In the weeks preceding Pesach 2016, my friend and classmate Emily Cohen and I had some fun collaborating on a Google Doc of songs from our shared musical obsession, Hamilton, which we rewrote to tell the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Mitzrayim.

After a week of writing, we decided we were done, and shared the Google Doc with friends and family on Facebook a week and a half before the First Seder. Within two days, we were amazed to watch as the Doc (which, for the sake of alliteration, was called The Hamilton Haggadah) went viral! For some perspective, we had to go back and put our names on it!

In response to the attention our Google Doc received, we quickly prepared single-take recordings of the majority of songs, as well as an annotated version which would allow us to provide insight and background into the Jewish stories, rituals, and approaches associated with our lyrics.

As the project went viral in the week preceding Pesach, we were fortunate to receive media coverage from The Washington Post’s Acts of Faith blog, Jewcy, and The Jewish Daily Forward.

The following year, we created an actual Hamilton Haggadah that went through the entire Passover Seder, describing the ritual using Hamilton songs as the vehicle. Again we received media attention, with articles in the Philadelphia Enquirer, CBS Radio, The NY Daily News, and Kveller.

We are amazed and honored to know that something that we created for fun during moments of downtime has been used at seder tables around the country!

You can hear our DIY recordings below: