350 Matzah Balls Later...

We just finished our second Passover seder of the season. The first was in Denver with 90+ people and the second in Amsterdam with 250 people.
       That's about 350 matzah balls - thanks to my wife Susy and two crews of wonderful friends who served to make these feasts happen! Both of the seders were "self-catered," meaning a bunch of people did a lot of work to pull them off. It was great to see them work hard together and be community.
       There are many other highlights of the seders, but what stands out the most to me (for whatever reason) are the children, especially those who read the four questions.
       In Denver we had a young boy and girl, Tate and Elli,

whose families are close friends, do the reading. Steven was helping us that evening and we have a photo of him handing the microphone. That was a picture of one generation handing over the responsibility to the next. I loved that.
       In Amsterdam we had 4 young people read the questions - two in Dutch and two in English. I had forgotten the richness you experience being in a multi-cultural community and experiencing the Passover in several languages.
      The Stroomberg girl (well, at least one of them!) was thrilled at the possibility that she was the youngest person at the seder who can read. That meant she got to read the questions!
      And I love this photo of the Stroombergs with Gerard holding the microphone for his daughter as she reads. Priceless!