Pesach, Teaneck-style

I was told by an ex-Teaneck friend that my "Pesach in Teaneck" blog post would "write itself". I really wish it had actually written itself as I've been much too busy to do it. Thankfully, I have now had a few days to recover and can now fill you in on our news from the last few weeks.

Pesach here was a big success, largely due to the fact that we were joined by lots of extra Gilberts: Uncle Arieh (Avrom's brother) and Auntie Alyssa flew in from London, bringing with them an assortment of adorable children of different ages to keep our kids entertained (as well as a hugely unattractive matza kippa for Avrom, who insisted on wearing it throughout the festival, just to embarrass the kids). So, for 12 days (not that I was counting) we became a family of 12, living, commune-like, in our house on Mercedes Street. We had plenty of time to hang out at home and have fun together, what with all the bonus yom-tov days that we were entitled to over here in the Diaspora.

We did manage to find a few moments when it wasn't yom-tov or Shabbat and squeezed in a bit of tourist-y stuff with our guests. We were able to tick off a few more items from our NYC wish-list. We waved at the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry (the Statue is still closed due to Sandy), went up to the top of the Rockefeller Center and ooh-ed and aah-ed a lot at all the big buildings and tiny people, hung out in Times Square and felt sorry for the people dressed up as Elmo and the Statue of Liberty (not the first time, but it never gets old), ate matza sandwiches and learnt to juggle in Bryant Park, snooped around the very fancy New York Public Library, and had fun at the Manhattan Children's Museum. This was not all in one day.

Lots of Gilbert cousins

Obligatory picture of  Leora holding the Empire State Building

This was all lots of fun of course, but  it didn't compare to the dozens of joyful trips I was fortunate enough to make to the various supermarkets and kosher shops, to stock up on provisions for the enlarged Gilbert family. I had tried to be organised and do most of the shopping before everyone arrived on the Thursday before Pesach, but my brain is not really big enough to plan and prepare for that many meals for that many people, so I had to keep going back for more. It was a bit nerve-wracking as I'd been warned by some locals that the shops run out of some Pesach things during Pesach and they don't get more in, so I should really be very organised. At one point I was looking at the Pesach margarine in one of the supermarkets, and a woman appeared from nowhere and leaned in, whispering to me conspiratorially, "If you want that, buy it quickly, they've run out of it everywhere else." I quickly grabbed a few boxes and got out before I could be mugged by any crazed Teaneck women desperate to bake more Pesach brownies.

According to my local sources, Dunkin Donuts plays a surprisingly large role in Teaneck Pesach tradition. On Erev Pesach we fulfilled our halachic obligation of eating Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. As you can imagine, Avrom was thrilled to be sent there at 7.30am. However, I'm embarrassed to say that we missed the equally important post-Pesach Dunkin Donuts rush. I hope that we will be forgiven by the Dunkin gods - we were not being deliberately dismissive of the local minhag. We will make sure to consume double the usual amount this week as penance for our terrible transgression.

Sadly, our guests went back to snowy London on Wednesday and our house suddenly seems incredibly quiet and tidy. There were one or two note-worthy incidents during their stay here, such as when I quickly rinsed the stone floor in the kitchen just before yom-tov, and 3 of our 4 young nieces and nephews slipped and went flying, one after the other, like a bad slap-stick routine. Obviously I felt horribly guilty about it, until I noticed their own parents sniggering in the corner, unable to stifle their own laughter, at which point I realised that I would probably be forgiven. Luckily their kids are quite bouncy. The highlight of the seders (yes - seders, plural) was a fantastic game of "Dayenu Madness" (suggested by Alyssa's brother), where each person recites a verse in a different style handed out on little pieces of paper (Gangnam-style dayenu, operatic dayenu, American-accent dayenu, etc etc), just like they did in the shtetl. There were props and masks sent over from London by Grandma, and an amazingly realistic re-enactment of the exodus story, masterfully directed by Arieh. Tzofia's portrayal of Pharaoh was insightful, and Leora played an incredibly convincing stick.

Now things are getting back to normal here. The kids are back at school and I have ventured back into the shops and the kitchen, after swearing blind that I would never buy a potato or an egg again. We're looking forward to the last few months of our American adventure, and are trying to plan a bit of travelling before we leave. We have some ideas, but if you have any suggestions for us, we'd be happy to receive them.

Have a great week!