Ayeka’s Ideas for the Pesach Seder

The Seder is intended to be a personal experience. By now we know the story. We don’t need more historical information or sermons. What we need is a way to personally connect with the Passover story and to each other. We need quality conversations.

That is really what a Seder is: an organized conversation around a table with matza and lots of wine. Ayeka is here to help make this conversation less awkward and boring and more relevant and personal. We have put together a group of activities and questions that will help every member of your Seder table feel more involved and interested in what is happening.

Download our resources booklet here: Pesach Sessions

Spiritual Chevruta

One of our favorite exercises we call a “spiritual chevruta”.

1. Pose a trigger question.
2. Have everyone turn to the person next them and discuss it for a few minutes.

Often at the Seder one person talks and everyone listens. It is hard to listen for a long stretch of time. Sometimes people tune out; sometimes people interrupt. The spiritual chevruta changes the rhythm of the Seder and offers everyone the opportunity to talk. Last year I partnered off with my youngest daughter (13) and we had a short but very memorable conversation. Other couples couldn’t stop talking. We try to keep the questions personal, rather than theoretical.

Each of these sessions includes a pre-Seder reading and a During the Seder section. Begin your Seder, and when you arrive at one of the selected areas, read the appointed paragraph and then break up into spiritual chevrutas and ask the given questions. You get to decide how long the chevruta should last, but we find that 6-10 minutes usually works well. After the given time ends, ask people to share what they discussed and if anything really meaningful came up during their conversation.