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Passover

BJE Pre-K Haggadah

At dinner tables around the world, families sit together to tell the story of how the Jewish people became free from slavery in Egypt. The seder is a meal at which people sing, ask questions, and tell stories. Seder means “order” in Hebrew. The Passover seder is done in the order of the Haggadah (hah-gah-DAH), which means “telling” in Hebrew. 

 Some of the stories are from the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, that tell about the beginnings of the Jewish people. At the seder, we travel back in time to ancient Egypt. Our guide for the journey is this Haggadah.
 

Jewish holidays begin at sunset with candle lighting. As darkess fills the evening sky, burning candles spark brightness inside. The candles’ warm light stands for hope and freedom.



ּבָ רּוְך אַ ּתָ ה יְ יָ אֱ ֹלהֵ ינּו מֶ לֶ ְך הָ עֹו ֲ לָ ם אׁש ִ ֶ ר ק ְּד ָׁשנּו ּב ְ ְ מִ צֹותָ יו
וְ ִצָּונּו לְ הַ דְ לִ יק נֵ ר ׁשֶ ל )ׁשַ)ׁשּב ְ ָ ת ו ֶׁשל( יֹום טֹוב.

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam, asher

kideshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu lehadlik ner shel

(Shabbat veshel) yom tov.


Dear God, Creator of our world, thank You for

giving us rules that make our lives special and

for teaching us to light these holiday candles.

On the first night of Passover, a blessing is added to remember

how special it is to celebrate a seder for the first

time in a year — or even for the first time ever

 

בָּ רוְּך אַ תָּ ה יְ יָ אֱ ֹלהֵ ינוּ מֶ לֶ ְך הָ עוֹלָ ם שֶׁ הֶ חֱ יָנוּ וְ קִ יְּ מָ נוּ וְ הִ גִּ יעָ נוּ לַ זְּ מַ ן הַ זֶּ ה.

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam,

shehecheyanu vekiyemanu vehigi’anu lazman hazeh.

Dear God, Creator of our world, thank You for keeping us

alive so we can celebrate this important moment.
 

Blessing the Juice and Wine

 

Now, we hold up our cup of grape juice.  

With this first cup, we add blessings that describe Passover as a gift—a time to thank God

and to celebrate being free.

ָָּ ברּוְך אַ ָּתָ ה יְ יָ אֱ ֹלהֵ ינּו מֶ לֶ ְך הָ עֹולָ ם ּבֹורֵ א ְּפ ְ רִ י הַ ָּגָ פֶ ן.

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech

ha’olam, borei peri hagafen.

Dear God, Creator of our world,

thank You for the delicious fruit that

grows on vines. 
On the table is a Seder Plate. The Seder Plate has special food on it. 

The Charoset- It reminds us of the mortar the Jewish people used when they were forced to build for Pharaoh

The Horseradish and Bone – They remind us of the bitter and hard times the Jewish people had.

The Egg and Greens- They remind us the new happy life the Jewish people created once they became free. 
 

Dipping Our Greens

 Passover celebrates the start of spring. As cold and dark days end, green leaves return to the trees and flowers blossom again. Trees and plants are free to grow. To mark spring’s return, we eat karpas (kar-PAHS), a green vegetable. Parsley or celery can be good karpas. Before we eat the karpas, we dip it in salt water. The salty taste reminds us of the tears that the Jewish people cried in Egypt.

Dip the green vegetable in salt water, then say:

‬ָּבָ רּוְך אַ ָּתָ ה ָיְ י אֱ ֹלהֵ ינּו מֶ לֶ ְך הָ עֹולָ ם ּבֹורֵ א ְּפ ְ רִ י הָ אֲ דָ מָ ה.

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech

ha’olam, borei peri ha’adama.

 Dear God, Creator of our world, thank You

for creating fruits and vegetables that grow

out of the earth.

 

Matzah

There is a plate with 3 pieces of Matzah on it, covered by a Matzah cover. Hold up the middle matzah from the matzah plate. Break it in half. Put the smaller piece back, but wrap the larger piece in a cloth or pouch and put it aside. The larger piece of this matzah is called the Afikoman (ah-fee-koeMAHN), Grownups usually hide the Afikoman and children will have to find it. (In some families, the roles are reversed.)  At the end of the meal, you will search for the Afikoman.     

 
We now say the blessing for the Matzah

Hold up the matzah while still covered.

This matzah that we will eat in a few moments – why is it on our seder table? Matzah is made without leavening but we and we mix and bake it much faster. Matzah reminds us that when Pharaoh finally agreed to let us go, we had to leave Egypt fast! There was no time to get ready or to wait. 

 
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם,

הַמּוֹצִיא לֶחֶם מִן הָאָרֶץ.

 
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu,

Melech haolam,

haMotzi lechem min haaretz.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who brings forth bread from the earth.

 
*At a Passover seder we say an additional blessing before eating the matzah.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם,

אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ, בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצוָּנוּ, עַל אֲכִילַת מַצָּה.

Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav, v’tzivanu al achilat matzah.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who hallows us with mitzvot, commanding us regarding the eating of Matzah.
 

The Four Questions

 

Passover seders are unusual dinners, with unique foods and ways of eating. Why do we have these foods and rituals? How do they help us tell the story of Passover? Asking questions out loud and answering questions in ways that tell our own stories are both signs of being a free person. Traditionally, the youngest person or people at the table get to ask the Four Questions.

מַ ה נּ ְ ִ שַׁתּנָּ ה ַהַ לּיְ לָ ה הַ זֶּ ה מִ כָּ ל הַ לֵּ ילוֹת

MAH NISHTANAH HALAILAH HAZEH MIKOL HALAYLOT?  MIKOL HALAYLOT?Why is this night different from all other nights?

1.SHE-B’CHOL HALAYLOT, ANU OCLIN  CHAMETZ U MATZAH (2X), HALAILAH HAZEH (4X), KULO MATZAH (2X).                                              

On all other nights we eat any kind of bread or crackers. Why on this night do we eat only matzah?

2. SHE-B’CHOL HALAYLOT, ANU OCLIN  
SH’AR Y’RAKOT (2X), 
HALAILAH HAZEH (4X), 
MAROR (4X)  

On all other nights we eat any kind of herbs. Why on this night do we eat only bitter herbs, like horseradish?

3. SHE-B’CHOL  HALAYLOT, AYN ANU MAHTBILIN
AHFILU PA-AM ECHAT (2X), 
HALAILAH HAZEH (4X) 
SH’TAY P’AH-MIM (2X)    

On all other nights we do not dip our food even one time. Why on this night do we dip two times? 

4. SHE-B’CHOL HALAYLOT, ANU OCHLIN       
BEN YOSHVIN UVEN M’SUBIN (2X), 
HALAILAH HAZEH (4X) 
KULANU M’SUBIN (2X)                                    

On all other nights we usually eat sitting up. Why on this night do we use a pillow to lean on?   

 It is now time to tell the story of Passover. You can find the story here and use the story guide as a reference. There are opportunities for reflection so parents and caregivers can ask children questions about the story to help them connect with Pesach on a deeper level.