The Exodus Story

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The Story of THE EXODUS

Leader: We will now tell the story of how the Jews left Egypt. Before we can get to that point, we need to remember how the Jews GOT to Egypt to begin with.

Reader 1: When our patriarch Jacob was an old man, the land of Israel, which was then known as Canaan, went through a terrible drought. Jacob’s son Joseph was a prince in Egypt at that time, thanks to his ability to interpret dreams.

Reader 2: Because of his foresight, Joseph taught the Egyptians to save and store food for the upcoming drought. Jacob’s family came to Egypt to avoid starvation, and they settled there.

Reader 3: For many years, the Jews were happy in Egypt. But then new rulers arose and gradually enslaved the Jewish people.

Reader 4: Life in Egypt became very difficult. The Jews worked hard, had very poor living conditions and had no money and very few possessions. Still, they became a strong people.

Reader 5: Pharaoh was afraid that the Jews would rise up against him, so he issued a terrible decree that all the baby boys born to Jewish mothers would be killed.

Reader 6: One brave mother, Yocheved, gave birth to a baby boy during this time. She hid him as long as she could, but his strong cries made her know she had to do something drastic.

Reader 7: Yocheved took a large basket, lined it to make it waterproof, padded it to make it comfortable, and gently put her baby inside it. She placed the basket into the Nile River, and asked her daughter Miriam to watch its progress down the river.

Reader 8: Miriam watched as her baby brother floated right into the royal pools of the Pharaoh’s daughter. When she found this baby, she understood he was a Jew, but decided to raise this little boy as her own.

Reader 9: Young Miriam came out from the banks of the river and asked the Pharaoh’s daughter if she would like a trustworthy nurse to care for the infant, and that is how Yocheved came to take care of her own baby in the Pharaoh’s palace.

Reader 10: Pharaoh’s daughter named this baby Moses, which means “drawn from the water.”

Reader 11: Moses grew up, as a brother to young Ramses, who was next in line to become the Pharaoh. But he never learned he was a Jew until he was a young man. When he saw the suffering of the slaves, he finally understood that the slavery was wrong.

Reader 12: One day, while Moses was walking among the workers, he saw an overseer severely beat a Jewish slave. Moses killed the overseer and knew he had made a terrible mistake. He ran away through the desert to Midian.

Reader 13: Moses found himself at the tents of a desert chief named Jethro (or Yitro in the Torah). As was the custom of the time, Jethro invited Moses to stay as long as he wanted to. And there he met and fell in love with Tziporah, a daughter of Jethro.

Reader 14: Moses married Tziporah and learned to be a shepherd for the flocks of Jethro. One day, when Moses was out tending the flocks, he found his way into a mountain pass, and there he saw a sight he did not understand at first. It was a small bush that was aflame, but not being burned by the fire.

Reader 15: This miracle was the presence of G-d. G-d told Moses to take off his sandals, and Moses did. Then G-d told Moses that the Holy One saw the suffering of the Jewish people. Moses was told to go back to Egypt and to tell Pharaoh to let the Jewish people go.

Reader 16: At first, Moses did not want this big job. He did not think that just one man could change everything. He knew that his speech was sometimes hard to understand. But when G-d tells you to do something, you do it!

Reader 17: So Moses journeyed back to Egypt. There he met his brother Aaron, who agreed to help him try to speak to Pharaoh. Moses met with Pharaoh and spoke these famous words, “Let My People Go.” Pharaoh scoffed at his request.

Reader 18: Then G-d caused terrible plagues to come down upon the Egyptian people. After each plague, Moses tried to reason with the Pharaoh, but he hardened his heart.

The Ten Plagues

We now pause with our story to recite the ten plagues in Hebrew and in English. When we say each plague, we take a little bit of wine or juice out of our cup. This shows that our gladness is reduced when we think of the suffering of others.

Blood dam

Frogs tz’far’dei’ah

Lice keenim

Wild Beasts ahrov

Cattle Disease dehver

Boils sh’hin

Hail barad

Locusts arbeh

Darkness h osheh

Death of the Firstborn macat b’horot

Reader 19: After this terrible last plague, when the Pharaoh’s own son was killed, he finally told Moses that the Jews could leave. In a hurry, they quickly packed up their few belongings and left. They were in such a hurry, they did not even have time to allow their bread to rise. (Lift the plate of Matzah for all to see.)

Reader 20: Because the Jews were protected from the Angel of Death by using a lamb bone to paint their doorposts, and because a roasted lamb was offered to G-d by our ancient people, we have a shank bone on our seder plate. (Lift the bone for all to see.)

Reader 21: Because slavery made our lives bitter, we taste this bitter herb. (Lift horseradish for all to see.)

Reader 22: The haroset is on our seder table because its consistency reminds us of the mortar used for the bricks that the slaves had to use in building Pharaoh’s city. But the taste is sweet, which reminds us of the sweetness of freedom. (Hold up so all can see.)

Reader 23: After the Jews left Egypt, Pharaoh changed his mind. He wanted his slaves to go back work. But the Jews were at the sea. They could not go forward. They could not go backward. Then a miracle happened. G-d parted the Red Sea when Moses touched his staff to the water.

Reader 24: After the Jews made it safely through the Red Sea, the waters closed up again, and the Jews were out of danger from Pharaoh’s army.

Reader 25: While travelling through the desert, G-d provided the Jews with manna, food that sustained them on their journey.

Reader 26: At Mount Sinai, G-d gave Moses the Ten Commandments.

Reader 27: And finally, after 40 years of wandering, G-d brought the Jewish people back to the land of Israel.

We sing this next song, Dayenu, to remind ourselves of all the miracles of Passover.

haggadah Section: -- Exodus Story