After the first seder

We went to a lovely vegetarian seder last night hosted by good friends. They had room at their table for more people, so in the spirit of the haggadah, asked "all who were hungry to come and eat." In practice, that meant three people from our synagogue who otherwise wouldn't have a place to go were able to attend seder.

My cousin tells a story about how when she was a child, she asked her mother who was coming to seder that year. Her mother replied, "I invited the strays." My cousin said, thinking they were a family she hadn't met, "The Strays? Do I know them?"

I'm looking forward to hosting our seder tonight. Even though I complain about all the cleaning and cooking, I get tremendous pleasure from hosting people at our table, and Passover is my favorite holiday. I love re-telling the story of the Exodus, singing the songs, and the stimulating talk it produces. Four cups of wine doesn't hurt either!

Last night's hosts used very small wine cups so that we could all fulfill the obligation to drink all four cups of wine. For the first time I was able to do so and felt as though I had truly completed the mitzvah.

Now on to the prep for tonight's festivities!