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I can remember two very interesting scenes from seder. They had a huge room [where the table was laid] and there were always six to seven grown ups around the table and ten to fifteen children, if not more. The one leading the seder has to have two pillows at his left side. At the beginning a prayer is said, which took half an hour for my grandfather Neufeld, but which lasted for two or three hours with my uncle Naci, because he sang it and joked while doing so.
Before dinner a piece of matzah was wrapped in a napkin and my uncle put the napkin between the two pillows; this was called in Hebrew afikoman. At the end of the dinner a short prayer was said and he took the afikoman and gave everybody a piece of it. It had to be eaten while saying a short prayer and blessing.
With my grandfather the seder lasted for one hour and a half or two hours, with uncle Naci it lasted till morning. It was a custom that the afikoman was stolen by one of the children. After dinner Uncle Naci started looking for the afikoman and then they started the bargaining, because without the afikoman the seder couldn't go on. When it was stolen my uncle pretended not to notice it. From the first child it was stolen by a second, and from that one by a third, then the fourth child made a fake afikoman wrapped in a similar napkin. At the end there were four or five afikomans, but my uncle knew which was the original one. The bargaining with the children and all the afikomans lasted for at least an hour because of the jokes, but in the end there was only one real afikoman.
After the dinner there is a prayer: they fill up a glass with wine and the door is opened for the prophet Elijah so he could come in, taste the wine and then go again. A small blessing had to be said for that. I can remember one Pesach clearly. I was about nine or ten years old. There was a heavy rain, a real downpour, and when the doors were opened a bearded man with a hat was standing there, completely bedraggled. The women started screaming and the children became scared. He was a Jewish traveling beggar. My uncle instantly realized who that man must be; he rose from the table, went to him and addressed him in Yiddish asking him if he was a beggar. He led the man to the table, had him brought plates, dry clothes, and made him sit down and have dinner with us.
Before dinner a piece of matzah was wrapped in a napkin and my uncle put the napkin between the two pillows; this was called in Hebrew afikoman. At the end of the dinner a short prayer was said and he took the afikoman and gave everybody a piece of it. It had to be eaten while saying a short prayer and blessing.
With my grandfather the seder lasted for one hour and a half or two hours, with uncle Naci it lasted till morning. It was a custom that the afikoman was stolen by one of the children. After dinner Uncle Naci started looking for the afikoman and then they started the bargaining, because without the afikoman the seder couldn't go on. When it was stolen my uncle pretended not to notice it. From the first child it was stolen by a second, and from that one by a third, then the fourth child made a fake afikoman wrapped in a similar napkin. At the end there were four or five afikomans, but my uncle knew which was the original one. The bargaining with the children and all the afikomans lasted for at least an hour because of the jokes, but in the end there was only one real afikoman.
After the dinner there is a prayer: they fill up a glass with wine and the door is opened for the prophet Elijah so he could come in, taste the wine and then go again. A small blessing had to be said for that. I can remember one Pesach clearly. I was about nine or ten years old. There was a heavy rain, a real downpour, and when the doors were opened a bearded man with a hat was standing there, completely bedraggled. The women started screaming and the children became scared. He was a Jewish traveling beggar. My uncle instantly realized who that man must be; he rose from the table, went to him and addressed him in Yiddish asking him if he was a beggar. He led the man to the table, had him brought plates, dry clothes, and made him sit down and have dinner with us.
Period
Location
Ileanda
Romania
Interview
Gyorgy Neufeld