Cheri Sudit and her four grandchildren will have something extra special on their Passover Seder table this year: A self-published Haggadah they created together.
Sudit said it all began when her grandchildren first started arriving. She searched the internet for a children’s Haggadah but came up empty.
“I was coming up with, ‘Elmo does Passover’ or ‘Sammy the Spider.’ No offense to Sammy or Elmo, but I thought, I just can’t do that to the adults,” said Sudit. “This has to be a service for both kids and adults.”
Because she couldn’t find a Haggadah that worked for both age groups, Sudit decided to create one herself.
“At first it was really abbreviated, I just hit all the highlights of Passover to keep up with the attention span of 1,2, and 3-year-olds. And then my grandkids went to Beth El nursery school, and I was finding that they really were familiar with the Passover story, and they were learning a lot more than I thought they did,” Sudit said. “So I started expanding my homemade Haggadah, and it just kind of progressed.”
Sudit’s goal was to make Passover engaging for her grandchildren when they were toddlers. Inspired by her history as a volunteer Seder host and her family’s love of cooking, she created a brief service that could hold the children’s attention.
The project grew to include artwork from each grandchild and traditional family recipes.
For Sudit, it was a way to celebrate being a bubbe while giving her grandchildren something memorable and long-lasting.
“We like to do a traditional Passover and keep the recipes kind of the same every year. And these are all just tried and true and delicious. I love it,” Sudit said.
After a decade-long family effort, “Haggadaliscious” went live on Amazon last month.
The self-published Haggadah is designed to engage both children and adults with a brief, 10-minute service and interactive Passover story.
Over the years, Suddit and her grandchildren added pages bit by bit, including artwork from the children’s earliest years.
For Suddit, it was a way to create lasting memories with her family that will be part of their Seders for years to come.
“The 10 plagues were something that really caught the attention of all of them. So each grandchild participated in a different plague, how they saw that in their minds, and I just thought it came together so cute, colorful, and fun,” Sudit said. “I just love it.”
Inside a spillproof plastic cover, “Haggadaliscious” stretches 34 pages, and along with her grandchildren’s featured drawings throughout the Passover story, a Seder checklist is included for both children and adults.
Sudit also provided blank pages so readers can add their own notes and family recipes.
“It’s been a real family input project, not just the grandkids, but everybody at the table, from all ages, and my dad is going to be 95 in April, so it’s extra special,” said Sudit.
For Sudit and her grandchildren, “Haggadaliscious” is a family treasure, filled with memories, artwork, and traditions that the whole family will enjoy for years to come.
She recommends ordering at least 10 days in advance on Amazon.