I. Not letting my people go is unjust. 
A. Slavery is bad.
* Joseph, the one who had the multi-colored coat, was sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt, but somehow managed to save everyone from a famine.
* His very apologetic brothers and their families joined him in Egypt, and the group grew over the generations into the Israelite people. 
* A later pharaoh “forgot Joseph” and enslaved the Israelites to build his palaces.
* Slavery is unjustified.
    * It removes a person’s autonomy.
    * To justify this complete removal of autonomy, the state must meet a really high burden - something Egypt has not done given that the Israelites did nothing except save everyone’s lives.
C. Genocide is also bad.
* Afraid the Israelites would rebel, the Pharaoh decreed that every newborn male Israelite should be killed.
* At first he tried to get some midwives to secretly do this, but after they disobeyed him he just ordered his soldiers to literally throw the babies into the river. 
* Mass murder is pretty self-evidently bad.
D. To fulfill its obligations as a state, Egypt must let the Israelites go.
II. Letting the Israelites go is pragmatically good. 
A. The Israelites have God as an ally.
*  God made a covenant with Abraham and Sarah, the Israelites’ ancestors, promising that he would protect their descendants.
* Having opted into this role, God thus has an obligation to follow through on his promise.
B. God is very powerful. 
*  God literally appeared to Moses as a fucking burning bush.
* God can destroy Egypt.
* This would not be good. 
C. The Egyptians also just don’t really seem like they want the Israelites around anymore. 
* They’re literally decimating the population by killing all the baby boys. 
* Why not just let them go?? 
* Spite is not a utility maximizing end. 
 


haggadah Section: -- Exodus Story