Author Archives: Roy Gantz

Afikoman with a twist

Background: Informant is a 19 year old, Jewish American/Argentinian college student. They are from the Chicago area but now live in Los Angeles. The informant has a family tradition during the holiday of passover that inverts the common tradition of many other Jewish people. 

Informant: So, during passover (the Jewish holiday), there’s a tradition that most families do where the parents have to hide the Afikoman which is a little piece of matzah, an the kids have to find it and whichever kid finds it gets a special prize. But in my family we do the opposite. So, the kids have to hide the Afikoman and it’s my dad’s job to go look for it and find it. But the tradition and the joke is that he doesn’t get up from the Seder table, he sits in his chair when it’s time to go look for it and bribes us with money to tell him where it is. And that’s the kids prize it’s not like, you get a prize for finding it; you get a prize for revealing to him where it is. So for example he’ll be like, “5 dollars.” And we’re like, no that’s not enough cause’ it’s a really good hiding place. And he’s like, “10 dollars.” And then we always, like, talk him up and negotiate to like, 25 bucks. And this is without him getting up from the table to even look for it. 

Reflection: This story came from the informants family flipping a traditional Jewish tradition on it’s head. In Jewish tradition, looking for the Afikoman is something that kids do in the ages before 13, so having the parent who is an adult search is a funny twist on it. Beyond that, there is an aspect of the tradition that is capitalistic as the kids are putting monetary value on the hiding place of the matzah, focusing on how they can bargain with the adult to receive the most money. This reflects an American twist on a Jewish tradition, as it adds American values of capital and money into Jewish culture.

Shehecheyanu

Background: Informant is a 19 year old student. Their parents both grew up in Venezuela. Their mom’s side is Spanish and Italian and their dad’s is Spanish and Israeli. Informant is from Texas and Miami and now resides in Los Angeles. They identify as Latin American and Jewish.

Informant: My Jewish family, everytime we’d move or anytime we’d go somewhere new, like before we came to our new house we’d say this prayer: “Shehecheyanu.” Which is a Jewish prayer for gratitude whenever you experience something new and you need to bless it. So everytime we did something for the first time we’d say it together as a family. 

Reflection: This was a really nice one to hear as it had both cultural and familial significance for the Informants life. This prayer is unique as it is said in different places and at different times to check in with the world and remember to practice gratitude. I loved hearing how the informant has used it throughout their lives, specifically when moving to a new place so they can bless the home.

Passing the salt

Background: Informant is a 19 year old student. Their parents both grew up in Venezuela. Their mom’s side is Spanish and Italian and their dad’s is Spanish and Israeli. Informant is from Texas and Miami and now resides in Los Angeles. They identify as Latin American and Jewish.

Informant: So, ever since I was little, at the dinner table my dad has this superstition. And his whole family has this superstition that you cant pass salt directly. You have to place the salt shaker down on the table and the other person has to pick it up. If not, it’s bad luck. It’s like, a curse. Like if you pass the salt directly it’s a curse. I don’t know why, I don’t know what it’s about but my dad has always been like that. If he’s like, pass the salt and I try to hand it to him he’s like “no put it down on the table,” like he won’t accept it. At all. And when I go to my aunt’s house for a high holiday or something it’s the same thing. It’s like, in his family, so now we all do it obviously. And also if someone spills the salt, you get the salt and throw it over their shoulder because that’s also bad luck. 

Reflection: This story is a great example of superstitions in people’s culture. The informants dad enforces this superstition and it’s completely backed up by his family as they all believe in it together. I thought it was interesting how the informant described how this superstition was highly specific to their family, but this is actually a very common superstition that many have. It shows how people’s folklore becomes very personal to them even when it’s so universal. 

Candy cone


Background: Informant is a 51 year old Israeli American. They grew up in Germany for the first seven years of their life, which is where this tradition took place. They are talking about their first day of school in Germany, describing a tradition that’s done there. 

Informant: On the first day of school, kids’ parents buy them this big cone like in the size of a typical kindergartener. Like, early grade, like first grade of school. It was done on the first day of school. They will fill it with lots and lots of candies and snacks and they close it and that’s how you go to school and you take a picture with it and everyone had a cone. 

Reflection: I loved hearing about this tradition as we don’t have it in America at all. When doing research, I saw how present this tradition is in Germany and how integral it is to kid’s culture there. It represnts the modern creation of childhood and how it operates in the West. We do these things in Western culture to celebrate kids milestones, and this is a largely recent form of folklore; kid’s folklore.

Travelers Prayer

Background: Informant is a 51 year old Israeli American. They immigrated to the Chicago area of the United States in the late 90s. They live in a largely Jewish area where access to Jewish religious services and resources are plentiful. 

Informant: There is a religious thing that’s more of a tradition where you read the prayer for the traveler. It’s called the travelers prayer. It goes… 

Hebrew: יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְפָנֶיךָ יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ,

שֶׁתּוֹלִיכֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם וְתַצְעִידֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם וְתַדְרִיכֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם, וְתִסְמְכֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם,

וְתַגִּיעֵנוּ לִמְחוֹז חֶפְצֵנוּ לְחַיִּים וּלְשִׂמְחָה וּלְשָׁלוֹם.

אם דעתו לחזור מיד אומר וְתַחְזִירֵנוּ לְשָׁלוֹם

וְתַצִּילֵנוּ מִכַּף כָּל אוֹיֵב וְאוֹרֵב וְלִסְטִים וְחַיּוֹת רָעוֹת בַּדֶּרֶךְ,

וּמִכָּל מִינֵי פֻּרְעָנֻיּוֹת הַמִּתְרַגְּשׁוֹת לָבוֹא לָעוֹלָם,

וְתִתְּנֵנוּ לְחֵן וּלְחֶסֶד וּלְרַחֲמִים בְּעֵינֶיךָ וּבְעֵינֵי כָל רֹאֵינוּ,

כִּי אל שׁוֹמֵעַ תְּפִלָּה וְתַחֲנוּן אַתָּה.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה לפי נוסח ספרד יי שׁוֹמֵעַ תְּפִלָּה:

כִּי מַלְאָכָיו יְצַוֶּה לָךְ לִשְׁמָרְךָ בְּכָל דְרָכֶיךָ:

יי יִשְׁמָר צֵאתְךָ וּבוֹאֶךָ מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם:

וְיַעֲקֹב הָלַךְ לְדַרְכּוֹ וַיִּפְגְּעוּ בוֹ מַלְאֲכֵי אֱלֹהִים.

וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב כַּאֲשֶׁר רָאָם ר”ת רפאל אוריאל מיכאל:

מַחֲנֵה אֱלֹהִים זֶה, וַיִּקְרָא שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא מַחֲנָיִם.

יְבָרֶכְךָ יי וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ:

יָאֵר יי פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ:

יִשָּׂא יי פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם:

Transliteration: Y’hi ratzon milfanecha Adonai Eloheinu ve-lohei avoteinu she-tolichenu l’shalom v’tatz’idenu l’shalom, v’tism’chenu l’shalom, v’tadrichenu l’shalom, v’tagi’enu limchoz cheftzenu l’chayim ul’simha ul’shalom. V’tatzilenu mi-kaf kol oyev v’orev v’listim v’chayot ra-ot ba-derech, u-mi-kol min-ei pur’aniyot hamitrag’shot la-vo la-olam. V’tishlach b’racha b’chol ma’a’se yadeinu v’tit’neinu l’chen ul’chesed ul’rachamim b’einecha uv’einei kol ro-einu. V’tishma kol tachanuneinu ki el sho-me-ah t’fila v’tachanun ata. Baruch ata Adonai sho-me’a t’fila.

Translation: May it be Your will, Lord, our God and the God of our ancestors, that You lead us toward peace, guide our footsteps toward peace, and make us reach our desired destination for life, gladness, and peace. May You rescue us from the hand of every foe, ambush along the way, and from all manner of punishments that assemble to come to earth. May You send blessing in our handiwork, and grant us grace, kindness, and mercy in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see us. May You hear the sound of our humble request because You are God Who hears prayer requests. Blessed are You, Lord, Who hears prayer.

Reflection: The travelers prayer is very common in Jewish tradition, and it’s usually given to a person who is moving or taking a long journey in written form. However, it is folkloric in how it is tradition to speak it aloud and give it to someone, almost as a protective measure. This reflects a superstitious nature of people as they fear people’s safety on long journeys.

References and more information:

“Tefilat Haderech, The Traveler’s Prayer.” My Jewish Learning, https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/tefilat-haderekh-the-travelers-prayer/. Accessed 29 April 2022.