So far, at every Passover Seder Dinner I’ve attended, I always win the trivia contest. I'm batting 1,000. ‘The huh?’ those who’ve attended other Seders may wonder. Well, let me try to explain, as much as I can within the extreme limits of my understanding.
Most Seders don’t have trivia (but the cool ones that I go to do). Apparently usually some elder attendee hides a piece of matzah, the afikoman (?), and then children scour the premises like police detectives trying to solve a murder. With no Jesus bunny to hide multiple colored eggs the “lucky” Jewish youths “get” to hunt for the sole chunk of hidden matzah.
But, with our event devoid of children, we lacked any interested detectives to investigate. And the ample wine made the many adults in attendance indifferent to “winning” a search. I know that given the choice between looking behind picture frames and under chairs or not-doing-that-and-continuing-to-drink-wine, I would have chosen the latter. So our hosts, in their wisdom, replaced the hunt with something more engaging and appropriate for the attendees. 10 questions of trivia. Bars often employ a similar tactic in an attempt to engage patrons.
Success. I was engaged. And, obviously, I won. In a room full of worldly and intelligent people I was the best one. That’s what the quiz indisputably proved.
Initially I assumed that my only prize, in addition to the ego boost, would be the section of matzah. In my wine tinted perception this was more than adequate. But I happily learned the surprise that the winner received was a box of giant, handmade caramels. I like caramels so that only emphasized the win. The “cherry on top.” Except I don’t really like sundae-type cherries. Maybe, I don’t know, the strawberry on top? I do like strawberries so sure, the strawberry on top.
That Seder Dinner was my first. I expect to always at least compete for the caramel prize the trivia winner receives whenever I attend a Seder in the future. I don’t know if my reward was kosher or not. Maybe I’ll inquire further at future events.