Now that we’re all experiencing a second round of Jewish holidays during the pandemic, I think it’s pretty fair to say that lot of us are not feelingPassoverthis year. At least, I know I’m not.
Last year — when terms like “social distancing” were new and socializing via Zoom was still a novelty — I managed to muster enthusiasm for it. With our world turned upside down, I wanted to find a way to make Passover special — and in a way, itwasspecial, to just be there with the three of us (my husband, my son, and me) and have a meal, read the haggadah, and enjoy each other’s company.
部t being isolated, with only your immediate family on Passover, is also really hard. The memories of last year’s lonely Passover, plus the fatigue of enduring more than 12 months of a deadly pandemic, is really getting to me. I’m sure that a lot of other parents can relate.
True, we can “cancel” Passover this year, or chose to skip out on a seder and/or cleaning our house of发酵刺激ucts. It’s a choice some parents, likeJamie Beth Cohen, are choosing to make, and it is a valid one.
部t… What if we don’t want to give up on Passover? What if your kids, like mine, love Passover too much to pass it up? What if you need some way to connect with your family, to tell the Passover story, and to celebrate, despite or even because of the stresses of the past year? What if canceling Passover is just not an option that’s aligned with the way you and your family practice Judaism?
嗯,然后实现逾越节,当然!部t let’s be clear: Keeping and honoring Passover is one thing, yes, but nowhere in the Torah or haggadah or anywhere in Jewish law does it say you have to serve brisket和chicken, or five full courses (including three homemade desserts) at the seder’s festive meal. You can也make it easier for yourself.
I’ve assembled this compilation of helpful tips, resources, hacks, and tricks to help make this Passover more manageable for myself — and for all of us — mining years of wonderful content on Kveller. Everything you need to practice Passover is here in one easy to scroll through down. I hope you find it helpful!
First, let’s talk cleaning:
Let’s face it, Passover cleaning is the most dreaded part of the holiday for resident adults. Honestly, if it’s an option that works for you, give yourself permission to skip cleaning this year. Or do the bare minimum: only clean the kitchen and dining area.
部t if you do want to or need to get into it, our friends at My Jewish Learning havesome excellent tipsthat will help you go easy on yourself, like focusing on the kitchen; not worrying about teeny-tiny crumbs or inediblehametz; taping up all your hametz in a single box or cupboard; and make nullification (yep, it’s a thing!) your friend.
Let your kids be a part of the cleaning, if you can — you can give them an area of the house to focus on, make them clean for fun Passover rewards, or make cleaning into afamily game. Makebedikat hametz（仪式最后寻找叶面）乐趣，甚至在你结束之前给你的孩子最后一次美味的哈梅兹。
Tell the Passover story in a simple way to your kids:
Traditionally, we read the haggadah to retell the Passover story (in fact, theKveller Haggadahis a family-friendly option that’s available for purchase and download). But for many kids, the story can get a little lost in all that singing and eating and Hebrew speaking.
So we’ve got a family-friendly version of t他为孩子们逾越节的故事for you, as well asa short explainer! Orthis fun explainer videofrom none other than Mayim Bialik. We’ve also curated the bestPassover videosto teach your kids about the holiday.
You can also make Passover night into movie night — yes, it’s not traditional, butthese five movies retell the Passover story以这样一种愉快的方式。
Focus on what makes Passover meaningful to you:
Before you start, think about the four or five things that really make Passover for your family and focus on those. It could be a certain dish that your entire extended family can make, even if you are not celebrating together in person. It could be a certain song that you justhaveto sing together. Make those the center of your seder.
If you feel like you don’t want to do the full seder, focus on the parts of the haggadah that your family enjoys. It could just be a few songs and one or two readings.
Be Zen about a Zoom seder:
We had an amazing session with Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder which was all about ways to make running a Zoom seder fun and easy — really! Read the highlights of the webinar and watch the video在这里。
Or skip Zoom entirely:
让我们面对现实吧，经过近一年的近持续放大，我们中的一些人就是做不到，也许今年的书中并没有一台全变焦的赛德斯。相反，在你的赛德期间，抓住这个机会与你的直系亲属联系。你可以在与大帮派一起赛后或赛后安排一个简短的唱歌会或一个快乐的小时。
Add music and fun!
We’ve created a fun Passover playlist just for you, as well as some cheesyZoom backgrounds to use for inspiration.
We also have atroveof wonderfulPassoverparodiesthat are just so great to incorporate into your seder. Take a break, listen to one of these, even have a Passover dance party.
How to learn the Four Questions:
For so many of us, the Four Questions — asked by the youngest attendant — are an indispensable part of the Passover seder.
So, first things first: Here are the words to theFour Questions.We also have some great tips onhow to teach your kidsthis song.
至于变焦演唱的建议，这总是很棘手的，最好的办法是提前把每一首歌的回音都分配给一个成年人。另外，如果你想包含一个以上的孩子，你可以把四个问题分为多个孩子——这是更易于管理和公共的。
What haggadah should I use?
Um, you should use theKveller Haggadahof course! OK, we are sort of kidding: You should use whatever haggadah works best for your family, though the Kveller haggadah isavailablefor purchase in print and for free as a downloadhere. There are also other great options onPJ Library和haggadot.com. You can even make your own haggadah or have one of your kids make a funny one as a family project.
如何处理Afikome：
Let’s face it, the afikomen is the part of the seder that most kids love the most, and one of those traditions that you just don’t want to forego if you have young ones. But if you’re out of ideas of where to hide it this year, here arethe best spots to hide the afikomen.
你也可以调味料你的猎杀！尝试在线搜索-我们在阿尔玛的朋友an amazing guidefor that. If you’re having a Zoom seder with other members of your family around the country/globe, you can coordinate hiding the afikomen in the same place in your homes, and have the adults give a series of hints that the kids can try to put together.
另一种让孩子们对猎杀的兴奋的方法是让他们在游戏中加入他们自己的特殊的触感。由于这是丽莎·德沃林为克维尔设计的这一手艺，您可以自行制作一个ikomen包：苹果beplay
What do we eat?
The Nosher hasa Passover menu你可以直接制作一个（！！！）一小时。
Some other ways to make your seder easier: You can center your meal around two or three dishes — whatever makes sense for the size of your family. For example, you can have a Passover salad and DIY matzah pizza bar. Or, if matzah ball soup is a family favorite, make that the main dish of the meal! Theseeasy child-friendly recipes适合于莎草和整个假期。
You can even order in, or purchase prepared food, for some of or all of your meals, depending on your level of observance and what is accessible to you. Some families I know are even taking their Passover meals out to restaurants this year, in places where it feels safe to do so, and where you can do so outdoors.
Be a minimalist:
嘿，今年最低限度的工作还很多。有很多方法可以让赛德斯不那么压倒一切。首先，少吃点。如果你只是在做harosetfor your fam — one apple or a handful of dates, depending on your family tradition, will suffice. Cook one main dish and one or two sides. A coconut macaroon sundae (vanilla ice cream, crumbled up coconut macaroons, and a kosher for Passover chocolate drizzle) might be enough for dessert.
How to make it fun and special:
如果你今年对逾越节感到厌烦，那就改变一下，尝试一些新的传统吧！你可以bake your own matzah— it’s so easy, fast, and fun. Add new unique andsymbolic itemsto your seder plate, or make your seder more feminist by增加了纪念出埃及记故事中女性的仪式.
Try one of these10种让赛德斯更有趣的方法— including creating a make-your-own haroset bar. You can also make the seder a pajama party, or create aPassover-themed bingo gameor a家庭琐事游戏。
Use each one of these八项有趣的家庭活动让逾越节的每一个夜晚比另一个更愉快。
Ways to celebrate post-seder:
If, for whatever reason, you’re not hosting or attending a seder this year, don’t forget that the holiday lasts eight days, and you can commemorate it when and as you see fit (if that approach works for you). You can these fun and easyPassover crafts,or to make one of these kid-friendly Passoverrecipestogether.
不要忘记善待自己。
Due to circumstances beyond our control, this year will not be perfect. Be compassionate with yourself, and do what you can. Whatever you do — you have our full support. Here’s to next year in person!
Lior Zaltzman的插图
