PASSOVER GUARANTEED LOWEST PRICES! DESIGNER EYEWEAR SALE 20% OFF ALL CAZAL FRAMES! COMPARE AT $290 dvAL- COMPARE AT $285 SALE 5 229 SALE '219 Scattered Families On The Holiday SUSAN LIEBER Special to The Jewish News M COMPARE AT $230 SALE '179 WEST BLOOMFIELD 626-9590 6667 Orchard Lake Road SOUTHFIELD 647-9790 30800 Southfield Road Bring in Your Prescription & Save! Bring in Your Prescription & Save! Above prices and discounts good with purchase of prescription lenses at offices listed above only. Prior offers & other discounts exduded. limited time offer. EXAMINATIONS AVAILABLE! WALK-INS WELCOME! Happy Passover to all our customers & friends AL MANN West Bloomfield On The Boardwalk Orchard Lake Road South Maple 626-3362 • • Downtown Birmingham 136 N. Woodward North of Maple 647.0550 Southfield "The Original" New Orleans Mall 10 Mile & Greenfield 559-7818 Dearborn 15219 Mich. Ave. One Block East of Greenfield 584-3820 Eastland Mail NEW LOCATION Entrance 7-A (Next to Hudson's) 371-2233 y mother's famous "farfel kugel" will sit atop my seder table but my parents will be sitting in Florida, where they are wintering. My nephew Rich craves his favorite "flanken tzimmes" but he, too, will be absent. He's away at medical school and midterms make it im- possible to fly home for just two days. My brother-in-law Bob will not be attending either since he and my sister are divorc- ing. Gone, too, will be my two nieces, who will be spending the holiday with their Dad and his family. The seder, and by extension the whole of Pesach, is a time when the extended family comes together; the seder is considered entirely and ex- clusively a home ritual. This year, instead of asking the traditional "Why is this night different from all others?" I find myself asking, "Why is this Passover seder different from those of my youth?" Years ago, in a crowded apartment in Brooklyn, I watched as my parents pre- pared for the holiday. In-laws, out-laws, aunts, uncles and cousins gathered for the seder. We didn't have a separate formal dining room Susan Lieber is a writer in East Northport, N.Y. so we converted the living room by moving the furniture against the walls and setting up the aluminum tables. My mother had mastered the 'H' configuration to maximize the number of people she could seat. We all lived near- by and there was no excuse, except illness, that kept anyone away. This holiday, I have a spacious dining room and a shrinking number of guests. I have all of the amenities for a traditional seder — my lega- cy of haggadot, prized Passover plates, signature recipes — but my family seems to have gotten it all confused. They have put the exodus before the dinner and we are no exceptions. My holi- day table will hold fragments of my friends' families, all with similar stories — chil- dren away at college, parents out of state, and couples split by divorce. My mother calls from Flor- ida. She wants my recipe for cholesterol-free matzah balls. "Susan, honey, I'm making the first night," she says. "Just a few friends who'll be alone for the holiday. Maybe you, Steve, and the children can come down to be with Dad and myself?" "I'd love to Ma, but I can't. I've already invited a ton of people, the kids can't miss school, and the air fares are so high this time of year." I hope she'll understand, but now I see how easy it is to fall into the same trap. ❑