March 26, 2020
Posted by Haggadot
An open session in which we answer your questions about using the site, making a Haggadah, and hosting your virtual Passover seder. Join us for our next session on Friday, March 27 at 12pm EST. https://zoom.us/j/3030083027
March 26, 2020
Posted by Haggadot
Has this happened to you? You've spent hours mixing and matching clips to make the perfect haggadah, download it to your word processor and find all the Hebrew text looks...backwards?!
We found a great solution! Just enter the text using this tool and you can reverse the Hebrew text to go back to right to left. Then just copy and paste it back into your word processor.
You can also add Hebrew language add-ons to your word processing software, but we love a quick solution. Thanks ModernKetubah.com and the coder who created the tool, Steve Morse.
March 20, 2020
Posted by Haggadot
Check out our Zoom conversation on hosting your own virtual seder. For more information, join our Seder Planners Group on Facebook. You can download the presentation from the call here: https://www.haggadot.com/haggadah/guide-the-art-of-virtual-seders
If you'd like to schedule a customized webinar for your community, contact rebecca@haggadot.com.
March 18, 2020
Posted by Haggadot
As we adapt to new daily routines, it may not seem like the season of freedom is upon us. We know that our seders will look different this year, but one thing is certain: Passover is far from cancelled. We’re here to help you make this holiday one of the most meaningful to date.
So how’s this going to work? Do you host a cozy seder at home? (No guests means less stress!) Or do you host a virtual seder for loved ones from across the country? Join us as we discuss these questions and the art of gathering remotely this Friday, March 20 at 12pm EST. Expect tips for feeling connected and inspired at your seder, whatever form it takes.
Ready to be a guest instead of a host? Join Haggadot.com’s first-ever virtual seder on Sunday, April 12 at 2pm EDT / 11am PDT. Why Sunday? So Eileen can join us all the way from London, while our super-special co-host, Esther Kustanowitz can join us from Los Angeles. Plus, some you prefer to unplug on the first two nights, and we want to include you too. We’d love for you to invite friends and family of all faiths to join us. We welcome everyone. (If you’d like to help us plan our virtual seder, you can join our Seder Planners Facebook group.)
Finally, we can address your ongoing questions in our virtual “office hours” on Friday, March 27 and Friday, April 3 at noon EDT. We’ll help you work on your haggadah and imagine new rituals for celebrating in these uncertain times.
Remember to check out our 2020 Favorites Haggadah, an ongoing collection of the most up-to-date content for this Passover season that feels… well, oh so different from every other Passover season. Now is a great time to contribute your clips for us to feature in this compilation.
Questions? Email us. We’re here for you and we’re ready to celebrate everything that makes this community special and wonderful.
You can RSVP to join our "office hours" and Virtual Seder on our Facebook page.
March 13, 2020
Posted by Rebecca Missel
We’ve all been to that seder. The one where you’re flipping ahead in an ancient haggadah, counting the pages until it’s time to eat. Bad seders happen to good people. But whether your seder is happening in-person or virtually, you can avoid hosting one by following a few key steps, borrowed from best-selling author Priya Parker.
Step One - Decide Why You’re Really Gathering
In The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker tells us to remember the Passover Principle: “why is this night different from all other nights?” Before you send invitations, select a menu or design your haggadah - decide why you’re coming together to celebrate in the first place.
Sure, the purpose of a seder might be “to celebrate Passover,” but if you go a bit deeper and find something specific, it can transform your seder from ordinary to memorable. Maybe it’s “to re-enact an essential Jewish story by connecting it to themes of struggle that remain relevant today.” Or, “to express our love for friends and family by preparing distinctive foods that contain powerful symbolism.” Or perhaps “to mark a shift in the seasons by recalling our agrarian past and linking to other faith’s springtime rites of passage.”
And decide what type of gathering makes the most sense for you and your well-being. To honor communal health and your own well-being, you may want to host a virtual seder where everyone follows your haggadah from their own home. Or you may want to have a smaller group from the same area meet in person. That way, no one has to travel by air. All the tips suggested here can work no matter how you’re gathering.
There’s no right or wrong answer - but whatever you choose will drive every other decision you make about the seder.
Step Two - Be a Host
Being a host is powerful. As you plan your seder and design your haggadah, think about who’s coming to your seder, what you want folks to talk about, when you’ll eat. All these decisions will make your guests feel well cared for. You also have the power to create special one-time rules for your seder. Some of these come straight from the haggadah, like reclining in our seats. Maybe you want to add your own. Such as singing one of our Passover song parodies for 20 seconds while washing your hands. Or no screens during the seder...unless you’re meeting virtually!
Once everyone is gathered around your seder table(s) and welcomed by the host, it’s time for this random assortment of people to become a group. There’s lots of ways to break the ice and get conversations started, and here are some of our favorites:
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Samesies! Each person goes around the table or screen and shares a fact about themselves, such as, “my favorite Passover food is matzah.” Everyone else who feels the same way says, “samesies!”
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One Word. Pick a phrase or quote that relates to your seder’s purpose and have everyone say a word or phrase that comes to their mind in relation to it. For example, “in every generation, we tell the Passover story as if we each came from Egypt.”
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Take a Breath. Often, we arrive at the seder table having rushed to cook, clean, travel, etc. Sometimes just taking an intentional breath together with everyone around us invites us to pause and transition into the space.
Step Three - Don’t be Afraid to Go Deep or Get Controversial
Unless you’re intentionally doing a speedy seder, you can design the evening with moments that invite people to go beyond their usual stock answers and into what is vulnerable or challenging. Priya Parker created the 15 Toasts activity to inspire deeper connections.
Pick a theme related to your seder’s purpose, such as “springtime.” Throughout the evening, everyone tells a brief story centered on that theme, with the incentive that the last person to go has to sing their story! In The Art of Gathering, the storyteller makes a toast, but since we already drink four glasses of wine at a seder, it’s OK to end a story by tinkling a glass with your fork, drinking water or applauding.
Into every great meal, a little darkness may fall. After all, darkness was the penultimate plague. Rather than shy away from controversy or difficult topics, make space for them by giving them a bit of structure. For example, after eating the bitter herbs, set a five-minute timer for discussing whatever the elephant is around your seder table. When the timer goes off, mark the end of the discussion by eating charoset, for a little sweetness.
Step Four - Accept There is an End
Before you say, “Next year in Jerusalem,” think about how you want to end your seder with as much intention as you began. At some seders, everything is over when we eat the afikoman. Others stretch late into the night with enthusiastic singing sessions. Whatever you do, Priya Parker warns, don’t end the seder with logistics. Tell folks where to leave dirty dishes or to find their coats, but not as the last thing you say.
Express thanks and gratitude. You can do this through a traditional blessing after meals or by specifically thanking everyone for what they did to make the seder possible, including the invisible workers who harvest our food. Then, give folks an opportunity to reflect and make meaning of the seder. You can close as you began with everyone sharing a single word or highlight from the meal, then taking a collective breath.
However you choose to design your seder, Haggadot.com has you covered from start to finish.
March 10, 2020
Posted by Haggadot
Passover is a holiday full of songs! Chad Gadya. Dayenu. More Dayenu :) And the Jews are a people full of musicians. Paul Simon. Bob Dylan. Drake!
Has anyone ever written a parody song of a Jewish musician for Passover? We have Paul Simon’s “50 Ways To Leave Your Pharaoh,” Billy Joel’s “Pesach Man”, and Maroon 5’s Memories (The 2nd Cup Parody) on Haggadot.com all ready to be added to your Seder, plus a growing list at the bottom of this post.
Here are our top 3 parody songs we'd love to see written one day:
- Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Charoset,”
- KISS’s “I Want To Question All Night Long,”
- Ariana Grande’s “When life gives you bitter herbs (Sweetener)”
What parodies would you like to see? With a month until Passover, now’s the time to add YOUR content, musical or otherwise, to Haggadot.com in time for others to collect as clips into their Haggadahs. That’s “God’s Plan.”
More parodies:
Our Passover Things (My Favorite Things)
We're Gonna Sing Dayenu (Tune of We Didn't Start The Fire)
Wonder Woman Meets Chad Gad Ya
What are your favorite parody songs?
March 06, 2020
Posted by Haggadot
Eileen Levinson, founder of Haggadot.com, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg of Judaism Unbound for a conversation about crowd-sourced Haggadot and about re-imagining Passover more generally. Listen now!
March 05, 2020
Posted by Haggadot
Passover is a holiday where we practice empathy and experiment with our powers of imagination. We try to picture what it’s like to have been a slave, to feel the bitter pain of suffering, and then to live the joy of freedom.
Empathy and imagination is also key to being a male ally at the Passover table and in your day-to-day life.
At Passover this year, try to imagine what it might feel like to come to the Seder every year and for the leader of the Jewish people to always be a woman? And for G-d to always be embodied as a female in visual representations and in the language we use?
Is there a chance you might feel slightly disempowered from identifying with the story and your religion?
Would it feel a little weird if the last plague was only on the first-born daughter? I know I would feel a bit less important and left out, even if it meant I wouldn’t have had a chance of dying ;)
This is why it’s so important to find space in the Haggadah for female heroines like Miriam and rituals like having oranges on the Seder plate, or for role evolutions in the Seder service like having a woman lead the Seder.
Lastly, in your day-to-day life, try to practice similar thought experiments not just about gender, but also about race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and any other type of difference.
Where is there suffering due to a lack of space and representation? For instance, if a family member makes an insensitive joke, can you call them out on it, instead of letting it go?
Where can empathy be employed to free others to live more equally? For instance, if you own a business, can you provide employees of other faiths time off to observe their own holidays?
For more practical information, check out this guide to allyship.
The more we use our powers of imagination and practices of empathy, the more we realize the paradox that while we are all different, we are all also one.
February 27, 2020
Posted by Haggadot
Get in the party spirit with these downloadable
Purim Mask Coloring Pages!
Ready to color, cut & wear! Print on card stock for a more durable mask.
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February 27, 2020
Posted by Haggadot
How might your guests contribute more to the seder than a bottle of wine? Can they bring a special reading or song to share? Or an ice-breaker activity? Consider inviting them to collaborate on a group Haggadah. It's a great way to get everyone excited about spending the holiday together - and it makes your job easier! Read more about our collaboration feature here.
Need inspiration? Check out our past compilations:
Annual Favorites: 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | Haggadot.com's Greatest Hits 2011-2015
Liberal Haggadah Template (by Jewish Boston)
Join Us on Zoom for For "Office Hours" on Fridays from 12-1pm EST We'll have a Q&A with our team for all your seder & site-related questions Sign Up Here Before March 6