March 02,2021
Posted by Haggadot
Haggadot.com Executive Director Eileen Levinson navigates the rules of the seder, then offers creative ways to break those rules. First, connect to your seder's purpose, then experiment with different ideas to construct a seder that meets your needs this year.
Here's some of our favorite haggadot & clips for reimagining the seder's traditional structure
Dayenu Seder - https://www.haggadot.com/haggadah/10-minute-dayenu-seder
Friend Seder - https://www.haggadot.com/haggadah/the-friendseder-haggadah
Minimalist Seder - https://www.haggadot.com/haggadah/minimalist-haggadah
#SederAllDay - https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17928673249375455/?hl=en
Moishe House Reverse Seder - https://www.haggadot.com/haggadah/moholo-reverse-seder
Comedy Haggadah - https://www.haggadot.com/haggadah/comedy-seder
Games Blog Post - https://www.haggadot.com/blog/sedergames
Afikomen Blog Post - https://www.haggadot.com/blog/virtual%20afikoman
Alternative Seder Plate Items - https://www.haggadot.com/blog/virtualsederplate
Human Tableau - https://www.haggadot.com/clip/human-tableau
Skits - https://www.haggadot.com/clip-search?type=clip&key=skit
Songs - https://www.haggadot.com/clip-search?type=clip&key=§ion%5B23%5D=23
Sharing Haggadah on Zoom - https://www.haggadot.com/blog/sharing-your-haggadah-on-zoom
March 02,2021
Posted by Haggadot
The Zoom fatigue is very real, but your seder doesn’t have to be a struggle. Whether you’re gathering virtually or in-person, get the whole family involved with these classic games, featuring a Passover twist. Want more ideas? Check out Our Favorites for Families Haggadah: https://www.haggadot.com/haggadah/our-favorites-families
Celebrity - Before the seder, the host creates a simple Google Form where everyone can submit the name of a Jewish person who will be the celebrity. The celebrity can be a Biblical character, historic figure or modern Jewish celebrity. If everyone is meeting in person, they can write their names on a slip of paper. Next, the host divides everyone into two or three teams. The leader selects a participant from the first team who will get the name of a celebrity. The rest of the players on that team have to ask questions to figure out who the celebrity is. Once they guess the celebrity, the other teams take a turn. The host times each round and the team who guesses their celebrity the quickest wins.
Afikomen Game, Designed By Dov Jacobson - This online game is perfect for seder gatherings online.
First, the Leader opens the Afikomen Game. They pick any of the 32 objects to hide the Afikomen underneath it. Then, the leader screen shares with guests. A player jumps in to assert remote control and moves an object on the screen to look underneath it. Then, another player jumps in and takes a turn to look for the afikomen. Repeat with players until it's found!
Pictionary - This game is especially fun for kids. Before the seder, the leader selects a few Passover terms like, “Pharaoh,” “matzah” or “plague of frogs.” You can select more complicated terms for groups including mostly teenagers or adults. Rotate who draws for a few rounds. Select a winner based on time, or let everyone vote on their favorite drawing.
Charades - More of an actor than an artist? No problem! Instead of drawing different parts of the Passover story, seder goes act them out. Bonus points if you invite people to bring props in advance.
Digital Afikoman Hunt - From Lex Rofeberg at Judaism Unbound, is this word search option with popular seder terms and detailed Zoom-friendly instructions.
Scavenger Hunts - Not just for afikoman! If some participants in your seder need to get up and move around frequently, assign them a scavenger hunt. Assign each child to find something green for karpas, or a pillow for reclining, or hand sanitizer. The first one back wins!
Storytellers - Haggadah literally means “The Telling,” so what better game to play at a seder than a storytelling game?! The leader begins by telling a story about Passover. At random, another seder-goer interrupts, saying “yes, and…” then they continue the story until another seder-goer jumps in. Creativity counts in this game where everyone wins.
February 25,2021
Posted by Haggadot
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Much like Passover, Purim (which begins Thursday night, Feb 25) commemorates a moment in our history where one person's actions helped save the Jewish people. |
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Celebrate this joyful holiday by reading the traditional Book of Esther, or discover the Hipster Princess of Persia. Then make your costume with our Purim Coloring Pages, or enjoy an evening of Purim-Themed Self-Care.
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Start Your 2021 Haggadah With Some Of Our Favorites |
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February 24,2021
Posted by Haggadot
Missed our session on How to Host a Seder in 2021? Catch up here and use the links below to start your Passover haggadah today!
How To Use Haggadot.com
How Haggadot.com Works: https://www.haggadot.com/about/how-haggadot-works
FAQs: https://www.haggadot.com/about/faq
Tips for screen sharing: https://www.haggadot.com/blog/sharing-your-haggadah-on-zoom
Virtual Afikoman Tips: https://www.haggadot.com/blog/virtual%20afikoman
Important Sites To Save
Upcoming Webinars: https://www.haggadot.com/blog/spring21workshops
Donate here: https://haggadot.charityproud.org/Donate
Blog : https://www.haggadot.com/blog
Haggadot To Explore
10-Minute Dayenu Seder https://www.haggadot.com/haggadah/10-minute-dayenu-seder
Coloring Book Haggadah: https://www.haggadot.com/haggadah/coloring-book-haggadah-1
Family Favorites: https://www.haggadot.com/haggadah/our-favorites-families
Minimalist: https://www.haggadot.com/haggadah/minimalist-haggadah
Secular: https://www.haggadot.com/haggadah/secular-haggadah-8
Clips
Urchatz: https://www.haggadot.com/clip-search?type=clip&key=§ion%5B3%5D=3
Blessing for Handwashing in a Pandemic: https://www.haggadot.com/clip/blessing-for-hand-washing-during-a-pandemic
Maror / Koreich: https://www.haggadot.com/clip-search?type=clip&key=§ion%5B14%5D=14§ion%5B15%5D=15
Favorite song parodies: https://www.haggadot.com/blog/our-favorite-passover-song-parodies
Skits: https://www.haggadot.com/clip-search?type=clip&key=skit
February 10,2021
Posted by Haggadot
Thanks to everyone who joined our 2021 partner welcome session where we shared a tour of the Haggadot.com site, our collaboration tools and our Spring webinar menu. Watch a recording of the webinar here.
To schedule a webinar in your community, or if you have any questions about being a 2021 Featured Partner, please email Rebecca Missel, Director of Partnerships, at [email protected].
February 02,2021
Posted by Haggadot
Passover is Just 7 Weeks Away & Haggadot.com is Here For Your Organization!
New & long-time partners are invited to the 2021 Welcome Session on Wednesday, 2/10 at 1 pm EST
We will share our favorite collaboration tips, our new partnership guidelines, and preview our new fundraising tools to help you raise money for your community this Passover season. Your organization must register to be a 2021 Featured Partner. We'll share a recording with everyone who registers.
Register here: Wednesday, February 10 at 1pm EST (11am PST)
Schedule a Customized Webinar With Haggadot.com
Our team is also available to bring our webinars to your synagogue, JCC or organziation. Just email [email protected] to schedule your customized session today. Here's our Spring 2021 webinar menu.
How To Seder In 2021: The Zoom fatigue is real, but you can make your seder feel new again. We'll share tips for hosting hybrid seders, creating rituals for the moment & more.
Alternative Seders: Throw away the map! We'll share ideas for hosting alternative seders including all-day seders, a reverse seders, 7th night seders. Spark curiosity among community members and reinvigorate leaders.
Liberated Spaces At Home: As we enter a second pandemic Passover, go beyond spring cleaning to liberate your living spaces from all their spiritual chametz. The creative team at Haggadot.com will guide participants through reflections on releasing the past year and in designing cleansing rituals to use before Passover.
Making A Collaborative Haggadah: A session for educators with creative collaboration prompts, tips for using our tools, and personalized feedback for making your own community Haggadah.
February 01,2021
Posted by Haggadot
Moses, Joe Biden, and Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month
By Dave Cowen
Hi, my name is Dave Cowen, and this is my second year contributing to the amazing content of the beloved Haggadot.com community, the not-for-profit, crowdsourced Haggadah-making platform. I’m a writer who has published humor in The New Yorker and has had Amazon best selling parody Haggadah books featured in The New York Times.
I’ll be doing a series of three blog posts for Passover this spring. Thank you to Eileen and Rebecca for the opportunity. This first one is particularly close to my heart.
Did you know February is Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month? JDAIM is a collaborative effort of Jewish organizations across the world every February to promote awareness and inclusion of people with disabilities and their loved ones.
One of the most important Jews in our history and in the Passover story could be said to be disabled. And so it could also be said of our new President. Both had speech impediments!
In Exodus, Moses doesn’t think he’s capable or able to lead the Jews out of Egypt, telling God: “Please, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”
Similarly, Joe Biden, before his rise in politics, dealt with stuttering throughout his childhood and into his twenties, even into today.
God responds to Moses’ insecurities about his disability by assuring him that when the time comes, Moses will be able to speak well enough. He also says that Moses’ brother, Aaron, will support him.
Similarly, Joe Biden’s mother assured him that his disability wouldn’t obstruct his life goals. Biden said that he still thinks of his mother, who would tell him, “‘Joey, don't let this define you. Joey, remember who you are. Joey, you can do it.’ So every time I would walk out, she would reinforce me. I know that sounds silly, but it really matters.”
Like many in America and in the world, I also identify as disabled. I’ve found that two of the most important ways to handle my disabilities is through belief in I felt earlier in my life. I’ve always thought people need to understand that most of us experience disability at some God’s support and the support system of family, friends, and my professional community.
Since the 2010s, there has been a rise in the disability movement. This has helped to break down some of the discrimination against people with disabilties, which point in life. It’s just a matter of when.
Whether that’s a temporary disablement due to depression or grief, a new permanent disablement due to injury or illness, or the terminal decline of age, the majority of us will either become disabled or will love someone who is at some point in our lives.
What the Passover story and Joe Biden’s rise to the Presidency teaches us is that disability is often part of one’s life but also doesn’t need to define one’s identity. I still write, have worked the same job for the past seven years, have been in long-term relationships, am a good friend, brother, and son, and pursue many other joys and interests.
Now is a time that people with disabilities and people without them can look to our religion’s hero and current government leader as role models that show us that disabilities are just one part of the people we love and/or ourselves.
Happy February and Happy JDAIM Month!
Looking for a kid-friendly inclusion seder? Our partners at MATAN have created an Inclusion Haggadah for children with disabilities. And find our newly-added Inclusion Haggadah for Adults, created by and for adults with disabilities.
November 16,2020
Posted by Haggadot
Just In Time For Chanukah - We're Relaunching Our Holiday Store!
Have you enjoyed Haggadot.com on your computer? Now you can bring us safely into your home this Chanukah season with our signature quirky, creative and fun Jewish holiday store. Shop cards, totebags, ritual objects and more at https://store.customandcraft.org/
Happy Holidays from Haggadot.com!
August 24,2020
Posted by Haggadot
The team behind Haggadot.com, the not-for-profit, crowdsourced haggadah-making platform, has announced the launch of a dedicated microsite for the High Holiday season. Designed around at-home rituals, HighHolidaysAtHome.com is a brand-new platform, democratizing the holidays by making them accessible for everyone, even in the COVID-19 pandemic.
HighHolidaysAtHome.com invites us to bring our whole selves and our beloved traditions into our homes for a season of celebration. The site features ready-to-download Rosh Hashanah seders, Yom Kippur rituals, Sukkot ceremonies, home altar instructions and more. Visitors can also mix and match blessings, songs, prayers, art and videos to craft a personalized experience that reflects their Jewish values and spiritual practice.
“We’re hopeful that the constraints we face this year will ultimately enable radical shifts in our Jewish practice,” said Eileen Levinson, Founder & Executive Creative Director of Haggadot.com. “Each of us is now the designer and director for our own spiritual experience, and our team is excited to use our expertise and technology to empower everyone.”
In the early days of the pandemic, more than 400,000 people turned to Haggadot.com to find a way to celebrate a Passover seder, even when far away from family. Site traffic tripled from previous years as Jews around the world created and downloaded customized haggadot for their virtual seders. Now, the Haggadot.com team is bringing their expertise in blending new technology with ancient traditions to the High Holidays.
“These High Holidays offer a great chance to invent DIY practices!” said Rabbi Denise Handlarski, of Secular Synagogue, an online community where members often collaborate on communal Jewish experiences. “Creating your own at-home practices makes sure you get what you need for a powerful holiday experience.”
Visitors to HighHolidaysAtHome.com are also invited to join webinars offering a collection of DIY rituals such as writing personalized liturgy and creating a ritual life planner for the coming year. Register for upcoming webinars and watch recordings of past sessions here: https://highholidaysathome.
The site offers resources contributed by a diverse community of creators. It recently published Seeker Season: A Guide To The High Holidays For The Curious & Courageous, featuring illustration by Jessica Tamar Deutsch. Several rituals focused on healing, wholeness and release have been shared from The Blue Dove Foundation, an organization committed to addressing issues of mental health and addiction in the Jewish community.
Changing the narrative around who gets to participate in our community has been a key focus for Haggadot.com. “Too often, concerns about financial barriers and physical barriers mean some people are left out of the High Holiday experience,” said Rebecca Missel, Director of Partnerships and Operations at Haggadot.com. “This year, everyone is on equal footing. We are all celebrating at home, together.”
April 24,2020
Posted by Haggadot
