Passover Games, Activities, And Quizzes
Scrambled Plagues
The plagues really scrambled the life of Pharaoh! He never figured them out until the tenth plague. So, here's a great word scramble of the ten plagues. Can you figure them out?
LSIOB SOCLUTS SCIETLPNE GROSF SKNDSAER
ELIC ATSSBE ALIH YLGNAIS DOOLB
After you unscramble these plagues, put them into their right order (you can write them down on a separate piece of paper lined and numbered like this:
- __________________________
- __________________________
- __________________________
- __________________________
- __________________________
- __________________________
- __________________________
- __________________________
- __________________________
- __________________________
A Cup for Miriam
Some people set a special cup (in Hebrew, kos Miryam) on the seder table
in honor of Miriam and as a reminder of Miriam's Well of sweet, healing, and
refreshing water, which followed the Israelites in the desert.
Miriam's Cup can be filled with plain water or spring water. Sometimes it is left empty, and everyone at the seder table pours a bit of water from his or her own glass into Miriam's Cup until it's filled. In this way, everyone participates in creating the Ma'ayan, the wellspring of Miriam's Well.
Of course, there are different traditions for Miriam's Cup. Some people fill the cup with wine. Others paint the cup blue as a reminder of the water in Miriam's Well. Some people even dangle shells or bells from the cup to remember the sound of Miriam's tambourine.
A Bowl for Miriam
According to tradition, during the forty years of wandering in the desert, Miriam's Well provided the Jews with water. It is said that herbs and plants grew around the well, and that the well was filled with sweet-smelling spices. Everyone who tasted the water felt refreshed. As a reminder of Miriam's Well, you may want to make a sweet-smelling bowl to place on your seder table:- Fill a clear glass bowl with water (or use rosewater).
- Add cinnamon and cloves (it is said that these are the spices that Adam and
Eve took with them as they left the Garden of Eden. That's why they are used
for the besamim, the spices at Havdalah, at the end of
Shabbat).
- Float rose petals or other flower petals on the water to make it more beautiful and fragrant.
Brain Teasers
The Matzah Ball ProblemDanny was making matzah balls to put in soup. One ball rolled off the kitchen counter, out the door, into the yard, and into a deep, deep, narrow hole. Danny tried to reach the matzah ball, but couldn't. How can Danny retrieve the matzah ball? (Answer at bottom of page)
The 50-Foot Ladder Problem
How could you drop a piece of matzah from a 50-foot ladder
without having the matzah break? (Answer at bottom of page)
The Wine Measuring Problem
Can you measure exactly 4 cups of wine (or grape juice) using just
three pitchers? (Solution at bottom of page)
Answers to Scrambled Plagues: 1. Boils 2. Locusts 3. Pestilence 4. Frogs 5. Darkness 6. Lice 7. Beasts 8. Hail 9. Slaying 10. Blood
Answer to Matzah Ball Problem: Get out the garden hose. Fill the hole with water and the matzah ball will float within Danny's reach.
Answer to 50-Foot Ladder Problem: Drop it from the lowest rung of the ladder.
Solution to Wine Measuring Problem: Fill the 6-cup pitcher. Then pour from the 6-cup pitcher into the 5-cup pitcher until the 5-cup pitcher is full. Now, just one cup remains in the 6-cup pitcher. Fill the 3-cup pitcher and then pour its contents into the 6-cup pitcher. It will now contain exactly 4 cups of wine (or juice).
Maggid: Telling the Story and About Passover
Games and activities taken from The
Kids Catalog of Passover and
The Kids'
Catalog of Jewish Holidays.