5 reasons I love the single Seder

I made aliyah eight years ago and one of the many amazing gifts of living in israel is the single seder. I love the passover seder, it is maybe my favorite jewish holiday of the year, and now it is even better. If you agree feel free to share your top five in the comments. Here are my top five favorite things about a single seder.

The carmel market in tel aviv (photo courtesy Lily Aronin)

Number 5: I Love shopping for fresh spring produce every Passover. Grilled, roasted and chopped; fresh salads, stir fry’s and dips keep the passover bloat and matzo tummy far away in the holy land. With the single Seder I only have to eat matzo one night in any great quantity. This with all of the delicious fresh vegetables, seder night, makes passover so much more enjoyable.

Jaffa Gate Jerusalem photo courtesy lily aronin

Number 4: I love to Tiyul ( go on trips or adventures) with my family. Thanks to the amazing weather here, Passover is the holiday of freedom to explore this holy land. With a single seder we get many more days to enjoy being active and live the dream of the Israelites that left Egypt.

The goldberg passover Haggaddah

Number 3: I love to read the Haggadah. I know you may find it weird, but I love buying a new Haggadah every few years, reading the commentary before the seder, as well as during the holiday. This was impossible for ME when we had two seders. The amount of work involved was to overwhelming and absorbing. Now I get to enjoy my spiritually favorite night all year, the seder, feeling prepared to offer a unique perspective and not just the prepared home and food.

Number 2: I have to repeat how much I love the seder. When we had two seder’s there was always the people at the table who said, “save something for tomorrow”. When the clock struck 12 everyone wanted to be in bed. I always dreamed of a seder that went as long as everyone had something to contribute, songs, ideas, stories or passover jokes. (See the new Haggadah with dry bones if you don’t think its possible) The second night everyone was tired and matzah’ed out. It was nice, but it never lived up to my expectation or the promise of “save it for later”. With a single seder, we live the dream. Everyone laughs, shares, learns, sings and enjoys every drop out of this unique and important night in our national and personal history. We all have a memory of a seder, with one seder that memory can be more distilled and special.

An Israeli Kindergaten photo courtesy lily aronin

Number 1: Who know’s one? I know one! One is Hashem, One is Hashem… on the heaven and the earth. A single seder is only possible in the holy land, G-d’s home. I love that the single seder represents the blessing of living in Israel. From beginning to the end, where I say, “Next year may we still be in Jerusalem.” This is the culmination of what the seder is all about. The transference of Judaism and tradition to a new generation that will live the customs, philosophies and laws to the best of their ability.

Happy Passover.