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 הַמִּצְרִ֖יםVayarei’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 verses¹¹¹ (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)¹¹², 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 studyingTorah. 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.”¹¹³ (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.”¹¹⁴

footnotes: ¹¹¹ Deuteronomy 26:5-8 ¹¹² There isn’t a good way to translate these two expressions so they are different from one another. Both include the word vayarei’u ¹¹³ See 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). ¹¹⁴ See full translation of this passage with variations in Daniel Matt’s translation of the Zohar, Volume 4, Pages 121-122, Volume 2, 30a