The 10 Plagues Relay Races!

Camp JRF produced an activity book for families. Below is a ritual that is fun for the entire family and guaranteed to add fun to your sederLit. Order. The festive meal conducted on Passover night, in a specific order with specific rituals to symbolize aspects of the Exodus from Egypt. It is conducted following the haggadah, a book for this purpose. Additionally, there an ancient tradition to have a seder on Rosh Hashanah, which has been practiced in particular by Sephardi communities. This seder involves the blessing and eating of simanim, or symbolic foods. The mystics of Sefat also created a seder for Tu B'shvat, the new year of the trees./Passover season!

Have you been sitting at your PassoverPassover is a major Jewish holiday that commemorates the Jewish people's liberation from slavery and Exodus from Egypt. Its Hebrew name is Pesakh. Its name derives from the tenth plague, in which God "passed over" the homes of the Jewish firstborn, slaying only the Egyptian firstborn. Passover is celebrated for a week, and many diaspora Jews celebrate for eight days. The holiday begins at home at a seder meal and ritual the first (and sometimes second) night. Jews tell the story of the Exodus using a text called the haggadah, and eat specific food (matzah, maror, haroset, etc). seder too long? Try incorporating these 10 Plagues Relay Races into your seder tradition! Have each tribe (teams of two or more people) come together to fight the 10 plagues! Make sure there is at least one young person in each tribe.

1. Blood

All the water has turned to blood! It is up to you and your tribe to move it!

Materials:

· Red food dye

· Buckets (2 per tribe)

· Spoons (1 per tribe)

Add a few drops of red food dye to a bucket of water.

Place a second bucket next to it that has a “fill to” line.

Give each team a spoon and have them line up running distance from the two buckets.

The goal is to have each team move the “blood” from one bucket to the next by each person running with the spoon and moving one spoon of water from one bucket to the next. Have them repeat until they reach the “fill to” line. Make the race easier by keeping the “fill to” line low or only allowing tribe members to walk.

2. Frogs, Frogs, Frogs, everywhere!

The plague has even turned you into frogs.

It is time to play leapfrog! Have everyone crouch down in a single file line. Have the player from the back of the line leap over each player and then crouch in the beginning of the line. The race is over when everyone has had a turn. Tight on space? Have tribe members leap frog in pairs to a designated location and back. The race is completed by everyone participating.

[Play the frog song during this relay race. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M19iDgcLM8]

3. Lice

The lice have infiltrated everywhere, not just your hair. It is up to you and your tribe to work on your close looking skills so you can find all the lice.

Materials

· Buckets (1 per tribe)

· Rice

· Small objects

Lice are sometimes hard to spot! Fill a larger bucket with rice and fill it with random objects. Assign each person on the team an object and have them search for it in the bucket. Want to avoid losing small objects? Create “I Spy” bottles for each team.

Visit http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/eye-spy-rainbow-bottle/ to learn how.

4. Insects

There are many types of insects, so there are a few different moves. Feel free to pick one insect and go with it or have people alternate what type of insect they are. The race is completed once the entire tribe passes the finish line.

Grasshoppers: make short hops

Ant: run quickly on all fours

Caterpillar: crawl as close to the ground as possible

5. Cattle Disease

With all the cattle sick, there is nobody left to pull the plows. The tribes will just have to help out!

Wheel Barrow Race: Have members of the tribe partner with someone else. Each pair will take turns “plowing the field.” The first person lays down on the floor while the second person grasps his or her ankles. The person whose hands are on the floor uses their hands to move forward while the other person holds their ankles up. Each pair should go to a designated spot and back. Once each pair has gone, the race is over.

6. Boils

Boils are spreading—fast! It is up to you and your tribe to cover the boils on one of the tribe members.

Materials

· Toilet paper (1–2 rolls per tribe)

Have one volunteer from each team volunteer to be wrapped. They should stand about ten feet away from the tribe. Each person from the tribe should take turns wrapping the person with “boils.” People should vote on the best wrapped person. Short on time? Make it a timed race and have tribes complete the task quickly.

7. Hail

Although it is spring, hail is coming down from the sky. You must move the balls of hail quickly.

Materials

· Ping pong balls (1 for each tribe)

· Spoons (1 for each tribe)

Give each tribe a spoon and ball of “hail” (ping pong ball). Each person must walk holding the spoon with the “hail” on the end to a designated point and back. If the “hail” falls, the member of the tribe must go back to the beginning and try again. The tribe has completed the task once everyone has gone.

8. Locusts

The locusts came swarming in all at once! In order to fight the locusts, the whole group must participate. One person starts as “the Israelite person” while everyone runs around as locusts. Once you are tagged, you must link arms with the Israelite and you have become a person again. The goal is for the whole group to be linked and transform all the locusts into Israelites. To make it indoor-safe, make the game “walking only” and have people join as an Israelite (the attached group) if they run.

9. Darkness

And suddenly, everything went dark. The whole tribe couldn’t see anything. This is a game for everyone to join in together. One person from the entire Israelite group is . That person should close his/her eyes, while the rest of the group is scattered around and tries to avoid the tag of “Moses.” Moses calls out “Moses” while everyone responds “Pharaoh.” Make sure that the area you are playing in is clear of objects on the floor.

10. Death of the First Born
In order to avoid the death of the first born, everyone must “pass over” the ball to the next person to mark their doorposts.

Materials
· Beach balls (1 per tribe)

People return to their tribes and stand in a single file line. The person in the front starts with the beach ball and passes it to the person behind them over their head. The second person passes it under through their legs. The pattern alternates until the person in the back receives the ball. At that point, the person with the ball runs to the front of the line and the process begins again until the entire team has passed the finish line.

Camp JRF is a joyful and welcoming Jewish youth community that transforms lives. We provide innovative, creative, and engaging programs for youth from across North America and the world. As an inclusive community, we welcome children from a wide range of family structures, religious practices, and socio-economic backgrounds. At the center of our Reconstructionist philosophy is a deep commitment to building a community in which we all are welcome to grow and thrive.