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16 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE T he answer is actually simpler than we might imagine. On the night of the seder , all the misvot , customs and rituals revolve entirely around the obligation of sippur yesi’at Misrayim , to tell our children about the story of the Exodus from Egypt. “You shall tell your son on that day…” (Shemot 13:8). This obligation constitutes the focal point and primary objective of the seder . All the individual acts we perform during the seder are essentially teaching aids to reinforce in us – and no less importantly to help us teach our children about – the story of Pesah. In the days and weeks preceding the festival of Pesah we are pre- occupied – as well we should be – with the practical preparations for the holiday. Lost in this flurry of pre-Pesah activity, however, is the necessary preparation for the “classroom” that each and every head-of-household must conduct at the seder . Parents generally discover that without advance preparation, it is nearly impossible to lead an engaging discussion to study the events of the Exodus. In order to properly fulfill the Torah obliga- tion of sippur yesi’at Misrayim , every person must allocate several hours for preparation, so that he comes to the seder with enough material to arouse the interest and draw the enthusiastic attention of his family and guests. As a point of departure for this required preparation, we present here a number of intriguing insights into the story of the Exodus, providing but a small sample of the wealth of information that appears in the Midrashim and commentaries. We focus our atten- tion specifically on the ten miraculous plagues that Gd visited upon the Egyptians, which stand at the center of the Exodus story and signify the Almighty’s supernatural intervention to rescue our people from bondage. This material is intended to inspire further research and study, so that every family will enjoy a rich, meaning- ful educational experience as they sit around the seder table. The 10 Plagues Blood The Sages teach that Benei Yisrael grew fabulously wealthy as a result of the plague of blood. Whereas any water touched by the Egyptians immediately turned to blood, Benei Yisrael ’s water remained fresh and intact throughout the plague. The Egyptians thus had no choice but to purchase water from Benei Yisrael , who accumulated immense wealth as a result. When an Egyptian would first approach a Jew and request a cup of water, the Jew would generously agree, without even consider- ing asking for money. But whenever the Egyptian would fill his cup with water from the Jew’s supply, it immediately turned into blood. Even if the Jew and the Egyptian drank together simultane- ously from the same cup, the Jew would drink fresh water while the In memory of Mrs. Rae Semah v"g   ”  RABBI ELI MANSOUR What is the most important part of the seder? Is it eating the massa or maror? Is it drinking the four cups of wine? Perhaps it is the Hallel we recite towards the end of the seder? Ten Things You Never Knew About The TenPlagues