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. Jacob's wife Rachel would give birth to Joseph who would rule Egypt in a just way.

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.

Joseph, Jacob's son, would rule Egypt in a just way that would make the farmer's crops fruitful and the Egyptians were happy. Later there came a new Pharoh who did not know of the wonders that Joseph had brought to the kingdom. He enslaved the Israelites. 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. 

One baby was saved and sent down the river in hopes that someone would find him and raise him as their own. The baby went down the river and was found by Pharoh's daughter. She named him Moses, which means drawn from the water. Moses would one day lead the Israelites out of Egypt and to Mt. Sinai. However, until that day we would remain in great pain.

For every generation, we face many trials. Just like the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, we are enslaved through our pain and trials. 

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 an angel or messenger, but through God’s own intervention. 


haggadah Section: -- Exodus Story