WHAT'S COOKING?:

[O]ne image of a Seder -- a grainy photograph -- stops me dead in my tracks every time: that of the American Expeditionary Forces in Paris in 1919. Now a part of the holdings of the National Archives, it was recently featured to great effect in an exhibition at the archives called "What's Cooking, Uncle Sam?," which explored the relationship between the government and American food practices.

The photograph captures what appear to be hundreds upon hundreds of Jewish servicemen in full military regalia seated at tables so long they extend beyond the picture plane. Amid the sea of faces, some wear the rimless spectacles then à la mode, others sport mustaches. Everyone has his head covered but here, too, variety prevails -- a reflection of military hierarchy. Some soldiers wear a soft cap; others a peaked cap with a shiny, hard brim, and still others a broad-brimmed felt hat that is close kin to a Stetson.

This vast army of men is leavened, and lightened, by the presence of a few women. You have to look hard to find them, but they're here and there, sprinkled throughout.

The photographer, making use of a large format or "banquet" camera, captures the Seder at midpoint or, as the lofty language of one haggadah from that period would have it, "post-prandial." Half-empty bottles of wine line the tables; knives rest casually across the surface of white plates, their work done; shards of matzo accumulate. Up above, chandeliers glisten, giving off a warm glow, while heavy draperies shut out the cruel and ugly outside world.

Everyone at this Seder looks directly at the camera. 

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