Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
When farmers bring בִּכּוּרִים (bikkurim, first crops) to Yerushalayim, there’s a special declaration to say. It’s a summary of Benei Yisrael’s history, beginning here:
וְעָנִ֨יתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ֜ לִפְנֵ֣י ׀ יהוה אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ אֲרַמִּי֙ אֹבֵ֣ד אָבִ֔י וַיֵּ֣רֶד מִצְרַ֔יְמָה וַיָּ֥גׇר שָׁ֖ם בִּמְתֵ֣י מְעָ֑ט וַֽיְהִי־שָׁ֕ם לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל עָצ֥וּם וָרָֽב׃
You shall then recite before God your Lord: “Arami oved avi. He went down to Egypt in small numbers and stayed; but there he became a large nation.”
We didn’t translate the first three words of the declaration because they are puzzling. What does “arami oved avi” mean?
The problem is that the שֹׁרֶשׁ (shoresh, root) א.ב.ד in “oved” could mean one of two things:
It could mean “destroy,” and then the phrase is: An Aramean destroyed my father. (This is the reading that appears in the Pesah Haggadah!)
Or it could mean “lose,” and then the phrase is: My father was a lost (or wandering) Aramean.
You can see these two readings, in Rashi and Rashbam.
לָבָן בִּקֵּשׁ לַעֲקֹר אֶת הַכֹּל כְּשֶׁרָדַף אַחֲרֵי יַעֲקֹב.
Lavan (the Aramean) tried to uproot it all when he chased after Yaakov.
אֲבִי אַבְרָהָם אֲרַמִּי הָיָה, אוֹבֵד וְגוֹלֶה מֵאֶרֶץ אֲרָם.
My father Avraham was an Aramean, lost and wandering, from the land of Aram(-Naharayim).
Each interpretation has pros and cons.
Rashi’s interpretation (which is based on a midrash) doesn’t work that well grammatically, because “oved” in this form wouldn’t normally mean destroyed. But, on the other hand, a lot of the bikkurim declaration (Devarim 26:5-10) is about people trying to oppress us, so it might make sense for this line to also be about oppression!
- According to Rashi, how did Lavan try to destroy Yaakov? (Hint: Look at Bereishit 31:43!)
Rashbam’s interpretation works better grammatically. But, on the other hand, the pasuk is about someone who went down to מִצְרַיִם (Mitzrayim, Egypt) and stayed. It makes more sense for that to be Yaakov, not Avraham!
- According to Rashbam, what does Avraham have to do with the story of going down to Mitzrayim? (Hint: Look at Bereishit 15:13!)
- How does the story of our past change depending on where you begin telling it, with Avraham or with Yaakov?
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