The dark of the night began to turn to the gray of morning. In the clouded distance could be heard the cries of mothers and fathers discovering the lifeless forms of their firstborn sons. The elders rushed from one adobe structure to another. "Quick!" they whispered, "pack the unleavened dough! Finish the lamb! Grab what you can! Now is the moment! Follow Moses to the sea while the Egyptians are preoccupied with their tragedy."

Hurriedly and silently, the dark shapes of men, women, and children passed under blood-marked lintels into the allies of their ghetto. Guided by their leaders, they rushed to the road to the sea. Not even a dog barked at them.

Their flight was the culmination of days of bargaining between their leaders and the Pharaoh. Threats of Moses had become realities: Frogs,…