched, ranted and raved, my husband and I had to get ready for Passover all by our getting-older selves. You can see him here making the "Charoset" all alone.

We do the super-simple recipe. Luckily we grew up with the same one.

• apples
• nuts (almonds and walnuts)
• wine
• cinnamon

Chop the apples and nuts in a large wooden bowl. Then you add wine and cinnamon, and a little more, and that's it. Yes, keep tasting. During my 25 years as a vegetarian, it was my main course and snack until I finished it off within the first few days after the seder. Of course we make lots of it.

I mentioned that we couldn't find everything; a few things were missing, including our red kettle. Well, we found it Monday afternoon. It was in the big urn. That's the good news. The bad news is that they were both disgustingly mildew. More good news. I never liked them. Years ago here in Israel, all the kitchen things were cheap aluminum. So now I have a good reason to replace them. I found a cheap urn, stainless steel.

I'm a sucker for the dawn...

...and the morning moon, too, which shows up in the opposite direction.

I took the bus to Jerusalem for the shopping, and so did lots of others. This picture doesn't do the crowds justice. I should have held the camera at an angle and used the little screen to focus. there's still lots to learn in using the digital camera.

And here's Jerusalem, from the bus...

...and families picnicking in Liberty Bell Park.