Things to Talk About with the People You Love

by Nina Fondiller Woldin

I started in early March, sending Afikoman presents and books about Passover from Amazon to three of my grandchildren who are 2,843 miles away. I texted another daughter, who is 1,821 miles away (possibly more than once 😂), asking where she and her fiancé were going for seders. I discussed with the third daughter, who is only 4 miles away, where she and her family were going to attend seders in Italy, where they were spending the school break. As you can see, I brought all the powers of modern communication into play as I tried to take advantage of the opportunity – or as the Haggadah instructs us, the obligation – to “tell our children.”

I like to think that I am not the only Jewish mother who worries that all of her children are like the famous four in the Haggadah and need to be reminded. Now that the seders are behind us, I must apologize to my kids. But you see, I take this obligation to tell the story of who we are as the Jewish people, and why this matters, very seriously.

I take this obligation to tell the story of who we are as the Jewish people,
and why this matters, very seriously.

In today’s climate of antizionism and antisemitism, to me it feels more important than ever to create meaningful, educational moments for the next generation. Yom Hashoah, Yom HaZikaron, and Yom Ha’Atzmaut all fall during the Counting of the Omer – the days between Passover and Shavuot that commemorate our journey from physical liberation (Exodus) to spiritual revelation (receiving the Torah at Sinai). Of course, our connection to Israel is paramount during this time, and there are opportunities to create many memorable moments. 

If you want to explore the spiritual connection between the Land of Israel and the Jewish soul, celebrate our identity as part of the Jewish people, and find meaningful ways to pass on our connection to Israel to the next generation, please join the GRANDparents Circle tomorrow evening, Tuesday, April 7, at 7:30 PM ET. Here is the link to register.

Image: The Seder, (painted in America, memory of Eastern Europe)Watercolor on paper, 1950, by Meichel Pressman