Shalom. We hope that you find this guide helpful as you prepare. Despite the need for us to connect with loved ones and friends online and not in person, it is still possible to make this Passover one that is filled with connection to those we love, meaningful learning, inspiring prayer, joy, celebration and fun.
Chag Sameach to you and your family!
Rabbi Andrew Bloom and Hazzan Jeffrey Weber
In this guide, you will find information to help you prepare for Passover especially in this unusual year wherein we are experiencing a pandemic. In it, you will find:
Info on preparing for Pesach
What's different this year
Info and resources for your Seder - including Haggadot, songs, family resources, and supplemental readings
For information on what to do differently this Thursday (3/25), Friday (3/26), and Saturday (3/27), click here.
PLANNING & RUNNING AN ONLINE SEDER
Here are some links to helpful guides you can use to plan the perfect online Seder!
Music
Seder Melodies in a YouTube Playlist
https://cutt.ly/Seder-Melodies
Siddur Audio has recording of all the Passover Melodies for your Seder
https://sidduraudio.com/passover-Seder/
Passover Seder Songs for Families - sung by Hazzan Weber
Kadesh Urchatz
Seder Plate
Bang, Bang, Bang
Where is Baby Moses?
Oh Listen (King Pharoah)
Frog Song
Avadim Hayinu
Dayeinu
Afikomen Chant
Thank you, Thank you
Eliahu Hanavi (Miriam Haneviah)
Hallelu (Hodu LaShem)
LeShana Haba'ah
Guides to Running an Online Seder
Alma – How to Host a Virtual Seder
https://www.heyalma.com/how-to-host-a-virtual-passover-Seder/
Family and Youth Resources
Ten Untraditional Ways to Make Passover Fun for Kids
https://cutt.ly/TenUntraditionalWays
Five Ways to Keep Kids Engaged at Seder
https://cutt.ly/FiveWaysToKeepKidsEngaged
PJ Library: The Passover Story in 10 Scenes
Study Material and Commentaries
Passover Resources from the Jewish Theological Seminary
http://www.jtsa.edu/passover-resources
Passover Learning and Resources from Hadar
https://www.hadar.org/torah-collection/pesach
Al Hatorah's extensive interactive Commentary on the Haggadah
https://cutt.ly/AlHatorahCommentaryOnHaggadah
Essays on Passover from the Shalom Hartman institute
https://hartman.org.il/Search_Advanced.asp?Str=pesach
Passover Webinars from the Rabbinical Assembly – Scroll to bottom
https://cutt.ly/RabbinicalAssemblyPassoverWebinars
Supplemental Readings
Five Seder Supplements from JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency jta.org)
Readings on refugees, LGBTQ, human trafficking, sexual assault on campus and racism
https://cutt.ly/JewishinteractivePassoverResources
Passover Haiku Collection
https://cutt.ly/PassoverHaiku
ONLINE HAGGADOT TO EMAIL AND PRINT
SOME CAN BE CUSTOMIZED
Feast of Freedom Haggadah – Published by the Rabbinical Assembly, this well-known and popular Haggadah created for Conservative Judaism is available this year only as a PDF.
https://cutt.ly/Feast-Of-Freedom-Haggadah
A Different Night Haggadah – This extremely popular Haggadah was produced by the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. They have offered this special condensed version as a PDF for this year only.
https://cutt.ly/A-Different-Night-Haggadah
Sephardic Haggadah – Traditional Sephardic Haggadah text in Hebrew and English.
https://cutt.ly/Sephardic-Haggadah
The Jewbelong Haggadah – Published by Jewbelong.com, whose tagline is Jewbelong: for when you feel you don't. A very hip, funky, fun, modern take on the Haggadah that makes it very relevant for our times.
https://cutt.ly/TheJewBelong-Haggadah
VELVETEEN RABBI'S HAGGADAH – This Haggadah was created by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat who is the author of the popular Torah and spirituality blog, The Velveteen Rabbi (velveteenrabbi.blogs.com). A modern, reflective, spiritual Seder text.
https://cutt.ly/VelveteenRabbisHaggadah
Jewish Federations of North America Haggadah – Beautifully laid out, English and Hebrew. No commentary.
https://cutt.ly/JewishFederationsHaggadah
Jewish Educational Haggadah – This Haggadah contains full transliteration (phonetic pronunciation in English letters) of the Hebrew as well as commentary and discussion.
https://cutt.ly/Jewish-Educational-Haggadah
Haggadot.com – lots of very cool themes, including Children's, Family, Women's, GLBT, Minimalist, Illustrated, Famous Quotes and More. All beautifully illustrated and with Clips of readings and other additions you can use to customize.
https://cutt.ly/HaggadotDotCom
PJ LIBRARY HAGGADAH FOR KIDS – Beautifully illustrated and worded, perfect for families. You must fill out a form on this page to download.
https://pjlibrary.org/haggadah
Friends, please note that although we will not be celebrating Passover in our shul building, the sharing and celebration of Passover within the guidelines, suggestions, and resources above will help build community even without the temporary use of our communal building. We are reminded to "rejoice in your feast" (Deuteronomy 16:14) and it is our hope that we can rejoice in the festival of Passover even within the circumstances we find ourselves in today. Just as the Israelites went from slavery to freedom, may we soon experience out own Exodus from COVID-19 to health and normalcy.
