We Were the Lucky Ones

The story begins and ends with Passover Seder, a motif that demonstrates the power of family and home. Because a Passover Seder traditionally includes several generations of a family, it establishes that the Kurc family is bound together both prior to and after the war. During the Seder at the beginning of the story, Nechuma thinks back to a Passover that she and Sol were forced to spend during the Great War, in hiding in a basement, with little food and with fear of an unknown future. At the current Seder, Nechuma is missing Addy terribly, as he was unable to travel from France, which foreshadows the long separation that will extend for almost a decade, when Addy and his family have no idea about each other’s survival.

At the Passover Seder at the end of the story, Sol gives a short but meaningful blessing:

‘Blessed art Thou, Lord our God, Master of the universe, Who has kept us alive and sustained us, And has brought us to this special time. […] Today, we celebrate the Festival of Matzahs, the time of our liberation. Amen’ (383).

Sol and Nechuma are thankful beyond measure that their children and grandchildren are alive, sustained, and brought to the present time to be together.