Rabbi Jon Green’s Haggadah Companion

From Rosh Chodesh Nissan - Mincha Erev Pesach

● Put up fictitious signs, flyers or posters. Ex: House for rent, moving sale, a picture of the lamb you bought for Pesach. There are over 50 we made on our website. ● Have kids make place cards for all guests. This way you dont have to deal with seating at the seder. You also can set up the seating for success. Once you make these cards you can also use these for other items at the seder. (eg: Put a question on each one, put a job on it). ● Prepare the Pesach seder bag/box so you are as organized as possible during the seder. ● Have prize ticket redemptions prepared. Ex: soda during the week, ice cream. You can have your children trade the tickets, coins, points in for these prizes immediately after the seder. (a great prize is “a trip alone with mommy”). ● Paint the screen/front door red with crayola window paint. (or if you are Weberman, actually paint the door). You can paint the doorposts of your house red by putting contact paper on and then painting it. ● Have kids draw pictures of them leaving mitzrayim. Hang them up or use them during the seder. ● Hang up a list of jobs for people during the seder, put them up to add excitement ● Hang up a timeline showing Avraham Avinu through today. ● Make sure you speak to your older children about themes you want to bring out at the ​ ​ seder. This will allow you to share goals and ideas. ● Remind all your children that you will not get to all of their divrei at the seder, but that you want to hear it all during other meals and other special times during Pesach. Make a schedule of guest speakers at other meals. ● Have kids prepare skits for parts of the seder. for a coin” It helps them follow מה נשתנה Hand out cards that say, “hand in this card at ● along. ● Hand out cards that say “ask aquestion on... and get a ... (Sample cards are in resources for the Seder). ● Prepare a theme for that night. What will you focus on for that seder. You can use that throughout the night. We often make a spinner to move to the aspects of the theme. We have discussed in years past. - Good and bad in the hagada, Slavery and freedom, Golus, geulas, Yesrushalayim, etc. This requires preparation but it focuses you atyour Seder. ● We all listen to the HASC Concert Diaspora reunion a lot. We then sing Lo Es avoseinu and pischu li from that video the night of the seder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evLYJFCmHXo

www.pesachshtick.com 1

Rabbi Jon Green’s Haggadah Companion

Before Kadesh ● Make sure everyone knows you can get treats (candy) for a good answer and even more for a good question. Some divrei torah and answers may have to wait to shulchan orech ● Make sure to mention that this is a mesorah from our forefathers this is the current year minus 2448 straight seder since Yetzias Mitzrayim. ● Everyone gets a number and needs to call out when his or her number gets mentioned.1-2-3-4-6-40-10-50-70 ● Mention that everyone is a kid at heart and questions can come from anyone. ● Tell a joke to open up. Ex: Why is there an Egg on the seder Plate? Because we all know this will be an Eggsellent seder ● You may want to mention a theme or two of the night and that extra candy/points/coins will be rewarded for connections to this theme. ● During the seder I have a paper that says HLM on it, I hold it up and ask a child, what does this stand for? If they respond, Hashem Loves Me, they get a reward. (thanks Yechiel Weberman)

Karpas Eat a banana –it’s a shinui and an adama

Ma Nishtana Short and to the point, ask the older kids what the questions are?

Avadim Hayinu ● Put pyramids out with little workers (mentchies) – ● Build pyramids with Jenga pieces (cheap versions are at dollar stores) ● Have someone wear a slave/inmate costume and another with an egytian costume/mask. You can use a pool noodle to hit him ● Distribute pareve chocolate that you can break into bricks and potato stix to build pyramids. You can take away the potato stix later when story appropriate. ● Give out boxed drinks, no straws. When the kids ask for straws you say no, in mitzrayim they didn't give them any straw! ● Give out pails and buckets to the slaves(children). They can use them to hole their coins/candy ● To show what it was like to build on quick sand and basically build for nothing, you can have the children make piles of the pillows, and as soon as they finish change your mind, knock it down, and decide to have them build it on the other side of the room, you can also have them drag heavy bags around the room for with absolutely no purpose or destination. There is also a story of a person who was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor, his job was to turn a heavy mill all day. His one consolation after all the hard work was

www.pesachshtick.com 2

Rabbi Jon Green’s Haggadah Companion

that at least he was creating wheat on the other side. At the end of the 20 years, he asked to be able to see the other side of the room. When he got there, he was horrified to see that it was an empty room. All his work was for absolutely nothing. He was able to withstand all the hard work, but when he came to the realization that he was doing hard work for nothing, that caused him to go crazy.

Maaseh B’ Eliezer I have someone put on a grey beard. They read this part of the hagada.

Arbah Banim ● Each son is acted out and read with voices by a different person 8 people in 2 nights. ● Encourage dramatics. ● I bought glow in the dark teeth for the rasha who had his teeth knocked out. The one who reads the Rasha wears the teeth

Yachol Mrosh Chodesh ● We have a “zeh” pointer finger. To show that when the word “zeh” is used, we are (seeing) it means you are pointing to something we see.

Baruch Shomer ● Rchush gadol give out Jewels or prizes, something they would see as a great reward, ​ small. You can get a treasure chest or just label a box “ Rcush gadol enclosed”. On night two after we gave out the prizes the first night we discussed what truly is rechush Gadol? This is the Torah that we get. We have luchos we take out but be creative as to what is the Torah. Pehrasps use the same box as the night before but put a Torah inside.

Vhee Shaamda ● Ask away..Who can name a time we were saved?

Vyanunu ● We have a mean looking sarei misim man . w\We bring him out and take away the potato stix. ● We got a “muscle shirt” from Party City, to be a mean Egpytian.

Vnitzak ● Kids should cry out. Teach the Vanitzak story.

www.pesachshtick.com 3

Rabbi Jon Green’s Haggadah Companion

Vayira es anyeinu ● Moshe in the Basket comes out. We have a straw baby basket and put a baby in it. Some years we decorate it before Pesach. One child has the job to bring Moshe down Es Lachtzeinu ● Bring out the matteh. Make a tall stick out of a long tube or something similiar. ● One night we use fruit leather to afflict the slaves by hitting them, but then they can eat the fruit leather.

Byad Chazaka ● Have a big hand (foam). You can put this on a stick later for an “outstretched hand”

V’osos ● Get a large hollow cardboard pipe. (from wrapping paper or larger). Write Dzatch Adash Bacahab on it. Stick snakes in the “mateh” and have them come out. If you get more creative you can have the snake tied to fishing string and pull it back into the matteh.

Dayenu (Thank you Yechiel Weberman) ● This is a game that I like to play at my Shabbos table also. It's called the Thank You Hashem game. You name a category and then the kids take turns thanking Hashem for something that fits into that category. I follow up with the older kids: "What do you like about that thing? What does it do for you? What would happen if Hashem didn't give it to you?" Then they get a small candy (jelly bean, mini marshmallow, etc.) and I try to add on, embellishing what it would be like not to have that thing (with appropriate maamarei an real life experiences). At the Seder, I like to play it by Dayeinu or the paragraph afterwards. ● Some category ideas: Parts of my body (warn them beforehand that there are certain parts of our bodies that we don't speak about in public), something that plugs into the wall, a Yomtov, a person at the table (Mommy, Bubby or Zeide), something green, something that spins, a piece of clothing, a Shabbos food, a drink, etc.

Krias yam Suf: (Different people do this at different times) ​ ​ ● Put blue tablecloths on the ceiling fan. You can put them down when you want to walk through it. On the second night we all go in the yam and then soin the fan 180 degrees to show they came out the same side ● Another idea.. we bought two blue blankets (you can also order on line, a background paper that looks like water), and put a tree on both of them, on the trees there were little bags with fruit in them, and put them on chairs (there were two rows of parallel chairs) and moved the chairs apart and the children went through and took fruit and when they

www.pesachshtick.com 4

Rabbi Jon Green’s Haggadah Companion

were following and the (מצרי which was me dressed up as a) ”מצרים“ got to the end, the blankets came down on them, and there was fake money and jewelry at the end. ● During the telling of the story, cover a plate with water and have a child sprinkle pepper all over it. Ask an adult to put their finger in the peppered water. Nothing will happen. Then, secretly put dish soap on a child’s finger and ask him/her to put their finger in the peppered water. Voila! The waters have split, just like when God separated the waters for the Israelites to pass through. ● Have someone dress up as Paroh and chase a Jew. Set up the stairs to the basement as Krias Yam suf and just when he is going to catch up, open the basement door and have the kids run and and have paroh tumble down.

Eser Makkos ● We bring out a Pharaoh punching bag that each time you hit him he pops back up. We hit it after each makkah but Pharaoh never learns the lesson and he gets back up.

Dom ● A 7-11 Slurpee split cup half filled with water and half tomato juice ● We go around the room asking are you a Mitzri or Jew and they get tomato juice or water, depending on their answer. ● Serve blood oranges and oranges and you depending on who you are(mitzri or jew) determines which you get. ● Cups with red or clear jello ● You can pour a little wine into a cup, and then hold the bottom of the cup so you can’t see that there is wine, and then have your spouse pour water in, this will show that if the .would take our water, when they pour it, it turned into blood מצרים ● You can buy fake money, and give someone money, and then have them pour water into your cup and you see regular water coming out. ● You can also get fake fish, and have them floating in your cups. says that the blood penetrated everything, so you can get a blood מדרש the דם Also for ● orange, and cut it open and see how the blood penetrated the fruit

Tzefardeah ● A big stuffed frog with a pouch cut in the back filled with plastic frogs. When the kids hit the frogs more frogs come out ● Appoint a King Pharaoh (Sabbas work great for this) with a crown on his head.Sing the Pharaoh song and have the (Grand) children put frogs on his head and on his toes etc.

Kinim

www.pesachshtick.com 5

Rabbi Jon Green’s Haggadah Companion

● Little bugs ● We bring out a large flyswatter

Arov ● One of the kids bring out a big stuffed lion ● Scary animals on the tables and candy animals from animals the gummy treats

Dever ● Farm animals on the table

Shchin ● White marshmallows, cut in half and stuck on their faces ● Multi colored colored marshmallows on faces ● The white egg gummy candy with white and yellow ● Mega button candies

Barad ● Ice cubes with mandarin oranges or orange gummies inside ● Ping pong balls- whote and orange ● We put up a yellow fire line sign ● To show fire and water you can do one of two things, put a red dot on a cotton ball

Arbeh ● Plastic Grasshoppers on the table

Chosheceh ● Eye sleep cover ● Sunglasses ● A chocolate cake with “menchies” stuck inside. They cant move ● You can hide fake jewelry and money around the house and have the kids look for it

Makos Bechoros Have the kids make bechorim on seltzer balls. Take a ball and bowl them all over

Datzach adash beachab ● Bring out the matte from before

Al achas kammah vkammah ● We have a chariot soldier hat, with shield and sword

www.pesachshtick.com 6

Rabbi Jon Green’s Haggadah Companion

Pre pesach Matzah Maror ● A picture of a device that requires a code to open. Put in Pesach, Matzoh and Maror as the code , so too P,Mand M this teaches us that these three allow us access to the kedusha of the night. ● Use the Zeh sign from earlier in the evening to pint to each item. (not Pesach)

Pesach ● Get a “play house” to jump over ● Lamb chop puppet ● Pesach reading from sefer hachinuch

Matzah ● We bring out a pillsbury dough boy, to “see” chametz

Maror

Hamotzi ● Put a picture of a or another Rosh Hashana icon with the matzah. There is a dvar Torah that talks about the Shofar with the shevarim and truah in the middle compared to the broken matzah in the middle. Things can sometimes seem broken in the middle but the “whole” will return.

Bchol dor vdor ● We put up an exit sign.

Chad Gadya ● Assign each person a role and they have to make the sound of that “thing” as the verse comes around ● Print out pictures of all the animals in Chad gad yah, and hand out pictures, and when you get to that animal, the person who has the pictures, he makes that sound

www.pesachshtick.com 7