Dr. Emily AronoffPassover is a time for storytelling, connection, and tradition—and music is one of the most powerful ways to bring it all to life for children! These 10 educator-approved Passover songs help kids engage with the story of Pesach through movement, melody, and meaning. Use this guide to find interactive teaching tips, curated song recommendations, and strategies for making your Passover programming more impactful—whether at home, in the classroom, or in a congregational setting.
Click to explore more educator-approved Passover music.
1. Sing, Dance, Jump, and Shout
by Lisa Baydush
This is a “Tot Shabbat” favorite of mine, so I encourage you to build familiarity with this tune throughout the year! I particularly love the simplicity of this song, as well as its invitation to action.
When listening to this song with kids, I usually distribute tambourines (and might follow this song with Debbie Friedman’s (ZL) Miriam’s Song).
2. Where is Baby Moses?
(movements presented by Miss Nina)
This is always one of the first tunes I use when presenting a unit on Passover because it provides critical context.
Here is an example of how I may introduce this song to a group of little ones:
“Friends, I want to share one of our really important stories from the Torah, because soon we’ll celebrate a holiday called Passover! The story starts a long, long time ago in a place called Egypt. It was a very narrow place with too many rules and a mean man in charge called Pharoah. Pharaoh made a terrible decision to hurt all the boy babies. Moses’ mother, Yocheved tried to keep her baby safe by doing something hard for us to imagine….she hid her baby in a basket and floated it down the river, in hopes that he would find safety…”
I’ll often use a baby doll in a basket as a prop for “Baby Moses in a Basket.” To encourage more participation, it can even be fun to hide the baby doll in a basket somewhere in the room (if your environment is safe for children to explore.) I then use a few yards of blue fabric to represent the river and lead children through the space to make a game out of learning this part of the story.
3. Baby Moses in a Basket
by Ellen Allard
I adore this feminist rendition of the story, as each verse highlights a different woman who supported Moses. When introducing this song, I ask participants if they know the names of the women who helped Moses, and even in adult groups, most folks don’t know Yocheved (Moses’ Mother) or Batya (Pharoah’s Daughter). Because this song is very wordy for pre-readers, I tell kids that their job is to sing, listen, and move through the chorus with me, and to take a listening turn while I tell the story during the verses.
This video example is a strategy I simply call “Illustrated songbooks.” I print out 1-4 lines of a song at the bottom of a piece of paper and hand them out to the kids. Then, I ask the children to illustrate the lyrics on their papers in order to make a “songbook” that will visually guide us through the song.
The chorus with moves:
| Lyrics | Movement |
| “Baby Moses in a basket” | Pretend to be swaddling baby in arms, rocking horizontally across the body. |
| “In a basket on the river” | Move arms like waves. |
| “Baby Moses in a basket” | Pretend to swaddle a baby in your arms and rock again. |
| “On the river Nile” | Move arms like waves again. |
4. Go Down Moses
by Alan Eder
To initiate this song, I start by dramatically introducing a Moses Puppet to the group. (This helps encourage interactivity during this song.) I say something along the lines of, “This is Moses. Who knows something about him?”
I repeat this song and activity during the weeks leading up to seder to evaluate the responses that my prompt provides. Kiddos will become increasingly familiar with the “Moses” character as they learn about Passover in their classrooms and (for some) at home.
At this point, it is more likely that the children will feel more comfortable singing along, as they have gained familiarity with the song and the storyline (especially since this song is well-known in both Jewish and secular circles.) Encourage your participants and give positive feedback as their participation increases.
I don’t always sing the B section. If kids are very small and Hebrew is unfamiliar, I might only sing it once as an example.
8. Moadim L'Simcha
by Eliana Light
This song beautifully teaches kids (and grown-ups) how to participate in meaningful ritual:
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Moadim l’simcha: A greeting that means “festivals of gladness” or “may your times be happy.” It is commonly used during Chol Hamoed, the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot.
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Chagim u’zmanim l’sason: A response meaning “holidays and seasons of joy.”
9. Afikomen Mambo
by Joe Black
Sharing this song along with this delightful singable storybook has been a staple of my celebration for years. I also sing this song at the Passover Seder table before the kids go to look for the hidden Matzah.
10. Dayenu (storybook)
Sharing this song along with this delightful singable storybook has been a staple of my celebration for years.
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Passover Songs as a Pathway to Connection
Passover music is more than just melodies—it’s a gateway to history, values, and collective memory. Each song in this list is designed to help children experience the richness of Jewish tradition through movement, rhythm, and joyful participation.
Ways to Deepen Engagement:
- Use props and movement-based storytelling.
- Create illustrated songbooks or interactive games.
- Foster discussion about freedom, resilience, and community through music.
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Looking for fun, meaningful activities beyond music? Check out these guides for Passover programming inspiration:
I often assign parts to go with different parts of the song. For example, “When I hold my Moses, I want you to sing what Moses said: ‘Let my people go’!” Then, practice this a few times by instructing the learners to sing that line when I put my hand up in the air. Before we break into the song’s verses, I usually prompt the group by saying: “Listen to the verses of the song that tell the story and join me on the chorus” (since there are many versions of the lyrics).
