tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9839224.post111413741003574111..comments2023-09-22T12:40:26.587-04:00Comments on Da'as Hedyot: How to enjoy a holiday?The Hedyothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15193083251783618457noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9839224.post-336103917224938372007-12-06T14:11:00.000-05:002007-12-06T14:11:00.000-05:00While I was growing up, despite not being religiou...While I was growing up, despite not being religious, we always had a big seder. We didn't live anywhere near family, so we always invited lots of friends, Jewish and non-Jewish, to our seder. I loved it. Holidays don't have to be about family - you can infuse them with whoever does make you happy :)GoingGoingGonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02936074847977518355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9839224.post-1114563841513674492005-04-26T21:04:00.000-04:002005-04-26T21:04:00.000-04:00I generally enjoy seders and have good memories. ...I generally enjoy seders and have good memories. However, I'm getting a bit disturbed by how, as the memories build year by year, the text of Maggid gets more and more baffling. I understand leaving out Moses, but is this really the best they could find to put in?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9839224.post-1114552863190578162005-04-26T18:01:00.000-04:002005-04-26T18:01:00.000-04:00As a child (before I was frum), I used to spend Pe...As a child (before I was frum), I used to spend Pesach with an aunt and uncle in Baltimore who went out of their way to make me feel welcome. They (and their children, my cousins) were frum and it was in that warm environment that I had my first exposure to a frum environment. The fact that both my aunt and uncle were a college professors (my uncle being the head of a department at UMBC) and real intellectuals probably saved me from becoming a "brain-dead, mind-numbed" yeshivish zombie when I did become frum.<BR/><BR/>After that, I've spent sedorim in a number of different settings and have seen many different sedorim and the family settings that they occured in. Sometimes, the family I was with was a model of a happy home, and other times there was endless bickering at the table. <BR/><BR/>I try to be very careful to make my sedorim as fun as possible for my children. That includes sometimes doing things that they don't expect. For example, in our family, it's the kids that steal the afikomen. This year, however, on the second day, I hid it while I distracted them. (Don't worry, they found it and re-hid it!) When it came time for the Mah Nishtana, I surprised them by reciting it in Spanish. I make sure that my kids read from the Hagaddah for everyone - even if it takes a bit longer, I think that they're involvment is worth missing a few minutes of dinner. We have a lot of fun with the songs at the end of Nirtzah as well, and my kids really look forward to making animal noises during Chad Gadya. <BR/><BR/>In short, the seder can be as fun or as serious (or as stressful) as you choose to make it. It all depends on which aspect you choose to emphasize. And one need not give up on the observance of the mitzvos in order to have a little fun by the seder. <BR/><BR/>The WolfBrooklynWolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03994285019137108636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9839224.post-1114529285668560942005-04-26T11:28:00.000-04:002005-04-26T11:28:00.000-04:00Hi,based on my seder experience, I found it quite ...Hi,<BR/><BR/>based on my seder experience, I found it quite inpleasant in the following ways:<BR/><BR/>a) long long wait till it is actually possible to eat. <BR/><BR/>b) lots of little sense shtikl toires said over the table, where the host likes to talk and doesn't really care about eating ( probably he ate a few hours before, however his guests might not )<BR/><BR/>c) at the end of the seder everybody is virtually asleep including the host, however they do know how to sleep in a sitting position. I don't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9839224.post-1114458747032880272005-04-25T15:52:00.000-04:002005-04-25T15:52:00.000-04:00Hag sameah (if you will,) DH! S'darim growing up w...Hag sameah (if you will,) DH! S'darim growing up were a mixed experience for me, OT1H; enjoyed the rhythm & the different foods (love matza) & chance to be a little theatrical & sing the stuff I learned in school. OTOH, being "on" can get old as does droning through every last word ("Dayenu" should be excised from the liturgy.) Growing older, I began to (and still) resent the "religious paranoia" that accompanies the hagim, particularly Pesah, though I sometimes catch myself falling into it, myself. I do not enjoy Shabbat and hagim unless I feel that I can "own" them and do them my way, or at least have a choice of how/where/with whom I observe them.<BR/>Ben Sorer Moreh (not logged in)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9839224.post-1114450942708470942005-04-25T13:42:00.000-04:002005-04-25T13:42:00.000-04:00I found your post to be very interesting. I think ...I found your post to be very interesting. I think that the Chagim can be a challenge for many people.Jack Steinerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16625864271071630940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9839224.post-1114192314280076872005-04-22T13:51:00.000-04:002005-04-22T13:51:00.000-04:00I enjoyed Pesach and Seder Night immensly as a chi...I enjoyed Pesach and Seder Night immensly as a child. Now I really don't at all. The one thing I do enjoy though is seeing how much <I>my</I> child now enjoys it. I think this is how Judasim works. As soon as you get old enough not to enjoy parts of it, your children come and make you part of it again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9839224.post-1114181897234486112005-04-22T10:58:00.000-04:002005-04-22T10:58:00.000-04:00My Pesakh associations are seeing lots of second c...My Pesakh associations are seeing lots of second cousins (good), and trying to persuade my relatives that saying the first line of kiddush in Hebrew wouldn't actually hurt them, and they knew how already. That sort of thing. I think the idea is to focus on whatever really positive associations that you have, and to push the lousy ones away. Best of luck to you in starting to make the holidays happier occurances for you.Maya Resnikoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00251303621825787312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9839224.post-1114151218280214132005-04-22T02:26:00.000-04:002005-04-22T02:26:00.000-04:00a lot of people don't enjoy chagim, esp pesach, an...a lot of people don't enjoy chagim, esp pesach, and a lot don't enjoy xmas and thanksgiving either, LOL. Hang in there, and, uh, chag sameach.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com