Pesach: Vayotzieinu Hashem and the Makos Count

AI summary (may contain mistakes)

Why does the Baal Haggadah take the last pasuk apart word by word? Each phrase points to a part of Yetzias Mitzrayim: Hashem Himself, makkas dever, the sword, gilui Shechina, the staff and makkas dam. Read as pairs, the five phrases allude to all ten makkos. Three Tannaim then count how many makkos came in Mitzrayim and at the Yam.

Key points

• The Baal Haggadah reads Vayotzieinu Hashem as HaKadosh Baruch Hu Himself, not a malach, saraf or shliach.
• B'yad chazakah refers to makkas dever, since the pasuk there joins the word yad with dever.
• One suggestion is that Rabbi Yehuda's siman counts firstborn who revolted and killed, as a Midrash tells.
• Rabbi Yosi HaGlili counts ten makkos by one finger in Mitzrayim, fifty by the hand at the Yam.
• The Vilna Gaon ties the count to the promise that Mitzrayim's makkos will not come upon Klal Yisrael.

In this shiur

1. 0:00Darshening the last pasuk
2. 3:55Not through a malach or saraf
3. 9:30B'yad chazakah and makkas dever
4. 11:26Zeroa netuyah and the sword
5. 15:11Mofsim, makkas dam and pouring wine
6. 17:29Davar acher: each phrase as two
7. 20:17Rabbi Yehuda's siman for the makkos
8. 29:46Three Tannaim counting the makkos
9. 39:59The Vilna Gaon on the count

Topics

• Haggadah
• Eser Makkos
• Pesach
• Seder