When Pesach is over, I feel truly proud: I served 10 Yom Tov meals, and they were all good! Never mind that I felt overwhelmed beforehand, with planning, shopping, shlepping, and cooking. Never mind that I had to post a list on the wall to keep track of all the different meals and courses. The main thing is, I did it! But when I spoke to “Rabbi Yitzchak” and his wife “Rifka” about their Pesach sedarim, I was awed! Making Pesach in my own house was really a cinch in comparison to their seder experience.

Rabbi Yitzchak is a kiruv rabbi on the NYU campus in Manhattan and lives in Passaic. This year, he and his wife and their nine children – ages three months to 16 years – moved into a small apartment in Greenwich Village so that they could be near the NYU college campus.

This article was published in 2009, so before you leave the house check to make sure the information about the place you are going is the same.

Everyone agrees that one of the best things about Yom Tov is spending time with your family, including grandparents, cousins, and married children. Although most mothers would agree that if everyone else is happy, they will be happy too, it can be hard to think of activities that will please everyone, from toddlers to seniors – and especially teens!

One safe bet is a park. Being outside on a (hopefully) balmy April day is enjoyment enough for the adults. And for the children, many of the parks I reviewed feature special attractions. So look over this list of destinations. They may not be earthshakingly exciting, but when the sun is shining and you have good company, almost any activity is fun.*

Here is a list of things to do that I have gathered in response to the perpetual question of what to do on Chol Hamoed. Some of these activities require reservations, so read this article before Yom Tov, and be prepared!

Tours
For adults: You’ll have to leave the little kids home for this one. Rabbi Dovid Katz is leading two truly unique tours of Baltimore on Wednesday and Thursday of Chol Hamoed. One is called “Old Jewish Baltimore,” and the other one is “The War of 1812, the Civil War, and the Jews.” The tours last for about five

Pesach is a central theme of Judaism all around the world and the most beloved of Jewish holidays for Jewish families across the spectrum. As I spoke to relatives, friends, and members of the community from all over the world, I was amazed to hear how the same Yom Tov was celebrated in ways that were at once so different and so very much the same. Of course, some of the memories are all the more poignant because the places where the memories took place no longer exist as Jewish communities.

As children, we envision ourselves becoming all sorts of things – when we “grow up.” Some kids want to be garbage collectors and ride a noisy, green truck. Others want to be teachers, imagining what fun it would be to boss everyone around. A few children, finding the pediatrician’s stethoscope “necklace” intriguing, dream of being doctors. And some children believe that driving a big rumbling bus is the ultimate in power!

Then we become adults and reality hits. Being a garbage collector, teacher, doctor, or bus driver no longer seems exciting or even practical, and the ways we find ways to support ourselves turn out to be very different from our childhood fantasies. Some of us become accountants, speech therapists, or mechanics, but others find unique ways to use their talents to support their families.

Although traditional Mom-and-Pop stores still exist, today’s small business people are more likely to use “in” words like “entrepreneur” and “niche” business to describe what they do. And technology has so revolutionized the nature of doing business that it is possible to work from anywhere in the world and to reach customers across the globe. Many contemporary businesses would not have been possible even 20 years ago, because the technology simply wasn’t there.

One Purim, a newly married young couple gave each of their relatives and friends a hamantash and an orange in a paper bag. Their mother laughed and enjoyed the gift, realizing that it reflected that particular couple’s style and attitude about life: simple, with love! Their grandmother, on the other hand, exclaimed, “Somebody should teach them the correct way to send mishloach manos!” One gift – two reactions!

Every year, in the weeks before Purim, the shalach manos decision-making begins in earnest: Many or few? Homemade or bought? Fancy or plain? Sweet or healthy? Themed or not? Ask members of our community what they think is appropriate, and you’ll get dozens of rather vehement opinions.