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| OHCC LIVING | APRIL 2023 | 39 Garden Club "Spring is nature's way of saying let's party." - Robin Williams. The OHCC Garden Club is going to party with our biggest event of the year, our annual Garden Tour. The tour will take place on May 10, from 9 to 11:30 am. It's time to get out of hibernation and enjoy the spring. There will be several gardens on display and is open to all residents of the village, who sign waivers. A famous Garden Club luncheon is after the tour. Save the date and watch for upcoming details! Did you know the Garden Club updates the seasonal color at the front entrance and the blue pots at the Clubhouse entrance three times a year? This ongoing project is one of the many ways our fundraising dollars are spent. We also accept donations to offset the costs of these projects. We hope all residents enjoy the beautification of OHCC. The April 12 Garden Club meeting will feature Nan Sterman, a pioneer in the Southern California garden scene. Nan specializes in low-water, edible, and sustainable gardens; she also is a teacher, author, and TV host. She will be speaking on "Growing Vegetables in Raised Beds." The OHCC Garden Club is fortunate to be able to present such a renowned speaker at our meeting. This meeting is not to be missed! Come to our meetings, to find out about our latest tours and activities. Our meeting social time begins at 9:30 am and the speaker begins at 10 am. We always have a share table at the side entrance. If you have any seeds or cuttings you would like to share with others, please leave them on the table. Check it out before the meeting. Yiddish Club What are you doing for Passover? Are you celebrating at home, or joining another family? These are questions which, under normal circumstances, would be asked by most members of the Yiddish Club as the holiday approached on April 5 this year. This festivity may also be shared by family and friends from various religious and ethnic backgrounds. If you are invited to a "seder" at someone's home, what should you know about this observance? The "seder" is a festive holiday, and the word "seder" actually means "order." It is called this because the meal follows a specific order which describes the advance from slavery to freedom. The "Haggadah," which means "the telling," is the book used at the Passover seder. The Haggadah explains the foods on the ceremonial seder plate, and describes the highlights of the Exodus and includes songs, prayers, questions and related stories. Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) is a ceremony most central to Jewish life and history. Passover celebrates the biblical account of the Israelites' redemption and escape from 400 years of Egyptian slavery. Holiday rituals include a retelling of the Exodus story. Pesach, which means "passed over," refers to the 10th plague which killed the Egyptians first born, but miraculously passed over the houses of the Israelites. Among the symbolic foods displayed on a seder plate are parsley, horseradish, and charoset (a mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine) which represent the mortar used by the Jewish slaves. Probably the most significant observance of the holiday involves the removal of "chametz" (leavened bread) from the home. This commemorated the fact that Jews fled from Egypt and did not have time to allow bread to rise. Therefore, only matzah (unleavened bread) is permitted during the holiday. During the seder, the story of the Exodus is described in detail. The story begins with the youngest person at the seder asking the renowned "four questions." These questions are also known as "mah nishtanah" (why is this night different from all other nights?), which is the first of the four questions. These questions are then answered by the leader of the service. The seder is completed with a wish that next year we may celebrate Passover in a peaceful Jerusalem, and that we may keep working to make the world a better place. Pictured is a typical seder plate (top right) with all the symbolic foods. Secondly, my family seder, circa 1942 (bottom photo). I am the little boy, on your left, sitting next to my cousin in the Air Force uniform, and I asked those "four questions" at that seder, Happy Passover everyone! ~ Don Kent, Past Vice President

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