Who would have ever guessed that some day we'd be celebrating Pesach in Tokyo, Japan at the local JCC?!?!  I certainly could have never imagined this happening in all places of the world.  This was a completely amazing experience - sharing a seder with over 200 people from around the globe in such a foreign country!

One of the most mind boggling things was reading from a Haggadah that contained not only English and Hebrew, but also Japanese.  Just imagine the Four Questions in this totally foreign language!  Not only that, but the seder was conducted in all three languages -  so cool!  The Rabbi, Henri Noach, was a really neat character as well.  Born in France, raised in New York, lived in Jerusalem for 20 years, and just over 4 years ago took on the congregation in Japan because, in his words, he was looking for an "interesting experience."  It was fun talking to him and learning about his life and how he ended up in Tokyo.

The coolest thing by far was sharing this experience with Jewish people from all over the world - Dan to my left was a college kid from London studying abroad for the year in Japan, while Alley across from us was a twenty-something on holiday with her family from Manhattan, and Jack and his wife Hiroko and their adorable two-year-old Mandy had moved here to Japan a couple years ago from Hawaii.

Sharing this evening with so many differnt people made the experience quite special, although it certainly could never take the place of being with family.  I must say, though, that the food was fabulous and made up for some of the home-sickness we were feeling -- from the delicious and sweet Charoset, to a light and flaky gefillte fish, and most importanly the classic matzah ball soup.  Although this certainly could never hold a candle to my mom's spread or cooking, it did the job!

I think this whole experience has turned Jason on to a new concept of "celebrating Jewish holidays around the world".  Hey, if he's willing to take me to a foreign country every time a Jewish holiday rolls around, I'm in!

Passover will always have a unique meaning to us both after experiencing it half way around the globe in Tokyo with 200 fellow Jews!  At this point I can't wait until the next holiday rolls around so we can celebrate it in another foreign culture to get a different perspective on Jewish tradition in different parts of the world.