MAGGID -- THE ANSWERS
 There
are many questions. And now we begin to answer.
Our history moves from slavery toward freedom. Our
narration begins with degradation and rises to
dignity. Our service opens with the rule of evil
and advances to the kingdom of God.
Avadim hayinu l'Pharoah
b'mitzrayim
1.
We were slaves in Egypt and the Lord freed us from
Egypt with a mighty hand. Had not the Holy One
liberated our people from Egypt, then we, our
children and our children's children would still
be enslaved.
2. We were not
born free men and women; we were not born
believers in one God. We came from an ancestry of
slaves and idol worshippers. Tonight, we
celebrate, not our genesis -- what we were or what
our ancestors were -- but what we have become. We
are a choosing people, and our choice has come out
of tragic encounters with pagan superstition and
political enslavement. We are a choosing people
and we have discovered the meaning of our choice:
to live as witnesses to one God who calls upon us
to mend the world, to make whole the broken
vessels of this incomplete world.
3. The Torah
recounts the early history of the Jewish people.
It describes how God commanded Abraham to leave
his country and his father's house and to go to
the land of Canaan, where he would become the
founder of "a great nation." Abraham and
his wife, Sarah, obeyed God's command and
journeyed to Canaan. There God blessed them and
their family. Their son was Isaac, who married
Rebecca. Their grandson was Jacob; and it was
Jacob who went down to Egypt.
4. Why did
Jacob journey to Egypt? Because Joseph, his son by
his beloved Rachel, had become prime minister to
Pharaoh, king of Egypt. When a famine broke out in
Canaan, Joseph asked his father and all his family
to join him there. Then Joseph gave his father and
his brethren a possession, as Pharaoh commanded.
And Israel dwelt in the land of Goshen; and they
were fruitful and multiplied exceedingly.
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 IN
DEPTH ON SLAVERY
The most
devastating effect
of slavery,
ultimately, is that
the slave
internalizes the
master's values and
accepts the
condition of slavery
as his proper
status. People who
live in chronic
conditions of
poverty, hunger, and
sickness tend to
show similar
patterns of
acceptance and
passivity. As with
slaves, their
deprivation derives
from their political
and economic status
and then becomes
moral and
psychological
reality. It is this
reality that was
overthrown in the
Exodus. Irving
Greenberg
We got used to
standing in line at
seven o'clock in the
morning, at twelve
noon, and again at
seven o'clock in the
evening. We stood in
a long queue with a
plate in our hand
into which they
ladled a little
warmed-up water with
a salty or a coffee
flavor. Or else they
gave us a few
potatoes. We got
used to sleeping
without a bed, to
saluting every
uniform, not to walk
on the sidewalks,
and then again to
walk on the
sidewalks. We got
used to undeserved
slaps, blows, and
exectutions. We got
accustomed to seeing
piled up coffins
full of corpses, to
seeing the sick
amidst dirt and
filth, and to seeing
the helpless
doctors. We got used
to the fact that
from time to time
one thousand unhappy
souls would come
here, and that from
time to time,
another thousand
unhappy souls would
go away. Peter
Fischel,
age 15, perished at
Auschwitz, 1944
FOR
DISCUSSION:
.. The
Israelites were a
prosperous, powerful
people in Egypt. How
did Pharoah manage
to enslave them so
quickly?
.. The Israelites
were "well
connected." How
did Pharoah persuade
his people to join
in the exploitation,
enslavement, and
ultimately, the
genocide of their
Israelite neighbors?
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5. Joseph
died, and all his brethren, and all that
generation. Now there arose a new Pharaoh over
Egypt, who knew not Joseph. And he said unto his
people, "Behold, the people of the children
of Israel are too many and too mighty for us;
come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they
multiply, and it come to pass, that if there be a
war, they join themselves unto our enemies and
fight against us." Therefore Pharaoh set over
them taskmasters to afflict them with burdens. But
the more the Egyptians afflicted them, the more
the Israelites multiplied and the more they spread
abroad.
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 IN
DEPTH ON
REDEMPTION
A Midrash:
"God heard our
suffering ... and
God knew. (Ex
1:24-5) What did God
know?
When the Israelites
had grown accustomed
to their tasks, when
the Hebrews began to
labor without
complaint, then God
knew it was time
that they were
liberated.
Another Midrash:
This is why and how
God decided to put
an abrupt end to the
Jews' suffering in
Egypt:
In accordance with
his desire to
inflict pain on his
slaves, Pharoah
inssued orders to
seize all male
infants and wall
them alive inside
the pyramids. And
God stood by
silently. The
desperate parents
cursed themselves
for having brought
children into the
world. All the men
and all the women
agreed that they
would not live
together any more.
And God stood by
silently. Then one
day an angel seized
a newly-born infant,
who had already been
tortured, already
been disfigured, and
held him up to God,
who, grief-stricken,
remembered the
promise made to
Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob. That was when
He set into motion
the events which
resulted in the
Exodus.
FOR DISCUSSION:
.. Moses had two
identities -- son of
slaves, and prince
of Egypt. He could
have spent his
lifetime in the
palace. Why did he,
in the Bible's
words, "go out
to his
brothers?" Why
did he choose to
identify with the
slave and not the
master?
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6.
The cruelest decree of all was the Pharaoh's order
that every baby boy born to an Israelite woman be
drowned in the River Nile. One couple, Amram and
Yocheved, would not kill their newborn son.
Instead, they hid him in their hut for three
months. When his cries became too loud, Yocheved
placed him in a basket on the river. Their
daughter Miriam watched to see what would happen.
7. As the
Pharaoh's daughter came to bathe in the river, she
discovered the basket. She felt pity for the
helpless child and decided to keep him as her own.
She named him Moshe (Moses), which means
"drawn from the water." Bravely, Miriam
asked the princess if she needed a nurse to help
her with the baby. The princess said yes, and so
it happened that Yocheved was able to care for her
own son and teach him about his heritage.
8. Moses would
have lived at the Pharaoh's palace forever, but he
could not ignore the suffering of his people. Once
when he saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite
slave, he could not control his anger, and he
killed the Egyptian. Knowing his life would be in
danger once the news of this deed spread, Moses
fled to the land of Midian where he became a
shepherd.
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IN
DEPTH ON MIRACLES
Menachem
Mendel of Kotzk
maintained that
"whoever
believes in miracles
is a fool; and
whoever does not
believe in miracles
is an atheist."
How can the idea
of the miraculous be
meaningful to us
today? We may be
guided by the
biblical Hebrew term
for miracle, nes,
which means
"sign." A
miracle is an event
that signifies
something of sign-ificance,
something that makes
an important
difference in my
life or in the life
of my community. A
miracle is an
intimation of an
experience of
transcending
meaning. The
sign-miracle does
not refer to
something beyond or
contrary to logic or
nature. It refers to
events and
experiences that
take notice of the
extraordinary in the
ordinary, the wonder
in the everyday, the
marvel in the
routine. Signs do
not violate reason
or nature. They are
natural moments in
our lives that we
recognize as
transforming.
Rabbi
Harold Schulweis
FOR DISCUSSION:
.. Pharoah's
stubborn refusal to
free the Israelites,
despite the many
plagues that ravaged
Egypt, is attributed
in the Bible to the
"hardening of
his heart." Why
do nations persist
in evil policies
even when those
policies bring
devistation and
humiliation?
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9. One day, while tending sheep on
Mount Horeb, Moses saw a bush that seemed to be on
fire, but was not burning up. From the bush, he
heard God's voice calling him. God said, "I
am the God of your ancestors. I have seen the
suffering of the Israelites and have heard their
cries. I am ready to take them out of Egypt and
bring them to a new land, a land flowing with milk
and honey."
10. God told
Moses to return to Egypt to bring the message of
freedom to the Israelites and to warn Pharaoh that
God would bring plagues on the Egyptians if he did
not let the slaves go free. Moses was such a
humble man that he could not imagine being God's
messenger. "I will be with you," God
promised Moses. With this assurance and challenge,
Moses set out for Egypt.
11. When Moses
asked Pharaoh to free the Israelites, he refused.
It was only then that God brought ten plagues on
the Egyptians. Each one frightened Pharaoh, and
each time he promised to free the slaves. But when
each plague ended, Pharaoh did not keep his word.
It was only after the last plague, the death of
the firstborn of the Egyptians, that Pharaoh
agreed to let the Israelites go. And so it was
that God brought us forth out of Egypt, with a
mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with
great terror and with signs and with wonders.
12. The
experience of the Exodus was transforming; it made
us a free people forever. No matter how oppressed
we are, deep inside we remain free. We know now
that history has meaning. We know that power
cannot vanquish freedom forever. We know that God
has purposes in human history.
GO DOWN MOSES
Go down, Moses, Way down in Egypt Land
Tell ol' Pharaoh: "Let my people go!"
THE TEN PLAGUES
|
 HOW?
As we recite each of
the Ten Plagues, we
dip out a drop of
wine from our wine
cup. When human
beings suffer, even
evil human beings,
our joy cannot be
complete.
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God brought Ten Plagues upon
the Egyptians, and they were:
Blood Dam
Frogs Tzefardeah
Lice Kinim
Beasts Arov
Blight Dver
Boils Sh'him
Hail Barad
Locusts Arbeh
Darkness Hoshekh
Death of the Firstborn Macat
B'khorot
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IN
DEPTH
Torah:
"When
Israel
saw
the
wondrous
power
which
the
Lord
had
wielded
against
the
Egyptians,
the
people
feared
the
Lord;
they
had
faith
in
the
Lord
and
His
servant
Moses.
Then
Moses
and
the
Israelites
sang
this
song
to
the
Lord.
They
sang:
'I
will
sing
to
the
Lord
for
He
has
triumphed
gloriously.'"
Midrash:
At
that
moment,
the
angels
of
heaven
wanted
to
sing
praises
to
God.
But
God
silenced
them,
saying:
"My
children
are
drowning
in
the
sea
and
you
want
to
sing
before
me?!"
Moses
confronts
Pharoah.
The
one
represents
the
power
of
the
moral,
the
other,
a
morality
of
power.
Who
will
prevail?
Can
raw
power
ex-tinguish
the
human
spirit?
Can
the
police
state
control
the
human
imagination?
The
victory
of
God
over
Pharoah
is
the
foundation
of
the
ultimate
Jewish
faith
in
the
future.
At
the
Red
Sea,
history
became
transparent
--
its
pattern
and
meaning
became
visible. |
 Growing up, this was a favorite
Seder song....
DA'YENU - A
SONG OF GRATITUDE
We have so many reasons to be
grateful to God tonight
-- for the blessings of freedom and dignity, friendship
and family, prosperity and health. Any one of these
"Da'yenu" -- would have been enough!
 How many are
the gifts that God has granted us!
Had God taken us out of Egypt without
bringing judgments against them...Da'yenu!
Had God brought judgments against them
without carrying us across the Sea...Da'yenu!
Had God carried us across the Sea without
caring for us for forty years...Da'yenu!
Had God cared for us for forty years
without giving us the Sabbath...Da'yenu!
Had God given us the Sabbath without the
gift of Torah on Mount Sinai...Da'yenu!
Had God given us the Torah without
bringing us into the land of Israel...Da'yenu!
How many are the gifts that God has granted us!
Ee'lu hotzee,
hotzee'anu, hotzee'anu me'mitzraim, da'yenu
IN EVERY GENERATION
B'chol dor
v'dor chayav adam lirot et atzmo ki'eelu hu yatzah
m'mitzrayim
In each generation every individual
should feel as though he or she had actually been
redeemed from Egypt. As the Torah teaches: You
shall tell your children on that day, saying: 'It
is because of what the Lord did for me when I went
free out of Egypt. (Exodus 13:8) For the Holy One
redeemed not only our ancestors; God redeemed us
with them, as it says: "God brought us out of
there so that God might bring us to the land
promised to our ancestors." (Deuteronomy
6:23)
THE LESSONS OF SLAVERY AND
FREEDOM 
The Exodus gave us our freedom. It
also taught us our ethics, our theology, our
philosophy of life. We know the heart of the
stranger, the plight of the weak, the pain of the
oppressed, the despair of the homeless, for we
were strangers in the land of Egypt.
I am the LORD your God who brought
you out of the land of Egypt, the house of
bondage. You shall have no other gods besides Me.
(Exodus 20)
You shall not wrong a stranger or
oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of
Egypt. You shall not ill-treat any widow or
orphan. (Exodus 22:20)
When you see the animal of your
enemy lying under its burden and would refrain
from raising it, you must nevertheless raise it
with him. You shall not subvert the rights of your
needy in their disputes. ... You shall not oppress
a stranger for you know the feelings of the
stranger having yourselves been strangers in the
land of Egypt. (Exodus 23: 5)
When a stranger resides with you in
your land, you shall not wrong him. The stranger
who resides with you shall be to you as one of
your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for
you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I the
Lord am your God. (Leviticus 19:33)
If your kinsman, becomes poor, and
his means fail, then you shall uphold him, let him
live by your side: do not exact from him advance
or accrued interest, but fear your God. Let him
live by your side as your kinsman. Do not lend him
money at advance interest or give him your food at
accrued interest. I the Lord am your God, who
brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you
the land of Canaan, to be your God. (Leviticus
25:35)
Observe the Sabbath day and keep it
holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six
days you shall labor and do all your work, but the
seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; you
shall not do any work -- you, your son or your
daughter, your male or female servant, your ox or
your ass, or any of your cattle, or the stranger
in your settlements so that your male and female
servant may rest as you do. Remember that you were
a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God
freed you from there with a mighty hand and an
outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God has
commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
(Deuteronomy 5:12-15)
You shall not turn over to his
master a slave who seeks refuge with you from his
master. He shall live with you in any place he may
choose among the settlements in your midst,
wherever he pleases; you must not ill-treat him.
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