Dr. Emily AronoffIn need of a fun way to teach your little ones about Passover? These Passover songs will contribute to an enjoyable, educational, and unforgettable seder! You can find these songs and more on my Dr. Emily Celebrates Passover Playlist.
As educators and leaders dedicated to nurturing the next generation’s connection to our heritage, the period leading up to Passover presents a remarkable opportunity. It’s a time when the melodies of our tradition can become powerful vehicles for education, engagement, and spiritual growth. This selection of Passover songs, thoughtfully compiled, is designed to serve as more than just a festive repertoire for the Seder. These tunes are transformative tools that educators can use to prepare children for a meaningful participation in Passover. Through song, we can impart the deep narratives of our people’s journey from bondage to freedom, instilling a sense of identity, resilience, and community. For songleaders, cantors, and music teachers in Jewish early childhood, religious school, and elementary day school settings, this guide is an invitation to enrich your curriculum and inspire your students with the joyous spirit of Pesach.
Learn more about how to cultivate spiritual growth in your little ones through song in my new course: Songleading For Kiddos!
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 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).
Lyrics:
[Verse 1]
When Israel was in Egypt land
Let my people go!We worked so hard we could not stand
Let my people go![Chorus]
Go Down, Moses
Way down in Egypt land
Tell old Pharoah to let my people go!God told Moses what do to
Let my people go!To lead the children of Israel through
Let my people go![Repeat Chorus]
[Verse 2]
Moses led us across the splitting sea
Let my people go!Towards freedom for you and me
Let my people go![Repeat Chorus]
5. Listen, King Pharoah by sung by Shira Kline
I use this song as an opportunity to emphasize that Moses TRIED to use his words and ask for help. He went to the mean man in charge and asked him to let his people be free:
Lyrics:
Oh listen! Oh listen! Oh listen King Pharaoh!
Oh listen! Oh listen! Please let my people go!They work so hard all day, we want to run away!
King Pharaoh! King Pharaoh! What do you say?
(I might prompt the kids to respond)
NO NO NO, I will not let them go. (x2)
6. Make A Matzah by Rachel Buchman
I like to throw this song in the mix when babies and toddlers are present. This simple song doesn’t add much content, but it does create an opportunity for even the smallest kiddos to participate in a Passover music activity.
Lyrics:
Make a matzah, pat pat pat
Do not make it, fat fat fatMake a matzah, flat flat flat
Make a matzah just like that!
7. Miriam’s Song by Miss Emily
This song is meant for movement! When I’m leading a Tot Shabbat or Singalong Shacharit service, I use this freeze dance song to re-engage participants.
If you use my recording, you might want to skip ahead to the 0:26 mark.
I enjoy incorporating tambourines for this purpose. We use them with Rick Recht’s Avadim Hayeinu too!
This is a zipper song, meaning it has an A part and a B part.
A: Participants add their ideas to the song to “fill in the blank” for this section.
Miriam sang a ___________ song…
For example:
Miriam sang a timbrel, a timbrel song, a timbrel song!
Miriam sang a timbrel song, so timbrel now with me!!
Miriam sang a timbrel, a timbrel song, a timbrel song!
Miriam sang a timbrel song at the shores of the sea!
Replace “timbrel” with any action word: jumping, dancing, clapping, spinning….
B: I might tell learners, “Listen to the words the Torah tells us that Miriam sang when she crossed the sea.“
“Mi Chamocha ba’elim adonai, Mi Chamocha nedar bakodesh?
Great and holy God, who is like you? No one is awesome as You!
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. When You Believe from The Prince of Egypt (1998)
This option is great for kids older than two. I prefer to minimize the use of screens in general, especially with kids- but I think that utilizing this clip can add terrific value to an educational learning experience about Passover (with the proper context.) Before I show any clip to my kiddos, I watch it in its entirety and consider what unique value the clip offers.
I like to tell the learners that Disney made a movie about our Passover story, as evidence of how important and special this story is to many people. I tell them this is a clip from the middle of the story; after the characters have left Egypt but before finding a home in Israel.
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. Dayeinu presented by The Maccabeats
This video has been on the internet for many years, but it has lasted this long for a good reason. I love to show children diversity in Judaism and this is a fun example that delights learners of every age and stage. I might distribute shakers and ask children to keep the beat, a challenge as the music changes throughout this arrangement.
Harmonizing Tradition: Fostering Lifelong Connections through Passover Songs
As we reflect on the impact of these Passover songs, it’s clear they offer much more than a momentary engagement with the themes of Pesach. Embedded within each melody are layers of history, values, and teachings that are essential to the Jewish experience. By incorporating these songs into our educational environments, we do more than teach a tune; we ignite a spark of curiosity and connection that can last a lifetime. These songs are gateways through which children can access the rich tapestry of our collective memory, making their own contributions to our ongoing story. As educators, songleaders, and cantors, our role in facilitating this journey is pivotal. May the use of these songs in the weeks leading up to Passover and beyond serve as a foundation for meaningful engagement, empowering our students to approach the Seder with confidence, understanding, and a sense of belonging to a tradition that spans millennia.
PS: If you want more support building your repertoire of Jewish songs for kids, you’ll find that in Modules 7 and 8 of my course Songleading for Kiddos.
