Translator's Summary: It is necessary to add a comment about gematria. For most medieval (and some modern) thinkers there is no aspect of the Torah that is insignificant including the numerical value of letters and words. Every letter has a numerical value. That said, the numbers don’t always work out quite the way the commentators wanted, so they sometimes fudged the numbers, adding or subtracting one for the word itself. The use of gematria allows Chida to offer some ingenious connections as a way of explaining the amount of time Israel was in exile and how long they were enslaved and the hidden meaning in verses. Four numbers are crucial: Was Israel in Exile 430 years (Ex.12:40), 400 years (Gen. 15:13), 210 years (Genesis Rabbah 91:2) or 86 years, the years of harsh slavery. Pay attention to how these numbers appear as well as other numbers including the numerical significance of Moses’ name (345). “And we cried out to Adonai, God of our ancestors,” as it is stated, “A long time afterwards…” I would like to connect what the Maggid writes here with what I read in Lev Arye,¹⁵⁷ Parshat Va’era, in the name of the Kabbalist, Rabbi Elchanan, of blessed memory. It would have been fitting for Israel to be in exile for 430 years. 430 is five times 86 (elohim).¹⁵⁸ is associated with the divine attribute of judgment and it has the numerical value of 86. When God saw that Israel was unable to suffer beneath bitter exile for so long and that they would drown (God forbid!) in exile, God had compassion upon them and only made them serve for 86 years,¹⁵⁹ and Seder Olam Rabbah. Also see Rabbeinu Channaniel on Exodus 12:40 which is elohim in numerical value. The numerical value of Elohim is 86. Four times Elohim equals sh’mad, destruction. This explains the verse, “they would not listen to Moses, their spirits crushed (mi’kotzer ruach) and because of cruel bondage.” (Ex. 6:9) This implies that they assumed they would be in exile for 430 years (the numerical value of mi’K’tzer)¹⁶⁰ and they did not know that God would lighten their burden so that they would only be in Egypt 210 years (when one subtracts the numerical value of ruach - 214), and that the time of hard labor would only be 86 years, the numerical value of avodah, slavery, when we subtract the word from the count. One can now explain the passage, “And their cry for help from the bondage rose up to HaElohim, and Elohim heard their groaning and Elohim remembered the covenant...and Elohim looked upon... and Elohim knew.” Elohim appears five times in this verse but the first one is written as HaElohim as a reference to the five times Elohim - 430 years that Israel was supposed to serve in Egypt. This alludes to the fact that God could not bear so many years and that God, in his compassion, removed four fifths of the time from His decree. “ And Adonai continued, “I have marked well the plight of My people in Egypt…” (Ex 3:7) “Therefore, I will send you to Pharaoh...” God said to Moses, “If you can’t redeem them then nobody will be able to redeem them.” The remaining years of exile are equal to sh’mad, destruction, 344 years. Your name is Moshe, which has the numerical value of 345. You are sanctified one more than the destruction - You are supposed to be their redeemer! This is a sign that I am supposed to send you since you are greater than this destruction. It is with this that we can explain the statement of our teacher Rabbi Wolf. There are four terms for redemption in Scripture which parallel the four cups of wine and the four times Elohim is mentioned. They were to be saved by the four cups (kosot) which also has the numerical value of 86 like the word Elohim. The four “cups” of wine and their promises transformed the four mentions of Elohim, from judgment into promises of compassion.

footnotes: ¹⁵⁷ Possibly a book published by Rabbi Yehudah Arye Leib Hoshki. originally printed in the city of Wolmersdorf in the year 1674. ¹⁵⁸ Since elohim ¹⁵⁹ There is a Midrashic tradition that the hard labor of slavery began around tthe time Miriam was born, and last until Moses returneed to Egyt to redeem the Israelitess when he was 80 years old, coming to a sum of 86 years. See Pesikta Zutarta ¹⁶⁰ מקצ"ר Ex. 6:9 Note that the word is written without a vav.

Initially, we said that the passage, “They would not listen to Moses, their spirits crushed....” (Ex. 6:9) alludes to the numerical value of kotzer (מקצר) is 430 years and ruach (רוח) has the numerical value of 210 (years of slavery) but this is not really correct for the numerical value of the word ruach is 215 (including the word as one)! But we can explain his words according to what is stated in Pirkei D”Rebbe Eliezer. It was decreed that they would be enslaved for 430 years but they were only enslaved 215 years. The extra five years were added on from the time before Jacob went down to Egypt when Ephraim and Menashe were born to Joseph. Thus, the time of enslavement was calculated including both the days and nights so that it equaled 430 years. Based on these two explanations it is possible to to explain the verses in this fashion. There are two reasons the salvation of Israel took place when it did. First, it was because of the merit of Moses that they only served 86 years in slavery, subtracting the remaining 344 (sh’mad שמ"ד) years. They only needed to be enslaved for 86 years with hard labor. Moses was a master of the holy name (ba’al hashem).¹⁶¹ - the word the name is an inversion of the letters of Moshe. The name Moshe and Hashem have the same numerical value of 345 so that he could negate sh’mad, destruction, which has the numerical value of the remaining years of slavery - 344. The second explanation is that the nights of subjugation were counted just like the days adding up to 430 years. If you argue that they were only subjected to harsh treatment for 86 years, from the birth of Miriam and that 344 years still remained, then we can say that Moshe was added, negating the other 344 years. And if one says that the count was from the birth of Menashe and Ephraim and the descent to Egypt then it adds up to 215 years , then one can say the nights were added to the days adding up to 430 days. One can explain Israel’s time of redemption based on either explanation. But the explanation of the nights is problematic since it applies specifically to Hebrew slaves working at night, as Scripture states, “do not subject your kinsman to the treatment of a slave.” (Lev. 25:39) But this was not the case for an Israelite since he was owned by an idolater. All of their subjugation could be harsh and oppressive, as was the case with Pithom and Ramses. We see that they never succeeded in building the cities since every time they were built the cities sunk into an abyss or one by one the building collapsed (even as they built them).¹⁶² Despite this the Egyptians continued tp increase the harshness of the slavery. How can we expect that these wicked ones would observe the biblical law, “Do not subject them to the treatment of a slave,” or to consider the night differently? Didn’t they want to spill the blood of the Israelites without reason other than to oppress them even at night? Look at the way they were enslaved during the day! They enslaved them with the work of slaves but they also passed new laws and decrees so that it was worse than the enslavement of a slave. The statement, “They did not listen to Moses,” means, “They didn’t trust in Moses. His name, Moshe, is one more than sh’mad, proving that he had the ability to save them. But they didn’t trust Moshe, or believe that his name was a sign that he would redeem them. The other claim was that, mi’kotzer whose numerical value is 430, became ruach, 215 (with the name counting as one). This was because they did not know that the nights were included in the original decree. Also, because hard labor which the idolaters placed upon the Israelites, more than the normal labor demanded of a slave, also counted toward their redemption. But the Israelites did not accept either claim - the allusion in the name Moses or the addition of the nights counted toward the amount of slavery. Some time later I saw what was written in the book B’nai Yitzchak, Parshat Va’era in the name of the author of Migaleh Amukot. ¹⁶³

footnotes: ¹⁶¹ Master of the name - hashem ¹⁶² BT Sota 11a ¹⁶³ 1637 work by Rabbi Nathan Nata Spira who lived in Poland (1585–1633)

Based on the Rav’s teaching, one can connect the verse, “Their cry for help from the bondage rose up to God,” with the verse which the Maggid quoted, “And we cried out...as it says, “and their cry rose up…” The reason for their cry was the five times Elohim is mentioned whose numerical value is 430. This is “Their cry,” (shavatam) to HaElohim (Five times Elohim) as the Rav said. For they were unable to suffer subjugation any more. Further, it says, “And God heard our voice,” as it says, “And Elohim heard...and saw our oppression, as it says, “Elohim saw our suffering. The intention in this verse was to focus on the four times Elohim appears, so that it had the numerical value of sh’mad, destruction, or 344. This is the remaining years of exile which God transformed into compassion, the Tetragrammaton. Thus, the Maggid writes, “Elohim heard, for Elohim was transformed into a compassionate name of God, YHVH. Blessed is He and their redemption.

I will now explain this midrashically: The remaining years of exile (four times Elohim) were abrogated through the four acts through which Israel atoned. It was written that because of four mighty things Israel was redeemed: They didn’t change their names, they didn’t change their language, they were chaste in their sexual behavior, and they did not slander one another….**** These four acts atoned four times to Elohim (86) which was the amount of time that they had to remain in Egypt. This is alluded to in the verse, “And we cried out to Adonai, God of our ancestors…” (Deut 26:7) Their cry was because of the years of exile that they could not bear. “And Adonai heard our voice - specifically, “The voice is the voice of Jacob,” (Gen. 27:22) because they didn’t change their language. “And God saw our affliction,” this refers to the forced separation of husbands and wives which was a form of affliction since the Israelites refused to engage in sexually illicit relations. If they hadthe forced separation would not have been an affliction, for, “Filling his stomach is a type of sin.”¹⁶⁴ is not clear here. Possibly, indulging in physicality is a sin. “And our misery (amaleinu)” is our wealth. It alludes to the fact that the Israelites kept one another’s secrets. After plundering Egypt no one revealed where their money had gone. “And our oppression,” during all of the subjugation the Israelites did not change their names. If they had changed their names, their names would have been similar to the idolaters and they would not have been enslaved. But all of the Israelites were enslaved. It was because of these four acts that Israel had 344 years (4 times Elohim) removed from their years of slavery and they were treated compassionately by Adonai who promised them four redemptions.

footnotes: ¹⁶⁴ BT Berachot 32a the exact meaning of this saying from the Talmud

It is possible that this was hinted in the verse, “Their cry for help from the bondage (haavodah) rose up to God (haelohim). (Ex. 2:23) Many of the Israelites did not understand that God’s decree of 430 years of slavery was five times Elohim. They simply knew that there was a decree of 430 years and that 86 years had passed based on the statement, “The Israelites were groaning under the slavery,” (HaAvodah) - Ha, five times avodah since it has the numerical value of 86 plus one.¹⁶⁵ עם הכולל. It refers to the practice of adding one extra number to account for the word “And they cried out because their patience failed them. God heard their cry even though they were unaware of that the years of slavery were equal to HaElohim, five times elohim. In His mercy God received their groaning as it is written, “Their cry for help from bondage rose up to Ha (five times) Elohim, or 430 years. But God answered them because Ha (five times) *avodah... “*And God heard…God turned the remaining four times Elohim into compassion, a cos, a cup of salvation,

footnotes: ¹⁶⁵ The term for this is Im Hakollel,