"Passover" over the George Washington Bridge

I went to a Chabad community seder on Wednesday night and had fun explaining to an Israeli Jew what horseradish was and why someone would voluntarily eat it. It was a great experience sitting in a room filled with mosaic of Jews that were committed or nostalgic, Sephardic or Ashkenazi, American or Israeli, traditional or not. There was a lot of discussion of varying traditions ranging from parsley vs. celery vs. onion's for karpas to our favorite songs and stories. One thing that was clear was that my typical Conservative Jewish Passover experience is idiosyncratic and very very American.

When I was looking for interesting Passover music this week, I ran across this wonderful piece from William Finn's "Elegies." Like my own experiences, it's wonderfully idiosyncratic and very very American. It's also filled with a deep sense of how family life weaves through the seder experience and the Passover themes. Finn writes for musical theater, with very autobiographic shows including the Tony winning Broadway show, Falsettos, that explore his experience of being gay and Jewish in contemporary America.

Here's William Finn's "Passover" from his "Elegies," a song cycle about the loss of friends and family. Broadway actress, and North Coast University of Michigan alumni, Cortney Wolfson performs.

ELEGIES: "Passover"

Hat tip to YouTube user UrInTown for posting the video.