אלו בנה לנו לבית המקדש ולא בנה לנו את־בית הבחירה דינו “If God had built the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple, for us, but God had not built the Beit HaBechirah, the Chosen House, (the Holy of Holies) it would have been enough for us.”²⁵⁴ For God would have willingly accepted our offerings made in the Temple. But God also wanted a Holy of Holy for us so that the Divine Presence could dwell there, an abode of God’s Presence. In that way God would always be with us, both then and forever God’s presence would never depart from the Western Wall. May this be revealed to the eyes of all the nations speedily in our days. הנה There is a difficulty here; why is it necessary to speak about God’s actions as, “the good that is doubled and quadrupled?” If it was for the actions that have been counted, hasn’t it already said, “How many favors did the God bestow upon us?” And even if we wish to strengthen God by speaking about the “good that is doubled and quadrupled,” above the good deeds that God bestowed upon us, there must be other acts beyond those we have already mentioned. It seems to me that the intention in mentioning every one of the favors that have been specified is to show something in addition to what has already been brought ( in dayyenu). והתחיל. The Maggid begins by saying “God took us out of Egypt.” In dayyenu it implies, that God took us out from the subjugation of Egyptians and in this passage, (in “How much more so is the good) it says that God took us out of Egypt, a place of great constraints, from the gates of impurity, as has been said, where we had entered forty nine gates of impurity.

footnotes: ²⁵⁴ This line appears in the printed first edition of Rabbi Foa’s Haggadah but does not appear in the Ashkenazic or most Sephardic versions of the Haggadah. See Haggadah Sheleimah, versions.

וְעָשָׂה בָהֶם שְׁפָטִים “He judged them.” He not only brought judgment upon the Egyptians but upon all of the gates (of impurity) as well.

וְעָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם “And he judged their gods.” At first God brought judgment upon their gods with the exception of baal Tzfon. And afterwards God brought judgment upon this god as well, as was written above. Or else - gods are the ministering angels who were appointed upon these gates. This served the Israelites so that they didn’t have to worry that they would become impure again.

וְהָרַג אֶת־בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם “He killed their firstborn.” The firstborn is the firstborn among the ministering angels who was called the ministering prince of Egypt, as was stated, “Israel saw the Egyptian²⁵⁵ dead on the shore of the sea.” (Ex. 14:30)

footnotes: ²⁵⁵ That is, singular referring to the celestial prince of Egypt.

וְנָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־מָמוֹנָם “Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore of the sea.” The Egyptians brought their wealth with them when they pursued the Israelites. For Rabbi Joshua ben Pedaya, “There wasn’t a single horse who was not carrying more than ten thousand pieces of gold upon it,” as was written in *Yalkut Shir HaShirim,*²⁵⁶, 982 on the verse, “I am dark but comely.” (Song 1:5) Even though receiving the wealth of the Egyptians happened after the splitting of the sea it is brought before here in order to follow the original order. ²⁵⁷ the order is, “If God had given us their money and had not split the Sea for us…” while in the following passage it also states, “and gave us their money, and split the Sea for us.” Rabbi Foa suggests that even though the money followed the splitting of the sea, it is listed here in the same way in which it was previously listed in Dayyenu. It is also possible that “God gave us their money,” means the abundance which God wished to bring upon them to give them life. He gave it to us and from our hands we were sustained, as Moses said to Jethro, “We will extend to you the same bounty that HaShem granted us.” (Nu. 10:32) It does not say “from that bounty,” but “the same bounty.” It is as if that good which was appointed for us shall also be given to you. The whole world shall drink from the essence of the land of Israel.

footnotes: ²⁵⁶ Yalkut Shimoni, Nach ²⁵⁷ In Dayyenu,

קָרַע לָנוּ אֶת־הַיָּם “God split the sea.” This does not refer to the “lower” Yam Suf, the Red Sea for if it did, then it would have said, “God split the Red Sea.” Rather it refers to the sea that is the higher sea, called Yam Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee. The lower sea is also called the Yam Suf, the Reed Sea since it is finally called the end for there is nothing below it - and God split it to bring them there.²⁵⁸ is possibly a metaphor for the Shechinah in Kabbalistic thought.

footnotes: ²⁵⁸ The Yam suf

הֶעֱבִירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה “God led us through it on dry land….” Since none of the water attached itself to them. Or else, it is possible to say that since God could have redeemed us with the lower Sephirah (middah) which is called Yam, sea, the redeeming angel about whom our forefather Jacob bore witness. But God only wanted to redeem us with the Sephirah (middah) that is called Mi,²⁵⁹ (the Hebrew word for sea) is associated with Shechinah - it is the sea into which all the other Sephirot flow, Mi ( the word who) is associated with the Sephriah of . Mi adds up to fifty - a number associated with the fifty gates of purity (and fifty gates of impurity. So there is a lower and a higher sea - Shechinah and . Who, as is stated in the book of theZohar. Therefore, when it says that God split the sea for us and brought us through on dry land, it means that the divine plenty (hashpa’ah) came to us from a higher place as if the sea turned to dry land when it was filled with all goodness and everything was through God’s agency.

footnotes: ²⁵⁹ While Yam

שִׁקַּע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ “God pushed down our enemies (bi-tocho) the sea.” The letter bet on the word בְּתוֹכוֹ bi-tocho means “for the sake of,” in other words, in order to take out the good that was still in them. That is, the death of the Egyptians included holiness, as has been said.

סִפֵּק צָרְכֵּנוּ בַּמִדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה “God supplied all our needs for forty years.” This passage continues to single out things that the Israelites received from a higher source… God provided all the things that we needed, even if we already had them. For instance, even if we had a number of outfits so that if one wore out we could exchange it with another, the first ones never wore out on their own. One can explain the mem of the word מֵֽעָלֶ֔יךָ mei’alekha²⁶⁰) did not wear out, nor did your feet swell these forty years.” Rabbi Foa choses to read the verse, “Because the clothes upon you (mei’alecha) they not wear out, nor did your feet swell these forty years.” as a causal mem ( which is on you). Further, the passage uses the word **סִפֵּק “**God supplied,” instead of נתן לנו “God gave us,” to make known that God only gave the Israelites as much as needed and no more as we see in the case of manna. They only collected as much manna each day as they needed to eat, in order that they not lose their trust in God. God did this in a barren and dry wilderness where the celestial princes did not desire people to settle or the presence of society. Rather the prince desired the complete destruction of everything that one could see so that the place would become a wilderness. In order that it not be difficult to understand, “God supplied whatever we needed,” even if we already had it, one might explain that the garments that were packed away began to deteriorate while the garments that they were wearing did not. This is the meaning of the statement, “The clothes that were upon you did not wear out…” This was similar to the manna for which any extra began to rot.

footnotes: ²⁶⁰ This word is taken from Deuteronomy 8:4, “The clothes upon you (mei’alecha

הֶאֱכִילָנוּ אֶת־הַמָּן “God fed us the manna.” “The manna,” is written with a definite article (hei hayediah) since there are some places where manna that comes down is from a higher place, where it states, “I will rain down bread for you from the heavens.” (Ex. 16:4 It is explained that God rained down rain from a place that is called (hashamayim) “The Heaven.”²⁶¹ to the Sefirah of Tiferet. It would then descend with the dew from above and below as if it were placed in a box. The lower (earthly) dew was not like the higher dew; rather their order was based on their introduction - the higher dew came first, before the regular manna. The dew was higher because it is the dew of which Isaac spoke to Jacob, ““May God give you the dew of heaven…” (Gen 27:28) Enough has been said for those who understand…”²⁶²

footnotes: ²⁶¹ This is possibly a reference in Kabbalah ²⁶² Phrases such as this one are often used by the Ramban and others to allude to hidden mystical secrets in the text. Apparently the dew of which Isaac spoke was the divine plenty.

וְנָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּת “God gave us the Sabbath.” “To us,” specifically, and not to the other nations of the world, as the sages said, “A Noahide who observes the Sabbath is liable to receive the death penalty,²⁶³ as is stated, “It shall be a sign for all time between Me and the people of Israel.” (Ex. 31:17) This might be compared to a King who was sitting on his throne and His consort was sitting across from him. If someone passed between them he would be liable for the death penalty. From here we can understand how beloved this gift was that God gave us. For the Sabbath is the seventh day of the first week which God created. It is the mystery of God who dwells in among us. Since God dwells in our midst it is correctly compared to the parable of the king and queen who were sitting together.

footnotes: ²⁶³ BT Sanhedrin 58b

קֵרְבָנוּ לִפְנֵי הַר סִינַי “God brought us closer to Mount Sinai.” סיני Sinai ingematria has the same numerical value as the word, סלם sulam, ladder,²⁶⁴ After we were given the Sabbath, God gave us other ways of coming even closer. God gave us another way to rise up the rungs of the ladder and reach supernal attainment so that not only would we be close but we could cleave to God. “For as the loincloth clings to the loins of a man…” (Jer. 13:11)²⁶⁵ 8:1 this verse is quoted: “The Holy One, blessed be He, told Moses: Bear in mind that Israel cleaves to my loins, as it is said: “For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of man, so have I caused to cleave to Me the whole house of Israel…” (Jer. 13:11). so there is no space between them, as it is written, “While you, who held fast toHaShem your God, are all alive today.” (Deut. 4:4) It would be a chariot to the Divine Presence, as the Patriarchs were.²⁶⁶ while the next stanza, “God gave us the Torah,” means the oral Torah

footnotes: ²⁶⁴ Both words add up to 130 in Gematria ²⁶⁵ In Midrash Tanchuma Ki Tisa ²⁶⁶ Possibly this suggests that coming close to Sinai implies receiving the Written Torah

נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה “God gave us the Torah.” God gave us the Oral Torah and not just its plain sense teachings but the parts that the angels desire, the mysteries about which the angels said, “What is man that You have been mindful of him,” (Ps. 8:5) that they should be worthy of receiving these important matters as this, “You who have covered the heavens with Your splendor!” (Ps. 8:2) It is the splendor and the beauty of the written Torah.

הִכְנִיסָנוּ לְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל “God brought us into the Land of Israel,” not to inherit the land or benefit from it. For this was the promise God made to be fulfilled in the company of our forefathers,²⁶⁷ as Scripture states, “I will assign all these lands to you and to your heirs.” (Gen. 26:3) Rather, God brought us there to seize hold of it so that it would no longer be called the land of Canaan; instead it would be land of Israel. Even though it is now in the hands of strangers, it is ours because land cannot be stolen.²⁶⁸ 30a-30b Baba Kama 95a In other words, even though we are not in possession of the land of Israel, it still belongs to us.

footnotes: ²⁶⁷ The exact meaning of this expression חברת אבותינו “the company of our forefathers,” is not clear. It appears to suggest that Israel cannot take full possession of the land of Israel until it can happen in the presence of all generations - so that both we and our forefathers are present. Does this suggest that we cannot fully possess the land until the resurrection of the dead takes place?? In the meantime we must try to seize the land so that it is no longer in the possession of the Canaanites and the other nations that would try to hold on to it. Rabbi Foa ends by quoting the talmudic idea that land cannot be stolen from its owner - therefore whatever the situation we still have possession of it even if we are not holding on to it. ²⁶⁸ BT Sukkah

בנה לנו את בית המקדש “God built the Holy Temple.” This is the Holy Temple (Beit HaMikdash) about which Moses said, “The sanctuary (Mikdash), O Lord, which Your hands established.” (Ex. 15:17) In that way God would come down from heaven to a place of beauty and perfection. And the Beit HaBechirah (the Holy of Holy) would be present in the Holy Temple to atone for all our sins, may it happen speedily in our days.