Well, if I had cooked much longer I�d be up to my armpits in matzah balls right now. It�s been a very busy day full of the types of domestic chores I think I�m supposed to love. Has anyone noticed recently that �cook� is a four-letter word?

I met up with an acquaintance at the grocery store. The store was a zoo and the shelves had been thoroughly picked over, especially in the special section for Passover. As organized as I am, you would think that I would not be shopping for the holiday the day before it starts, but you would be wrong. J. looked exhausted as we both scrambled to get our vegetables. �This holiday was a lot more fun,� I told her, �back when I was a kid and someone else did the work.�

�Ssshhh�� she replied. �Don�t let my husband hear you say that. I said something like it and he accused me of spoiling all the fun.�

�And how much of the work is he doing?� I asked. She just grinned.

Passover simply cannot be done without lots and lots of work. The service is an at-home service, called a �seder,� and there are all sorts of special foods and food rules. No leavening, no bread, no cake, and, depending on where your ancestors came from, no rice and no beans. The food rules are difficult to begin with and are a real pain with a family of vegetarians. The first night we are going to a cousin�s house but the second night we are having another family over.

I spent the afternoon preparing a yam casserole (no special reason except everyone will eat them and they can be set up in advance), vegetable soup that matzah balls can be set into, and a dessert that does not use flour or corn syrup. On Tuesday, I will make the apple, wine, and nut mixture (called charoset), chop up parsley and make salt water, bake an egg (as a symbol on the special seder plate) and get out the good dishes. I will make spinach pie---but leave off the crust so it becomes a casserole. Somewhere before then, I need to straighten up the dining room so we all can eat in there. I will clean and cook and cook and clean�.and then it will be over.

I love Passover. I love the ritual of the seder and having children around. But I don�t love the work. Passover is one of those rare occasions when I wish I were a guy.

It would be fun to sit around, watch my wife work, and complain her grumbling was ruining the holiday.

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