We begin our story with the first stirrings of freedom.  How was the desire for freedom first aroused?  By the midwives, Shifrah and Puah, who resisted Pharaoh's decree to drown every Israelite boy in the Nile.  By Miriam, who watched over her brother Moses to ensure his safety.  In the face of death, they advocated life.

In the birth waters and in the Nile, these extraordinary women saw life and liberation.  Like the coming of spring, they believed in the inevitability of freedom and began the process of awakening their people.  The waters of freedom open and close our story, taking us from the Nile to the Sea of Reeds.

Wash your hands.  Since this washing is only symbolic, no blessing is recited.


haggadah Section: Urchatz
Source: A Night of Questions: A Passover Haggadah (ISBN-10: 0935457496)