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Unlike many past years when many of us enjoyed large seders with friends and extended family, we may all have very few people sitting around our seder tables this year (5780), and many of us will have two seders with exactly the same participants (perhaps just a husband and wife).

Seeking suggestions for making both seders engaging and fresh.

(Presume the participants have a reasonably thorough knowledge of the seder and the holiday.)

Yehuda W
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    https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/15277/759 – Double AA Mar 27 '20 at 01:54
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    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3AfbKviqr9E – רבות מחשבות Mar 27 '20 at 02:20
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    חייב אדם [לעסוק בהלכות הפסח] כל הלילה אפילו בינו לבין בנו אפילו בינו לבין עצמו אפילו בינו לבין תלמידו - Tosefta Pesachim 10:8. There should be enough halachos to split between the two nights so that each is fresh and engaging. – Alex Mar 29 '20 at 22:46
  • Ideas for seders alone are here: https://www.aish.com/h/pes/l/Seder-for-One-How-to-Make-it-Meaningful.html?s=mm – Yehuda W Apr 02 '20 at 17:35

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BSD

Along with the classic raffles, props, and candy, I always found that if the Baal HaSeider is excited, the children (who the Baal HaSeider has a Mitzvah to be there for ;-)) will mirror that excitement.

Additionally, a good friend of mine reenacts Pesach Mitzrayim at their Seider: they cover their doorpost in parchment paper and then spread tomato sauce on it, they sit with blankets draped like togas over their regular Yom Tov clothing, and parade around their table with their pillows over their shoulders during Avadim Hayinu and the actual Yetzia, with walking sticks in their hands of course...

If that's a little bit over-the-top for you (or if you don't have little children at home), then try using two intellectually probing Hagados: one for night one, and one for night two. Additionally, prepare for the Sidarim with those Hagados as well; I try to learn a little bit of commentary from my Hagada every night before going to sleep from Motzaei Shushan Purim until Leil HaSeider. Additionally, if you would like, I compiled a pamphlet of my personal Vertlach on the Hagada, accessible here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qijr6hTqjhEqoMtAvCu6hBJDs85XMgDVQii-sXckuTg/edit?usp=sharing

Hope that helps!

Dovid Wartelsky
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These poems might be of interest to some people: Exploring Passover through Contemporary Israeli Poems

Found on the web (in two sets):

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6bbjzl1epw3uyxn/AACk9xLczTrUUFvAmB5x7wfua/2020-03-22-PoemsAroundTheSederTable.pdf?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6bbjzl1epw3uyxn/AACFa5K9ih-jrnmPxQ40LaD-a/2020-03-29-PoemsAroundTheSederTable-II.pdf?dl=0

(Note: I did not compile these poems. The compilation appears to be be the work of Rachel Korazim.)

Yehuda W
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