I've always loved Passover
Seders. For more than 30 years, I've created a variety of novel
seders. We've turned our home into a Bedouin tent
in the desert; an Egyptian enclave (with a five-foot inflatable
sarcophagus, hieroglyphics on the walls and ads for embalming companies);
a jumbo jet taking the Israelites out of Egypt, complete with a
funny captain's take-off
announcement and customized boarding passes; and more.
(Here's a "Canaan Air"
boarding pass you can use for your own Flight to Freedom seder!)
We've 'sacrificed' a (stuffed animal) lamb, complete with dry ice,
a roasting pit and snippets of sad songs; played Family Feud-like games,
pitting one half of the table against the other, based on knowledge of
events surrounding the seder; and we usually make the afikomen search a
very involved hunt. We always try to have a lot of fun Passover stuff.
Our seder shenanigans were written up in the New York Times,
and some of our seder highlights were on a PBS
show.
This site, Seders For You,
is a repository for ready-made creative seders and seder ideas that you have permission to
copy and use for your family. We also post here the fun parodies and
songs we've written. The only thing we ask is that if you use this
material, or pass it along, you must give us credit.
NEWS FLASH: 300 Ways to Ask the Four
Questions. We have
published an amazing book containing hundreds of translations of
the Four Questions - including ancient languages
from world experts, fun parodies, quizzes and games
you can play at your seder. Foreword by Theodore Bikel, star of stage
and screen, and the face (and voice) everyone knows as Tevye.
Check out the book and order your copy -
go to
WhyIsThisNight.com
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And now ... on to Seders For You
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SEDERSA seder on Crypto Jews (Moranos) and the Spanish Inquisition
Each participant gave voice to actual people in New Mexico, Portugal
and Brazil (readings were from interviews with these folks), as they discussed
the revelation when they found out they weren't Catholic, but Jewish; how
they felt about the discovery; the response to this news from their families,
local community, and the Jewish community.
The room was decorated with hundreds of poster copies of
Egyptian tombs and statues, hieroglyphs and, yes, a 5-foot high
inflatable sarcophagus. The hosts were dressed as Pharaoh and Queen.
We sang the themed parody, Walk like an Egyptian (in song parodies
below), and transformed Bill Cosby's "Noah" skit into a Moses
skit, with Cosby's voice now answering commands from a newly
scripted God of the Exodus. (Download new Moses skit
audio or
text). The skit played while
a bush burned in our fireplace.
The Aliyot Seder Haggadah (download below) explored
the lives and contributions of the early Jewish pioneers (Chalutzim)
- eg, the story of the Exodus from Europe to early Palestine. We discuss
the people behind the establishment of modern Hebrew (Ben-Yehuda),
the idea of Zionism (Herzl), its Labor movement (Aharon Gordon) and
the first Jewish Legion (Jabotinsky), to the poet Rachel working on
the Galilee, the establishment of Hadassah (Szold) and Israel's most
famous Prime Minister (Ben-Gurion).
The Seder Highlights Haggadah (download below) celebrated our 30th
different-each-year seder, with selected highlights from past seders.
We had over 50 (stuffed animal) frogs drop out of our skylight in a funny
enactment of the Plague of Frogs; we staged a "sacrifice" of a stuffed
animal lamb, held upside down on a spit suspended over (dry ice) steam
pouring out of a cauldron; we acted a funny skit from friend Fred Kaimann
about Pharaoh talking with each of the 10 plagues; we sang songs of
freedom, song parodies based on Beatles music, songs from Disney's Prince
of Egypt, and favorites of our own parodies below; we explored different
depictions of the 4 Sons from Noam Zion's A Different Night; and
played games based on different language translations of the 4 Questions.
Of course, running the seder completely backwards isn't feasible, but we played with an idea of a reverse seder in several ways. In our reverse seder, the Afikomen gradually appears, with a nod toward modern quantum mechanics; the Dayenu is even more humble; we observe one example of how the Haggadah has grown over time; and the animals in Chad Gadya come back to life! Oddly, a reversed seder puts some activities close to their original location in the seder.
As Seder means "order," and as this was a very disorderly seder according to traditional guidelines, this was the un-Seder, so to speak.
General outline for an Un-Seder
The Green Stamps / Slavery Seder
This seder had fun, pop quizes throughout the evening. We gave out
replicas of S&H Green Stamps
As people entered, they saw their own pictures mounted on sticks along the tables - many pictures were crossed out. Came time for the plagues, we revealed that the crossed out pictures represented the first-born within our guests. This dramatized the devastation and disaster brought on by the Plague of Killing of the First-Born Egyptians.
On the theme of slavery, we played roles in a skit of modern-day slavery in NJ, drawn from actual court transcripts and depositions; and read Sweet Honey in the Rock's poem about Harry Moore, a civil rights organizer blown up on Christmas eve, his 25th anniversary, by KKK murderers who were never tried.
The Afikomen hunt used personalized fake afikomens for each person to find;
the hints had been hiding behind their 10th-plague pictures. When everyone
found their afikomen, it was revealed one remained to be found.
Hints behind the Seder Leader's picture led to short puzzles leading
to the actual Afikomen.
Our Miracles seder followed Colin Humphreys' The Miracles of Exodus:
A Scientist's Discovery of the Extraordinary Natural Causes of the
Biblical Stories, which shows that science can enhance our faith.
By discovering the likely interlocking causes for the plagues, he reveals
it would not make sense, for instance, if the plagues had been listed
in another order.
The author provided permission to distribute these materials for private
non-profit use. Download the file below. Readings and discussion take an
hour.
Miracles of Passover Seder
The Miracles of Passover Seder
This seder explored possible scientific explanations for Exodus' miracles:
The Burning Bush, water from the rock at Horeb,
the Pillar of Cloud and Pillar of Fire that guided the Israelites,
Mt Sinai's location and, of course, each of the 10 plagues.
Miracles Haggadah
SONGS
The Seder Rap
by Randi and Murray Spiegel, Passover 1994
Gonna tell you all a story, 'bout the Jews in Egypt,
They had a good thing goin', there was no complaint.
But then there came this Pharaoh, who was mean and nasty,
He worked them night and day, from the heat they did faint.
They pleaded unto God, "Save us all, your children"
And God looked down to them, he was quite distressed.
So God appeared to Moses through a bush on fire,
He said "Go back to Egypt, go clear up this mess."
Chorus: Tell the story, find the matzah, drink the cups of wine.
It's all in celebration, so let's sing and dine.
So Moses went to Pharaoh, saying "God's real angry,
They've suffered many years, Le-let my people go."
But Pharaoh didn't listen, he had no intentions
Of giving up his servants, and he HUHp said "No."
So God sent down 10 plagues, which were quite horrendous,
They started out with water being changed to blood.
And then there came the frogs; Third, the lice persisted,
Then wild beasts everywhere left a ... trail of crud.
Chorus: Tell the story, find the matzah, drink the cups of wine.
It's all in celebration, so let's sing and dine.
The cattle were all killed, and the boils were torture,
The hail came down in torrents, heads were really woozie.
From the sky there came the locusts, number 9 was darkness,
But God was not yet done, number 10 was a doozie.
All the first-born dropped like flies in their tents and temples,
Every bird and beast in Egypt, only Pharaoh was spared.
Such a wailin' in Mitsrayim, there was such commotion,
Pharaoh couldn't comprehend, he just ... stopped and stared.
Chorus: Tell the story, find the matzah, drink the cups of wine.
It's all in celebration, so let's sing and dine.
The Jews ran out of Egypt with their herds of cattle,
Pharaoh followed with his armies, they were very near,
But then Moses stretched his hand, and The Sea was parted,
Our people walked on through, they were ... free and clear.
So here we are tonight, sitting 'round this table,
We tell this tale again, never with a gap.
When our ancestors were slaves, God reached out to help them,
The Jews are now a people, 'cause we HUHp beat the rap!
Words copyright (c) 1994 by Randi and Murray Spiegel.
Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this material in any
non-profit medium provided that its content is not altered and this
notice is appended. We would appreciate receiving a copy of any
publication in which it appears: Randi Spiegel,
48 Roosevelt Street, Roseland, NJ 07068 /
rspieg{at_sign_here}yahoo.com
Pharaoh's Nile (to the tune of "Gilligan's Island")
by Randi and Murray Spiegel, Passover 1995
Just lean right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip
That started back in ancient times while under Pharaoh's whip.
Well Moses was a pious man, God made him brave and sure
Though Pharaoh was a mighty man, his heart was not pure,
his heart was not pure.
Old Pharaoh started getting tough, the Jews were harshly bossed
If not for the courage of the fearless few our people would be lost,
our people would be lost.
They cried to God please rescue us, conditions here are vile.
Send Moses, and Aaron, too, to save our children and wives.
We'll leave this land at God's behest
Here on Pharaoh's Nile.
So God said Moses take your staff and with your brother go
To Pharaoh you will plead your case to let my people go.
Well Moses, he sure did his best, but Pharaoh was not moved
Til God sent down ten dreadful plagues and His power was proved,
His power was proved.
The frogs, the lice, and even boils, could not make Pharaoh bend
'Til slaying of the first born males threatened Pharaoh's life to end,
threatened Pharaoh's life to end.
The Jews escaped miraculously, when God helped them to flee,
Egyptian armies followed them, but drowned in the deep Red Sea.
So this is a tale of our ancestors, they wandered a long, long time.
They had to make the best of things, it was an uphill climb.
So join us here each year my friends, it's sure to be worthwhile
Retelling how the Jews escaped, far from Pharaoh's Nile.
Words copyright (c) 1995 by Randi and Murray Spiegel.
Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this material in any
non-profit medium provided that its content is not altered and this
notice is appended. We would appreciate receiving a copy of any
publication in which it appears: Randi Spiegel,
48 Roosevelt Street, Roseland, NJ 07068 /
rspieg{at_sign_here}yahoo.com
|
BLOOD: "Old Man River" Hebrew slaves work by the old Nile River, Hebrew slaves work while the Pharaoh plays. Pullin' those stones from the dawn til sunset, Gettin' no rest til Redemption Day. Don't look up and don't look down, You don't dare make Egyptians frown. Bend your knees and bow your head, And pull that rope until you're dead. Let me go way from the big Nile River, Let me go way from the slave man boss, Show me the way through the Red Sea water, That's the one stream that I long to cross. Ol' Nile River, that Ol' Nile River, To blood it's turnin', It keeps on churnin' It keeps on spewin', It just keeps flowin' a-long. FROGS: "Jeremiah was a Bull Frog" Jeremiah was a bull frog, had a lot of friends you know He called every one, said, "Let's go have some fun We'll crawl right out of the Nile, and Egypt we'll defile. Singing Frogs of the world, all the boys and girls now Forget all the fishes of the deep blue sea No one's slimier than you and me. LICE: "To Life!" The Lice, The Lice, I gottem I gottem, I gottem, the Lice Pharaoh, O, Pharaoh, O, please give in We want to save our skin Lice - I gottem, the Lice. WILD BEASTS: "Music of the Night" Daylight's fading, night's almost upon us, Creature's waiting, maul and stomp upon us. Try to run away, but without the light of day, They can smell and see us with nocturnal sight, The power of the wild beasts of the night! CATTLE DISEASE: "Ticket to Ride" The Pharaoh's gonna be sad, I think it's today, Our cows are gonna be mad, and dying away. It's not due to the fleas, They're falling down on their knee-ee-ees * They've got Mad Cow Disease, And we're all scared! * Alternate, less tasteful verse: It's not due to the fleas, They've got Mad Cow Disee-ee-ease, They're walking in B.V.D's, And we're all scared! |
BOILS: "Go Away Little Girl" Go away little boils, Go away little boils, It's hurting me more each minute that you delay. When you are on me like this, You're much too hard to resist. So go away ugly boils, And never come back to stay. HAIL: "Hello, Dolly" Hailstones Dolly, well, Hailstones Dolly, They are falling fast and hard upon your head. You don't look well, Dolly, I can tell, Dolly Your face has several bruises, you should be in bed. I feel the room swaying, for as I was saying, We have all sustained a lot of head trauma, so Children, dads, and mothers, Quick we have to duck and cover, Make these Hailstones go away, Make these Hailstones go away, Make these Hailstones go away, for good. LOCUSTS: "Super-cali-fragilistic-expiali-docious" Super-cali-fragilistic-expiali-locusts. Even though the sound of them is something quite atrocious, When you hear them loud enough you'll know they are ferocious. Super-cali-fragilistic-expiali-locusts! DARKNESS: "Night and Day" Day and night, they're all the same. Night and day, our Pharaoh's to blame. Because he won't let the Hebrews go, We're suffering with the sun's warming glow. For three whole days, and nights. DEATH OF FIRSTBORN: "Tonight, Tonight" Tonight, tonight, won't be just any night, Tonight there will be blood in the air. Tonight, tonight, first-borns will die tonight, The Egyptians will be unprepared. Tonight, the angel will descend on, The Pharaoh and his people, And no one will be spared. Oh moon, grow bright, And let G-d show his might, End our plight, tonight! |
GAMES AND PUZZLESMost of these are not original with us, but were created by friends or culled from newsgroup discussions. Want to play Passover Jeopardy, Hocus-Pocus, 50-50 Trivia, Plagues word-search, Pass-around Categories, or Passover Mad Libs? Then read on! Thanks to Fred Kaimann, Jonathan Greene, Kenneth Citak, John Kador, Greg Pliska, Eliezer Segal, Martin Eiger, Bob Doniger, Scott Sokol, Suzanne Kayne and Lori Freeman.
Plagues Word
Search Puzzle
Various Games
Categories Game and Puzzles
A fun 10 Plagues Picture
Puzzle, with some hints
Mad Libs
Wanna be a
Seder Millionaire?
Abbott and Castello
"Who's on first?" parody
Passover Skit: Behind the
scenes: How the 10 Plagues really were determined
Passover Skit: What if the
Exodus were filmed today? (Rewrite of John Kador's original - see Kador's site [below] for more)
The Match Game
OTHER RESOURCESThe 1526 Prague Haggadah
Other Web Resources for Novel Seders
Joe Gelles' creative
ideas for Seder Fun, including a Hogwarts seder (and a sorting kippa),
a board for Seder Jeopardy and other items.
He also markets Noam Zion's haggadahs:
A Different Night and A Night to Remember
John Kador's
novel child-centered haggadot