What does "Ki Chadal Lispor" mean?
Ohr ha'Chayim: The ones who brought it did not count it, due to the toil. Even according to the opinion that he saved a fifth, he did not count; they made five [even] piles, and gave one [for Pharaoh].
Malbim: They did not count; they relied on Yosef.
Since it says "k'Chol ha'Yam," why must it say also "Harbeh Me'od"?
Ha'amek Davar: "K'Chol ha'Yam" teaches that it lasted without spoiling, like sand. Usually, grain would not last seven years, due to changes in the air, like it says in Gitin. 1 Through Chochmah or Divine help, it lasted
Shmuel (Gitin 31b): The east wind causes even pearls in the sea to rot. (Winds from the four directions blow every day, but sometimes are harsher than usual. The east wind after Sukos is especially prone to make wine spoil, like it says there. - PF)
What does "Ki Ein Mispar" mean?
Midrash Sechel Tov: A person cannot know the number.
Midrash ha'Gadol, Panim Yafos: From here, Chazal learned that Berachah applies to what is not counted. (This is why they did not count it.)
Rashi: [The counter ceased counting] because there no number. 1
Ohr ha'Chayim: Yosef's counter did not count what he put in the storehouse, for the ones who brought it did not count. It would be too tedious to count what is brought, and add it to the total.
Ha'amek Davar: He did not refrain because it was not important in his eyes, but rather, because there is no number (refer to 41:49:154). Compare to Gur Aryeh; refer to 41:49:153.1:1.
Why the doubled expression, "Chadal Lispor, Ki Ein Mispar" (until he stopped counting, for there was no number)?
Gur Aryeh: I might have thought the person in charge of counting the grain stopped keeping track, because he was unwilling to make the great effort necessary to do so. The verse emphasizes that he stopped because the task was impossible. Although it is always possible to record a large quantity using a team of many people, the task was impossible for the one person assigned to the job.
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "Ki... - Because there was no number." What is Rashi telling us?
Gur Aryeh: The word "Ki" occurs twice in this Pasuk. The first means "that" (Asher); but the second "Ki" means "because" (d'Ha).
Rashi writes that he ceased counting "because there is no number." But everything in the [physical] world has a number!
Seforno: There was not a number that a human can fathom.
Divrei David: It was impossible for the counter to count it.
Sifsei Chachamim: The counter knew from the beginning that there will not be a number, so he did not begin to count.
RS"R Hirsh: There is always a number - but there is a point at which people cannot distinguish. One cannot fathom the difference between 3,000,000,000 and 3,155,000,000. Therefore, they ceased to count.
