Why was that night different from all other nights?
If you want an idea of just how many stops Rebecca pulled out for her first Passover, then consider this: She bought her first pair of heels for the occassion! I wore them to first-night seder, at my Jewish grandparents' house. It was led by their daughter Rebekah, who's studying to become a rabbi. I discovered that matzoh bread is delicious. Every table had a box of matzoh imported from Israel, and I spread butter on them and ate slice after slice after slice. I also discovered that Barbara (Jewish Grandmother #2) converted to Judaism about fifteen years ago. I was really surprised, because she is one of the most pious, knowledgeable people in our congregation. She goes to every Torah study and sometimes knows more about a subject than the Rabbi. Who'd've guessed?
Some tidbits I want to remember:
~ Michael (Jewish Grandfather #1) immediately upon seeing me: "Rebecca! Did you get taller, or did I get shorter?" He's already short, and I'm already tall, so I was really towering over him in heels. Later, as I was leaving, I kissed him on the cheek (you kiss everyone on the cheek when you say goodbye at the temple, or else you make old Jewish ladies very mad at you - seriously) and he said, "Rebecca, do that again." This is why I call him sassy.
~ I can't remember why, but at some point, Michael jokingly asked Paul (Jewish Grandfather #2) if he was really Jewish. Paul pointed to his nose and said, "Don't I look Jewish?" Michael: "Paul, there's only one place you can look on a man to tell if he's Jewish, and I'm not looking there on you."
~ Paul singing after drinking a lot of wine: "You are the source of life times three..." Rather than singing that line three times like the rest of us, he sang the words times three instead! Everyone at our table burst out laughing.
~ Rebekah: "Rebecca, aren't you going to play Who Knows One?" Me: "Well, what happens to me if I lose?" I'd never heard of the game Who Knows One before, so I didn't play it at either seder. But I'm determined to practice a little so that I can play next year. (Update: I got all the way up to 13 here!) I have diminished lung capacity because of my asthma, but I can also talk really fast, so it evens out. Lisa won at the first-night seder - she plays the clarinet!
The second-night congregational seder was at a catering hall downtown. It was a lot more formal, and a little less fun, but I still enjoyed it. I shared a table with a local journalist and Rachel, a member of our temple who gave me a ride to Purim. The food was delicious, and at the end of the night, our Rabbi's wife passed out biographies of Jewish heroines to all the "young ladies" there. (Since it was mostly older people, Rebekah and I qualified as young by comparison. Objectively, I'm not sure we would.) I got Henrietta Szold. Rabbi W said, "And passing them out, is the Jewish heroine of my life, my wife." The whole audience awww'ed.
P.S. Passover is exhausting! Each seder lasted over three hours (and there was lots of wine - it could've been a French dinner!), and after going to two in two nights, I felt like I needed several days off to recover.