Post by Akiva on Apr 4, 2013 11:35:05 GMT -5
What I've been referring to as "core Sippur" - that is, the actual telling of the Pesach story during Maggid - starts at Tzay U'lmad, and it is in the second verse of "Vayareiu Osanu Hamitzrim" that we begin to tell the story of the Egyptians' enslavement of the Jews. A careful look at the source verse, and at the grammar of the explanatory verses from Sh'mot cited by the Haggadah, reveals interesting nuances about what drove the Egyptians to enslave the Jews, and what their goals were.
We can start with the interesting grammar of "Vayareiu Osanu" itself. The pasuk says: Vayareiu osanu haMitzrim vaya'anunu, vayitnu aleinu avoda kasha. The typical English translation of that pasuk is "And the Egyptians treated us badly (vayareiu osanu haMitzrim) and afflicted us (vaya'anunu), and burdened us with hard work (vayitnu aleinu avoda kasha)." There are a few problems here. First, the pasuk in D'varim seems to needlessly repeat itself: the Egyptians treated us badly, and afflicted us, and burdened us with hard work? The pasuk seems to be treating those as three separate ideas/issues. Aren't they one and the same?
More, there is a Hebrew grammar issue; sure, osanu means "us", but if "vayareiu" means "and they acted badly" and is describing something the Egyptians did, the better Hebrew word to use would be "lanu" - "to us". We were the object of their actions.
In fact, lanu is the word used in a similar pasuk in parshat Chukas, when Moshe sends messengers to the king of Edom to seek passage through his lands on the way to Israel. Part of that message was a recounting of the Jews' descent to Egypt and treatment there: "Vayerdu avosainu Mitzraimah [our ancestors went down to Egypt], vaneishev b'Mitzrayim yamim rabim [and we lived in Egypt many days], vayareiu lanu Mitzraim, v'la'avoseinu [and Egypt mistreated us and our fathers] ..."
In fact, literally translated, "vayareiu osanu" means "and they made us bad" - which seems odd. So why the use of "osanu" in D'varim (and the Haggada)?
The Haggada takes up the question of the repetition - and the psukim it points us to as explanations shed light on both the strange grammar of vayareiu osanu and on the Egyptian mindset and approach in general.
The Haggada deals with the repetition by explaining that it is actually referring to three separate acts. Vayareiu osanu refers to Paraoh's initial exhortation to the Egyptians: Hava nischacma lo: let's deal cleverly with the Jews . . .. Vaya'anunu refers to taskmasters being placed on the Jews: Vayasimu alav sarei misim, l'man anoso b'sivlosam: and they assigned taskmasters to the Jews, to afflict the Jews with their burdens. The hard work? That's the labor itself: Vaya'avidu Mitzrayim es B'nei Yisrael b'ferech, vayimar'ru es chayeihem b'avoda kashah . . .: And Egypt burdened the Jews with slavery, and embittered their lives with hard work.
The Haggada's linkage of "vayareiu osanu" to Paraoh's initial complaint about the Jews makes sense of the literal translation of vayareiu osanu. Paraoh, and the Egyptians, turned us into the villains, made us the enemy, the "bad ones". Hava nischacma lo - let's deal cleverly with the Jews. Why? "Pen yirbeh, v'haya ki tikrena milchama, v'nosaf gam hu al soneinu, v'nilcham banu, v'alah min ha'aretz" - because the Jews will grow numerous, and if there is a war, they will turn on us, join our enemies, and fight against us rather than with us. It was only by casting the Jews as evil, as a threat to Egypt, that Paraoh and the Egyptians could justify to themselves the course of conduct they were about to undertake. (I was gratified to learn, after coming to this conclusion on my own, that R' Gifter, R' Zalman Shmotkin, and R' Frand said something similar; in fact, it was R' Frand's d'var Torah that pointed out the pasuk in Chukas, which I hadn't caught myself).
But it does more than that. It demonstrates that the Egyptians' true fear - and the true target of their campaign of oppression - was Jewish unity.
How? Again, pay attention to the grammar. Every noun referring to the Jews - and every verb form related to the Jews - is in the singular, not plural. Hava nischacma lo (let us deal cleverly with "him"), not hava nischacma lam (let us deal cleverly with "them"). Pen yirbeh (lest the Jews grow, singular), not pen yirbu (lest the Jews grow, plural). V'nosaf gam hu al soneinu ("he" will join our enemies), not v'nosaf gam haim ("they" will join with our enemies). Keep going through the pasuk - it's every single one.
In other words, the focus of the Egyptians wasn't on the Jews, plural, as individuals. It was on the Jews, singular, as a defined and unified nation. As the prior pasuk in the Haggada taught us - she'hayu mitzuyanim sham: that rather than assimilating into Egypt, we instead developed into a distinct nation.
And if you pay attention to the grammar of the psukim, you can see that focus continue. Vaya'anunu - and they afflicted us. How? Vayasimu alav [and they placed on "him", not aleyhem, on them] sarei misim [taskmasters] l'maan anoso [in order to afflict "him", not anosam, to afflict them] b'sivlosam [with their burdens]. (Note: the shift from singular to plural for "their burdens" implies that the subject of "their burdens" is the taskmasters: to afflict the Jews with the burden of taskmasters). This indicates that the Egyptians' attack on Jewish unity didn't work at the outset: despite the pressure, the Jews were still operating as a single, unified entity.
When does that change? At the end of the Egyptians' efforts: vayitnu aleinu avoda kasha. The pasuk there refers to the Jews as individuals: vayimar'ru es chayeihem (and they [the Egyptians] embittered their [the Jews, individually] lives) b'avoda kasha.
We can start with the interesting grammar of "Vayareiu Osanu" itself. The pasuk says: Vayareiu osanu haMitzrim vaya'anunu, vayitnu aleinu avoda kasha. The typical English translation of that pasuk is "And the Egyptians treated us badly (vayareiu osanu haMitzrim) and afflicted us (vaya'anunu), and burdened us with hard work (vayitnu aleinu avoda kasha)." There are a few problems here. First, the pasuk in D'varim seems to needlessly repeat itself: the Egyptians treated us badly, and afflicted us, and burdened us with hard work? The pasuk seems to be treating those as three separate ideas/issues. Aren't they one and the same?
More, there is a Hebrew grammar issue; sure, osanu means "us", but if "vayareiu" means "and they acted badly" and is describing something the Egyptians did, the better Hebrew word to use would be "lanu" - "to us". We were the object of their actions.
In fact, lanu is the word used in a similar pasuk in parshat Chukas, when Moshe sends messengers to the king of Edom to seek passage through his lands on the way to Israel. Part of that message was a recounting of the Jews' descent to Egypt and treatment there: "Vayerdu avosainu Mitzraimah [our ancestors went down to Egypt], vaneishev b'Mitzrayim yamim rabim [and we lived in Egypt many days], vayareiu lanu Mitzraim, v'la'avoseinu [and Egypt mistreated us and our fathers] ..."
In fact, literally translated, "vayareiu osanu" means "and they made us bad" - which seems odd. So why the use of "osanu" in D'varim (and the Haggada)?
The Haggada takes up the question of the repetition - and the psukim it points us to as explanations shed light on both the strange grammar of vayareiu osanu and on the Egyptian mindset and approach in general.
The Haggada deals with the repetition by explaining that it is actually referring to three separate acts. Vayareiu osanu refers to Paraoh's initial exhortation to the Egyptians: Hava nischacma lo: let's deal cleverly with the Jews . . .. Vaya'anunu refers to taskmasters being placed on the Jews: Vayasimu alav sarei misim, l'man anoso b'sivlosam: and they assigned taskmasters to the Jews, to afflict the Jews with their burdens. The hard work? That's the labor itself: Vaya'avidu Mitzrayim es B'nei Yisrael b'ferech, vayimar'ru es chayeihem b'avoda kashah . . .: And Egypt burdened the Jews with slavery, and embittered their lives with hard work.
The Haggada's linkage of "vayareiu osanu" to Paraoh's initial complaint about the Jews makes sense of the literal translation of vayareiu osanu. Paraoh, and the Egyptians, turned us into the villains, made us the enemy, the "bad ones". Hava nischacma lo - let's deal cleverly with the Jews. Why? "Pen yirbeh, v'haya ki tikrena milchama, v'nosaf gam hu al soneinu, v'nilcham banu, v'alah min ha'aretz" - because the Jews will grow numerous, and if there is a war, they will turn on us, join our enemies, and fight against us rather than with us. It was only by casting the Jews as evil, as a threat to Egypt, that Paraoh and the Egyptians could justify to themselves the course of conduct they were about to undertake. (I was gratified to learn, after coming to this conclusion on my own, that R' Gifter, R' Zalman Shmotkin, and R' Frand said something similar; in fact, it was R' Frand's d'var Torah that pointed out the pasuk in Chukas, which I hadn't caught myself).
But it does more than that. It demonstrates that the Egyptians' true fear - and the true target of their campaign of oppression - was Jewish unity.
How? Again, pay attention to the grammar. Every noun referring to the Jews - and every verb form related to the Jews - is in the singular, not plural. Hava nischacma lo (let us deal cleverly with "him"), not hava nischacma lam (let us deal cleverly with "them"). Pen yirbeh (lest the Jews grow, singular), not pen yirbu (lest the Jews grow, plural). V'nosaf gam hu al soneinu ("he" will join our enemies), not v'nosaf gam haim ("they" will join with our enemies). Keep going through the pasuk - it's every single one.
In other words, the focus of the Egyptians wasn't on the Jews, plural, as individuals. It was on the Jews, singular, as a defined and unified nation. As the prior pasuk in the Haggada taught us - she'hayu mitzuyanim sham: that rather than assimilating into Egypt, we instead developed into a distinct nation.
And if you pay attention to the grammar of the psukim, you can see that focus continue. Vaya'anunu - and they afflicted us. How? Vayasimu alav [and they placed on "him", not aleyhem, on them] sarei misim [taskmasters] l'maan anoso [in order to afflict "him", not anosam, to afflict them] b'sivlosam [with their burdens]. (Note: the shift from singular to plural for "their burdens" implies that the subject of "their burdens" is the taskmasters: to afflict the Jews with the burden of taskmasters). This indicates that the Egyptians' attack on Jewish unity didn't work at the outset: despite the pressure, the Jews were still operating as a single, unified entity.
When does that change? At the end of the Egyptians' efforts: vayitnu aleinu avoda kasha. The pasuk there refers to the Jews as individuals: vayimar'ru es chayeihem (and they [the Egyptians] embittered their [the Jews, individually] lives) b'avoda kasha.
