from the Hagaddah for the Passover Seder
Spill three drops of wine: 1-BLOOD; 2-FIRE; 3-PILLARS OF SMOKE.
Another interpretation is as follows: ”With a strong hand” refers to two plagues; “with an outstretched arm” two; “with great terror” two: “with signs” two; and “with wonders” refers to two plagues. Thus we have the ten plagues that the Holy One, blessed be He, brought upon the Egyptians in Egypt; and they are as follows:
Spill a drop of wine for each of the ten plagues: 1. Blood; 2. Frogs; 3. Vermin; 4. Beasts; 5. Cattle; 6. Boils; 7. Hail; 8. Locusts; 9. Darkness; 10. Slaying of the first-born.
Spill three drops of wine: D’Tzach Adash B’Achav.
Rabbi Jose the Galilean said: How can one show that following the ten plagues in Egypt itself the Egyptians were smitten with fifty plagues at the Red Sea? Of one of the plagues in Egypt it is said, “the soothsayers said to Pharaoh, the plague is the finger of God,” While at the Red Sea it is said, “And Israel saw the strong hand which the Eternal had shown against Egypt, and the people revered the Eternal and believed in the Eternal and His servant Moses.” If one finger of God in Egypt caused ten plagues, we may assume from this that the whole hand of God at the Red Sea caused fifty plagues.
Rabbi Eliezer said: How can one show that every plague which the Holy One, blessed be He, brought in Egypt upon the Egyptians was fourfold in character? For it is said: “He sent against the Egyptians in His burning anger, Wrath, Indignation, Trouble, and the Messengers of Evil.” This is to be interpreted that each plague descended with Wrath (1), Indignation (2), Trouble (3), and the sending of Messengers of Evil (4). If, then, the Egyptians in Egypt were stricken with ten fourfold plagues, making forty, then following the earlier interpretation, at the Red Sea they suffered two hundred plagues.
Rabbi Akiba said: In similar fashion you can show that every plague which the Holy One, blessed be He, brought in Egypt upon the Egyptians, was fivefold in character. Interpret the same verse to say, “He sent against the Egyptians His Burning Anger (1), Wrath (2), Indignation (3), Trouble (4), and the Messengers of Evil (5).” Thus, if the Egyptians in Egypt were stricken with ten fivefold plagues, making fifty, then at the Red Sea they suffered two hundred and fifty plagues.
How thankful must we be to God, the All-Present, for all the good He did for us.
Had He brought us out from Egypt and not executed judgement against them, It would have been enough for us!
Had He executed judgment against them and not destroyed their idols, It would have been enough for us!
Had He destroyed their idols and not slain their first-born, It would have been enough for us!
Had He slain their first-born and not given us their belongings, It would have been enough for us!
Had He given us their belongings, and not divided the sea for us,
It would have been enough for us!
Had He divided the sea for us and not brought us through it dry-shod and not drowned our oppressors in it, It would have been enough for us!
Had He drowned the oppressors in it and not helped us forty years in the desert, It would have been enough for us!
Had He helped us forty years in the desert and not fed us manna,
It would have been enough for us!
Had He fed us manna and not given us the Sabbath, It would have been enough for us!
Had He given us the Sabbath and not brought us to Mount Sinai. It would have been enough for us!
Had He brought us to Mount Sinai and not given us the Torah, It would have been enough for us!
Had He given us the Torah and not brought us into the Land of Israel, It would have been enough for us!
Had He brought us to the Land of Israel and not built for us the Holy Temple, It would have been enough for us!
How much more so do we have to be thankful for the manifold and unbounded blessings of the All- Present God: That He brought us out from Egypt,
And executed judgment against them, And destroyed their idols, And slew their first-born, And gave us their belongings, And divided the sea for us, And brought us through it dry-shod, And drowned our oppressors in it, And helped us for forty years in the desert, And fed us manna, And gave us the Sabbath, And brought us to Mount Sinai, And gave us the Torah, and brought us into the Land of Israel, And built for us the Holy Temple where we could atone for all our sins.
Rabban Gamliel used to say: Whoever does not explain the following three symbols at the Seder on Passover has not fulfilled his duty.
The Passover Offering which our fathers ate in Temple days—what was the reason for it? It was because the Holy One, blessed be He, passed over the houses of our forefathers in Egypt, as it is written in the Bible: “And you shall say it is the Passover offering for the Eternal Who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians and spared our houses. And the people bowed their heads and worshipped.”
Point to the matzah:
This matzah which we eat, what is the reason for it? It is because there was not time for the dough of our ancestors in Egypt to become leavened, before the Ruler of all, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to them and redeemed them, as it is told in the Bible: “And the dough which they had brought out from Egypt they baked into cakes of unleavened bread, for it had not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and they could not tarry, nor had they prepared for themselves any provisions.”
Point to the bitter herbs:
These bitter herbs which we eat—what is their meaning? They are eaten to recall that the Egyptians embittered the lives of our forefathers in Egypt, as it is written: “And they embittered their lives with hard labor: with mortar and bricks, with every kind of work which they made them do was rigorous.”
In every generation one must look upon himself as if he personally had come out from Egypt, as the Bible says: “And you shall tell your son on that day, saying: “It is because of that which the Eternal did to me when I went forth from Egypt.” For it was not alone our forefathers whom the Holy One, blessed be He, redeemed; He redeemed us too, with them, as it is said: “He brought us out from there that He might lead us to and give us the land which He pledged to our forefathers.”
Raise the cup of wine and say:
Therefore, it is our duty to thank and to praise in song and prayer, to glorify and extol Him Who performed all these wonders for our forefathers and for us. He brought us out from slavery to freedom, from anguish to joy, from sorrow to festivity, from darkness to great light. Let us therefore sing before Him a new song. Hallelujah—Praise the Eternal!
Put down the cup and continue:
Hallelujah—Praise the Eternal. Praise, you servants of the Eternal, praise the name of the Eternal. Blessed be the name of the Eternal from now and for evermore; from the rising of the sun to its going down, praised be the name of the Eternal. Supreme above all nations is the Eternal; His glory is above the heavens. Who is like unto the Eternal our God, throne in exaltation, Who looks down to both the heavens and the earth? He raises up the poor from the dust, lifts up the needy from the ash-heap, to seat them with princes, with princes of His people; He makes the childless woman dwell in her household as a joyful mother of children. Hallelujah—Praise the Eternal.
Passover is from April 2 through 9 this year, concurrent with Easter.