Excuse Me...

Go ahead, ask me.

Monday afternoon, I'm walking the dog, when a woman standing on a driveway asks, "Excuse me, are you Jewish?"  Well. I must be radiating extra Jewishness today.  "Yes," I say.  As opposed to, "Who wants to know?" Or, "What's in it for me?" "Do you happen to know if you're supposed to light a Yahrzeit candle on Passover?"  I must be sending out an aura of intelligence, too. The SJG just knows stuff, or I make it up, accordingly.  I nod, rabbinically, and pull on my imaginary beard, as I often do when called upon to answer important questions. "Personally, I don't light a candle on Passover, but I know there are people who do light Yarhzeit candles during Jewish holidays. I think you can light a candle in memory of someone whenever you want."  At that moment, my neighbor Liz comes out and wishes me a happy Passover.  "I don't think we light a candle on Passover, do you?" she asks me.  I give her a truncated version of my previous scholarly answer.  "I think you can if you want.  It probably depends on how observant you are."  "I think the Orthodox light candles at Passover," her friend says.  Dusty inches forward.  He's done with this conversation.  I have nothing left to offer on this topic, either.  I wish them both a nice seder, secretly thrilled that mine has already taken place.  There's only so much gefilte and matzoh I can consume in one lifetime.  Later, in my never-ending quest for truth, I look up the official answer.  In addition to annually on the eve of a loved one's Yahrzeit, there are four times a year when Jews light a special candle in memory of those we've lost:  The first night of Yom Kippur, the 8th night of Sukkot, the second night of Shavuot and, the last night of Passover.  So, there you have it.  Next time you see me, feel free to ask me if I'm Jewish.  But something tells me, you already know the answer.