As we rejoice in our deliverance from slavery, we acknowledge that our freedom was hard-earned. We regret that our freedom came at the cost of Egyptian's suffering, for we are all human beings. We pour out a drop of wine for each of the plagues as we recite them. Dip a finger or a spoon in your wine glass and put it on your plate for each plague. These are the 10 plagues which God brought down on the Egyptians:

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

The story of each of the ten plagues contains a reminder and a warning to all nations. When they oppress any of their people, when they show no concern for human beings, when they do not care about human suffering, they are preparing for destruction. A nation which wants to grow and prosper must grant "liberty and justice for all". The Torah commands "Proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants". Let us consider the modern plagues that have caused our suffering: hunger, war, tyranny, greed, bigotry, injustice, poverty, ignorance, pollution, and indifference to suffering.


haggadah Section: -- Ten Plagues