The afikomen.

Last night, we had a Seder at our house. It went swimmingly. We were lucky to have family and friends with us. I love that.

There were 6 kids. And that includes Finley, who is only 2 years old. (see her at gallery studio session. so darn cute!) So, as tradition dictates, the leader of the Seder (Andrew in the is case) hides a 1/2 sheet of matzo for the kids to search for. Max found it! All the kids were rewarded for their efforts with Barnes & Nobles gift cards. (Thanks Bubby & Pop Pop!)

The whole scene got me to reminiscing.

When we were little, my great-grandfather (we called him Zayde) led the Seder. It was a long, long table with all my cousins and aunts and uncles. There was a plastic covering over the table cloth at the kids’ end of the table. (They didn’t trust us??)

The service was long. We read

every

single

page

of

the

haggadah.

Not like we do now. Now, we do an abbreviated version. I think I mentioned the 30-minute Seder?

So my Zayde used to hide the matzo – the afikomen, as it’s called. And we kids – all 9 of us – would scramble to find it. And it was always in one of two places….

1) in the piano bench, or
2) under the table cloth where Zayde sat.

But even though it was never a challenge, it was always fun. I loved having all those people together. Doing the same darn thing, every single year.

And I’m working on those traditions here in my home. And I think we’re getting close.

Except I will make sure that Andrew finds a different hiding spot every year.

Next year in Columbia…