Fading traditions

One of the best aspects of celebrating Jewish holidays, in my opinion, is experiencing the traditions in a way that is unique and personal to each family. Everyone finds special meaning in the way they celebrate. Celebrating Passover this year got me thinking about my own family's traditions and I had a sudden realization that they are slowly fading away, dying.

To celebrate this year, I was a guest of Rabbi Hershey and Chana for the JGrads Seder at Chabad. The Chabad experience was great, but it made me slightly nostalgic for the Seder my family always does, or did, for that matter.

In my family, my grandma was the linchpin of our Jewish traditions. We always had holiday meals in her 1950's house, where she always cooked the traditional foods in her tiny kitchen of pastel-colored appliances (the oven and stove were pink--very retro). She was the center of it all, the source of tradition, the glue that held us together.

The Haggadahs we used at Passover were ancient, from the 1950's as well, and the pages filled with matzoh crumbs that are probably older than me. We always made a certain Kosher for Passover chocolate cake that I love, and we rarely finished the Seder after eating dinner.

All these little details fill my childhood memories of growing up Jewish.

Now that she has passed away, my family in Miami no longer holds a Seder, or any other holiday meals. It's not that they couldn't, but without my grandmother it's not the same.

As I slowly forget some of the traditional songs, prayers and customs associated with the holidays, I worry about how these traditions will get carried on into the next generation of my family. My grandma's 2 daughters both married men (my uncle and my father) who are not practicing Jews. Of the 4 grandkids, both of my cousins are married to non-Jews, and my brother will probably do the same.

That leaves me.

I wonder if my family is unique in this way, but I have a feeling others have similar experiences, as inter-marrying is pretty common. The loss of tradition in my family is palpable and saddens me.

Of course, I'm not powerless to do something about it. I can be the one to make sure these traditions live on. But I wonder, are others dealing with this same problem, and what are you doing to keep your Jewish traditions alive?

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