(ט) וְגֵ֖ר לֹ֣א תִלְחָ֑ץ וְאַתֶּ֗ם יְדַעְתֶּם֙ אֶת־נֶ֣פֶשׁ הַגֵּ֔ר כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
1. The motif of loving the Stranger גֵ֖ר because you were strangers in Egypt, is so inextricably linked to the message of the Exodus, how is it that neither the motif or even the word גֵ֖ר does not appear in the Haggadah?
וּלְפִי דַעְתּוֹ שֶׁל בֵּן, אָבִיו מְלַמְּדוֹ. מַתְחִיל בִּגְנוּת וּמְסַיֵּם בְּשֶׁבַח, וְדוֹרֵשׁ מֵאֲרַמִּי אוֹבֵד אָבִי, עַד שֶׁיִּגְמֹר כֹּל הַפָּרָשָׁה כֻלָּהּ:
And according to the intellect of the son, the father instructs him. He begins with shame and concludes with praise; and expounds from “A wandering Aramean was my father” (Deuteronomy 26:5) until he completes the whole section.
יניח הכוס מידו ויגלה אֶת הַמצות.
צֵא וּלְמַד מַה בִּקֵּשׁ לָבָן הָאֲרַמִּי לַעֲשׂוֹת לְיַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ: שֶׁפַּרְעֹה לֹא גָזַר אֶלָּא עַל הַזְּכָרִים, וְלָבָן בִּקֵּשׁ לַעֲקֹר אֶת־הַכֹּל. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: אֲרַמִּי אֹבֵד אָבִי, וַיֵּרֶד מִצְרַיְמָה וַיָּגָר שָׁם בִּמְתֵי מְעָט, וַיְהִי שָׁם לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל, עָצוּם וָרָב.
.....
וּבְמֹפְתִים. זֶה הַדָּם, כְּמָה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְנָתַתִּי מוֹפְתִים בַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ.
He puts down the cup from his hand and uncovers the matsa.
Go out and learn what Lavan the Aramean sought to do to Ya'akov, our father; since Pharaoh only decreed [the death sentence] on the males but Lavan sought to uproot the whole [people]. As it is stated (Deuteronomy 26:5), "An Aramean was destroying my father and he went down to Egypt, and he resided there with a small number and he became there a nation, great, powerful and numerous."
.....
"And with wonders" - this [refers to] the blood, as it is stated (Joel 3:3); "And I will place my wonders in the skies and in the earth:
3. As many commentaries point out, the Haggadah strangely, does not "complete the whole section" at verse 9 "He brought us to this place" or at verse 10 "the soil which You, O LORD, have given me" both of which appear to be critical to the redemption narrative.
(ג) וּבָאתָ֙ אֶל־הַכֹּהֵ֔ן אֲשֶׁ֥ר יִהְיֶ֖ה בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֑ם וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֵלָ֗יו הִגַּ֤דְתִּי הַיּוֹם֙ לַיהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ כִּי־בָ֙אתִי֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֧ע יְהוָ֛ה לַאֲבֹתֵ֖ינוּ לָ֥תֶת לָֽנוּ׃ (ד) וְלָקַ֧ח הַכֹּהֵ֛ן הַטֶּ֖נֶא מִיָּדֶ֑ךָ וְהִ֨נִּיח֔וֹ לִפְנֵ֕י מִזְבַּ֖ח יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃ (ה) וְעָנִ֨יתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ֜ לִפְנֵ֣י ׀ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ אֲרַמִּי֙ אֹבֵ֣ד אָבִ֔י וַיֵּ֣רֶד מִצְרַ֔יְמָה וַיָּ֥גָר שָׁ֖ם בִּמְתֵ֣י מְעָ֑ט וַֽיְהִי־שָׁ֕ם לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל עָצ֥וּם וָרָֽב׃ (ו) וַיָּרֵ֧עוּ אֹתָ֛נוּ הַמִּצְרִ֖ים וַיְעַנּ֑וּנוּ וַיִּתְּנ֥וּ עָלֵ֖ינוּ עֲבֹדָ֥ה קָשָֽׁה׃ (ז) וַנִּצְעַ֕ק אֶל־יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע יְהוָה֙ אֶת־קֹלֵ֔נוּ וַיַּ֧רְא אֶת־עָנְיֵ֛נוּ וְאֶת־עֲמָלֵ֖נוּ וְאֶת־לַחֲצֵֽנוּ׃ (ח) וַיּוֹצִאֵ֤נוּ יְהוָה֙ מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם בְּיָ֤ד חֲזָקָה֙ וּבִזְרֹ֣עַ נְטוּיָ֔ה וּבְמֹרָ֖א גָּדֹ֑ל וּבְאֹת֖וֹת וּבְמֹפְתִֽים׃ (ט)
[ע'כ בהגדה]
וַיְבִאֵ֖נוּ אֶל־הַמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וַיִּתֶּן־לָ֙נוּ֙ אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֔את אֶ֛רֶץ זָבַ֥ת חָלָ֖ב וּדְבָֽשׁ׃ (י) וְעַתָּ֗ה הִנֵּ֤ה הֵבֵ֙אתִי֙ אֶת־רֵאשִׁית֙ פְּרִ֣י הָאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥תָּה לִּ֖י יְהוָ֑ה וְהִנַּחְתּ֗וֹ לִפְנֵי֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ וְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִ֔יתָ לִפְנֵ֖י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃
(3) You shall go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, “I acknowledge this day before the LORD your God that I have entered the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to assign us.” (4) The priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down in front of the altar of the LORD your God. (5) You shall then recite as follows before the LORD your God: “My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. (6) The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. (7) We cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression. (8) The LORD freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents.
[The Haggadah stops quoting here]
(9) He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. (10) Wherefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil which You, O LORD, have given me.” You shall leave it before the LORD your God and bow low before the LORD your God.
4. But why do the commentaries and scholars stop at verse 10. If we are to follow the suggestion of the Mishnah we should continue to the end of the parsha and read verse 11 as well?
(יא) וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֣ בְכָל־הַטּ֗וֹב אֲשֶׁ֧ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֛ יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ וּלְבֵיתֶ֑ךָ אַתָּה֙ וְהַלֵּוִ֔י וְהַגֵּ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּקִרְבֶּֽךָ׃ (ס)
(11) And you shall enjoy, together with the Levite and the stranger in your midst, all the bounty that the LORD your God has bestowed upon you and your household.
In his seminal work The First Mishna, Rav David Zvi Hoffman actually uses our Mishna and the Haggadah as a prime example of Midrash Halacha and the earliest use of reading the written law and adding ongoing explanatory midrash (oral interpretations). (see The First Mishna and the Controversies of the Tannaim translated from the German by Paul Forcheimer, PhD. Mauosho Publication of Cong. Kehillath Yaakove, Inc, NY 1977 pp 8 -12)
It would seem that since the First Fruits Declaration was well known by the masses in its original Hebrew as the only Biblical/Temple era declaration, (with another possible addition; the declaration of the suspected adulteress also referred to as a "section" פָּרָשַׁת סוֹטָה) that they might have also know the running Midrash of the oral law. Accordingly, it was a natural choice to be included in the Rabbinic Seder over lesser know verses in Exodus that were dispersed throughout the book and whose running Midrashic commentary would not have been as well known. The fact that at the beginning of the Biblical declaration in verse 26:3 it uses the word Higadata Hayom הִגַּ֤דְתִּי הַיּוֹם֙ made the choice of these verses all the more natural.
This still does not explain why the "whole section" was not included in the Haggadah.
The presumed original interpretation of this bikkurim [First Fruit] passage, that the ancestors were wandering nomads who have finally, through the grace of God, reached their homeland, fits well with this pattern. The interpretation preserved in the traditional haggadah, that the ancestors were persecuted by Laban and finally rescued by God from the hands of Pharaoh, does not fit the rhetoric pattern as well as the other.
See: JPS Commentary on the Haggadah - Historical Introduction, Translation, and Commentary, Joseph Tabory, The Jewish Publication Society 2008 pp 32 - 37
It has been pointed out that with the return to Zion and the establishment of the Modern State of Israel, many Israelis have felt compelled to update the Haggadah and make it once again, not a Haggadah of the Exile, but a Haggadah of the Land of Israel. [See for example Shoshana Michael Zucker, "Go and Learn" https://tinyurl.com/76golearn] Starting with the Haggadot of the Kibbutzim customs such as adding a 5th cup of wine or adding the fifth verse of redemption from Exodus 6: 8 וְהֵבֵאתִ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ I will bring you into the land became the norm. This would correspond to our Deuteronomic verse 26: 9-10 where God is thanked for bringing us into the land וַיְבִאֵ֖נוּ אֶל־הַמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה and we in turn bring the first fruits וְעַתָּ֗ה הִנֵּ֤ה הֵבֵ֙אתִי֙ אֶת־רֵאשִׁית֙ פְּרִ֣י הָאֲדָמָ֔ה.
And we should all applaud this reclamation of the original intent of the Mishnah.
Including the return to the land of Israel does not explain the "Praise" since the "shame" belongs to the fugitive, the "praise" needs to belong to the settlers (not God).
What none of the commentaries explain is why the last verse, verse 11, the verse that ends with "the stranger in your midst" was also omitted.
I suggest we actually "complete the whole section" until (וְהַגֵּ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּקִרְבֶּֽךָ׃ (ס which is a little more nuanced and therefore might be more in line with our Mishnaic advise to speak according to the intellect of the listener לְפִי דַעְתּוֹ שֶׁל בֵּן.
As long as the Jewish people were in Exile or as long as Jews in Israel still think like Exile Jews, then as a victims and as a refugees, they can no more consider the stranger than he or she can consider living in the land of Israel as a belonger. All verses relating to being brought up to the Land and including the stranger are not appropriate or not yet appropriate. But once we have redeemed the Land and been redeemed by it can we have the audacity to claim our patrimony and have the magnanimity to love and include the stranger. This is the true meaning of the שֶׁבַח praise that the Mishnah requires. It is not praise of God for bringing us into the land. Just as the shame is our shame of being stateless, so too the praise is our praise of making sure that victimhood has no place at our Seder or in our return to the homeland. This is how the Haggadah actually introduces our patrimony
As Tikva Frymer-Kensky, Reading the Women of the Bible, pp. 232, 236-237 writes with regard to Sarah's treatment of her slave Hagar: "We like to believe that the experience of suffering makes us more sympathetic to the suffering of others. It does not. Sarai’s own experience as a slave does not make her more empathic to the slave in her own home. On the contrary, it makes her want to assert her dominance and authority so she won’t lose it again. As usual, the biblical narrator does not comment on the actions: It is left to the reader to note how easily the oppressed can become oppressors. When God raises high the lowly, how will the newly empowered behave toward those who lack power and autonomy?" (quoted by R. Shai Held "An Exodus for Egyptians? Reading Genesis and Isaiah Together Rabbi Shai Held – Jerome L. Stern Pre-Pesah Lecture 2021)
מִתְּחִלָּה עוֹבְדֵי עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה הָיוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ...
לְעֵשָׂו אֶת־הַר שֵּׂעִיר לָרֶשֶׁת אתוֹ, וְיַעֲקֹב וּבָנָיו יָרְדוּ מִצְרָיִם.
From the beginning, our ancestors were idol worshipers. ...
and I gave to Esav, Mount Seir [in order that he] inherit it; and Yaakov and his sons went down to Egypt.'"
The praise that we aspire to at the Seder is for a lesson learnt and repeated numerous times in the Torah.
(יא) וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֞ לִפְנֵ֣י ׀ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ אַתָּ֨ה וּבִנְךָ֣ וּבִתֶּךָ֮ וְעַבְדְּךָ֣ וַאֲמָתֶךָ֒ וְהַלֵּוִי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בִּשְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ וְהַגֵּ֛ר וְהַיָּת֥וֹם וְהָאַלְמָנָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּקִרְבֶּ֑ךָ בַּמָּק֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ר יִבְחַר֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לְשַׁכֵּ֥ן שְׁמ֖וֹ שָֽׁם׃
(11) You shall rejoice before the LORD your God with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite in your communities, and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your midst, at the place where the LORD your God will choose to establish His name.
(ח) לֹֽא־תְתַעֵ֣ב אֲדֹמִ֔י כִּ֥י אָחִ֖יךָ ה֑וּא (ס) לֹא־תְתַעֵ֣ב מִצְרִ֔י כִּי־גֵ֖ר הָיִ֥יתָ בְאַרְצֽוֹ׃
(8) You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your kinsman. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, for you were a stranger in his land.