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Maggid: Tell the Exodus Story
Contributed by Rebecca Bass

  • TOP HAGGADAHS FOR 2023

You probably know the story, but can you tell it in 30 seconds or less, all the way from Moses floating down the Nile to the Israelites crossing the Red Sea? The leader will ask for volunteers to boil it down so that we can get to the best parts of the maggid.

In case no one volunteers (or no one is successful), here is one compact version: Moses, who was an Israelite but grew up as the Pharaoh’s daughter’s son thanks to the ingenuity of his mother and his sister, fled Egypt after he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Jewish slave. He lived in the desert, married Zipporah, had a vision of a burning bush that he took as a sign from God that the Jewish people might be in trouble, and returned to Egypt to ask Pharaoh to let his people go. Pharaoh refused, so ten plagues rained down upon the Egyptians, until the final one – the death of the firstborn – got Pharaoh to acquiesce. The Israelites left Egypt and eventually got to the Red Sea. Seeing the Egyptian armies chasing after them because Pharaoh had changed his mind, God instructed Moses to raise his staff and the sea parted. Miriam led the Israelites in song and dance as they crossed the sea.

In a traditional haggadah, Moses is only mentioned once as we retell the Exodus story. Similarly, in recovery, our stories rarely revolve around one individual who personally shepherds us to a land of milk and honey. Instead, we achieve extraordinary change as a community – as a people – by believing in each other.
haggadah Section: -- Exodus Story

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