Translator's Summary: The central portion of the Maggid consists of a Midrashic commentary on Deut. 26:5-8. The Mishnah states, “One expounds from the passage: “An Aramean tried to destroy my father” (Deut. 26:5), until he concludes the entire section. Interestingly, we only expound on four of the five verses in this passage - the number four figuring prominently in the Haggadah. The Haggadah comments on these verses phrase by phrase, drawing on midrashic comments in the Mekhilta and other rabbinic literature. In the first comments on Deut. 26:5 Chida discusses how and when the exile began. Jacob and his sons lived in relative peace when they came to Egypt - how can one describe their experience as “exile.” The descent however was not their own - they were compelled by God. “Few in numbers,” was a comment not only their number (70 people) but on the repair of the souls from the time of Adam. He went down to Egypt: compelled by a divine decree: There are a number of explanations regarding the missing 190⁶⁴ (ketz) years from the exile to Egypt. The Israelites only dwelled in Egypt 210 years. How can we say that these years were the time of the exile? Didn’t our forefather, Jacob, live in Egypt like a king? There was no other time in his life that was as peaceful or as prosperous as these years. Also for the tribes, the exile did not begin during this time. They dwelled in quietude and peacefulness and lacked for nothing. Can one really call this exile? In answer to this the Maggid states, “He went down to Egypt: compelled by a divine decree." Peacefulness, wealth, and dignity in this world are considered to be like chaff for the discerning person and even more so for the chosen one of our forefathers and the tribes of God. Had it not been for the decree of God so the brothers found Joseph and the famine ended, they would have returned to Canaan. Yet they were compelled by God to go back to Egypt. It is appropriate that it be thought of as exile since it was their hope to dwell in the land of Canaan but they were forced to be in Egypt by divine decree. Therefore, it is appropriate to count the years that Jacob and the tribes dwelled in Egypt as exile.

footnotes: ⁶⁴ Notice the play on the earlier statement in the Haggadah, שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא חִשַּׁב אֶת הַקֵּץ, “The blessed Holy One calculated the end”

And he sojourned there: This teaches… One might think that at first when they went to Egypt, they did so to settle there permanently, and for various reasons they became sojourners. In answer to this the Torah states that they did not go down to Egypt to settle permanently; originally, they planned to sojourn there for a short period of time. To fulfill God’s prophecy they went there to be exiled. Therefore all the years in Egypt were considered years of exile, as we have said. This can be deduced from Scripture. It should have said, “He went down to Egypt few in number and sojourned there.” This is how God would have ordered the verse if that was so. The order of the verse is, “He went down to Egypt to sojourn there few in number.” By conjuncting going down with sojourning, it comes to teach us that they did so only to sojourn there for a short time. This teaches us that they did not go down to settle in Egypt. In other words, the Maggid is saying don’t be bothered by the change in the verse - it could have said “He went down to Egypt few in number and then they sojourned there.” By introducing this change in the order of the verse it teaches us that they did not go down to settle permanently but to sojourn.