The Maharil in his introduction to the section dealing with
the different minhogim that apply to the yom tov
of Pesach, notes that all customs pertaining to the
Seder have profound and deep mystical sources. One
must therefore be stringent in observing them all, even those
that seem trivial to us. This also applies to the actual text
that is said as part of Maggid in the reciting of the
Haggodoh.
One small phrase that warrants further explanation is the
sign made by Rabbi Yehuda: "Rabbi Yehuda hoyo nosein bohem
simonim, Detzach Adash Be'achav." This statement in the
Haggodoh follows the complete list of ten plagues, in
the same order as they appear in the Chumash, and is simply
the acronym of these same ten plagues.
This is followed by three paragraphs that elaborate on the
total number of plagues that actually took place in Egypt and
at the Yam Suf. Rabbi Yosi Hagellili states that the
Egyptians suffered ten plagues in Egypt and fifty at the Yam
Suf. Rabbi Eliezer counts forty in Egypt and two hundred at
the Yam Suf, whilst Rabbi Akiva reckons fifty and two hundred
and fifty, respectively.
Each of these opinions maintains that the number of Makkos
at the Yam Suf was five times higher than those in Egypt
itself. Those at the Yam Suf were performed with the Yad
Hashem — the Hand of Hashem, whilst those in Egypt
were performed only through the Etzba Elokim —
His finger. As the hand contains five fingers, the plagues at
the Yam Suf were five times more numerous.
Our fingers are composed of three separate bones, and in
order to stress this, Rabbi Yehuda divides the acronym of the
ten plagues into three separate sets.
The numerical value of this acronym for the ten plagues that
took place in Egypt itself totals five hundred and one. The
total number of plagues that took place at the Yam Suf
according to the above three opinions combined is five
hundred (50 + 200 + 250 = 500). Therefore this acronym of
Rabbi Yehuda serves as a logical link between the ten
Makkos in Egypt that were performed through the
Etzba Elokim, and those at the Yam Suf that displayed
the Hand of Hashem.
The Yalkut Reuveni points out that the aim of the ten plagues
was to teach the Egyptians the Unique Power of Hashem as the
Creator of Heavens and Earth — Eis Hashomayim Ve'eis
Ho'oretz. The first letters of these four words are:
Alef, Hei, Vov and Hei, whose letters when
their names are spelled out in Hebrew, have a numerical value
of 163 (111+15+22+15), equal to that of Etzba —
Finger.
The numerical value of this acronym for the ten plagues
totals five hundred and one, which corresponds to the word
Asher and also to that of Rosh. Moshe Rabbenu
was told to go to Pharaoh with his staff (Shemos 4:17)
Hamateh . . . Asher ta'aseh bo es ho'osos — The
staff with which you shall perform all the miracles.
This stick had the acronym of the ten plagues engraved on it,
as alluded to by the word Asher, and also by the fact
that this posuk contains exactly ten words. This staff
was used to smite the Egyptians, acting as their punishment
for their blatant denial of Hashem and His Supreme Powers.
Dovid Hamelech describes it (Tehillim 83:3) with the
words of, Umesan'echo nos'u rosh — those that
hate you have raised their head [against You]. They were
punished through the ten plagues, that are appropriately
represented by their acronym that has a numerical value of
Rosh.
The Chiddo explains that the reason this acronym of the
plagues is mentioned in the Haggodoh is to point out
that the Jewish people were saved from Egypt in the merit of
Avrohom, Yitzchok, and Yaakov, who conducted their entire
lives serving Hashem correctly. Avrohom lived for 175 years,
Yitzchok for 180 and Yaakov for 147. That totals five hundred
and two years. It was in their combined merit that the Jewish
people were protected from any detrimental side effects
caused by these ten plagues, whose acronym totals five
hundred and one.
Dovid Hamelech (Tehillim 105) praises Hashem for
having punished the Egyptians, but only lists eight of the
plagues, and in a somewhat different order compared to how
they are related in the Torah. He begins with the plague of
Darkness and omits the plagues of Pestilence and Boils. The
Haggodoh lists the ten plagues and then continues by
bringing their acronym as mentioned by Rabbi Yehuda, to
stress their correct order and the number of plagues that
befell the Egyptians. The order and number that are mentioned
in the Torah is the correct one and not as listed in
Tehillim.
The reason why Dovid Hamelech begins his list of the plagues
with that of Darkness, was because he wanted to point out the
great trust in Hashem that the Jewish Nation had, despite
their Egyptian bondage.
At their first meeting (Shemos 4:23), Moshe warns
Pharaoh that Hashem will kill all the firstborns, if he
refuses to free the Jewish people. During the plague of
darkness, no Egyptian could see what the Jewish people were
doing, and for three days could not even move about. The
Jewish Nation then had a unique opportunity to simply walk
out of the country, but they did not do this as they knew
that Hashem had told Pharaoh that he would bring Makkas
Bechoros. This had not yet transpired, and therefore they
understood that the time to leave Egypt had not yet arrived.
Dovid Hamelech, by listing the plague of Darkness first,
points out the great Emunoh in every word of Hashem
that the Jewish people possessed.
The Shibulei Haleket points out that the acronym formed by
Rabbi Yehuda serves to illustrate other connections within
the plagues.
The first two plagues of each set were sent to Pharaoh after
he received a prior warning, whilst the third plague of each
set arrived without warning and served as a punishment for
not having heeded the previous two warnings.
He also points out that if we write the third plague of each
set, one below the other, one will notice that they can also
spell out the same three Makkos from the bottom up.
Mem Nun Chof
Nun Ches Shin
Chof Shin Ches
(This should be read from right to left. One can see that
the same letters are arrayed in columns from the third line
to the first.)
Rabbi Eliezer Ashkenazi explains that the purpose of this
array is to point out the order of the plagues. As we
progress within each set, the next plague affects the body of
the Egyptians more directly. The blood was an external plague
that affected their drinking water whilst the frogs actually
jumped onto them. The plague of lice manifested itself
directly on their entire bodies. A similar pattern is found
in all three sets of the array.
The Chasam Sofer explains that the reason that the plagues
came on the Egyptians is taught by this array. The first
letters of each group (Daled, Ayin, Veis) spell out
the word Ovad — he served. The final letters of
these groups (Chof, Shin, Veis) spell out the word
Keves — a sheep. Rabbi Yehuda, says the Chasam
Sofer, is teaching us the reason for the plagues: because the
Egyptians idolized the sheep.
The Novi (Michah 7:15 ) also assures us: Kimei
tzeisecho mei'eretz Mitzrayim er'enu niflo'os —
similar to the redemption from Egypt I will perform miracles
in the future Redemption. Rabbi Yehuda is reminding us that
the ten plagues in Egypt are only a prelude of what will
happen at the time of Moshiach. These Egyptian plagues are
only the beginning, and what happened then should be looked
at only by reading their first letters, since the majority of
Hashem's retribution will be displayed only at the time of
Moshiach.
The plagues at the Yam Suf were five times more numerous than
those in Egypt. The spelling of the words Yam Suf can also be
understood as Yom Sofe — the end of days, when
Hashem will once again perform numerous miracles with
hamateh asher ta'aseh bo es ho'osos.
