This was my ‘toast’ in memory of Jon Podell at his memorial in April 2018 in San Francisco. Jon often spent Passover at my place with our crazy Passover seder and homemade haggadah. It often included musical parodies like “There’s No Seder Like Our Seder” along with boas (feather, not snake) and scallion whipping during the singing of Dayenu. The singing of Dayenu is essentially about #gratitude meaning ‘it would have been enough”
So, as I read each limerick, I encouraged all of Jon’s friends at the memorial to exclaim “Dayenu” after each stanza.
There once was a guy named JP
With hundreds of friends we’ll agree
Who all loved him so much
All our lives he did touch
Now he smiles on us guarantee
Dayenu!!!
It’s hard to believe that he’s gone
A man of good looks, smarts and brawn
With a smile that shined
Due to shelves being lined
With his PRODUCTs he used night and dawn
Dayenu!!!
I was blessed to have known him for years
And rejoiced when he always appears
Despite preferring LA
But when back in the Bay
Even better when he lived oh so near
Dayenu!!!
Too many memories to share
Such the Thanksgiving meals we prepare
They were oh so fun
Like the asparagus one
‘Not to eat on a date’, he’d beware
Dayenu!!!
There was Passover seders with Jews
Well before he met his life muse
We ate matzo galore
And the questions of four
Who knew he’d meet Jewish Tom Cruise
Dayenu!!!
Your house in the ‘country of wine’
A standard of living higher than mine
He showed me the way
How to prosper and play
In Sydney I now live quite divine.
Dayenu!!!
He’s been taken from us in his prime
On this earth though, I’ve cherished the time
To know you Podell,
from me, your friend Trell
There’s a reason our names had to rhyme
Dayenu!!
And final last words from this Yank
PoTasha how much I must Thank
Your love raised the bar
It’s gotten you far
May we ALL find the same. Glasses clank.
And THIS is how you make an entrance to your wedding:
