If he had executed judgment but not done so against their gods, dayeinu; if he had not done so against their gods but killed their firstborn, dayeinu; if he had killed their firstborn but not given us their wealth, dayeinu: Everything in this passage is in chronological order except for the first two statements! It should have mentioned the ‘killing of the firstborn’ immediately after ‘executing judgment’ and only then mentioned, ‘doing so against their gods.’ We see this in scripture: “I struck down the first born of Egypt and against all the gods of Egypt I executed judgment.” ²⁴⁵ We see, however, the judgment of Egypt’s gods actually took place before the plague of the first born. Initially, God instructed the Israelites to set aside a lamb on the Sabbath before the first Passover, tied to their bed post. When the Egyptians asked the Israelites what they were doing, they told them that they were setting aside a lamb that would be sacrificed to God. Even though the lamb was the god of Egypt, there was nothing the Egyptians could do about this. Thus, the Israelites were able to vanquish the god of Egypt four days before the first born were struck down. Why does the statement “But not given us their wealth…” follow “If he had killed their first born?” We learn from the story of Gebiha ben Pesisa that the Israelites were paid for their many years of service to the Egyptians.²⁴⁶, etc.”] Then return us the gold and silver which ye took!' Gebiha ben Pesisa said to the Sages, 'Give me permission to go and plead against them before Alexander of Macedon: should they defeat me, then say, "Ye have merely defeated an ignorant man amongst us;" whilst if I defeat them then say, "The Law of Moses has defeated you."' So they gave him permission, and he went and pleaded against them. 'Whence do ye adduce your proof?' asked he. 'From the Torah,' they replied. 'I too,' said he, 'will bring you proof only from the Torah, for it is written; Now, the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. Pay us for the toil of 600,000 men whom ye enslaved for 430 years.' Then King Alexander said to them, 'Answer him!' 'Give us three days' time,' they begged. So he gave them a respite; they sought but found no answer. Straightway they fled, leaving behind their sown fields and planted vineyards. And that year was a Sabbatical year. But the law is that when there is a physical punishment for a wrong doing then the monetary fine is cancelled. The fact that God caused the firstborn to die might lead us to conclude that we do not have a right to collect a monetary fine as well. The death of the firstborn should have been “enough.” The silver and gold went even farther than they deserved. Furthermore God promised Abraham that his descendents would leave Egypt with great wealth after 430 years of slavery. They did not serve so many years, so had they left without the wealth would have been enough – and yet God rewarded them with great wealth. He split the sea: According to Pirke Avot 5:5,²⁴⁷ there were ten miracles at the Red Sea: (1) God split the sea into two parts. (2) He caused the water to be like a great tent over their heads. (3) He caused the sea floor to be completely dry. (4) When the Egyptians entered the sea the floor turned to mud. (5) The water became frozen like small building blocks, to honor the Israelites as they passed through the sea. (6) It became hard like rocks. (7) The sea split into twelve isles for the different tribes. (8) It became clear like glass so there was light and the people could see one another. (9) Sweet, good water spurt forth like a fountain for them to drink. (10) Whatever they didn’t drink afterwards piled up, thus blocking he way of the Egyptians. According to the Midrash²⁴⁸ there were other miracles at the sea as well. We learn that trees grew on each side with all types of fruit, and even when the Israelites allowed their feet to touch the water, it immediately became completely dry. To all of this, we say, “If God had given us wealth but not split the sea – that is, if God had brought us out of Egypt by way of the Philistines instead of splitting the sea, it would have been enough. Or if God had allowed us to defeat the Egyptians and not split the sea, it would have been enough. These other ways of leaving Egypt could have taken place naturally without any miracles – that would have been sufficient. Instead God performed many miracles in the way He took us out of Egypt so that people would come to say - God is fighting for them! We say in dayeinu that God literally took us “into the dry land of the sea” - implying that the sea was like a tent and that it was a like blocks of glass through which they could see.

footnotes: ²⁴⁵ Exodus 12:12 ²⁴⁶ BT Sanhedrin 91a Gebiha ben Pesisa is the subject of a series of stories in which he is sent to Alexander the Great to argue on behalf of the Jewish people: On another occasion the Egyptians brought a lawsuit against the Jews before Alexander of Macedon. They pleaded thus: 'Is it not written, “And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and they lent them [gold and precious stones ²⁴⁷ Itemized by Rambam R’ Ovadiah of Bartenura ²⁴⁸ Exodus Rabbah 21:10