Books and Plays

Completed manuscripts:

SHAYNA’S SONG: Middle Grade Historical Fiction

1942 – Connecticut:  The war overseas is invading eleven-year-old Shirley Levy’s life. Her brother is enlisting and  her refugee friends are being bullied. But when she writes about it for the school paper, she becomes the victim of anti-Semitism. Now she must choose – live in fear or confront the hate.

JAKE AND THE ADVENTURES OF ED LIGHTNING:  Middle Grade

11-yr-old comic book artist, Jake Simon, accidentally time travels to 1934 where he is asked to make a golem out of mud to stop a family curse from ruining the lives of the men in his family.

Works-In-Progress:

THE UPS AND DOWNS AND ALL AROUNDS AT CAMP SILVERWOOD: Middle Grade Contemporary

Hannah Rosenbloom must navigate friendship and boyfriend issues, while grieving the loss of her grandmother at Camp Silverwoods, a Jewish camp in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

I have written fifteen alternative haggadahs for the Passover seder. Here’s one for you to use right now!

             Why Is This Seder Different From All Other Seders? 

                                            Readers’ Theater for the Second Night of Passover

                                                By Rondi Sokoloff Frieder- copyright 2015

This play takes place around the seder table with all participants reading an assigned number part. You can highlight the parts in advance so people know when to chime in.

#1: Hey, what’s going on here?

#2 (Leader): What do you think is going on?  Look around; matzah, wine, hard boiled eggs… I’ll give you three guesses. Actually, I’ll give you one guess.  It should be pretty obvious. Unless you’re like the “simple son” we read about in the Haggadah last night. Whoops, I said Haggadah. That totally gives it away.

#3: It’s the seder for the second night of Passover!  I’m definitely one of the wise children.

#4: If you’re so smart, what does the word seder mean?

#5: I know, I know!  It means order.  It’s like the word siddur. That’s the prayerbook we use in synagogue.  It goes in a special order, too.

#2: It looks like we have a bunch of wise children here tonight.  Or wise adults, as the case may be. So, since you’re all so smart, what’s the first thing we need to do?

#5: I know, I know!  We light the candles.

#1: But it’s not Shabbat or Chanukah.  Why do we need to light the candles?

#4: You ask too many questions.  We’ll get back to you when it’s time for the Ma Nishtana. That’s when you’re supposed to ask questions.

#1: But I really want to know. Why do we light candles on Passover?

#2: All Jewish holidays start with candle lighting. It’s symbolic.

#1: What does symbolic mean?

#4: Oy vey!  Don’t you know anything?

#2: We light the candles to show that no matter how dark things get, there is always light.  Without light, there would be no life. We celebrate our good fortune and show how thankful we are today by lighting the candles.

#5: And the candles look nice, too.

#2: They do. Especially when they’re lit!  So let’s light them.  And remember, we say “Yom Tov” at the end of the blessing. It means a “good day, a holiday.”

Everyone: Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheynu, melech ha-olam, asher kidishanu, b’mitzvotav, v’tzevanu, l’hadlich ner shel Yom Tov. Blessed are you, oh God, who has commanded us to kindle the festive lights.

 #1: Can we eat now?

#4: What’s wrong with you?  Don’t you remember anything from last night?  There’s a whole order of things we need to do first.

#1: Oh, sorry. What’s next?

#2: We drink wine.  Then we wash our hands and explain the symbols on the seder plate. After that, we dip the parsley in salt water and break the middle matzah to hide the afikomen.

#5: The afikomen is my favorite.  I hope they give dollars to the finder at this house.

#3: They do!  I found it last year and got the silver kind.

#5: Whoa, that’s cool.

#2: OK, back to the seder. Next, we sing the four questions and tell the story of how Moses led the Jewish people out of Egypt. After that, we have a little taste of matzah, maror, and charoset. Then, we eat our main meal, which many people here have worked hard to produce. We’ll also drink a few more cups of wine, and at the end, we open the door for Elijah.

#5: I know a fun song all about it. I found it on the internet.

To the tune of Jingle Bells

Pesach’s on its way, with charoset and gefilte fish

I like them okay, but my favorite dish

Can be soft or hard, can be big or small

It doesn’t matter who’s the cook, just bring on matzah balls, Oh…

 (chorus)Matzah balls, matzah balls, swimming in my soup

             How I love to eat them whole or in one single swoop

            Matzah balls, matzah balls, boiled nice and round

           When I eat my chicken soup I make this kind of sound… slurp!

Eggs and matzah meal, some pepper and some salt

Add the most important thing, good old chicken shmaltz

Mix it all together, before the sundown falls

Boil them in the chicken soup and you’ve got matzah balls!  Oh…

 #1: Is it time for the soup now?  That song made me hungry.

#2: That’s why we put some snacks on the table.  After all, it is second night.  We can be more flexible.  You can nosh while we’re talking.

#1: Cool!  Can someone pass me a carrot?

#5: I’m ready for the wine.

#2: No problem. But first we always say a blessing. Here we go.  Raise your glasses and sing with me: Baruch ata Adonai, Elohaynu, melech ha-olam, borei, p’ri hagafen.  I think we’ll stick to the short version tonight. Thank you God, for giving us the fruit of the vine.  Amen. L’chaim – To Life!

#1: I know some of you think I’m annoying, but why do we say “fruit of the vine” and not just, “Thanks for the wine?”

#2: Actually, that is a good question.  Who wants to answer it?

#5: I know, I know!

#4: You, again?  Such a show-off.

#5: But I really know this one.  I learned it in Religious School.  It’s called a Midrash.  God wanted the people to make the wine from the grapes, to do the actual work. It’s always better when you make something yourself instead of having it done for you.

#1: Did you make this wine?

#2: No, but someone did.

#5: Now that I think about it, if wine came from a wine pond or a wine waterfall, it wouldn’t be as special.

#3: And everyone would be drunk all the time, too!

#4: Ha, ha!  You’re such a comedian. Hey, isn’t Passover about spring, too?

#5: Yeah, let’s sing “The Garden Song” and get ourselves in a flowery, home-grown tomato mood.

Everyone:

“Inch by inch, row by row.  Gonna make this garden grow.

 All you need is a rake and a hoe and a piece of fertile ground. 

Inch by inch, row by row. God bless these seeds I sow. 

God warm them from below ‘til the rain comes tumbling down.”

 #2: OK, OK, let’s get back on track.  Who knows how many cups of wine will we drink tonight?

#5: I know again… 4.

#1: What are the four for?  Hey, that sounds funny.  4,4, get it?

#2: Yes, we get it. Very clever.

#5: Can I explain it?

#2: OK, go ahead.

#5: The first cup is “V’hotzaytee” which means, “I will bring you out.” That’s what God said to Moses and the Jewish people when they were slaves in Egypt.  He promised them he would set them free. Wine is a symbol of freedom.  That’s why we drink so much of it tonight.

#3: And last night, too!

#4: Yeah, yeah. Let me finish up here. I know a thing or two about wine, too.  Get it, 2,2?

#2: Very funny.  Go ahead.

#4: Cup two is “V’hetzaltee”, which means, “I will deliver you.”  That’s when God said he would get the Jews out of Egypt and across the Red Sea to freedom.  The third cup is “V’ga-altee,” which means, “I will redeem you.”  It means that the Jews will live as a free people and not be slaves.  The fourth cup is “ V’lakachtee,” or “I will take you to me.”  It means that God would give the Jews the Ten Commandments and rules to live a good life.  Phew, I can’t believe I remembered all that.

#3: You didn’t remember it.  It’s written in your script.  No one could remember all that.

#5: A rabbi could.

#4: You, again?

#5: Well, it’s true.

#3: Hey, we forgot to say the Shechayanu. It’s my favorite prayer and reminds us to give thanks for being here tonight.

Everyone:  Baruch ata Adonai, Elohaynu, Melech Ha-olam, shehechayanu, v’kiyamanu, v’ higi-anu, lazman hazeh…

Thank-you God for allowing us to be here together and to have reached this wonderful day!

#2: That was very nice. And now, let’s talk about the seder plate. And let’s hear from someone else now.

#6: I know all about the seder plate.  First there’s this dead, disgusting bone, then there’s this gross brown stuff with nuts…

#7: Hey, that’s not polite.  Look at all these people here.  They came here for a nice evening, not an Adam Sandler movie.

#6: But look at this stuff.

#8: You guys are impossible.

#6: No we’re not.  We’re just free people, living in a free country with freedom of speech to say whatever we want.

#7: Well, you could try to say whatever you want more politely.

#8: All right. First, there’s parsley, karpas.  It’s a symbol of spring.  Then there’s matzah, which is unleavened bread that the Jews packed in a hurry when they left Egypt.  There’s also a burnt egg.  Eggs are a symbol of rebirth and the cycle of life.  This egg is burnt to remind us that the Jews sacrificed animals back in the days of Moses to show thanks to God.

#9. Hey, can I have a turn too?  I’ve been sitting here listening to you guys all night. I know lots of things about the seder. I’ve been going to seders since before I was born.

#2: Go ahead.

#9: Next there’s charoset.  It’s apples, wine, nuts and cinnamon.  It’s supposed to look like the mortar that the slaves used to put in between the bricks when they made the pyramids. The maror, or bitter herbs is the white or red stuff in a jar, or the dried up gray carrot. It’s supposed to remind us of how bitter life was for the Jews when they were slaves.  But, when you mix the maror with the charoset, it reminds us how sweet it is to be free.  Hey that reminds me of a song, “How sweet it is to be loved by you…”

#7: How about I finish up for you? The zeroah, is the shankbone.  It reminds us of the paschal lamb whose blood marked the doors of the Jews so that the Angel of Death would pass by their houses and not kill their first-born sons.  That was the last plague, by the way.  And, it’s also where we get the name “Passover.”

#6: That’s gross, killing babies and smearing blood. Disgusting!

#7: But that’s what they did back then.

#9: Well, I learned in Religious School that the Jews didn’t have to put the blood on their doors. God would have known they were Jewish.  He’s no dummy, you know.  They put blood on their doors to show a commitment to Judaism. They had to make a choice about joining Moses. We always have choices and believe it or not, leaving Egypt was a choice, too.  Some Jews were probably afraid to go and didn’t believe Moses. They may not have wanted to wander in the desert and may not have marked their doors. And, marking your door was a sign of freedom.  Freedom of choice is something the slaves didn’t have. It was their first action as free people.

#8: Wow, I didn’t know that. I guess that’s why we have the seder every year. There’s always something new to add to the story. Why don’t we sing a more traditional song to get us in an ancient kind of mood? I like: “Avadim Hayenu,” “Once we were slaves and now we are free people.”

Everyone:

Avadim hayenu, hayenu

Atah b’ney chorim, b’ney chorim

Avadim, hayenu, atah, atah, b’ney chorim

Avadim, hayenu, atah, atah, b’ney chorim, b’ney chorim. (repeat)

#2: Let’s move on to. Even though this play is supposed to shorten the seder, it seems to be taking a long time! The parsley represents springtime.  Even though it’s been snowing on and off, the daffodils and hyacinths are beginning to bloom. spring is definitely on its way. Grab your sprig and salt water and join with me:

Everyone: Baruch atah Adonai, Elohaynu, melech ha-olam, borei, p’ri ha-adamah.  Thank you God for creating vegetables that grow from the ground. Amen.

#6: Hey, isn’t it time to break the middle matzah and hide the afikomen? Which matzah is the middle, anyway? I mean, what’s the middle of four?

#9: Well, there used to be three.  One for the Cohen, one for the Levites and one for the Israelites. Someone added the fourth matzah for the land of Israel.  I think you still break the Levite matzah.

#10: How do you know which is which? They all look the same to me. And, doesn’t “afikomen mean dessert?  I heard it was Greek.  Why is there Greek in the seder anyway?

#8: Our rabbi said that no one really knows why we use a Greek word except that it shows that the Passover seder is really old.  Some people say that the word means dessert and is the end of the seder.  Others say it means “entertainment” and was a way to keep the children involved in such a long evening.  It’s also thought that after the afikomen is found, it must be shared by everyone.  When Jews gather together for celebrations, it ensures the survival of the Jewish people.  I think all the meanings are good.

#6: You would, because you are a total “goody goody.”

#8: I’ll ignore that last comment.

#10: Hey, I have a numerical question. Why are there 4 matzahs, 4 questions, 4 cups of wine and 4 sons. I mean, children?

#9: Now that is interesting.

#8: I read somewhere that the four cups of wine came first and everything else is just symbolic of the four things God promised to Moses.

#6: You mean all those v’heetz and v’lachs from before?

#2: Yes.

#10: Can we sing the four questions now? That was my favorite thing to do when I was a little kid.

#2: Sure.  Let’s Ma Nishtana, everyone!  Ready set:

Sing four questions:

Ma nishtanah halailah hazeh mikol haleilot?

 Sheb’khol haleilot anu okhlin hametz umatzah; halailah hazeh, kuloh matzah.

 Sheb’khol haleilot anu okhlin sh’ar y’rakot; halailah hazeh, maror.

 Sheb’khol haleilot ein anu matbilin afilu pa’am ehat; halailah hazeh, shtei f’amim.

 Sheb’khol haleilot anu okhlin bein yoshvin uvein m’subin; halailah hazeh, kulanu m’subin.

#1: Hey, what does that song mean?

#4: You, again?  Didn’t you learn anything at the first seder?

#1: That seder last night was too long.  All I could think about was eating.

#9: The four questions are the most famous part of the seder.  You know,”Why is this night different from all other nights?”  Sound familiar?

#1: Maybe.

#8. Here’s a version in English you might like:

The Four Questions sung to the tune of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean

 Oh why is this evening so different, from all other nights of the year?

On all other nights we eat leavened, but tonight there is no leavened here…

 (Chorus) Questions, questions, how many questions in store, in store?

               Questions, questions, by my count you should have (three) more.

 On all other nights we can dine on, a mixture of spices and herbs

But this night we only eat bitter, my palate it really disturbs!

 (Chorus) two more

 On all other nights we do not dip, not even one dip do we get

On this night two dips we indulge in, who allows us such poor etiquette?

 (Chorus) one more

 On all other nights we eat sitting, on this night we’re supposed to recline

So how come this different position?  It seems like a bad way to dine!

 Questions, questions, now are you sure that you’re through you’re through?

Answers, answers, oh I’ve got the answers for you!

#12: I know I’ve been kind of quiet tonight, but isn’t it time for the next cup of wine?

#6: Bring it on!  Fill ‘er up!

Everyone: Baruch atah, Adonai, Elohaynu, melech ha-olam, borei, p’ri hagafen. Amen. L’chaim!

#13: I think we should talk about the four sons.

#14: It’s more politically correct to say four children.

#13: Whatever.

#1: Am I the simple child?

#15: You are definitely a simple child.

#12: Do we have to do this part?  We’ve been asking questions all night.

#14: Perhaps I can say a few words here.

#2: Fine with me.  Just keep it to a very few words.

#14: No problem. The whole point of the seder is to tell the story of the Jews’ escape from slavery to freedom and to take time to appreciate the freedoms we have today.  Most people love coming to the seder. In fact, it is the most celebrated Jewish holiday in the entire world.  Even Jews who never step foot in a synagogue all year will probably find a seder to attend.

#12: It’s got to be for the matzah ball soup.

#14: Maybe, but the four sons can also symbolize the four types of Jews:  Those who know a lot about Judaism and choose to live a Jewish life; those who know a lot and don’t want to participate; those who don’t know much about anything Jewish; and those who have never been given the opportunity to learn about Judaism.

#6: Whoa, you are deep, man.

#14: I try.  Anyway, we tell the story each year so that everyone, no matter what their Jewish background is, will know what it’s all about.

#11: Is it time for the part about baby Moses, yet?  That was my favorite scene in “The Prince of Egypt” movie.

#2: Yes, in fact, let’s do a “play within a play” now. Lights, camera, action!

#16 (Miriam): Hi there. I’m Miriam. I live in Egypt and Pharaoh has just ordered the death of all Jewish baby boys.  My mother wants to save my little brother and asked me to float him down the river Nile.  I’m hoping an Egyptian princess will find him and save him. Hey look, there she is! Hello Princess, do you see that baby floating in the river?  Isn’t he adorable?

#17 (Princess):  A baby, where?  I love babies. Oh, there he is stuck in the reeds in a basket.  He is very cute.  I want that baby.

#16: I’ll help you get him. Whoa, this Nile sure is mucky.  I’m going to need some time off to take a bath after this.

#17: I’ll give you a 15-minute break.  You’re right, this baby is super cute. I will definitely keep him.  After all, I am Pharaoh’s daughter. I can do anything I want. Hmm, what shall I call this little fellow.  Let’s see… how about Moses? That means “brought out”.  We brought him out of the water, so it’s perfect.

#18: Wait a minute. Don’t’ you think Pharaoh’s daughter could tell that Moses was a Jewish baby?  After all, he was wrapped in a special blanket that only the Jewish slaves used.

#15: That’s true. And I saw a movie where the Princess hid the blanket and only showed it to Moses after he was all grown up and God told him to free the Jewish people.

#19: I saw that movie, too. Moses didn’t get why God picked him.  He thought he was Egyptian his whole life.

#18: That guy must have flipped out.  First he hears a strange voice coming from the sky, then a bush starts burning right in front of his eyes, and then he has to tell Pharaoh to let the Jews go, all out of the clear blue.  And those plagues!  The guy must have gone insane!

#19: I know the perfect song we can sing about this:

They Called Him Pharaoh’s Son.”   (To the tune of The House of the Rising Sun

When Moses lived in Egypt Land

They called him Pharaoh’s son

But lots of things would change for him

Before his days were done

 He watched the slaves work in the heat

From sunrise to sunset

He knew their lives were miserable

It was something he couldn’t forget

 He asked a guard one day to stop

The beating of a slave

When the guard said no, Moses struck a blow

Then fled up to a cave

 He saw a burning bush up there

Then heard a booming voice

“My son you’ll have to free the Jews

You have no other choice….”

 So tonight we’ll sing and tell the tale

Of days so long ago

We’ll raise a glass to that man of class

That brave son of Pharaoh!

 #16: That song reminds me of  “Let My People Go.” Can we sing that one, too? It’s so, soulful.  Oppressed people have been singing it for years.

#12: OK, here we go. Anyone got a violin?

Everyone:

When Israel was in Egypt’s land, let my people go

Oppressed so hard they could not stand, let my people go

Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt’s land

Tell old, Pharaoh, let my people go!

 #1: Wait, it’s all coming back to me.  Isn’t there a frog song?

#9: We learned that one in pre-school.

#12: But it’s fun, so let’s sing it anyway:

One morning when Pharaoh awoke in his bed

       There were frogs on his bed and frogs on his head

       Frogs on his nose, frogs on his toes

       Frogs here, frogs there, frogs were jumping everywhere!

       Jumping, jumping everywhere, jumping, jumping everywhere!

       Frogs here, frogs there, frogs were jumping everywhere!

 #1: Why were there frogs, again?

#15: Because of the plagues.  Don’t you remember the ten plagues?

#1: Oh yeah, they were bad news.

#15: And here’s another song that describes them all. It’s to the tune of Let It Be. It’s called Let Us Go, not to be confused with last years big hit, Let It Go:

Let Us Go…to the tune of Let It Be

 Pharaoh lived in times of trouble, for he kept the Jews as slaves

Man you will be sorry, there’ll be plagues

First the water turned to blood and then the frogs were everywhere

Man, you will be sorry, there’ll be plagues

And then their hair was filled with lice and wild, wild beasts, they ruled the land

Man oh you’ll be sorry, there’ll be plagues

The cows got sick and folks got boils and hail was raining everywhere

Man you will be sorry, there’ll be plagues.

And then the locusts swarmed the crops and darkness filled the days with night

I told you you’d be sorry, there’ll be plagues

And finally the worst arrived, the killing of the first born sons,

Pharaoh changed his mind with all those plagues.

All those plagues, horrid plagues, gory, gross and deadly plagues

We knew that you’d be sorry, there were plagues!

#20: Hey, isn’t this the part where we dip our pinkies in the wine?  That’s one of the dipping things, isn’t it?

#2: Not really, but we do dip our fingers in the wine. We remember that although it’s wonderful to be free, our lives are little less sweet because our enemies had to die.

#22: That’s a nice tradition.

#2: It is, but the plagues weren’t nice at all.  Now it’s time to say them with me and dip your pinky in the wine and onto a saucer:

Dahm: Blood

Tzfardeyah: Frogs

Keenim: Lice

Arov: Wild Beasts

Dever: Cattle Disease

Shicheen: Boils

Barad: Hail

Arbeh: Locusts

Choshech: Darkness

Makat Bichorot: Killing of the first-born

#21: I heard on the news that bedbugs are making a comeback. Are they a plague? Also, there’ve been tons of hailstorms lately. Should we be worried?

#24: This is creeping me out. Why don’t we eat a Hillel sandwich and forget about those plagues for a little while.

#22: Hillel sandwich?  What kind of sandwich is that?  I’ve never seen that on any deli menu.

#23: It’s just for Passover.  We take a piece of matzah and cover it with charoset and maror.  That’s the Hebrew word for chrain, which is the Yiddish word for bitter herbs.

#21: You’re tri-lingual?

#23: Just at Passover.

#2: OK, everyone.  Let’s say the blessing over the maror and the matzah and eat up.

Everyone: Baruch ata Adonai, Elohaynu, melech ha-olam, asher kidishanu b’mitzvahtov, v’tzevanu al achilot maror. 

 #2: Now we say the same thing, but the last word is matzah.  Pretty easy, eh?

Everyone: Baruch ata Adonai, Elohaynu, melech ha-olam, asher kidishanu b’mitzvahtov, v’tzevanu, al achilot matzah.

#21: Yum, I think I like it.

#23: Let’s wash it down with the third cup of wine.

Everyone: Baruch ata Adonai, Elohaynu, melech  ha-olam, borei, p’ri hagafen. Amen, L’chaim!

#25: We should talk a little bit now about how lucky we are to be free. Isn’t that what the seder is really all about?

#23: Yes, but it’s also time to think about the people who are not free in our world.  We always say “Next year in Jerusalem,” at the seder. It reminds us that there are still many people in our world who cannot live as free people.  We hope that this coming year will bring more freedom to more people around the world.

#21: Can we sing Dayenu now? That’s my favorite Passover song.

#2: Yes, Dayenu means “it would have been enough.” It would have been enough if God had only brought us out of Egypt; but then we got the Ten Commandments and Shabbat. That would have been enough, but we also got the entire Torah. And that would have been enough, but we now have the state of Israel.

#23: I think Dayenu means that even though we always want more, we need to be thankful for what we have.

#2: I like that.  Let’s sing Dayenu together.

Ilu ho-tsi, Ho-tsi-a-nu, Ho-tsi-a-nu mi-Mitz-ra-yim, Ho-tsi-a-nu mi-Mitz-ra-yim,

Da-ye-nu!

 CHORUS:

Dai, da-ye-nu, Dai, da-ye-nu, Dai, da-ye-nu Da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu! (Repeat)

 Ilu na-tan, na-tan la-nu, Na-tan la-nu et-ha-Sha-bat, Na-tan la-nu et-ha-Sha-bat,

Da-ye-nu!

 Ilu na-tan, na-tan la-nu, Na-tan la-nu et-ha-To-rah, Na-tan la-nu et-ha-To-rah,

Da-ye-nu!

 Ilu hichni hichni sanu, hichni sanu l’eretz yisrael, Hichni sanu l’Eretz Yisrael….  Dayenu!

 #24: It is great to be free. And, this is a perfect time to drink the fourth cup of wine.

#1: Excuse me.

#4: You, again?

#1: Yes, it’s me. Even though I’m learning a lot tonight, I have a few questions about the four questions.

#3: The four questions?  We already did that. It’s almost time to eat.

#2: Almost.  What do you want to know about the four questions?

#1: I get the part about matzah and the bitter herbs.  I even know that we use parsley to remind us of spring.  But why do we do it in salt water?

#5: I know! I know!

#4: Here we go again…

#5: It’s the tears. You know, the tears that the slaves cried when they worked so hard in Egypt.

#1: Oh, yeah, that makes sense.  And what about the pillows?  Do we use them because of being free?

#4: Now we’re getting somewhere.  The simple child is actually thinking!

#2: Exactly, this whole evening is about appreciating our freedom.  We drink wine, eat delicious food, schmooze, and spend time with our favorite relatives and friends. Pillows are comfortable and are symbolic of being a free people.

#1: Cool. I like this seder thing.

#2: Great, and guess what? You made it all the way through. We all did. Now it’s time to eat!

#6: Hold the phone a minute.  Have you noticed that no one ever really comes back to do more seder reading after the meal? I think we should open the door for Elijah now.

#2: Good idea. Elijah’s annual visit shows our hope for peace in the world.

#4: But first, we should actually drink our fourth cup of wine.  Everyone knows the blessing by now: Baruch ata Adonai, elohaynu, melech ha-olam, borei, p’ri hagafen. Amen.  L’chaim!

#8: I know all the words to Eliyahu Hanavi. Can we sing it now?

#9: Such a show-off.

#2: Hey, keep it peaceful, OK?  Let’s all sing together…

Eliyahu hanavi, Eliyahu hatishbee

Eliyahu, Eliyahu, Eliyahu hagiladi

Bim heyrah, v’yameinu, yavoh, eleynu, Im Moshiach, ben David, Im Moshiach, ben David

Eliyahu, hanavi, Eliyahu hatishbee

Eliyahu, Eliyahu, Eliyahu hagiladi

 #2: That’s definitely an oldie but a goodie.  But just to finish off the night, let’s sing a new version of the Elijah song: “Good Night Elijah.”  (To the tune of Goodnight Irene)

 Sometimes we all eat matzah, and top it off with chrain

Sometimes we eat gefilte fish, though some of our guests complain

Sometimes we eat charoset, and trade the afikomen for cash

And sometimes we’d like to throw those heavy matzah balls in the trash

 Elijah, good night, Elijah good night

Good night my friends and family

We’ll see you all next year!

 Sometimes we eat sweet brisket and matzah kugel too

Sometimes we eat chopped liver though we’d rather eat beef stew

Sometimes we chomp on sponge cake and wash it down with wine

And one thing is for sure each year we’ve had a real good time!

 Elijah, good night, Elijah good night

Good night my friends and family

We’ll see you all next year!

#2: Well, that’s it folks, another year, another seder. And now… let’s eat!

#1: Wait, before we eat, shouldn’t we say a blessing?

#2: I can’t believe my ears! You really have learned a lot tonight.

#10: I’ll help you out. First we bless the food with the hamotzi.  Then we say the blessing over the matzah, the bread of affliction.

Everyone: Baruch atah Adonai, Elohaynu, melech ha-olam, hamotzi lechem min ha-aretz.

Baruch ata Adonai, Elohaynu melech ha-olam, al achilat, matzah!  Amen, B’teh-avon!

 The End……. Until next year!

                                       

 

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