A Passover Poem | Passover haggadah by Jenifer Casey

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A Passover Poem

By Lesa Schwartz, 1975

I wanted to tell

But didn’t know how

The reason we’re sitting

And having a Seder now.

I thought and I thought

How to not make it boring

And end up with everyone

Snoozing and snoring.

And so I decided a poem

I would write

And tell of the Jews

And their memorable flight.

________________________________________

Now the story goes,

As we’ve heard many times,

We were slaves in Egypt

Held for no special crimes.

We worked and we built

For the Pharaoh his city,

And were treated as criminals

Without any pity.

We labored so hard,

We labored so long,

We nearly forgot what was right

or was wrong.

_________________________________________

Then came along

A man named Moses,who

Though raised as Egyptian,

By the daughter of Pharaoh

Would soon come to learn*

That he too was a Jew.

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As he grew and he saw,

How the Jews they were treated,

He came to our aid

When a slave they were beating.

He killed the officer

And took our side,

The Pharaoh enraged

Said Moses must die.

________________________________________

So Moses escaped

Into the desert alone,

With hardly a bite

And no help but his own.

When almost near death,

And nowhere to turn,

He was found by a tribe

And made well once again.

________________________________________

He grew strong and he married

And years quickly flew,

Until on a mountain

His purpose he knew.

For God came to call

And to tell him that day,

He was to go to Egypt

He’d show him the way.

________________________________________

Now Moses set off

Not clear how to do it

But knew only he

Was the man that God chooseth.

He went straight to Pharaoh,

And told that mean guy

The powers of God

Are mine so don’t try

To ignore them or fight them

Or surely you’ll cry.

For the message I bring,

So you’ll clearly know,

Is this that I tell you-

“LET MY PEOPLE GO!”

_______________________________________

The Pharaoh, he laughed

And called Moses a phony,

Said his magicians could do

The same kind of baloney.

A staff turned to snake,

They could easily do,

So don’t tell me of your God

It just isn’t true.

__________________________________________

So proud and so cruel

And so hate filled a man

Was the Pharaoh

That Moses at once began

To put plagues on his country

Til his people he’d free

And then lead them out

A new world there would be.

__________________________________________

(As we rejoice at our deliverance from slavery, we acknowledge that our freedom was hard earned. We regret that our freedom came at the cost of the Egyptians’ suffering, for we are all human beings made in the image of God. We pour out a drop of wine for each of the plagues as we recite them.)

Dip a finger or a spoon into your wine glass for a drop for each plague:

Ten plagues they were heaped

On Egypt’s people and land

To pay for their crimes

And Pharaoh’s evil stand.

There was

When pharaoh hardened his heart

Came and slew the first born

Then did depart.

_____________________________________________

Only Jews, they were saved

For they had a warning.

They put blood on their doors

And lived to see morning.

The Angel of Death had “passed over”

Their home,

Giving our holiday Passover

A name of its own.

__________________________________________

The Pharaoh’s son died,

And finally he said,

Moses, take your people

And away they fled.

But the Pharaoh chased after,

And the Jews were then saved

By God’s powers when Moses

His staff he did wave.

And the Red Sea parted,

And the Jews walked through

But drowned all the soldiers

Who followed them too.

______________________________________

It took forty years

In the desert they wandered,

While God watched and silently pondered.

These people he aided

In finding their freedom

Had many a sin

That must be undone

Before as a people

They would find a place

To live as God’s people

And be given his grace.

________________________________________

A set of commandments

To follow was given,

And with Moses as leader

And with God’s help, they were driven

Til a free Jewish nation

Was brought to a land

They could call their own

And live in peace

On its sand.

_________________________________________

Today we are free,

But we must never forget

That once long ago

A tragedy was met.

We were slaves;

We weren’t free;

We suffered and died;

We struggled to live

In peace side by side.

__________________________________________

And so as we close

Our story this day,

We pray for our Jews

In lands far away.

They too may find peace;

They too may find joy

And live as God meant it,

Free men, women, girls, and boys.

_____________________________________________

Optional: The Egyptians needed ten plagues because after each one they were able to come up with excuses and explanations rather than change their behavior. Could we be making the same mistakes? Make up your own list. What are the plagues in your life? What are the plagues in our world today? What behaviors do we need to change to fix them?

haggadah Section: -- Ten Plagues

Source: Ten Plagues and End Questions taken from The Wandering is Over Haggadah