Pesach!

Pesach this year was definitely a new experience for me. One of my mom’s best friends growing up, Pam, flew out to Israel to spend Pesach with her daughter, Arielle, who is on a gap year in Israel program based in Be’er Sheva. They graciously invited me to spend the first few days of Pesach with them on Kibbutz Ma’abarot, near Netanya, where Pam’s boyfriend Ilan grew up (I know, how everyone is related is confusing. Imagine me trying to introduce myself and explain my connection to the family all weekend…)

Arielle, Pam, Arielle’s friend Lauren, and I almost missed our train since I hadn’t anticipated the crazy long security line due to holiday travel, but fortunately we made it on. We weren’t fortunate enough to find seats however, and we spent the bulk of the ride leaning on our bags right by the door to the car. We were not alone. About eight soldiers were packed around us cheerfully blasting mp3’s out of their cellphones, also sprawled on the floor amidst hiking packs. They were good company – one told me about his brother’s post-army trip to South America, where he bought a donkey and fed it carrots. The things you learn…

Eventually, we arrived at our stop and Ilan picked us up. Our two stops on the way to the kibbutz in the rental car included a lunch break at a falafel joint in Netanya (hard boiled egg in a falafel and pita is surprisingly good). The falafel making guy was a machine, it was impossible to stop him. Hence, we ended up with some awfully unidentifiable ingredients in our sandwiches, but they were good! So no questions!

The second stop was at a small river by the kibbutz known for its soft shelled tuftles. These things were huge – pretty sweet as far as turtles go. (Stay tuned for a future entry about my desert turtle escapade a while ago, haven’t gotten it down in writing yet, but it was awesome.)

Finally we arrived at the kibbutz, which is absolutely gorgeous. Green and flowers everywhere, ripe fruits waiting to be plucked off trees, small ponds and fountains scattered around the community. Garden of Eden wannabe, easily the most beautiful kibbutz I’ve ever seen. I spent a good chunk of the weekend studying for my computer science final, though a good chunk of “studying” was really taking in the gorgeous surroundings and chilling with Ilan’s great niece, Yarden.

Yarden is a funny kid. As a nine year old, it took her a while to acknowledge my presence at all, but I guess my sister Marielle trained me well since she finally decided I was interesting enough to talk to, and once she opened her mouth, she didn’t stop talking for two days straight. She told me about all kinds of things about the cool kids and the uncool kids, how it is rare to be both popular and [gasp] nice, and how obviously, she is a cool kid. It was kind of sad to see how someone so young has such an ingrained and nuanced grasp on social hierarchy, but funny to hear such a familiar construct explained by a kid more than ten years younger than me, and in Hebrew, to boot.

Me and Yarden at the Seder

The Pesach Seder itself was also far removed from anything I’d ever experienced before. Actually, no. Imagine a cross between your typical elementary school milestone play, and a meal. That’s what the Seder was like. Kibbutz youth of different ages sang and danced, older kibbutz members performed as well, and some of the Haggada reading was call and response. Not what I’m used to, and didn’t feel exactly like Pesach, but the gefilte fish was SO GOOD. It was made of carp grown on the kibbutz, and yeah, I know gefilte fish is really hit or miss with most people, but if you’re into it, a trip to this kibbutz during Pesach just might be worth it. The Seder was followed by dessert and Israeli dancing outside the dining hall. How nice to discover the dances I learned in Jewish school and camp aren’t the choreography creations of American Jews, as some may suspect. They exist in Israel too! Woohoo!

After the Seder at the kibbutz, Pam, Yarden, Ilan, Ilan’s son Alon, and I (Ilan, Alon, and Ilana in one room was basically disastrous; Pam would ask one of us a question, and we’d all simultaneously answer) drove over to Ilan’s sister’s house in Netanya to drop in on the end of their seder. We got there around 12:30 AM (!) and by the time we left around 3, I was about to pass out. I had a really nice time there though; Ilan’s nieces and nephews are around my age and the group of us talked for a while then played some Hebrew and English songs on guitar.

The rest of the night and weekend wound down quickly after that, and before I knew it, I was on my way to Tel Aviv to play in a frisbee tournament! More to come…