Some of my friends shared with me their Passover memories. These weren’t stories told by Zaidy about the old country, or Bubbie’s melt-in-your-mouth matzo balls. Instead, these anecdotes were considered humorous only in retrospect, since they involved frantic preparations before the holiday and unexpected gaffes after Passover had begun. One thing to be learned from these stories is that, although the Pre-Passover rush can be a stressful time, it is important to lighten up and to be happy as well. Even with the most careful preparation, we can all make mistakes, so if something goes wrong, don’t worry! If you have any questions, your local Rabbi will be happy to help.
Many of these stories are about people who, far from “making mistakes”, went too far in the other direction and “over-prepared”. One woman was terribly concerned that her walls were not kosher enough. As much as she scrubbed and scrubbed, she felt that they simply could not be cleaned of all the leavening. Knowing that to make something kosher, you immerse it in hot water, the woman immediately began pouring hot water all over the walls! Of course, she had to mop up the puddles afterward.
One story was about a woman who decided to take on a new stringency one Passover. Many people eat only peeled fruits and vegetables during Passover, since they are concerned that there may be a trace of leavening in the peels. One night, at one a.m, she suddenly became worried. “Do I have to peel all the vegetables before Passover, or can it be done after?” It was too late to call a Rabbi, so she decided that she would play it safe by staying up all night and peeling vegetables! She says she was so tired the next day that she was lucky to have everything cleaned in time for Erev Pesach! Imagine how she felt when she found out that she didn’t need to peel all the vegetables after all!
One woman was praying in a synagogue the first night of Passover and saw a little boy playing with a small pole. He stuck it under a bookcase (he was trying to retrieve a ball) and pulled out instead a large chocolate chip cookie! The lady told him that he was going to be the official guardian of the cookie, and was supposed to make sure that no one would uncover it until the intermediate days of Passover when they were allowed to burn it.
It just goes to show you that even the Rabbi can make mistakes!