Passover seders across the globe are looking a little different this year as people stay inside and quarantined away from extended family.- What's on the table may also look different, as grocery shopping has become less convenient.
- It was hard to get some of my typical foods and ingredients because I'm trying to limit my trips to the grocery store.
- This year, I learned that some of the traditions I've been holding onto aren't actually hard and fast rules of the seder, and they can be bent and broken.
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My family's Passover menu is almost exactly the same year after year. There's the brisket, the matzo ball soup, usually a peas and mushrooms mixture, more veggies, crunchy garlic rice, and some sort of potato.
While absolutely none of that is mandated by the Torah, it seems to have become the norm on tables across America. What is mandated, though, is the idea of the seder plate and the restraint from eating anything leavened for eight days— that loosely translates to no bread or flour products.
Yes, this year is different from all other years
Since I've been in
I'm always conscious of it, but quarantine has me on a whole other level of thinking about minimizing
I spoke with Rabbi Ben Goldberg of Congregation KTI in Port Chester, New York, who reminded me (and his congregants) that — surprise! — this holiday isn't really about what we're eating. Rather, it's about a story.
"I would encourage everyone this year to keep things simple, use what you have, and focus on the holiday's message of hope," he said.
Seder plates are more adaptable than you may think
Rabbi Goldberg helped me see that just because we've been using horseradish as the steadfast bitter herb forever doesn't mean it's the only option.
Typically, my seder plate features horseradish in some way, shape, or form, parsley as a leafy veggie, romaine lettuce as a secondary bitter herb, a small lamb bone, a hard-boiled egg, and charoset — a mixture that's supposed to resemble mortar that could be used to build something out of bricks.
I didn't have horseradish, parsley, romaine, a lamb bone, or dates for one family version of charoset. Rabbi Goldberg sent through a list of perfectly acceptable substitutes.
I replaced horseradish with a piece of fresh ginger root, romaine with arugula, the lamb bone with a chicken bone that came from the chicken we used to make soup, and parsley with dill — although the rabbi said any veggie will do, even a whole veggie platter for munching. Instead of date-based charoset, I made another version with apples, cinnamon, grape juice, and pecans; this recipe usually calls for walnuts but we didn't have those, either.
He also said an animal bone can be subbed out for a red beet and horseradish can be replaced by any number of bitter things like hot peppers, mustard greens, or even raw lemon.
At the end of the day, everything on the seder plate is used as a symbol for remembering different parts of the Passover story.
The 'festive meal' doesn't have to be robust
The Haggadah is the book observers read from during the Passover seder. It's filled with prayers and stories, and it acts as a sort of program for the evening.
There comes a part after prayers are recited, songs are sung, plagues are discussed, and the seder plate is explained called the "festive meal" — basically, it's dinner time. Enter: the large meal where brisket has long been the star.
Since many people aren't able to be with their families this year, and some may have lost sources of income making it hard to spend on large cuts of meat or ample side dishes, Rabbi Goldberg took the opportunity to remind his congregants that none of that is actually necessary.
"This needn't be fancy, complicated, or expensive," he wrote in a memo to them. "Use what you have."
"If someone is able, and wants to make a whole brisket, go for it," he told Insider. "But it's OK if you want to have a matzo and cream cheese sandwich."
- Read more:
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