Hey everyone!

I was researching what holidays I should write for next, I came across Passover. I know the Jacobs are Jewish, and I do try to include diversity in my writing, so this idea really struck a chord with me. So, without further ado, we have a Newsies Passover Seder! I've also introduced a family of new characters, tell me what you think of them!

Disclaimers: I am not Jewish. If I have not portrayed Passover correctly, I apologize profusely.

Anything related to Newsies is owned by Disney.

"Mom?"

Esther Jacobs looked up from her mending at her youngest son. He was sitting on the small couch across the room, but instead of paying attention to the book he had previously been reading, he was staring at Esther. "Yes, Les?"

"Can we invite some of the newsies to the Passover Seder?"

"What?" David looked up from his project, alarm registering on his face. Esther smiled. Davey liked to have his life ordered and distinct, no two groups bleeding into each other. Esther had heard many wonderful things about the newsies, but had never met any of them other than Jack, who Davey had brought over one day.

"Of course," said Esther. "After all, the service does say 'let all who are hungry, come and eat.'"

"Hey Jack!" Said Les the next morning, running up to the older boy waiting for his papers. "Guess what?"

"You met the President," joked Jack.

"No! Mom said you can come to our Seder the day after tomorrow! And you can bring the other newsies!"

Davey pinched the bridge of his nose. Once Les started talking, it was impossible to get a word in edgewise. He waited for his brother to wind down before turning to Jack. "Our family is celebrating Passover the day after tomorrow. In ancient times, the Jews were imprisoned in Egypt, and a man named Moses brought ten plagues down upon the Pharaoh. The night of the last plague, an angel of death visited all the houses in Egypt and killed the firstborn of every house. But the Jews had marked their doors with lamb's blood, so the angel passed over them. After that plague, Pharaoh let them go free. That's why we celebrate Passover."

"Ah." Jack looked at Davey, curious. "So what happens?"

"Well, it's a ceremony that can last two to four hours. We say blessings and eat from the seder plate, and then we have dinner and praises."

"Huh." Jack looked genuinely interested, which surprised Davey. He thought he would've lost the newsies at the 'two to four hours.' "Can I really come?"

Les broke in. "Let all who are hungry, come and eat!"

Les and Davey had shared the invite with all the newsies, but other than Jack, only Crutchie, Specs, and Romeo showed any interest. Esther had put Davey, Les, and Mayer in charge of cleaning all the house except for the kitchen, which she said was 'her domain.' After hours of cleaning, Esther finally deemed the house satisfactory and told the boys to prepare the table, then get ready.

"I call setting the table!" Shouted Les, running into the dining room. Davey didn't mind, since that meant he could set up the seder plate. While Les arranged the table, Davey went into the kitchen. Removing the seder plate from the 'do-not-touch-unless-it's-a-special-occasion' cupboard, he set it on the counter and began to work. He placed the egg, the horseradish, the charoset, the shank bone, the parsley, and the kale gently in their individual dishes on the plate and carried it out to the table, setting it in front of his father's plate. Since Les had already left the kitchen, Davey tidied up a few things and then left to change.

"Boys! Very good job!" Esther smiled at her sons, who grinned back. She took a moment to fix their hair and a few things on their clothing before giving them a hug. "I'm so glad I have you boys."

"We're glad to have you, Mom. We love you!" They squeezed her tight, and Esther could feel the sincerity of their words. There was a knock on the door.

"That'll be the Hales," guessed Esther. Giving her boys one last hug, she stood and opened the door. Sure enough, the Hale family stood there, grinning. "Esther!" Said Mrs. Hale, shifting the baby on her hip to give Mrs. Jacobs a hug. "Good to see you!"

"You too!" They exchanged Passover greetings in Hebrew as Mayer stepped out of his room, walking with the aid of his crutch.

"The Hales are here!" He announced, giving everyone a round of hugs and handshakes.

Davey and Les welcomed the three Hale girls in; there was Shira, who was Davey's age and as pretty as he was smart, Azriela, who was thirteen and full of energy, and Tabitha, who was Les's age with a quiet disposition. "Happy Passover!" They greeted each other with smiles and handshakes.

There was another knock on the door, and Mrs. Jacobs opened it to reveal Jack with Romeo, Crutchie, and Specs standing behind him. "Come in!" Said Mrs. Jacobs welcomingly. "Davey and Les are with some of their friends in the sitting room."

"Davey?" Asked Tabitha, tugging on his sleeve. "Who's that?"

"They're some of the newsies. I've told you about them. I'll introduce you."

The boys walked in, grinning. "Hey, Davey," said Jack with a grin. He surveyed the house. "I see you have other friends over, too."

"Everyone, this is Shira, Azriela, and Tabitha Hale. Girls, this is Jack, Romeo, Crutchie, and Specs." Phew. Introductions done. Everything was usually easier from there.

"Hi!" Said Shira, stepping forward. David was happy that she was a 'born hostess' as his mother called it. "Happy Passover! Is this your first Seder?" Davey was also glad Shira didn't assume they were Jewish.

"Yep," said Jack. "Davey and Les invited us over, since we ain't the types to celebrate holidays like this."

"Well, I hope you enjoy it."

Azriela was whispering in Davey's ear. "Why does that one have a crutch?"

"He had polio a while ago and he needs it to walk," Davey replied quietly. "It's probably not polite to ask."

"David Jacobs! You think I would?" Azriela gave a playful shake of her head and walked over to begin chatting up the newsies. Tabitha gave all the guests one look and melted into the kitchen to hide by her mom.

Everyone had just been hanging out, but soon it was time for the Seder to start. Davey made sure that the newsies could sit with somebody they were comfortable with and who could quietly explain what was happening. Azriela was bouning up and down in her chair, and everybody seemed to share the energetic attitude. Crutchie, Jack, and Romeo seemed eager, but Specs looked scared. Davey leaned over to Tabitha, who was sitting between him and Specs. "Switch spots?"

The little girl nodded and slid out of her chair, allowing Davey to take it. "Hey," he said to Specs. "Nervous?"

"A little. What if I do something wrong?"

"We had Seder at the Hale's house two years ago for the first time and I was terrified. But even if you do something wrong, everybody likes you and won't say anything." Specs took a deep breath and smiled at Davey.

"Thanks."

Mr. Jacobs cleared his throat, and everyone stood. They each took their copy of the Haggadah (which Davey had made sure to translate into English for the newsies and Katherine) and Mr. Jacobs began to sing a chant in Hebrew.

The ceremony continued for a while, but finally it was time to eat! Shira, Mrs. Jacobs, and Mrs. Hale brought out steaming bowls of soup. "Hey, Les," asked Jack, who was sitting next to the boy. "What's this?" In the soup floated a few round balls.

"Matzah balls!" Replied Les. "Unleavened bread dumplings. They're really good." Les put a whole matzah ball in his mouth and started to choke on the hot ball.

"You alright?" Asked Jack, a little in a panic. He'd never dealt with a choking kid before. Azriela, who was sitting across the table piped up.

"He does it every year. Just wait. When he's done, he'll complain how hot it is."

After Les swallowed down the matzah, he panted. "That's hot!" Then he glared at Azriela. "I do not do it every year!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do-"

"Children," scolded Mr. Jacobs lightly. "This is a time of celebration, not argument."

"Sorry," said both kids, resuming their feasting.

After the matzah ball soup there were potato pancakes which Les called latkes, and then there were two roasted chickens which Mrs. Jacobs had made that morning.

"This is really good!" Said Crutchie as he tasted the latke (with sour cream and applesauce like Tabitha had recommended). "Thank you Mrs. Jacobs."

"You're welcome dear," she said, smiling.

The rest of the dinner was festive and filled with good conversation, After everyone had eaten their fill, however, there was yet another part of the ceremony. Romeo groaned. "Shh!" Hissed Azriela. "This is the best part!"

"Alright, kids," said Mr. Jacobs. "It's time for the afikoman!"

The Hale kids and Les cheered. "C'mon," said Azriela, sliding out of her chair and beckoning to Romeo as the other kids raced off. "Let's go find it!"

"Find what?" Asked Romeo as he followed her.

"Remember when we broke the matzah and set aside one piece? Well, Mrs. Jacobs hid it, and we get to look for it and eat it for dessert! And whoever finds it gets a gift!" She led Romeo into the living room, then began looking in cupboards and under things. Romeo joined in the search as well.

"Is this it?" He asked, holding up a small square wrapped with a dish towel. Azriela jumped up and smiled.

"Yes! You got it! Where was it?"

"Behind that pillow," replied Romeo, pointing to a cushion on the couch.

"C'mon!" Cheered Azriela, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the dining room. "Romeo found the afikoman!"

"Good job!" Said Mrs. Jacobs, smiling. "Here's your prize." She reached for a gift-wrapped box, but hesitated. Instead, she pulled a coin purse out of her pocket and dropped four quarters into Romeo's hand. He stared at the generous present.

"Thank you, but I really shouldn't-"

"No, Romeo, the Seder could not continue without the afikoman. You earned it. And for you, Azriela," she continued, handing the girl the box, "this is for helping Romeo."

Azriela tore open the wrapping eagerly, revealing a brand-new lunchbox. "Thank you, Mrs. Jacobs!" She squealed, sliding into her seat.

Mr. Jacobs broke the afikoman into small pieces, passing it around the table with a slightly larger piece of another matzah. Everyone leaned left ate the matzah, but Romeo made a face at the cracker. "Looks weird."

"It's unleavened," sighed Azriela, as if that were supposed to explain everything. "Just eat it! You had the matzah balls in your soup." She pushed Romeo so he was reclining to his left as well.

Romeo took a bite, and because it wasn't too terrible, he finished the cracker.

Mr. Jacobs led another blessing, and drank his wine, then poured a third cup for everybody. Mr. Jacobs started to chant in Hebrew, then everyone else followed with a chant. Romeo looked at Azriela, startled. "I don't know Hebrew!"

"Just say what I say." Mr. Jacobs chanted again, and everyone followed, but this time, Azriela pronounced it slowly and clearly so Romeo could hear and follow along. After a few more chants and pouring some wine into an extra cup which Azriela called 'the Elijah cup,', everyone leaned to their left and again, drank the wine. Then Davey began to read scripture from his Haggadah in a clear voice.

Crutchie had never heard Davey read. Sometimes, the younger newsies (and maybe himself at times) clamored for bedtime stories. But Jack and Race were the only ones who cared to tell them. Jack was usually interrupted half a dozen times during the story by some small crisis, and Race talked so fast through his cigar it could be hard to understand. One night, thought Crutchie as Mr. Jacobs started to chant, when Davey's staying at the Lodge, I'm gonna have him tell the younger newsies a story. His thoughts were broken into as Mr. Hale began to read from the Haggadah. More reading and more chanting, a blessing, and then a fourth cup of wine. There was a closing blessing over the wine, and then everyone began to read a paragraph from the Haggadah. Romeo was pretty lost at this point, so Azriela scooted closer and showed him what they were saying with her finger. "Next year, we will hopefully be alive and well in order to fulfill the laws of this exulted evening in their entirety. Next year, in Jerusalem."

Then they all stood and sang. Even though Romeo had no idea what the Hebrew words meant, he felt that they were hopeful and a promise of things to come.

After singing, the Seder was officially over. Evone lingered and talked. The kids retired to the living room. "So what did you think?" Davey asked Jack.

"It was long," confessed Jack with a grin. "But it was interestin'. And your mom's a great cook."

"Yeah, she is."

They played a few games of blindman's bluff, but it was soon time for everyone to leave. "Bye!" Called the Hales.

"I hope we can see you all next year," said Azriela, with a glance at Romeo. "That was great."

Even Tabitha, who rarely did so, cracked a smile and nodded.

After the Hales left, Jack stood and stretched. "Alright, boys, time to go."

"Les and I won't be at work tomorrow. Passover rules," explained Davey, rubbing the back of his next. "But we'll be in the next workday."

"No problem, Davey." Jack shrugged. "C'mon, punks, let's amscray."

"Jack!" Les ran over, carrying several matzah. "Here! You might want these, they're great snacks. And you can put jam on them!"

"Thanks, kid," said Jack, taking the gift. "And thanks for inviting us," he said to Davey as he and his friends left.

Sometimes, Davey mused, maybe mixing your friend groups wasn't such a bad thing.