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Arama Oved Avi
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Arami Oved Avi

          Arami Oved Avi is one of the most important parts of the entire Haggadah. After going through fun and engaging aspects of the seder, we arrive at the integral aspect of the night – the Magid section. During Magid, we actually explain the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The Arami Oved Avi section discusses this transition from slavery to freedom.

In Devarim, perek 26 pasuk 5 states:- וְעָנִ֨יתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ֜ לִפְנֵ֣י ׀ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ אֲרַמִּי֙ אֹבֵ֣ד אָבִ֔י וַיֵּ֣רֶד מִצְרַ֔יְמָה וַיָּ֥גָר שָׁ֖ם בִּמְתֵ֣י מְעָ֑ט וַֽיְהִי־שָׁ֕ם לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל עָצ֥וּם וָרָֽב׃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.”

Basically, it states that went to Egypt without a large or dominant nation, but after Hashem freed us from Pharoah and we left, we became that powerhouse.

          Rashi believes that this passage is referring to Lavan, and he says that, “Lavan wanted to exterminate the entire nation when he pursued Yaakov. He went down to Egypt, and there were others trying to destroy us - וירד מצרימה.”

Chizkuni says, “my forefather used to be a wandering Aramean; this verse has been abbreviated. In full, it should have read: ‘Yaakov my forefather was a wandering Aramean.’ While he was serving Lavan in Aram he was no better than a wandering Aramean, he had no house or land of his own; he was not even a resident in that country.”

          My interpretation: this statement talks about the time in which we were wandering, searching for a home. We wandered through the desert for 40 years right out of Egypt, constantly nomadic. Now we’re free men, living in a free world, under our own roofs.

          Rav Alex Israel believes this passage focuses on the ideas of homelessness and homecoming. We thank Hashem for giving us land to call our own, and on which we can farm and build a community. Hashem has given all this to us after we were oppressed and without a home for so long.

Rashbam thinks that the verse refers to Avraham, but Ibn Ezra disagrees. Rather he believes that “father” was Yaakov – “אובד” is an intransitive verb. If it were referring to Lavan it would’ve said “מאביד”. So, it’s most likely that Yaakov is Arami and the haggadah is discussing saying that “when my father was in Aram, he was poor.”

While there are a multitude of different opinions out there, Arama Oved Avi is important no matter what. As much as we are celebrating our freedom from being slaves, we also rejoice over our ability to live in our own homes and not constantly experience homelessness. This short passage should be a focal point of every Pesach Seder.
haggadah Section: -- Exodus Story

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