Different and the Same: Passover Around the World

It is said that in every generation we are meant to see   ourselves as if we had personally experienced the Exodus from Egypt. The themes of Passover are timeless and universal: freedom, hope, and renewal. In different
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Let All Who Are Hungry, Come and Eat

Every year at Passover, Jewish homes around the world open their front doors to welcome in that most important guest, the ubiquitous visitor we look for at all important events in our lives - Elijah.  As the little girl in A Place for Elijah learns, “you never know how Elijah comes, only that he does.”...
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Fun Ways to Eat Matzah this Passover

It gets a little boring eating matzah for eight days straight. One of the fun things about Passover is finding those creative ways to eat all the matzah we buy. 


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Miriam at the River Blog #4: Miriam's Water

I have long been fascinated by how folk stories of strong girls and women have gotten hidden over the years of retelling....
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Miriam at the River Blog #3: Miriam to Moses

I am the older sister, of a boy four years younger. My brother Steven. Steve. Stevie. Steve Yolen who lives in Brazil.

So the story of Miriam resonates for me--that oldest sister, a seeress/author, a musician, a leader of her people who both works for and sometimes defies the Lord. 

...
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Miriam at the River Blog #2: Miriam at the River

Before I wrote MIRIAM AT THE RIVER, I wrote a bunch of Holocaust poems and Judaica poems. My first two professionally published & paid-for poems were in a magazine called The Chicago Jewish Forum...
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Miriam at the River Blog #1: Miriam Weeps

Quite a few readers notice that the majority of my picture books read like poems. Even if they don’t rhyme. They use all the trappings of poetry: lyricism, metaphor, simile, rhythm, internal rhymes, alliteration, etc.

This is not happenstance nor mere chance. I wrote my first poem (rhymed though not particularly well rhymed) in first grade. (I was  kindergarten age but as I had been reading since three years old, my parents and teachers decided I should be skipped ahead.


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Meet Jessica Hickman, Author of her Debut Children’s Book "Alligator Seder"

This week we have been celebrating the release of Jessica Hickman's title Alligator Seder. This cute little board book is her debut book in the world of children's literature. Read through our interview with the debut author and learn about her process and why she thought alligators have Seders!
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Choosing the Right Haggadah for Your Seder

haggadah is a tool for storytelling and recounting the history of the Jewish people. It’s a source for prayer and song. It can include discussion questions and invite many levels of participation in the seder. The experience of storytelling is the most powerful when everybody is actively engaged. Do you want one individual to lead the seder, reading the story to those around the table? Do you want seder participants to take turns reading parts of the service? Selecting the best haggadah for your seder can be a lot of fun! You may even decide to use more than one! Here’s how to determine which haggadah(s) will work best for your group.
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