APRIL 1 • 2021 | 27
F
or my family, 2020’s
guest-less seders are
thankfully a blur. But
memories of one feathered,
clucking visitor from 2019’s
seder kept us uplifted through
that lonely Passover of 2020.
The last time we celebrated
the holiday in “regular” mode,
an unexpected, not officially
invited and, for some, unwanted
caller joined the group.
My mom and dad, Ceil and
Jerry Liebman, are welcoming
of everyone — yearly hosting
a crowd of nearly 50 for both
seders — with half the guests
staying on each night for an
extended family slumber party.
But we discovered that their
acceptance is apparently for
humans only when my then
17-year-old niece, Emma
Zdrojewski, showed up at the
first seder with a chick-
en! And not the kind to
serve at the table.
On the way to my
parents’ Southfield
home that night, Emma
saw the lone white bird
running from yard to
yard through the neigh-
borhood.
With considerable
knowledge of all-things ani-
mal, reptile and beyond, and
caregiver at that time to two
cats, two hedgehogs, a dog and
a gecko, Emma said, “I knew
she was lost, so I called to her.
”
Then, right out of the classic,
old joke, she said, “
At that point,
the chicken actually crossed the
road and came to me!”
Emma said she needed to
keep it with her so it would
be safe from cars and animals,
and since her next stop was
Grandma and Grandpa’s house,
Marshmallow, as she quickly
named her, came along.
Because she knew the chicken
would not be happily greeted
by my parents, Emma discreetly
relegated her to the garage that
led into the kitchen, where she
was to stay during our hap-
pily long, entertaining, very
late-ending seder.
Quickly the rumor of the
chicken circulated and the
dozen or so kids and many of
the adults took turns leaving the
seder table to visit Marshmallow
and feed her water and bites of
matzah. Even after those in the
know heeded the strict warning,
“Don’t tell Grandma!” the secret
leaked out and Marshmallow
was banished to the front porch,
guarded by Emma until it was
time to go home.
In the meantime, to no
avail, Emma’s dad knocked on
neighbors’ doors in search of
the chicken’s owners. When he
and Emma asked a group of
neighbors taking a walk if they
knew of anyone who owned a
chicken, they surprisingly said
they did and directed them to a
nearby house.
A MORNING EGG
But when they arrived, no
one was there so they took
Marshmallow to Emma’s dad’s
West Bloomfield home, where
she slept in her own private
suite in a giant dog crate, with
supervised walking-around-the-
room privileges.
The next morning,
Marshmallow was fed a break-
fast of cornmeal mixed with
water and worms Emma dug up
outside for her — at the sugges-
tion of Emma’s dad, who raised
chickens as a kid. “But then,
she kept backing herself into
corners and kicking her feet
out and clucking almost as if
she were annoyed,
” Emma said.
“I left her alone for a bit, and
when I came back: there was an
egg in the cage!”
That afternoon, our large
family-group reassembled
around the giant cluster of
tables in my parents’ family
room. Just before lunch was
served, Emma presented her
grandma with a small, decora-
tive box, which, when opened,
revealed the egg, a thank you
present from Marshmallow for
the hospitality she was shown.
Even with the new-found con-
nection between my mom and
the chicken, Marshmallow was
not invited back that evening.
But the gifted egg was later
hard-boiled and given a coveted
spot on that night’s seder plate.
On the third day of Passover,
Marshmallow’s owners were
reached, and Emma and her
dad took her to her “family.
”
They had been out of town and
Marshmallow and her flock
were being cared for by chick-
en-sitters when she got loose.
But before returning home,
Marshmallow produced a gift
for Emma and her dad, too.
A second egg. “It was like we
were running a bed and break-
fast,
” Emma said. “We gave
Marshmallow a place to sleep,
and she left us something to
scramble in butter. Our break-
fast that day was delicious.
”
PASSOVER
A chicken’s unexpected answer
to an age-old question.
The Seder on
the Other Side
of the Road
SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Ceil Liebman displays
the egg from her
unexpected seder guest.
Emma has fun
bonding with
Marshmallow.