Passover Prep! Passover Problems?

Passover is oh so close!  It begins at sundown on April 5th. This year Easter falls right in the middle of the Passover week on April 9th.  For some this is not an issue at all; for others, this is a problem. Here are a few thoughts to explore.

Here Come Passover and Easter
Here’s Passover and Easter! What’s a family to do?
Help! My Jewish grandsons went on an Easter egg hunt

I want to share this statement from a woman raised in an interfaith home and who has chosen to have a Jewish-only home as a mother.

One thing that has troubled me about holidays like Easter and Christmas is people assume we celebrate them, even when they know we are Jewish, and then act personally offended when we don’t participate. There are Jews who do and multi-faith families who do (I did growing up), but don’t make assumptions that all Jews are comfortable with the “cultural” elements of Christian celebrations. We are not Christians and we do not want to celebrate Christian holidays. It’s personal to us, not to anyone else. The marketing, cartoons, toys, and overall culture have made this hard, but again it’s absolutely the right choice for our family.

Whatever YOUR choice is for YOUR family/home, think it through. Why have you chosen this? Share this information with people who matter to you. As for the rest of the world, let them go their own way.

Matzah Pizza: The easiest Passover kid lunch
Stock up on the ingredients
My EASY, SIMPLE recipe
What Jews Wanna Eat’s fancier recipe
I have this love affair with avocado, so… this recipe!

Decorate your table
SUPER fun Passover centerpiece that you’ll love creating. Your kids and friends will want to help. From Jewish Latin Princess.

Community Seders?
Looking for a list of Community Seders around the Bay? I have a link to the J-weekly list (bless them!) with a few additional Seders that I know of here.

EVENTS
Community Kabbalat Shabbat (Los Gatos)
Grateful Dead Fifth Friday Shabbat (Palo Alto)
Wise Sons Passover Pop-Up (Palo Alto)
Hidden in the Haggadah (Palo Alto)

Community Kabbalat Shabbat
Join us to enter the Shabbat with friends in a family community ceremony in our first Tot Shabbat Series of the Family Engagement Community.
Bring your own Parve or Dairy dinner and enjoy Challah, grape juice and dessert.

Date:   March 24
Time:   4pm
Place:   Los Gatos JCC, 14855 Oka Rd, Los Gatos
https://apjcc.org

Grateful Dead Fifth Friday Shabbat
Whenever there are five Fridays in a month, we like to do something a little different with our kabbalat Shabbat service by having a themed musical service. For the first time in 14 years, the Fifth Friday Pop-Up Band will interpret the music of the Grateful Dead!

Date:   Friday, March 31
Time:   7:30 pm
Place:   Etz Chayim, 4161 Alma, Palo Alto and online
https://www.etzchayim.org

Wise Sons Passover Pop-Up
Let Wise Sons cook your Passover Seder! However you define family, Wise Sons is here to help yours gather around the table. It takes a small miracle to do it all on your own, so Wise Sons can help make sure this year’s seder doesn’t leave you feeling like you’ve been wandering the desert for 40 years. Orders are due by Sunday, April 2nd at 9am.
Click here to view the menu and place your order.

Date:   Tuesday, April 4
Time:   Noon to 1:30pm
Place:   Etz Chayim,4161 Alma, Palo Alto, In the parking lot!
https://www.etzchayim.org

SAVE THE DATE
ETZ Talk: Hidden in the Haggadah:
The Seder’s Meaning Revealed with Aviv Matzkin
Though the Pesach evening ceremony and meal are called “order” (seder), the steps of the service and the text of the Haggadah seem haphazard and disjointed. If you’d like to know the secret narrative running through the Haggadah, if you’d like to understand the hidden structure to the 15 steps of the seder, if you’re ready to impress your family and friends by revealing the meaning of every detail in the Haggadah, join us for a close reading that will have you slapping your forehead and saying, “How did I not notice this before?!” See the Learn section below for more information about the Passover recipe exchange, which will happen in conjunction with Aviv’s presentation.

Date:   Sunday, April 2
Time:   10:00 am
Place:   Etz Chayim Library, 4161 Alma, Palo Alto and online
https://www.etzchayim.org
Zoom info to come.

Posted in Passover
Published on March 24th, 2023