Sparkler Snapshots

II | The Stroke of Midnight

"Passover is one of my favorite times of the year. This is when the whole community and family gets together to remember who we are and why we are here." – Jennifer Wagner

Date:
April 10th to 18th, 2017 (15th to 22nd of the Hebrew month of Nissan)

Occasion:
Pesach (Passover)
Chag Ha-matzot (Festival of Unleavened Breads)
Z'man Cheiruteinu (The Time of Liberation) Chag Ha-aviv (Festival of Spring)

Observed By: Jews

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II | The Stroke of Midnight

D A Y O N E

A quick swish of her silky black hair and she drifts by the table, unnoticed by the people around her. She fixes her stare on glinting bottles of cheeky wine, knowing the adults will waste their night away as the moon gradually descends, watching them while it disappears behind a mighty hill. She forces a smile upon her face as people loom above her one after one, none recognizable.

Once the crowd grows too large, she makes a hasty excuse and escapes from the greetings that she doesn't feel she deserves. The world slows to a snail crawl as a lone flower petal flutters to the ground. She bends down to scoop it up. Its blush pink beauty does not belong on the floor, where it'll be trampled under the constant flow of guests.

A sigh escapes her lips when she hears someone call her name. She glides over to the kitchen counter and waits for another dish. It could be maror, a reminder of the bitterness of slavery. It might be salt water, symbolizing the tears of the slaves. Or it could be a betizah, a hard-boiled egg, symbolizing life and birth of the spring season.

She knows these foods each represent the slavery of Jews in Egypt, and the freedom they were finally granted, but drinking salt water sounds like a form of torture to her.

Thankfully, no one gives her salt water. Instead, her eyes rest on a dish of kosher candy in her hands. She'd decided that the kosher stuff was ridiculous ages ago, but it was tradition. Most people can't handle being deprived of bread, cakes, pasta, cookies, or most leavened foods for a week, but she's determined to prove that she can survive.

After all, the Jewish slaves in Egypt didn't have time to wait for their bread to rise before God swooped upon them and bestowed a curse to those under the Pharaoh's ruling – ten deadly plagues that consumed lives left and right. Millennia later, families which celebrate Passover avoid leavened foods. It makes sense, but abandoning cakes for a week sounds as bad as the plague.

But, as the Seder slowly begins and the Haggadah is read in such bored voices that she has a hard time keeping a straight face, she starts to enjoy herself. Plus, it was a good thing she'd downed a glass of grape juice beforehand. Though juice doesn't have the same effect as wine, she feels light. Drunken. Alive. Infinite. Immortal. Free.

A smile glows upon her face as she gazes around at her chattering family. She decides that this isn't a bad way to start the Passover. She can live with this. To be fair, she'd have to keep doing it for the rest of her life, but she bats away the thought and laughs merrily as she bathes in her freedom, acknowledging the seven days to come.

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D A Y T W O