Happy Passover (and Semana Santa/Easter) from Paraguay! Throughout my service, I have struggled at different points with how to be Jewish in Paraguay. In the states, from pre-school through college graduation, I had always been surrounded by a strong Jewish community, have had access to regular services, celebrations of Jewish holidays, and opportunities for education/reflection. Here in Paraguay, things are a bit different. There are a sprinkling of Jewish volunteers across the country, but Paraguayan society at large is deeply steeped in the Catholic faith and tradition. In fact, Jewish volunteers (along with volunteers who are atheist, Buddhist, Muslim, Protestant) are often encouraged not to share their religion with community counter-parts because of issues of prejudice in the community. Being ‘in the closet’ about my Jewish identity and lacking much of a local Jewish community has been a weird feeling.
Last year, I chose to go home for Passover, because I felt like, on the holiday of freedom and liberation, I just needed to be in a space where I could be myself, freely and openly Jewish. But this year, I decided to stick it out in the sticks, because it was important to me to participate in the community traditions surrounding Easter, which I had missed last year since I went home. However, I still felt like a seder could be possible with the help of some local volunteers….And thanks to some great neighbors, EZ, Stacy, and Alissa, I was able to put together an amazing seder in Ysypo, Misiones, Paraguay and celebrate a Jewish holiday in Paraguay for the first time in my service!
Why was this years’ seder different from all other seders?
1. At all other seders, I have used Matzah from a box, be it burnt and holey shmurah matzah or factory made. This year, there was not enough time for a certain care-package containing box-matzah to arrive from the states, so I made my own. Thanks to Uncle Joe for the idea and Ha’aretz English version for the recipe!
2. At all other seders, I use horse-radish for the bitter herb, this year lacking a good source for horse-radish or radish, I opted for lettuce. I also borrowed a medicinal root from Stacy’s fridge that looked rather similar to horse-radish to use a visual reminder on the seder plate. There were lots of giggles when we got to the “point to the maror” line (“How did that get there?”).
3. At all other seders, my family eats homemade matzah balls “dipped” in Robin Jaeger’s famous chicken soup. This year, we had a little Passover miracle, in the form of a “just in case” matzah ball mix that EZ got in the mail from the states, but what to use for the soup? Some miso-mix, fresh dug sweet potatoes, and chopped veggies came in handy for a golden broth. Also the parsley we used to dip in salt water came directly from my garden (the only plant to survive the summer).
4. At all other seders, we conduct the meal reclining in our cozy dining room. This year, we had the seder outside on Stacy’s spacious porch. We could see the full moon outback, and also offer up the matzah and Elijah’s wine without opening the door. We also concluded the seder with some entertainment in the form of a water-rocket demonstration!
And of course, in the tradition of the Jaeger Haggadah’s fifth question (because four is definitely not daiyenu…)
My favorite new tradition: the mah-nishtana in sign language!!
