My First Haggadah

Spring is here! New leaves are growing on the trees.

Flowers are starting to bloom.

The weather is getting warmer; the rains have stopped.

We can plant a garden,

listen to the birds,

and play in the sunshine.

Spring means it is time to celebrate Pesach!

Our family is working hard getting ready for Pesach. Everyone in the family helps. We sweep the floor, vacuum the carpet and clean the cabinets.

We get rid of all the bread in our house.

We cook and bake for our Passover Seder.

Pesach lasts for eight days. We begin the holiday with a Seder.

We read and tell the story of how the Jewish people were freed from being slaves in Egypt.

We use a special book called a Haggadah. Haggadah means “to tell.”

LIGHTING THE CANDLES

We light and bless the holiday candles.

Thank you, God, for the festival lights, and for bringing our family and friends together to celebrate Pesach.

KIDDUSH

We sing the Kiddush, the blessing over the wine. The cup of wine stands for the sweetness and joy of a holiday celebration.

Thank you, God, for the grapes that grow to make wine for our holiday celebration.

THE SEDER TABLE

Our Seder table has a Seder plate.

The Seder plate has:

1. Shank Bone, z’roah — In ancient times, people would bring their newly born lambs to the Temple as a gift. The bone reminds us of that offering.

2. Egg, beitzah — The egg reminds us that new life comes from an egg. Spring is a time for rebirth.

3. Parsley, karpas — The parsley is another symbol of spring. We celebrate Passover each year at the arrival of spring.

4. Bitter Herb, maror — We eat bitter herbs to remind us how bitter our lives were when we were slaves in Egypt.

5. Charoset — The mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine or grape juice looks like the mortar the Jews used in Egypt to build cities for Pharaoh.

What does your Seder plate look like?

THE PESACH FOODS

MATZAH Matzah reminds us that the Jewish people had to leave Egypt in a hurry. Before we eat the matzah, we break the middle piece and put half of it away for our dessert. This piece is called the Afikomen. We hide it in a safe place so we can find it after the meal. Now we each eat a piece of matzah. We say two blessings.

Thank you, God, for the blessing of bread, and for the special matzah which reminds us of the Jewish people’s hurried exit from Egypt.

PARSLEY Let us each dip a piece of parsley into the salt water. Before we eat it, we say a blessing.

Thank you, God, for the vegetables that grow in the ground.

MAROR Let us each dip a piece of maror in the charoset. We recite a blessing.

Thank you, God, for maror which reminds us of the bitterness of slavery.

THE EGG AND THE BONE There are two other symbols on the Seder plate. The egg is another reminder of spring. The bone recalls the first celebration of Pesach, when the Jews roasted lamb and ate it with

matzah.

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

Why is this night different from all other nights of the year?

1. On all other nights we eat all kinds of bread and crackers. Why do we eat only matzah on Pesach?

2. On all other nights we eat many kinds of vegetables and herbs. Why do we eat bitter herbs, maror, at our Seder?

3. On all other nights we don’t usually dip one food into another. At our Seder, we dip the parsley in salt water and the bitter herbs in charoset. Why do we dip foods twice tonight?

4. On all other nights we eat sitting up straight. Why do we lean on a pillow tonight?

We have asked many questions. Let us search for the answers as we read and tell the story of Pesach.

THE JEWISH PEOPLE IN THE LAND OF EGYPT

Long ago, a mean king ruled the land of Egypt. He was called Pharaoh. The Jewish people who lived in Egypt were slaves. They had to work very hard building cities and palaces for Pharaoh. While they worked, they sang songs to make their work easier. Let us pretend we are working and singing with them:

Building Cities

Bang, bang, bang, Dig, dig, dig Hold your hammer low. Get your shovel deep. Bang, bang, bang, Dig, dig, dig, Give a heavy blow. There’s no time to sleep.

Refrain For it’s work, work, work, every day and every night For it’s work, work, work, when it’s dark and when it’s light.

A youth named Moses lived in Egypt; he saw the Jewish slaves working hard for Pharaoh. He didn’t like a country where people were mean to the Jews, so he left Egypt and became a shepherd in a far-away land.

One day when Moses was taking care of his sheep, he saw a burning bush and heard a voice coming from the bush. It was the voice of God. God told Moses to go back to Egypt to free the Jewish slaves and take them away from cruel Pharaoh. Moses returned to Egypt. He went to see Pharaoh and told him: LET MY PEOPLE GO! But Pharaoh refused to listen to him. Let us sing about what happened when Moses went to see Pharaoh:

Listen, King Pharaoh

Oh listen, Oh listen, Oh listen, King Pharaoh. Oh listen, Oh listen, please let my people go. They want to go away. They work too hard all day. King Pharaoh, King Pharaoh, What do you say? No, No, No, I will not let them go. No, No, No, I will not let them go.

God was angry with Pharaoh and punished him ten times. Some of the punishments were:

• Flies ate up all the food. • There was a great storm with thunder and hail. • The sun didn’t shine for many days, and there was only darkness.

One day, Pharaoh woke up and there were frogs all over the place.

Let us sing a song about the morning Pharaoh found the frogs:

One Morning

One morning when Pharaoh woke in his bed, There were frogs in his bed and frogs on his head, Frogs on his nose and frogs on his toes, Frogs here, frogs there, Frogs were jumping everywhere.

Draw a picture of what you think Pharaoh looked like when there were “frogs everywhere!”

But Pharaoh still wouldn’t let the Jewish people go. God brought even more terrible punishments upon the Egyptians. Finally, Pharaoh told Moses to take the Jews out of Egypt. The people got ready very quickly. They didn’t have time to bake bread for their journey. Instead, they put raw dough on their backs. The sun baked it into hard crackers called Matzah.

The Jewish people followed Moses. When they arrived at the sea, Moses held up his walking stick, and the sea divided. The people walked across on dry land and came to a desert.

The Jews were very happy to be saved from cruel Pharaoh. Moses told them to celebrate Pesach every year to remember that once they were slaves in Egypt, but now they were free. That is why we celebrate Pesach today.

Let us sing a song about how happy we are to be free.

Avadim Hayinu

Avadim hayinu, hayinu Ata b’nai chorin, b’nai chorin Avadim hayinu

Ata, ata b’nai chorin, b’nai chorin.

ANSWERING THE FOUR QUESTIONS

Now that we have told the story of Pesach, let us see if we can answer the Four Questions we asked at the beginning of the Seder.

Why do we eat matzah on Pesach?

Matzah reminds us that when the Jews left Egypt, they had no time to bake bread for their journey. They put raw dough on their backs, and the sun baked it into hard crackers called matzah.

Why do we eat bitter herbs, maror, at the Seder?

Maror reminds us of the bitter and cruel way Pharaoh treated the Jewish people when they were slaves in Egypt.

Why do we dip foods twice at the Seder?

We dip karpas (parsley) into salt water and bitter herbs into charoset to remind us how hard the Jewish slaves worked in Egypt. The salt water represents the tears and sweat of the Jews as they worked. The chopped apples and nuts look like clay which the Jews used to make bricks for building Pharaoh’s cities and palaces.

Why do we lean on a pillow at the Seder?

We lean on a pillow to be comfortable and to remind us that once we were slaves, but now we are free.

CUP OF ELIJAH

There is an extra cup of wine on the table. This is the Cup of Elijah. There is a story that Elijah, a great teacher who lived many years ago, visits every Seder to wish everyone a year of peace and freedom. We open the door and invite Elijah to come in. Watch his cup to see if any of the wine disappears.

Let us sing a song welcoming Elijah: Eliahu Hanavi

Eliahu hanavi, Bimhera biyamenu Eliahu hatishbi Yavo aylenu Eliahu, Eliahu, Im Mashiach ben David, Eliahu hagiladi Im Mashiach ben David.

As we open the door for Elijah, we also remember there are Jewish people in many places who cannot have a Seder tonight. We think of them and wish we could invite them to be at our Seder.

We hope and pray that Jewish people all over the world will soon be free to celebrate Pesach and all of the Jewish holidays.

Let us sing a song thanking God for bringing the Jewish people out of the land of Egypt.

Dayenu

Ilu hotzi, hotzianu, Ilu natan, natan, lanu Hotzianu miMitzrayim Natan lanu et ha Torah, Hotzianu miMitzrayim Natan lanu et ha Torah, Dayenu. Dayenu

Now it is time for our Seder meal.

B’tayavon!

Good appetite!

AFTER DINNER

Whoever finds the afikoman is rewarded for bringing it back to the table. We break it into pieces and share it for dessert. We finish our Seder meal with a blessing.

Thank you, God, for the food we have eaten.

If we are not too sleepy after the Seder meal, it is fun to sing.

We end with a song of hope for the Jewish people.

Am Yisrael Chai

Am Yisrael, Am Yisrael, Am Yisrael chai. Am Yisrael, Am Yisrael, Am Yisrael chai. Od avinu chai, od avinu chai. Od avinu, od avinu, od avinu chai.