Yes We Can

Haggadah Section: -- Exodus Story

 “We cried out to Adonai the God of our fathers, God heard our voice, he saw our persecution our toil and our oppression,” (DEUT 16:7)

The Hassidic Rebbe of Gur says, “the sigh, the groan, the crying out of the children of Israel from slavery was the beginning of redemption…”

We start by simply recognizing that the status quo is not acceptable.

Moses is the central figure of the Exodus story and rightly so, but a movement of one person is nothing.  Many of us think, I cannot be Mohatma Ghandi, or Nelson Mandela, or Martin Luther King Jr; what can I add? Does my little but matter?

The Exodus story answers us:

The midwives Shifra and Puah, ordered to kill Israelite baby boys when they were born, helped the mothers, then lied to Pharoah, saying that the labors had been too fast for them to arrive. This is the first recorded act of nonviolent civil disobedience.

Miriam endured that one baby survived the river that was his death sentence as a baby by making him a basket. For every unjust law there will be a loophole or response that saves lives

Moses had a speech impediment and was sure he would be laughed out of Pharoah’s court, so his brother Aaron joined him to be his voice. Where one is weak, another can be strong, and knit together we have no weaknesses.

Hundreds or thousands of unnamed Israelites slaughtered lambs and painted doors, packed in silence and baked in haste. A march of one is no march.

Today we remember our own escape from Egypt. We remember the crush around us and the smells of fear and sweat with the sun baking the bread on our heads. We remember how our legs gave out when finally we could rest on the other side of the Red Sea, and the person next to us reached down to pull us up. We remember shouting and singing our joy when the last shackles of our own fears fell away.

So tonight and the and for the next year we have an answer when the voice of inertia says, “Well, I can’t do much at all. I might as well finish this game.”  We say, I am not one person, I am a people and the little I can do builds to the world-shaking work we can create .

Inspired to create
your own Haggadah?

Make your own Haggadah and share with other Seder lovers around the world

Have an idea
for a clip?

People like you bring their creativity to Haggadot.com when they share their ideas in a clip

Support Us
with your donation

Help us build moments of meaning and connection through
home-based Jewish rituals.

OUR TOP CONTRIBUTORS

contributor image
Esther Kustanowitz
4 Haggadahs38 Clips
contributor image
JQ International
1 Haggadah40 Clips
contributor image
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
5 Haggadahs109 Clips
contributor image
18Doors
1 Haggadah13 Clips
contributor image
JewishBoston
1 Haggadah78 Clips
contributor image
Truah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
1 Haggadah36 Clips
contributor image
American Jewish World Service
1 Haggadah44 Clips
contributor image
JewBelong
3 Haggadahs57 Clips
contributor image
Repair the World
12 Clips
contributor image
HIAS
5 Haggadahs48 Clips
contributor image
Be'chol Lashon
2 Haggadahs27 Clips
contributor image
PJ Library
1 Haggadah17 Clips
contributor image
Jewish World Watch
3 Haggadahs42 Clips
contributor image
Secular Synagogue
10 Clips
contributor image
SVIVAH
1 Haggadah9 Clips
contributor image
The Blue Dove Foundation
12 Clips
contributor image
ReformJudaism.org
24 Clips
contributor image
Jewish Emergent Network
1 Haggadah22 Clips

Passover Guide

Hosting your first Passover Seder? Not sure what food to serve? Curious to
know more about the holiday? Explore our Passover 101 Guide for answers
to all of your questions.

Haggadot

Haggadot.com by Recustom, is a free resource for all backgrounds and experiences. Consider making a donation to help support the continuation of this free platform.

Copyright © 2024 Custom and Craft Jewish Rituals Inc, dba Recustom, dba Haggadot.com.
All Rights Reserved. 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. EIN: 82-4765805.