Different Than All Other Nights
Something For Everyone
Temple Emanu-El member Shelley Littman sees Jewish holidays, like Pesach,
as wonderful adventures for her family.
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR PHOTO BY GLENN TRIEST
F
our years ago, Shelley
Littman decided to "get her
feet wet" by making her first
Pesach seder.
These days, the Southfield
resident and mother of three is so ex-
cited about preparing for the holiday
that her home is swimming in a sea of
Pesach creativity.
There's the parsley, home-grown, for
the seder plate.
The family meals, always featuring
the "Baby Moses" salad.
And then the seders themselves,
sometimes complete with musical scores.
"I am so into this, nothing will stop
me," Mrs. Littman says.
Not even a good game of golf. (Ju-
daism and golf are her two great pas-
sions.)
A Detroit native and member of
Temple Emanu-El, Mrs. Littman spent
her childhood seders at a relative's
house. It was nice, she says, but it didn't
bring Judaism into her own home.
So after the Littmans' first son, Ben-
jamin, was born, Shelley and her hus-
band, Marc, decided to try their hand
at hosting their own seder.
Today, the Littmans are anything
but beginners. The family comes to the
Littman home for the holiday, and they
never know what wonderful adventure
they will find, from the musical seders
to matzah covers designed by the chil-
dren.
"There are so many hands-on pro-
jects and symbols and things to do,"
Mrs. Littman says. "Judaism is just
loaded with it."
Two years after Benjamin came
Sean, now 5. By the time Mrs. Littman
was expecting her youngest, Elliot —
a mere three years after the family held
their first seder — everyone was well-
versed in Pesach preparation.
"There I was nine months pregnant
and cleaning out the shelves," Mrs.
Littman recalls.
Today, Elliot is 2 and even he has a
role in helping out at Pesach. "I'll let
him dig his hands into the (uncooked)
matzah balls," his mother says.
Although getting ready for Pesach
requires extra effort, there's none of
that moaning and groaning found in
many other Jewish homes. That may
be because Jewish holidays are a reg-
ular activity at the Littman home.
"It used to be that at 4 p.m. Friday
we would start thinking, 'What should
we have for Shabbat dinner?"' Mrs.
Littman says. Now, the planning starts
early in the week, with everyone help-
ing out with the cleaning and cooking.
Mrs. Littman with Benjamin and Sean: "This is not for the kids. It's for us."
Benjamin, a first-grader who loves year's seder.
"I love the miracle of it," Mrs.
music and books, and Sean, a preschool-
er who likes sports and is "the building Littman says. "You plant something—
kind of boy," help vacuum and polish and then you can watch it grow."
On Purim, Mrs. Littman baked end-
the kiddush cups.
Elliot, who is 2, helps out making less hamantashen, "a good way to use
challah Friday mornings. Already he up all that flour."
She also makes good use of any and
can say part of the bracha, blessing,
every Jewish resource she can find. She
over the wine.
Bits of preparation for this year's Pe- enjoys Jewish Experiences for Fami-
sach began with Tu B'Shevat, when lies holiday projects, calls a Lubavitch
Mrs. Littman and her children deco- guide to getting ready for Pesach a life-
rated small pots, into which they plant- saver, and finds tasty dishes in Joan
ed parsley that will be served at this Nathan's The Children's Jewish Holi-
day Kitchen (which includes the recipe
for the "Baby Moses" salad).
"I borrowed it from my girlfriend but
I haven't gotten it back to her," she ad-
mits. "I love it so much."
This Pesach, everything seems to be
going smoothly at the Littman house.
Weeks before the holiday, the upstairs
is clean.
The kitchen, a place only the very
brave even dare consider, will come
soon. Marc Littman is the specialist in
this most challenging of areas.
"My husband cleans behind the re-
frigerator," Mrs. Littman says. "He
loves it."
Mrs. Littman does not find the clean-
ing a burden because she focuses on the
rewards.
"I like the whole feeling of it," she
says. "You're cleaning house both lit-
erally and spiritually."
For this year's holiday meals, Mrs.
Littman is planning on matzah-ball
soup, chicken, "a carrot something" and
charoset made of apples, cinnamon,
crushed walnuts, dark raisins, wine
and honey. Weekday meals are likely
to include matzah pizza, tuna on
matzah and her husband's famous
"Grandma E.'s fried chicken," made in
matzah-cake meal.
The seders themselves will be kept
simple. With guests at various levels of
observance and background, the
Littmans like to host a seder that ac-
commodates everyone. They usually
feature a lot of shtick, like last year's
musical that included acting out the
parts of the Pesach story.
Family crafts, from homemade
matzah covers to felt pillows, are in-
corporated into the seder. The pillows
were a project of the Temple Emanu-
El Young Family Shabbat group, where
the Littmans are active.
Mrs. Littman advises those without
any experience in getting ready for the
holiday to start small.
Plan early, she says. "Do your Pesach
shopping in bits and pieces," and try to
do a little more each year.
"I think a lot of people remember how
it used to be and it can seem over-
whelming," she says. "But you don't have
to do everything at once. Start out grad-
ually, and you'll find enjoyment in do-
ing it and in the beauty of the mitzvah."
Each Passover, Mrs. Littman gets a
little more organized herself. For the
first time this year she'll sell her
chametz. And she has decided not to
use her dishwasher during the holiday.
"I want to do more each time," she says.
"I'm not going to go down a notch." ❑