“Passover,” Elizabeth Ehrlich
The family ritual that structures the essay and frames the narrator’s observations
The Passover Seder
This daily activity serves as the most important family tradition in the narrator’s household.
cooking and sharing meals
The special thing about Nana's tortillas
What is her technique?
The ingredient Jean sometimes adds to the rice
What is a fried egg with a runny yolk?
The two foods in the title represent two different cultural influences in Washington's life
What are American culture and jamaican heritage?
The primary way family history is transmitted during the Seder
Storytelling through ritual and conversation
Bread in the essay represents a tradition that connects family members through this shared experience.
nourishment or care
The family member whose dream it was to found rosarita
Eric's parents' reaction to his coming out
What is laughing?
The mother's cooking reflects her approach to parenting in this way
What is practical and consistent?
The tension revealed in the essay between strict religious observance and personal meaning
Tradition practiced more as memory and connection than belief
The narrator’s family uses food traditions to preserve this part of their identity.
their Italian heritage
Nana's mother's birthplace
Where is Sonora?
What is comfort and his mother?
The essay suggests that memory is built through this kind of moment.
What are small, repeated experiences?
The narrator’s evolving understanding of the Seder as she reflects on her role within the family
A shift from passive participation to reflective appreciation
As a child, the narrator misunderstands her family’s traditions, viewing them as a sign of this.
poverty or being different from others
The way Tata started his career in food
What is selling tamales in a clean environment?
The number of bottles of Cabernet Eric and his family shared when he came out
How many is four?
Pancakes become meaningful because they are made during this kind of time
What are ordinary mornings?
Ehrlich’s central claim about why family traditions like Passover endure across generations
They preserve identity by binding personal memory to collective history
By the end of the essay, “the other bread” symbolizes how family traditions pass down this invisible but essential value.
love
The company they sold Rosarita to
The people Eric learned the most about during his coming out
Who are his parents?
By adulthood, the narrator understands that the true family tradition was not the food itself, but this pattern repeated over years
What is steady, unspoken care?