Blog: Seder Secrets

Welcome!

The Seder night is the ideal vehicle for passing on our heritage to the next generation. The prime mitzvah is retelling the story of the Exodus from Egypt but in a way that captures the imagination of our children. What are your secrets? Take a few minutes to share them on our Seder Secrets blog and we can all learn from each other and make this years seder the best ever! 

Email the rabbi a Seder Secret, he will post it along with the answer - just click here to email rabbicohen@cas-stamford.org

The Shmata and the Crown

Rabbi,

Will you be sharing some of your seder secrets?

Sharyn B.


Sure! But how about you?

Before everyone sits down at the seder table, they put on a shmata (a piece of material that is folded in half with a triangular shape cut out in the middle where the fold is. This hole is so you can put the material over your head). This represents the garb worn by the slaves. When we get to the part of the seder where the Jews were free, we take the shmata off and put on a crown to symbolize that we are like kings and queens. The kids really love it. The grown ups also participate (not that I give them a choice).

Ideas to Enhance Your seder

Someone asked about creative ways to enagage children and adults at the seder...here is one idea!


Right after the four sons, send your kids to another room with a bag of supplies (they can choose - clothes, props) and have the older kids work with the younger ones to dramatize the exodus story. We even provide a tub of water so the kids can "cross" the sea. After about 15 mnutes they come back tot the table and present the "show". It is a winner and gets everyone involved!


What are your ideas?

Weeping the Middle of the Haggadah: Seder Night in the Holocaust

This excerpt from the Haggdah of Rav Yosef Rimon speaks to the power of faith and envisioning the future to alleviate the pain of present reality. It is the testimony of Rabbi Yonah Emmanuel at his grandson's brit in Jerusalem, 40 years after surviving Bergen Belson.