Takeaways:
~ Break away from "when do we eat" by offering lots of interesting things for karpas. You can offer anything from the ground - even popcorn, if that will elicit a question from your kid. It is important that all those in the zoom do this. This is one night that you can shake things up and try to find meaning, as well as "hang out" with people you usually don't.
~ Maggid: The more you prepare in advance, the better it gets. With kids, experience is key. See below for ideas. Once you have your plan, contact other zooms to get them involved as well, particularly if you are having a play. There are a few songs (see below) that anyone can sing (singing together on zoom is complicated, I suggest muting everyone else and let the singer sing.)
~ What are the things you must do?
רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הָיָה אוֹמֵר: כָּל שֶׁלֹּא אָמַר שְׁלשָׁה דְּבָרִים אֵלּוּ בַּפֶּסַח, לא יָצָא יְדֵי חוֹבָתוֹ, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: פֶּסַח, מַצָּה, וּמָרוֹר.
פֶּסַח שֶׁהָיוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ אוֹכְלִים בִּזְמַן שֶׁבֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ הָיָה קַיָּם, עַל שׁוּם מָה? עַל שׁוּם שֶׁפָּסַח הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עַל בָּתֵּי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בְּמִצְרַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַאֲמַרְתֶּם זֶבַח פֶּסַח הוּא לַיי, אֲשֶׁר פָּסַח עַל בָּתֵּי בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּמִצְרַיִם בְּנָגְפּוֹ אֶת־מִצְרַיִם, וְאֶת־בָּתֵּינוּ הִצִּיל וַיִּקֹּד הָעָם וַיִּשְׁתַּחווּ.
אוחז המצה בידו ומראה אותה למסובין:
מַצָּה זוֹ שֶׁאָנוֹ אוֹכְלִים, עַל שׁוּם מַה? עַל שׁוּם שֶׁלֹּא הִסְפִּיק בְּצֵקָם שֶׁל אֲבוֹתֵינוּ לְהַחֲמִיץ עַד שֶׁנִּגְלָה עֲלֵיהֶם מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים, הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, וּגְאָלָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיֹּאפוּ אֶת־הַבָּצֵק אֲשֶׁר הוֹצִיאוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם עֻגֹת מַצּוֹּת, כִּי לֹא חָמֵץ, כִּי גֹרְשׁוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם וְלֹא יָכְלוּ לְהִתְמַהְמֵהַּ, וְגַם צֵדָה לֹא עָשׂוּ לָהֶם.
אוחז המרור בידו ומראה אותו למסובין:
מָרוֹר זֶה שֶׁאָנוּ אוֹכְלִים, עַל שׁוּם מַה? עַל שׁוּם שֶׁמֵּרְרוּ הַמִּצְרִים אֶת־חַיֵּי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בְּמִצְרַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיְמָרְרוּ אֶת חַיֵּיהם בַּעֲבֹדָה קָשָה, בְּחֹמֶר וּבִלְבֵנִים וּבְכָל־עֲבֹדָה בַּשָּׂדֶה אֶת כָּל עֲבֹדָתָם אֲשֶׁר עָבְדוּ בָהֶם בְּפָרֶךְ.
בְּכָל־דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת־עַצְמוֹ כְּאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר, בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה ה' לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרַיִם. לֹא אֶת־אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בִּלְבָד גָּאַל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, אֶלָּא אַף אוֹתָנוּ גָּאַל עִמָּהֶם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְאוֹתָנוּ הוֹצִיא מִשָּׁם, לְמַעַן הָבִיא אוֹתָנוּ, לָתֶת לָנוּ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשָׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֵינוּ.
Rabban Gamliel was accustomed to say, Anyone who has not said these three things on Pesach has not fulfilled his obligation, and these are them: the Pesach sacrifice, matsa and marror.
The Pesach [passover] sacrifice that our ancestors were accustomed to eating when the Temple existed, for the sake of what [was it]? For the sake [to commemorate] that the Holy One, blessed be He, passed over the homes of our ancestors in Egypt, as it is stated (Exodus 12:27); "And you shall say: 'It is the passover sacrifice to the Lord, for that He passed over the homes of the Children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and our homes he saved.’ And the people bowed the head and bowed."
The parent holds the matsa in their hand and shows it to all present.
This matsa that we are eating, for the sake of what [is it]? For the sake [to commemorate] that our ancestors' dough was not yet able to rise, before the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed [Himself] to them and redeemed them, as it is stated (Exodus 12:39); "And they baked the dough which they brought out of Egypt into matsa cakes, since it did not rise; because they were expelled from Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they made for themselves provisions."
The parent holds the marror in their hand and shows it to the all present.
This marror [bitter greens] that we are eating, for the sake of what [is it]? For the sake [to commemorate] that the Egyptians embittered the lives of our ancestors in Egypt, as it is stated (Exodus 1:14); "And they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; in all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor."
In each and every generation, a person is obligated to see himself as if he left Egypt, as it is stated (Exodus 13:8); "And you shall explain to your son on that day: For the sake of this, did the Lord do [this] for me in my going out of Egypt." Not only our ancestors did the Holy One, blessed be He, redeem, but rather also us [together] with them did He redeem, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:23); "And He took us out from there, in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He swore unto our fathers."
וּבְכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר, חַיָּב אָדָם לְהַרְאוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְּאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם, שֶׁלֹּא אֶת אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בִּלְבָד גָּאַל, אֵלָא אַף אוֹתָנוּ גָּאַל--שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר "וְאוֹתָנוּ, הוֹצִיא מִשָּׁם--לְמַעַן, הָבִיא אֹתָנוּ, לָתֶת לָנוּ אֶת-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֵינוּ" (דברים ו,כג).
Haggadah according to the Rambam (aka the Sephardi version, http://www.mechon-mamre.org/phgdh.htm)
In every generation, a person is obligated to show himself as if he had left Egypt: for He did not redeem only our ancestors, but even us as well, as it is written "And He brought us out from thence, that He might bring us in, to give us the land which He swore unto our fathers" (Deuteronomy 6,23).
Kids like costumes. Make a quick one using old adult t-shirts. Cut the neck out, and make a belt from another color. The headdress can be any rectangular piece of cloth tied with a string. Get the kids to find their own walking stick. They should see themselves getting out of Egypt. Here's a quick play found on A Different Night Haggadah you can use:
Knock on the door
Adults: Who’s there?
Children: Moshe, Aaron, and Miriam.
Adults: Come in. Tell us about your journey!
Children: We have just arrived from Egypt where we were slaves to Pharaoh.
He made us do such hard work. [Prompt the kids to improvise about how bad it was.]
Adults: How did you escape?
Children: God sent Moshe and Aaron to tell Pharaoh: “Let my people go.”
When he refused, God sent 10 plagues. [Improvise describing some of
the plagues.] Finally God brought the most awful plague on the first
born of Egypt. Then Pharaoh was really scared so he kicked us out.
Adults: Why are you dressed like that? What is on your shoulder?
Children: We escaped in the middle of the night and had no time to let the
dough for our bread rise. The dough that we wrapped in our cloaks
and slung over our shoulders turned to matza in the heat of the sun.
Adults: Tell us about your adventures.
Children: Pharaoh changed his mind after releasing us and chased us to the
edge of the Red Sea. We would have been caught for sure, but then
God split the sea. [Describe how it felt. Adults ask question about fish, mud etc]
Adults: Where are you going now?
Children: To Jerusalem.
ALL: L’Shana Ha-ba-ah Bee’Yerushalayeem!
Interesting Sephardic Customs Connected to the Rambam's Interpretation of the Mitzvah of Sippur
Participants at a Sephardic Persian (or Iranian) Passover Seder will simultaneously chant the Passover song "Dayenu" and hold bunches of either celery, chives, leeks or scallions in their hands and lightly beat each other on the back and shoulders to symbolize the sting generated by the whip of the Egyptian taskmasters. A variation of this custom with Sephardic Persian Jewish families will have participants at the Passover Seder table take turns being an Egyptian taskmaster, lightly beating another person with the celery, chives, scallions, or leeks. Once one person is done, they then pass the chives, scallions, or leeks on to the next person at the table who will then repeat the custom, and so on until all at the table have had their turns.
Moroccan Sephardic Jews will hold the Passover Seder plate aloft and pass it over the heads of all those at the Passover Seder table while announcing to each participant that they have left Egypt and are now free.
Tunisian Sephardic Jews touch the heads of each person with the tray which serves as a reminder to each person that they once carried burdens upon their heads as slaves in Egypt.
Use pictures to help you along the Maggid. See below for three, and you can find more here:
https://www.sefaria.org/collections/pictures-tell-the-passover-haggadah
You can download the pictures and share through zoom, or print them out to have a discussion. Remind everyone that all the pictures you see are of Jews around the world.
And then go into the piece of the Haggadah they depict, discuss.
Zion Ozeri has a ton of pictures here, if you are truly adventurous, and want to create your own thing:
https://www.zionozeri.com/portfolio.html
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Matzah oven, Bukhara, Uzbekistan ©Zion Ozeri
For Discussion:
-
What do you notice about the way the woman is holding the matzah? What does her facial expression or body language reveal about her experience of making matzah?
-
Does the matzah in this picture look like the matzah on your table? How is it similar or different?
-
The Haggadah refers to matzah as the "bread of poverty." What do you think this means? Does anything in this image suggest that matzah represents poverty or oppression? What words or ideas do you associate with the matzah in this image?
For Further Reflection:
-
This photograph shows someone engaged in the hands-on experience of making matzah, not just eating it out of a box. The first experience of matzah as described in the Torah was not a careful, calm culinary experience, but rather one of hastily packing up food to go. You can read more about that here and here. How does the idea of rushing and not having time to bring something to fruition manifest in your experience of Passover? How do you experience this in your life more generally?
- Passover can be about making something new – like matzah or other traditional foods – or about setting aside old things, like bread. Read the beginning of this text, and consider: Which is more important to your experience of Passover – setting aside the old or creating something new? Why?
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Cave, Haidan A-Sham, Yemen, 1992 ©Zion Ozeri
For Discussion:
-
What do you think is happening in this photograph, and where do you think it’s taking place?
-
How does this image connect with the Mah Nishtanah text?
-
How is this scene different from your home or community?
-
What questions would you ask about this scene?
-
What can you tell about the relationship between the teacher and the children from the way they are sitting?
-
Each of the four questions in the Haggadah refers to an item at the seder. What other questions might you suggest? What seems to you to be the strangest thing on the Seder table?
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Nursery School, Santiago, Chile ©Zion Ozeri
-
For Discussion:
-
How does this photograph connect with the text for you?
-
How would you describe each of the children in this photo? What adjective or trait would you ascribe to each one? Do you think it’s possible to describe each of these children – or any child – with just one adjective, as the Haggadah does?
-
Which figure in the photograph best reflects how you might have posed for a picture like this when you were a child?
-
The Haggadah describes four types of children, or learners. Do you think it’s possible to represent all learners using just four types of children? Are there particular types of learners missing from this conversation? Which ones?
For Further Reflection:
-
It makes sense that different questions (or statements) by the four children receive different responses. The book of Proverbs says that it is important to educate learners according to the way they learn best. Read the text and consider: How do you learn best? What are some of the ways that teachers or mentors have helped you to learn new things? Do you think a person learns in the same way throughout his or her life?
- The idea of passing on stories to the next generation is core to the Passover haggadah. These verses, which are quoted in some of the answers to the four children, reflect that idea. But as this section of the Haggadah also makes clear, different people take in wisdom differently. What are some creative and interesting ways we might tell the Passover story to ensure that all kinds of "children" will hear and understand?
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Setting the Table, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, 2003 © Zion Ozeri
For Discussion:
-
What is happening in this photograph? Where do you think these people are?
-
What is the central element of the photograph? How does the composition of the photograph focus us on the central element? What other elements do you notice in the picture?
-
What attitude toward food is reflected in the photograph?
-
Why do you think food plays such an important role in Judaism? Which foods are especially important to you?
For Further Reflection:
-
In the Passover feast as described in the Torah, the main course was roasted meat. The Passover sacrifice - a lamb - was eaten with matzah and maror (bitter herb). You can read all about it here. What foods are emblematic of Passover in your mind? Are there favorites that you or someone in your family serves every year?
- This portion of the evening, when everyone gets to just eat and relax, is always the most highly anticipated part of the seder. Celebratory meals play an important role in Jewish tradition, marking religious occasions such as Shabbat, as well as life cycle events. What are the moments - past or future - that you most associate with, or want to mark with, special meals?
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Synagogue Mezuzah, Alibag, India by Zion Ozeri
For Discussion:
-
Where do you think these men are? What are they doing?
-
A mezuzah marks the doorway of a Jewish building or home. What does it mean to you to see a mezuzah on a doorway? What does the mezuzah signify for you?
-
Many people kiss a mezuzah (or kiss their hand and touch the mezuzah) when they enter a Jewish building or home. What do you think is the significance of that act?
-
What does a mezuzah have in common with the kiddush blessing? What does it mean to be “sanctified”? Are all forms of sanctification equal?
For Further Reflection:
-
Judaism's symbols and rituals are designed to encompass every aspect of our lives. The Shema, a central piece of the Jewish liturgy, describes the Jewish faith as something that is meant to accompany us throughout our day. You can read the verses here. What moments in your life feel most like touchpoints for your Judaism? When do you feel closest to your faith?
- "Kiddush" means "sanctification." The text of the kiddush refers to Passover as a "holy convocation" -- a holy occasion that was given to us by God. The Torah describes the holidays as occasions called out by God, but which we also have a responsibility to call out, to mark, and to designate as special. What are the ways in which you make holidays special in your home or community?
Lyrics:
The Ballad of the Four Sons
For the Passover Seder
(to the tune of Clementine)
© Ben Aronin, first published in his community haggadah, 1954, used with permission
Said the father to the children
"At the Seder you will dine,
You will eat your fill of matzoh,
You will drink four cups of wine."
Now this father had no daughters,
But his sons they numbered four,
One was wise, and one was wicked,
One was simple and a bore.
And the fourth was sweet and winsome,
He was young and he was small,
While his brothers asked the questions,
He could scarcely speak at all.
Said the wise one to his father
"Would you please explain the laws.
Of the customs of the Seder
Will you please explain the cause?"
And the father proudly answered
"As our fathers ate in speed,
Ate the Pascal lamb 'ere midnight,
And from slavery were freed"
"So we follow their example,
And 'ere midnight must complete,
All the Seder, and we should not
After twelve remain to eat."
Then did sneer the son so wicked,
"What does all this mean to you?"
And the father's voice was bitter
As his grief and anger grew.
"If yourself you don't consider,
As a son of Israel
Then for you this has no meaning,
You could be a slave as well!"
Then the simple son said softly,
"What is this?" and quietly
The good father told his offspring
"We were freed from slavery."
But the youngest son was silent,
For he could not speak at all,
His bright eyes were bright with wonder
As his father told him all.
Now, dear people, heed the lesson
And remember evermore,
What the father told his children
Told his sons who numbered four!
Lyrics:
Moses is the Guy We'll Follow (By Lia Lehrer and Julia Latash, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds")
Picture yourself in a desert in Sinai
With sand in your shoes, and sun in your eyes
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly,
A man who's incredibly wise.
Very tall mountains of yellow and brown
Towering over your head
Look for the man with G-d's light in his eyes and he's gone.
Moses is the guy we'll follow Moses is the guy we'll follow
Moses is the guy we'll follow Ahhhhhhhhh
Follow him down to a camp by a mountain
Where thousands of people eat G-d's manna pies.
Everyone smiles as he walks up the mountain
That stands so incredibly high.
Higher and higher he begins to climb
Waiting to get our laws
Climbing us high with his head in the clouds and he's gone.
Moses is the guy
we'll
follow
Moses is the guy
we'll
follow
Moses is the guy
we'll
follow
Ahhhhhhhhh
Picture yourself waiting down by the mountain Waiting and waiting, he finally arrives.
Suddenly he's there holding our Commandments The man who's incredibly wise.
Moses is the guy we'll follow Moses is the guy we'll follow Moses is the guy we'll follow Ahhhhhhhhh
Lyrics:
Elijah (By Rabbi Dan Liben, tune: "Maria")
Elijah!
I just saw the prophet Elijah. And suddenly that name
Will never sound the same to me. Elijah!
He came to our Seder Elijah!
He had his cup of wine, But could not stay to dine This year--
Elijah!
For your message all Jews are waiting:
That the time's come for peace and not hating--
Elijah--
Next year we'll be waiting. Elijah!
Pharaoh Doesn’t Pay (By Mary Ann Barrows Wark, tune “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”)
I’ve been working on these buildings;
Pharaoh doesn’t pay.
I’ve been doing what he tells me
Like making bricks from clay.
Can’t you hear the master calling,
“Hurry up, make a brick!”
Can’t you feel the master hurt me
Until I’m feeling sick.
Oh is this a mess, Oh is this a mess,
Oh is this a mess, for Jews, for Jews. Oh is this a mess,
Oh is this a mess,
Oh is this a mess for Jews.
Someone’s in the palace with Pharaoh –
Someone’s in the palace we know, ow, ow, ow,
Someone’s in the palace with Pharaoh –
Does he know they treat us so?
Keep singing work, work, work all day,
Work all day and then some mo –ore,
Work, work, work all day –
Does he know they treat us so?
For parents ~ some meaning for you too! Judaism is not centered just on kids - we are all journeying, growing spiritually, together.
We are invited to see ourselves as poor, afflicted, in the Seder. As in exile, in Egypt, in a moment of constraint. This is how yachatz begins. A poor person always eats a smaller piece and saves the greatest part for later, since they don't know whether there will be more food.
The Afikoman - the leftover matza - is the symbol of redemption. Where do you come from? asks the Sephardi leader of the seder - From Egypt, is the answer of the child.
Where is your Egypt? Is the question that our haggadah is also asking of us.
Where is Egypt today? Is another question that the haggadah is asking of us: the middle matza represents this world - or our present moment, and the other two our past and our future. The moment is broken, but we can't end the seder if we don't bring the broken piece back, symbolically reminding ourselves of redemption, both personal and communal, both communal and human. The idea brought by the two versions of the haggadah - to see yourself and to be seen as coming out of Egypt - point to those two poles of our Jewish experience: personal and transcendent.
Yismach Yisrael Haggadah p. 107a
YERACHMIEL ISRAEL ISAAC DANZIGEROF ALEXANDER (Poland, 1853–1910)
In every generation a person is obligated to see his “essence:” The word atzmo, usually translated as “himself,” can also be translated as “his essence,” as in the verse, “It was the very essence (etzem) of the heavens for purity (Ex. 24:10)” This is an allusion to the inner divine spark found in each of us. A person must strengthen this holy spark no matter how low a state he reaches. In Egypt, we were so deeply mired in impurity that the Prosecutor said 'both the Israelites and the Egyptians worship idols – so how was one any better than the other?' And yet the Holy One in his great mercy looked and saw the inner spark of the people, as it says, “I am the one who explores the heart and the conscience. (Jer. 17:10)” So, too, each Jew must say that in every generation a person must strengthen the inner spark, which is still in him. This spark is capable of blossoming and becoming revitalized in the end. The Holy One not only redeemed our ancestors long ago but he redeems us as well along with them. As the holy Ari has said, “All the souls of the Jewish people were in the iron furnace of Egypt and we were redeemed from there."