As we rejoice at our deliverance from slavery, we acknowledge that our freedom was hard-earned. We regret that our freedom came at the cost of the Egyptians’ suffering, for we are all human beings made in the image of God. When human beings suffer, even evil human beings, our joy cannot be complete. In ancient times, a full cup of wine was seen as a sign of joy, therefore we decrease our wine for each of the plagues as we recite them.

Dip a finger or a spoon into your wine glass and drop it  onto your plate for each plague.

These are the ten plagues which God brought down on the Egyptians:

(We say the plagues in English and Hebrew together as we drop the wine onto our plate)

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


haggadah Section: -- Ten Plagues