Translator's Summary: This comment in the Haggadah is troubling - why is the plague of pestilence singled out here. Many of the other commentators wrestle with this. Chida chooses a different route to explain it. Pestilence, here, refers not to the fifth plague but to the tenth plague which was also a type of pestilence. He then interprets the entire verse as a reference to the tenth plague and as a continuation of the list of plagues. "With a strong hand” - this [refers to] pestilence, as it is stated (Ex. 9:3); “Behold the hand of Adonai is upon your herds that are in the field, upon the horses, upon the donkeys, upon the camels, upon the cattle and upon the flocks, [there will be] a very heavy pestilence." We can now explain the remainder of the Maggid. “With a strong hand” refers to pestilence. It is possible that this rest of this Midrash is referring to the plague of the first born and is a continuation of, “And Adonai took us out,” which is explained, “I and not an angel.” In the plague of the first born, the first born died because of a strong hand - pestilence. And they only died because of an outstretched arm - the sword with which God struck them. They then writhed in pain because God is like a kohen, so to speak. Since they were writhing in pain they hadn’t yet died so there was no impurity yetThe stretching out of the arm was plague in the world.