Long, long ago the people worshiped many gods, in the form of statues and idols. One man, Abraham, came to believe that there was only one God, all-powerful, and so he left his home to begin a new life and people in the land of Canaan, which would later come to be known by the name his grandson, Jacob, adopted: Israel. God told Abraham that his descendants would come to sojourn in a country that would enslave and afflict them, and that they would suffer there for four hundred years. But God promised to judge the nation that they serve and deliver the people into freedom and wealth.

Cover the matzah and raise the cup of wine and say:

וְהִיא שֶׁעָמְדָה לַאֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ וְלָֽנוּ V'hi she-amda l'avoteinu v'lanu

This promise has sustained our ancestors and us.

For not only one enemy has risen against us to annihilate us, but in every generation there are those who rise against us. But God saves us from their hand!

Put the glass of wine down and uncover the matzah

When Jacob and his people went to Egypt as God had said, they were a group of only seventy, driven there by a lack of food for their flocks. They stayed and grew in number, as numerous as the stars of heaven, and the Egyptians became worried. They feared that these people would grow even more, and side with the enemies of Egypt if a war happened. Because they feared, they made the Israelites suffer, forcing them to build and perform back-breaking labor for the Pharaoh. Even this was not enough, as the Pharaoh decreed the separation of families and death on newborn babies: "Every boy that is born you shall throw into the river, and every girl keep alive." We cried out to the Lord, God of our Ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our suffering, our labor, and our oppression. God brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and outstretched arm, with great awe, miraculous signs and wonders. God came to bring us out, not by angel or messenger, but by God's own intervention.


haggadah Section: -- Exodus Story
Source: Original writing; with reference to the Publix Hagaddah and the Wandering is Over Hagaddah