With your finger or spoon, lessen your cup of wine with each of the plagues mentioned, but do not drink

Blood as we read “All the waters that were in the river were turned to blood”

Frogs as we read “And the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt”

Lice as we read “All the dust of the land became lice throughout all of Egypt”

Swarms as we read “There came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt.”

Pestilence as we read “All the cattle of Egypt died.”

Boils as we read “And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.”

Hail as we read “And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and God sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and God rained hail upon the land of Egypt.”

Locusts as we read “And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and God brought an East wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the East wind brought the locusts.”

Darnkness as we read “And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.”

The death of the Egyptian first-born as we read “And it came to pass, that at midnight God smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.

It is interesting to note that the last thing God does against Pharaoh is the first thing that Pharaoh did to the Israelites, a lesson that we should not be vengeful and always have measured justice. “An eye for an eye” does not mean we should seek equal retribution, but that when pursuing justice, we must be fair and equitable. Even as we recount the Passover story, the Torah instructs us to “not abhor the Egyptian.”

At this time, we are reminded to be aware of the plagues that afflict us in the world about us — and in the relationships we share with others. God sent ten plagues but he also gave us ten commandments to live by. If we abide by these commandments, we can remove many of the plagues from our lives and from our hearts.

 


haggadah Section: -- Ten Plagues
Source: Telling the Story: A Passover Haggadah Explained