Today's moment of "WTF?".....

[poltr1]

At the local Kroger this afternoon was a small cardboard display, advertising a free Haggadah book (in English and Hebrew) with the purcase of a can of Maxwell House coffee. The display also said "Happy Passover from your friends at Maxwell House". Huh? How does one have a *happy* Passover? It's like having a Happy Lent, or Happy Good Friday, or Hapy Ramadan. It's just not done!

Speaking of Passover, a question for those of you who observe it. How can you guys go for eight days on nothing but matzoh and gefilte fish? Bleah!

Comments

Not quite

[filker0.livejournal.com]

As one who observes Passover, I will take issue with the "happy", or rather the "no such thing". Passover is a festival of sorts... It is a happy occasion, at which we rejoice at not being slaves, and for many other reasons. The holiday that's never really "happy" is Yom Kippur, and that's in the fall.

How can you guys go for eight days on nothing but matzoh and gefilte fish? Bleah!

This is not quite how it is. I never eat gefilte fish myself, and matzoh can be quite tasty, especially when used as the foundation for other foods. Steak, eggs, chicken, vegetables, lamb, duck, fish, some pies and even cakes, are perfectly fine for passover fare.

Also, eight days? That's Chanukkah. Some celebrate Passover for seven nights and eight days, but not all follow that custom.

Re: Not quite

[poltr1]

You're right; matzoh isn't as bad as I make it out to be. The plain stuff is rather bland, but if it's used like crackers, yummy stuff can be put on there. (I'm partial to the "everything" matzohs, which have the same toppings as "everything" bagels. Great for snacking.)

Oh yeah. There's kosher Pepsi. And Dr. Brown's.

Re: Not quite

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Also, eight days? That's Chanukkah. Some celebrate Passover for seven nights and eight days, but not all follow that custom.

Caveat: I no longer am observant. That being said, my memory is that Pesach is an eight-day holiday, in which the first two and last two days are "full" holidays, and the middle four are "half" holidays, though I can't for the life of me describe the difference now.

I also recall quite vividly the Fast of the Firstborn, which I used to observe (primarily because, in those days, well, I was being instructed by my grandfather, who believed in doing stuff all the way), and that may have been the most difficult thing to do in all the Judaic practice that I remember. I mean, my family had a normal day, while I was fasting (and most of my Jewish friends didn't observe that fast, as we grew up Reconstructionist tending Considervative).

Pesach was a very long holiday, in those years.

Re: Not quite

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

I, OTOH, just get up early and go to shul so that I don't have to fast. It's actually kinda fun; I go with my dad and an old family friend and we go out for breakfast afterwards.

But...ye gods and little fishes...6:15 in the morning...

[doeadear.livejournal.com]

I actually saw another notice one time that said "We hope our Jewish friends have a happy Yom Kippur." Um...yeah. A friend of mine (Jewish, so it isn't bigoted, ha!) said, "All our holidays are basically the same. They tried to kill us, they didn't, let's eat!!"

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Err...Passover IS a festive and joyous occasion. Yeah, it's a pain, but there's plenty of food that ISN'T matzah and gefilte fish (thankfully). Fish, chicken, beef, lamb, eggs, cheese, veg...

And I'll stack my femily's seder for silliness against anyone else's!

You're on.

[poltr1]

Yup. Seven days of "eating on the run." Don't forget the kosher Pepsi! (Now, does Coke make a similar product?)

And I'll stack my femily's seder for silliness against anyone else's!

You're on.

There was the year Renee Alper invited me to a Seder she hosted. Being a major Tolkien fan, she gave it a rather Middle-Earth bent. She subtitled her Seder "The Lord of the Matzoh Balls, or the Return of the Bagel". I still remember her chiropractor friend Eric calling in from a pay phone outside a market in Iowa, doing his "interpretive reading" of the Ten Plagues. He must have gotten some odd stares.

Re: You're on.

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

There's kosher-for-Passover Coke, absolutely. I'm unlikely to buy it, I drink so little soda it's not work it.

And...after that seder, tell me how you could think Passover isn't a fun holiday? ;)

Re: You're on.

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

There's kosher-for-Passover Coke, absolutely.

Yep. Made, as I understand it, with refined sucrose, not corn syrup. I'm a Coke drinker, and I can taste the difference. I've also heard of people who buy tens of cases (to last a year), because they so greatly prefer the white-sugar version, though I don't think I have ever actually met anyone who did.

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Hm. Two questions, two answers. Please bear in mind that I am no longer practicing.

1. I always understood Pesach to be a celebratory holiday; while there is remembrance of the horrors of slavery, the result is the escape from it. Sure, that leads to wandering in the wilderness, but that is still orders of magnitude better than the safety of subjugation. So yes, a "happy Pesach" is in fact exactly what's being aimed for, in understanding and rejoicing in freedom.

2. There's LOTS to eat that's kosher for Passover, not just gefilte fish and matzoh. Sure, there's some emphasis on the latter, especially (matzoh b'rei and matzoh meal pancakes were big at breakfast in my house, growing up), but the remainder of meals includes all sorts of food: meat, some veggies, dairy. It's a narrower range than usual, but by no means is it as constricted as you suggest.