This article and some additional pictures are on the March/April 2024 Issue 17 of Torah Sisters Magazine. Get it mailed to your home!
I asked the Torah Sisters on Facebook, “How do you retell the Exodus story at Passover?” These are some of their answers.
The Haggadah we use has the story written out. It’s somewhat paraphrased though, so not direct quotes from Scriptures. -Irina L.
I think my favorite year was the year my children were bringing the story. They created all the puppets & performed the show over the back of the couch. My son has always enjoyed writing music (think soundtracks). He had his portable keyboard back there with him, and key characters had a musical “tell” so the audience was prepared for their entry. (As I recall, the selection for the ‘Death of the Firstborn’ and ‘Red Sea Crossing’ scenes were quite dramatic, whereas a series of sinister chords always preceded Pharaoh’s lines. Good times. -Delle K.
We read it in the Bible, and then we read the book A Plague for the littles. -Shaine B.
Last year, we created an Escape Room for the kids and their cousins (Escape From Egypt!) Then we had our Seder and discussed the actual, biblical, factual story! The escape room was a kit we bought off of Etsy, and then we put it all together and used personal touches, locks, codes, Egyptian decor, etc, to set it all up. -Janae S.
We read the story and used different candies to represent each plague. It keeps the little kids excited because they get to have candy before dinner, and it’s also simple for me. -Katie B.
During the day, we read “The Story of Passover” by David A. Adler. When the story gets to the 10th plague, we pause and read most of Exodus 12 to remind us of the details of all of Yah’s instructions. Then we finish up the storybook. We also like to watch “The Prince of Egypt” at some point – sometimes while mom is cooking, sometimes in the evening after the meal. Throughout the day, we’ll also do something fun and memorable to keep the kids intrigued. One year, we learned how to make origami frogs. We’ve also made green frog-shaped ice cubes to show that the frogs got everywhere! Last year, I served the kids their afternoon snack with plastic flies sprinkled all over it (thanks, Amazon.) My daughter was less than amused, but my son thought it was hilarious. Either way, more of the story was imprinted! Finding fun ways to make the day memorable has been really fun for me. I look forward to it every year. -Jennifer K.
B’nai Israel Messianic Assembly put on a dinner with an interactive walkthrough from Exodus to Yeshua’s last supper, death, and resurrection. It was a huge production for a small congregation, open to the public so we can teach others about the importance of Passover and how it was prophetic of YHWH redeeming us through Yeshua. We have even bigger plans for Passover 2024! -Amanda G.
Our small congregation came out to our hobby farm. We did an interactive Passover adventure walk with stations around. At each station, we read a few verses or summary… And had a small activity for the kids (and adults) to do. -Jennifer L.
We do plague bags at our meal and do a crossing the “sea” with a tablecloth set up. We read the scriptures and act them out to a degree as well. We enjoy it so much when everyone participates. It’s always so fun! Each year, I change up how we do that depending on ages and type of dinner. -Trina G.
This was my children’s and mine first Passover. We ate lamb, read the story of the exodus, and watched the Prince of Egypt. -Rachelle E.
In addition to reading the scriptures, we did the Torah Sisters Haggadah during our Seder, and we also did an escape room that was a bunch of fun for the older kids. They had to escape Mitsrayim and assemble the components for the Passover Supper- lamb, bitter herbs, and matzoh. That’s the matzoh that I lasered and put in the safe that they had to unlock to get that component. -Crisi E.
Prince of Egypt, forsure. -Anastacia R.
We watch the 10 commandments movie every year. -Jessica M.
We have done many different ways of retelling the story. I think our favorite starts on the first day of the first month (Aviv) leading up to Passover. We take time each day to read a small section of Exodus starting at chapter 1, and discuss it, reenact it with baby dolls, toy frogs, colored water, etc. Then when we get to Passover Night, we focus on chapters 12-15. Usually, Dad or a big brother do the telling, and we all listen. By breaking the story up over several nights, we find it makes the Passover night so meaningful and exciting. -Katie H.
I cater to the invited people. One year, we made a low table, sent invitations to bring your own pillow, and actually reclined during the seder. There were lots of kids who had a ball with the props for the plagues, especially the rubber frogs that were thrown around. After the meal and finding the afikomen, I placed a staff in the hands of the most capable child, and all of them were sent outside to walk a predetermined trail as their “Exodus.” It was very memorable, and I so enjoyed watching them be active participants. -Debra P.
In my house, we sign it. -Michelle G.
We bought a kit from Amazon that had a toy prop for each of the plagues, and we split them up between the kids. They each helped tell about their plague. It was nice that they were small enough to have at the table and something to keep their hands busy for a few minutes. -Nat
For Passover, along with keeping the commands for the feast, we read Scriptures leading up to Passover and during the feast of unleavened bread and first fruits. The kiddos decided to do a skit last year that I think is going to be a tradition now. They definitely love watching movies and cartoons for the feasts as well. -Angela F.
We tell it with puppets! -Lisa A.
Torah! And we set up the Exodus scene as a table runner. -Amanda D.