## Maaseh Nissim on Pesach Haggadah, Magid, First Fruits Declaration

###### Maaseh Nissim on Pesach Haggadah, Magid, First Fruits Declaration 4:1
[Maaseh Nissim on Pesach Haggadah, Magid, First Fruits Declaration 4:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Maaseh%20Nissim%20on%20Pesach%20Haggadah/s/Magid,_First%20Fruits%20Declaration/r/4:1)

**במתי מעט.** הספק הכולל כל הדרש שדורש מארמי אובד אבי שהיא בפ' כי תבא שאומר מביא הביכורים עד שגומר כל הפרשה כמבואר בש"ס פרק ע"פ במשנה. שאין זה ענין דרוש שאינו דורש וחוקר שום דבר רק שמביא ראיה מקרא אחד על קרא אחר ועל כיוצא בזה הקשו בש"ס קרא לקרא. ועוד קשה דלמא הביא סיום הכתוב דועתה שמך ולא היה לו להביא רק הא דבשבעים נפש ירדו. ועוד קשה דהיה לו להביא הקרא דבפרשת שמות כל נפש הבאה בית יעקב מצרימה שבעים ולמה לו להביא קרא דבפרשת עקב והוא תמהון גדול.

**Rabbi Mark Greenspan:**
**With meager numbers – as it says: “With seventy people your ancestors went down to Egypt and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the heaven.” Deuteronomy 10:22.** The entire Midrash on Deuteronomy 26 is a collection of verses that are chosen from elsewhere in the Bible to illustrate something that is stated on one of the verses in Deuteronomy, Chapter 26. They do not seem to add any deeper insight into the meaning of the Bikkurim (first fruit) declaration found in this chapter. What is the point of this series of juxtaposed verses?
The Verses contained in this section of the Haggadah are something of a riddle. We have a series of verses from Deuteronomy 26:5 – 8 that are illuminated by other verses from various parts of the Bible. While the illustrating verses would appear not to add anything to our understanding of the verses in Deuteronomy 26, in fact each illustrating verse is an answer to a question raised by the original verse. It is up to the reader to figure out what the question is and how the illustrating verse answers the question.
Deuteronomy 26:5 troubles the Maggid. It says: “And he (Jacob) went down and dwelled there with meager numbers; but there he became a great and very populous nation. What is it that is troubling the Maggid about this verse? The verse should have said: “And he (Jacob) went down with meager numbers and dwelled there and there he became a great and populous nation…” The verse implies that Jacob dwelled in Egypt with few in number. Yet a Midrash tells us that the children of Jacob had already increased significantly and become a great and populous nation before his death. So why does our verse say that he dwelled there with meager numbers?


###### Maaseh Nissim on Pesach Haggadah, Magid, First Fruits Declaration 4:2
[Maaseh Nissim on Pesach Haggadah, Magid, First Fruits Declaration 4:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Maaseh%20Nissim%20on%20Pesach%20Haggadah/s/Magid,_First%20Fruits%20Declaration/r/4:2)

ובהתרת כל זה נאמר. דדרך של המגיד הוא כך שהיה קשה לו אקרא ומביא מקרא אחר יישב הקושיא והיה קשה לו בכאן דכתיב וירד מצרים ויגר שם במתי מעט דמשמע שכל ימי הגירות היה במתי מעט ובאמת לא היה רק הירידה במתי מעט דהא לא מצת יעקב עד שראה ששים רבוא יוצאי יריכו וכך היה לו לכתוב וירד מצרים במתי מעט ויגר שם ויהי שם לגוי וגו' לזה מביא קרא. (דבשבעים נפש ירדו אבותיך מצרימה ועתה שמך ה' אלהיך ככוכבי השמים לרוב) שהוא ג"כ קשה מאוד מאי ועתה שמך דמשמע שעכשיו הושמו והא כבר בהיותם במצרים הושמו ואדרבה עכשיו נתמעטו ע"ד חלק חמישי עלו ממצרים כדכתיב וחמישים עלו בפרשת בשלח ע"ש ברש"י והיה לו לכתוב ושמך ה' וגו' וע"כ צל דהנה רש"י בפרשת שמות כתב וז"ל ואלה שמות אע"פ שמנאם בחייהם וכו' להודיע חיבתם שנמשלו לכוכבים שמוציאם ומכניסם במספר וכו'. וא"כ במצרים לא היו אצלו ית' כולם בבחי' כוכבים להיות נמנין כל אחד ואחד במספר רק השבעים נפש שהיו צדיקים גמורים כמלך שאוהב לאחדים ואגבן מפרנס לבני משפחתו שאינו מונה רק האהובים אצלו אבל עכשיו שקבלו התורה הושמו כולם אצלו ככוכבים להמנות בפרטות לכל אחד ואחד. וזהו שנאמר כאן ג"כ ויגר שם במתי מעט שבכל הגירות לא היה חשובים אצלו יתברך רק למתי מעט שלא נמנו אצלו בפרטות עד אחר שיצאו וקיבלו התורה נמנו כ"א וא' בפרטות וכ"א נחשב ונמנה אצלו לגוי.

**Rabbi Mark Greenspan:**
In this case the proof text quotes not only the first part of the verse in Deuteronomy 10: “With seventy people” which seems to prove the verse from Deuteronomy 26, but it quotes the last part as well “God has made you as numerous…” Why does the Haggadah include the entire verse when the first part should have been enough?
The answer to this question can be found in the choice of verses used to answer this question. Deuteronomy 10 says that Israel went down with only seventy but they have become a nation as numerous as the stars in the sky. Yet this is also a troubling verse. First, we know that there were far more Israelites in Egypt than there were in the wilderness. A Midrash teaches us that only one fifth of the Israelites left Egypt at the time of the Exodus. So, in a sense, this verse is wrong. The people of Israel were not as numerous as they had been in Egypt. So why does Moses describe the nation this way at the end of the desert sojourn and not earlier?
The answer can be found in a comment by Rashi on the opening verse of the book of Exodus. He wonders why the Torah makes a point of counting the children once again in this verse since the Torah had already done so earlier in the book of Genesis. Rashi compares Israel to the stars, which God “takes out and brings in by number and by their name.” Similarly, God discounted the years of exile in Egypt and only counted the people as they entered Egypt and after they had left and received the Torah. Even though they were more numerous during their years in Egypt they were not worthy of being counted. The verse in Deuteronomy 26, then, says that they dwelled there few in number because God only counts the seventy righteous people who entered Egypt and not those who were born there. And He did not count them again until after they received the Torah. The verse from Deuteronomy 10 with its reference to the stars hints at why our verse says they dwelled there few in number! 
Why choose a verse from Deuteronomy as a proof text when a verse from Genesis would have been more direct and appropriate: “Thus the total number of Jacob’s household who came to Egypt was seventy persons.” (Genesis 46:27).
What the verse in Deuteronomy 10 teaches us is that only the worthy truly count. This Midrash is not just about numbers, but about righteousness. The verse in Genesis simply tells us how many people went down to Egypt, while Deuteronomy 10 makes us aware of the connection between the early generation that entered Egypt and those who now prepare to enter the land of Canaan! Maybe another way of putting this is that God looks for quality and not quantity.


###### Maaseh Nissim on Pesach Haggadah, Magid, First Fruits Declaration 4:3
[Maaseh Nissim on Pesach Haggadah, Magid, First Fruits Declaration 4:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Maaseh%20Nissim%20on%20Pesach%20Haggadah/s/Magid,_First%20Fruits%20Declaration/r/4:3)

**גדול מלמד שהיו.** פי' שהיה קשה לו שאם גדול עצום ורב הכל נאמר על ריבוי הכמות הרי דיבר בכפל לכך פירש שמלת **גדול** נאמר על ריבוי האיכות שהיו חשובים ומצויינים. ו**עצום** נאמר על ריבוי הכמות.

**Rabbi Mark Greenspan:**
**And there Israel became a nation – this teaches that the Israelites were distinctive there.** 
Great – as it says: “And the children of Israel were fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied and became very, very mighty; and the land was filled with them.” (Exodus 1:7).
The words, Gadol (great), Atzum, (mighty), and Rav (populous) all have the same meaning. What does this seeming repetition of synonyms add to our understanding of the verse?
The first word Gadol refers to the quality of the nation; they became a great nation because they were a distinctive people with their own customs and practices that connected them to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The word Atzum refers to the quantitative nature of the nation; they became mighty because they were so numerous.