On a spit.
The lamb was 83 pounds ...
Thats really all that needs to be said in order to understand what a truly unique undertaking this was ... except that those facts really say don't say anything about the night.
There was so much more to it than that, enough that it is difficult to really describe the vast amount of work that went into the evening - 25 pounds of homemade gefilte fish, 6 giant hand cut fruit platters, a tent covering the yard, dinner for 60 - Tanya essentially created and ran a small catering company out of her own home.
But ultimately, what is important is that the seder was an unqualified, unreal, over-the-top, spectacular success ... the seder was truly, epically wonderful. There is literally no way that I can think of to accurately describe the incredible joy and energy that came out of this night. All I can say is that the seder was a touchstone moment, a time and place that everyone involved with is going to remember, with incredible positivity, for the rest of their lives.
The only hiccup of the evening was that around the Hillel sandwiches the spit bar broke and dumped the lamb in the fire, resulting in the need to convene myself, Larry, Steven and a number of drunk Israelis in the backyard around the blackened, mostly cooked lamb carcass ... as we carved it up with a power saw and a number of sharp knives ... still, this was not exactly a downside, as it resulted in finishing up the cooking process on the BBQ and in the oven.
Don't worry; the lamb was totally delicious.
Below are some, just a few, of the wonderful moments from the evening - and if you read Hebrew, here is another view of the wonderful, wonderful evening.
Before anyone even showed up, the backyard got tented ...
Spitting the lamb with Avi in the morning ... we started at 9 am.
Papa is our homeboy ... outside by the lamb.
The whole lamb crew.
The lamb after a few hours cooking.
It's hard work cooking a lamb ...
Child labor ... Hillel helping cook up the lamb.
Some of the guests could barely contain themselves when they first saw the lamb ... if we had not held them back soon after this there would have been none for the rest of us ...
So, after the lamb removed itself from the spit, emergency measures were taken to prepare it for its final cooking on the grill and the oven.
We think its ready ... but for the real work, we called Larry ...
... eat your heart out Bobby Flay ... Larry is truly a mans' man here grilling the racks of lamb.
After grilling and cooking in the oven, the rest of the lamb ended up here, in the hands of the crazed Israeli meat cutters, being deliciously prepared for dinner.
As you can see, the lamb was a big hit. Stacy and I were both enjoying the ribs ..
... while Aviva Scott and Nikki feasted on the foreleg.
It was so good it even drove some people crazy.
Meanwhile, that was just the lamb ... more cooking was happening inside, as most of the guests were put to work when they first arrived - well not the kids, but Papa must have chopped 5 pounds of liver.
Tanya and Papa.
Mika, Samara and Joey ... cousins by blood and otherwise, looking completely adorable.
Making Quinoa ... vegetarians had to eat too you know ...
And around 730ish, the rest of the seder got going inside and outside in the tent ... from a lovely, long "cocktail" hour ...
Nitsa and Tal just before dinner.
Koffman and HG discussing the merits of Yarden ...
Irene and Tzvi enjoying cousinhood.
All the way through the seder and a wonderful meal ...
Towards the end of the meal, people were getting excited and the dancing began by celebrating Tanya the way she deserves ... the woman fed 60 people the night after feeding 22 people, and did it all with a huge smile and an overabundance of joy ...
The conga line begins ... apparently Dylan told his dad that he was "famous" because he was leading the conga line ...
The folk singing after / during the dancing was really pushed by Tzvi's enthusiasm and energy ...
... as well as Bucky's sheer joy at the overabundance of family.
Omer carefully orchestrated the best version of "Echad Mi Yodea" ever ...
and everyone just generally broke into song. Everyones arms were around everyone else and we were just one giant family, glorying in spending the holiday together.
Not all, but a good portion of the Buchman/Howe/Gaskill/Krisel/Koreh family ...
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