On Erev Shabbat it will be the first Seder night with all that implies. Dusting off our Haggadot, shaking out the remnants of last year’s Matzo and checking that the wine stains have not caused too much damage is almost part of the ritual.
In Shemot chapter 13 v 8 we read
And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, “Because of this, the Lord did [this] for me when I went out of Egypt.”
We are commanded to teach our children; but that means that we, as adults, have retained those memories of our own lives. As we look around the Seder table we can see not just those who are with us now but also those who are missing; those who passed away recently or in the distant past; those who moved away or just are not there anymore. We remember the songs, the arguments, and the food.
There is a famous Yiddish saying
“Er meynt nit di seyder nor di kneydlekh,” which means, “He doesn’t want the Seder, just the “kneydlekh.”
But with Yom Hashoah coming up it is also a time to remember 19th April 1943, the Seder held at the commencement of the Warsaw uprising.
You will find, at Shul, on the window sill, at the bottom of the stairs, yellow candles, for Yom HaShoah. Each candle commemorates someone who was lost. Consider taking one home to complete your own Seder on that day.
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