Pesach Creative Seder Resources

Please turn to the below resources for inspiration and to renew your Seder ritual. From sharing videos on zoom, to new family haggadot like this CCAR Haggadah, we at Holy Blossom are happy to provide resources to help us all move mentally from slavery to liberation.

JIAS Passover Supplement: Connect Passover with Refugees Today

This year as we recall the story of the Israelites fleeing Egypt in search of freedom, we will be thinking of the millions of Ukrainians who are enslaved by war and violence – including the 200,000 Jewish Ukrainians who are either in danger or displaced. The crisis in Ukraine compounds an ongoing and fast-growing world refugee crisis of catastrophic proportions. Almost 30 million people around the world have been forced to flee their country of origin in pursuit of safety and basic human rights. The JIAS Toronto Passover Supplement provides stories of 21st-century refugees, reminds us that we too were once strangers in a strange land, and challenges us to think about how we can help “welcome the stranger”.

JIAS is at the forefront of providing services that help immigrants and refugees on their own journey to freedom today. Click here to download the JIAS Passover Supplement and be part of this effort.

• Enjoy this traditional version of the order of the seder animated! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHrRJVjQCMw
• Here is a Sephardic version of the Order of the Seder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beH8Zv6TdNA
• A Contemporary version of the order of the seder by Elana Jagoda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpHP0miezHQ
• A fun way to introduce your guests to the seder by “613—-“The Seder Crew” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhR13I6UE1c

• Kiddush L’erev Pesach pg 440 Sidder Pichei Kodesh by Cantor David Rosen https://youtu.be/MfD-uraW5Qo
• https://images.shulcloud.com/877/uploads/2020/SederCommentary.pdf
• https://www.haggadot.com/clip/urchatz-washing-hands-11

• https://www.ritualwell.org/ritual/urkhatz-healing-waters-time-covid-19
• https://dorimidnight.com/uncategorized/wash-your-hands/

• https://www.ritualwell.org/ritual/karpas
• https://www.haggadot.com/clip/karpas-dipping-vegetable
• https://www.haggadot.com/clip/dipping-greens-if-earth-could-speak
• https://www.haggadot.com/clip/karpas-264

• https://www.ritualwell.org/ritual/yachatz-some-do-not-get-chance-rise
• https://ritualwell.org/ritual/matzah-bread-affliction-bread-hope-and-possibility

• “The Four Questions” – need a kid to ask your 4 questions at your seder? Enjoy this classic rendition by Joel Glickman Rosen https://youtu.be/_QZpCwedr-I
• “The Four Questions” in Yiddish as chanted by Theadore Bikel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd9EO0Kni9g
• An animated version of the Story of Passover; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFU5NrPgutA
• “Go Down Moses” a classic rendition of this timeless piece sung by Louis Armstrong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf6jBP4YXwo
• “Dayeinu” – performed by the Contemporary Israeli group “Nava Tehila” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0HgLX6OWsY
• “Dayeinu” a beautiful version in harmony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZgDNPGZ9Sg
• “The Four Sons”– a synopsis by “Godcast” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=029__uuKYBI
• “The frog Song”—performed by Doda Mollie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKeKMoW2tU4
• “10 Plagues” from the “Prince of Egypt” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJleW4TCQM0

• https://issuu.com/onetableshabbat/docs/fourquestionshttps://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57595/maggid
• https://www.haggadot.com/clip/god-does-not-bring-plagues-by-rabbi-naomi-levyhttps://www.haggadot.com/clip/primo-levi-passover-poem
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZKJcHVWI_4
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0oW_YVEqOU
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_RmVJLfRoM&list=RDrZKJcHVWI_4&index=3
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qervY5HSzqM&list=RDrZKJcHVWI_4&index=2

“Dayeinu”
by Rabbi Yael Splansky

The Toronto Star https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/04/08/passover-during-a-pandemic-from-degradation-to-exultation.html

“Expressions of Gratitude, even now”
By Rabbi Yael Splansky

If only my loved ones and I were healthy, 
Dayeinu.

If only my government were good and trustworthy and proactive, 
Dayeinu.

If only the medical professionals were showing up to work every day, despite the risks, 
Dayeinu.

If only the grocery stores and pharmacies were still open to provide for the essentials of life, 
Dayeinu.

If only I had a phone line to hear the voices of those I love, 
Dayeinu.

If only I had internet access to connect with my congregation for prayer and sacred learning, 
Dayeinu.

If only I had books on my shelf to read, 
Dayeinu.

If only I could listen to the music that I love, 
Dayeinu.

If only I could go outside or open a window for fresh air, 
Dayeinu.

If only the sun came up each morning and set each evening, come what may, 
Dayeinu.

If only I had good neighbours who are there for me if I ever need help, 
Dayeinu.

If only I had a tablecloth and candlesticks to make “this night different from all other nights.”

If only I had the Jewish story to transport me from the narrow places of Egypt to the wide, open expanses of the wilderness, where God is near and the Promised Land is on the horizon, 
Dayeinu.

May this Passover bring us from “degradation to exultation,” from the low places of captivity to the higher ground of health and hope for the future.

“A Passover”
after Rabbi Yael Splansky
By Gary Barwin

If my dove is good
If your coat and phone are open
If you were the only lioness or were paralyzed
If only I were a boomerang
If I could go outside or open the kissing cabinet
If the sun shines on each motel
If you had a door so you could sing
Hope which brings you from the cloak of the world to the scorching heat and soup to the galaxy
For now, my only friend is health.

• Washing of the Hands: Parody I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxYifqWm34M
• Parody II 20 second parodies on hand washing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2LLF9eE_VI
• https://holyblossomtemple-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/jhelfman_holyblossom_org/Eatu52J6w6NMqgLe-ISae88BClsUXDClQ-qF_gGUMpsdMw?e=DaPcNB

This year of harsh separation has given us a taste of the bitterness and tear-filled sorrow our ancestors faced in Egypt.  Instead of glossing over the feelings of pain and pretending they don’t exist, we bless the bitter, respecting and acknowledging it, before mixing it with the sweet.

https://youtu.be/6CW-K6DXlOo

• https://www.hillel.org/about/news-views/news-views—blog/news-and-views/2015/04/02/better-together-hillels-sandwich

• https://www.haggadot.com/clip/shulchan-orech-13
• Gefilte Fish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLdgPOPEBaE

• Bareich- “Birkat Hamzon” by Cantor David Rosen according to Pirchei Kodesh pg. 448 https://youtu.be/A4-lleMbGnU
• Hallel- An abbreviated version by Cantor David Rosen https://youtu.be/skNz8JXJY9Y
• https://www.ritualwell.org/ritual/tzafun
• https://www.haggadot.com/clip/tzafun-60

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tRk1XnQqHI
• https://hilleltorah.org/making-birkat-hamazon-a-fun-and-exciting-part-of-the-day/

•  Jack Black’s Chad Gadya – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7_2WtzqvzM
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdwTuToxW9s
• https://www.haggadot.com/clip/hallel-260
• https://www.haggadot.com/clip/hallel-coloring-page

• “Adir Hu” – Traditional version by Cantor Jack Chomsky https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYYtPm3qMaE
• “Adir Hu” – an upbeat version by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach z”l https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2PBZ52cOlo
• “Ki Lo Na’eh” Cantor Moyshe Oyster z”l https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6pk_XRsKoY
• “Echad Mi Yodeia” – Performed by Ohad Naharin and the dancers of the Batsheva Dance Company Young Ensemble https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v6tY_u-Mls
• “Chad Gadyo” – by Jack Black https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7_2WtzqvzM
• “Chad Gadyo”- a wonderful alternative to the classic by Moshe Oysher https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr4LSdALxpI
• “Chad Gadyo” in Yiddish by the Zemiros Group https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN9og7hRuek
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTmTZL3-fzQ
• https://www.haggadot.com/clip/mindfulness-practices-every-step-seder