How to Implement the Seder
Setting the Table
Modifying the Seder for Kids under 13
Gathering from the Whirlwind as written is not age-appropriate for children younger than 13. It is not difficult to adjust it for that age group, however. Only there changes need to be made:
- Skip section #7: The Camps & Killing Pits (p. 19-20) entirely
- In section #9: the Inner Strength, read through “From Tomorrow On” (p. 25) and then skip to “The Unbreakable Core” (p. 26). (In other words, skip the part about the camps from “Even in the camps…” to “could deprive me.”)
- In section #15: The Four Questions, skip Question #3 (p. 39), (“How do we continue living?”).
It would also be worthwhile to simplify some of the wording. You can leave out some of the quotes as well, especially the biblical quotes, if you feel the kids will not have the attention span for everything.
Here’s an example:
Note the simplified wording (e.g. “to take away our Judaism” instead of “to strip us of our Judaism”) and the lack of the quote from Daniel.