4 | APRIL 14 • 2022 

PURELY COMMENTARY

essay
Treasured Traditions
T

o quote Forrest 
Gumpstein: “Seders are 
like a box of chocolates; 
you never know what you’re 
going to get.
” Some seders 
are sweet, some nutty. I hope 
your family’s seder is, to quote 
Goldie Lox: “Just 
right.
”
There are 
many differenc-
es in styles of 
seders, but the 
basic elements 
are the same, 
right? 
Of course, 
any seder worth its weight in 
matzah includes at least the 
Four Questions: 
• Who’s in charge of hiding 
the matzah?
• Which of these two horse-
radishes is the hottest?
• Can I have another piece of 
gefilte fish?
• Can you please pass the salt 
water?
For most of my young adult 
life, the first seder of Passover 
was always at my parents’ 
home, Dave and Florence 
Muskovitz, of blessed memory. 
I remember fondly the dining 
room table, lengthened with 
table leaves, with adjacent 
rooms outfitted with extra wig-
gly legged card tables for the 
kids. 
It was always a large gath-
ering of our nuclear family, 
siblings, sons and daughters-in-
law, machatunim, grandparents, 
cousins, aunts, uncles, newly-
weds, kids of all ages and even a 
newborn or two. Oh, and for 15 
years, our miniature schnauzer 
Freddie, of blessed memory. 
Upon my mom and dad’s 
passing, far too young in 1985 
and 1986 respectively, my sister 

and brother-in-law, Sharon 
and Chuck Newman, ran with 
the matzah ball and took over 
the seders in their Ann Arbor 
home where they remain to 
this day. They took it to a whole 
new level. 
I’m biased, but you would 
be hard pressed to find a more 
meaningful, reflective, humor-
ous, delectable seder in town. 
The Newman Seder is as they 
say in Yiddish — the Katz 
Meow.
My sister is chief caterer, 
with support from family and 
friends. Chuck is the Passover 
Cruise Director, leading about 
a 45-minute service filled with 
a perfect blend of tradition, 
respect and a side of humor. 
The seders are enriching, emo-
tional and entertaining. 
My sister’s living room is 
packed to the gefilte gills with 
family, friends and often spe-
cial invited guests. “I always 
loved calling the University of 
Michigan Hillel to invite out-
of-state students who couldn’t 
make it home for Passover,
” 
Sharon says. 
Far and away, there are two 

traditions Chuck has built 
into our seders that are the 
crème de la crème of the 
seder, though of course 
crème isn’t served with the 
meal.
Prior to the commencement 
of the seder service, Chuck 
directs us to the inside cover 
of our individual Haggadahs, 
where we each sign our name 
and the year of participation. 
Each Haggadah now includes a 
long list of names — many who 
still attend and, of course, those 
of blessed memory. 
Chuck’s main, hardbound 
Haggadah includes a master 
list of those who have passed 
and each year he recites those 
names as their memories are 
rekindled in our hearts. Among 
them are Chuck’s mother, 
Dorothy, who shared her last 
Passover with us at 100 years 
old. 
It’s bittersweet. “I read the 
names, and we pause for a 
moment of silence,
” Chuck says. 
“It gives me an opportunity to 
tell the very young members, 
the grandchildren and guests, 
who these people were. It solid-

ifies our family history.
”
While the list elicits some 
sadness, reviewing it is balanced 
by the humor in the visual 
created by children’s signatures 
who signed their names prior 
to them fully mastering the art 
of writing. Occasionally there’s 
one scribbled letter that takes 
up a quarter page. “Our grown 
children and our grandchildren 
love to search out their names 
from years past and share a 
laugh over their penmanship.
”
Arguably the highlight of the 
Newman Seder is the participa-
tion in the reciting and or sing-
ing of “Who Knows One?” I’m 
sure you know it. Wikipedia 
succinctly describes it as a 
“cumulative song on Passover 
in the Haggadah that enumer-
ates common Jewish motifs 
and teachings … meant to be 
fun and humorous, while still 
imparting important lessons to 
the children present.
” 
Each of 13 stanzas includes a 

Alan 
Muskovitz
Contributing 
Writer

TOP: Three generations of the Newman family at the seder: Chuck 
Newman, center, his son Steve on his right and grandson Zachary 
on the left.

continued on page 10

