First Sunday in Lent


Deuteronomy 26:5-11
A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
8. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with terrifying power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

By Jeffrey A. Spitzer: "Commentaries on the Haggadah contrast the evil of Laban with Pharaoh and see Laban as a symbol for political, sociological, and psychological evil. … One of the most difficult texts in the Haggadah is "arami oved avi." This verse from Deuteronomy 26:5, translated as "my father was a wandering Aramean," is part of the formula that was recited when the first fruit offerings were brought to the Temple in ancient times. The Haggadah includes the classic interpretation of the verse, reading it as "an Aramean destroyed my father." Who is the Aramean mentioned in this ritual formula? In this article, the author looks at this verse, which is at the center of the Haggadah, alongside the verse's rabbinic interpretation--which differs dramatically from the Torah text--and the numerous commentaries surrounding it that have arisen over the centuries."