The Haggadah is the classic Jewish book used as the basis of the Passover seder. Its text was compiled during the periods of the Mishnah and the Talmud, with later medieval additions. It exists today in many forms, as different communities around the world developed their own variations.
אֵלּוּ עֶשֶׂר מַכּוֹת שֶׁהֵבִיא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עַל־הַמִּצְרִים בְּמִצְרַיִם, וְאֵלוּ הֵן:
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דָּם
צְפַרְדֵּעַ
כִּנִּים
עָרוֹב
דֶּבֶר
שְׁחִין
בָּרָד
אַרְבֶּה
חשֶׁךְ
מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת
These are [the] ten plagues that the Holy One, blessed be He, brought on the Egyptians in Egypt and they are:
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Blood
Frogs
Lice
[The] Mixture [of Wild Animals]
Pestilence
Boils
Hail
Locusts
Darkness
Slaying of [the] Firstborn
Maaseh Nissim was written by Rabbi Yaakov Lorberbaum in late 18th century Ukraine. (Rabbi Mark Greenspan translated the work and added background notes.)
אלו עשר מכות. נראה ליתן טעם להמכות להיותן עשר. ומה שהיה במכות אלו דוקא. והטעמים שהביאו במדרשים אינו מושג לשכלנו הדל.
Background
People often ask why ten plagues? Wasn’t God powerful enough to convince the Egyptians with one devastating plague that would force them to free the Israelites from Egypt? Rabbi Lorberbaum answers this question in a novel way by connecting the plagues with the ten utterances with which God created the world. The plagues are the opposite of creation – they represent the ten acts of un-creation. They made Pharaoh aware that just as God could create the world he also had the power to take away the blessings of creation. These ten utterances play an important role in the history of Jewish thought and in Jewish mysticism in particular. They are often associated with the ten Sephirot with which the world is created.
The first creation is water - blood.
The swarming creatures come forth from the water – frogs.
The creatures closest to the water are the land creatures – lice.
Then the other land animals – wild animals.
The heavens come next, just as the planets and the sun were created.
The “heavens” are the source of the pestilence – pestilence.
The creation of the human being – boils.
The creation of the firmament; protection from danger - hail.
The creation of the vegetation and food - locust.
The creation of the light - darkness.
The final plague – the death of first born.
Yismach Yisrael is a compilation of Divrei Torah on the Haggadah written by Rabbi Yerachmiel Yisrael Danziger in Lodz, around the turn of the 20th century.
The Purpose of the Plagues: To Fear God vs. to Be Afraid of God: “These are the ten plagues:”...
There are two types of fear. The more essential type of fear is not fear of punishment but the fear that comes from the recognition of God’s power and authority. At first, we fear God because we are afraid of being punished, but slowly we come to recognize the greatness of God’s glory and are able to approach this higher form of fear. While the Jews were in Egypt they feared God because they witnessed the plagues. God’s ultimate purpose was not to make the Israelites afraid of God. Rather the fear invoked by the plagues slowly brought the people to the true fear of God. When the Egyptians refused to listen to God but still acknowledged that the plagues were the “finger of God,” the Israelites realized that God would not punish them as He had the Egyptians. Slowly the Israelites began to understand they could fear God without being afraid of God, and that such fear was beneficial to them. They saw that God was the One who controls, and that he is the higher power. Only then did they become worthy of the Exodus and the splitting of the Red Sea.
Barukh She'amar is a commentary on the Passover Haggadah by Rabbi Barukh Epstein. It was composed in Vilna in the first half of the 20th century.
מכת בכורות. צריך באור למה כל המכות נקראו רק בשמן לבד, דם, צפרדע וכו', ורק במכת בכורות הוסיף המלה ״מכת״ ולא בשמה העצמי לבד, ״בכורות״, כסגנון כולן. וגם אפשר לומר פשוט הטעם על שלמכת בכורות נוספה המלה ״מכת״ ולא ״בכורות״ לבד, כמו כל המכות שנקראו בשמן לבד?...
ואפשר לפרש עפ״י המבואר במדרש שוחר טוב (הוא מדרש תהלים), (פרשה קל״ו), כי אחר התראת משה ממכת בכורים רצו הבכורים לשלוח את ישראל למען ינצלו מעונש מיתה, אך אבותיהם לא שמעו להם ולא רצו לשלוח את ישראל, ואז הרגו הבכורים את אבותיהם, ועל כן נקראה מכה זו מכת בכורות, כי מה שהבנים הרגו את אבותיהם זו מכה לעצמה, ואל זה מרמז הלשון המיוחד, ״מכת״ בכורות.
The plague of the first-born: While the other plagues are referred to by their names (blood, frogs, vermin, etc.), the final plague is referred to with an extra word, “Makat, the plague of...” We say “Makat Bechorot,” “the plague of the first-born.” Why do we add the word “Makat” to this plague and not the others?... The word “Makah” has more than one meaning. It can mean a plague and it can also mean “an attack.” The term “Makat Bechorot” is a reference to a Midrash which claims that when the first-born of Egypt discovered that they would be the victims of the tenth plague they begged their parents to acquiesce to Moses’ demands. When Pharaoh and the elders refused to give in to Moses, the first born attacked their parents. This was the true “Makat Bechorot,” the attack of the first-born!
The Kimcha D’avshuna commentary on the Haggadah was written by Rabbi Yochanan ben Yosef Treves and first published in Bologna in 1540.
Rabbi Judah used to abbreviate the plagues: This is most difficult: why do we need this acronym since anyone can take the first letter of each word and combine them! Rabbi Yehudah, however, only brought this acronym to teach us about the number of plagues at the Red Sea. Rabbi Yossi said there were fifty plagues; Rabbi Eliezer said there were two hundred plagues, and Rabbi Akiva said there were two hundred and fifty plagues at the sea. Together they add up to five hundred plagues. Rabbi Yehudah's acronym adds up to five hundred and one; in matters of gematriah we don’t trouble ourselves over differences of just one!
Some suggest that the reason that he created this acronym is because of the listing of the plagues in the book of Psalms, which is different from the order in the Torah. Therefore, Rabbi Yehudah created this acronym so that we would know that the order in the Torah is the correct one.
Some commentators suggest that this is a reference to the pattern of the plagues: In some plagues, God sends Pharaoh a warning, and in others, there is no warning. The acronym shows us that there is a pattern of three groups of plagues, the first two with a warning and the third in each grouping without a warning. That is why Rabbi Judah groups the plagues together three by three. Pharaoh is warned during the plagues of blood and frogs, while he receives no warning when the plague of lice strikes the land. Wild animals and pestilence contain a warning while boils does not contain a warning. This follows the pattern regarding flogging. When one commits a crime again and again, he is flogged once and twice, each time with a warning. The third time we do not flog him. Rather we put him in a prison, feed him barley bread until his stomach explodes because he is wicked and no longer deserves a warning. Similarly, hail and locust occurred with a warning and darkness without a warning. Since the final plague stands by itself, it has its own acronym.
Another explanation of the division into three groups: the first three plagues were carried out by Aaron. In the second group, wild animals and pestilence were not carried out by Moses or Aaron, and boils was carried out by both of them. The third group of plagues was carried out by Moses. And the final plague, the death of the first-born was carried out by the Holy one so it is in a grouping all by itself.
כַּמָה מַעֲלוֹת טוֹבוֹת לַמָּקוֹם עָלֵינוּ!
אִלּוּ הוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִצְרַיִם וְלֹא עָשָׂה בָהֶם שְׁפָטִים, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ עָשָׂה בָהֶם שְׁפָטִים, וְלֹא עָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ עָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם, וְלֹא הָרַג אֶת־בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ הָרַג אֶת־בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם וְלֹא נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־מָמוֹנָם, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־מָמוֹנָם וְלֹא קָרַע לָנוּ אֶת־הַיָּם, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ קָרַע לָנוּ אֶת־הַיָּם וְלֹא הֶעֱבִירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ הֶעֱבִירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה וְלֹא שִׁקַּע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ שִׁקַּע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ וְלֹא סִפֵּק צָרְכֵּנוּ בַּמִדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ סִפֵּק צָרְכֵּנוּ בְּמִדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה וְלֹא הֶאֱכִילָנוּ אֶת־הַמָּן דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ הֶאֱכִילָנוּ אֶת־הַמָּן וְלֹא נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַשַׁבָּת, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַשַׁבָּת, וְלֹא קֵרְבָנוּ לִפְנֵי הַר סִינַי, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ קֵרְבָנוּ לִפְנֵי הַר סִינַי, וְלא נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה. דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה וְלֹא הִכְנִיסָנוּ לְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, דַּיֵּנוּ.
אִלּוּ הִכְנִיסָנוּ לְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא בָנָה לָנוּ אֶת־בֵּית הַבְּחִירָה דַּיֵּנוּ.
How many degrees of good did the Place [of all bestow] upon us!
If He had taken us out of Egypt and not made judgements on them; [it would have been] enough for us.
If He had made judgments on them and had not made [them] on their gods; [it would have been] enough for us.
If He had made [them] on their gods and had not killed their firstborn; [it would have been] enough for us.
If He had killed their firstborn and had not given us their money; [it would have been] enough for us.
If He had given us their money and had not split the Sea for us; [it would have been] enough for us.
If He had split the Sea for us and had not taken us through it on dry land; [it would have been] enough for us.
If He had taken us through it on dry land and had not pushed down our enemies in [the Sea]; [it would have been] enough for us.
If He had pushed down our enemies in [the Sea] and had not supplied our needs in the wilderness for forty years; [it would have been] enough for us.
If He had supplied our needs in the wilderness for forty years and had not fed us the manna; [it would have been] enough for us.
If He had fed us the manna and had not given us the Shabbat; [it would have been] enough for us.
If He had given us the Shabbat and had not brought us close to Mount Sinai; [it would have been] enough for us.
If He had brought us close to Mount Sinai and had not given us the Torah; [it would have been] enough for us.
If He had given us the Torah and had not brought us into the land of Israel; [it would have been] enough for us.
If He had brought us into the land of Israel and had not built us the 'Chosen House' [the Temple; it would have been] enough for us.
Ephod Bad is a commentary on the Pesach Haggadah written by Rabbi Benjamin David Rabinowitz of Warsaw and published in 1872.
כמה מעלות טובות למקום עלינו וכו'.
הכוונה כנ"ל שמלבד תועלת הוצאה מצד גופנו, היתה ערך ההוצאה גדול עד מאד מצד נשמותינו, כי ע"י נוכל להשיג השלימות, וז"ש ואלו לא הוציא כו' משועבדים היינו ולא היינו יכולים לקנות השלימות הנזכר אף אם רפו ידם מאתנו, וז"ש המסדר אלו הוציאנו ממצרים ולא עשה בהם שפטים דיינו, ר"ל היינו צריכים להודות ולהלל להשי"ת על שנתן לנו האמצעיים ע"י ההוצאה ההיא לקנות השלימות:
Preface to Dayyenu
How many are the good things God has done for us:
The point that the Haggadah is trying to make is that without our physical liberation nothing else would be possible. By freeing our bodies, we gained the possibility to free our souls as well. Dayyenu, then, is all about the attainment of the various forms of perfection. We begin Dayyenu by saying that without our liberation nothing else would have been possible.
Five Stanzas of Leaving Slavery
1) If God had only brought us out of Egypt.
2) If God had only brought down justice upon the Egyptians.
3) If God had only brought down justice upon their gods.
4) If God had only slain their first-born.
5) If God had only given to us their health and wealth.
Five Stanzas of Miracles
6) If God had only split the sea for us.
7) If God had only led us through on dry land.
8) If God had only drowned our oppressors.
9) If God had only provided for our needs in the wilderness for 40 years.
10) If God had only fed us manna.
Five Stanzas of Being With God
11) If God had only given us Shabbat.
12) If God had only led us to Mount Sinai.
13) If God had only given us the Torah.
14) If God had only brought us into the Land of Israel.
15) If God built the Temple for us.
אלו נתן לנו את התורה ולא הכניסנו לא״י דיינו. ולא אמר עוד להיפך, כסגנון כל המאמרים, אלו הכניסנו לארץ ישראל ולא נתן לנו את התורה דיינו, יען כי באופן כזה, באמת —לא דיינו, מפני כי בלא תורה אין יתרון לארץ ישראל על כל הארצות, וכמו באומת ישראל, שזולת התורה אין להם יתרון על שאר האומות.
If He had given us the Torah but not brought us into the land of Israel, it would have been enough for us! In all the other verses of “Dayyenu,” we can easily switch the two statements around and it will still be true. But that is not the case with this statement. Had God brought us into the land of Israel but not given us the Torah, it would not have been enough for us! Without the Torah there is no purpose in being in the land of Israel. Similarly, Israel would not be a holy people without the Torah.
Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld served as Dean of the Rabbinical School at Hebrew College in Newton, MA, and currently serves as President of that institution.
Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld
How easy it is to live in constant anticipation, promising God and ourselves that we will be satisfied and grateful, if only . . . but there is always something else. This is part of what makes us human. When we say Dayeinu, on one level we are lying. We say, “It would have been enough.” But we know that this is not true. No single step of our journey out of slavery would have been sufficient.
Yet, we tell this lie in order to cultivate our capacity for gratitude. We exercise our thanking muscles, trying at least for a moment to appreciate each and every small gift as if we really believed it was enough. Of course we want more. We have hopes and dreams for ourselves and for our children. But for their sakes, and for our own, we must also be able to stop and say Dayeinu: “This is enough for us, thank God.” For a moment, to feel that we have everything we need — that is what it means to say Dayeinu.
Had He performed judgments…It would have been enough: As we have already seen in the passage Avadim Hayyinu, the nature of God’s acts in Egypt created a unique relationship between God and the Israel. By performing these acts of judgment, God made a public commitment to the Jewish people. This commitment was irrevocable. Even if Israel sinned, as they did at the Golden Calf, God could not completely desert the Jewish people. If God was to desert the nation or destroy them, it would not only be a tragedy for Israel but a Hillul Hashem, a desecration of God’s name in the world. God’s judgments of others and His acts on behalf of the Jewish people made it clear to the whole world that we are “the children of the living God.” By simply performing these acts of judgments, then, God made it so that no matter what happened He was committed to Israel.
He suggests that we should read the expression Dayyenu not as a demonstrative statement but as a question. “Would it really have been enough for us?” He uses a parable to explain this interpretation. Imagine a slave of a certain king who is rewarded with his own small kingdom. The slave, while grateful might say to the king: “How can I rule over my kingdom when I don’t have royal garb? How can I rule over my kingdom when I don’t have horses? How can I rule over my kingdom when I don’t have subjects and slaves? How can I rule over my kingdom when I am lacking in an understanding of the rules of kingship? With each request the king would give his slave what was necessary for him to rule over his kingdom. Similarly, we say to God, God you have taken us out of Egypt but is this really enough? You haven’t completed the job of making us a nation of priests and a holy people? It is only with all the miracles and gifts referred to in Dayyenu that God’s gift is complete.
Minchat Ani is a commentary on the Passover Haggadah by Rabbi Yaakov Ettlinger, one of the earliest German rabbis who possessed academic training. It was composed in Jerusalem in the mid- 19th century.
Divrei Negidim is a commentary on the Haggadah. Much published by 20th-century Polish scholar Rabbi Yehuda Yudel Roseberg under the name of 16th-century scholar Maharal.
כמה מעלות טובות. קראם מעלות טובות. כי כל אחת ואחת מעלה נוספות כמו המעלות שכל אחת ואחת גבוה יותר מן הראשונה כך היו אלו המעלות כל אחת ואחת תוספת מעלה ומדרגה עד שהגיעו אל תכלית המדרגה האחרונה שהיא ובנה לנו את בית הבחירה לכפר על כל עונותינו. וכלן הן ט״ו מעלות. וחשבון זה אל תאמר שהיה במקרה כלל. כי החשבון ומספר זה נמצא שהיה מעזרת נשים לעזרת ישראל ט״ו מעלות. והן נגד ט״ו שיר המעלות בספר תהלים. והירח שהוא עולה חמשה עשר ימים עד תכלית מלואה. שכל זה ראיה שההתעלות הוא ט״ו מעלות ולא יותר. והוא נגד שם י״ה שעולה חמשה עשר במספר.
The Steps to Divinity
“How many good steps has God bestowed upon us!” They are referred to as ma’alot tovot, good steps. Each one represents an additional step, like stairs, one of which is higher than the previous one, until one reaches the final and highest level, which “God built for us the Holy Temple to atone for our sins.” (dayyenu) Together they add up to fifteen steps. This number is not a coincidence. This is the number of steps from the Ezrat Nashim (the women’s courtyard) in the Temple to the Ezrat Yisrael (the Israelite courtyard). There are also fifteen psalms in the Book of Psalms which begin with the words, Shir HaMa’alot, the Song of Steps. It takes fifteen days for the moon to go from the new moon to the full moon. All of this proves that there is an ascent of fifteen and no more.
It is a reference to the name of God, Yud Hay which has a numerical value of fifteen.