Happy Passover
Last night I celebrated Passover at the Israeli ambassador's residence in Dakar. I had no idea what to expect, all I was told was to dress nicely and to not be late. Sarah and Mara and I showed up before 7:30 but the ceremony didn't start until after 8. They had seated the three of us at different tables. I was at table L with three American students from CIEE, two boys of unknown nationality, and a French Israeli woman. None of the students were Jewish so they designated me as the official knower of what was going on, a mistake on their part, I think.
The Seder itself was conducted in three languages, French, English, and Hebrew (no Wolof tonight!). Every table had different Haggadas so following along was tricky. The others kept asking me questions but my answer was always "I don't know" or "You can if you want to." I kept flipping ahead trying to anticipate what they would have to do next. (Here take some marror and put it on your plate. No, you're not supposed to eat it yet but you can if you want to.) I had one exchange that went like this:
girl: What does the matzoh represent?
me: Well, when the Jews fled Egypt they didn't have time for their bread to rise.
girl: Yes, but what does it represent?
me: ???
The ceremony was short at less than an hour. Usually the head of the family leads the Seder so in our case it was the Israeli ambassador. The highlight was when the kids sang the four questions to the beat of the tam-tam. Then we got to eat.
The food was...not good. Some of it might have been good at one point but it was all cold before it was time to eat. I guess I can't really expect Sengalese cooks to know how to make good Passover food. The entire concept of not eating any bread for a week makes no sense here. After dinner the other students finished off the wine and banged on the table while we sang Hebrew songs to accordion and tam-tam music. Desert was fruit and some sort of cake. Then I walke home with Mara and Sarah walked home. Some people have asked me if I'm going to give anything up for Passover but I don't really feel the need. I've already given up hot showers.
The Seder itself was conducted in three languages, French, English, and Hebrew (no Wolof tonight!). Every table had different Haggadas so following along was tricky. The others kept asking me questions but my answer was always "I don't know" or "You can if you want to." I kept flipping ahead trying to anticipate what they would have to do next. (Here take some marror and put it on your plate. No, you're not supposed to eat it yet but you can if you want to.) I had one exchange that went like this:
girl: What does the matzoh represent?
me: Well, when the Jews fled Egypt they didn't have time for their bread to rise.
girl: Yes, but what does it represent?
me: ???
The ceremony was short at less than an hour. Usually the head of the family leads the Seder so in our case it was the Israeli ambassador. The highlight was when the kids sang the four questions to the beat of the tam-tam. Then we got to eat.
The food was...not good. Some of it might have been good at one point but it was all cold before it was time to eat. I guess I can't really expect Sengalese cooks to know how to make good Passover food. The entire concept of not eating any bread for a week makes no sense here. After dinner the other students finished off the wine and banged on the table while we sang Hebrew songs to accordion and tam-tam music. Desert was fruit and some sort of cake. Then I walke home with Mara and Sarah walked home. Some people have asked me if I'm going to give anything up for Passover but I don't really feel the need. I've already given up hot showers.