[Mesorah] Va'avadum v'eenu osam

[Akiva Miller via Mesorah]

R' Seth Mandel wrote:

> When one wants to say "they made them work" in Aramaic,
> the verb p-l-h. is in the Af‘el, as in the last quotation
> he brings (w'aflah.u).  However, the verb in "w'yifl'h.un
> b'hon" is in P‘al/Qal, and so it must mean "and they
> worked utilizing them/through them." Otherwise it would
> be "w'yafl'h.u yas-hon."

Thank you; this was very helpful. Someone wrote me off-list with a
similar conclusion, clarifying both the verbs and the objects:

> The verb עבד [ayin beis daled] has two senses: working and
> worshipping. In Vayeilech and in Yirmiyahu, it is used in the
> sense of worshipping, since both deal with avoda zara.  In
> B'reishis, on the other hand, it is used in the sense of
> working them -- causing them to work  (as one would say "he
> worked me like a slave").  Thus, in B'reishis, the Targum is
> ... "they will be עובד [oved] with them ("with" in the sense
> of a tool, not in the sense of a co-worker), while in Vayeilech
> [31:20] it is "they will be עובד [oved] to them" ...

What I get from this is that I was very mistaken when I wrote:

> "Avadum" clearly means "they (Yisrael) will serve them (Mitzrayim)".

Rather, the subject is Mitzrayim, and the object is Yisrael:

> they worked utilizing them/through them
or
> they worked them (like a slave)

Over Shabbos, I pondered these ideas, and it occurred to me that a
translation like "they worked them" or "they enslaved them" would
require the Hiphil or Piel forms. But RSM says that "v'yifl'chun" is
Paal/Kal, and both Mandelkern and Even Shoshan say that "va'avadum" is
Paal/Kal.

If our verb is Paal/Kal, then Mitzrayim is the one who is working.
They are not causing Yisrael to work, and certainly not making Yisrael
into slaves. Rather: Mitzrayim is working, and Yisrael are the tools.
I didn't grasp it when I first saw it, but I think that this is
exactly what RSM meant when he wrote "they worked utilizing
them/through them."

Tachlis: How to translate?

I had not mentioned my purpose in analyzing these words. I am
currently reviewing my personal translation of the Haggada that I
wrote for my family's Seder. Currently, I translated this pasuk to be:
"Know full well that your children will be foreigners in another
country - and be enslaved and tortured by them - for four hundred
years." But when I got to the words "be enslaved and tortured", I
realized that these words are Nif'al, while "va'avadum v'eenu" are
*not* Nif'al. And that's what led me to several days of research.

As I said, "they worked them" would be Hiphil; it says that Yisrael
was doing the work. But it seems to me that the Torah used the Kal, to
tell us that Mitzrayim was doing the work, and Yisrael were merely the
tools. In the context of the Hagadda, I think the actual *work* is
less important than our role as mere *tools*. I think the Hagadda
brings this pasuk (mostly to mention the 400 years, but also) to show
how Mitzrayim objectified Yisrael. I'm thinking of going with: " your
children will be foreigners in another country - and they will exploit
and torture them..."

All comments and suggestions appreciated!

Akiva Miller