Plagues

Haggadah Section: -- Ten Plagues

One day when Moses was taking care of his sheep, he saw a burning bush and heard a voive coming from the bush. It was the mighty voice of God. God told Moses to go back to Egypt and free the Jewish Slaves from cruel Pharaoh.

So Moses listened to God an he returned to Egypt and demanded that pharaoh release the Hebrews from bondage. Pharaoh refused! As a result God sends ten plagues upon Egypt. Pharaoh promised to free the Jewish slaves, but then he refused again when the plagues subsided.

1. Blood - The waters of Egypt are turned to blood. All the fish die and water becomes unusable.

2. Frogs - Hordes of frogs swarm the land of Egypt.

3. Lice - Masses of gnats or lice invade Egyptian homes and plague the Egyptian people.

4. Wild Animals - Wild animals invade Egyptian homes and lands, causing destruction and wrecking havoc.

5. Blight - Egyptian livestock is struck down with disease.

6. Boils - The Egyptian people are plagued by painful boils that cover their bodies.

7. Hail - Severe weather destroys Egyptian crops and beats down upon them.

8. Locusts - Locusts swarm Egypt and eat any remaining crops and food.

9. Darkness - Darkness covers the land of Egypt for three days.

10. Death of the Firstborn - The firstborn of every Egyptian family is killed. Even the firstborn of Egyptian animals die.

The tenth plague is where the Jewish holiday of Passover derives its name, because while the Angel of Death visited Egypt it "passed over" Hebrew homes, which had been marked with lambs blood on the doorposts.

The Jewish slaves were not affected by any of the plagues. It was the last, and the most fierce plague, the slaying of the first born, that finally made the Pharoah surrender, and allow the Jewish people to leave Egypt.

However, the Egyptians soon chased after the Jewish slaves on horseback and nearly caught up with them when the Jews were stranded at the Red Sea. At that point, Moses was commanded by God to lift up his staff, and the waters parted. The slaves safely passed through the sea, and the pursuing Egyptian army was drowned. The Jewish people were free!!!!!

Moses told the Jewish people to celebrate Pesach every year to remember that once they were slaves in Egypt, and now they are free. That is why we celebrate Pesach today.

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.A full cup is the symbol of complete joy. Though we celebrate the triumph of our sacred cause, our happiness cannot be complete so long as others had to be sacrificed for its sake. We shall, therefore, diminish the wine in our cups as we recall the plagues visited upon the Egyptians, to give expression to our sorrow over the losses which each plague exacted.

We now recite the list of the ten ancient plagues, pouring off wine as each one is mentioned.Each additional drop of wine we now pour out of our cups is hope and prayer that people will cast out the plagues that today threaten everyone everywhere they are found, beginning in our own heartsGod brought Ten Plagues upon the Egyptians, and they were:

Blood - Dam ... Frogs - Tzefardeah ... Lice  - Kinim ... Beasts - Arov ... Blight - Dver ... Boils - Sh'himHail - Barad ... Locusts  - Arbeh . .. Darkness - Hoshekh ... Death of the Firstborn - Macat B'khorot.

Source:  
Various

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