Magid: The Story of Pesach

 

We were slaves of pharaoh in Egypt. Our story must be shared each year.

 

Sarah and Abraham moved across the River Euphrates where Sarah, at age 90, gave birth to her child Isaac. Isaac married Rebecca who had twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Esau and his descendents lived on Mount Seir, and Jacob and his descendents lived in Canaan.

 

Jacob lived in Canaan, he had many children and all the things he needed to live comfortably. But the sons of Jacob were jealous of their brother Joseph because they felt he was favored by their father. So they sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt.

 

In Egypt, Joseph was imprisoned. He heard about a mysterious dream the Pharoah had, and offered to interpret it for him. The Pharoah was so taken with Joseph’s explanation that he freed him and made Joseph an official in his court. Later, Joseph helped prevent a famine in Egypt by arranging for the storage of food.

 

Meanwhile there was a famine in Canaan. Originally Jacob, who was called Israel, and his partner Leah and their children and grandchildren went from their homeland in Canaan to Egypt because there was no food to eat where they lived.  They had heard that an official there had stored food in case of famine. When they arrived Joseph – the guy who was sold into slavery - recognized his family and he helped them get settled. They made their home in Egypt and the number of families grew. This is how the children of Israel came to be in Egypt.

 

The children of Israel had a lot of good ideas about how to be good farmers, how to build things, how to take care of animals and how to make money. The Israelites believed that because they had so many good ideas that they were safe and secure in Egypt. They trusted the Egyptians to remain loyal to them forever.

 

But after some time, the Egyptians began to consider the Children of Israel threat. When the Egyptians began to feel threatened they used their power to help a new king make the children of Israel slaves.

 

The Children of Israel lived as slaves in Egypt for many generations. They lived in Egypt for 430 years.


haggadah Section: -- Exodus Story
Source: original