Dayenou
I still remember how busy that period was.
First and above all there was the ritual of cleaning the kitchen. Eliminating all the hamess then passing a burning torch inside the cupboards making sure they were cleaned thoroughly.
One of these matzos was the thick one found today and the other was a large round sheet of very light almost transparent quality. I have not seen this type of matzos in Europe. Then keeping in mind that anything with leaven was forbidden very special Pessah biscuits were brought over as well.
The slavery of coconut jam preparation did not seem that at the time. But now I realise what a job it was. First you bought the coconuts whole. You had to rid them of that hard brown cover, empty the milk and then grate out the brown thin cover. After that you grated the white part; all that by hand.
Sugar was not bought as today in packs Whole cones of sugar had to be broken down with a hammer till the right amount was weighed. It was measured in glasses.
Then only after bringing to the boil the milk and sugar you could add the grated coconut.
After cooking that mixture you had the satisfaction of the most delightful jam ever prepared.
The unleavened biscuits were eaten with that coconut jam.
As bread was absent those biscuits disappeared very quickly.
It brings back to my mind one of our fellow expatriates from Egypt.
This friend named Angel told my mother that she had an excellent recipe for Pessah. She said:
You take so much sugar , flour etc then you add a packet of baking powder.
What? Said my mom. Baking powder is leaven!
But I’ve been preparing it like this for years.
Our dear friend almost fainted when she found out that baking powder was no other than dry leaven!
However after three or four days of the matzos regime, everyone went around bloated and had to run to a hidden place to let out gas! My mother in particular was prone to that.
I adored that feast and especially the HAGADA. We had no care in the world for the goy and would joyfully cry out DAYENOU. The ten plagues of Egypt were called out by the men in the family. Let me remember them: And they are terrible!!!
Dam : Blood covering water in Egypt
Safardeya: Frogs everywhere even in Pharaoh’s bed
Kenim :lice, scratch scratch scratch!!!
Arov
Arov
Dever: leprosy (remember el deber fik,)
Shehin: illness of the skin, itchy and boils
Barad: hail
Hosheik: darkness covering Egypt non stop
Makar Behrot: Death of all the firstborn
That last plague was terrible, but who’s fault was it?
The part I liked most was when as a child they tied a pack of matzos around my back and I knocked on the door. Therein a voice from inside cried out:
Min ? (who is it?)
Ana: (It is I)
Gaie men en: (where do you come from?)
Men Misrayim (from Egypt)
Rayeh fen? (where are you going?)
Le Yerushalaim (to Jerusalem)
Then they opened the door and I went round getting a kiss from all the family while they were singing..
We usually ate huge quantities of food and Pessah was no exception. Especially the large quantity of hard boiled eggs in a plate. And the wonderful HAROSED.
We had two seders, now in Israel they only have one BECAUSE THEY ARE HOME;.
It was a magnificent feast.
But after that you had to change over to the hamess objects and put away the special Pessah plates forks and knives till next year.
One year when I was in Israel, the supermarkets covered up all the shelves with biscuits or bread. But anyway of pitas there was nothing left. They had been bought in large quantities and stored in the freezers!!!
I don’t think I can resist that vision of all my family united for the seder. Surely there was never anything better than having your family around you. Kan zaman!
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