Why Is This Night
Different From All
Other Nights?
Our
Family
Haggadah
Tonight we celebrate Passover, one of the most important festivals
in Jewish culture. The story of Passover is a story of liberation and
new beginnings; what better time than now, as snow melts and new
green appears? Not only do we celebrate the return of Spring, and
the new life that it brings, we celebrate the new life that was given
to our ancestors many years ago.
We celebrate and honor the importance of freedom - not just the
physical freedom that we in this country are lucky enough to enjoy
today, but also the spiritual freedom that is available to each of us
according to our desire.
Passover is the first of the major festivals mentioned in the Bible,
and no celebration has a deeper significance for the Jewish people.
Tonight is the night that Jewish people around the world gather
together to tell the story of their past.
Once we were slaves. Tonight, we celebrate in freedom. Let us
never forget, and let us always feel the same joy and appreciation
of our freedom that those in other lands are experiencing tonight as
they celebrate in freedom for the very first time.
As has been done for hundred of generations before us, we retell
the ancient story of liberation and we teach it to our children, so
that for hundreds of generations yet to come, the message and the
meaning will live on.
Happiest Moment
by Lydia Davis
“If you ask her what is a favorite story she has written, she will
hesitate for a long time and then say it may be this story that she
read in a book once: an English-language teacher in China asked
his Chinese student to say what was the happiest moment in his
life. The student hesitated for a long time. At last he smiled with
embarrassment and said that his wife had once gone to Beijing and
eaten duck there, and she often told him about it, and he would
have to say the happiest moment of his life was her trip, and the
eating of the duck.”
Seder
This meal is called a Seder - the Hebrew word for “order” - because
there is a specific set of information that must be discussed in a
specific order.
Jewish holidays begin when candles are lit before sundown. For
Passover, these blessings are said:
BA-RUCH AH-TAH AH-DOH-NAI
EL-O-HAY-NU MEH-LECH HA-O-LAM,
AH-SHER KEED-SHAH-NU B-MITZ-VOH-TAH
VIZEE-VAH-NU L’HAHD-LEEK-NER
SHELYOM TOV
Blessed art thou, oh Lord, our God, Ruler of the Universe, who sanctifies
us with your commandment to kindle the holiday lights.
All Jewish celebrations, from holidays to weddings, include wine as
a symbol of our joy – not to mention a practical way to increase that
joy. Tonight we drink four cups of wine.
Why four? Some say the cups represent the four promises of
liberation God makes in the Torah: “I will bring you out,” “I will
deliver you,” “I will redeem you,” and “I will take you to be my
people.”
The four promises are also interpreted as four stages on the path
of liberation: becoming aware of oppression, opposing oppression,
imagining alternatives, and accepting responsibility to act.
BA-RUCH AH-TAH AH-DO-NAI
EL-O-HAY-NU MEH-LECH HAH-OLAM
BO-RAY P’REE HAH-GAH-FEN.
Blessed art thou, oh Lord, our God, Ruler of the Universe, Creator of the
fruit of the vine.
This first cup of wine reminds us of God’s first declaration...
ALL: “I will bring you out.”
In Earlier Times, it was customary to wash one’s hands before the
meal, particularly before dipping one food into another. It was also
the practice of the Kohen to rinse his hands before blessing the
people. We wash now before blessing the foods on the Seder Plate.
There are three pieces of Matzah under the Matzah cover. The
middle piece is broken in two, and the larger half is hidden. It
must be kept safe and returned to the table at the end of the meal,
because everyone must eat a piece of it for dessert.
The matzot are symbolic of the three measures of fine flour that
Abraham told Sarah to bake into Matzah when they were visited by
three angels.
On a practical level, three matzot are needed so that when we
break the middle Matzah, we are still left with two whole ones
to pronounce the hamotzi blessing (as required on Shabbat and
holidays).
This green leafy vegetable reminds us of the springtime, when
plants grow. The salt water reminds us of the tears our people cried
when they were slaves.
BARUCH ATAH, ADONAI,
ELOHEINU MELECH HA’OLAM,
BOREI P’RI HA’ADAMAH
Blessed art thou, oh Lord, our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates
the fruit of the earth.
At the seder we begin as slaves. We eat matzah, the bread of
affliction, which leaves us hungry and longing for redemption.
It reminds us of a time when we couldn’t control what food was
available to us, but ate what we could out of necessity. The matzah
enables us to taste slavery— to imagine what it means to be denied
our right to live free and healthy lives.
The Four Questions
MAH NISHTANAH HALAILA HAZEH MIKOL HALAYLOT?
Why is this night different than all the other nights of the year?
When the founder of modern Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov, saw
misfortune threatening the Jews, it was his custom to go into a
certain part of the forest to meditate. There he would light a special
fire, say a special prayer, and the trouble would be averted.
Later, when his disciple, the Rabbi Maggid of Mezritch, had
occasion for the same reason to intercede with heaven, he would
go to the same place in the forest and say: “Master of the Universe,
listen! I cannot light the fire, but I know the place and I can say the
prayer.”
Still later, Rabbi Moshe-Leib of Sasov, in order to save the Jewish
people, would go into the forest and say: “I cannot light the fire, I
do not know the prayer, but I know the place.”
Then it fell to Rabbi Israel of Rizhyn to overcome misfortune.
Sitting in his house, his head in his hands, he spoke to God: “I am
unable to light the fire and I do not know the prayer; I cannot even
find the place in the forest. All I can do is tell the story, and this
must be sufficient.” And it was sufficient.
We begin the Pesach story...
ALL: “Behold! This is the Bread of Affliction. This is the bread our
people ate when they were slaves in the land of Egypt. Let all who
are hungry enter and eat; let all who are needy share our Passover
feast. Next year, may all people be free.”
SHEBAKHOL HALAYLOT ANU OKHLEEN KHAMAYTZ
U’MATZAH, HALAILA HAZEH KULO MATZAH.
1. On all the other nights we eat any kind of bread we want... But on this
night why do we only eat matzah?
SHEBAKHOL HALAYLOT ANU OKHLEEN SH’AHR Y’RAKOT,
HALAILA HAZEH MAROR.
2. On all other nights we eat any kind of vegetable we want... But on this
night why must we eat a bitter vegetable?
SHEBAKHOL HALAYLOT AYN ANU MATBEELEEN AFEELU
PA’AM AKHAT, HALAILA HAZEH SH’TAY F’AMEEM.
3. On all other nights we don’t have to dip one kind of food into
another... But on this night why do we dip twice?
SHEBAKHOL HALAYLOT ANU OKH’LEEN BEYN YOSHVEEN
U’VAYN M’SUBEEN, HALAILA HAZEH KULANU M’SUBEEN.
4. On all other nights we sit up straight at the table... But on this night
why do we lean or sit on pillows if we want?
The Four Answers
The Four Children
ALL: “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt. Our work was hard and
our lives were miserable. With great miracles, God took us out of
Egypt to be a free people.”
Four times the Torah instructs us to tell our children of the Exodus
from Egypt. Four times, the Torah repeats: “And you shall tell
your child on that day...” From this it has been understood that
there are four different ways to explain what we celebrate tonight,
corresponding to the different attitudes many people may have
about their faith. This is symbolized by the four children who ask,
each in their own way, about the Pesach celebration.
1. We left Egypt as quickly as we could. There was no time to bake
bread for the journey, so our people ate Matzah bread that doesn’t
rise. It is the bread of the poor, it is the bread of freedom. We ate it
then, so we eat it tonight.
2. We eat a bitter vegetable to help us remember how awful it felt
when we were slaves.
3. We dip a vegetable in salt water so we can taste the tears of the
slaves; we dip a vegetable in Haroses because it looks like the clay
the slaves used for making bricks. We dip because dipping was
once the way only free people were allowed to eat.
4. We lean or rest on pillows because that is the way free people
once ate not like when we were slaves, and weren’t allowed to rest,
even when we ate.
The smart child asks: “Please tell me all about the miracles God
did. Why did God tell us all to do these things?” We tell this
child about the importance of tonight, and explain in detail all
the observances of Passover, right down to the very last one: the
Afikomen.
The selfish child asks: “Why do you do bother to do all this?” To
this child, what we do is not important. This child doesn’t want to
be part of our Seder or our people. If this child were in Egypt, he or
she would not have been freed from slavery. To this child we say:
“It is because of what the Lord did for me when I went forth from
Egypt and had you been as selfish then and there, you would not
have known redemption.”
The simple child can only ask: “What is all this?” To this child it is
enough to say: “With great strength — and many miracles and love
for us all, God freed us from slavery in Egypt.”
The child who can’t even ask a question can only look with
open eyes and great wonderment. The true spirit of Passover
requires that we start with ourselves — to tell the story, ask our
own questions, and seek the answers for our children — and their
children, and their children.
Long ago people worshiped not one God, but many — some
worshipped the Sun; some worshipped water or different kinds of
animals. Some even thought statues made of clay and stone were
gods.
Then a man named Abraham realized there is only one God; he
moved to the land of Canaan where he took Sarah for his wife, and
their son Isaac was born. Abraham taught his son Isaac that there
was only one God; Isaac taught it to his son, Jacob, who taught it to
his family. These were the first Jewish people.
Jacob lived in Canaan and had twelve sons. Jacob lived many of his
years in great sorrow, for his beloved son Joseph was sold as a slave
by his jealous brothers, who told their father that the boy was taken
by a wild animal.
Joseph was taken to Egypt to be a slave, but his special talent of
interpreting dreams led him to become advisor to the Pharaoh
himself. Pharaoh had a troubling dream of seven fat cows being
eaten by seven weak, skinny cows. Joseph predicted seven years of
famine after seven years of plenty; so Pharaoh appointed Joseph to
be in charge of all the food for the kingdom.
With such an important job, Joseph was able to arrange for his
father and brothers to come from Canaan, where there was a
terrible famine, to Egypt, which had plentiful food. A special city
called Goshen was set aside for Jacob’s family, and there the 70
people who came with Jacob became a large and happy community
of many families.
Years later, a new Pharaoh came to power. He saw how wealthy,
and how influential the Israelites had become, and worried that
they were so many. “Should a war come, they might join the enemy
and help defeat us,” the new Pharaoh declared. From that point
on, the Hebrews were made to be slaves, working long hours in the
fields, gathering straw and making the bricks to build the Pharaoh’s
monuments and pyramids.
And to make sure the Hebrews would not grow any larger, Pharaoh
ordered that the all Israelite boy babies were to be thrown into the
river. But one baby was hidden in the tall grass by the river, where
he was found by the Pharaoh’s daughter. She called him Moses—
(the name means “from the river I drew him out”) and she took
him to the palace to raise him as her son. Though Moses grew up in
the Pharaohs house, he knew he was an Israelite, and was angry at
the way the Israelite slaves were treated — so angry that he had to
run away from Egypt.
While he lived in the desert, Moses saw a sign from God, a bush
that burned and burned but was not destroyed. It convinced him
to return to Egypt, and, with his brother Aaron, to confront the
Pharaoh and demand, “Let my people go, that they may serve their
God.”
But no matter how many times Moses asked, the Pharaoh said,
“Who is the Lord that I should listen to him? I know not your God. I
will not let Israel go.” Moses grew sadder and sadder, and cried out
to God: “Why have you let your people be so badly treated? Why
did you send me here? Every time I come to Pharaoh to speak in
your name, he has added to the troubles of your people — and you
have done nothing to rescue them!”
And God answered: “I have heard the cries of the children of Israel.
Go and tell them ‘I am the Lord!’” And God promised:
ALL: “I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver
you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched
arm and I will take you to be my people.”
The Lord kept his promise to Moses and the children of Israel and
sent the ten plagues upon the Egyptians.
The Ten Plagues
Did The Plagues Really Happen?
God brought the ten plagues on the Egyptians using the very things
they believed were gods: the Nile River, cattle, frogs, the Sun,
insects, and even the Pharaoh himself. But none of the plagues
affected Goshen, where the Israelites lived.
River of Blood: The redness in the Nile could have actually been
pollution caused by volcanic activity. The silt could make the Nile
turn blood red, and would also render it undrinkable. Alternatively,
a red algal bloom could have produced large quantities of toxins
that would kill fish.
During the plagues, Pharaoh promised to let our people go, but
each time a plague ended, he changed his mind. Because he was
so stubborn, the Egyptians suffered. To show our sorrow for this
suffering — even the suffering of our enemies — we remove a drop
of wine from our cups as we name each of the Ten Plagues.
ALL:
DOM; BLOOD.
Z’FARDEYAH; FROGS.
KEE-NEEM; VERMIN.
ALL-ROV; BEASTS.
DEH-VER; CATTLE DISEASE.
SIECHEEN; BOILS.
BAH-RAIID; HAIL.
AR-BEH; LOCUSTS.
CHO-SHECH; DARKNESS.
MAKAS B’KOROT; SLAYING OF THE FIRST BORN.
Frogs: Any blight on the water also would have caused frogs to
leave the river and probably die.
Lice and Insect Swarms: The lack of frogs in the river would
have let insect populations, normally kept in check by the frogs,
increase. The dead fish and frogs would have attracted more
insects to the areas near the Nile.
Sudden Death of Cattle and Boils: There are biting flies in the
Nile region which transmit livestock diseases; a sudden increase in
their number could spark epidemics.
Fiery Hail: Volcanic activity not only brings ash and brimstone,
but also alters the weather system, occasionally producing hail.
Hail could also have occurred as a completely independent natural
weather event, with accompanying lightning as the “fire.”
Locusts: The weight of hail will destroy most crops, leaving locusts
to swarm whatever food remained. Also, locusts breed when the
ground is wet, and if there had been a massive amount of hail, the
ground would have been soaked, leading to swarms of locusts.
Darkness: There could be several causes for unusual darkness:
a solar eclipse, a sandstorm, volcanic ash, or simply swarms of
locusts large enough to block out the sun.
Slaying of the First Born: If the last plague indeed selectively
tended to affect the firstborn, it could be due to food poisoned
during the time of darkness, either by locusts or by the black
mold Cladosporium. When people emerged after the darkness,
the firstborn would be given priority, as was usual, and would
consequently be more likely to be affected by any toxin or disease
carried by the food.
Exodus
Dayenu
At midnight the last plague began. The Israelites marked the doors
of their homes with the blood from the animal sacrifice they were
instructed to make that day. God passed over the homes with this
sign and no harm came to our people.
Had God...
Finally the frightened Pharaoh said to Moses and Aaron, “You
and all the children of Israel, go and serve the Lord as you have
demanded.” As soon as they heard this, the Israelites ran from
Egypt as fast as they could. In the morning, however, Pharaoh
changed his mind again, and set out with his army to bring the
Israelites back, finally catching up with them as they approached
the shore of the sea.
With Pharaoh and his army behind and the sea ahead, Moses
raised his staff, and the waters parted, allowing the Israelites to
cross. When the Egyptians tried to follow, the waters of the sea
returned and drowned the soldiers, leaving the Israelites safe and
dry on the other side.
What lay ahead for the children of Israel was more than just
freedom. During the next forty years that the Israelites wandered
the desert, they saw more signs of the covenant with God.
Brought us out of Egypt and not divided the sea for us - Dayenu!
Divided the sea and not permitted us to cross on dry land - Dayenu!
Permitted us to cross and not sustained us in the desert - Dayenu!
Sustained us in the desert and not fed us with manna - Dayenu!
Fed us with manna and not given us the Sabbath - Dayenu!
Given us the Sabbath and not brought us to Mount Sinai - Dayenu!
Brought us to Mount Sinai and not given us the Torah - Dayenu!
Given us the Torah and not led us into the land of Israel - Dayenu!
Led us into Israel and not built for us the Temple - Dayenu!
Built for us the Temple and not sent us prophets of truth - Dayenu!
Sent us prophets of truth and not made us a holy people - Dayenu!
ALL: “For all these, alone and together, we say - Dayenu!”
FUN FACT: Manna is thought to be the crystallized secretions of
insects which breed in Psilocybin mushrooms.
Dayenu v’lo Dayenu
From singing Dayenu we learn to celebrate each landmark on our
people’s journey. Yet we must never confuse these way stations
with the goal. Because it is not yet Dayenu. There is still so much to
do in our work of tikkun olam, repairing the world.
When governments end the escalating production of devastating
weapons, secure in the knowledge that they will not be necessary,
Dayenu!
When all women and men are allowed to make their own decisions
on matters regarding their own bodies and personal relationships
without discrimination or legal consequences, Dayenu!
When children grow up in freedom, without hunger, and with the
love and support they need to realize their full potential, Dayenu!
We say the blessing and drink the second cup of wine:
BA-RUCH AH-TAH AH-DO-NAI
EL-O-HAY-NU MEH-LECH HAH-OLAM
BO-RAY P’REE HAH-GAH-FEN.
Blessed art thou, oh Lord, our God, Ruler of the Universe, Creator of the
fruit of the vine.
This first cup of wine reminds us of God’s second declaration...
ALL: “I will deliver you.”
When the air, water, fellow creatures and beautiful world are
protected for the benefit and enjoyment of all and given priority
over development for the sake of profit, Dayenu!
When people of all ages, sexes, races, religions, sexual orientations,
cultures and nations respect and appreciate one another, Dayenu!
When each person can say, “This year, I worked as hard as I could
toward improving the world so that all people can experience
the joy and freedom I feel sitting here tonight at the seder table,”
Dayenu v’lo Dayenu - it will and will not be enough.
Now we rinse our hands for the Seder meal and say the blessing:
BA-RUCH AH-TAH AH-DO-NAI EL-O-HAY-NU MEH-LECH
HAH-OLAM, ALL-SLIER REED-SHAH-NU B’MITZ VOH-TAV
VITZ-EE-VAH-NU AHL NTEE-LAHT YAH-DAH-YEEM
Blessed art thou, oh Lord, our God, Ruler of the Universe, who
made us holy with Commandments and commanded us regarding
washing of the hands.
The Pesach Symbols
Rabban Gamliel said, “Whoever does not explain the following
three symbols has not fulfilled their duty: pesach, matzah, and
maror.”
Pesach: The bone on the Seder Plate reminds us of the Passover
Sacrifice. The word “Pesach” means “pass over.” We remember
that God passed over the homes of the Israelites that were marked
with the blood of the Pesach sacrifice.
Matzah: Matzah is the hard, flat bread our people ate when they
were in a hurry to leave Egypt. We eat it at Passover to remind us of
our days as slaves, but it also reminds us of our freedom.
Maror: We eat the maror, the bitter herb, to remember how bitter
our lives were when we were slaves to the Egyptians.
The Egg: The egg represents the endless circle of eternal life. Like
the Jewish people, who have grown stronger under adversity, the
more you heat an egg, the harder it gets.
Reclining: Reclining was a common practice among the Persians,
passed down to Greeks and Romans.
The Afikomen: Moroccan Jews save a piece for good luck in
life and travels; throwing a piece on rough seas during an ocean
journey was said to ensure a safe trip. Eastern European Jews
would keep a piece until the next Passover to follow the obligation
to “remember the day when thou camest forth from Egypt all the
days of your life.”
The Orange: A folk tradition claims that someone once criticized
Jewish feminism by shouting, “Women belong on the bimah
(pulpit) like an orange belongs on the seder plate!”
During Passover, Jewish people do not eat leavened bread
(chametz) for eight days. Traditionally Jewish people are not even
supposed to keep chametz in their house during Passover, which
has led to an interesting loophole: the practice of “selling” any
chametz in your house to a non-Jewish neighbor.
BA-RUCH AH-TAH AH-DO-NAI
EL-OH-HAY-NU MEH-LECH HAH-OLAM,
HAH-MOTZI LEH-CHEM MIN HA’AHRETZ
Blessed art thou, oh Lord, our God, Ruler of the Universe, who
brings forth bread from the earth.
BA-RUCH AH-TAH AH-DO-NAI
EL-O-HAY-NU MEH-LECH HAII-OLAM,
ALL-SHER KEED-SHAH-NU B’MITZ-VOH-TOV
VITZ-EE-VAH-NU AHL AH-CHE-LAHT MATZAH
Blessed art thou, oh Lord, our God, Ruler of the Universe, who made
us holy with Commandments and commanded us regarding eating
matzah.
FUN FACT: In the early 1980s, Susannah Heschel attended
a feminist seder where bread was placed on the seder plate, a
reaction to a rabbi who had claimed lesbians had no more place in
Judaism than bread crusts have at a seder. Heschel wrote: “Bread
on the seder plate renders everything chametz, and its symbolism
suggests that being lesbian is transgressive, violating Judaism. I felt
that an orange was suggestive of something else: the fruitfulness
for all Jews when lesbians and gay men are contributing and active
members of Jewish life. To speak of slavery and long for liberation
demands that we acknowledge our own complicity in enslaving
others.”
The Haroses looks like the clay the slaves made into bricks to build
the cities of Egypt.
The Maror gives us a taste of how bitter life was for our people as
slaves.
Together, they remind us that even when we are unhappy, there is
always hope that things will be better.
The seder ritual seems to have it backward here: One would think
that we should eat the maror before the matzah, just as the bitter
slavery preceded the liberation. But in truth, our chronology is not
so simple. We need to have tasted freedom to really understand
oppression.
Now we can eat!
Many years ago, at the time the Holy Temple was in existence,
the great Rabbi, Hillel, used to take matzah and maror together to
make a sandwich. He said that, this way, he tasted both slavery and
freedom at the same time, and was able to obey the Torah, which
says: They shall eat the Pesach with matzah and bitter herbs.”
Elijah & Miriam’s Cups
We fill our cups and also fill a cup for Elijah. In Jewish tradition, the
Prophet Elijah is the messenger of God appointed to usher in an
age when all the world’s peoples will be free and live in peace.
We say the blessing and drink the third cup of wine:
BA-RUCH AH-TAH AH-DO-NAI
EL-O-HAY-NU MEH-LECH HAH-OLAM
BO-RAY P’REE HAH-GAH-FEN.
Blessed art thou, oh Lord, our God, Ruler of the Universe, Creator of the
fruit of the vine.
This first cup of wine reminds us of God’s third declaration...
ALL: “I will redeem you.”
When determining how many cups of wine we should drink during
the Passover seder, the ancient rabbis couldn’t decide whether
that number should be four or five. Their solution was to drink four
cups and then pour another one for Elijah (the fifth cup). When he
returns it will be up to him to decide whether this fifth cup should
be consumed at the seder.
As a symbol of our hope for Elijah’s return, we open the door, and
rise.
All: May our people never again have enemies. May Elijah come
soon and bring us peace.
According to Jewish legend, Elijah visits every Jewish home on the
Seder night and sips from his cup of wine.
We also fill a cup with water for Miriam, evoking her well which
followed the Israelites in the wilderness. After the crossing of the
Red Sea, Miriam sang a song to the Israelites. The words in the
Torah are only the beginning of the song, so the Rabbis asked:
“Why is the Song of Miriam only partially stated in the Torah?” The
song is incomplete so that future generations will finish it. That is
our task.
Now we find the Afikomen, and eat it.
The format for today’s seders was formalized in Roman times,
after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. Before
that, Passover celebrations were held in the Temple and were
different: they actually sacrificed a lamb. After the central worship
place was destroyed, the Passover celebration moved primarily into
the home, not into the synagogue.
Most Jewish ceremonies involve elements of the past, present, and
future. The seder recalls the past (the Exodus from Egypt) while
remaining grounded in the present (the child asks, “what’s this
about?”), and hoping for the future.
We say the blessing and drink the fourth cup of wine:
BA-RUCH AH-TAH AH-DO-NAI
EL-O-HAY-NU MEH-LECH HAH-OLAM
BO-RAY P’REE HAH-GAH-FEN.
Blessed art thou, oh Lord, our God, Ruler of the Universe, Creator of the
fruit of the vine.
This first cup of wine reminds us of God’s fourth declaration...
ALL: “I will take you.”
Passover affirms the great truth that liberty is the inalienable right
of every human being. It commemorates the deliverance of a
people from degrading slavery, from most foul and cruel tyranny.
And so, it is Israel’s - and our - protest against unrighteousness,
whether national or individual.
This is true freedom: our ability to shape reality. We have the power
to initiate, create and change reality rather than only react and
survive it. How can we all educate our children to true freedom?
Teach them not to look at reality as defining their acts but to look at
their acts as defining reality.
Our Seder is now complete. We did all the things we were supposed
to do. We hope we will be free to enjoy a Seder like this one next
year.
All: “Next year in Jerusalem!”
“No matter where the seders were held or
who led them, it was somehow arranged that
my dottie old Aunt Hannah would wind up
reading the portion of the plagues, so we could
all relish how she pronounced ‘gnats’ with a
hard G; my father would lead seders wearing
the incongruous peaked cantor’s hat that once
was my great-grandfather’s; my rascally cousin
Alan, who would sneak outside unnoticed just
as Elijah’s cup was filled, so he could ring the
doorbell a split second before the door was to be
opened, and then yell ‘Elijah-gram!’”
- Max’s Dad