Moses asked the Pharaoh to free the Israelites, but the Pharaoh refused because he was a schmuck. So Moses brought upon ten plagues that got scarier and scarier. Finally, the Pharaoh let Moses take his people away from Egypt after the immense sufferring. 

We fill our cups with a meh wine that we do not mind spilling to remember how happy we were when this happened. But we are not totally happy, because we are Jewish, and thus we can never be truly happy except when the Dodgers win the World Series.

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. Instead, the story teaches us that sufferring in our own lives is necessary in order to grow. We 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

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The Egyptians needed ten plagues because after each one they were able to come up with excuses rather than change bad behavior. Reflect on the plagues in your life? What are the plagues in our world today? What behaviors do we need to change to fix them?


haggadah Section: -- Ten Plagues