The Story of Passover | Passover haggadah by Neil Rader

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On Passover, we celebrate how G‑d took the Jewish People (Israelites) out of Egypt, where they had been enslaved by Pharaoh. With Moses as His representative, G‑d brought 10 plagues upon the Egyptians until they agreed to send the Jews from their land.

The Passover story is from the Biblical book of Exodus, which discusses the ancient Hebrews’ enslavement in Egypt and how they were freed. It’s the central story of the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) and reflects some of the biggest themes in Jewish history: foreign oppression and the longing for freedom; the sense that Jews are a protected and resilient people who will survive any adversity; and the contrast between living outside of Israel (in what’s called the “diaspora”) and living in the Jewish homeland. Those themes, and their contemporary resonance, are a big part of the Passover holiday today.

The Passover story begins when the Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, starts worrying that the Jews living in Egypt will outnumber his own people. His response: forcing them into slavery, and decreeing that every son born to the Hebrews should be drowned in the Nile. It’s a part of the story that, for Jews, has come to symbolize anti-Semitic persecution more broadly and the historical struggle to endure it. One baby, named Moses (more on him here), is saved and adopted by Pharaoh’s own daughter.

When Moses grows up, he’s told by God to command Pharaoh to let the Jews go. Pharaoh says no, and God sets out to convince him by way of the Ten Plagues. (See here.) As the story goes, during the tenth and final plague, God passes through the land of Egypt and strikes down the firstborn of every household. But the Jews have been told to mark their doors with the blood of a lamb they’ve sacrificed — the Passover offering — and so God “passes over” their homes. Jews give thanks for being “passed over” and protected from the plagues: it’s a reminder that even when Jews are oppressed, the Bible teaches that they are a chosen people and will survive.

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Pharaoh’s son is killed during this final plague, and as a result, Pharaoh lets the Jews go free — before changing his mind, as Pharaohs do. The ensuing chase ends up with Moses being trapped in front of the Red Sea, before it’s parted by God for the Jews to cross — the act of divine intervention that finally leads them to freedom, and (after forty years in the desert) to the land of Israel.

Our story starts in ancient times, with Abraham, the first person to have the idea that maybe all those little statues his contemporaries worshiped as gods were just statues. 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.

God had made a promise to Abraham that his family would become a great nation, but this promise came with a frightening 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."

Raise the glass of wine and say:

וְהִיא שֶׁעָמְדָה לַאֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ וְלָֽנוּ

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.

The glass of wine is put down.

In the years our ancestors lived in Egypt, our numbers grew, and soon the family of Jacob became the People of Israel. Pharaoh and the leaders of Egypt grew alarmed by this great nation growing within their borders, so they enslaved us. We were forced to perform hard labor, perhaps even building pyramids. The Egyptians feared that even as slaves, the Israelites might grow strong and rebel. So Pharaoh decreed that Israelite baby boys should be drowned, to prevent the Israelites from overthrowing those who had enslaved them.

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.

haggadah Section: -- Exodus Story