Next Saturday, we will gather at 4pm at the Cohoons for a passover seder and potluck dinner. For planning purposes, please comment on the blog stating if you are coming and if you will be bringing any guests, as well as what you can bring. Pasted below are the elements of the seder dinner (from Wikipedia):
- Maror and Chazeret: Two types of bitter herbs, symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of the slavery which the Jews endured in Ancient Egypt. For maror, many people use freshly grated horseradish or whole horseradish root. Chazeret is typically romaine lettuce, whose roots are bitter-tasting. Either the horseradish or romaine lettuce may be eaten in fulfillment of the mitzvah of eating bitter herbs during the Seder.
- Charoset: A sweet, brown, pebbly paste of fruits and nuts, representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses of Egypt.
- Karpas: A vegetable other than bitter herbs, usually parsley but sometimes something such as celery or cooked potato, which is dipped into salt water (Ashkenazi custom), vinegar (Sephardi custom), or charoset (older custom, still common amongst Yemenite Jews) at the beginning of the Seder.
- Zeroa: A roasted lamb or goat bone, symbolizing the korban Pesach (Pesach sacrifice), which was a lamb offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and was then roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night.
- Beitzah: A hard boiled egg, symbolizing the korban chagigah (festival sacrifice) that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and was then eaten as part of the meal on Seder night.
Seder signup:
Maror and/or Chazeret: Nikki/Ian
Charoset: Newbys
Karpas: Nikki/Ian
Zeroa:
Beitzah: Nikki/Ian
Matzah crackers: Nikki/Ian
Wine for seder: Nick
Keep in mind, we will probably have 2-3 seder plates, though we will only need enough of each thing for "ceremonial" tasting.
For dinner, we will be making a matzo ball soup of some variation, deviled eggs, and I found a fun recipe for chocolate covered matzah crackerswith pistachios and other goodies.
I can arrange/find the Haggadah, but I did want to share this website I heard about on NPR: haggadot.com. It allows you to compile a Haggadah that is traditional or modern, a mix, etc. It can be very politically focused, or created especially for interfaith groupings, and it is sort of a Wiki that many people contribute text, video clips, and various elements. I thought it seemed a very cohort way to go about it, since we went a more traditional route last year. Thoughts? If anyone checks out the website and likes certain elements, you can send them to me, or if we want to go really hive mind, I've created an account using my email and the password "cohort13." I can act as the editor to keep it from getting too unwieldy. Too complicated or does it sound interesting?
Hope to see everyone Saturday!
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