Torah Reading: Vayikra

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10 Ideas for Your Seder

by Rabbi Moshe Zeldman

How to make the Seder fun for kids and meaningful for adults.

Published: April 7, 2008

About the Author

Rabbi Moshe Zeldman

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Rabbi Moshe Zeldman performed undergraduate work in Artificial Intelligence and Philosophy at the University of Toronto, and has rabbinic ordination from Aish HaTorah. He lectures on a wide variety of topics at Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem, and to audiences around the world. He is also involved with research into hidden codes in the Torah. He resides in Jerusalem with his wife and their five children.

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Visitor Comments: 9

(9) C.D.Urbach, March 10, 2013 6:33 PM

Terrific advice!

As a single mother of an enthusiastic crew, I totally appreciate this right-on-target video!! I actually wrote down 6 of the ideas! By the way, are you related to Rebitzen Lori Palatnick? The accent (and inflection) sounds so similar!

(8) Shoshana, April 11, 2011 8:19 AM

Oh No!!!!!!!

Dear Rabbi Zeldman, Your idea #6 - to tune into Aish.com - after the Seder is already progressing? You surely don't mean that people should descrate the holiday. For sure the numbers got out of order. Please tell them to look into Aish.com earlier in the day-before they eat their good meal and take their naps.

(7) Sue, March 20, 2010 11:07 AM

pesach game

We create puzzles for the kids. We print off pictures of the pyramids, parting of the red sea, maps of the journey and they are called slaves and are commanded by pharoah (my husband) to put the puzzles together!! It keeps them busy but they also see where the exodus took place and how the journey begun abd where it ended

(6) Rabbi G, March 16, 2010 8:17 PM

A few ideas

My wife finds it very easy to put a chicken in the oven, it makes for a great Erve Yom Tov meal. Our younger children (who cannot read) are in charge of the reading order, while the older ones and the guests read. Ten plagues, each plague told over by someone else as a live news report. " I am standing at..." (tell them to have it ready before hand) Food coloring for Blood... We also found it to be helpful to have a food table in the other room if you have lots of non observant guests who might want a bite. it should be kept small and lite, to not become the second Seder table... :)

(5) Becca K., March 12, 2010 12:16 AM

food

What Rav Zeldman said about feeding everyone before the meal is super important in our house...unfed family members turn into dragons around here, and we must fend them off! One solution we found (by accident, almost!) is to follow the custom that each man and boy (and little girls, too) get their own seder plate. But then we go a little off the tradition: hile the grown-ups just look at the symbols, we let the kids actually eat them. We let them eat the zaroa...some people might not like that idea...we use celery, which they like, for the karpas; hardboiled egg; charoset. It might not be so "Orthodox", but their bellies don't get rumbly, and they also don't have to interrupt for food to be brought to them during the haggadah. On erev Yom tov, we feed everyone lots of fruits, nuts, veggies, maybe some potato, egg, or tuna salads. Nothing that will cause indigestion in adults or require too much prep for mom. IY"H we will all enjoy a cheerful and meaningful seder this year!

(4) Hillary C, March 16, 2009 6:21 PM

ideas for plague props

For the last few years we have added props to spice up the seder. We use red silly string (we spray each other) for blood, those huge clown type sunglasses for hoshech, collapsing toy cows, throw marshmallows for hail, a different kind of frog toy each year (jumping, gooey, frog water squirters, etc.). Everyone looks forward to it each year. Also, we try different kinds of charoset each year using different kinds of ingredients, dates, strawberries, etc.

(3) Lia, April 14, 2008 1:28 AM

Splitting of the sea cake

Make a Pesach cake and blue icing. Split the cake in half and ice both sides, for people, place chocolate chips (all in the standing up position) between the two walls of the cake in a funnel shape. If you can find gummy fish, put them onto the cake.

(2) TZ, April 13, 2008 8:27 PM

more ideas

Barad-red candy in marshmellow
Dam - punch or tomato juice
Chosech-hide good stuff for the kids to find - just like the jews searched for treasure in the darkness

Have the kids do charades/act out the makos for you to guess.

(1) Sarah Z, April 8, 2008 8:06 AM

Great Ideas! Here's another one from my childhood...

This idea isn't deeply meaningful, or even connected to the meaning of Passover, it just made everyone b'simcha.

Every year, before Passover, my uncle would go on a shopping spree at a local party/magic store. He would buy all the corny gags -- the fly in the ice cube, the whoopee cushion, the "plate jumper" etc...and all through the seder he'd be playing gags. One year he came to the seder with the "arrow through the head" headband. I was 5 and didn't understand it was an illusion -- I almost fainted.

I won't tell you what happened the time he bought the fake vomit...:)

Anyway, like I said, this stuff isn't deeply meaningful, but sure was memorable. I think there's a special place in shamyim for this uncle because he made us look forward to Passover every year.

Get creative! Think outside the box! I know of one family that made a 'tent' inside their home with different colored scarves and sat on the floor, pretending they were in the desert for Pesach.

This was a great video and I can't wait to see what other share in the comments.