A supplemental reading and discussion prompts for your Passover seder, as you retell the story of our slavery in Egypt. We recommend you download and print this beautifully designed PDF in full color, but you can also scroll down for the full text.
Our oppression in Egypt was the archetype of our three major subsequent oppressions…
Babylon was arrogant and demeaning…
Persia was lustful and greedy, as we know from the [Purim] feast of Achashverosh…
Greece was cruel…
The fourth empire [today] has all these three attributes combined. Therefore we must muster all our strength and remember well that the evil forces of this wicked empire are trying with all their might to destroy our essential Jewish attributes: modesty, generosity, and mercy. We must cultivate the utmost resilience.—Shem MiShmuel on the Haggadah (Rabbi Shmuel Borenstein of Sochachov, 1856-1926)
- Where do you see arrogant and demeaning, lustful and greedy, and cruel tendencies in today’s governing powers?
- How will you combat these forces and work toward liberation this year?