My second most favorite Pesach moment came at about 3 pm on Sunday afternoon when I showed my father and brother-in-law that the Rama and the Mishna Brurah both rule against saying Halel after maariv in the synagouge on seder night. It was cool. You could actually see their minds expand.
(Explanation: Halel in the synagouge on Seder night is a Sephardi minhag that was adopted by the hasidim who combined the Sephard liturgy with the Ari's liturgy to create something new, and wholly their own. In our mixed up day, anything with the slightest Hasidic whiff to it is considered "better" or more "authentic" so many God and neighbor-fearing Jews, including, apparently, my father and brother in law, have adopted Hasidic customs without even realizing it, halel in the syangauge on Seder night being one of them.)
My most favorite moment came about thirty seconds later when my mother-in-law said, in a tone of pure exasperation, "You're not Hasidim! You mean we could have started the seder 25 minutes earlier last night?!"
Post script: On the second night, I skipped halel and went home. My father in law and brother in law stayed behind, giving me the bonus yom tov pleasure of really annoying my MIL.
"Where are they," she fumed. "How long does Hallel take anyway?"
Haha! I bet no one in that family will be saying halel next year! I hope the neighbors aren't too offended!
