Tehillim 80 – Plague or Vine
- "Gefen mi-Mitzrayim tasi'a, tegaresh goyim va-tita'eha" - ( You brought a vine out of Egypt, You drove out nations to plant it).
For the Egyptians, every plague was "negef" - נגף, while for Israel it was "refuah" - (healing) - רפא - the root letters of the word "or"- אור - (light) join the letter פ (the symbol of courage and strength) and become healing for Israel. Egypt, however, is transformed into "efer" - אפר - (ashes) - the same letters.
The letters of the word נגף "negef" - (plague) - form the word גפן - "gefen"- (vine).
The holy book, the Zohar, says that this manifested itself during the census of the people (the division of the entire nation into individual souls), which led to a plague that killed thousands of Jews. The vine (gefen) is a symbol of the Jewish people, in which all the clusters exist in unity and harmony, arranged in order according to size. Through the revelation of Light in Egypt, the Jews were transformed into a vine. The Egyptians were overcome by great fear - מורא (mora), while the greatest Light appeared for the Jews - מאור (ma'or).
(M. Glazerson, "The Mystery of the Passover Haggadah")
