In response, God unleashed a series of 10 terrible plagues on the people of Egypt.

[As each plague is read out,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.]

Blood | dam |דָּם

Frogs | tzfardeiya |צְפַרְדֵּֽעַ

Lice | kinim |כִּנִּים

Beasts | arov |עָרוֹב

Cattle disease | dever |דֶּֽבֶר

Boils | sh’chin |שְׁחִין

Hail | barad |בָּרָד

Locusts | arbeh |אַרְבֶּה

Darkness | choshech |חֹֽשֶׁךְ

Death of the Firstborn | makat b’chorot |מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת

Still, Pharaoh refused to free the Israelites - until the last plague. In order to force the Pharaoh to do God's bidding, God told Moses to tell Pharaoh that God intended to kill the first-born of both human and beast. To protect themselves, the Israelites were told to mark their houses with lamb's blood so that God could identify and "pass over" their homes. The holiday's name -- Pesach, generally meaning "passing over" or "protection" in Hebrew, is derived from the instructions given to Moses by God. The Pharaoh, however, was unconvinced and refused to free the slaves.

Then the last plague hit. Cries of sorrow rang out throughout Egypt, and finally, Pharaoh agreed to let the Hebrews go.

When the Pharaoh finally agreed to freedom, the Israelites left their homes so quickly that there wasn't even time to bake their breads. So they packed the raw dough to take with them on their journey. As they fled through the desert they would quickly bake the dough in the hot sun into hard crackers called matzot. Today, to commemorate this event, Jews eat matzah in place of bread for the entire eight days of Passover.

Though the Israelites were now free, their liberation was incomplete. The Pharaoh's army chased them through the desert towards the Red Sea. When the Jews reached the sea they were trapped, since the sea blocked their escape.

It was then that a miracle occurred. The waves of the Red Sea parted and the Israelites were able to cross to the other side. As soon as they all reached the other side the sea closed trapping the Pharaoh's army as the waves closed upon them. Then, as the Israelites watched the waters of the Red Sea sweep away the Pharaoh's army, they realized they were finally free.


haggadah Section: Maggid - Beginning