Tonight marks the first night of Passover, the Jewish holiday celebrating the exodus of Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Since I was often the youngest child at the Seder table, it usually fell on me to recite the Four Questions that begin with the familiar Ma Nishtana, which translates to “Why is this night different from all other nights?”

While Hanukkah was most Jewish children’s favorite holiday, in my household, it was always Pesach. I was captivated by the plagues, terrified by the image of enslaved Jews forced to make bricks without straw, and awed by the parting of the Red Sea. I took pride in Moses standing up to Pharaoh with the powerful words: “Let my people go,” and I found hope in proclaiming at the end of the meal, “Next year in Jerusalem!”

But most of all, I loved the feast — sitting around the table with family, eating special foods reserved just for this night, partaking in matzah and enjoying strange desserts made without flour. For a kid growing up in New York in the 1970s and '80s, it was joyful and exotic.

As an adult, I came to understand…

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Bode wishes all those who celebrate a Happy Passover!