Telling the Story | Passover haggadah by Lianna Mendelson

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Narrator: Four hundred years before the Exodus, a Hebrew named Joseph lived in the land of Egypt. Originally from Canaan, Joseph had been sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. His extraordinary ability to interpret dreams eventually won his freedom and rise to prominence in Egypt.

Narrator: When a severe famine ravaged the area, Joseph reconciled with his brothers and brought his extended family from Canaan, settling in Goshen, one of Egypt’s most fertile regions. As Joseph’s brilliant food rationing strategies spared Egypt the worst of the famine, he was revered by the Egyptians.

Narrator: This love extended to his tribe – the Hebrews, or Israelites. But hundreds of years later, a Pharaoh came to power who didn’t know of Joseph and his legacy. And this Pharaoh feared the Israelite’s numbers.

Pharaoh: Our land teems with Israelites! Should war break out, they could easily side with our enemy. We must keep them from multiplying!

Narrator: So Pharaoh assigned two Hebrew midwives – Shifrah and Puah - with the terrible task of killing all the Hebrew boy babies at birth. But the midwives thwarted Pharaoh’s order.

Narrator: So Pharaoh set taskmasters over the Israelites, hoping to deplete their vigor with hard labor. Still the Hebrew population swelled. Furious, Pharaoh ordered his soldiers to find every first born Hebrew boy and cast him into the Nile.

Narrator: Now there was a Hebrew mother named Yocheved. Often she’d seen Pharaoh’s daughter and her maid servants bathe is a pool sheltered by reeds. So Yocheved, with her daughter Miriam, set to work, daubing a bulrush basket with pitch and clay. With the watertight basket, they set off for the pool. Once there, they placed the little ark among the reeds with Yocheved’s baby son inside.

Narrator: Unable to watch her child be claimed by another, Yocheved left the pool. But Miriam stayed behind, wanting to know her baby brother’s fate. Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came to the river. When she spotted the basket, she commanded her servant to draw it from the water. Looking down at the little face, her heart filled with compassion for what she quickly realized was a Hebrew infant, most likely hidden by a desperate mother. She turned to one of her servants:

Princess: My baby needs a wet nurse. Find one!

Narrator: Miriam stepped out from hiding.

Miriam: I know a woman who can nurse your baby.

Princess: Well, go then and fetch her!

Narrator: Miriam went to Yocheved and told her what happened. And Yocheved suckled the baby, whom the Princess named “Moses” – a common Egyptian name, but one that in Hebrew means “drawn from the water”.

Narrator: Moses grew up with Pharaoh’s son. They played together, rode horses together, and were like brothers. But Moses often felt a strange longing – especially when he watched the Hebrews toiling under the scorching sun, forced to build the treasure cities of Ramses and Pitom. The feeling deepened until one day when, as a whip whistled over the back of an elderly Hebrew, it erupted:

Moses: Stop! You must stop!

Narrator: When the slave driver ignored Moses’ command, Moses killed him and hid the body in the sand. But one of Pharaoh’s men witnessed the killing. When he learned of it, Pharaoh shouted:

Pharaoh: Find Moses! He must be punished!

Narrator: But Moses had already escaped. He was now sojourning in the desert, seeking a home far from the tyranny and temples of Egypt. When he reached a place called Midian, he married a young woman named Zipporah – daughter of Jethro, a priest and shepherd. And Zipporah bore him two sons and Moses dwelt with his family in Midian for many years.

Narrator: One day, while tending Jethro’s flock, Moses found himself at the foot of Mount Horeb, also known as Sinai. A bush was shimmering with fire, though its leaves and branches were not consumed. Suddenly an otherworldly voice boomed:

God: Moses, come no closer and remove your sandals – you stand on holy ground.

Moses: Who are you?

God: I am the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As you’ve been living your simple shepherd’s life, I’ve watched my people suffering in Egypt. Unable to bear their bitter bondage, they have been crying out to me. So you must go, Moses, down to Egypt – and bring them to this mountain. After this, you will lead them to Canaan – the large and lovely land I promised your ancestors.

Moses: No one will believe I am your messenger. My tongue is slow and my speech is not eloquent. My words will rally no one.

God: Fear not Moses. What is in your hand?

Moses: A shepherd’s rod.

God: Cast it on the ground.

Narrator: Moses cast his rod down. Instantly it turned into a serpent. God then told him to grasp the serpent by the tail. At his touch, the snake turned back into a rod.

God: Now, Moses, slip your hand into your cloak and remove it.

Narrator: Moses obeyed. When he withdrew his hand, he gasped. His healthy flesh was now white and flaky as snow. At God’s command, Moses slipped his hand back inside his cloak. When he removed it again, his scaly flesh had been returned to health.

God: If the people do not believe these signs and wonders, there will be others. And do not fear your slow speech. Your brother Aaron will serve as your spokesperson.

Narrator: So Moses and his family set off for Egypt. Halfway there, he met Aaron. When the two brothers reached Egypt, they arranged for a meeting with Pharaoh. Speaking on behalf of Moses, Aaron said:

Aaron: Our God commands you to release his people so they can honor him with a three day feast in the wilderness.

Pharaoh: Who is this God of yours? And why should I let my slaves worship him? They worship me alone? What can your God do that I cannot do myself?

Narrator: Moses threw down his rod and it turned into a serpent. But when Moses grasped the snake, it stiffened back into a rod.

Pharaoh: Nothing but a cheap trick. My magicians can do the same.

Narrator: Pharaoh summoned his magicians and commanded them to throw down their rods. They changed into small snakes. In the next moment, the larger snake of Moses swallowed the magicians’ serpents.

WENDY LEADS ALL CHILDREN IN THE TEN PLAGUES

Narrator: Now, back to our story. Pharaoh was unimpressed and refused to let the Hebrews go. Instead he increased their burdens, withholding the straw they needed to make bricks. God then instructed Aaron to stretch his shepherd’s staff over the streams, rivers, and ponds of Egypt.

Narrator: When Aaron did so, the water turned to blood – even water in stone and wooden vessels turned to blood. Miraculously the water in the slave province of Goshen remained pure. Still Pharaoh refused to let the Hebrews go. God then said to Aaron:

God: Stretch your staff once more over Egypt’s rivers, canals, and ponds!

Narrator: As Aaron did so, thousands of frogs leaped up and hopped through Egypt, entering the dwellings of royalty and commoners alike. They wiggled between the bedding, they sprang into cooking pots, and they filled up the urns, temple bowls, and kneading troughs. The only place free of frogs was Goshen, home of the Hebrew slaves.

Narrator: When the Egyptian people became ill, Pharaoh had no choice but to summon Moses and Aaron back to his court.

Pharaoh: If your God removes these frogs, I will allow your people to make their three day feast in the wilderness.

Narrator: So God caused the frogs to die. The Egyptians heaped them into enormous piles and set them ablaze. A terrible stench hovered over the land. But the moment the foul odor died, Pharaoh withdrew his offer.

God: Moses, say to Aaron: Stretch out your rod and strike the dust of the land!

Narrator: Aaron did as commanded and instantly the dust turned to lice. And the lice burrowed into the hair of humans and the fur of beasts. The Egyptian magicians attempted the same, but their powers were too weak. Afraid, the magicians pleased with Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go.

Narrator: When Pharaoh dismissed their pleas, God unleashed clouds of winged pestilence. And the buzzing clouds of gnats and midges and flies covered Egypt, causing people to wail in misery. Only the Hebrews were spared. Pharaoh summoned Moses.

Pharaoh: Tell your God to remove this scourge! If God does, I will release your people.

Narrator: Again Pharaoh reneged on his promise. And God had no choice but to send more plagues. First, wild beasts ravaged the land, and then disease killed all of Egypt’s cattle.

Narrator: After that boils bubbled up on the bodies of the Egyptians, and then hail the size of fists battered their fruit trees, breaking their boughs; only the trees of Goshen were spared. And when the hail hit the ground, it burst into flame, and fire ran in rivulets through the city streets – except for in the streets of Goshen.

Narrator: Yet Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn; he refused to let the Hebrews go. So God blackened the sky with locusts. And the ravenous insects devoured every leaf and growing plant – other than those in Goshen. Facing mass starvation, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron.

Pharaoh: If your God crushes these locusts, I will let your people go!

Narrator: Moses implored God to remove the locusts. God obliged, sending a stiff wind that swept all the locusts into the sea. As before, Pharaoh failed to honor his promise.

Narrator: At God’s command, Moses and Aaron stretched their hands to the heavens, causing a dense fog to roll across Egypt. The darkness was so thick it could be felt on the skin; the only gleam of light was in the slave quarters of Goshen. Terrified, Pharaoh called out to Moses and Aaron:

Pharaoh: Remove this suffocating darkness! If you do, you can take your people out of Egypt, though you must leave all your flocks behind!

Narrator: But Moses refused to leave without the Hebrew’s livestock.

Pharaoh: Then you and your accursed people will never leave! Now go away from me! I cannot bear the sight of your face!

Narrator: Moses returned to God who revealed to him the awful details of the tenth and final plague.

God: In ten days’ time, every firstborn male in Egypt will die at midnight. Not one will escape – neither the firstborn of Pharaoh nor the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon. And a loud cry will resound throughout Egypt – a cry that has never been heard or will ever be heard again.

But I will spare your children, Moses, and the children of your people. Tell the Israelites to slaughter an unblemished lamb. Then, with brushes of hyssop, instruct them to daub the lamb’s blood on their door posts and lintels. Seeing these markings, the Angel of Death will pass over them.

Ever afterward, this day shall be celebrated as a memorial. And this memorial shall be called Passover, and each generation shall tell the next how their ancestors were delivered from bondage in Egypt. And you shall keep it as a feast to your God.

Narrator: Everything happened as God foretold. At midnight, the cries of mothers and fathers resounded throughout the towns and cities of Egypt. His own son destroyed, his will crushed, Pharaoh cried out to Moses:

Pharaoh: Be gone Moses! And take your wretched people with you. And take the cattle and sheep you’ve so unjustly demanded. Go from here and never return!

Narrator: Fearful that Pharaoh would once again change his mind, the Israelites hastily prepared to leave, not even waiting for the bread in their kneading troughs to rise. And the Hebrews departed – six hundred thousand strong. And they journeyed far from the borders of Egypt toward Canaan – the promised land of milk and honey. By day, they were guided by a whirling pillar of cloud; by night a brilliant column of fire.

But Pharaoh’s heart hardened again as did the hearts of his courtiers.

Courtier: Why have you done this? Why have you released our slaves?

Courtier: How will we till our land?

Courtier: How will we feed our people?

Courtier: We are ruined!

Narrator: Aware of the folly he’d committed, Pharaoh commanded his generals:

Pharaoh: Bring them back – every single one!

Narrator: The Egyptian troops sped after the fleeing Hebrews. Soon the Israelites, camped on the shores of the seas, could hear the rumble of the approaching chariot wheels. They cried to Moses:

Israelite: We are trapped! We will be killed!

Israelite: Why have you taken us from Egypt, just to die in the wilderness? Better to have remained slaves in Egypt!

Israelite: You have not led us to freedom – you’ve led us to death!

Moses: Fear not. Stand still and see what God shall do for you.

Narrator: Moses them stretched out his rod, causing an easterly wind to blow. With Egypt’s militia bearing down fast, the wind stirred up the water, heaping it into two growing walls with a wide, dry path running in between. The Israelites fled across the divided sea.

The Egyptian army soon charged. But Moses did not panic. It was only when his people had reached the other side that he stretched his rod again, making the walls of water to roll back into place. For a few minutes, the Egyptian troops floundered in the waves. But quickly they were covered and their cries were heard no more.

Narrator: Moses’ sister, Miriam, rushed to the shore. As her tambourines jingled, she joyously sang:

Miriam: Who is like you, O God, among the gods. You triumphed gloriously; throwing horse and rider into the sea.

Narrator: And thus Israel was out of Egypt. And all day and all night the Israelites celebrated, dancing, and singing, not thinking about the dangers that lay ahead.

haggadah Section: -- Exodus Story

Source: Bronfman Haggadah