Like clockwork, the minute Purim ends — or at least when the last hamantaschen is enjoyed — I start to crave matzah.
I’m not sure whether this is simply my internal Jewish clock or because, according to Jewish custom, one should avoid eating matzah from the first day of the month of Nisan, and my inner rebel (or let’s say child) wants to do what’s not allowed. This year, an unexpected plethora of BMH-BJ hamantaschen meant I staved off the craving for a few extra days. But right now, I’m counting down to that first delectable crunch of lechem oni — poor man’s bread.
Last year, the week after Passover, I wrote about Post Passover Stress Disorder. So much effort goes into the holiday that I almost feel cheated when it ends after eight short days. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t love the cleaning part, or the lugging down of heavy boxes, but I get so much enjoyment from unpacking them.
I confess: I’m a tchotchke person. I love collecting small little items, such as a book with a favored cover illustration, small little vases that hold maybe a single flower, or items from my favorite ceramicists. When Pesach comes around, I rediscover the tchotchkes I see but once a year — a peeler shaped like a potato that was a gift from my mother-in-law, or the sunflower teaspoon measures, a gift from my sister, that are pure decoration as I don’t bake a stitch for the holiday. Then there are the larger items: The 1970s-style pottery dishes — a complete set — that we happened upon by chance.
So this year, to combat PPSD, I’m thinking ahead, and trying to relish as much of the Pesach experience before it’s even arrived. Call it the Pre-Passover Enjoyment Cure.
Chag sameach!
Shana Goldberg may be reached at shana@ijn.com
