Billy sings:
You got no idea where to go – what to do
No idea what will pull you through
No idea – well it’s up to you
To keep your EYES WIDE OPEN

Cuz there’s a miracle – waitin’ in the wings
There’s a miracle, gonna make you sing
There’s a miracle – just one thing:
Keep your EYES WIDE OPEN

Check out the song!!

*”In Hebrew, Egypt is called Mitzrayim. According to the text on Jewish mysticism, the Zohar, the name is derived from m’tzarim, meaning “narrow straits” (mi, “from,” tzar, “narrow” or “tight”).”
-From “Self Liberation” by Lesli Koppelman Ross, originally published in Celebrate! The Complete Jewish Holiday Handbook

     When the people of Israel crossed through the Red Sea, they witnessed a great miracle. Some say it was the greatest miracle that ever happened. On that day they saw a sight more awesome than all the visions of the prophets combined. The sea split and the waters stood like great walls, while Israel escaped to freedom on the distant shore.  Awesome. But not for everyone.

Two people, Reuven and Shimon, hurried along among the crowd crossing the sea. They never once looked up. They noticed only that the ground under their feet was still a little muddy –like a beach at low tide.

“Yucch!” said Reuven, “there’s mud all over this place!”
“Blecch!” said Shimon, “I have muck all over my feet!”
“This is terrible,” answered Reuven. “When we were slaves in Egypt, we had to make our bricks out of mud, just like this!”
“Yeah,” said Shimon. There’s no difference between being a slave in Egypt and being free here.”

And so it went, Reuven and Shimon whining and complaining all the way to freedom. For them there was no miracle. Only mud. Their eyes were closed. They might as well have been asleep. (Exodus Rabbah 24:1)

Excerpt from The Book of Miracles, A Young Person’s Guide to Jewish Spiritual Awareness by Lawrence Kushner, one of my favorite teachers.  Re-printed with permission.  (Jewish Lights Publishing)

Rabbi Kushner teaches us that “to be a Jew means to wake up and to keep our eyes open to the many beautiful, mysterious, and holy things that happen around us every day.”  Celebrating Pesach offers us an opportunity to witness and take part in our daily miracles.  Whether big or small, honoring these moments will help us make our way from dark to light, constriction to expanse, personal slavery to freedom.  

Click HERE for ways to celebrate Pesach in your home!

An Interactive Passover Story Script
by Shira Kline

 Notes for the Narrator:

• This is a completely interactive experiential re-telling of the Pesach story for an early childhood audience and their parents.
• When you see a word all in caps, this is a word you wait for the audience to say with you.  They know these answers because they understand the implied clues.  They may also recognize the answers as lyrics from a song or are familiar with the story.
• Ideal room set up with ample open space, parents and children sitting together on the floor, so that you can move in and out of the group, and so that you can all boogie (of course).
• Children and adults are called on to play different roles.  At times you will narrate the dialogue and other times you will cue the storytellers to say lines. Throughout the story, I address the audience as “you,” “we,” “storytellers,” and/or I “role” them in a character and call them by this name.
• Musical accompaniment on the guitar is very helpful as it layers the story with a soundscape, creating a soundtrack for the story.  Try a range of strumming styles from dramatic loud tremolo to light and gentle picking.
• Songs that I use to tell the story are highlighted in blue with sources when I have them.
• “Stage directions” are in italics, these are often meant to be ad-libbed.  Use your whole body to tell this story!

SONG: Everybody Has a Story (Craig Taubman, www.craignco.com)

NARRATOR:

A long long long long long… Storytellers, help me out with the “long long longs”
(gesture to audience, play sounds effect on guitar) “…long time… AGO! Our great great great great… We need a LOT more of these “greats!” (elicit more “greats”) Our great grandmas and grandpas were living in Egypt, smooshed together in a narrow place where they could barely look this way or that.

SONG: All I Wanna Do (CD: It’s a Kid’s Life, by Imagination Workshop)

(Interrupt the song with:)  But the new King Pharaoh was always in a bad mood making his bad mood face (elicit bad mood faces) and saying “NO! NO! NO!” I want you to do everything MY WAY!”  (return to the song, interrupting intermittently with King’s Pharaoh’s “NO! NO! NO!”)

They didn’t get to go to playgrounds, they didn’t get to eat ice cream, they didn’t get to play with their friends and buy new clothes, they were stuck in this place. (This is my way of inserting the translation of “Mitzrayim,” the Hebrew word for Egypt, which means “Narrow Place.”)  

They had to work all day and all…NIGHT!  When it was dark and when it was …LIGHT! Whooooo it’s hot out here in the ….DESERT.  Well, we got a lot of work to do so everyone take out a big heavy hammer (mime taking out a giant hammer and swinging over your head, quickly moving back to the guitar to emphasize each bang with a loud strum in the key of the song) and…BANG!   BANG!  3 bangs… BANG BANG BANG!  (act out this entire song)

SONG: Building Cities (CD: ShirLaLa Pesach, Song by Shirley Cohen) OR Bang Bang Dig Dig (CD: Seder Song Revival, Song by Elana Jagoda)

We were slaves and it was hard!!

But there was one young man (Identify a child who is paying close attention) probably just a bit older than you (addressing this child) who said, ‘ This is terrible!! I can’t even!  No, This is awful.  I gotta get outa here.’   (at this point, I’m not expecting this child to repeat these lines, rather I’m narrating the story and engaging each audience member personally)

And he left!
(guitar accompaniment takes on “mysterious” sound, minor chords perhaps, to introduce this new, strange character and foreshadow his upcoming bravery.)

He went up into the hills.
(Gesture with the neck of guitar, eyes and arms guiding everyone’s imagination into the hills of Midian.)

And here, he stayed.  He became a….   SHEPHERD! He took care of….. SHEEP!  Storytellers, we need lots of sheep now.  “Baa baa baa!” And there he was tending to his sheep one fine day
(Gesture for more “baa baa.” Guitar accompaniment switches to light gentle picking for us to imagine a calm and peaceful life up there in those hills)

when suddenly… (guitar chords change to reflect something new, a question coming)…
(Point directly towards a spot in the center of the room) What’s that over there? (Elicit these answers from the audience.)

****

To Download the Complete Script, click HERE  ShirLaLa Passover Story Script

Happy Pesach everyone!  For talking points on the story and plenty of activities, printables and recipes please visit ShirLaLa’s Blog Sameach.

How do we keep it interesting?  How can the seder itself not only be a ritual of the senses but also an annual pilgrimage of discovery?

For the last two years, creator of My Haggadah: Made it Myself and DIY expert, Francine Hermelin Levite and I have been designing Passover preparation experiences for families with young children. Last year we explored the relevance of our exodus narrative. We considered all forms of going from stuck (Mitzrayim, hebrew for “Egypt” means “narrow place”)  to unstuck - freedom!

This year we have put together a model seder, crafted for curious minds. Highlighting this holiday’s magic number FOUR, we’ll set four tables of curiosity.  

Table 1 – Explore feelings: make salted water, taste fresh horseradish root, visit stories like Double Dip Feelings and  Where the Wild Things Are

Table 2 – Explore brawn: mash dates to make charoset, build with date paste and matza

Table 3 – Explore chametz vs matzah: what is necessary, what is extra?

Table 4 – Explore freedom, self-love, tikkun olam: what to do with today’s freedoms?

As we build our symbolic seder plate, we will make our way from beginning to end of the seder experience, complete with live music,  creative play and of course the classic four questions.  Each step along the way, another opportunity to ask a new question.

Francine shares some of the ideas behind My Haggadah and Made It Myself Books.

“I began my project of crafting seder over a decade ago as a new parent, wanting to connect my food-allergic son to a seemingly food-centric ritual. Jewish customs thrive on food to create gateways to memory and collective story-telling. Through our work together, Shira and I have designed so many ways to actively spark questions at the table–not just because the Haggadah says to, but inspired by it. Through creating table props and multi sensory activities, we facilitate families’ abilities to unlock the essence of Passover’s themes with a night that is truly different.

In the spirit of Seder, the ultimate at-home DIY ritual, and this the Shmita year, you can now download your own copy of My Haggadah: Made it Myself. Everything is included to print just the pages you need, print the entire book double-sided and even print the actual stickers.”

Little People Can Make a Big Difference!!
(click on the picture or link above to open this PDF)

The earth gives us many gifts, fresh air, spectacular colors, yummy tastes, and natural wonders, and it’s important that we appreciate these gifts by growing up green. There are lots of ways to grow up green.  Simply understanding where things come from makes us a little bit greener. Did you know the water that comes out of your kitchen sink probably comes from a river or lake?  Even the iPods we listen to are made from metals found deep in the earth.  Did you know that electricity comes from many places, from the coal found in mountains, from the strong sun above and even from the wind that blows through the trees? Did you flip a light switch today? Well, if you did, you received the gift of electricity from our planet. It’s up to each one of us to take care of the earth so that we can keep enjoying her gifts!

Here are ten ways a green kid can become a little bit greener: 

1. Big kids save little animals. If you save the little animals, even the littlest ants, bees and caterpillars, you can save an entire eco-system.
2. Start a collection of colors, sounds, smells and textures.  You’ll find them in the sky, in the park, on the beach, in photographs of butterflies, volcanoes, stars and in your backyard.
3. Plant an edible garden. You can plant a vegetable garden inside or outside; eating the vegetables is good for you and the garden is good for the air and the dirt.
4. Invent a magical machine to clean the air.  (Thank you!)
5. Meet your neighbors.  Your neighbors are not only down the street but all over the world!  Each one of us can play an important part in taking care of our planet.
6. Smile at flowers and say Hi!  “Hi Rose, Hi Lilly, Hi Violet, Hydrangea!”  They love to be noticed.
7. Say thank you.  We receive nature’s gifts from every corner of the earth.  What’s the best way to say thank you?
8. Decorate your recycling bins.  Make pictures and lists that explain exactly what can be recycled so that everyone knows were to put things.
9. Share.  When you get new toys, books and clothes, where do the old ones go?  Hopefully not into the ground with the rest of our trash.  You can share these things with other kids!
10.  Love your nature because nature loves you. 

Check out COEJL’s page on Tu B’Shvat packed with learning about the environment and it’s connection to Judaism. You’ll also find a beautiful Tu B’Shvat Seder here.

Read Tu B’Shvat articles at the Shalom Center by Rabbi Arthur Waskow, a master teacher, author, and political activist.

Babaganewz’s Tu B’Shvat Central, my favorite place online for children’s activities and family learning!

Click here to listen to the Brachot.

1. Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olamAsher kidshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanuL’hadlik ner shel Chanukah.
Blessed are You, God our God, Rule of the universe who makes us holy with the commandment to kindle the lights of Chanukah.

Now light your candles, Left to Right!

2. Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olamShe-asa-nisim lavoteinu bayamim ha-hem bazman hazeh.
Blesed are You, God our God, Rule of the universe who performed miracles in days of old, at this season.

3. (Only sung on the very first night) Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olamShe-hechiyanu v’kiyamanu v’higiyanu lazman hazeh.
Blessed are You, God our God, Rule of the universe for giving us life, sustaining us, and for enabling us to reach this season.

Download the song HERE

Your one stop source for learning new Jewish music, Hava Nashira is a highly acclaimed music conference which I’ve been attending since I was a wee pip! This sight includes all of our participants’ mp3 song samples, resource lists of songbooks, recordings, and so much more. Visit this page for a supply of hillarious Purim Parodies.

Adrian Durlester has been composing Purimspiel Parodies based on major Broadway shows for some time and now you can check them out and purchase them for your community! Packages can include scripts, CDs, and sheet music.

Babaganewz, my favorite Jewish resource for children on the web, has the most fun Purim Centra! Games, slideshows, art projects, etc. Check it out!