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3rd cup and the Story of Exodus
Contributed by Mazldik Yonkel

  • TOP HAGGADAHS FOR 2023

Exodus Story Telling Our Story

Maggid מַגִּיד Telling of the story of Passover

Host:

The story of Passover is a long tale I will summarize very quickly, because I know we are all getting anxious to eat.

Long ago, Pharaoh ruled the land of Egypt. He enslaved the Jewish people and made them work very hard building his cities.
Pharaoh was especially cruel to Jewish children. One mother hid her baby, Moses, in a basket in the river. Pharoah's daughter found him and took him home to live in the palace.
Moses grew up. He saw the slaves working so hard. He had a fight about it and ran away to be a shepherd.
While he was looking after the sheep, he saw a bush on fire that did not burn up and heard God's voice telling him to go back to Egypt, to tell Pharoah to let the Jewish people go.
When Moses went to Pharoah, he said: "Let my people go". Pharaoh said "No".

So G-d sent the first plague upon the Egyptians by turning the water into blood. Moses then went back to Pharoah. He said, "Let my people go". Pharaoh said "No". So G-d continues his plagues upon the Egyptian people. 10 Total plagues!

Finally, the Pharoah agreed to allow the Jewish people to be free. The people got ready to leave very quickly, so quickly that their bread didn't have time to rise; thus, the reason we eat the unleavened bread, or Matzah.
They walked through the desert to the sea. Pharoah's soldiers chased after them. When they got to the sea, Moses held up his staff and with the help of G-d, the sea divided.
The Jewish people walked through the sea to freedom and a new future.

Guest:
Our third cup of wine tonight takes us back to Abraham. His belief inspired him to leave his family and find a new land. That land would one day bear his grandson Jacob’s adopted name, Israel.

Guest:
Abraham was promised that his people would become a great nation, but this promise came with a frightening vision of the troubles along the way: “Your descendants will dwell for a time in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and afflicted for four hundred years; however, I will punish the nation that enslaved them, and afterwards they shall leave with great wealth."

{{We raise our third cup}}

Guest:
For not only one enemy has risen against us to annihilate us, but in every generation there are those who rise against us. Together, we are safe from those who seek to harm us.

{{The third cup of wine is put down without taking a sip.}}

Guest:
In the years our ancestors lived in Egypt, our numbers grew, and soon the family of Jacob became the People of Israel. Pharaoh and the leaders of Egypt grew alarmed by this great nation growing within their borders, so they enslaved the Jews, who were forced to perform hard labor such as building pyramids.

Guest:
The Egyptians feared that even as slaves, the Israelites might grow strong and rebel. So Pharaoh decreed that Israelite baby boys should be drowned, to prevent the Israelites from overthrowing those who had enslaved them.
haggadah Section: -- Exodus Story

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