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"Go Down Moses" (Late 19th Century African-American Spiritual) When Israel was in Egypt land: Let my people go!   Oppressed so hard they could not stand: Let my people go!  Go down, Moses way down in Egypt land.  Tell old Pharaoh To let my people go! Thus spoke the Lord, bold Moses said, Let my people go!  If not I'll strike your firstborn dead. Let my people go. Go down Moses, way down in Egypt land. Tell old Pharaoh: To let my...

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FROZEN Parody – Lyrics by Judy Caplan Ginsburgh The Jews smear blood on their doorposts tonight, This is the final straw Nine plagues haven’t softened Pharaoh’s heart, This is the final one. Things are about to change, the Jews will survive Hurry up and pack, we’ll run for our lives. So, one more time, Moses asks Pharaoh Will you let my people finally go? We’ve worked for years, we’ve done your tasks And now, I ask (Will you) Let us go,...

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As the Israelites suffered from being given more slave work than they could accomplish with the quota of bricks, and as they went hunrgy while their oppressors' bellies were full, God instructed Moses to go to Pharaoh and demand that the Israelites be allowed to go into the wilderness for a 3 day Dance Festival [the root meaning of "Chag" is "dance in a circle"] to Y-h-v-h (shortened by some to "Jah"). Them Belly Full (But We Hungry):  Music by Bob...

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Reclining at dinner, drinking wine, and getting to eat karpas , a Greco-Roman appetizer, is freedom? Seriously? The first part of the seder is a wicked satire that mocks the fool's answer to the central question of the Seder, "What is freedom?" Imagine one of the great Rabbis of the Sanhedrin in antiquity, watching the Sages imprisoned and tortured by the Romans, watching senseless massacres of Jewish women and children by their Roman oppressors. Imagine him turning to a Roman citizen...

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When doing the Seder on a night that is not the beginning or end of Pesach, recite only: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָפֶן Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei p'ri hagafen.

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NO EGYPT NO CRY (Sung to the tune of Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry" with lyrics by Rabbi Nadav Caine. Guitar chords are verses C-G-Am-F and chorus is C-G-Am-F then C-F-C-G.) No, Egypt, no cry (4x) The wise one asks, "What are the laws that God requires of thee?" Tell him there's a Seder, and an Afikomen, and in between we eat! The wicked one says, “What's this mean to you”? But not “to me”! The simple one adds, “What's...

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                 Maggid – Four Questions מַהנִּשְּׁתַּנָה ?מַה נִּשְּׁתַּנָה הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכָּל הַלֵּילוֹת Mah nish-ta-na ha-lai-lah ha-zeh mikol ha-lei-lot? Why is this night of Passover different from all other nights of the year? שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין חָמֵץ וּמַצָּה, הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה - כּוּלוֹ מַצָּה She-b'chol ha-lei-lot anu och'lin cha-meitz u-matzah. Ha-laylah hazeh kulo matzah. On all other nights, we eat either leavened or unleavened bread, why on this night do we eat only matzah? שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין שְׁאָר יְרָקוֹת, - הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה...

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Pour the third cup of wine and recite Birkat Hamazon (Blessing after the Meal). שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת:בְּשׁוּב יהוה אֶת־שִׁיבַת צִיּוֹן הָיִ֫ינוּ כְּחֹלְמִים. אָז יִמָּלֵא שְׂחוֹק פִּינוּ וּלְשׁוֹנֵנוּ רִנָּה, אָז יֹאמְרוּ בַגּוֹיִם, הִגְדִּיל יְיָ לַעֲשׂוֹת עִם אֵלֶּה. הִגְדִּיל יְיָ לַעֲשׂוֹת עִמָּנוּ, הָיִינוּ שְׂמֵחִים. שׁוּבָה יְיָ אֶת שְׁבִיתֵנוּ, כַּאֲפִיקִים בַּנֶּגֶב. הַזֹּרְעִים בְּדִמְעָה בְּרִנָּה יִקְצֹרוּ. הָלוֹךְ יֵלֵךְ וּבָכֹה נֹשֵׂא מֶשֶׁךְ הַזָּרַע, בֹּא יָבֹא בְרִנָּה נֹשֵׂא אֲלֻמֹּתָיו. Shir Hama’alot, b’shuv Adonai et shee-vat Tzion, ha-yeenu k’chol meem. Az y’ma-lei s’chok pee-nu u’l-sho-nei-nu reena, az yo-m’ru va-goyim,...

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Assign various participants the roles of goat, cat, dog, stick, fire, water, ox, butcher, and angel of death. Every time it's mentioned, they have to make the sound! (Baaa, meow...). After each line go to the line above to finish each telling. Along came the kid [ baaa] that my father bought for two zuzim, chad gadya, chad gadya! Then along came the cat [ meow !] that ate the goat [ baaa !], that my father... Then along came the...

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These are the Plagues that the holy one, blessed be he, brought upon Egypt. Blood | Dom | דָּם Frogs | Tzfardeyah | צְפֵרְדֵּע Lice | Kinim | כִּנִים Beasts | Arov | עָרוֹב Cattle Plague | Dever | דֶּבֶר Boils | Sh’chin | שְׁחִין Hail | Barad | בָּרד Locusts | Arbeh | אַרְבֶּה Darkness | Choshech | חשֶׁךְ Slaying of First Born |Makat Bechorot | מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת

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Take the middle matzah and break it into two, one piece larger than the other. The larger piece is set aside to serve as Afikoman. This is traditionally hidden, by the leader of the Seder for the children to “steal” or “find” and then ransom for a something at the end of the Seder. The smaller piece is put back, between the two matzot. This smaller piece, along with the top matzah is what will be used for the “Motzi-Matzah” and...

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To start the process of answering "Why is this night different?" we begin with a frame for the Seder: these are redemption songs that teach us our identity. Redemption Song (Music by Bob Marley; Words by Rabbi Nadav Caine) Old Midianites, says the Rabbi, Sold Joseph to Egypt Minutes after they took him From the bottomless pit But his hand was made strong By the (outstretched) hand of the Almighty We recount in this generation, triumphantly Won't you help to sing...

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Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen (Recommended: His "Book of Mercy" and other of his psalms) Now, I've heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don't really care for music, do you? It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth The minor fall, the major lift The baffled king composing hallelujah Halleluyah (4x) Your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew...

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(This has worked amazingly well at every Seder I've ever done, since it was first taught to me by Prof. Ron Wolfson.) Preparation Before the Seder: Decide ahead of time where the Afikomen will be hidden. Choose a location outside of the search zone. (E.g. "refrigerator".) Make sure the name of the location is not too short: you want a long name like "Refrigerator" or "File Cabinet" or "Linen Closet" so that the number of letters is almost the same as...

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CHORUS: Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Oh baby! Let my people go! HUH! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Singin' Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Oh baby! Let my people go! HUH! Yeah yeah yeah yeah! A burnin' bush told me just the other day That I should come over here and stay. Gotta get my people outta Pharaoh's hands Gotta lead my people to the Promised Land. CHORUS The Nile turned to blood! There were darkened black skies! Gnats and frogs! There were locusts and flies! The first...

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The telling of our story is a failure if all it teaches is about the past and present, but not about the future. The goal of the seder is not just to know how we got free, but to embrace how we are to use that freedom, which is in in service of God. God redeemed us for a purpose, a purpose which requires us to use our freedom. These lyrics underscore the service in Oneness we are to use our...

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Take the 3 matzot - the broken piece between the two whole ones – hold them in your hand and recite the following blessing: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַמּוֹצִיא לֶחֶם מִן הָאָרֶץ. Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, hamotzi lechem min ha-aretz. Praised are you, Adonai, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who provides sustenance from the earth. Before eating the matzah, put the bottom matzah back in its place and continue, reciting the following blessing while holding...

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Maggid:  Ha Lachma Anya Raise the tray with the matzot and say: הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא דִי אֲכָלוּ אַבְהָתָנָא בְּאַרְעָא דְמִצְרָיִם. כָּל דִכְפִין יֵיתֵי וְיֵיכֹל, כָּל דִצְרִיךְ יֵיתֵי וְיִפְסַח. הָשַׁתָּא הָכָא, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּאַרְעָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל. הָשַׁתָּא עַבְדֵי, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּנֵי חוֹרִין. Ha lachma anya dee achalu avhatana b'ara d'meetzrayeem. This is the bread of affliction, which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat. Let all who are in need, come and share the...

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Dayenu דַּיֵינוּ אִלוּ הוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִצְרַים, וְלֹא עָשָׂה בָּהֶם שְׁפָטִים, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ עָשָׂה בָּהֶם שְׁפָטִים, וְלֹא עָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ עָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם, וְלֹא הָרַג אֶת בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ הָרַג אֶת בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם, וְלֹא נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת מָמוֹנָם, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת מָמוֹנָם, וְלֹא קָרַע לָנוּ אֶת הַיָּם, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ קָרַע לָנוּ אֶת הַיָּם, וְלֹא הֶעֱבֵירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ הֶעֱבֵירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה, וְלֹא שְׁקַע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ שִׁקַע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ, וְלֹא סִפֵּק צָרְכֵּנוּ בּמִדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ סִפֵּק צָרְכֵּנוּ בּמִדְבָּר...

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Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen (Recommended: His "Book of Mercy" and other of his psalms) Now, I've heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don't really care for music, do you? It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth The minor fall, the major lift The baffled king composing hallelujah Halleluyah (4x) Your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew...

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Dayenu דַּיֵינוּ אִלוּ הוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִצְרַים , וְלֹא נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת הַשַׁבָּת, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת הַשַׁבָּת,  וְלֹא נַָתַן לָנוּ אֶת הַתּוֹרָה, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ נַָתַן לָנוּ אֶת הַתּוֹרָה, וְלֹא הִכְנִיסָנוּ לְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, דַּיֵינוּ. Ilu hotzi’anu mimitzrayim, v’lo  natan lanu et hashabbat , dayenu.... Ilu natan lanu et hashabbat, v'lo nata lanu et hatorah, dayenu.... Ilu natan lanu et hatorah, v’lo hichnisanu l’eretz Yisrael, dayenu! Had He brought us out of Egypt, and not given us Shabbat, – Dayyenu Had He given...