This painting depicts the Seder, the ritual meal celebrated on the first two nights of Passover, the Jewish festival commemorating the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. A large family is seen gathering around a table set with the ingredients needed for the meal: from the left, the bottle of wine used for the 4 wine blessings; the characteristic Passover plate containing the symbolic Seder foods (such as the shank bone, egg, and bitter herbs); and an embroidered fabric covering the matzah, the unleavened bread reminding of the haste in which the Israelites left Egypt.


In front of each figure is the wine cup and an open Haggadah (Hebrew for ”telling”), the book recounting the ancient Passover story. A boy standing in the center holds the Haggadah and sings from it. Further to the right, an empty chair and the wine glass placed before it await the prophet Elijah, who, according to traditional belief, visits every Jewish home on Passover.



Entirely self-taught and with no formal training, she applied for art classes Brooklyn college when she was well into her fifties.

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