Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Mga Bilang 20:15

And the Egyptians did evil to us and they oppressed us: (Deuteronomy 26:6) Generally the Hebrew expression for doing evil to someone is “Haray’ah li...” such as Genesis 43:6: “lama harayotem lee?” “Why have you treated me so ill?” Wherever this verb “hayraya” is used it usually is followed by the prefix “Lamed” except for here. In Deuteronomy we read “Vayarayu otanu,” a word beginning with the prefix “et.” The Maggid understands this to mean not ‘they did evil to us” but rather “they made us appear evil.” The Egyptians were concerned that the other nations would accuse Egypt of treating the Israelites poorly without good reason so they accused Israel of all types of evil actions in order to justify their oppression. In this way they hoped that the other nations would think their behavior toward the Israelites was justified. He would translate this expression “They made us appear evil before the other nations.” Having portrayed the Israelites in this way, then they felt that they were justified in oppressing the Children of Israel.

וַיָּרֵ֧עוּ אֹתָ֛נוּ הַמִּצְרִ֖ים וַיְעַנּ֑וּנוּ וַיִּתְּנ֥וּ עָלֵ֖ינוּ עֲבֹדָ֥ה קָשָֽׁה׃ The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. (Deuteronomy 26:6) וַיָּרֵ֧עוּ אֹתָ֛נוּ הַמִּצְרִ֖ים Vayarei’u otanu: “The Egyptians dealt harshly with us…” (Deut 26:6)
One might ask, after stating, “The Egyptians dealt harshly with us,” along with all the other verses describing (Israel’s oppression), why was it necessary to bring a verse from the Torah (to explain Deut. 26) that does not seem to offer any additional information? What do we learn from one verse about the other?
However, one might say that since the verses¹¹¹Deuteronomy 26:5-8 (in the Haggadah) are from Deuteronomy, one might claim that Moses said this of his own volition. Because he was grateful for all the kindness that God did for him, he exaggerated. Therefore, we bring a proof for each and every detail (in Deuteronomy 26) to show that it is exactly as it happened. Everything in Deuteronomy only adds to what is not stated in the other books of the Torah, as has been said regarding the commandments. All of the commandments taught in Deuteronomy are meant to add something (that has already been taught in the other books of the Torah). We will explain this later.
(Atta) Now, Maggid informs us of the bodily and physical injuries the Egyptians inflicted on us. It does this so that no one should ask why God smote the Egyptians with all of the plagues that have been mentioned. That is why Scripture states וַיָּרֵעוּ אֹתָנוּ "And the Egyptians dealt harshly with to us" (Deut. 26:6) and not וַיָּרֵ֥עוּ לָ֛נוּ “The Egyptians ill-treated us,” as is written elsewhere, וַיָּרֵ֥עוּ לָ֛נוּ מִצְרַ֖יִם וְלַאֲבֹתֵֽינוּ “Egypt ill-treated us and our fathers” (Num. 20:15)¹¹²There isn’t a good way to translate these two expressions so they are different from one another. Both include the word vayarei’u, one includes lanu and the other otanu. Vayerei’u otanu might be translated as, they made us evil, while vayerei’u lanu would be they dealt harshly or harmed us.
It intends to tell us that the Egyptians made the Israelites look guilty before Heaven. They did this by keeping them from studying Torah and performing commandments, as the Midrash states when it gives the reason for each plague. The sages said that the Egyptians did not deal harshly with the Israelites in order to injure their bodies or possessions. Rather they did so because God is holy and those who serve God are holy. However when one sanctifies oneself the divine presence rests within them, while one who makes oneself impure one is distanced from God.
Therefore, the heavenly prince who was appointed over Egypt put the idea in the minds of the Egyptians to make Israel perform acts that would make the Israelites impure. It was as if he said to them, if Israel is not holy, God will reject them. He tried to remove from them the things that sanctified them so that they would be removed from their domain (of holiness). The first effort was to prohibit them from studying Torah. Jacob had established a house of study in Goshen, as the sages said regarding the verse, “He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to point the way (lihorot) before him to Goshen.”¹¹³See Rashi on the verse: BEFORE HIM — means before he should arrive there. A Midrashic comment is: להורת לפניו (in the sense of, “that there might be teaching before him”) — to establish for him a House of Study from which Teaching (הוראה or תורה) might go forth (GR 95:3). (Gen. 46:28) And so the Egyptians decreed against the study of Torah. This is what the sages said, for their stratagems, they decided to punish them with water. Water is none other than Torah - that is why they were judged with water (at the Reed Sea). The Egyptians also tried to abrogate their daily recitation of the Sh’ma and the Amida; and so they smote them with the plague of frogs, as is stated in the Zohar. Va’era page 30a: This is the way of Israel: “At midnight, those who desire to remember the Holy One of blessing, do not allow their hearts to be restful. They rise up from bed to make mention of the Holy One. When the sun rises they go early to the synagogue and praise the Holy One. Similarly after noon, the time of Minchah. And when it becomes dark and the darkness clings to the night, when the sun has set. Regarding them, it is written, “By day or by night, O you, Adonai’s remembrancers, take no rest. This is the way of the people of Israel. Therefore, the Holy One remembered them in Egypt and sent those who did not subside neither day nor night against Pharaoh. Who are they? The frogs whose voices never subside! For Pharaoh seized hold of the Holy people who never stopped praising the Holy One…” Because he kept them from reciting the Shema evening and morning, and similarly kept them from the other commandments, therefore, “He treated them harshly/ he made them bad.”¹¹⁴See full translation of this passage with variations in Daniel Matt’s translation of the Zohar, Volume 4, Pages 121-122, Volume 2, 30a

Dewarim 14, 10 werden auch die verbotenen Wassertiere dem generellen Begriff טמא untergeordnet. Hier jedoch werden sie spezieller als שקץ bezeichnet. Während קוץ auch vom körperlichen Ekel vorkommt, wie נפשנו קצה בלחם הקלוקל (Bamidbar 21, 5), bezeichnet שקץ ausnahmslos in allen sonstigen Stellen nur den sittlichen Ekel. Ganz so, wie hier der Genuss dieser Tiere mit den Worten: ואת נבלתם תשקצו verboten wird, heißt es Dewarim 7, 26 von allem Götzentümlichen: שקץ תשקצנו, um das äußerste Maß der Entfernung und den äußersten Grad des Gegensatzes zu bezeichnen, in welchem alles Götzentümliche von uns, unserm geistig-sittlichen Wesen gegenüber, gehalten werden solle. So, daß שקוץ und שקוצים in den Büchern der Propheten ohne weiteres Götzen und Götzentümliches bezeichnet, und man in der Tat sagen kann: שקץ komme nur von diesen verbotenen Tieren und vom Götzentume vor. Nur einmal heißt es (Ps. 22, 25): כי לא בזה ולא שקץ ענות עני, und heißt dies dort wohl auch: er verachtete nicht und hielt die Erhörung des Armen nicht, (die das von den Feinden des Armen behauptet worden), im Gegensatz zu der Gerechtigkeit und Heiligkeit seines Wesens. Wenn daher ein Genussgegenstand hinsichtlich des verbotenen Genusses desselben שקץ genannt wird, so muss dieser Genuss im schärfsten konträren Gegensatz zu der Sittlichkeit stehen, die den Grundcharakter unseres Wesens bilden soll. Während טמא nur unfähig für קדושה macht, führt שקץ zu deren konträrem Gegenteil. Wir haben es daher: "Abscheu" übersetzt.