זְאֵ֨ב וְטָלֶ֜ה יִרְע֣וּ כְאֶחָ֗ד וְאַרְיֵה֙ כַּבָּקָ֣ר יֹֽאכַל־תֶּ֔בֶן וְנָחָ֖שׁ עָפָ֣ר לַחְמ֑וֹ לֹֽא־יָרֵ֧עוּ וְלֹֽא־יַשְׁחִ֛יתוּ בְּכָל־הַ֥ר קָדְשִׁ֖י אָמַ֥ר יְהוָֽה׃ (ס)
Ang lobo at ang batang tupa ay sabay na manginginain, at ang leon ay kakain ng dayami gaya ng baka; at alabok ang magiging pagkain ng ahas. Hindi sila mananakit ni mamiminsala sa buong banal na bundok Ko, sabi ng Walang-Hanggan.
Midrash BeChiddush
One might ask, since the actual exodus happened during the day, as Scripture states, “None of you shall go outside of his house until morning.” (Ex. 12:22) and, “For on that very day I brought your ranks out of the land of Egypt,” (Ex. 12:17), why do we remember the Exodus at night? The sages sought a reason from the following verse, “‘It is because of what Adonai did for me when I went free from Egypt.” (Ex 13:8) Even though the Haggadah explains, “One only says this at the time when matzah and maror are before the person,” the main event was during the day.
However, since the first part of the obligation is for a person to behave67This text follows the version of the Haggadah of the Rambam and used by most Sephardic Jews. In other texts it says “A person is obligated to see himself/herself (lirot) as if…” בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לְהַרְאוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְּאִלּוּ הוּא בְּעַצְמוֹ יָצָא עַתָּה מִשִּׁעְבּוּד מִצְרַיִם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וְאוֹתָנוּ הוֹצִיא מִשָּׁם as if one personally went forth from Egypt, this is best done in the evening when one eats the Passover sacrifice.68Even though they had not yet been liberated from Egypt on the night of the first Passover, they acted as if the liberation had already taken place. Therefore it is an obligation to go on at length before the meal and afterwards recall the miracles that were performed. Or (one might explain), the remembrance of the suffering in Egypt should happen at night, as Scripture states, “Arise, cry out in the night at the beginning of the watches,” (Lam. 2:19) and it is also stated, “Bitterly she weeps in the night,” (Lam. 1:2). Since, “the sound of which could be heard from afar.” (Ezra 3:13) it is fitting to announce the redemption at night. The redemption from Egypt hints at the future redemption and “night” arouses compassion for our redemption, and that “Merit is brought about by means of one who is meritorious.”69BT Baba Batra 119b One might also explain that since the people engaged in much singing, praise, and rejoicing in Egypt, on the night before the Exodus, as is written, “For you, there shall be singing, as on a night when a festival is hallowed,” (Is. 30:29) they offered supplications to God, that He might have compassion on them and not listen to the one who prosecuted them, asking permission to enter their homes to cause destruction. As Scripture says, “Nor let the Destroyer enter and smite your home.” (Ex. 12:23) From this we may conclude that the Destroyer had to ask permission to enter (their homes). So, too, we also behave as if we went forth from Egypt as our ancestors did, singing, praising, and speaking of God’s wonders in order to arouse God’s compassion so that the Holy One may again do with us as He did with our ancestors.
The sages say, “The days of your life,” refers to this world; “All the days of your life,” refers to the coming of the Messiah. The sages interpreted this verse as referring to the future with a Gezera shawa,70Gezera shawa, “equal category,” according to which an obscure passage might be illuminated by reference to another containing the same key term. (Britannica) with the verse, “And dirt shall you eat/all the days of your life.” (Gen. 3:14) Everyone admits that this also refers to the messianic period, since Scripture also states, “The wolf and the lamb shall graze together/And the lion shall eat straw like the ox/And the serpent’s food shall be earth.” (Is. 65:25) “One may heal oneself with any substance except for it…”71See Pesachim 25a, I am not certain what the connection here is to this passage to the Gezera shawa.
However, since the first part of the obligation is for a person to behave67This text follows the version of the Haggadah of the Rambam and used by most Sephardic Jews. In other texts it says “A person is obligated to see himself/herself (lirot) as if…” בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לְהַרְאוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְּאִלּוּ הוּא בְּעַצְמוֹ יָצָא עַתָּה מִשִּׁעְבּוּד מִצְרַיִם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וְאוֹתָנוּ הוֹצִיא מִשָּׁם as if one personally went forth from Egypt, this is best done in the evening when one eats the Passover sacrifice.68Even though they had not yet been liberated from Egypt on the night of the first Passover, they acted as if the liberation had already taken place. Therefore it is an obligation to go on at length before the meal and afterwards recall the miracles that were performed. Or (one might explain), the remembrance of the suffering in Egypt should happen at night, as Scripture states, “Arise, cry out in the night at the beginning of the watches,” (Lam. 2:19) and it is also stated, “Bitterly she weeps in the night,” (Lam. 1:2). Since, “the sound of which could be heard from afar.” (Ezra 3:13) it is fitting to announce the redemption at night. The redemption from Egypt hints at the future redemption and “night” arouses compassion for our redemption, and that “Merit is brought about by means of one who is meritorious.”69BT Baba Batra 119b One might also explain that since the people engaged in much singing, praise, and rejoicing in Egypt, on the night before the Exodus, as is written, “For you, there shall be singing, as on a night when a festival is hallowed,” (Is. 30:29) they offered supplications to God, that He might have compassion on them and not listen to the one who prosecuted them, asking permission to enter their homes to cause destruction. As Scripture says, “Nor let the Destroyer enter and smite your home.” (Ex. 12:23) From this we may conclude that the Destroyer had to ask permission to enter (their homes). So, too, we also behave as if we went forth from Egypt as our ancestors did, singing, praising, and speaking of God’s wonders in order to arouse God’s compassion so that the Holy One may again do with us as He did with our ancestors.
The sages say, “The days of your life,” refers to this world; “All the days of your life,” refers to the coming of the Messiah. The sages interpreted this verse as referring to the future with a Gezera shawa,70Gezera shawa, “equal category,” according to which an obscure passage might be illuminated by reference to another containing the same key term. (Britannica) with the verse, “And dirt shall you eat/all the days of your life.” (Gen. 3:14) Everyone admits that this also refers to the messianic period, since Scripture also states, “The wolf and the lamb shall graze together/And the lion shall eat straw like the ox/And the serpent’s food shall be earth.” (Is. 65:25) “One may heal oneself with any substance except for it…”71See Pesachim 25a, I am not certain what the connection here is to this passage to the Gezera shawa.
Kli Yakar
And the people spoke against God and against Moses, etc. It appears that they did not complain only about the manna, but also about the water, as they said, There is no bread and no water. Both the bread and the water were spiritual and light, and all light things are good for those who are at rest, but not for travelers. For heavy food is digested well by those who exert themselves. Therefore, when the people became impatient because of the journey, they said that according to the difficulty of the journey, there is no bread and no water — for both of them seemed as if they were not there at all. And our souls loathe this worthless [kelokel] bread — “light, light” [kal kal] — both of them being light as mentioned. And because they complained about the food, He sent among them snakes, about which it is said, and dust shall be the serpent’s food (Isaiah 65:25). And because they complained about the water, He sent among them the fiery serpents, for there is no water to extinguish the fire.
Or HaChaim
The word אבי, "my father," may also be a reference to the soul seeing all the efforts of Satan are aimed at corrupting and destroying the holy soul in man. The soul is called "father" in the Zohar volume one page 76. It is Satan who tries to prevent man from carrying out his duty to serve his Maker. This is not all Satan was responsible for, but וירד מצרים, "he descended to Egypt," i.e. to the place where the evil urge is at home, the epitome of physicality, the place where the soul is under the greatest amount of pressure to yield to Satan. This is the mystical dimension of Isaiah 65,25: ונחש עפר לחמו, "and the serpent feeds on dust." This is a simile for Satan subsisting on all the material pleasures of this world, enjoying them for their own sakes, something which is an abomination to G'd. Literally, the very fact that man's body is narrow, מצר (same as מצרים) accounts for the fact that the evil urge within us is so close to our soul that we can hardly avoid touching. The four basic raw materials which G'd employed to create this physical universe have all become predominantly secular and even defiled through man's original sin so that G'd had to decree mortality on His creatures. [The author, in common with all other Kabbalists, has explained that death is part of the rehabilitative process for the spirit which will ultimately redeem man. Ed.]. This perversion of the basic raw materials man is made of is the reason people respond so readily to the seductive tactics of Satan. The body itself is called מצרים, "Egypt," (confined), because it exerts constant pressure on man through the pleasures man lusts after.