Virtual Vinyl Tablecloths

I first became interested in vinyl tablecloths purely by happenstance while  shopping at a local department store.  The tablecloths I owned were already stained and not the easiest item to iron and Pesach (Passover) was soon approaching.  As I am poking around the store shelves  I spotted  a pattern that really intrigued me.  I remove it from the shelf to first check the size and shape.  To my great surprise, I saw the words, vinyl on the the packaging.  I was actually stunned.  I wondered how wonderfully odd this was – a beautifully  detailed  lace tablecloth made out of vinyl and  very similar to the one featured in this article.

The timing of  finding this beautiful lace vinyl tablecloth was perfect.  It was nearing the Jewish holiday, which recounts the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt, and traditionally calls for the drinking of four cups of wine (or kosher grape juice).  In addition to drinking wine or grape juice, we have a custom of dabbing wine on our plates as part of the Seder (ordered meal) ritual.  When we read from the Haggadah (the book that directs the order of the Seder), during the reading of the Ten Plagues, we are instructed to dab  wine or grape juice on our plates as each plague is recited.   In fact, wine or grape juice is a staple of observant Jews, as we traditionally consume it at all of our festival meals, including the weekly Shabbat (sabbath). Needless to say, grape juice and wine  stains are nearly impossible to remove.  I know a lot of women who cover their cloth table cloths with a thin, clear  plastic, but that can cause more trouble than it’s worth, meaning it slips and slides, causing undue messes.  These clear plastic coverings are also a hazard when it comes to young children, who like to play and tug at it  – causing instant disasters!

Returning to my Pesach story, the lace vinyl table cloth is a homemaker’s dream.  A couple of my guests remarked how beautiful it was and that they were going to follow suit and purchase one as well.  Even though it did suffer from those accidental spills and drips,  it only took a few easy wipe with a damp sponge to completely remove.  In fact, that was all I had to do to clean the whole thing, and it was as good as new!  I left it on the table to dry for the following evening, as Jews in the Diaspora traditionally have two Seders.  Part of this tradition originates because the Jewish calender is based on both the sun and the moon, unlike the Muslim calender which is solely a lunar calender.  This tradition goes back to ancient times where there weren’t any clocks and instruments to calculate precisely the setting of the sun and the appearance of a new moon.  Jewish months begin on the new moon and could only be determined by mountain top observation.  Since months vary by the number of days, e.g. 29 0r 30, Jews in distant communities were not always notified in time whether the new month had begun or not.  Therefore, in order to make sure that all Jews observed a holiday, it was determined that holidays would last for two days to make sure that they were not missed.

Written by Brenne Meirowitz, BA, MA, MS
© 2010-2011 Brenne Meirowitz.  All Rights Reserved.