Leader reads:

We celebrate the Passover to remember an ancient story of slavery, plague, and, eventually, liberation. Will someone begin the story of Passover?

A new person reads:

Our story starts in ancient times with Abraham, who followed God’s command and became the very first believer. The idea of one God, invisible and all-powerful, inspired him to leave his family and begin a new people in Canaan, the land that would one day bear his grandson Jacob’s adopted name, Israel. Will someone else continue the story?

A new person reads:

God made a promise to Abraham that his family would become a great nation, but this promise came with a vision of the troubles along the way: “Your descendants will dwell for a time in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and afflicted for four hundred years; however, I will punish the nation that enslaved them, and afterwards they shall leave with great wealth.” 

Everyone raises their glass

The same person says: 

וְהִיא שֶׁעָמְדָה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְלָנוּ

V’hi she-amda l’avoteinu v’lanu. 

This promise has sustained our ancestors and us. 

For not only one enemy has risen against us to annihilate us, but in every generation, there are those who rise against us. But God saves us from those who seek to harm us.  Will someone else continue the story?

A new person reads:

In the years our ancestors lived in Egypt, our numbers multiplied, and soon the family of Jacob became the People of Israel. Pharaoh and his advisers became alarmed by this great nation flourishing within their borders, so they enslaved us. We were forced to perform hard labor, perhaps even build pyramids. Our oppressors feared that even as slaves, the Israelites might grow strong and overthrow them, so Pharaoh decreed that Israelite baby boys should be drowned in the Nile. Will someone else continue the story?

A new person reads:

But God heard the cries of the Israelites. And God brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and outstretched arm, with great awe, miraculous signs and wonders. God brought us out not by angel or messenger, but through God’s own intervention. Will someone else continue the story?

A new person reads:

As we rejoice at the Israelites’ deliverance from slavery, we acknowledge this freedom was hardearned. We regret that freedom came at the cost of others’ suffering, for we are all made in the image of God. Therefore, we take away just a little bit of our joy of wine by placing a drop of it on our plates as we recite each of the Ten Plagues. Will someone else please lead us in reading the ten plagues?

Source adapted from Jewish Boston Haggadah


haggadah Section: -- Exodus Story