I've gotten a few bookclubbers asking who this Elijah person is.
Here's from wikipedia: "in some aspects of Judaism, there is a tradition of leaving an empty chair and a full goblet of wine at the Passover feast table to serve as a reminder of his promised return. At one point during the feast, participants may open a door in hopes that he will appear as a guest."
I am surprised some of you haven't heard of the tradition, since I thought it was pretty famous. I guess this bookclub is very goyish, or something. Anyway, since this was unfamiliar, I'm including a few pictures of the Tefillin and Mezuzah that get mentioned in the book, in case you don't know what these are, either!
6 comments:
Sorry, but I grew up in the Midwest. The only thing I knew about Jewish culture before I came to New York came from Seinfeld and Woody Allen movies.
Which isn't to say that I don't want to know. The book has been pretty illuminating so far about this kind of stuff, and hopefully this will allow me to say "oy" in a way that won't be quite so self-conscious.
I gotta say, we never did the chair thing at Passover. The cup thing, yes.
I understand that Elijah does get a chair set aside for him during a bris (circumcision, lit. "baby penis mutilation"), but I remember very little of my own so I can't say either way.
Jeez, Josh, you're not from North Dakota. There are like 100,000 Jews in Michigan. I even met some of them.
I must point out that Josh was not alone in his ignorance. I have a feeling bookclub will bridge many cultural gaps. And then the healing really can begin. Thanks for being there for us, Nat! Way to represent.
I am sorry for those of you who couldn't get my HILARIOUS joke.
Nat, you're right of course. I grew up with tons of Jewish people in Michigan. My mother, for one. Still, it's always nice to use the "I'm from the midwest" excuse as opposed to the "I'm just ignorant" one that I use too often already.
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