6 | APRIL 7 • 2022 

essay
Memories of Pesachs Past
O

n a spring day in the 
early 1960s, my family 
arrives at my Bubbie’s 
small Oak Park home in time 
to allow my mom to help with 
the seder prepa-
ration. My aunts, 
uncles and first 
cousins are also 
there early. As 
each family walks 
in, my Bubbie’s 
face lights up at 
the sight of her grandchildren. 
She stumbles over the list of 
the names of the grandkinder, 
“Jeffrey, Freddie, Sandy, Mark 
… etc.
” and we all laugh at her 
struggle to remember each of us, 
though we know she knows who 
we are and loves us all.
When it’s time for the seder to 
begin, we all find our seats at the 
long collection of tables in the 
small living room. My Uncles 
Lawrence (AKA Lazer) and 
Gary are at the head of the table, 

with my dad sitting just to their 
right. Uncle Irving sits near the 
middle of the table, next to his 
daughter, Sandy. Uncle Irving’s 
seat will be immortalized as the 
“passing seat” during the seder 
meal (as in, “Please pass the 
potato kugel, Irv.
”). 
My Uncle Nate is probably 
making funny noises only he can 
produce, cracking up my cousins 
and me. My mom and aunts, 
Dorothy, Janet, Barbara and 
Barbara, also sit at the other end 
of the seder table, although they 

take turns popping up to head 
to the kitchen for various chores 
related to seder items and din-
ner. Cousin Linda is older and 
therefore functions more like an 
aunt than a cousin. The rest of 
the cousins are sprinkled around 
the table, usually sitting together 
so we can laugh at inside jokes, 
but not far from our parents’ 
watchful gazes.
Only my Bubbie is standing 
as the seder begins. This spe-
cial lady, a mythic presence of 
my childhood, twice widowed 

and probably in pain at that 
time from the remnants of a 
stroke, is nonetheless beaming 
as she looks out at her family 
sitting around the seder table. I 
remember that look on her face. 
I would see it again a few years 
later on my mom’s face when 
the seder moved to our house 
in Southfield. And again, on my 
wife’s face, whenever our whole 
family gathers for any special 
family occasion in our dining 
room.
Our seder in the early ’60s 
reflected the times. Many of 
our rituals and tunes were old 
standbys, probably brought to 
America along with Shabbat 
candlesticks from Russia 
through Ellis Island. And yet, 
as we kids were learning some 
new tunes and rituals in Hebrew 
school, there was an attempt 
made to modernize and stream-
line the seder. The four ques-
tions were of course attempted 
by the youngest child who felt 
almost ready (with some push 

Jeff London

PURELY COMMENTARY

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