The Seder nights is one of the most memorable of the Jewish calendar. Many of us have fond memories of our family Seders. Others just remember the grownups reading the Haggadah round the table, as our tummies rumbled and we wondered if food was ever coming.
But the Seder shouldn’t be dull. Long before the days of multimedia, in the times of the Mishna, the Seder was an audio-visual re-enactment of the going out of Egypt for the children. In some communities the father would dress up in white robes, holding a stick with an attached cloth and walk around the table chanting the passage, “We were slave to Pharaoh in Egypt…”
The whole aim was – and continues to be – to stimulate the kids to ask questions and get involved in the Seder. The “props” – be it the Seder plate, or the cushions for leaning – are all there in order to arouse curiosity in our kids and get them asking questions.
Here are a number of ideas to make the Seder fun and meaningful for everyone. All the games are suitable for all ages and are a lot of fun!
Very important: Remember to have a bag of small prizes or treats as incentives for good questions and involvement.
Who/What Am I?
In advance of Seder night write out on separate pieces of paper the names of characters or objects associated with Seder night. For example: Pharoah, Maror, Charoset, Matzah, Chametz, Frog, etc.
During the Seder choose a volunteer. Tie a scarf around his forehead and stick a name on the scarf so that everyone can see it but him. Now he has to ask questions about himself, to which everyone answers Yes/No until he figures out who he is.
If he guesses in five or less questions, he gets a prize.
Q-and-A!
You will need a basket full of questions and answers about Pesach on individual index cards or paper. Get your kids ahead of time to prepare as many questions and answers as they can from the Haggadah and write the questions and answers down. Here are some suggestions to get you started.
Why do we eat Matzah on Pesach? To remind us of the dough that didn’t have time to rise as our forefathers were rushed out of Egypt.
Name the Four Sons? The wise (Chacham), the wicked (Rasha), the simple (Tam), and the one who doesn’t know how to ask.
How many cups of wine do we drink at the Seder? Four.
What things connected with Seder night are associated with the number four? Four sons, four cups of wine, four questions.
Why four cups of wine? To celebrate our freedom.
What is the second plague? Frogs.
Why do we dip in the Charoset? The Charoset represents the cement that the Jews used to cement the bricks together in their slavery. Today we dip as a sign of freedom.
What does the shank bone remind us of? The lamb which our forefathers sacrificed to Hashem when they came out of Egypt.
Can you say all ten plagues in order? Blood, frogs, vermin, wild beasts, pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, plague of the firstborn.
Can you say the ten plagues backwards? Plague of the firsborn, darkness, locusts, hail, boils, pestilence, wild beasts, vermin, frogs, blood.
Who am I? I am the last thing you eat before you say birkat hamazon, say the blessing after the meal. There are often lots of fights over who hides me and who finds me. Who am I? The Afikoman.
Who am I? I am one of the key figures in the story of the going out of Egypt. I lost my whole army and half my country in my stubbornness. Who am I? Pharoah.
Who am I? I am one of the plagues. I made the Egyptians itch like crazy all over. Who am I? Lice.
Who am I? My name does not appear once in the Haggadah, but I went several times to Pharoah with my brother to try and persuade him to let the Jewish people go. Who am I? Moshe.
Who do we fill a cup for on the Seder table and hope he comes and joins our Seder? Eliyahu.
After the Mah Nishtana, you ask one of the kids to blindfold one of the guests or another family member. Then the blindfolded one has to pick a card out of a box or hat.
Someone is chosen to read the question. If the blindfolded one answers correctly he or she gets a prize.
The game can be played at different intervals during the evening.
Give Us A Clue!
This game is for a more advanced or slightly older age group. It works like charades.
Prepare different verses from the Haggadah ahead of time, and write them on paper.
Each participant randomly chose a card. He then has to mime the sentence and the rest of the guests and family have to guess the passage.
The participant is not allowed to talk, but he may indicate how many words are in the passage with his fingers. He can show that a word rhymes with another word by touching his ear.
This game can be adapted for younger kids to act out the Ten Plagues or simpler words connected to Pesach.
Stories in a Bag
This humorous game reveals how creative and clever participants are in connecting random items found around the house to Pesach. The game can be played at different intervals throughout the Seder, in between reading the text. It requires very little preparation.
Get your kids to collect a bag full of small items from around a house – almost anything will do. For example: plastic animals, a toy car, an envelope, a cup, a kiddush cup, shampoo, etc.
Pass the bag filled with the items around the table and get people to pick out an object without looking. Now each person has to connect the item in his hand to the story.
This game gets young and old involved and is a lot of fun. http://articles.aish.com.s3.amazonaws.com/holidays/pesach/pass00_family_games_and_tips_titles_2_the_story_bag_game_288x171.gif
(Credit: Aish.com)
Games & Tips For The Seder
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