Looking for Feathers in Los Angeles

It’s 1963. The candlelight flickers and our shadows jump on the narrow walls of the winding back stairs. I am holding a candle in a brass candle holder, and my uncle is holding the candle holder too, over my fingers because I am too young to be trusted with a candle. He is holding it tightly, squeezing my fingers until they hurt.

But that doesn’t matter. I am searching for chametz with my sister and my cousins in the mysterious back stairway of their house. My uncle is making sure that we kids will “regard ourselves as if we personally left Egypt.” 

Now it’s 2022 and I have come cross country to Venice Beach for my youngest grandson’s second birthday. It’s a beach party, and while the children collect shells, I am scouring the sand for feathers so that my two little guys can sweep the crumbs of chametz they find onto a paper plate this coming Thursday night. 

Like many Jewish grandparents, it fills my heart to pass on a love of Judaism to my grandchildren, and Passover is a key opportunity to do this.

The seder was designed with experiences to ensure that the story of the Exodus is passed on to the next generation. For centuries, Jewish people have lived all over the world and have passed on our history with some common, and some divergent traditions. The Haggadah is one Jewish text that invites additions, and as you know, there are many, from Miriam’s Cup, to the Fifth Child, to olives on the Seder Plate this year to symbolize a hope for peace in the Ukraine.

Join us tonight, Monday April 10 at 7:30 pm ET for Passover Around the World: Adapting and Adopting. Get tapped on the head with a handful of chives, or  jump over a tray filled with water! Experience these, and other unusual Passover  customs from around the world – different ways to symbolize and celebrate our common traditions. Click here to register.

And for creative and fun ways to pass down our traditions to the next generation, try Chai Mitzvah’s Grandparents and Beyond program. Click here for more information.

Wishing you a meaningful and joyous Passover.
Nina Woldin