In the Maggid section, our core desire is to experience and understand what it meant to go from slavery to freedom. Many communities mixed readings with theater to recreate the sense of adventure and urgency. In Romania, when the piece of the Haggadah that begins “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt” (In Hebrew “Avadim Hayinu”) is read, a pillowcase filled with heavy objects is taken, and carried it on your back, around the table. First an older person might trudge around the table with his or her back bent under the load, and then each child could take a turn. Adults will also say “difficult to be a slave” over and over as the children experienced the weight of slavery.


haggadah Section: -- Exodus Story