meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt/Tanakh/Commentary/Sforno/Torah/Sforno on Deuteronomy/English/merged.txt"}
text: Sforno on Deuteronomy
  ספורנו על דברים
  merged
  
  This file contains merged sections from the following text versions:
  -Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009
  -
  -Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash
  -
  
  Sforno on Deuteronomy
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  'אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל וגו, he means that in all the locations mentioned by him here he had communicated what follows to the people, some in each location. In all of these locations the people had angered G’d. Each time he reminded them that if it had not been for their sins they would have long since reached their destination. The locations in question were the following: 'אחד עשר יום מחורב וגו, all the 38 years that they were wandering in the desert they did not travel in a straight line, nor did they travel on well marked routes used by desert travelers. Each time they arrived at a spot where they made camp Moses reminded them that the reason that they had still not reached their final destination was due to their having committed so many sins. The proof was that  אחד עשר יום יש מחורב עד קדש ברנע...דרך הר שעיר, the shortest route to Kadesh Barnea, the southern boundary of the Land of Israel is only 11 days’ march away from Mount Chorev when traveling via Mount Seir. In fact, G’d made them reach Kadesh Barnea after they set out from Chorev in only three days by leading them through the great and terrible desert. If they were still not in the Holy Land this was only due to their sins. The delay had been designed to make them have remorse and to return to G’d without mental reservations.
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  ויהי בארבעים שנה, after the men slated to die in the desert had finished dying.
  דבר משה אל בני ישראל, to those who would enter the Holy Land.
  ככל אשר צוה ה' אותו אלוקים, he reviewed the whole Torah for them that had been revealed up until this point.
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  אחרי הכותו, he did this after the Jewish people had achieved a degree of quiet in a land which was inhabited, or fit to be inhabited.
  
  Verse 5
  
  בעבר הירדן בארץ מואב הואיל משה באר, seeing that they were no longer moving around all the time, for the encampment in the steppes near Moav was their last stop before crossing the Jordan. Now, seeing that Moses himself had already given up hope of personally crossing the river Jordan he began to explain the parts of the Torah concerning which he thought some doubts could arise after his death. He did this by starting with a reminder of the covenant concluded between Israel and G’d at Mount Chorev. (compare 5,2) לאמר, before beginning with reviewing portions of the Torah, Moses explained the reason for the need to do this as being that they were about to cross into what would become their homeland where many commandments of the Torah would apply for the first time. Seeing that he could not do this at the time when they actually applied already, he had to do this now before his death. While on the subject, Moses reminded the people how, indirectly, due to their sinful conduct he was now unable to cross the Jordan with them, and that as a result he wanted to make sure that they would not again become guilty of such sinful behaviour.
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  נתתי לפניכם את הארץ , the inhabitants of that land whose courage had already melted and who would not offer much resistance.
  באו ורשו את הארץ, the various districts in which the people reside for they are afraid of you and will either flee or will die without your having to engage in battle.
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  טרחכם, your petty arguments which did not even involve financial claims.
  ומשאכם, your bicckering involving the provision of the needs for the many.
  וריבכם, and your mutual financial claims upon one another. He reminded them of all this in order that they should remember their sins. He hoped that the people repented their past conduct honestly, for in the past, in spite of Moses having told them that they would take over the land of Canaan without even having to fight for it, something that should have been their major concern seeing that they were in the desert. Rather than focusing on their major problem, how to get out of the desert into the promised land, they had wasted their time and efforts in the pursuit of petty concerns, undermining their inter-personal relationships in the process. Due to this interminable quarreling, Moses had been forced to appoint a large number of judges that had to exert authority over the individuals down to every 10 people requiring at least one such judge. This could only have been due to some character weakness, some pre-disposition to be quarrelsome.
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  ונלך את כל המדבר הגדול והנורא, a way no one had crossed on foot before because of the many snakes and other predators and their size. These are referred to once more in 8,15. Our sages in Sifri 18 have described that the snakes were as large as beams and the scorpions as bows. If G’d had nonetheless chosen to lead them on this route, it had been to shorten the distance they would have to travel so that they could get to their destination before their tendency to quarrel, etc., would result in major sins. Nonetheless, G’d’s efforts in this respect had not proven to be sufficient; they had sinned on numerous occasions at locations Moses recalls by name.
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
   עלה רש, for no one will oppose you.
  
  Verse 22
  
  ותקרבון אלי כלכם, even though you had leaders appointed to act as your representatives, appointed to concern themselves with your communal concerns, you all ganged up on me.
  נשלחה אנשים, “we ourselves want to appoint these men and dispatch them.” This was something G’d did not approve of, and this is why He told Moses: “you dispatch them!” (Numbers 13,2) The men that were to spy out the land were to be appointed by Moses himself, not by a mob. G’d was afraid that the people would appoint totally unsuitable people to be their spies. The Torah had therefore made a point of reporting that the men selected for this task by Moses were all known as outstanding people, כלם אנשים, including such men as Joshua and Calev. Even those among them, who in the end  expressed their belief that they could not hope to conquer this land, did not have the effrontery to badmouth the land itself, but praised it as an excellent land. This was also why it was possible for the people to repent their sin, i.e. they had made a faulty judgment in believing the 10 spies’ assessment of the chances of conquering the land. (compare Numbers 13, 41-45.
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  וייטב בעיני הדבר, I thought that none of you would not believe G’d when He had said that He would bring you to that country and that it was a good land and that you would be able with His help to conquer it. I believed that the thought behind your desire to send out spies was not that you wanted to see if you could conquer it, but that you wanted to select for yourselves the best sections of the land, and that this was what you had in mind when you said  (verse 22) “the cities which we will come to.” This seemed totally reasonable, since you were aware that the conquest would not be immediately of the whole country, seeing G’d had told us this in Exodus 23,29.
  
  Verse 24
  
  ויבאו עד נחל אשכול; in accordance with Moses’ instructions to ascend from the south (Numbers 13,17) from Kadesh Barnea, where the people had been encamped at the time. This was located at the southern tip of the country, as spelled out in Numbers 34,4. 
  
  Verse 25
  
  ויאמרו טובה הארץ, even the wicked spies acknowledged the goodness of the land when they said “it is also flowing with milk and honey.” (Numbers 13,27).
  
  Verse 26
  
  ולא אביתם לעלות, for at that point you revealed your original sinful approach, i.e. that your motivation had not been to select the best part of the country for yourselves at this time, as I had thought, based on what you had said. Your purpose in the mission had been to determine if it was possible to conquer this land, something that revealed that you did not believe G’d’s promise to you. As a result of your lack of belief you accepted what the spies told you when they said that these people are too strong, and you refused to ascend to this land. 
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  בשנאת ה' אותנו, because we had worshipped idols while we were in Egypt.
  He has now decided to deliver us into the hands of the Emorite even though He is perfectly capable to conquer the Emorites and to kill them, He will take revenge on us by delivering us into their hands.
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  
  
  Verse 31
  
  אשר נשאך ה' אלוקיך, in this great and terrible desert. If G’d had wanted to take His revenge on you, all He had to do was to leave you to the mercy of these predators.
  
  Verse 32
  
  
  
  Verse 33
  
  לתור לכם מקום לחנותכם, in the same desert, as mentioned already in Numbers 10,33 לתור לכם מנוחה. All of this is a demonstration of G’d’s loving care for you.
  
  Verse 34
  
  את קול דבריכם, your uncalled for weeping.
  
  Verse 35
  
  
  
  Verse 36
  
  
  
  Verse 37
  
  גם בי התאנף ה' בגללכם, this was in order that you would have reason to cry throughout the ages, as G’d had decreed in Numbers 14,28. When that verse referred to דבריכם, “your words,” the objectionable words G’d had referred to were: “our children and wives will become loot,” (Numbers 14,5). Moses told the people at this stage the real reason for his impending death, even though the cause occurred already 38 years earlier. At that time G’d had announced His decree אם יראה איש באנשים האלה, adding that by contrastוטפכם אשר אמרתם לבז יהי, “your children concerning whom you had predicted that they would wind up as loot, as prisoners of war, would conquer the land.” The major point Moses is making, [and I am paraphrasing the author who quotes Psalms 106,26-27, Ezekiel 20,23, as well as Psalms 106,32-40, Ed] is that were it not for the fact that he also had not been allowed to enter the Holy Land, they would have been condemned to extinction. The fact that he, the innocent leader, had been included in their punishment was for the sake of the nation’s survival as such, even if traumatic exile experiences lay ahead of them.  (compare our author on Deut. 4,1)
  
  
  Verse 38
  
  
  
  Verse 39
  
  
  
  Verse 40
  
  
  
  Verse 41
  
  
  
  Verse 42
  
  
  
  Verse 43
  
  
  
  Verse 44
  
  
  
  Verse 45
  
  ולא שמע ה' בקולכם, on account of the desecration of His name that was part of their sin. Whenever a sin includes חילול השם, the desecration of G’d’s name, (seeing that is by definition something public) forgiveness without death of the penitent sinner is impossible. Not only that, but G’d’s decree had been formulated as an oath, something that made it irrevocable after both Joshua and Calev had made efforts to make the people reconsider their negative attitude by accusing G’d of hating them. As a matter of fact, even when they did repent afterwards, this was not genuine, but was based on their fear of punishment. As a result, such a repentance is not sufficient to cancel the punishment due in this life. Something similar had already occurred with Kayin, who also repented but only because he could not face the punishment in store for him. (Genesis 4,15) Both King Shaul, in respect of his failure to wipe out Amalek completely, (Samuel I 15,26) and the High Priest Eli (Samuel I 3,14) repented, but did so only out of their unwillingness to face their punishment.
  ולא האזין אליכם. G’d did not even listen to your plea to delay the punishment, or to suspend the part of the punishment for their children after their parents had died. Moses used this fact as proof that the repentance of their parents at the time had not been complete, sincere. As a result, even their tears had been to no avail.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  ידע לכתך, He repaired or improved that way wherever necessary. The word ידע is used here in the same sense as in Exodus 5,25 וידע אלוקים, where it meant that G’d took benevolent notice of the plight the Israelites were in and began to rectify their situation. Similar uses of the term are found in Exodus 33,12 where Moses is the beneficiary of such ידיע, and in Deuteronomy 34,10 where he is again described as the beneficiary of such a ידיע, intimate familiarity with G’d.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  האימים לפנים, seeing that the descendants of Lot had no legal claim to inherit anything from Avraham at all, G’d announced that He had given them ancestral land just as He had done to the descendants of Esau who were descended from Avraham in a straight line. G’d testifies that both the Ammonites and the Moabites came to possess what they owned contrary to accepted norms.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  וישמידום. Esau and Moav destroyed more land and people than they needed for themselves. They did so in order to wipe out all the former people residing there so that they could not one day avenge their defeat. This was a totally unjustifiable genocide. Neither Esau nor Moav populated all the land under their control The area known as Har Seir bordered on areas formerly belonging to Moav and was unpopulated by any members of the tribe of Esau. The same was true on the other side of that boundary; it was not populated by any Moabites. This is why Moses is speaking of G’d having told him that although this was in effect “no-man’s land,” the Israelites were not even to traverse this region, as, nominally, it belonged to either the descendants of Lot or those of Esau.
  כאשר עשה ישראל, a reference to the time when the Torah was committed to writing when the lands of Sichon and Og had already been captured. Those two kings had been most powerful; nonetheless, they had been vanquished within a very short space of time, contrary to accepted norms. This all showed that G’d had given these lands to the Israelites.
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  עתה קומו, seeing that it is forbidden to you to cross territory belonging to either the Moabites or the Edomites, קומו ועברו לכם את נחל זרד, which is outside the territory of either one of these nations. From that point you will be able to advance as far as the Jordan.
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  ארץ רפאים תחשב אף היא, there can be no question that the Ammonites had no legal right to dispossess these people; the only reason why they succeeded in doing so was because it was G’d’s will.
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  כאשר עשה לבני עשו, just as G’d had done for the descendants of Esau who, after settling in the land of Seir, had driven out the inhabitants  (the Chori) from there.
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  והעוים היושבים בחצרים עד עזה, even though the latter belonged to the descendants of Esau or the Philistines with whom Avraham had made a solemn non aggression pact, the Israelites were not now denied the right to conquer these lands. The reason they could do so now was that the Philistines no longer owned the land in question כפתורים היוצאימ מכפתור, the Cretans emigrating from Crete because their island could not contain them all and who were seeking “lebensraum,” had annihilated the Avim and replaced them in that land. When the Israelites conquered the land in which Avimelech used to be king, it already had been lost by Avimelech. [Perhaps the reason that this coastal strip was still known as “the land of the Philistines,” long after the Israelites drove out the Canaanites, is the same as when the Torah referred to the land of the descendants of Ammon as “the land of the Refaim,” (verse 20) the latter having been its original owners.” Ed.]
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  כי הקשה ה' אלוקיך את רוחו, in order for him to refuse to allow the Israelites to traverse his territory.
  ואמץ את לבבו, in order to make war against them.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  ערי ממלכת עוג בבשן....כי רק עוג מלך הבשן נשאר, the reason why he ruled in that district was because he was the only one remaining from the Refaim of old. Ever since the war between Amrafel and his allies who defeated the Refaim on their way to Sodom at Ashterot Karnayim (Genesis 14,5), there were numerous individual Refaim remaining. These defeated the Ammonites as mentioned in 2,21. During that war against the Ammonites only Og survived. Seeing that he was a famous hero, equaling the combined power of all the other Refaim, he was the one who ruled.
  
  Verse 11
  
  באמת איש; according what the Refaim had adopted as their standard cubit, i.e. a much longer one than that of average sized citizens. Such subjective, as opposed to standard. measurements, are mentioned in Isaiah 56,11 where the prophet speaks of איש לבצעו מקצהו, “every one has done his own thing.” The word איש also occurs describing such individual feats in Kings I 20,20 ויכו איש אישו, “each man struck the opponent facing him.” There are other verses in which the word איש does not mean “man,” but is a simile for the individual nature of something, No doubt there were many “cubits” other than the one described here as 9 times the length of the cubit of an average sized individual. The reason the Torah relates this historically hardly important information is to impress the reader with the extraordinary size of these Refaim. The strength of such giants can be imagined once we are aware of their size. The fact that the Ammonites had been able to defeat a nation whose warriors were of such proportions gives us a clear indication that it must have been G’d’s will that they were able to do so. (compare our commentary on 2,21).
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  ואת ידך החזקה, demonstrated by overriding well known laws of nature. No one but the Creator of the universe is able to do this. Moses credits G’d with having done all this only in order to be able to bring the Jewish people to the Holy Land. In view of the length to which G’d had gone to do this it behooves the people to do everything in order to justify their remaining in that land.
  
  Verse 25
  
  אעברה נא, in order to exterminate all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan in order that the Jewish people will never be exiled from that land. (compare our author on 1,34)
  ואראה את הארץ הטובה,  let me see it so that I can bless it with the blessing that its goodness be at the Jewish people’s service for ever.
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  ויתעבר ה' בי למענכם, G’d was angry at me for trying to ensure your permanent stay in that land while He had already decreed that at a certain point in history your descendants would be exiled among the gentiles. 
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  ועתה ישראל, after you have seen the decree of G’d to exile you if you sin, be on guard to meticulously observe His commandments without adding to them or detracting from them. An addition or a detraction will both have destructive consequences for you.
  
  Verse 2
  
  ולא תגרעו ממנו לשמור, a person should not make the mistake made by King Solomon that he can ignore a prohibition since he knows the reason for the prohibition and can create conditions when such a prohibition would not be justified. [the Torah had forbidden a king to marry too many women, warning that these could lead him astray. Solomon relied on his wisdom not to lead him astray and ignored the Torah’s law with disastrous consequences for his kingdom. Ed.]
  
  Verse 3
  
  עיניכם הרואות, Moses reminds the people that they had observed the truth of this with their own eyes when their brethren, in their lust, not meaning to commit idolatry, had nevertheless done so, as they had been overcome by their libidos at the time so that they succumbed to seduction. The Torah testifies that their original sin had “only” been to whore with the daughters of Moav. (Numbers 25,1) The Torah, in outlawing sexual relations with non Jews had added that if this law was ignored the result would be intermarriage, idol worship by the children of such a marriage, etc. (Exodus 34,16) Every Israelite who indulged his lust for a Moabite girl had considered himself immune to such a warning. They proved to have been wrong, with the loss of 24.000 Israelites as a result. G’d had wiped out everyone of them who had worshipped Baal Peor. They had been tricked into it without realising it.
  
  Verse 4
  
  ואתם הדבקים בה' אלוקיכם חיים כלכם היום, you have all been smart enough to avoid a lure which would end up in your committing an idolatrous act.
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  כי היא חכמתכם, observance of the laws of the Torah is your true wisdom and will enable you to resist the lures and challenges by the heretics.
  
  Verse 7
  
  כי מי גוי גדול אשר אלוקים קרובים אליו, for it will pay you to be considered intelligent and wise in the eyes of the gentiles seeing that G’d is close to us בכל קראנו אליו, whenever we call upon Him. This teaches the gentiles that we are the chosen people. If the gentiles would consider you as being fools this would be a desecration of G’d’s name for they would then ask derisively: “is this the nation that claims to be G’d’s special nation?” (compare Ezekiel 36,20)
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  ומי גוי גדול אשר לו חקים ומשפטים צדיקים, the reason that you will be considered as so wise in the eyes of the gentile nations is because you observe the commandments and statutes of G’d. There is no other nation in existence that can boast such a set of laws which by themselves point the way to G’d’s existence and His wonderful ways. Who else has social laws which have neither been designed for the benefit of the judges nor for the benefit their bureaucracy and their clerks, but serve one interest only the dispensation of justice and fairness? Our sages phrased it thus: “what is justice for one is at the same time fairness, righteousness for the opposing party.” (Sanhedrin 6). Restitution of stolen property to the victim is justice, having returned stolen property makes the erstwhile thief once more a צדיק, a righteous person. 
  
  Verse 9
  
  רק השמר לך, even though I have said that you are wise people in the eyes of the gentile nations, be careful not to absorb the views of the wise men of those nations who deny the existence of G’d the Creator and His ability and His supervision of the universe He has created. They may try to convince you with all kinds of intelligent sounding theories.
  פן תשכח את הדברים אשר ראו עיניך, The reason why G’d has cautioned you to be so much on your guard is that you might forget the evidence of your own eyes, at Mount Sinai, as well as in Egypt and at the Sea of Reeds, and as a result be misled by your mental eyes when interpreting the Torah. This was the purpose of miracles which challenged your intellect, to show you that commonly held concepts are not necessarily true. [perhaps the author has in mind the first such miracle Moses experienced when he observed with his physical eyes that the burning bush did not burn up and turn into ashes. The Israelites, when observing the spectacle of fire within the ice of the hail, the seventh plague, collectively experienced another challenge to the concept that fire and water are totally incompatible with one another. Ed.]
  והודעתם לבניך, you must therefore relate these experiences you had with your own eyes to your children who have not seen such miracles.
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  כי לא ראיתם כל תמונה, this is in contradiction to a category of philosophers believing that beyond the celestial phenomena we observe in the sky there are none that are more substantial and influential, and these are the only ones which existed since prehistoric days.
  
  Verse 16
  
  תמונת כל סמל, something that would reflect the belief of those who hold that every perishable, ephemeral phenomenon in this world has a counterpart in the celestial regions which it is derived from, and that people made themselves replicas of what they thought the original looked like.
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  חלק ה' אלוקיך אותם לכל העמים, He arranged for them to appear in a manner appropriate for the needs of each respective nation, according to their individual differences. This very fact proves how wrong those are who believe in the universe’s existence being the result of “the big bang,” i.e. forces, sources of energy, which operated without design, happenings which are totally random, haphazard. How could zodiac signs be of significance unless a superior intelligence had arranged for them? (compare Maimonides, Moreh Nevuchim 20,2 quoting Aristo.)
  
  Verse 20
  
  ואתכם לקח, to walk in His paths and to cleave to Him. Seeing that this is so, you have no need for depending on messages the gentiles perceive as being contained by their horoscopes.
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  כי אנכי מת, I have to warn you very insistently, seeing that I will not be crossing the Jordan with you. Compare Deuteronomy 31,29 where Moses predicts the corruption of the people at some point after his death.
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  אש אוכלה הוא, a fire which consumes other fire, thereby destroying the soul together with the body.
  א-ל קנא, [I am paraphrasing the author here. Ed.] Jealousy is based on someone observing that something contractually exclusively his, as for instance the, fidelity of his wife- is being offered or provided for someone else. If a master’s servant provides the services he is supposed to provide only for his master to others, this arouses the master’s jealousy. If a Jew in any shape or form makes available to idolatrous cults the services he is supposed to perform for G’d, he arouses G’d’s jealousy.
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  להכעיסו, to cause the benevolent presence of G’d to remove it self from Israel, in order to clear the way for the people to be just like the gentile nations, free of the yoke of the Torah’s commandments.
  
  Verse 26
  
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  ועבדתם שם אלוהים מעשה ידי אדם, when Jews find themselves outside of the land of Israel against their will and in the course of time they are invited by member of their host country, they are not guilty of deliberately performed idolatrous practices. (Avodah Zarah 8).
  אשר לא יראון, because they do not do what they do out of their own free will, as do the members of the host nations who by fashioning the same kinds of sculptures or drawing similar pictures do so as an act of admiration for the idols they worship. When the members of the host countries make such sculptures they mean to draw attention to the force in the universe which is responsible for such phenomena in our day and age. [in the author’s time, art, generally, was legitimate only if it claimed to represent matters compatible with the dogmas of the Church, for instance. Ed.] The members of the host countries labour under the mistaken belief that the “originators” of the phenomena they worship produced what they produced out of their own volition; they do not realise that these “originators” had been programmed to do this by G’d the Creator. They pray to these phenomena thinking that these have the power to help them. Moses, representing G’d, says that the fact is that no phenomenon in this physical universe is able to do anything unless it has first been sanctioned by G’d.
  
  Verse 29
  
  ומצאת, even though you will not have a Temple at your disposal once you are exiled, not any of its sacred vessels.
  כי תדרשנו בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך בצר לך, the reason why you will be able to find your way to G’d is that your conditions in exile will be so tough that you will turn to G’d sincerely with all your heart and all your soul.
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  באחרית הימים, at the end of your exile, as Moses had predicted in Deut. 30,1-2.
  
  
  Verse 31
  
  
  
  Verse 32
  
  כי שאל נא, the proof of what I said that G’d will not forget the covenant made with your forefathers is that at Mount Sinai during the revelation all of you had been elevated to the level of prophecy. When I took you to be My people this did not mean that each and everyone of you by their own merits had deserved to be elevated to that spiritual status. I did this on account of the patriarchs. The difference between you and the gentile nations is that although the exceptional gentile may have experienced prophetic insights, there never has been a nation who have experienced something similar as a whole nation as you did at Mount Sinai.
  
  Verse 33
  
  
  
  Verse 34
  
  או הנסה אלוקים, even though G’d from time to time may have seen to it that certain people among the gentiles escaped what seemed like imminent disaster, such instances were limited to a few select individuals;
  במסות באותות, all of which proved that your good fortune was not due to some coincidence but had been planned by G’d.
  ובזרוע נטויה, ready to inflict further chastisements to demonstrate that that if the afflicted person did not respond with penitence You would continue to discipline him.
  
  
  Verse 35
  
  אתה הראית, G’d has shown you all this.
  לדעת, for you to know and understand beyond any doubt כי ה' הוא האלוקים, that Lord is the G’d Who is responsible for every phenomenon in the universe, that He has created it.
  
  
  Verse 36
  
  ליסרך, to bring you to the level of prophecy on the occasion of your receiving the Torah, Your experience at that time paralleled the experience of the prophet Eliyahu at the same mountain in Kings I 19,11 when he first experienced a tremendously powerful wind, etc. He also, like you experienced the fire (Kings I 19,12), before being addressed by G’d.
  
  Verse 37
  
  ותחת כי אהב את אבותיך, having done all this because He loved your patriarchs, ויבחר בזרעו, He chose the descendants of only one of them (Yaakov) .
  ויוציאך בפניו, by performing a series of miraculous deeds
  ממצרים, from Egypt; להוריש, G’d intended to take you out of slavery, a state in which you would not have been able to appreciate His intentions.
  
  Verse 38
  
  לתת לך את ארצם, which is really G’d’s favourite land, one that is always ready to help its inhabitants to achieve their perfection on earth.
  
  Verse 39
  
  וידעת היום, it behooves you therefore to understand how these miracles confound any theological theories that are not in agreement with Jewish tradition.
  והשבות אל לבבך, having carefully examined all these factors you are to establish firmly in your heart which is the truth, namely כי ה' הוא האלוקים, that the Lord known to us as Hashem is the true G’d, the word itself indicating that He is victorious in any competition who make similar claims because He is eternal. His fame extends both בשמים, in the celestial spheres above, as well as על הארץ מתחת, for you will realise that the very order which exists among celestial phenomena, their predictability to the second, is proof that Someone is guiding them, has programmed them. 
  אין עוד. You will also realise that it is quite inconceivable that there could be more than One such supreme authority over all these phenomena. Among disembodied spiritual forces it is quite impossible for two such forces to co-exist as equals. One such force, power, must be superior to the other.
  
  
  Verse 40
  
  ושמרת את חקיו, Once you have understood all this you will naturally observe all of G’d’s statutes. Jeremiah 10,7 already expressed this as a given when he asked (rhetorically) מי לא ייראך מלך הגוים, “who would not be in awe of You, King of the nations?” 
  ואת מצותיו אשר אנכי מצוך היום, כל הימים, the reason you will be observing these laws for all time is that the religion will not be renewed or altered, ever.
  
  Verse 41
  
  אז יבדיל משה שלש ערים, after he had concluded with his introduction to the detailed discourse on the Torah. The reason why he set aside these cities at that time was to show the Israelites how the observance and carrying out of G’d’s commandments is of such supreme importance, and that he, though about to depart the earth, wanted to perform at least this commandment, the observance of which is linked to the land of Israel.
  
  Verse 42
  
  
  
  Verse 43
  
  
  
  Verse 44
  
  וזאת התורה, the theoretical, philosophical part of the Torah. The word זאת refers to what has just been concluded.
  
  Verse 45
  
  אלה העדות, what follows are the practical, tangible aspects of the Torah.
  
  Verse 46
  
  
  
  Verse 47
  
  ויירשו את ארצו, they inherited his country after having conquered land that had been inhabited, suitable for settlement. This land would offer the opportunity to observe all of G’d’s commandments in it. They would not need to fear invaders, etc. This is where Moses began his review of the Torah and his speech of warning the people of the importance of remaining loyal to G’d.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  היום כלנו חיים, this is why the covenant has to be mad with you who enter the Holy Land, so that you will arrange things in such a manner that future generations who were not present at the time this covenant was made will consider it binding for themselves and conduct themselves accordingly.
  
  Verse 4
  
  פנים בפנים, not in a nocturnal vision when you were asleep.
  
  Verse 5
  
  לאמר, פני בפנים דבר ה' עמכם, the word עמכם, “with you,” is used in the sense of אליכם, “to you,” [seeing the Israelites did not respond to G’d with words of their own at that time. Ed.] לאמר אנכי, A explained on Exodus 20,1-2. If so, why did Moses have to stand in a position between that from which G’d’s voice emanated and the people? This was only to tell you the meaning of the words of G’d and to add to the degree of awe with which G’d’s words have to be related to. You yourselves were too sacred to hear G’d’s voice any further. [This is also the reason why you were afraid to ascend the mountain when you saw the fire. Ed.]
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  לקדשו כאשר צוך, in the manner He had already issued commandments pertaining to Sabbath observance at Marah (Exodus 15,26)
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  למעו ינוח עבדך ואמתך כמוך, from the positioning of the commandment that your beasts of burden have to refrain from performing work for you on the Sabbath, before mentioning your children and servants observing such Sabbath rest, it is clear that the reasons animals owned by you must rest o the Sabbath is for the sake of the men working them, not because animals per se are subject to the spiritual concepts governing the Sabbath and its laws. The need for one’s slaves to observe the Sabbath rest is, of course, part of the reminder that when you were slaves you did not enjoy such a day of rest. Hence, do not treat your slave in the hateful you were treated when you were in his shoes.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  ולמען ייטב לך, even in this life already. As our ages (said Peyah 1,1) that “there are commandments for the fulfillment of which one “eats” the dividends in this life whereas the principal is reserved for use in the world to come.” Honouring father and mother is one of those commandments.
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  ואת תדבר אלינו, even though your words will be inferior in value to G’d’s words.
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  ושמרתם לעשות, seeing that things have developed in this fashion it is no more than a minimal request that you observe and carry out G’d’s commandments,
  ולא תסורו ימין ושמאל, neither to add to them even if your intentions are good, nor to detract from them.
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  למען תחיו וטוב לכם, in order that you will live enduringly in a good and happy frame of mind.
  והארכתם ימים בארץ אשר תירשון, so that you will acquire “long life” in a world which is itself one of unlimited duration.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  וזאת המצוה, so called because the commandments that can be fulfilled only in the land of Israel are the ones through whose performance the One Who has commanded them considers Himself blessed.
  
  Verse 2
  
  למען תירא את ה' אלוקיך, for you will remember then that He is the owner of the earth you till, and that you are considered as aliens, or at best as resident strangers by Him.
  אתה, ובנך, ובן בנך. This is a reminder that even the generations who had not been eyewitnesses to G’ds powerful miracles will learn to revere Him when they accept the commandments, as you have seen.
  ולמען יאריכון ימיך, and in order that these commandments (their performance) acquire for you your ticket to the world after death, a world in which there is only long, infinite life. 
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  ושמעת ישראל, when you have attained this purpose which G’d had had in mind for you from the beginning in His great kindness. It is important that through performance and awareness you will appreciate the tremendous goodwill G’d has demonstrated by His legislating these commandments.
  ושמרת לעשות אשר ייטב לך, and you will endeavour to carry out all these tasks out of a feeling of love for G’d, in order to be worthy of His goodwill, aware that He is interested in creating conditions which will make you merit a continued existence. Seeing that this is His purpose in legislating any and all of these commandments, you will also observe these commandments in order to multiply greatly on earth. This is a goal you will achieve if your performance of these commandments is not for the sake of the material reward but לשמה, for His honour, as acts of righteousness and justice in the pure sense. כאשר דבר ה' אלוקיך לך, ארץ זבת חלב ודבש, as He had said to you concerning this land that it “flows with milk and honey.” This land is inherently capable of providing those of its owners who take the lesson we just spelled out to heart, with an easy livelihood, a livelihood which leaves the person sufficient leisure time to pursue Torah studies and by means of this to penetrate more deeply into its meaning and also to be fruitful and to multiply.
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  שמע ישראל, listen Israel with your mind open;
  'ה, He is the One Who is responsible for the existence of a physical universe and our globe, the only part of it on which physical life exists.
  אלוקינו, He is the choicest of all the abstract forces assigned to supervise the conduct of human beings, and even inert creatures. From Him we yearn for assistance in helping us to achieve our purpose on earth. We do not turn to any intermediary. He alone is fit to have prayers addressed to.
  ה' אחד; seeing that He created all phenomena in this universe, celestial or terrestrial out of a total void, it is logically impossible for there to be another phenomenon representing an existence independent of Him. It also makes him basically different, unique, for all things created by Him are by definition potentially terminal, transient existences.  He is absolutely unique in the world based on four basic raw materials, water, fire, earth, air. This idea appears to be hinted at in the letter ד=4 in the word אחד which is written larger than usual and the letter ע in the word שמע which is also written in larger than normal script, suggesting that we should use our eyes to take note of these concepts, the “testimony, עד” that this is so. This is why our sages said that we must draw out the word אחד when reciting it so as to give us time to reflect on the full meaning of the verse.
  
  Verse 5
  
  ואהבת, you will then enjoy doing things which are pleasing to Him when you understand that there is nothing in this world which is more worth doing. [the word ואהבת is not  perceived a commandment by the author; in fact it is questionable if loving someone could be the subject of a commandment altogether. Ed.]
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  Teach them through repetition and through sharp, intellectual evidence.  
  And you are to discuss them. For through this you will constantly remember them.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  .אשר לא בנית ובתים מלאים כל טוב אשר לא מלאתYou will attain wealth without having toiled for it.
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  השמר לך פן תשכח, for wealth acquired in such a fashion is liable to fostering the desire, greed for more; in the pursuit of more material wealth man is liable to forget his Maker. 
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  מה העדות, a reference to the philosophical, theological aspects of the Torah. These invariably relate to the supernatural matters described in the Torah.
  והחקים והמשפטים, the practical laws, 
  אשר צוה ה' אלוקינו אתכם, and He did not deem the seven Noachide laws as adequate.
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  עבדים היינו, seeing that during the many years of our being slaves we could not attain the degree of perfection G’d had in mind for us to attain, He performed miracles in order to lead us out and to bring us to the land in which we could attain this degree of perfection.
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  ויצונו ה' לעשות את כל החקים האלה, in order to make us ready by means of their observance,
  ליראה את ה' אלוקינו, this is the result of acquiring a measure of understanding of His greatness; all of this G’d wanted us to appreciate לטוב לנו כל הימים, for He desires to confer goodness, love, He has no egotistical motives. לחיותנו כהיום הזה. To keep us alive as of this day.
  
  Verse 25
  
  This is what I had in mind when I said to you וצדקה תהיה לו לטוב לנו כל הימים, it will be good for us not only in this life but will be a charitable act assuring us of life in the hereafter. 
  We will enjoy the transient life on this earth as a result of having first assured ourselves through observance of the commandments of our share in the world to come, i.e. eternal life.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  כי עם קדוש אתה, and it is not appropriate for you to desecrate your sanctity through women committed to alien deities, who will bear you children that are already genetically corrupted. It is this that the prophet Maleachi 2,11 had in mind when he spoke of כי חלל יהודה קדש ה' אשר אהב ובעל בת נכר,”for Yehudah profaned what is holy to the Lord, what He desires, by sleeping with daughters of alien gods.”
  בך בחר, as distinct from corrupt seed; our sages referred to this concept as “the benevolent presence of G’d is present (rests on) only families who are genetically offspring of families with good Jewish pedigrees.” (Kidushin 70)
  
  Verse 7
  
   לא מרבכם, not in order to be honoured by a multitude.
  
  Verse 8
  
  כי מאהבת ה' אתכם, seeing that you are the seed of someone who loved Him and who was more familiar with His name than any member of any of the other nations.
  
  Verse 9
  
   הא-ל הנאמן, Who is constant, not subject to change.
  שומר הברית  ומשלם לשונאיו, the meaning of the words רשע וטוב לו, [a favourite argument of the heretics who point to the afflictions suffered by the pious and the good life enjoyed by the pious in this life. Ed.] can be understood on two levels: 1) the “good” the wicked appear to enjoy in this life is due to merits accumulated by their forefathers who had not been recompensed for these as yet by G’d. A prominent example of this is the enjoyable life lived by Ishmael who benefited by Avraham’s merits. G’d Himself referred to this in Genesis 21,13 when He said כי זרעך הוא, “because he is your seed. 2) The wicked person himself has accumulated some merits; seeing that on balance he does not qualify for life in the hereafter, G’d has to compensate him while he is on earth. This He does by letting him enjoy the transient joys available in this life to the extent his merits entitle him to. 
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  והיה עקב תשמעון, Moses explains that the reason why the King, i.e. G’d, commands them to observe all these commandments is in order to be able to fulfill the promises made to their forefathers regarding them. The people were meant to observe these commandments out of a feeling of love for G’d, not because they did so in order to earn a reward. [If I understand the author correctly, the wordsואת החסד in the phrase את הברית והחסד, are to establish reciprocity of G’d’s loving care for the patriarchs, the parties to the covenant, and their descendants’ feeling of love on their part towards the Creator. Ed.]
  את המשפטים, for the earth’s continued existence is linked to performance of justice by its inhabitants. (Proverbs 29,4)
  ושמרתם, and study them, (according to Sifri)
  ועשיתם אותם, as a result of studying them you will perform them in accordance with halachah.
  ושמר ה' אלוקיך לך את הברית, the one He swore, when He said (Genesis 17,7) “I will give My covenant between Me and you, and between your descendants after you for all generations as an eternal covenant, to be your G’d and that of your descendants after you.” Being our G’d means that He will supervise our fates not by means of some intermediary, such as the fates which are supervised by appointees of G’d, including horoscopes, and angels assigned to each nation. Besides, anything which is done by G’d personally, without His having recourse to an intermediary, is something that endures forever. Compare Kohelet 3,14 כי כל אשר יעשה האלוקים הוא אשר יהיה לעולם,”anything which G’d does Himself is something that will endure forever.” By contrast, transient phenomena, [such as extinct species, for instance, Ed.] are proof of the fact that they were the products of intermediaries of G’d. [G’d had commanded the waters to produce the living creatures of the waters, and He had commanded the earth to produce vegetation and the mammals, etc. Water and the earth are both intermediaries. Ed.]
  ואת החסד, as He had said in Genesis 17,8 when He promised the land of Canaan to Avraham’s descendants. Such acts are acts of loving kindness and have nothing to do with the reward awaiting us as compensation for performing the commandments in the world to come. (based on the statement in Kidushin 39 that reward, in the sense of compensation, for commandments performed is not something that is due while we are on earth.)
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  ואהבך, He loved you, in the sense that you are “children,” reflecting His image; our sages (Avot 3,10) paraphrased this when they said: “Israel is beloved of the Lord,” as we know from the fact that He refers to them as בנים,”children of the Lord.” By performing the commandments the eternal nature of the covenant will be reinforced so that it is perfect.
  וברכך, with material wealth, measurable in terms of money. This blessing improves the quality of the transient life on earth. By means of this blessing He insures your ability to enjoy the loving kindness of living in the land of Israel successfully, happily.
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  כל חולי, any manner of illness including those that are the result of climactic conditions.
  הרעים,  the ones which are contagious.
  אשר ידעת, that the Egyptians were smitten with at the Sea of Reeds.
  לא ישימם בך ונתנם בכל שונאך, even though these diseases will strike your enemies they will not infect you, as described in Psalms 91,7 “thousands may fall by your side….but the source of the death will not reach you.”
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  לא תחוס עיניך עליהם ולא תעבוד את אלוהיהם. By not ignoring idolatry in your country by people remaining there you will ensure that no Israelites will worship such deities. If you will turn a blind eye to their practices they will undoubtedly lead you into sin.
  כי מוקש הוא לך, although you relate to them by protecting their freedom of worship, they will turn out to be a stumbling block for you by seducing you to join them in their religious rites.
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  כי תאמר...איכה אוכל להורישם, לא תירא מהם, for you will say that they outnumber you. Do not say this in a manner which will inspire fear in you, but reflect on the fact that this would be an argument only if the Lord your G’d had not already demonstrated that with His help you can overcome. זכור תזכור את אשר עשה ה' אלוקיך לפרעה וכל מצרים, they outnumbered you by a far greater margin than the Canaanites and they were stronger than the Canaanites.
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  ונתן מלכיהם בידך והאבדת את שמם, for allowing any of these Canaanites to survive would become an ongoing source of irritation for you, as demonstrated by the young Haddad, sole survivor of the people of Edom, who became a lifelong source of irritation (militarily) for such a powerful king as Solomon. (Kings I 11,14 and onwards)
  
  Verse 25
  
  פן תוקש בו, for sometimes, especially if you are successful with the investment of silver and gold deriving from idolatrous sources, you will attribute this to the goodwill of their idols, which in turn will become a trap for you (theologically speaking).
  
  Verse 26
  
  תתעבנו כי חרם הוא, you must treat that silver and gold as if it were an abomination;
  כי חרם הוא, not only would you not benefit by their silver and gold, but neither by their other possessions. It is out of bounds for you, it would bring harm to your other properties, the ones you acquired legally, with the approval of the Torah.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  כל המצוה אשר אנכי מצוך היום תשמרון לעשות, the objective of people worshipping idols is nothing other than their obsession with transient values which consist mostly of three categories, having children, living to a ripe old age, and success in amassing money or its equivalent. The Torah promises that by observing G’d’s commandments as spelled out in the Torah one may achieve all these three objectives. This is meant by the Torah writing: למען תחיון, when commanding the laws of the Torah G’d did not only mean to guarantee you eternal life in the hereafter, but He had in mind also successful, rewarding  life on earth.
  ורביתם, you will multiply by having numerous children.
  ובאתם וירשתם, attaining wealth and honour by inheriting the land.
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  וזכרת את כל הדרך, during which He gave you bread to eat, clothes to wear, by supernatural means.
  לנסותך, to test you if, seeing that you did not have to work hard for a livelihood, you would in return carry out His will.
  לדעת את אשר בלבבך, so that what you had in your mind will come to light, so that every angel will know that you had a justified claim to a higher rank in the universe than even the ministering angels.
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  מיסרך; along with the commandments He has given you, He gives you a superior moral/ethical challenge to help you achieve perfection as seen from His perspective.
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  אל ארץ טובה, a land which is the confluence of numerous good, desirable qualities not found together in other districts of the globe. These qualities are the following, the Torah prefacing each with the word ארץ again. 1)	ארץ נחלי מים עינות ותהומות, not the waters from polluted rivers or static ponds, waters described as evil waters in Kings II 2,19. 2) ארץ חטה ושעורה , crops which are basic as food. 3) ארץ זית שמן ודבש, products fit for the palate of a king. 4) ארץ אשר לא במסכנות תאכל בה לחם, a land in which money can be found cheaply, a land full of treasures as per Isaiah 2,7 “the land is full of silver and gold and there is no end to the treasures it hides.” Dearth of money is more serious than shortage of the products which can be bought with it, as we know from the Talmud Taanit 19 which declares that whereas the blowing of the shofar in supplication to G’d on account of a shortage of foodstuffs does not have to be arranged immediately, shortage of money, i.e. people not having the money to buy the available food products gives rise to immediate supplication to Gd including the sounding of the shofar at public prayer meetings.  5) ארץ אשר אבניה ברזל, a land whose stones contain iron, i.e. a useful metal, or whose stones are strong as iron, providing excellent building materials.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  תחצוב נחושת, you will mine copper; the Torah’s definition of “good” iron, material that is excellent for either building material, or raw material for a variety of vessels.
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  וברכת את ה' אלוקיך, the reason why the Lord blesses you in such a fashion is so that you will remember that only from Him could you have been given a land with such an abundance of advantages. 
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  ומצור החלמיש, which was turned into water for your benefit. Compare Psalms 114,8: “Who has turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint stone into a fountain of water.”
  
  Verse 16
  
  למען ענותך, so that you will keep His commandments out of a sense of poverty, as do people who have no bread in their baskets (which would give them a feeling of confidence).
  ולמען נסותך, to see if He will give you your livelihood without your having to perform back breaking labour if you perform His will as written in the Torah
  להיטיבך, more so even than to the ministering angels, who, in spite of their devoted service are in a state of panicky flight before Him.
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  והיה אם שכוח תשכח, this will happen if you attribute your success to your own efforts instead of giving credit to G’d and thanking Him for it by blessing Him.
  תאבדון, you will be lost both in the terrestrial world and will forfeit your claim to eternal life after you depart from this earth.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  אל תאמר בלבבך בהדוף, when you see that you enjoy victory against all odds, so that you realise this victory has to be credited to your enjoying a heavenly assist, do not commit a terrible error.
  בצדקתי הביאני...לרשת, that G’d did all this on account of your being a model of righteousness, and that furthermore the speed with which all this occurred was on account of 
  ברשעת הגויים האלה ה' מורישם מפניך, that the Lord dispossessed them on account of their wickedness, because He wanted His retribution against these people to be orchestrated by your destroying them. This would be the very opposite of what David prayed for when he thought G’d was punishing him. He prayed that the judgment should not be executed by man but that he preferred to be punished by G;d directly, not by one of His surrogates, especially one of his peers. (Samuel II 24,14)
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  ולמען הקים, so that as a result of observing the commandments the nation would merit to inherit the land. We find another instance where, as a result of complying with a command by G’d to wipe out the family of Achav, G’d not only confirmed Jehu as king but extended his dynasty for four generations. (Kings II 10,30)
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  כי עם קשה עורף אתה, being stiff-necked and righteous simultaneously is a non starter, as these two character qualities are mutually exclusive.  Being stiff-necked means to follow the dictates of one’s own heart, one’s own opinions instead of accepting the yoke of the Creator’s commandments as being supreme. Such a person will reject even theories which have been proven beyond doubt if they conflict with what he deems good or convenient for himself. The simile of a “stiff-necked” person or people described someone who appears unable to turn around and face his teacher, as his neck is too stiff.
  
  Verse 7
  
  זכור אל תשכח, Moses adds proof to his characterising the Jewish people as being stiff-necked by reminding them of how many times during his stewardship of the nation they had angered G’d, so that it reminds one of a dog which returns to his own excrement finding it attractive. This happened again and again although each time they had been subjected to disciplining by G’d, and they learned more about His greatness on each occasion.
  
  Verse 8
  
  ובחורב הקצפתם, Moses underlines the serious nature of this negative characteristic known as “stiff-necked,” by reminding the people that even at Mount Sinai when G’d had already decided to wipe them out, (verse 14 our chapter) G’d had justified this by referring to their stiff-necked nature. He had not decreed death for them on account of a specific and horrific sin, but on account of their attitude which bode ill for the future, indicated that such a people was not capable of becoming true penitents.
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  וההר בוער באש, so that you actually committed the sin (golden calf) while the “King” i.e. the presence of the Shechinah, was actually still in your immediate vicinity.
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  ובתבערה ובמסה, even though you have seen with your own eyes that because you had made G’d angry the Tablets He had made Himself were shattered, and I had to pray for you and fast for 40 consecutive days and nights, you repeatedly angered G’d again at the locations I just mentioned, as if putting G’d to the test each time.
  ובקברת התאוה, when you demanded to eat meat.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  בעת ההיא אמר ה' אלי "פסל לך", in spite of all my prayers, the repair, the reconstitution of what had been damaged,  proved to be incomplete,for the substitution for the first set of Tablets was not something made by G’d Himself, and this is why He commanded me: פסל לך, “carve it out by yourself!”
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  ובני ישראל נסעו , even though they had seen that the prayer of a righteous person may prove a protection for the members of his generation so that it is most appropriate to mourn his death, in this instance we find that the Israelites in their search for water journeyed on without delay, not a word being said about their taking time out to mourn the passing of Aaron. This is the meaning of the construction: “there Aaron died, was buried…and Eleazar became High Priest in his stead.” They neither took time out to mourn Aaron nor did they celebrate the appointment of a new High Priest, a position which made that person the interlocutor on their behalf. Rather, משם נסעו הגדגודה, to graze their sheep; 
  ומן הגדגודה יטבת, ארץ נחלי מים, for all the locations mentioned had water which was adequate for the needs of their livestock. Still, they paid no heed to the damage they had incurred by the death of a righteous man such as Aaron, neither to his honour, nor to the dishonour they had caused themselves by allowing the passing of a man of such caliber to go by unnoticed. [Numbers 20,28-29 reports Aaron’s death as well as the fact that the entire community of Israel bewailed his death for thirty days. Ed.]
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  בעת ההיא הבדיל, after G’d had already set aside the tribe of Levi as the tribe to perform the holy service in the Temple so that you are not deemed worthy for this task, my prayer was not effective enough except to prevent G’d from destroying you, so that He said to me: “arise and make them journey, and be in front of the people!” (verse 11) The expression is used in the same sense as in Numbers 10,2)
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  ויבואו ויירשו את הארץ אשר נשבעתי, if not for G’d’s oath you would not have merited to inherit it due to your excessive rebelliousness.
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  ועתה ישראל, seeing that this is the situation as of now, it is up to you to try and repair the damage caused by your iniquities from here on in. First and foremost, try and be clear about what it is that the Lord asks of you, expects of you: מה ה' אלוקיך שואל מעמך, He does not ask these things because He is in need of them, seeing the whole earth and all of the celestial regions are all His. כי אם ליראה, you can do this by simply realising His greatness;
  ולאהבה אותו, this will also be a natural result if only you reflect on all the goodness you have experienced at His hand. לטוב לך, all of this G’d asks only for your own good, so that you will qualify for eternal life in the hereafter.
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  הן לה' אלוקיך השמים...והארץ, the fact that He owns the entire universe is convincing proof that whatever He asks of you is only for your own good, not for His, seeing that He has everything. The phenomena in the heavens and on earth are indestructible, permanent, and if you observed that at times they performed out of character to their nature, this was only because I, G’d, made them perform so in your interest. However, G’d was fond of your forefathers
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  רק באבותיך חשק, and this is why He performed miracles which interfered with natural law; these miracles were for your benefit, but were orchestrated only because of His fondness for them. Clearly, G’d’s purpose must have been that there should arise on earth someone even more perfect than any other creature, i.e. a perfect human being, one that realises his full potential, will resemble Me to the maximum extent that a creature can resemble its Creator, i.e. בצלמנו כדמותנו (Genesis 1,26).
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  ומלתם את ערלת לבבכם, therefore, it is appropriate that you remove the “foreskin,” prejudices with which your intelligence is afflicted, so that you will realise the errors you have made in your world outlook based on false premises.
  וערפכם לא תקשו עוד, so that you will no longer be stiff-necked, a condition which prevents you from truly recognising your Creator and how evil it is to turn your back on Him. 
  
  Verse 17
  
  Once you removed this “foreskin,” you will recognize that כי ה' אלוקיכם הוא אלוקי האלוקים, the eternal One Who will outlast anything as He is not made of any physical raw material so that He can outlast even materials that are not composites of other elements. [It is an axiom among philosophers of the author’s time that amalgams, phenomena which combine within them several elements, are by definition not durable, as just as these elements had to be fused to bring the final product into existence, this process will reverse itself in due cause, something we know as “dying.” Ed.]
  ואדוני האדונים, the supreme leader; the “leaders” referred to are the celestial bodies, especially those that even to the naked eye appear as performing a recognisable orbit. The “leaders” are the ones perceived as guiding and dictating the respective orbits of these celestial bodies. They are performing like different parts of a clockwork, so that when each performs its assigned function, the whole, i.e. the clock, becomes a reliable instrument telling time. [my metaphor. Ed.]
  הא-ל הגדול, the like of whom in greatness is not found among any creatures claiming greatness.
  הגבור, the One Who, single-handedly, ensures the continued existence of everything, as per Nechemyah 9,6  ואתה מחיה את כולם, “and You keep all of them alive.”
  והנורא, supervising His creatures’ activities in order to mete out reward and punishment. Seeing that this is so, it behooves us to be in constant awe of Him.
  אשר לא ישא פנים, does not treat a deviant with leniency just because his father was righteous. This is so in spite of the fact that He confers benefits on the descendants of a righteous father for many generations to his descendants.
  ולא יקח שוחד, He does not offset a merit against a demerit, a sin; or in the words of our sages: “a good deed performed does not extinguish the sin committed.” (Nachmanides Moses tells the people all this so that they should not reassure themselves that they can wipe the slate clean by performing good deeds after having committed sins and thus escape the retribution they deserve for the sins committed. The only way the slate can be wiped clean is by genuine repentance. 
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  היא תהלתך, your glory consists in the privilege of being a servant of a Being Who rules the entire cosmos.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  כי לא את בניכם, therefore, you who have become witnesses to G’d’s miracles for the generations by reason of the fact that you enter this land and conquer it.
  וזרועו הנטויה, which is ever ready to smite those who will revert to their sinful ways.
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  ויאבדם ה' עד היום הזה, for then the choicest captains of the Egyptian cavalry were drowned with their armies in such a decisive manner that even now, forty years later, they have not recovered from this defeat. Until this day these military leaders of Egypt have not been replaced.
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  'כי עיניכם הרואות את כל מעשה ה, which He performed against those who rebelled against Him, to Pharaoh in Egypt, to Pharaoh at the Sea, to those who rebelled against Him in the desert, Datan and Aviram,. It is therefore up to you who have experienced all this with your own eyes to warn your children who have not been eyewitnesses to these events. Therefore,
  
  Verse 8
  
  ושמרתם את כל המצות אשר אנכי מצוך היום, the commandment to erect the stones in the Jordan as well as the stones you will take with you from the Jordan on which you will inscribe the Torah for the benefit of future generations so that the memory that these events really happened will be preserved.
  
  Verse 9
  
  ולמען תאריכו ימים על האדמה, for if your children will not observe G’d’s commandments they will be exiled from this land before the warnings in the paragraph commencing with ונושנתם בארץ, “you will become well established in the land,” can ever become a reality (Deut.4,25).
  
  Verse 10
  
  כי הארץ אשר אתה בא שמה לרשתה לא כארץ מצרים היא, which does not require rainfall.
  
  Verse 11
  
  למטר השמים תשתה מים. For there are not enough rivers to irrigate the farmland so that the earth requires rainfall to irrigate the crops.
  
  Verse 12
  
  דורש אותה, to carefully scrutinize the deeds of its inhabitants to determine if they are deserving the rain or not. Therefore, you should remain aware of the fact that
  
  Verse 13
  
  אם שמוע תשמעו...ונתתי מטר ארצכם בעתו, so that you will find your livelihood painlessly, and the land will cooperate with you. If not, G’d will not provide any rain and you will not have food to eat  (16-17)
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  and as a result of such a development ואבדם מהרה, from hunger, which is a more painful death than dying by the sword.. Therefore, remain on guard!
  
  Verse 18
  
  ושמתם את דברי אלה על לבבכם, to understand them through intensive study;
  ועל נפשכם, so that you will observe them willingly.
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  ולמדתם אותם את בניכם, train your children in the regular performance of the commandments
  לדבר בם בשבתך, so that you will make them a regular part of your conversation with your children.
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  כי אם שמור תשמרון לאהבה, the thrust of your preoccupation with Torah is to be that you show the acts of loving kindness G’d has performed, which in turn will ensure that you love Him.
  ללכת בכל דרכיו, to emulate the way in which He governs His universe, i.e. application of justice and righteousness.
  ולדבקה בו, all your actions should strive to carry out His will, as Proverbs 3,6 בכל דרכיך דעהו!
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  והוריש, He will give you a chance to earn your livelihood easily so as to have time to serve Him.
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  לא יתיצב איש, not even outside the land of Israel.
  
  Verse 26
  
  ראה, pay good attention so that you will not be like the nations of the world who relate to everything half-heartedly, always trying to find middle ground. Remember that אנכי נותן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה, I present you this day with the choice of two extremes, opposites. The ברכה is an extreme in that it provides you with more than you need, whereas the קללה is another extreme making sure that you have less than your basic needs. You have the choice of both before you; all you have to do is make a choice.
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  ונתת את הברכה, bless the people who observe G’d’s commandments,
  ואת הקללה, and curse those who violate them deliberately.
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  הלא המה בעבר הירדן, at the entrance to the land as soon as you cross the Jordan. This procedure is meant to demonstrate that your settling in this land will not be in an unsatisfactory, inadequate manner, but that it will be either completely successful or the reverse.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  אלה החקים והמשפטים אשר תשמרון...-לרשתה כל הימים, observance of all the commandments listed forthwith is, among other things, a condition to ensure that you will remain ancestral owners of this land for all time. כל הימים, during all the time when you are busy wiping out locations dedicated to idolatry and you will not yourselves worship idols by becoming like them by offering your sacrifices wherever it pleases you.
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  המקום אשר יבחר ה' אלוקיכם מכל שבטיכם...לשכנו, the place where His Name will have a permanent residence, during the early period at Shiloh, later on in Jerusalem, Solomon’s Temple, better known as בית עולמים, the permanent Temple.
  תדרשו, you shall seek out this place to worship and to offer your sacrifices, as per Isaiah 11,10 אליו גויים ידרשו, “nations will seek Him out there.”
  ובאת שמה, G’d will not come to you, as in the case of the idolaters, but you will come to Him. 
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  אך כאשר יאכל את הצבי, in a place that has not been consecrated.
  
  Verse 23
  
  רק חזק לבלתי אכול הדם, even though you hope that by eating the blood you will be able to divine the future as do the demons as our sages said in Chagigah 16 that upon eating blood one can hear the future in the same manner as do the ministering angels.” [On that folio the Talmud does not describe the demons as eating blood, specifically; also the Talmud describes the knowledge of the demons of future events as not based on their intelligence, but as something they overheard in the celestial regions. Nachmanides elaborates on all this, particularly in his commentary on the relevant verse in Acharey Mot. Ed.]
  
  Verse 24
  
  לא תאכלנו, על הארץ תשפכנו כמים, you are to treat it so that it becomes unfit to eat, just as is water when you pour it on the earth. It is not enough to hide it, as one hides wine or oil and other liquids which are designed as drinks.
  
  Verse 25
  
  'לא תאכלנו....כי.תעשה הישר בעיני ה, when you refrain from eating it this shall not be because you despise it, i.e. it repels you; you must not eat it in order to thereby do what is right in the eyes of the Lord. Our sages in Torat Kohanim on Kedoshim 9,10 phrase it thus: “one must not say: ‘I am revolted by pig’s meat,’ but one should say: ‘I am perfectly capable of enjoying pig’s meat; the only reason I do not is in order to comply with G’d’s prohibition of it.’”
  
  Verse 26
  
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  ואעשה כן גם אני, that I will serve the Lord in Heaven, my G’d, but by imitating the mode of worship practiced by the people whom G’d drove out on my account.
  
  Verse 31
  
  כי כל תועבת ה' אשר שנא עשו לאלוהיהם, for even the manner in which they worshipped their idols is largely completely abhorrent in the eyes of the Lord.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  לא תוסף עליו, for you might add something which is despicable in the eyes of the Lord. If, perchance, you would add new ways of the serving the Lord, you have no assurance that such innovation is acceptable to G’d, for instance the burning of one’s children in G’d’s honour.
  ולא תגרע ממנו, even if, in your judgment, the rationale for observing the commandment in question no longer applies, is no longer relevant. An example would be Solomon’s reasoning that the restrictions placed by the Torah on the number of wives a king may have did not apply to him as none of these wives could possibly incite him to turn away from G’d. (compare Sanhedrin 21).
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  אשר לא ידעתם, the miracle proving the existence of such a phenomenon seeing you had never heard of its existence. Seeing we do not know the function of the phenomenon makes it more difficult to dismiss the idea that it possesses powers. It is unlike sun and moon whose functions and limitations we know. We know that it is useless to pray to sun and moon, as their obvious limitations are known to us.
  
  Verse 4
  
  לא תשמע אל הנביא ההוא, do not even turn to listen to find out if his words have even partial substance, for there can be no question that the man is full of lies and tells you things he has made up, all for an evil purpose; כי דבר סרה, for what he portrays as a miracle is nothing but sleight of hand or forgery of some other kind.
  או אל חולם החלום ההוא, to see if even part of what he dreamt reflected some truth of what was going to happen; you may be sure that the dreamers did not actually dream any part of what he claimed to have dreamt, but he invented all of it in order to seduce you;
  כי מנסה ה' אלוקיכם אתכם, by referring with hostility to a person who spoke out against G’d, you will be proven as truly loving G’d.
  לדעת, once your previously theoretical faith in G’d has been so tested, you will become truly tested in your intimate conviction of G’d’s goodness which becomes an unshakable enduring conviction. Someone who believes truly in the goodness of the Lord cannot help but hate anyone who denies G’d’s goodness, just as if you love a human being truly you cannot help hating a person who hates the person whom you truly love. 
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  אחרי ה' אלוקיכם תלכו, similarly phrased to והלכת בדרכיו in Deut. 28,9. You are not to seek out new paths which the “prophet” or “dreamer” employs to make you depart from the ways of the Lord.
  ואותו תיראו, even though the person who now claims to be a prophet had previously been considered as a pious and thoroughly G’d-fearing individual. Your prior esteem of him and his views must turn into total rejection and you must allow your awe and reverence for G’d and His words to outweigh any argument he may present. ואת מצותיו תשמורו, so that you will only observe His commandments and not any new ones claimed to be His by the new “prophet.” This refers in particular to matters involving idolatry where the most minute deviation automatically challenges the totality of Torah and all of its laws.
  ובקולו תשמעון, you are to carry out all the instructions given to you by properly accredited prophets and to listen to their commands, such as to Elijah at Mount Carmel, and not to the instructions of anyone canceling any of G’d’s commandments.
  ואותו תעבודו, exclusively. You cannot simultaneously serve any other deity as spelled out in Exodus 22,19 זובח לאלוהים יחרם, “if anyone is found offering sacrifices to any other deity he is guilty of death.”
  ובו תדבקון, the objective of all your activities must be to carry out His will unaffected by any prior hostility.
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  'יומת, כי דבר סרה על ה, even though he had claimed to speak in the name of the Lord and not in the name of some other deity, something which had convinced him that his crime was not subject to the death penalty. We encounter such a scenario in Jeremiah 26,16 where the elders of Jerusalem do not want to convict Jeremiah to the death penalty because he had spoken in the name of the Almighty G’d, i.e. had not denied His sovereignty, although he was perceived as a false prophet, no one accepting his predictions of doom and his call to repentance.
  להדיחך מן הדרך, even though he had never asked you to abandon G’d, and had only presented an “updated” version of this same G’d’s commandments. He had, however, asked you to depart from “timeless Torah,” making G’d’s laws something that could be changed from time to time, thus making Moses the father figure of all prophets irrelevant. [my words. Ed.]
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  הקרובים אליך, even though these nations live in your vicinity and you are aware of the lies which their religion is based upon, and because you are, there would be no reason to worry about the influence of such a religion upon you.
  או הרחוקים ממך מקצה הארץ, so that on account of the very distance there is no real concern that you would learn from their ways.
  
  Verse 9
  
  לא תאבה לו, when he suggests that you investigate the truth of his words that a certain form of idolatry is demonstrably effective for its believers, do not assent to listen to him.
  ולא תשמע אליו, you must not listen to him to make such an experiment, and to go through a “conditional” obeisance as a test. The reason is that the moment you even entertain doubts about the utter falsity of what the seducer claims, in the end you will become a victim of his  persuasiveness. You could not even entertain any doubt about G’d and His Torah unless you had never properly understood the greatness of G’d and His mastery in the universe.
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  כי בקש להדיחך, even though he did not cause tangible damage, and therefore might have thought himself immune from prosecution, as opposed to the person who incited to idolatry in the Ir Hanidachat, a city whose majority became idolaters. He is guilty of the death penalty כי בקש להדיחך, because of his attempt to convert people to idolatry. His execution will prevent him from seducing still others. Failure to execute him might result in his success.
  
  Verse 12
  
  וכל ישראל ישמעו וייראו ולא יוסיפו, neither the seducer himself nor others who found him convincing.
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  ואת בהמתה לפי חרב, to wipe out their memory as a form of vengeance on behalf of the G’d of Israel. The principle underlying the destruction of the belongings of these people is the same as that contained in G’d’s commandment to destroy every vestige of Amalek in order to obliterate any memory of that nation. (compare. Deut. 25,19) The prophet Samuel spelled this out prior to ordering King Sha-ul to carry out this commandment in Samuel I 15,3.
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  ולא ידבק מאומה מן החרם, in order to ensure that such loot not become a stumbling block for you, as when loot of idolaters is retained, something the Torah has forbidden not only in practice, but even the desire to own such loot has been forbidden (Deut. 7,25). We have discussed this matter on that verse.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  בנים אתם לה' אלוקיכם, לא תתגודדו, it is bad manners to display excessive grief over the loss of a relative as long as a more relevant relative (G’d) is still alive. This is why G’d reminds us in this context that we are His children, i.e. that whatever relative we may mourn we have a father who is alive and well so that we are not really orphaned.
  ולא תשימו קרחה בין עיניכם על מת כי עם קדוש אתה, there is no reason to mourn excessively for the person who has passed as he, at least, has not experienced any loss, on the contrary, he has been promoted to the region of eternal life, something of which our sages in Avot 4,6-7 have said that a single hour of the serenity experienced in that life is worth all the combined delights ever experienced during one’s transient life on earth.
  
  Verse 2
  
  סגולה מכל העמים, this is why G’d prohibits your disfiguring yourself. He did not prohibit this to the Gentiles, as they are not as special as you are.
  
  Verse 3
  
  לא תאכל כל תועבה; before the Torah had been revealed, given, the Israelites as well as mankind generally were aware of the concepts “pure, טהור,” and “טמא, impure.” This is clear already from G’d’s command to Noach to take into the ark with him one pair each of the “impure” species,” and seven pairs each of the “pure” species of animals and birds. (Genesis 7,2) When G’d, after the deluge, permitted man to eat meat, He did not distinguish between meat from “pure” animals and meat from “impure animals.” However, now, after the giving of the Torah, when the Jewish people had become so special, it was no longer appropriate for them to ingest the remains of impure animals or birds (or even fish). Our sustenance should not be dependent on such inferior living beings. We should remain constantly aware of the gulf between man and beast, especially beasts which had never been suitable as sacrifices.
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  לא תאכלו כל נבלה, even of the pure species which you may eat after they have been slaughtered ritually.
  כי עם קדוש אתה לה' אלוקיך, even though the dead carcass is in a state of being fit for human consumption, such as by strangers in your midst or residents who have not yet converted to embrace all of Judaism’s laws. עם קדוש, ready to achieve the perfection intended for it by its Creator. (this would be slowed down or impeded by eating lower forms of living creatures, not that eating them would be harmful, objectively speaking.)
  לא תבשל גדי, as is the custom among the Gentiles who believe that by doing so they will increase the numbers of their livestock (compare Moreh Nevuchim, section three 3,48)
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  עשר תעשר, for by tithing the crops of the fields and orchards as well as that of your livestock, you will actually increase their numbers (G’d will see to this) instead of decreasing the amount at your disposal. This is what our sages meant when they said in Shabbat 119 עשר בשביל שתתעשר, “give the tithes so that you will be enriched” (with the dot in the letter ש of the word תתעשר on the right hand side.).
  
  Verse 23
  
  למען תלמד ליראה, for the site chosen by G’d for the Temple also houses the Supreme Court, Sanhedrin, from where knowledge and understanding is dispensed.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  וזה דבר השמטה, when G’d said והשביעית תשמטנה, (Exodus 23,11) the meaning was that you should also have a concept of sh’mittat kessaphim, releasing overdue debts by your debtor at the end of that year. The words משה ידו, “what is owed him as a creditor” in our verse make this pretty clear. [Furthermore, if the word מקץ means “at the end,” it is clear that this verse does not refer to the produce grown during that year. Ed.]
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  אפס כי לא יהיה בך אביון, even though I have said that you must forgive overdue debts, the fact is that there will be no need for this commandment to apply in practice as there will not be anyone in that kind of need. There can hardly be a question that during all the years when Joshua was the leader of the people this promise applied and no one was in need of having past due debts forgiven. We have it on irrefutable authority that as long as Joshua and the elders of his generation were alive the Jewish people kept the Torah in an exemplary fashion. (Joshua 24,31)
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  וזכרת כי עבד היית, not only did He take you out of bondage, but He saw to it that you were generously endowed with gold, silver, garments, etc. 
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  לא יקשה בעיניך, to furnish him with some of your wealth upon his departure, seeing that he has served you faithfully and you will not become poor by doing so.
  
  Verse 19
  
  כל הבכור, after the Torah has listed a number of acts of kindness you are to perform with parts of your harvest in the field and orchard, something called the “tithe for the poor,” as well as an equivalent at the end of the sh’mittah year in money, i.e. the waiving of past due debts, acts of charity, and acts of helping your former servant to establish an economic base for himself, Moses now explains in detail commandments which are acts of gratitude vis a vis G’d, i.e. the giving to G’d or His representative the firstborn males of your livestock, i.e. sheep, goats and cattle. It is incumbent upon the owner of such herds to thank the Lord, for it is He Who is the source of his wealth. This is followed by repetition of the commandments to observe Passover, the commemoration of our obtaining political freedom, as well as the annual date on which the early barley harvest is acknowledged with an appropriate offering, and of Shavuot, the obtaining of our spiritual freedom when we received the Torah in capsule form, i.e. the Ten Commandments. Shavuot also ranks as the primary harvest festival celebrating the cutting of the wheat harvest. Finally, we observe the Sukkot festival signaling that the last of the various harvests, particularly that of the trees has been successfully brought into the barns. On each of these festivals the farmer brings a gift for G’d with him when he makes the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Temple. This is spelled out in 16,16. Seeing that the occasion for this is one or all of these three festivals, there is no need for the Torah to mention a specific date as we all know the dates of these festivals. The Torah does mention the season during which these festivals occur, to remind us that they are connected with times of significance to each farmer.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  שמור את חודש האביב, make sure that the month of Nissan always occurs in the spring, by manipulating the calendar, if necessary and inserting an extra month of Adar. By doing this the solar orbit (year) and the lunar orbits, (12 moons equaling a year) can be brought into line with each other.
  ועשית פסח, on the first evening of the festival of matzot
  כי בחודש האביב הוציאך, because it was G’d’s will that your departure from Egypt should be at the time when the month signaling the beginning of spring should occur, astrologically a time when the zodiac sign of the lamb ascends in tandem with the sun, and is opposite the moon, the latter symbolising the Jewish people, as opposed to the Egyptians who worship the sun as a major deity.
  לילה, on that occasion, the sun/lamb being opposite the moon occurred at night. Seeing that one cannot offer a sacrifice at night, the Torah arranged for the Passover to be offered on the afternoon preceding that night. As a commemoration of that event, it was decided not to change the time of offering the Passover even though the astrological/astronomical data change from year to year.
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  ובקר, the cattle, of course, only as the festival offering, known as חגיגה. This was an offering that did not accompany the Passover on the original occasion in Egypt.
  
  Verse 3
  
  לא תאכל עליו חמץ שבעת ימים, even though in Egypt the prohibition of eating chametz was in effect for only one day, as our sages pointed out in Pessachim 96.
  תאכל עליו מצות, seeing it was an offering commemorating the redemption, something that took place in a short moment in time, it is not appropriate to eat chametz, something which by definition requires time in order to become leavened. (compare Hoseah 7,4, “from kneading the dough until it has been baked”).
  לחם עוני, bread which they ate while in a state of ענים, external pressure, not having time to wait until the dough had risen so that it became leavened. The taskmasters had always been rushing them, during their entire stay in Egypt as slave labourers.
  כי בחפזון יצאת, the reason why we have to remember this state of haste is because haste is a form of pressure. It was because you always had to rush while being slaves that the redemption when it came also came in the guise of extreme haste. Jeremiah 31,12 describes such an experience in the words והפכתי אבלם לששון, “I will turn their mourning into joy.”
  למען תזכור את יום צאתך מארץ מצרים כל ימי חייך, the reason why I have commanded to eternalize this manifestation of G’d’s direct guidance of your fate, השגחה, is so that the compensation of the shorter lunar year with the seasonal orbits of the solar year be effected through the addition of extra days or an extra month, so that this month will always occur partially after the equinox of spring. I did not legislate anything similar for the solar year as there is no need for it, and that would have little to do with the Exodus. There is no reason why the gentile nations should commemorate the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. כל ימי חייך, every time the calendar is adjusted, be it to add a day or to add a month, you will be reminded of the reason for this being a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt.
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  ולא יראה לך שאור בכל גבולך שבעת ימים, even though this was not a requirement on the original Passover in Egypt.
  ולא ילין מן הבשר, so that you should not think that leftovers of the Passover sacrifice were forbidden only on the original occasion, seeing that on that occasion the people were in such a state of haste, that the Torah did not want leftover sacred meat to be at the disposal of the Egyptians.
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  לא תוכל לזבוח את הפסח, even though in Egypt there was no need to slaughter the Passover either on an altar or in a Temple (precincts), this is not the way it is to be observed in the future.
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  וביום השביעי עצרת, on that day the Israelites are to be assembled together in communal worship of the Lord. They will sing the song sung by the Israelites after they had crossed the Sea of Reeds on dry ground. This is why this day has been given a special sanctity.
  ולא תעשה מלאכה, if not for that, the seventh day would not be recognisable as holy at all, just as the seventh day of Sukkot is not called a מקרא קודש, holy convocation.
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  מהחל חרמש בקמה, in the standing barley, which is to serve as the Omer offering. We know already from Exodus 9,31 that the barley crop ripens in spring (in the latitudes which include Egypt and the Land of Israel. Ed]. Seven weeks elapse between the beginning of the barley harvest and that of the wheat harvest. Hence you are to count these seven weeks.
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  והגר והיתום והאלמנה, they shall rejoice on the festival of cutting (the wheat). Their rejoicing will take the form of their collecting the portions of this harvest set aside for them by the Torah, i.e. the פאה, corner of the field with standing grain; the gleanings, what the farmer had overlooked, etc. These have been enumerated in connection with the festival in Leviticus 23,22.
  
  Verse 12
  
  וזכרת כי עבד היית, where you did not own any money of your own, seeing that whatever is in the hands of a slave is owned by his master. (Pessachim 88)
  ושמרת ועשית את החקים האלה, by leaving behind gleanings, the peyah, etc., as a goodwill gesture for your G’d Who has taken you out from there and given you wealth and landed property.
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  ומיקבך ,when you gather in the harvest into your houses and your barns from the grain presses and wine presses.
  
  Verse 14
  
  והגר והיתום והאלמנה, they will rejoice over finding the various gleanings of the tree fruit harvested at that period.
  
  Verse 15
  
  כי יברכך, so that you will have a great deal of gathering in to do, and as a result, the poor will also find much to collect.
  והיית אך שמח, you will be completely joyful; no sadness will intrude on your happy frame of mind.
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  איש כמתנת ידו, not that he has to give away all that he owns so that as a result he will become a charge on public charity; an interpretation offered by foolish gentiles. Our sages have long ago postulated that even the most generously inclined person should not give away more than one fifth of his wealth. (Ketuvot 50)
  
  Verse 18
  
  שופטים ושוטרים, after Moses had addressed a number of commandments to the people at large, he now turned to instruct the leaders of the people in commandments of special concern for them. By paying especial attention to observing these laws, the leaders, especially the judges, kings and prophets, would be able to maintain the spiritual level of the people at large, and thus ensure the people’s continued tenure of the Land of Israel. In the words of the prophet: “when the lion roars who does not tremble?” (Amos 3,8) Tzefaniah phrased it somewhat differently, providing degrees of reactions to people in varying degrees of authority. (Tzefaniah 3,3 describes the princes, leading authorities as being feared like roaring lions, whereas the judges who have no executive powers are feared in the manner one is afraid of wolves.)
  נותן לך לשבטיך, in the gates (cities) He is about to give to you. You are to divide the judges to districts, i.e. each of your cities must have a judiciary. This restriction does not apply to land conquered outside the traditional boundaries of Israel; there, seeing the land was not divided into tribal parcels, the judiciary appointed also did not have to adhere to this pattern. Examples of such regions were Syria, etc.
  משפט צדק, the manner in which the complaints of the litigants were heard should be such that the resulting decisions could be expected to be fair, צדק, righteous. The judges were not to discriminate in their treatment of either of the opposing litigants.
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  צדק צדק תרדוף. When you are about to put this legislation into practice, the party in charge of appointing such judges is told by Moses to select only those who are already known for their sense of fair play and righteousness. He will have to look for such people all over the tribe. If potential judges do not have all the qualifications which are desirable in a judge, this qualification of fairness is the overriding quality all must possess. This is what the prophet Samuel was told by G’d when he had to look for a replacement of King Sha-ul among the sons of Yishai. (Samuel I 16,7) He was specifically told to ignore external appearances.
  למען תחיה וירשת, such qualities are of even greater importance in the Land of Israel, as a failure to comply would result in the ancestral right to that country being denied to you. Compare Isaiah 57,17 who quotes G’d as telling him that a corrupt judiciary [getting away with sinful greed? Ed.] was a primary cause for G’d’s anger at the people.
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  לא תטע לך אשרה, in this verse the Torah lists three items whose common denominator is that they appeal to the senses, are desirable, but at the same time are all spiritually negative, harmful.   The first one is האשרה, something beautiful and decorative for buildings, but at the same time something ugly from the vantage point of holiness as it is usually a conduit leading to idolatrous practices. Seeing that this is so, we are commanded whenever faced with such choices to give preference to that which leads to spiritual righteousness at the expense of physical perfection or beauty. By the same token, we are to prefer spiritual qualities possessed by someone chosen as a judge to external features, impressive though they may be.   The second item is המצבה, even though such a kind of altar was welcomed by G’d as an outlet for someone who wanted to bring an offering to G’d, this was before the Torah had been given. Consider, for example, Exodus 24,4 where the Torah welcomed 12 such monuments erected by Moses, where these monuments symbolised the fact that the person offering a sacrifice considered himself as constantly in the presence of the divine. (compare Psalms 16,8 שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד, “I feel myself constantly in the presence of the Lord.”) The Jewish people had not been able to maintain this spiritual level after they had committed the sin of the golden calf. Even when such a מצבה is dedicated to heaven it had become hateful in the eyes of the Lord, i.e. G’d had expressed His distaste in Exodus 33,3, after having provisionally “forgiven” the people by appointing an angel to lead them to the Holy Land, but refusing to lead their ascent by His presence being among them. We encounter a similar concept described as the difference between an old man whose beard proclaims his respectability, as opposed to the old man whose beard is disheveled, i.e. reveals traces of a youth which was spent irresponsibly.  We look for people whose exterior testifies to their blameless interior, character. [This metaphor is used by the Chazzan in his private introductory prayer on Yom Hakippurim. Ed.]  The third item, also reminding us of the rejection of an externally basically beautiful animal as a sacrifice, is a series of blemishes, some quite minor, not affecting the value of the animal in question in the market place at all. Such a blemish in an animal worth 1000 dollars disqualifies it as an offering, whereas another similar animal worth one single dollar, but without such a blemish, is given preference over the far more expensive animal, which is rejected. The Torah gives us three examples to teach us basically the same lesson. What is true of the blemished animal for presentation on the altar, is equally true for the venerable old scholar who is afflicted with some character fault.  We are to look further in order to find a less impressive individual not afflicted with such character fault.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  כי ימצא בקרבך, after Moses instructed the people to appoint judges in each city so that each court would judge primarily people who lived in its vicinity, Moses continues with the trial of an idolater, something that is not judged locally, in the town where he lives, but in the town in which he committed the crime. Subsequently, Moses deals with the problem of disagreements among members of the court, or several courts with one another. Such disagreements are also not to be judged locally but “in the place that the Lord has chosen,” (verse 8) i.e. the same court in which an elder who refuses to submit to the majority view of his colleagues is to be judged. 
  לעבור בריתו, the covenant embracing all the commandments, for worshipping idols is an offence considered as equivalent to having violated all of the Torah’s commandments.
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  אלוהים אחרים, independent ones, having no relation to Hashem  whatsoever, but disembodied beings. ולשמש או לירח, which are physical bodies;
  אשר לא צויתי, which I had not appointed to act independently of My will. This is in contrast to the philosophers of idolatrous religions who believe that G’d had appointed His agents to be in charge of a city each, within which they have power over life and death without reference to their Master. The inhabitants of each such city are under the illusion that by pleasing the local agent of G’d, their “patron saint,” their fates will be affected beneficially.
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  את האיש ההוא או את האשה ההיא, no mention is made in this connection of the idolatry being the result of seduction, the victim being foolish and knowing what he or she did, so that there is no need to convict him or her in the location where he or she committed the offence to teach the people who were aware of the sinner’s opinions that the truth is the opposite of what the sinner thought.
  אל שעריך, to the public place where the idolatrous act was performed. By convicting and executing the idolater the public would have to admit that the deity worshipped by the convicted sinner was either unable or unwilling to save his life.
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  על פי שנים עדים או שלושה, even if the charge is idolatry, the entire testimony is disqualified if one of the witnesses is found to be inadmissible. We do not rule that seeing there are a sufficient number of reliable and legally admissible witnesses left, we proceed with the trial on that basis.
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  כי יפלא ממך, even though you have appointed competent judges in each town and city, in order that each court would dispense justice in its home base, if a doubt arises as to what the correct ruling is according to reliable tradition, the local court is not to hand down a ruling according to their opinion when it is not supported by authentic tradition, but the problem should be submitted to the Supreme Court, Sanhedrin. The same holds true when the judges in the local court were deadlocked.
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  והאיש אשר יעשה בזדון, who deliberately hands down a ruling to be applied forthwith, which is against that handed down by the Supreme Court, ומת האיש ההוא, he is to be executed at the behest of the Supreme Court, and thereby all the people will hear about it and the absolute authority of the Sanhedrin will be preserved and the people will remain in awe of it.
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  אשימה עלי מלך ככל הגויים, a monarch whose authority will be transferred from him to his biological heir after his death throughout the generations. This is quite different from judges, each of whom is appointed for his lifetime, with his heirs having absolutely no claim to succeed their father. The people were commanded to appoint such a hereditary position of king after they had conquered and settled in the land of Israel, the principal reason being to ensure that the Jewish people would not be like a flock without a shepherd, (Moses’ words in Numbers 27,17.)
   The fact is that G’d disapproved of a hereditary type of monarchy such as is customary among the gentile nations, so that He stipulated that if the people insisted on appointing a king who would start a dynasty, the initial king had to be approved not only by the people but by G’d’s representative on G’d’s behalf, as we know from Samuel I 8,18. The restrictions in appointing the original king were designed to ensure that such a king could not lead the people away from G’d’s Torah; on the contrary, they are meant for the people to see in him a shining example of Torah-observance, which in turn would inspire their own piety. Seeing that when the people asked Samuel for a king their purpose was far from what the Torah had legislated having a king for, the people were suitably punished as per the verse in Samuel I 8,18 that we referred to earlier. The prophet Hoseah 13,11 describes G’d granting the people’s wish as stemming from the fact that He was angry at them. Summing up, we may view the permission to appoint a king as being in the same category as the permission for a soldier to marry a physically attractive prisoner of war. G’d, the master psychologist, knows that sometimes in order to become wise enough to appreciate the Torah’s prohibitions, an individual, or even a whole nation, must find this out by having chosen in their own wisdom to ignore the Torah’s preferences. David’s experiences with his son Avshalom, born to such a prisoner of war whom he married because he was initially physically attracted to her, bears this out. In fact, his experience with his son Adoniah was not much better. (compare Tanchuma Ki Teytze, section 1).
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  למען ילמד ליראה, in the philosophical, ethically instructive passages of the Torah acquainting us with the marvelous characteristics of G’d and His reluctance to interfere with man’s free choice. Such knowledge must lead one to revere G’d ever more.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  כי בו בחר ה' אלוקיך מכל שבטיך, and it is therefore called for that you provide him with food and clothing in order that he will be free to perform the Temple service on your behalf.
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  לבד ממכריו אל האבות, the members of any priestly roster, known as בית אבות or as here. plain אבות, do not have the right to share their sacrificial meat with their relatives or friends except when this meat was part of the daily or weekly public offerings. These may be shared or exchanged between different rosters. However, any offerings brought to the altar on the pilgrimage festivals are not subject to the authority of the priestly roster officiating during that week at all. The expression ממכריו, “of his acquaintances,” does not apply to the days of the festivals. Therefore, the Torah orders that on that occasion basically any priest present may eat a share of such offerings regardless of whether he belongs to the roster of that particular week. This is why the Torah writes; חלק כחלק יאכלו, of the offerings presented during the festivals all the priests enjoy an equal share.
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  לא ימצא בך, even among non-Jewish residents of the Holy Land. A prominent example would be the woman used by King Sha-ul to produce the deceased prophet Samuel to give him a message. (Samuel I 28)
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  תמים תהיה, whole-hearted to the extent that you will not even try and gain information about future events except through an authentic prophet.
  
  Verse 14
  
  ואתה לא כן נתן לך, even if you were to consult the various types of soothsayers listed here, their messages would never prove accurate as our sages already told us אין מזל לישראל, “no part of Israel’s destiny is linked to astrological constellations.” (Shabbat 156)
  
  Verse 15
  
  אליו תשמעון, if his instructions which appear to deviate from Jewish norms are meant as a temporary measure, addressing a specific emergency.
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  ?איכה נדע את הדבר; when the authentic prophet commands a specific commandment such as when Elijah sacrificed on a private altar, something that had been forbidden for hundreds of years, or when Joshua waged war against Jericho on the Sabbath with all the violations this involved. (Kings I 18, and Joshua 6)
  
  Verse 22
  
  ולא יהיה הדבר, for when the prophet commands a “new” commandment, unless it is accompanied by a miracle attesting to his authority by G’d to do so, the fact that he failed to produced the promised miracle proves that he is a false prophet. An example of this is mentioned in Joshua in the valley of the river Jordan. (Joshua 3 when Joshua promised miracles and the people crossed the swollen Jordan river with dry feet, the waters having backed up) Also the predicted collapse of the protective wall around Jericho as the result of blasts on the shofar was such a miracle legitimising violating the Sabbath on that occasion. (Joshua 6)  In the case of the prophet Elijah at Mount Carmel, the heavenly fire descending and consuming his offering on the rebuilt altar, as well as the water in the surrounding moat, proved that he had acted with G’d’s approval, was totally authentic. (Kings I 18,38) Concerning the reverse, a prophet being punished for failing to carry out the instructions of his colleague, an example is found in Kings I 20,35-36. Were this not so, why would someone be punished for not inflicting physical hurt on his fellow man?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  שלוש ערים תבדיל, after Moses had explained the function of the judges, the king, the priests, and the prophets, Moses now details some of the tasks that fall under the jurisdiction of the judges, among them the establishment of the cities of refuge, the boundaries of the land, the examination of witnesses to establish that their testimony is truthful and accurate, and that they are acceptable as witnesses. Next, he deals with the tasks that fall within the competence of the king, such as leading the nation in war, especially aggressive wars beyond the boundaries of the land of Israel. (20, 1-9) The priests also have a role to play during the preparation of what are termed מלחמת רשות, “halachically permissible wars,” although they are not fought in order to repel invaders. The priests and judges cooperate in some of their duties, especially the עגלה הערופה, the calf killed when a murder in the field was unresolved. (21,1-9)
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  ובערת דם נקי מישראל, the penalty for spilling innocent blood in the Holy Land is normally the shedding of the murderer’s blood, which alone brings atonement, no substitutes being allowed, such as financial reparations (compare Numbers 35,33) 
  וטוב לך, because the murderer cannot kill additional people, the ones surviving the execution will be awed by having heard or witnessed the execution. (verse 20)
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  והנה עד שקר העד, שקר ענה באחיו. His testimony was deliberately false, meant to incriminate his fellow Jew. He did not err in what he thought he had witnessed, such as there having been poor lighting on a cloudy day. Neither did he err in the day of the month when the supposed crime occurred, having been unaware that the most recent month had been extended by a day.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  כי תצא למלחמה, outside the boundaries of the land of Israel. When a war is fought inside the boundaries of the Land of Israel, i.e. a defensive war, no one is allowed to be exempt from army service; even a bridegroom fresh from the wedding canopy is called up. (Sotah 44)
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  פן ימות במלחמה ואיש אחר יחנכנו, perhaps the man in question had been guilty of a sin on account of which he would be punished by death or one of the punishments mentioned in the Tochahach, the lengthy warnings of Moses in chapter 28. His death would undermine the morale of his brothers in arms.
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  ופקדו שרי צבאות, after all those who were sent home had left. If even one of the people that should have been sent home were included in the roll call by the commanders this might eventually prove demoralising if the party in question became a casualty of war. Compare Amos 9,1 הך הכפתור וירעשו הספים, “strike a knob and the very foundations will quake,” [insignificant appearing actions have far-reaching consequences. Ed.]
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  הרחוקות ממך מאד, distant from the present location of the Israelites in their camps. At that time the boundaries of the Land of Israel will be far from the center in every direction.
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  לא תשחית את עצה לנדוח עליו גרזן, do not destroy its trees merely in order to practice wielding an axe. Destruction must not be wanton; it is justified only if it serves to harm the enemy residing within the city.
  כי ממנו תאכל, wanton destruction of such trees is justified only when it is not certain that without such action the war will come to a successful conclusion. The wars of conquest of the Land of Israel, however, the success of which has been guaranteed by G’d, does not fall into this category; it will be won without the need to destroy such trees. Destroying fruit bearing trees in the Land of Israel harms the country.
  כי ממנו תאכל, because as soon as you have conquered the land you yourselves will want to eat the fruit of such trees. 
  כי האדם עץ השדה, for is a tree of the field equivalent to a human being, capable of defending itself and therefore posing a danger to you? Neither is it able to surrender on account of the siege; seeing that this is so, even though part of its timber could serve as a rampart for helping you to mount an attack against the city itself, since this will not be achieved (directly) by cutting down these trees it is not proper for you to destroy such trees, as opposed to your being permitted to kill human beings in that city opposing you and endangering you.
  לבא מפניך במצור, so that you would besiege the city on their account so they would surrender to you? [the underlying idea, if I understand the author and the text correctly, is that the purpose of laying siege to a city instead of assaulting it and destroying it, is to preserve it intact after its inhabitants have been forced to surrender. Cutting down fruit bearing trees would be the opposite of your objectives in such a war. Ed.]
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  רק עץ אשר תדע כי לא עץ מאכל הוא, even if it belongs to a category of trees which normally bear fruit; if you know that it is defective or too old to still bear fruit, so that no sane human being would waste his time on tending it, pruning it, etc. אותו תשחית, such a tree you may destroy for your own purposes.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  אל נחל איתן, where people do not normally walk.
  וערפו, a discreet death, not one drawing attention to itself. The animal does not experience pangs of death, not knowing of its impending fate. Naturally, people knew even less about this impending procedure. This procedure parallels what the murderer had done when he ambushed an unsuspecting victim in a location which was isolated so that the court never found out who the murderer was. Had the court known of the identity of the murderer they would have dealt with him instead of this heifer having to be killed.
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  לשרתו ולברך, the (Temple) service of the priests is instrumental in attaining expiation for the innocent blood spilled, and in securing blessing for the land.
  ועל פיהם יהיה כל ריב וכל נגע, so that they are familiar with the psyches of the people and their norms, as they observed already by watching their fathers deal with such matters. Perhaps, due to such cumulative empirical knowledge they have some knowledge of whose character has been tainted by sin so that such intuitive knowledge will help them bring the truth to light. (in the investigation of the murder)
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  ידינו לא שפכו את הדם הזה, we have not left a stone unturned in (making public) locating the murderer in the land.
  ועינינו לא ראו, we are certain that the murderer did not commit this act where he could be seen. Had he been seen, he would have been challenged and prevented from committing the deed. At the very least, such witnesses would have come forward.
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  כפר לעמך, Please Lord, grant atonement to Your people, on behalf of the one who has spilled the blood. This is a veiled request to bring the murderer to justice as it is not given to man to do this. Compare Ketuvot 30 “if someone is guilty of judicial execution (and human justice did not reach him) he will either be killed by the secular authorities (for something else he is accused of) or terrorists will attack him.”
  ונכפר להם הדם, it will be atoned through heavenly judgment, the heavenly agent spilling the murderer’s blood accomplishing this. It will appear in the eyes of man as if the matter had taken care of itself independently. [one cannot pinpoint why the party concerned died a violent death, not knowing what he had been guilty of. Ed.]
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  ואתה תבער, when you are aware of someone’s guilt it is up to you to sentence the party and to carry out the sentence and not to rely on heaven to intervene. When you are unaware of the identity of the guilty party, and you have made exhaustive attempts to find him without success, you may rest assured that G’d Himself will take care of the problem.
  
  Verse 10
  
   כי תצא, beyond the boundaries of your land.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  ובכתה את אביה ואת אמה, to get her father and mother out of her system and reconciling herself to the fact that henceforth she would live in the Land of Israel, have no more contact with her parents. (whether they are dead or alive) Similar wording occurs in Psalms 45,11 שכחי עמך, the psalmist urging the Jewish people, compared to a princess, to forget their former environment and associates as she had been promoted to a loftier position. The prisoner of war described here as embracing Judaism has similarly been promoted to a far superior environment, severing her previous relationships completely. The weeping mentioned in our verse has nothing to do with the death of her parents for we do not kill mothers altogether. She weeps for having no longer a father and mother in the legal sense as these did not convert. Any other convert, not a prisoner of war, would similarly weep for this separation having occurred in her life as a result of her new status.
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  כי תהיינה לאיש שתי נשים, after the victory in war the Torah addresses internal matters in the Jewish state. The most important ones are interpersonal relationships with wives, children, livestock, jewelry, hunting for food, building homes, tilling the soil and matters related to clothing.
  
  Verse 16
  
  לא יוכל לבכר את בן האהובה על פני בן השנואה הבכור. The firstborn son’s entitlement to an extra share in his father’s inheritance must not be transferred on account of his father loving his mother more or “hating” her, i.e. loving her less than his second wife. If the reason the father wants to transfer the extra portion of the inheritance away from the chronologically entitled son due to that son’s misconduct¸ this is in order, as we know from Baba Batra 133 אם לא היה נוהג כשורה זכור לטוב, íf the chronologically oldest did not conduct himself properly his inheritance may be transferred to another better one. [opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel only, not accepted by codifiers. Ed.] It appears that this is what Yaakov did when he took birthright privileges away from Reuven (Chronicles I 5,1) transferring it to Joseph.
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  סורר ומורה, his obstinacy removed all hope that he would change his lifestyle.
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  זולל וסובא, such gluttons will become impoverished so that they will resort to robbery with violence in order to satisfy their needs. (Sanhedrin, 71, based on Proverbs)
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  כי קללת אלוהים תלוי, every disembodied creature is known as elohim; this includes the soul of human beings known as צלם אלוהים, “image of G’d.” [as He is without body, so this essence of a human being is without a body, does not need a body. Ed.] (Genesis 1,27) This is how we can understand the woman, known as בעלת אוב in Samuel I 28,13 whom King Sha-ul approached and asked to raise the prophet Samuel for him producing a disembodied image. Seeing that the disgrace done to a person after he has died is also an insult to this disembodied essence of him, the Torah describes it as קללת אלוהים, equivalent to cursing the dead person’s eternal essence. קללת אלהים, leaving the dead corpse hanging without burial is an insult to that very eternal essence of a human being called אלהים. 
  ולא תטמא, do not allow the spirit of impurity, death, to linger overnight in a location where a body remains unburied.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  וכן תעשה לשמלתו, even though such a find is far less likely to occur, so that you might consider it as having been abandoned on purpose.
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  למען ייטב לך והארכת ימים, in the matter of dispatching the mother bird before taking her chicks, we find some display of protective concern by the Torah for the preservation of the species, an effort not to destroy the seed of the birds of the field although they are הפקר, unclaimed property. In the example of the dispatch of the mother bird the Torah appears to teach us that even the display by us of concern for such totally unclaimed eggs or chicks is rewarded by the Creator with the party showing this empathy receiving dividends in this life and the principal (reward) in the world to come.
  
  Verse 8
  
  ולא תשים דמים בביתך כי יפול הנופל, if it were to happen that someone falls off that roof you could not have been the indirect cause, seeing you had put up a protective railing. Had you not done so, your family might bear part of the guilt for such a mishap.
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  כי יקח איש אשה, after the Torah has dealt with matters concerning the settling of the people in the Land of Israel, it turns to instructions designed to ensure that the Shechinah, benevolent Divine presence, will maintain its beneficial presence there. One of the most important elements in ensuring this is the avoidance of forbidden mating and the offspring of such couplings. The Torah therefore addresses both forbidden incestuous relations amongst Jewish partners, and intermarriage or living together of Jews and Non-Jews without the benefit of “marriage,” something which is anyway legally impossible. All of this belongs to the headingוהיה מחניך קדוש ולא יראה בך ערות דבר ושב מאחריך, “your encampment shall be holy. Let nothing unseemly be found among you so that He would turn away from you.” (23,15)
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  אשר ענה את אשת רעהו, he violated her and made her unfit to continue being the wife of her betrothed. We find a similar expression in Michah 2,9 נשי עמי תגרשון מבית תענוגיה, “you drive the women of My people away from their pleasure homes.” [compare Nachmanides who explains that the woman is not considered as an unwilling helpless victim in the scenario described by the Torah here. Hence the comparison with the chapter in Michah by our author is not so baffling. Ed.]
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  אין לנערה חטא מות, even though in the end she stopped resisting, i.e. she became a willing partner; seeing that initially she had been forced she is exonerated by judicial prosecution. Our sages go so far as to state “even if she said that had she not been forced she would have hired the man in question to sleep with her,” (Ketuvot 51) [the rapist kindled her libido so that she lost control over her emotions. Ed.]
  'כי כאשר יקום איש על רעהו וגו, this situation is not comparable to someone having sexual intercourse with a beast when the Torah condemns the “innocent” beast to share the death penalty with the human being. (Leviticus 20,15). The difference is that the animal in question did not offer any resistance at all, whereas the woman in question in our verse initially did offer resistance. What happened to her is comparable to a murdered person who had been forced to commit a sin and who was murdered for having refused to do so.
  
  Verse 27
  
  צעקת הנערה, we give her the benefit of the doubt, assuming she had cried for help.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  אשר לא קדמו, neither of these two nations met the Israelites, but the Moabites at least gave them bread and water in return for money, as we read in Deut.  2, 28-29 כאשר עשו לי בני עשו היושבים בשעיר והמואבים היושבים בער, “as the Children of Esau who dwell in Seir did for me, as well as the Moabites who dwell in Or.” The Ammonites did not even sell us bread and water. However, the Moabites added to their sin of hostility by hiring the prophet Bileam to curse us. Therefore, לא תדרוש שלומם, for while neither of them have shown basic human civilities, the Moabites have even displayed open hostility.
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  והיה מחניך קדוש, both free of ritual impurities as well as from repulsive things, even though not ritually impure.
  ולא יראה בך ערות דבר, a description of Jewishly unfit offspring or some other impediment to G’d’s Shechinah resting over the Jewish people, as our sages (Kidushin 70) said: “the Shechinah rests only over the ancestrally pure Jewish families.” They added that anyone who can trace his ancestry to King David, (folio 76) by his ancestor having been a soldier in his army, is acceptable without question.
  מאחריך, if you were to turn your rear to Him by ignoring these laws and thus insulting Him.
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  לא תסגיר עבד אל אדוניו, after the Torah had spoken of the sanctity that must be prevalent in an encampment of Jewish soldiers in war, it switches to matters which are apt to happen in such surroundings, explaining how to correct deviations. One of these is how to deal with a gentile slave who has escaped from his master and taken asylum among the Jewish people; another is the subject of loose women who have infiltrated into the encampment of the Jewish army, an everyday occurrence in gentile armies. (verse 18)
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  לא תשיך לאחיך, after warning us concerning behaviour the result of which is G’d’s withdrawing His benevolent presence from the Jewish people, He cautions us concerning the acts of loving kindness which would ensure the continued presence of His Shechinah. Two major steps in that direction are: 1) not to charge a fellow Jew interest on a loan extended to him, 2) not to be tardy in discharging the obligations assumed when making a vow in favour of G’d. (verse 22) These include vows representing donations to charity which are due without delay, seeing that there is never a shortage of people in need who have to be supported by charity. Then there is the subject of what a labourer may eat when he is surrounded by fruit belonging to his employer, as well as the matter of divorce, something that must not be given to a woman unless she has been guilty of a serious misdemeanour, i.e. ערות דבר. (24,1) A major reason for granting a divorce is the effort to prevent bastards from being born. No other reason is considered as valid to divorce one’s wife, the prophet Maleachi 2,14 reminding people that at least G’d will testify against the husband who dealt treacherously with the wife he married in his youth and now abandoned. The loving kindness performed with a newly wed (betrothed) woman is that her husband is given a chance to fulfill the commandment of making his bride joyful during the first year of their marriage. (24,5). The prohibition against taking as a pledge, i.e. collateral for overdue debts, tools needed for the debtor to make his living, such as millstones is self-evident. (24,6) Precautions against potential hazards that could hurt many people, prohibition against kidnappers coupled with the death penalty is a preventive measure, i.e. an act of kindness designed to protect parents against their children becoming the victims of such “stealing.” The isolation of people afflicted with the skin disease known as tzoraat, is all too well known. It not only prods the victim to mend his asocial behaviour, but it protects society at the same time. Cautions against tale-bearing and other forms of abuse of the power of speech are acts of kindness in respect of the potential victims of such slander. Not muzzling an ox while he threshes, is a show of understanding for the ox’s feelings in helping to provide food for its owner while himself being denied that same food. Etc. Etc.
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  לנכרי תשיך, you are allowed to pay interest to the gentile (on your loan from him) and you must not betray his trust by citing the prohibition to charge or collect interest.
  ולאחיך לא תשיך, even though according to the deal you made you obligated yourself to pay him interest and you are perfectly willing to pay same.
  למען יברכך, in order that you will receive G’d’s blessing instead. By not desecrating G’d’s name in your dealings with the gentile by reneging, you will merit G’d’s blessing.
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  כי תדור נדר לה' אלוקיך, you are, of course, expected to honour your undertakings without reinforcing them in the form of a vow or oath. When you made a vow to G’d, however, not only are you obligated to pay up, but the payment must be made without undue delay.
  כי דרוש ידרשנו, He will demand it of you,
   so that if that becomes necessary you are already guilty of a sin of omission.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  כי תועבה היא, because this is a sure recipe leading to legalised adultery, people marrying for short periods of time, and then legally swapping wives by going through phony but legally correct divorce procedures.
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  משאת מאומה, even the slightest indebtedness such as portage, compensating someone for transporting something for a few steps.(as described by Baba Metzia 115) 
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  לא יומתו אבות על בנים, even if the crime involved was insurrection against the established authority, king, etc. It had been a widely accepted rule that kings would also execute the family members of rebels in order to ensure that the surviving relatives of such executed rebels would not form an active opposition to the king as a result of their grievance. Such matters are referred to in Isaiah 14,21 “prepare a slaughtering block for his sons because of the guilt of their father. Let them not arise to possess the earth! Then the world’s face shall be covered with towns.” The meaning of the word שונאים which I used earlier is to be understood as in Samuel I 28,17 ויהי ערך, “he became a foe.” In any event, the Torah prohibits Jewish kings from killing one person as a substitute for another; this is part of G’d’s pity for members of His people. Amatziah, King of Yehudah, abided by this legislation when he executed the servants who had killed his father but did not touch their children (Chronicles II 25, 3-4)
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  לא תטה משפט גר ויתום, during strife; be particularly on guard not to be unfair to orphans or proselytes who may be reluctant to speak up on their own behalf so as not to “make waves.” You should go out of your way to argue on their behalf so as to compensate for their feelings of insecurity in facing adversaries. [the verse is directed at the judges. Ed.]
  
  Verse 18
  
  ויפדך ה' אלוקיך משם, He took note of your desperate situation and dealt with you over and beyond the requirements of justice in order to be able to redeem you. This has all been documented in 26,7  וירא את ענינו ואת עמלנו ואת לחצנו, “He ‘saw’ our afflictions, our hard labour and our oppression.”
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
   וזכרת כי עבד היית, and at that time you were in need of even unripe grapes. 
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  והפילו השופט, he will stretch him out on the post. [The lashes are not applied when the victim is standing upright, but when he is at least inclined. (Makkot 22) Ed.]
  
  Verse 3
  
  מכה רבה, more than the victim’s general constitution can bear.
  ונקלה אחיך, if he were to be unable to control his bowel movements on account of his pain..
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  ויבמה, by doing so he removes her status as yevamah from her as she is now his wife. She will be a wife in all respects including the legislation applying to divorcing her and possibly remarrying her.
  
  Verse 6
  
  ולא ימחה שמו מישראל, in that the child born from this union will be considered by G’d as if the deceased had fulfilled the commandment to be fruitful. This is easily understood when we consider that this child is the product of a legal marriage entered into by the deceased husband of his mother. The fact that the deceased’s brother did not have to go through a marriage ceremony with the widow of his brother makes this clear to everyone. This explains why G’d would be angry at the brother who refuses to marry his sister-in-law, as he thereby deprived his deceased brother forever from fulfilling the mitzvah of being fruitful
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  ככה יעשה לאיש אשר לא יבנה את בית אחיו, he deserves this public embarrassment seeing he had refused to restore the house his deceased brother had begun to build when he betrothed his (now) widow. This reminds us of the statement in Shabbat 118 by Rabbi Yossi who did not refer to his wife as אשתי, “my wife,” but as ביתי, “my house.”
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  וקרבה אשת האחד להציל את אישה, [the author, obliquely, established a conceptual link between this paragraph and that preceding it. Ed.] Even though the Torah had not only given permission to the widow in the yevamah legislation to publicly embarrass her brother in law for failing to do his duty by marrying her, but had even commanded her to do so, in this instance, when a wife tries to save her husband’s life by resorting to tactics which embarrass his opponent she is punished for doing so.
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  לא יהיה לך בביתך איפה ואיפה, after having mentioned the ways in which the benevolent presence of the Shechinah can be assured for the Jewish people, the Torah reminds you that if G’d hates corrupt justice this is not an isolated instance of what G’d hates in interpersonal relations, something we call “civics,” He even hates it when someone owns and keeps instruments which are designed to be used in a corrupt, deceptive, manner, so that even without putting these instruments to use the owner/keeper has become guilty of violating  a negative commandment. G’d’s presence, Shechinah, cannot tolerate neighbours who even think of using such means to deceive others.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  תמחה את זכר עמלק, by killing even their livestock, as King Sha-ul was commanded in Samuel I 15,3. This was intended to avenge the unprovoked attack by Amalek against G’d when, by attacking His people, they demeaned His image, besmirched His honour.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  מראשית כל פרי האדמה אשר תביא מארצך, the choicest of each category. [the word ראשית is not understood as “first.” Ed] We find the term ראשית used in this sense in Amos 6,6 וראשית שמנים ימשחו, “they anoint themselves with the choicest oils.” In verse 1 of the same chapter we read נקובי ראשית הגויים, “the ones known as the choicest of the nations. ” These “choicest” fruit are the seven types of produce for which the Land of Israel is famous, and this is why we have been commanded already in Exodus 23,19 to offer samples of these in the Temple. The gift known as ביכורים is not literally the fist ripe produce of each of these seven species, but the ones that grow on the best soil the farmer has so that it is truly also his choicest. The seven categorise of produce have been enumerated in Deut. 8,8-9.
  
  Verse 3
  
  אל הכהן אשר יהיה בימים ההם, even if the priest in the particular generation may not be outstanding in wisdom, you must not therefore treat with less respect than his position warrants. This is why the Torah added the seemingly superfluous words לה' אלוקיך, words usually only used when addressing men of outstanding caliber such as kings and prophets. [If I understand correctly, the author mans that only high ranking people need to be reminded by implication that there is a higher authority than they themselves. Hence the addition of the words לה' אלוקיך after the word הגדתי. Ed.] At any rate, the idea is that seeing that the priest receives the bikkurim on behalf of G’d, it is as if G’d’s agent is addressed by the title reserved for his Master.
  הגדתי היום, equivalent to “I have made a public acknowledgment of the great works of the Lord today.” We find similar phrasing in Samuel II 19,7 when Yoav accuses David of having insulted all his ministers and generals by grieving over the death of his rebellious son instead of appreciating the loyalty of his followers who had saved his life under most difficult circumstances. The words there are: כי הגדת היום כי אין לך שרים ועבדים, “(by your excessive grieving) you have made clear that you do not consider that you have any loyal followers.”
  כי באתי אל הארץ, that I have come to this land from another country אשר נשבע ה' לאבותינו לתת לנו, as when G’d had said in Genesis 17,8 “I gave this land to you and to your descendants after you.” Seeing that G’d had sworn this oath at the time, I consider myself though apparently an outsider, a stranger, as if I am a permanent resident thanks to His gift, and this is why I have brought these choice fruit that it is incumbent upon anyone who has received the land as either a gift or even as a tenant to present to the real owner of the land in recognition of His largesse.
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  והניחו לפני מזבח ה' אלוקיך, to make plain by this gesture that these fruit are not really intended for the priest, but are a present to G’d, Who, in turn, gives them to the priest just as He does with other offerings brought to Him.
  
  Verse 5
  
  ארמי אובד אבי, my father, i.e. Yaakov, who was for a while a wandering lost person without a home of his own, was not at the time able to establish a nation deserving or fit to inherit this land.
  
  Verse 6
  
  ויענונו ויתנו עלינו עבודה קשה, seeing that once the Jewish people had become a nation they were not legally capable of receiving gifts as the gifts given to slaves automatically belong to the slave’s master.
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  ויתן לנו את הארץ הזאת, after we had left Egypt as free men we did not have  any part of the land to settle in, and He gave us this land which is a superior land flowing with milk and honey.
  
  Verse 10
  
  ועתה, after I have become thoroughly aware how great and extensive is Your loving kindness demonstrated by how You have made us fit to take possession of the land and to take us out to freedom in a manner enabling us to accept a gift which will be legally ours, and you have given us such a choice land, הנה הבאתי את ראשית פרי האדמה אשר נתת לי ה', I herewith present as a token of my gratitude a gift of the choicest fruit of this land which the Lord has given me.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  הקודש מן הבית, because of our and our fathers’ sins the privilege of performing Temple service was removed from the firstborn, who otherwise would also have been the recipients of all the various tithes. Ezekiel 20,26 refers to this when he writes: ואטמא אותם במתנותם, בהעביר כל פטר רחם , “and I defiled them through their own gifts, when causing each first born to pass;” the prophet calls this line the ווידוי מעשר, the confession represented by the fact that the tithe cannot remain in the home but must be given to Levites who supplanted the family priest, the firstborn as a result of their having participated in the sin of the golden calf. (Maasser Sheyni 5,10)
  וגם נתתיו ללוי, the meaning of the word גם in our context is the same as the words אף על פי, “even so.” We find the word גם used as אף על פי also in Ruth 1,12 when Naomi explains to her daughters-in-law that even if she were to get married immediately she would not be able to produce sons who could become the husbands of her daughters-in-law and thereby keep their deceased husbands’ names alive vicariously (symbolic levirate marriage). We must therefore perceive the farmer’s declaration to mean: “I confess that my sin was great so that as a result I am forced to destroy or remove all sacred things from my house even though I, personally, have discharged my duties by giving the Levite and his companions these tithes at Your command. Having done so, I pray that You will look down benevolently. Seeing that normally the word השקפה is used in Scripture as “looking down to confirm something negative,” the farmer had to add that he means that he has merited a benevolent השקפה as expressed by the plea וברך את עמך את ישראל, “and bless Your people, Israel, etc.”
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  וברך את עמך...ואת האדמה אשר נתתה לי, in the same manner as You have sworn to our forefathers, when You swore to them: “I will take you up from the poverty in Egypt to a wide good land, etc.” (Exodus 3,17)
  
  Verse 16
  
  היום הזה, that You entered into the covenant with him. The “covenant” comprised the undertaking by Israel to keep G’d’s statutes as something that would ensure their welfare, something He had not done for any other nation.
  בכל לבבך, you must embrace these laws with all your heart, without mental reservations or doubts about their authenticity. Your sole motivation must be to carry out His will.
  ובכל נפשך, you must not allow yourself to be distracted, sidetracked, by the evil urge, i.e. temptations, because you are so firm in the belief of the superiority of the Lawgiver. 
  
  Verse 17
  
  In this respect, את ה' האמרת היום, when you accepted upon yourself to become a party to this sacred oath, which puts at risk every physical goodness on earth in the event that you desecrate this oath האמרת, by doing so you elevated the image of the Lord, Who, as a result, will be even more honoured in your eyes than before you entered into this reciprocal covenant with Him. You have thereby demonstrated that it is more important for you to do His will than to enjoy any of the transient pleasures of this life.
  להיות לך לאלוקים, that He will be the most exalted of all disembodied phenomena, powers; you are aware that all that occurs in your life is the result of His guiding fate and history, in your case, without resorting to deputies, agents, any intermediaries who carry out His commands. Seeing that this is so, it would be inconceivable that in your religious rites you were to turn, even only as an auxiliary, to any other phenomenon purporting to be His agent. You bow and humble yourself only before Him, directly.
  וללכת בדרכיו, to try and emulate His characteristics to the extent He has seen fit to reveal these to you.
  ולשמוע בקולו, as is fit for His servants.
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  וה' האמירך היום, by entering into the covenant with you, a distinction He has not accorded to any other nation.
  להיות לו לעם סגולה, so that He may achieve with you what He hoped to achieve with mankind when He created man, saying: “let us make man in our image, etc. (Genesis 1,26).
  ולשמור כל מצותיו, He accorded you an additional distinction in having chosen you to observe all of His commandments; by comparison the other nations have not been rated important enough in His eyes to warrant these commandments. Proof is the statement of our sages that if a gentile decides to observe the Sabbath legislation voluntarily as a religious act, he is guilty of death, as ever since the first sin, man had been condemned to labour in the sweat of his brow for a livelihood, and only the Jewish people have been relieved of this decree on one day of the week, i.e. the Sabbath. (compare Sanhedrin 58) All other nations have been given only seven commandments to observe.
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  ולתתך עליון על כל הגוים, in your ability to understand the meaning of life on earth and to teach it. This is the meaning of Exodus 19,6 “you shall be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
  לתהלה ולשם ולתפארת, for the Almighty, as per Isaiah 49,3 “Israel, you in whom I glory.”
  ולהיותך עם קדוש, and your being a holy and eternal nation.
  כאשר דבר, when He said at the time in Exodus 20 “you shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  ויצא משה וזקני ישראל, G’d co-opted the elders seeing it was they who would stand at Mount Gerizim and Mount Eyval, and not Moses.
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  ושמחת לפני ה' אלוקיך, over the privilege of entering a covenant with G’d at Mount Gerizim and Mount Eyval. 
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  וידבר משה והכהנים הלוים, Moses co-opted the priests to caution them on the importance of studying the Torah in depth. This was because it was their primary duty to teach the Torah to the people. [service in the Temple occupied only a few days’ a year of each priest’s time. Ed.] (compare Deut. 33,10 יורו משפטיך ליעקב, “they shall teach Your laws to Yaakov.”)
  הסכת, illustrate the concepts for you in your mind, as in Amos 5,26 את סכות מלככם, “they even named the idol ‘image’.”
  
  Verse 10
  
  ושמעת בקול ה' אלוקיך, you will hearken to the Lord your G’d as a result of carrying such a vivid image of your duties in your mind.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  ארור האיש, all of the “cursed be” mentioned here had first been intoned as a blessing for all the people refraining from becoming guilty of the sins that are mentioned here. (compare Sotah 32) This is also the reason why the Torah commences the paragraph with the words אלה יעמדו לברך את העם, “these are the people who take up position to bless the people.” The principal reason for these lines is to curse the sinners who violate these commandments, so that they alone will bear the burden of their guilt, the people at large not sharing in that responsibility. The reason is that the sinners referred to were in the main the leaders of the people, so that the ordinary Israelite did not have the power to protest the carrying’s on of their leaders. This thought has been stated clearly by Ezekiel 22,6-7 “every one of the princes of Israel in their midst used his strength for the shedding of blood, etc. etc.” In that same chapter the prophet specifically singled out most of the (12) sins listed in our paragraph here. These obscenities were all carried out in Jerusalem; however, this does not mean that all the inhabitants of the city were guilty of these iniquities, mostly it was the highly placed members of society who were guilty of them. When the sins of the population at large are mentioned, these sins are generally attributed to the city in which these sins have been carried out. Compare verse 8 in that chapter of Ezekiel. [the reference to the “city “ as the place where all this had taken place is found in verse 3 of that chapter. Ed.]
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  לוקח שוחד להכות, as in the case of Doeg the Edomite (Samuel I, chapter 22), whose accusation was intended to win him favours from the king. Compare also chapter 23 about the Ziphites. Tale-bearing is such a type of interest mentioned in our verse.
  
  Verse 26
  
  אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת לעשות אותם, who neither observes nor admits that they are all worth observing. but, who in his arrogance, considers some commandment or commandment of the Torah not worth his while observing. In the Talmud such a person is considered a “heretic because he rejects a single one of G’d’s commandments.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  ובאו עליך כל הברכות האלה והשיגוך. They will catch up with you although you did not even make an effort to “catch up” with them. 
  כי תשמע בקול ה' אלוקיך, all of this will occur when you make the pursuit of Torah your principal endeavour, relegating secular activities to something subordinate. In recognition of this approved lifestyle of yours, the blessings G’d bestows on you can obviously not be described as something that you were actively pursuing. The blessings mentioned by Moses here were the ones that were in evidence during the period of the first Temple during the part of that period when the Jewish people did observe the commandments of the Torah, until verse 9 יקימך ה' לו לעם קדוש, a condition which was fulfilled at the beginning of the period of the Second Temple as described by Shimon Hatzaddik in Yuma 21 who reported on the manifestation of miracles in the Second Temple as proof of the fulfillment of that prophecy by Moses.
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  וראו כל עמי הארץ, as our sages told us on folio 69 in Yuma about Alexander the Great prostrating himself in front of that High Priest.
  
  Verse 11
  
  והותירך ה' לטובה, meaning that your success will be demonstrably greater and more noticeable than that of other nations.
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  Moses concludes the blessings applicable to the period of the Second Temple by warning ולא תסור מכל הדברים אשר אנכי מצוה אתכם היום ימין או שמאל, meaning that the people are not to introduce changes in the commandments of the Torah, and especially not to make any changes in the social legislation, משפטים. Neither are they to introduce variations in the observance of certain commandments which were part of the culture of nations that lived in the land of Canaan, and which had been well entrenched in the entire region. Especially, is this forbidden if by adopting those habits, which, though unrelated to idolatry and of no religious significance, you adopt them in order thereby to display some respect for the culture of the members of those tribes still residing in your midst. In the Torah’s view this would constitute ללכת אחרי אלוהים אחרים לעבדם, that you are on the path to adopt idolatrous practices, eventually even worshipping those idols. However, the admonitions up unto verse 36 i.e. יולך ה' אותך ואת מלכך, refer to periods during the Second Temple, the period of the Seleucids until the Hasmoneans started their uprising to rid the land of the Neo Greeks. Eventually, Aristobulus, a King of the Hasmonean Dynasty, was exiled by the Romans to Rome at the command of Pompey. Starting with this incident up until verse 63 ונסחתם, Moses refers to the period of the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans. What follows are admonitions dealing with our present exile.
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  אם לא תשמע בקול ה' אלוקיך לשמור לעשות את כל מצותיו וחקותיו אשר אנכי מצוך היום, with these words Moses introduces his admonitions, the ones which parallel chapter 26 in Leviticus, but are sounding far more devastating. Israel is described as “backsliding,” having, with the help of Torah legislation, been the frontrunner in civilised countries. Whenever the Torah speaks about the Jewish people abandoning the laws of the Torah, the intention is not to make us think that they slid into anarchy, but worse, they slid into adopting the laws of the prevalent cultures and civilisations. Clearly, this is an even greater affront to G’d the Lawgiver, than merely being passive and not carrying out Torah legislation. Social legislation involving tithes was largely ignored, leading to such great scholars as Hillel, and the High Priest Yochanan decreeing legalistic means of circumventing the legislation so that the people would not be guilty of violating such basic social laws as forgiving overdue debts at the end of the Sh’mittah year. The Rabbis, in a number of instances, were forced to preserve the spirit of the law, sometimes at the expense of what may be termed “the letter of the law.” The discontinuance of the examination by the priest of a woman suspected of marital infidelity, Sotah, is one such example, the Rabbis feeling that when infidelity had become the norm rather than the exception, it would not do to demand a miracle from G’d every time such a situation arose. Moreover, the chances were that the husband’s sexual life was not so free from blemish that he could point a finger at his wife. (Compare Shviit,1,3, Maasser Sheyni 5,15, Sotah 46,48,49) Other practices, such as referring disputes to pagan judges of the nation (Greeks or Romans) occupying Israel at the time, made it almost impossible for the Jewish judiciary, even when meaning to preside over Torah law, to be an effective legal instrument. All of these conditions became a self-fulfilling prophecy in the decline of the Jewish people as a holy nation and led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of Jewish independence on a land of their own.
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  
  
  Verse 31
  
  
  
  Verse 32
  
  
  
  Verse 33
  
  
  
  Verse 34
  
  
  
  Verse 35
  
  
  
  Verse 36
  
  
  
  Verse 37
  
  
  
  Verse 38
  
  
  
  Verse 39
  
  
  
  Verse 40
  
  
  
  Verse 41
  
  
  
  Verse 42
  
  
  
  Verse 43
  
  
  
  Verse 44
  
  
  
  Verse 45
  
  
  
  Verse 46
  
  
  
  Verse 47
  
  
  
  Verse 48
  
  
  
  Verse 49
  
  
  
  Verse 50
  
  
  
  Verse 51
  
  
  
  Verse 52
  
  
  
  Verse 53
  
  
  
  Verse 54
  
  
  
  Verse 55
  
  
  
  Verse 56
  
  
  
  Verse 57
  
  
  
  Verse 58
  
  
  
  Verse 59
  
  
  
  Verse 60
  
  
  
  Verse 61
  
  
  
  Verse 62
  
  
  
  Verse 63
  
  
  
  Verse 64
  
  
  
  Verse 65
  
  
  
  Verse 66
  
  
  
  Verse 67
  
  
  
  Verse 68
  
  והתהכרתם, you will begin to manufacture or make by hand all kinds of goods the host country lacks in order to secure your economic well being, but
  ואין קונה, no one will buy these goods due to antisemitic reasons, as they do not want you to gain a foothold in their country.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  ולא  נתן ה' לכם לב לדעת, even though He had tried by means of His teachings and His miracles to give the people a knowing heart, as we know from Exodus 10,20ולמען תספר.....וידעתם כי אני ה', “and in order that you will tell…and be aware that I am the Lord,” the lesson had not taken hold due to your overwhelming quarrelsomeness.
  
  Verse 4
  
  ואולך אתכם, however, now that you have seen the vastness of His love for you and He has brought you to take possession of the lands of Sichon and Og, so that you are able to sustain yourselves by your own efforts, the time has come that you will finally possess the necessary sagacity, a heart which is knowledgeable.
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  ושמרתם את דברי הברית הזאת, the one you will accept at Mount Gerizim and Mount Eyval.
  למען תשכילו את כל אשר תעשון, so that you will be successful both in your life on earth in all your undertakings, as well as achieving your goal to live on eternally in the world beyond physical death. 
  
  Verse 9
  
  אתם נצבים...לפני ה' אלוקיכם , so that anyone who is capable of misleading me cannot mislead Him. You will accept this covenant in His presence, on His authority, not merely on mine.
  ראשיכם שבטיכם זקניכם ושוטריכם, the people Moses describes as ראשיכם, are those who are heads of their tribes, elsewhere referred to as נשיאים, “princes. The term ראשalways includes the people who wield authority. זקניכם, your judges. ושוטריכם, the law enforcers empowered by the judges to enforce their judgments. Each one of these categories of people have the duty to teach the people (within the parameters of their special competence) how much better it is for them to accept Torah law than to defy it or neglect it. 
  
  Verse 10
  
  טפכם נשיכם, people who normally require the consent of their husbands or fathers to do what they do.
  מחוטב עציך עד שואב מימיך, from the leader of the wood choppers to the most lowly of the water carriers. The construction here parallels comparisons as מעולל ועד יונק, “infants as well as sucklings,” (Samuel I 15,3) i.e. the highest ranking within its category to the lowliest ranking. Similar expressions are used when the Torah speaks of משור ועד שה, oxen as well as lambs, meaning the most expensive animals of your livestock to the least expensive. Similarly,מגמל ועד חמור, “from the camels down to the donkeys.”
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  לעברך בברית, you are all arranged in this order in order to signal your acceptance of the forthcoming covenant. It is clear from Moses’ addressing all the assembled, that they were of one mind at the time, all willing and eager to accept the covenant.
  'אשר ה' אלוקיך כורת עמך היום, למען הקים אותך וגו, G’d’s objective in concluding this covenant with you this day is to reaffirm that you are His people and that He is your G’d. By entering into this covenant with Him you acquire eternal life, life beyond the death of your bodies. Seeing that the purpose of the covenant is of such importance, is of so elevated a nature, it is necessary that you embrace it wholeheartedly.
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  ואת אשר עמנו פה עמנו היום, a reference to future, as yet unborn generations. You will therefore have to explain to these unborn generations in due course that you yourselves only received this land on the understanding that subsequent generations of Jews would remain loyal to the terms of your acceptance. They will continue to inherit the land from you only on that basis.
  
  Verse 15
  
  כי אתם ידעתם את אשר ישבנו, and this is why you have to be concerned that there should not be among you איש או אשה, neither a man nor a woman who would seduce you to follow the vain pursuits of the nations with whom you will be living in close proximity, and who might be the cause that you would default on the undertakings in this covenant. This is the reason I have insisted that all of you be present at this ceremony, seeing that G’d examines hearts He will know who only pays lip service to this covenant and who is sincere about it. You will not be able to deceive Him.
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  איש או אשה, neither a man nor a woman who would seduce you to follow the vain pursuits of the nations with whom you will be living in close proximity, and who might be the cause that you would default on the undertakings in this covenant. This is the reason I have insisted that all of you be present at this ceremony, seeing that G’d examines hearts He will know who only pays lip service to this covenant and who is sincere about it. You will not be able to deceive Him.
  פן יש בכם שורש פורה ראש ולענה, a simile for people planning to beguile the multitude to adopt their own idolatrous beliefs.
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  והתברך בלבבו, while accepting the covenant with his lips, he already resolves in his heart to honour it in the breach, comforting himself, thinking שלום יהיה לי כי בשרירות לבי אלך, “I will be alright even though I will do my own thing.” He considers that seeing that he already planned to breach the covenant at the very moment when he accepted it with his lips, the covenant is not binding upon him. 
  The only reason he had mouthed acceptance of the covenant was to become at one and the same time a beneficiary of the overwhelming number of people for whose sake G’d was going to bestow so many blessings on His people. This is the meaning of the words שלום יהיה לי כי בשרירות לבי אלך למען ספות הרוה את הצמאה; he knows full well that the holy community of the Jewish people, his brethren, have attained that status by resisting the lures of the evil urge instead of succumbing to it. This is why they will benefit from G’d’s largesse in such abundant manner. He therefore decided to have the best of both worlds by at least paying lip service to a covenant he knows he will not live by. 
  
  Verse 19
  
  לא יאבה ה' סלוח לו, when he will violate the covenant which he accepted as a sacred oath with his lips, although he had mentally had his reservations at the very time when he confirmed the covenant with his mouth.
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  'גפרית ומלח....במהפכת סדום אשר הפך ה, the people seeing this know full well that this was not something accidental but that it is a finger of G’d. The comparison is based on Sodom seeing that its destruction had both been predicted to Avraham and confirmed by Lot and his daughters who were survivors of that event.
  
  Verse 23
  
  ואמרו כל הגויים, when they are faced with these incontrovertible facts.
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  אלוהים אשר לא ידעום, they did not even know of such a deity’s existence. For such unproven and almost anonymous deities they abandoned their G’d, the One Who had been proven as true, powerful, through all the miracles He had performed for them.
  ולא חלק להם, a deity, be it a horoscope or whatever which He had not assigned to them. The reason G’d had never assigned such a horoscope to them had been to show them that they did not need it, as did the other nations. Moses had mentioned in Deut. 4,19-20 that G’d had assigned such intermediaries to the gentile nations.
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  הנסתרות לה' אלוקינו, even though I have said that all of you are standing in the presence of the Lord whom it is impossible to mislead and deceive, so that He will collect His dues from everyone who owes him, G’d collects directly only from those whom it is not possible for His appointed representatives, i.e. a legally constituted judiciary to bring to justice. 
  והנגלות לנו ולבננו עד עולם, however, any sins committed publicly must be dealt with by this judiciary, forever, [I suppose the words עד עולם mean that there is no statute of limitations as in gentile countries. Ed.] לעשות את כל דברי התורה הזאת, to avenge G’d‘s having been slighted by the public commission of violations of Torah law, especially those affecting other people directly.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  והשבות אל לבבך, you will be able to distinguish the truth between apparently contradictory phenomena. When you become the victim of what has been predicted for the sinners, you will realise how far you had strayed from G’d’s Torah, i.e. from G’d Himself. 
  בכל הגויים, while you are still in exile.
  
  Verse 2
  
  ושבת עד ה' אלוקיך, your repentance will have as its exclusive purpose to henceforth carry out only G’d ‘s will to the extent that He has revealed it. Our sages in Yuma 86 have said of this type of repentance that “it reaches right up to the throne of G’d’s Majesty.”
  ושמעת בקולו ככל אשר אנכי מצוך היום, instead of listening (abiding by) man-made laws as you were in the habit of doing. 
  אתה ובניך, also the children of this generation will recognise this. Jeremiah 31,33 refers to “everyone knowing Me,” i.e. G’d, adding למקטנם ועד גדולם, “from their early youth till their reaching adulthood.”
  בכל לבבך, without any reservation.
  ובכל נפשך, without allowing the “natural,” evil urge inspired temptations to sidetrack you by downplaying the importance of some of G’d’s legislation
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  ושב וקבצך , during the ingathering of the exiles.
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  ומל ה' אלוקיך את לבבך ואת לבב זרעך, לאהבה, He will open your eyes so as to remove every erroneous conceptions which have prevented you from recognising the theological truth of all aspects of the Jewish religion. Once these “blinds” have been removed from your eyes you will realise that everything G’d has done was out of His love for you, and had to be done למען חייך, in order to ensure that you will be part of eternal life after your body dies.
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  על אויביך ועל שונאיך, both against those who oppose you openly and attack you, as well as against those who hate you only in their hearts without translating their hatred into hostile action. According to Jeremiah 30,11 G’d will eliminate all those nations.
  
  Verse 8
  
  ואתה תשוב, not from the root שוב to return, but from the root ישב, i.e. you will sit at ease, undisturbed. Compare Isaiah 30,15 בשובה ונחת. This period will be ushered in by the arrival of the Messiah after the hostile nations have been eliminated. Moses contrasts what will happen to those nations and what will happen to the Jewish people at that time. G’d will never exile you again. All this has been spelled out by Jeremiah 4,1 when he said:אם תשוב ישראל....אלי תשוב....ולא תנוד, “if you return Israel….return to Me, and you do not waver, …nations shall bless themselves by you, etc.”
  ועשית את כל מצוותיו אשר אנכי מצוך היום, not adopting any new religious rites or philosophies.
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  'והותירך ה, He will grant you success beyond any success you have ever enjoyed previously.
  לטובה...הכתובה בספר התורה הזה, as He said when He said: והתהלכתי בתוככם והייתי לכם לאלוקים ואתם תהיו לי לעם, “I shall walk freely in your midst and will be your G’d and you will be My people” (Leviticus 26,12) This promise will be fulfilled when כאשר ה' ישוב לשוש עליך...לטוב כי תשמע, as He had once delighted in your forefathers (the patriarchs). This time the good you will experience at G’d’s hands will not be due to the merit of the patriarchs but will be due to the fact that your repentance is so wholehearted and unreserved. Due to your unreserved repentance your former demerits will be converted into merits, seeing that it was, after all, these demerits and what followed that have become the catalyst of your eventual return to G’d. You will enjoy G’d’s goodwill just as did the patriarchs.
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  כי המצוה הזאת, and the reason that I said in verse 1 that the repentance must be wholehearted and among the nations, i.e. while you are still in exile, is so that it can trigger your salvation. For, indeed this commandment, i.e. the one to return to G’d in sincere penitence אשר אנכי מצוך היום, Moses reminds the people that in the list of sacrifices in Leviticus 5,5 et al, where various kinds of sin and guilt offerings are listed as means to expiate for the error committed, the essential refrain is always “והתוודה אשר חטא,” that the guilty person first confesses his mistake, his sin, even the one committed inadvertently. Compare also Numbers 5,6-7)
  לא נפלאת היא ממך, so that you would need to ask the prophets in order to understand it correctly.
  ולא רחוקה היא, so that you have to ask the leading Torah scholars of your generation who live a long way from you to explain how to observe this commandment. You can easily observe this commandment even in the Diaspora where you may not have any Torah scholars nearby.
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  לא בשמים היא, in order to repent you do not need to turn to a prophet who represents heaven,
  
  Verse 13
  
  ולא מעבר לים היא, neither, when you are in exile, overseas, do you need to travel to the leading Torah scholars across the ocean in order to become a true penitent. True, there are commandments which are difficult to master without expert guidance, repentance, however, is not one of them.
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו, to recognise with your heart the nature of your sins and the One against Whom you have sinned so that you will express your confession and remorse to Him with your heart and with your lips.
  
  Verse 15
  
  את החיים, eternal life, not just life on earth.
  ואת הטוב, the pleasant aspects of life on earth.
  ואת המות, eternal oblivion.
  ואת הרע, the unpleasant aspects of life on earth.
  
  
  Verse 16
  
   וחיית, forever;
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
   כי אבוד תאבדון, for you would perish forever.
  
  Verse 19
  
  ובחרת בחיים, you will opt for eternal life
  למען תחיה אתה וזרעך, so that both you and your offspring will experience this life לאהבה את ה' אלוקיך, when I said to choose “life,” I did not mean that you should keep the laws for the sake of the reward in store for you, but that you should make this choice for the sake of true “life.” This alone is sufficient reason to choose this option. Whatever satisfaction you experience during life on earth should be with a view to the kind of life in store for you after your body has died.
  
  Verse 20
  
  ולדבקה בו, meaning that all of your activities during life on earth should be focused on giving glory to His name.
  כי הוא חייך, for your cleaving to Him is your real life, the reason why you will enjoy eternal life;
  ואורך ימיך לשבת על האדמה, during the transient life on earth, during which through study, serious contemplation of your duties, and your performance of them you will qualify for the life awaiting you in the hereafter. Compare Avot 4,16 where we have been told that life on earth is merely to be viewed as a vestibule to the hereafter, a place in which one makes suitable preparations for eternal life in the Palace.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  וילך משה, he was self-propelled, just as was Amram, Moses’ father who married his aunt Yocheved, daughter of Levi, and almost certainly many years his senior. (Exodus 2,1) Another of many uses of the word וילך meaning that the person described acted of their own initiative is found in Deut. 17,3 where the Jewish idolater described had not been seduced by anyone. After having concluded the matter of the covenant between G’d and this second generation of Israelites many of whom had not been born at the time of the Exodus, Moses now proceeds to comfort the people over his impending death. He does so in order that the joy over G’d having concluded this covenant with them should not be turned into sorrow over the prospect of his impending passing from the scene. Rejoicing over having been found fit to become a party to such a covenant is something natural, the psalmist in Psalms 149,2 speaking of Israel rejoicing with or over its Maker. Being in G’d’s presence, such as here, is always a joyful experience, as is offering sacrifices to Him, as we know from Deut. 27,7.when the occasion was to mark the erecting of the stones after the successful crossing of the river Jordan.
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  בן מאה ועשרים שנה אנכי היום, Moses mentions his age to remind the people that there is no reason to be sad that someone of his age has to die. According to any life expectancy and law of nature, he was no longer fit to go on living by natural means.
  לא אוכל עוד לצאת ולבא, even if I were still able, I would not be able to function physically as a leader should, such as leading you in he conquest of the Land of Israel as I am suffering from symptoms of old age.
  וה' אמר אלי לא תעבור, furthermore, G’d had said to me a while ago: “you will not cross;” even if I were physically capable of leading you, the fact that G’d told me that I would not cross the Jordan would have made my leadership pointless. You are therefore better off without me so that you will be able to cross.
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  ה' אלוקיך הוא עובר לפניך, so that you have no reason to be saddened by my absence. You will enjoy leadership superior to mine, by G’d Himself orchestrating the crossing of the river. 'יהושע הוא עובר לפניך כאשר דבר ה. Although, strictly speaking, Joshua is not he people’s leader in that crossing, he will be the one who nominally will be leading you across the river, just as G’d has said.
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  לא ירפך, for at the hour of battle G’d will lend you additional mental fortitude
  ולא יעזבך, neither will He abandon you afterwards by decreasing the attention He pays to your affairs. As a result, none of the neighbouring nations will dare attack you.
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  כי אתה תבא, even though I myself have not merited this.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  את התורה הזאת, a reference to the final commandment in the Torah, Hakhel, for the king to read the Torah once in seven years before the entire Jewish people, minors and babies in arms included.
  ויתנה אל הכהנים בני לוי, from whose hands the King who would read it in public would receive it. The Talmud Sotah 41 describes that the Torah scroll passed from the deputy High Priest’s hands to those of the High Priest himself, who in turn handed it to the King.
  הנושאים את ארון, one of the three occasions when the priests rather than the ordinary Levites carried the Ark; at the time when the miracle of the waters being split would occur once more, the priests carrying the Ark were the catalyst.
  ואל כל זקני ישראל, from whom the priests had received the Torah scroll on that occasion. On the folio in Sotah 41 mentioned earlier, the details of this whole procedure are described.
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  למען ישמעו, in order that the wise men in the congregation would understand.
  ולמען ילמדו, and in order that the less intelligent members of the people would learn it from them.
  ויראו את ה' אלוקיכם, once they have understood the greatness of Torah they will automatically revere and be in awe of its author, G’d, whose supreme intelligence they will admire.
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  ובניהם אשר לא ידעו, seeing that due to their tender age they are unable to formulate their questions if they have any.
  ישמעו, either simply that their ears will hear sounds, or, if they are a little older, that they will hear words.
  ולמדו, they will ask adults and learn by listening intently to the answers they receive from people who do understand.
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  ועזבתים, to the various nations who will overpower them.
  והסתרתי פני מהם, after they will have fallen under the control of the gentile nations who will abuse them and oppress them I will ignore my natural sense of pity, and make believe as if I were unaware of their plight.
  על כי אין אלוקי בקרבי מצאוני הרעות, all of this has befallen me because G’d has abandoned me. Seeing that they feel abandoned, they will not bother to pray to Me, nor will they do teshuvah, considering such prayer futile, wasted.
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  ואנכי הסתר אסתיר פני מהם, not as they thought that I was no longer in their midst; wherever they are My presence is with them, as our sages said in Megillah 29 “wherever the Jewish people have been exiled G’d’s presence accompanies them. However, it does not manifest itself by saving them from their oppressor.”
  על כל הרעה אשר עשה, Israel had done harm to itself, not G’d.
  כי פנה אל אלוהים אחרים, while being beset by all of their problems, instead of turning to Me in prayer, supplication and remorse, they chose to pray to idols instead.
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  כי ידעתי את יצרו אשר הוא עושה היום, for I, G’d, know its nature, its character; they do not look forward to taking over the land of the Canaanites in order to serve Me, as I wanted them to and hoped they would do. (compare Psalms 105,44-45 “He gave them the lands of nations; they inherited the wealth of peoples; in order to observe His statutes and His teachings, and observe His laws.”) Instead they look forward to gratify their own cravings as a result of which their excess wealth will be the cause of their decline and corruption, as per 32,15 “Yeshurun waxed fate and kicked, etc.”
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  ויצו את יהושע, at that time G’d appointed Joshua to be the leader. The expression ויצו used here has been used elsewhere to describe someone’s appointment, such as in Samuel I 25,30 וצוך לנגיד, “He appointed you as leader,” or Samuel II 7,11 צויתי שופטים, “I appointed judges.” There are more such examples in Scripture.
  
  Verse 24
  
  על ספר עד תומם, together with the portions Haazinu  and Vezot ha’brachah. 
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  והיה שם בך לעד, the written Torah, reposing in the Holy Ark is witness that I have predicted and warned against your abandoning G’d and His Torah. This is why I arranged for this testimony to be preserved in a place accessible even to the High Priest only once a year on the Day of Atonement. This original copy of the written Torah will, if need be,  prove that all that is written in all the Torah scrolls later and accessible to all the people all the time was a true copy of the Torah Moses had received from G’d at Mount Sinai. It will serve as proof that the Torah scrolls in circulation among the Torah scholars and the righteous people who commissioned copies for their private libraries, are all true to the original and do not contain additions or omissions. It would appear, however, that the Torah scroll found by the High Priest Chilkiyah (Kings II 22,8) was the very one which Moses had handed over to the priests who carried the Ark across the river Jordan which we referred to earlier. It contained only the passage dealing with the legislation pertaining to the king. It was this scroll in which Joshua wrote (added) the renewal of G’d’s covenant with the people which took place at Shechem. This was the record of Israel’s renewed undertaking to serve the Lord. Compare Kings II 22,13 where King Yoshiyahu refers to this scroll containing matters not contained in Moses’ original Torah scroll, as Joshua had written part of this scroll after the covenant’s renewal in Shechem. The King had become painfully aware how far the people had strayed from their solemn undertaking.
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  ואדברה באזניהם את הדברים האלה, the words of poetry contained in the portion Haazinu.
  ואעידה בם את השמים ואת הארץ, just as we read in the opening words of that poem in 32,1.
  
  Verse 29
  
  כי ידעתי, in the course of that song (poem) I will reveal that I know how you will act so that the evil, if and when it befalls you, will not be perceived as “bad luck,” as coincidence, but can be traced back to my warnings. Once you realise and admit hat you had become guilty of a corrupt way of life, you will repent and turn to G’d in sincere remorse. Compare Isaiah 48,5 ואגיד לך מאז, בטרם תבוא השמעתיך, פן תאמר עצבי אשם, “Therefore I told you long beforehand, announced things to you before they happened, that you might not say: “my idol caused them.”
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  את דברי השירה הזאת עד תומם, including 32,36 כי ידין and כי אשא in 32,40, although those verses are not strictly speaking, part of Moses’ warning and testimony.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  יערוף כמטר לקחי, here my teachings will pour down and flow without interruption like rain for those who understand and are prepared to receive it from the fountain, the source of wisdom.
  תזל כטל אמרתי, and it too will contribute in accordance with the information which has been revealed to ordinary people. Even though these scraps of information are sparse, they are as useful to the recipients as is dew for the grass. The reason is that both in quantity and quality it is כשעירים עלי דשא, intelligent people can discern wonderful insights by listening to these words of mine; [וכרביבים עלי עשב, עשב being coarse, unrefined grass, it is a simile for coarse unrefined people. Ed.] even the most ordinary, uneducated people will acquire some knowledge by listening to what I have to say. It will help them to recognise and appreciate their Maker.
  
  Verse 3
  
  כי שם ה' אקרא, If this is as I said, then you Israel who have received these words of wisdom, will appreciate that the thrust of my address is a prayer, a prayer that all of us, including myself, will experience the ultimate redemption after the last exile. [Moses includes this in his preamble in order to make sure that his listeners will not fail to see the forest by concentrating too much on the individual trees. Ed.] Our author first proceeds to quote examples of such formulations as Moses uses here meaning prayer. We find in Lamentations 3,55 קראתי שמך ה' מבור תחתיות, ”I have called on Your Name from the depths of the Pit.” Clearly, Jeremiah refers to his prayer. We read in Psalms 99,6 concerning the trio of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, that they were known as קוראי שמו והוא יענם, “that whenever they prayed to G’d He would respond to them favourably.” Moses therefore tells the people: “when I pray for the ingathering of the exiles I want G’d to orchestrate this so that it is like the eagle rousing his young and carrying them to a new destination on the back of his wings.” (verse 11) Moses continues, focusing in his prayer on the arrival of the Messiah by saying ה' בדד ינחנו, G’d will do this all on His own, without anyone’s assistance (verse 23). At the very end of his shirah, (verse 43) he exclaims הרנינו גויים עמו, which is equivalent to the instruction in our verse here of הבו גודל לאלוקינו, render glory to our G’d. 
  
  Verse 4
  
  Do not relate to Him differently on account of what you hear in my song about Israel’s future. Do not come to the mistaken conclusion that G’d will ever change and that the experiences that will befall the Jewish people during the course of history, and which I am about to foreshadow, are evidence of His changing and possibly becoming the Jewish people’s enemy. You are very well aware through the variety of miracles He has performed on your behalf that הצור, He remains the Rock and His actions are always motivated by pure motives. This being so, if at times He does not appear to help you, save you, this is not due to a weakening on His part, neither is He hard of hearing so that He did not hear your pleas; never ascribe any injustice to Him;
  כל דרכיו משפט, all of His paths are justice;
  א-ל אמונה, a totally reliable and loyal G’d is He; when He swore to the patriarchs that He would perform deeds of love for their children on account of these patriarchs’ merit;
  ואין עול, never false, even when He visits retribution on you.
  צדיק, because He is so righteous He will not abandon you even in exile
  וישר הוא, not withholding from anyone of His creatures the reward due to it for any good deeds. This is the reason why He often appears as being overly patient before He pays back certain people for their sins. He has to reward, pay, those who hate Him while they are still on earth as they have already forfeited any portion they claimed to life in the hereafter.
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  שחת לו לא בניו מומם דור עקש ופתלתול, however, a twisted and perverse generation He does not view as His true children, such as when they made the golden calf. מומם, their blemish was not due to anything G’d had done Moses recalls that when G’d first told him about the people having become corrupt during his stay on the mountain that they were “your people” (Exodus 32,7), that although Moses, when accepting the conversion of the mixed multitude to Judaism had meant to sanctify the name of G’d, the fact was that instead of becoming a shining example to the world, these people had corrupted what would otherwise have been a kingdom of Priests. They had re-introduced idolatry among these people so recently weaned from it. 
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  הלה' תגמלו זאת, after G’d had planned to make you superior over all other nations, is it indeed imaginable that you would respond by frustrating His intention by desecrating His name and to thereby prevent G’d from realising His declared intention when He created man that he should reflect the image of G’d? (Genesis 1,26)
  עם נבל, a contemptible nation, repaying generosity of the most lavish kind by ingratitude.
  ולא חכם, pursuing a policy while not considering its ultimate result.
  הלא הוא אביך קנך, He is not like a natural father who had no control over the type of son he had sired, but had to leave this to chance; G’d deliberately adopted the Jewish people giving them the kind of existence that would make Him proud to be called your “owner,” and made Him look forward to achieve His aim in creating mankind through you. Had He not made you into a nation you would have remained an insignificant tribe of sorts.
  ויכוננך, He equipped you with the basic ingredients to enable you to become the precious nation He mentioned prior to the revelation at Mount Sinai.
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  זכור ימות עולם, After concluding the introductory section of his poem, during the course of which he announced that it was his purpose to proclaim the perfect righteousness of the Lord G’d, Who has proven a loyal G’d showering goodness upon the people of Israel, and Who would not reverse a blessing once bestowed, Moses begins to discuss Israel’s past and future. First, Moses reminds the people that G’d had originally hoped to bestow a brilliant future for all of mankind, i.e. ימות עולם, He had hoped that history would develop in that direction. When this failed to happen, שנות דור ודור, during the years of one generation after another, G’d decided on His pilot project the Jewish people and He raised them to an elevated position among the nations. This is basically what He will do at the end of “history,” [history is perceived as a period of education for the people filling or making a brief appearance on the stage of history. Ed.] Second, G’d had provided the people with optimum conditions to serve Him joyfully while they enjoyed all the material advantages that life on earth has to offer. He gave them a beautiful country, one flowing with milk and honey, to do this in. Instead, they rebelled and repaid good with evil. There can be no question that the people responsible for frustrating G’d’s master plan deserve to be severely punished for this. Third, due to the serious nature of their sin they deserve to be wiped out completely. If it were not for the desecration of the Lord’s name that would be a by-product of the destruction of His chosen people, nothing would have prevented G’d from administering this punishment. Fourth, Moses reveals the reason why the redemption of the Jewish people will occur at the end of what we call “history,’ באחרית היים.  Fifth, Moses elaborates somewhat on the nature of this redemption and the retribution G’d will wreak at that time on the other nations of the world. The nations will primarily be punished for what they did to the Jewish people throughout history. These then are the five sections into which the portion of Haazinu is divided, our sages having given us an easy way of reminding ourselves of this division by calling the portion הזי'ו ל'ך. (Rosh Hashanah 31) Moses therefore commences with the words: זכור ימות עולם, “study history and thereby learn to recognise how much G’d had endeavoured to shower good upon you, starting already with first man whom He transferred to Gan Eden, the most exclusive environment on earth.
  בינו שנות דור ודור, you will then understand what amount of goodness G’d “squandered” on successive generations who did not deserve it. These generations of mankind, instead of appreciating it, did their best to ruin the universe until G’d was forced to put an end to them by bringing on the deluge.
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  יצב גבולות עמים, after the tower of Babylon episode, when mankind had lived in a single community, G’d separated them, dividing them up, and established territorial boundaries for the various new nations. Instead of destroying the people who had engaged in building the tower as a challenge to G’d, He did not destroy them as He had the generation of the deluge, but limited their future scope of influence, by assigning only clearly marked territories within which they could be sovereign.
  למספר בני ישראל. For the sake of the Children of Israel who were few in numbers, and who would eventually emerge from among these nations. Proof of all this is כי חלק ה' עמו, that G’d has no special claim on any nation other than the people of Israel. All the other nations worship alien deities. Moses explains that had it not been for the fact that G’d knew that the people of Israel would emerge eventually from among one of these nations, He would have wiped out all the people involved in the building of the tower.
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  יעקב חבל נחלתו, for he as well as his sons became servants of the supreme G’d. By contrast, whenever there was a pious and G’d fearing individual among the gentile nations, such piety and belief in G’d was never transmitted to and carried on by the next generation.
  
  Verse 10
  
  ימצאהו בארץ מדבר, in the desert He found that the heart of this nation which He considered His only share among mankind was pure and loyal, as testified to in Jeremiah 2,2 “you followed Me into the desert.”
  יסובבנהו, to Mount Sinai, as mentioned in Exodus 19,12 when G’d had said to me: והגבלת את העם סביב, “and you will fence in the people around the Mountain.”
  יבוננהו, as G’d had said to Moses in Exodus 24,12  והתורה והמצוה אשר כתבתי להורותם, “and the Torah and the commandment which I have written in order to instruct them.”
  יצרנהו, He carefully engirded them from being enslaved  to other nations and from being subject to the angel of death, as we have been taught by Eyruvin 54 that the words חרות על הלוחות, are best understood as חירות על הלוחות, freedom on the Tablets, i.e. acceptance of the Torah would result in the immortality of the person observing it totally.
  כאישון עינו. Just as a man watches carefully over his eyeball after having tended it, so G’d watched over His people. G’d tried to surround the Israelites with layers of protective legislation to counter their natural tendency to be obstinate and “do their own thing.”
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  כנשר יעיר קנו, may it be His will that just as at Sinai it had been His intention to make you immortal, and He would have succeeded if the sin of the golden calf had not intervened, He will do so once more in the future, when Israel/Moses’ prayer in this respect will be granted. This is what Zecharyah 10,8 spoke about when he said: אשרקה להם ואקבצם כי פדיתים, “I will whistle to them and gather them, for I will redeem them.”
  על גוזליו ירחף, as we read I Isaiah 49,22 הנה אשא על גוים ידי, ועל עמים ארים נסי, והביאו בניך בחצן, “I will raise My hand to nations, and lift up My ensign to peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their bosoms, etc.”
  יפרוש כנפיו יקחהו, as per Isaiah 27,12 ואתם תלוקטו לאחד אחד בני ישראל, “and you shall be picked up one by one, O Children of Israel.”
  ישאהו על אברתו,  as in Isaiah 60,8 מי אלה כעב תעופנה, “who are these who fly like a thick cloud?”
  
  Verse 12
  
  ה' בדד ינחנו, as per Jeremiah 46,28 כי אעשה כלה בכל הגויים...ואותך לא אעשה כלה, “though I will wipe out all the other nations …you I will not wipe out.”
  אין עמו אל נכר, as per Tzefaniah 3,9 and Isaiah 54,5, both of whom emphasise this exclusive nature of G’d.
  
  Verse 13
  
  ירכיבהו על במתי ארץ, this is something He has to do seeing that He did not achieve the desired result at the time He gave the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. He will make a second attempt at achieving this as we know from Psalms 105,45 בעבור ישמרו חקיו, “in order that they may observe His statutes.” G’d gave them the land of nations in order that they keep His statutes.” Ezekiel 20,6 extols the land of Israel as ארץ צבי, the choicest of all the countries
  ויאכל תנובות שדי, Moses mentions only the eating, not referring to the labour in the fields leading up to this, eventually. He meant that it would not take any effort to reach the state of eating the produce the land has to offer.  Compare Joshua 24,13 “vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant you are eating from.”
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  ודם ענב תשתה חמר, grape juice was fit to drink without investing much toil beforehand. This is an example of people earning their livelihood easily. The reason why G’d had arranged things in such a fashion was so as to leave the people ample time to study Torah, and to enable them to fulfill the various commandments of the Torah which do consume time.
  
  Verse 15
  
  וישמן ישורון ויבעט, however, even the most erudite of them, the ones known admiringly as Yeshurun,  (based on Bileam’s prophecy of אשורנו ולא קרוב, in Numbers 24,17) acted as if they were animals, kicking the very people who give them food.
  שמנת עבית כשית, you, the elite of the people, preferred to concentrate on the physical enjoyments offered by a life of leisure, and by doing so עבית, you became too gross to understand the finer points of the teachings of the Torah, the only truth. Isaiah 28,7 describes the conduct of the spiritual elite of the people when he writes: “but these are also so muddled by wine, and dazed by liquor, Priest and Prophet are muddled by wine;“
  כשית, compare what Isaiah 44,18 writes, “they have no wit or judgment, their eyes are besmeared and they see not;”
  ויטוש אלו-ה עושהו, so that, following the example of their elite, the people at large abandoned G’d the One Who had made them;
  וינבל צור ישועתו, despising the Rock of its salvation, i.e. sliding from bad to worse in their lifestyles.
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  בתועבות יכעיסוהו, causing the benevolent presence of G’d to forsake the people of Israel so that they would no longer enjoy an advantage over the gentile nations.
  
  Verse 17
  
  לשדים לא אלוה, forces which are not enduring; our sages in Chagigah 16 already taught us that these demons known as שדים are as mortal as is man himself.
  אלוהים לא ידעום, חדשים מקרוב באו, whenever they discover a phenomenon not previously known to them they thought that this must be an ancient power and proceeded promptly to worship it.
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  צור ילדך תשי, even you, Yeshurun, the one blessed with erudition, once you turned your attention to the physical enjoyments of life on earth, undermined, weakened your wisdom and your knowledge about the greatness of G’d and His Torah.
  ותשכח א-ל מחוללך, Who had treated you so well. Compare Isaiah 51, 12-13 אנכי הוא מנחמכם...ותשכח ה' עושך נוטה שמים וארץ, “I, I am He Who comforts you!…You have forgotten the Lord your Maker, Who stretched the skies and made firm the earth.”
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  וינאץ מכעס בניו ובנותיו, after He had failed to make you attain your perfection while on your own land, He chose a third route, namely to refine your character while you were in exile; by doing this He appeared to despise His sons and His daughters, and did not display mercy on their children nor respect the dignity of their daughters.
  
  Verse 20
  
  אסתירה פני מהם, from the sons and daughters.
  אראה מה אחריתם, because I can foresee that there is no chance that they will become penitents.
  כי דור תהפוכות המה for they have thoroughly turned their hearts away from the path of the living G’d; 
  בנים לא אמון בם, completely faithless children who had not learned from their fathers any true values in life.
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  הם קנאוני בלא אל, the generations during the first Temple aroused My jealousy because they practiced idolatry, i.e. they worshipped “non-gods,”
   whereas the generations during the second Temple made Me angry with their reliance of various vain phenomena. As a fitting punishment
  אקניאם בלא עם, during the first Temple I will arouse their jealousy by the “non-people,” the Babylonians, destroying the Temple and taking them captive, (compare Isaiah 23,13 and how he describes the Chaldaens), whereas the second Temple will be destroyed through a thoroughly wicked nation
  ,בגוי נבל אכעיסם, possessing neither their own language nor alphabet. (Gittin 80).
  
  Verse 22
  
  כי אש קדחה באפי, for when I disciplined them in order to induce them to repent their sins this people lit a fire in My wrath ותיקד עד שאול תחתית, they heaped sin upon sin until My wrath burned to the very bottom of Sheol, (lowest layer of purgatory). In other words, their punishment would consist of being consigned to this lowest region of purgatory. (compare Chronicles II 28,22 describing Achaz adding sins as a result of his kingdom having been severely chastised by G’d.)
  ותלהט מוסדי הרים, it burned and consumed down to the foundations of the mountains. The “mountains” are a simile for the high-ranking personages, all of whom were the first ones to be exiled prior to the destruction of the first Temple. (compare prediction by Isaiah 3, 1-3)
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  ומחדרים אימה, גם בחור גם בתולה, young men and women hiding in their houses will be made orphans.
  
  Verse 26
  
  אמרתי אפאיהם, I had said that I would leave a small “corner” (from פאה, the 1/60th of the farmer’s field to be left for the poor to help themselves to) of them survive whereas I would destroy the balance. This is what I will do at the end of history before the final redemption, seeing that I had been unable to achieve My purpose either through giving them the Torah, or through giving them the Land of Israel, or even through sending them into exile to give them a taste of what they had lost due to their obstinacy. (compare Yoel,3,5 warning the Jewish people of precisely this )
  
  Verse 27
  
  לולי כעס אויב אגור, that on account of the violent anti-semitism which the gentile nations would unleash against the small remnant of Jewish people so that in order to save themselves from further persecution they would פן ינכרו צרימו, attempt to divest themselves of their Judaism altogether, something the gentiles would hold out to them as a lifesaving gesture,
  פן יאמרו, and lest the gentiles would approach these remnants of the Jewish people saying to them
  ידינו רמה, “we have prevailed, we have proven right with our religion, our faith,” and
  ולא ה' פעל זאת, “this was not what G’d did to you for not obeying Him,” so that you would still have hope to escape your fate by doing teshuvah. G’d scattered you to so many  different places on earth that the total oblivion of the people through assimilation by inducements of the gentiles would not be likely. This was what Devorah meant when she said in her song in Judges 5,11 צדקות פרזונו בישראל, G‘d performed righteous deeds when He scattered Israel (instead of sending them to a single country into exile)
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  כי גוי אובד עצות המה, Moses is quoting the gentiles’ assessment of the Jewish people at that point.
  
  Verse 29
  
  לו חכמו ישכילו זאת, how the Israelites could have fallen into their hands, something that is completely unnatural, could only have been due as punishment for their sins.
  יבינו לאחריהם, if they would only examine history they would soon realise what is in store for them for their sins if this is what has befallen Israel for its sins.
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  איכה ירדוף אחד אלף, they should have realised that if they were able to pursue the Israelites, one against 1000, that this was not something natural.
  אם לא כי צורם מכרם, He fought against them, neutralising their aggressiveness and turning them weak like women.
  
  
  Verse 31
  
  כי לא כצורנו צורם, no doubt what happened was due to the difference between their deities, and our G’d. Every nation enjoys a degree of success in its undertakings as long as its specific deity, i.e. agent appointed for them by G’d, is active, or its constellation is in the ascendancy in the sky. Although their specific deity will never become their adversary, they may fall within the power, the orbit of a competing deity, one that looks out for the interests of a different nation. This occurs in tandem with a master plan worked out by G’d for such historical developments. This is why when they “fall” this does not happen until one becomes so strong that it appears as if a single member of one nation can put a thousand of the competing nation to flight. [The author’s view of the collapse of empires appears based on the fact that when a major power was replaced by another this was not the result of a gigantic power struggle in which one nation proved stronger, but that the former world power had already declined in strength so much that they had become a pushover for the aggressor challenging them. Ed.]
  ואויבינו, even though these nations which are enemies of the true G’d and therefore enemies of His chosen nation, as Moses mentioned already in verse 26 and again in verse 42 when he speaks of מראש פרעות אויב, “from the beginning of our people’s existence it had enemies.”
  פלילים. philosophers of the various nations. Ovadiah 8 refers to them as והאבדתי חכמים מאדום, “I will wipe out the wise men from Edom.”
  
  
  Verse 32
  
  כי מגפן סדום גפנם, the reason that in this matter they do not display their customary insights is that they boast about their secure and unthreatened existence, concerning themselves exclusively with physical gratifications just as had the people of Sodom. In order to attain their maximum gratification they completely eschewed all manner of caring for the less fortunate, as testified to by Ezekiel 16,49 when the prophet said הנה זה היה עוון סדום אחותך, גאון שבעת לחם ושלות השקט היה לה ולבנותיה ויד עני ואביון לא החזיקה. “only this was the sin of your sister Sodom; arrogance! She and her daughters had plenty of bread and untroubled tranquility. Yet she did not support the poor and the needy. “
  ענבימו ענבי רוש, from this vine there sprouted forth for them grapes which are poison. This is a simile for the evil deeds committed by the Jewish people which backfired. The sins singled out are those of a social rather than a theological nature, as pointed out by Ezekiel.
  אשכלות מרורות למו, a bitter growth in their clusters; developing of erroneous philosophies, primarily justifying one’s conduct, rationalising it, is a natural corollary of such attitudes as self-centredness. First and foremost, they convince themselves that G’d does not ”see,” i.e. does not care, [that there is no personal G’d. They totally misinterpret G’d’s patience with the sinner. Ed.]
  
  
  Verse 33
  
  חמת תנינים יינם, their wine is the venom of asps; among the clusters mentioned in verse 32 there are also poisonous grapes, hidden and unidentifiable among the grapes. This disaster awaits them as a manifestation of the attribute of Justice they have richly deserved. Until they actually are extracting the juice from these grapes [this is all hyperbole, of course, Ed.] G’d did not convert His threat of retribution into something actual. Compare Isaiah 63,3, G’d saying that He alone squeezed out these grapes by treading on them.
  
  Verse 34
  
  הלא הוא כמוס עמדי, the meaning is similar to Isaiah 63,4 כיום נקם בלבי, “as the day of vengeance which I had kept hidden in my heart.” [the sins had to accumulate beyond reprieve before G’d carried out what had been at the back of His mind for a long time. Ed.]
  חתום באוצרותי, sealed away securely. Compare Daniel 12,9 כי סתומים וחתומים הדברים, “the matters are sealed and safely stored.”
  
  
  Verse 35
  
  לי נקם, it is up to Me to do the avenging from My enemies.
  ושלם, also the repayment tit for tat is My privilege and duty.
  לעת תמוט רגלם, the time when this will occur will be when they are already perceived as tottering.
  
  Verse 36
  
  כי קרוב יום אידם וחש עתידות למו כי ידין ה' עמו, for the day when the nations will experience their judgment is near as soon as G’d will judge His own nation. We know this from Ezekiel 20,38 וברותי מכם המורדים והפושעים, “I will remove from amongst you the ones who rebel and are professional sinners.” Soon thereafter, the gentile nations will experience their own judgment.
  ועל עבדיו יתנחם, He will reconsider the evil times for which His people are due on account of His servants, the righteous among them, as we know from Isaiah 65,8 כן אעשה למען עבדי, לבלתי השחית הכל, “so will I do for the sake of My servants and not destroy everything.”
  כי יראה כי אזלת יד, the reason why G’d does something for the people on account of His servants the righteous that He had not done during all the many years of the exile, is that He sees that this time they really had come to the end of heir rope; they had reached the kind of low  that makes living on a hopeless undertaking. This is what had happened in Egypt immediately before the redemption, the Exodus. The Torah spells this out even in the recital by the farmer in Deut. 26,7 “He saw our plight, our misery and our oppression.” As a result, “He brought us to this place.” (the Land of Israel)
  ואפס עצור ועזוב, and none remains either imprisoned or roaming free. A reference to the people having no secret stash of cash hidden in their homes or buried in the field.
  
  
  Verse 37
  
  ואמר, at that point G’d will say to Israel
  אי אלוהימו, where is now this god of the gentile nations upon whom you have relied, spurning Me? This is the period when all of G’d’s agents who had been assigned as protective forces for the gentile nations will be simultaneously removed from their function. Compare Isaiah 24,21.
  
  Verse 38
  
  יקומו ויעזרכם, “let them arise now and help you!” G’d will follow up by mockingly telling the Jewish people that now the time had come for them to appeal to the gentile nations whose lifestyles they had shared to help them against the judgment being visited upon them by the G’d, the One whom they had forsaken. They had assumed that by assimilating during their exile, these host nations as well as their gods would protect them.
  
  
  Verse 39
  
  ראו עתה כי אני אני הוא, realise now that it had been I Who had brought disaster in exile upon you!
  ואין אלוהים עמדי, I had not required the assistance of any other deity. Your misfortune was not due to any celestial forces appointed by Me.
  אני אמית ואחיה, only I decree death and resurrection.(compare Ezekiel 37,12)
  מחצתי, I have smashed, by decreeing your unsettled condition, forcing you to move from one country to another without taking permanent root in any of them. (compare Kings I 14,15) where the prophet compares the existence of the Jewish people after G’d has chastised them as similar to that of a reed which is constantly moving.
  ואני ארפא, and only I can bring healing, as described in Isaiah 30,26.
  
  Verse 40
  
  כי אשא אל שמים ידי, in order to swear an oath. This is a formulation similar to Daniel 12,7 וירם ימינו ושמאלו אל השמים,”he raised both his right hand and his left hand toward heaven.”
  ואמרתי חי אנכי לעולם, I used the fact that I live forever as the guarantee that I can keep My oath. This too has a parallel in Daniel 12,7.
  
  
  Verse 41
  
  אם שנותי, even though I had sharpened the blade of My sword against the Jewish people during the time of their exile, את ברק חרבי, this was only the flashing appearance, not the פי החרב, the lethal part of the sword.
  ותאחז במשפט ידי, and even though I was compelled to deal with them according to the rule of law, for כי ידין ה' עמו, “G’d does judge His people,” this does not mean that their adversaries will go free, rather
   אשיב נקם לצרי, I will wreak vengeance on My foes, reprisals for what they have done to Israel. Compare Ezekiel 25,12 and 25,14 on this subject in detail.
  ולמשנאי אשלם, and I will pay back those who hate Me measure for measure, as spelled out in Ovadiah 15. 
  
  Verse 42
  
  אשכיר חצי מדם וחרבי תאכל בשר , similar to Isaiah 66,16 כי באש ה' נשפט ובחרבו את כל בשר, “for the Lord will contend with fire, with His sword against all flesh.”
  מדם חלל ושביה, as in the same verse in Isaiah ורבו חללי ה' “many will be the ones slain by the Lord.”
  
  Verse 43
  
  הרנינו גויים, “you who are the arrows of the Lord and His sword make the nations acclaim, sing aloud! So that they will realise that G’d is fair and does not commit any injustice. Compare Psalms 67,5 ישמחו וירננו לאומים כי תשפוט עמים מישור,”nations will exult and shout for joy, for You rule the peoples with equity” 
  עמו, His people shall give thanks with shouts of joy and music, כי דם עבדיו יקום ונקם ישיב לצריו, for He does avenge the blood of His servants. G’d punishes the nations by avenging what they have done to the Jewish people.
  וכפר אדמתו, for the soil of the Land of Israel having been desolate and barren while its people were in exile and for what had occurred on that soil in the interval.
  עמו, His people will also have to atone for all the wrongs they did during the long years they had been in exile. The purpose of this dual atonement by both the soil and the people is to bring back the Shechinah, G’d’s benevolent presence to the Land of Israel, as envisioned in Isaiah 52,8 כי עין בעין יראו בשוב ה' ציון,”for every eye will see when G’d returns to Zion.”
  
  
  Verse 44
  
  
  
  Verse 45
  
  
  
  Verse 46
  
  אשר אנכי מעיד בכם היום, in the song of Haazinu which I use to make Israel be witness to my admonitions. The principal message is that just as while the Jewish people observe the commandments G’d arranges for their livelihood to be attained with ease and without much sweat, so, He will destroy them if they do not, because they thwart His plans for mankind as a whole.
  אשר תצוום את בניכם, near the end of your respective lives command your children to  observe the matters which I have spoken to you about. It is a matter of life and death for them.
  לשמור לעשות, you have to observe all these matters in order that as their role model, your children will do so also.
  
  
  Verse 47
  
  
  
  Verse 48
  
  
  
  Verse 49
  
   וראה את הארץ, to extend your blessing there.
  
  Verse 50
  
  ומות בהר, accept your death willingly so that it will be an atonement for your trespasses
  והאסף אל עמך, and thereby you will become part of the “bundle” of eternal life joining all the other deserving souls who have preceded you.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  וזאת הברכה אשר ברך משה, after G’d had shown him the whole Land of Israel before he died, in order that he should be able to pronounce a blessing both over the land and over the people who were going to live in it. Both Moses‘ plea to see the land by crossing the river Jordan (Deut. 3,25) אעברה נא ואראה, and G’d’s purpose in granting him this part of his prayer (Numbers 27,12) were intended for this purpose, i.e. for him to bless the people after viewing the Land of Israel would inspire him to do so. Here we have the text of this blessing.
  
  Verse 2
  
  ויאמר , before he commenced with his blessing in verse 25 with the words ברזל ונחושת מנעלך, he pronounced a list of prayers addressed not to the people but to G’d, in order to prepare the ground for his blessings when he intoned it to become effective. Words of blessing are invariably addressed to the recipient of the blessing directly. When G’d instructed the priests to bless the Jewish people, part of that instruction was: אמור להם, “say to them!” (Numbers 6,23) All Moses’ words from verse 25 on are couched in this traditional mode of phrasing a blessing.
  'ה, this is an exclamation mode.
  מסיני בא וזרח וגו' אש דת למו. Moses recalls the Israelites’ merit in order that his prayer on their behalf be accepted. He therefore tells G’d, that at the time when He came from Sinai and became manifest in a number of locations to Israel, the word קדש in the expression מרבבות קודש does not refer only to the myriads of angels but to the totality of Torah, and that the experience of holiness by Israel at the time emanated from the “right” side of this emanation, i.e. the people experienced what is known in kabbalistic parlance as אספקלריאה מאירה, “a clear undistorted vision.”
  
  Verse 3
  
  אף חובב עמים, he says to G’d that: “I am aware that You are fond of other peoples also, as when You said that the Jewish people are the most precious מכל העמים, from among all the nations, You meant that the species of mankind is something precious to G’d, as our sages said in Avot 3,18 חביב אדם שנברא בצלם, the species of man is especially dear to G’d among all of His creatures, seeing that only man has been created in the image of G’d.” [i.e. there are other nations to which Your relate with fondness. Ed.] כל קדושיו בידיך, You have said that You are holding all Your holy possessions (the Torah) in Your hand [people hold their most precious possessions in their hand, do not entrust them to a briefcase, for instance, which they may deposit somewhere and forget to pick up. Ed.] When You told us in Exodus 19,5 that we are to You an especially precious nation, a kingdom of Priests, You also singled us out as being Your children, (same paragraph in Avot), as well as in Deuteronomy 14,1 “You are children to the Lord your G’d.”
  והם תכו לרגלך, whereas they, the other nations, are lying broken at Your feet. (compare Proverbs 29,13 for a similar use of this expression where it refers to offering prayer to G’d with a broken heart)
  לרגלך, at the footstool of Your throne at Sinai.
  
  Verse 4
  
  ישא מדברותיך, a reference to when the people said to G’d at the revelation at Mount Sinai that He should make Moses His intermediary, elevate him to communicate G’d’s words, conveying His words to them, as they were afraid they would i.e. if they had to listen to G’d’s voice directly any longer. (This is the meaning of Moses hearing the voice of the Lord speaking to him (only) in Numbers7,8 The word מדברותיך in this verse refers to the Torah, which was attributed to Moses, on account of the people preferring to hear its words from Moses’ mouth. This is why the Torah describes the people as saying תורה צוה לנו משה, “Moses has commanded the Torah to us,” instead of “G’d has commanded the Torah to us.” (verse 5)
  מורשה קהלת יעקב, when something has not been acquired directly but is inherited, i.e. handed over from another owner, it is described in terms of ירושה, an inheritance. Had the Jewish people not requested to hear the words of the Torah from Moses instead of from G’d Himself, Torah would not now be described as מורשה.
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  ויהי בישורון מלך, since that occasion G’d became “King” in Israel among all those who study Torah more than superficially.
  בהתאסף ראשי עם, at the time of the giving of the Torah, when, according to Deut. 5,19, all the elders and leaders of the people are described as approaching Moses, telling him (verse 20) that G’d had shown them His glory,
  יחד שבטי ישראל, G’d had thus become King over all the tribes of Israel at one and the same time as they all accepted His status as being their supreme authority. The words which the people used to express this acceptance were:ואת תדבר אלינו את כל אשר ידבר ה' אלוקינו אליך ושמענו ועשינו, “and you say to us all that the Lord our G’d will say to you, and we will hear it and do it.” (Deut.5,24)
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  יחי ראובן , even though the tribe of Reuven had chosen to live in a ritually unclean country (East bank of the Jordan), a region which is not really part of the “Holy Land,” as per Joshua 25,19 “although the land of your heritage is an unclean land, etc.,” and as a result of this they are not really entitled to eternal life in the hereafter, Moses prays that his (Reuven’s) heart may live on forever,
  ואל ימות ויהי מתיו מספר, may he not die out in this life on earth so that his numbers will become too insignificant. (Yaakov already described people who are few in numbers as being in danger of being wiped out, Genesis 34,30) Moses prays that the tribe of Yehudah be included in the blessing of Deut. 11,21 “so that you will enjoy many years on the earth, etc.”
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  וזאת ליהודה, this is also what I request and pray for on behalf of the people residing in the tribal territory of Yehudah that includes the members of the tribe of Shimon who were an enclave within the tribal territory of Yehudah. Let them not die in the wars in which they will be involved. They all go out to war together.
  ויאמר שמע ה' קול יהודה, in addition to what Moses had said under the heading of וזאת ליהודה, that whenever this tribe would pray to G’d either during war or any other occasion
  ידיו רב לו ועזר מצריו תהיה, though his own hands strive for him (during battle), help him against his foes.” I pray that You, G’d, be his hands, although to all intents and purposes people watching him may credit his own prowess with his victory.” רב לו, an expression of avenging wrong done to him. עזר מצריו, when they are attacking him and he is on the defensive. 
  
  Verse 8
  
  תומיך ואוריך לאיש חסידך, Moses refers to G’d having given to Aaron who was the outstanding member of the tribe of Levi, the pious tribe, the urim and tumim lodged within his breastplate pouch. The Talmud Yuma 73, derives from the above that any priest who speaks with holy spirit is of the calibre that when he employs the urim and tumim to address enquiries to G’d, he will receive G’d’s answer to such enquiries. Hence the word “איש,” a man of lofty spiritual standing, as if to underscore that character trait. 
  אשר נסיתו במסה, Moses reminds G’d that in all the various tests (Numbers 14,22) that the Jewish people had subjected Him to, the tribe of Levi had never been a participant in such demonstrations of lack of faith. This was also why the decree which G’d imposed on the generation of the spies did not apply to them, and the Levites that were of age at that time did not die in the desert.
  תריבהו על מי מריבה, You have challenged them at the waters of strife, as a result of which You deprived the people of the two outstanding heads of the tribe of Levi.
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  האומר לאביו, during the episode of the golden calf,
  ואת בניו לא ידע כי שמרו אמרתך, he showed no personal consideration for his closest family members when it involved carrying out G’d’s commandment. When speaking of the Levites’ children, Moses refers to their performing the rite of circumcision on their sons even in the desert, though many babies died through infections contracted after they had been circumcised, so that the other tribes did not perform this rite in the desert. Our sages in Yevamot 72 claim that the northerly wind did not blow during those 40 years [except at midnight according to some, Ed] and that without the therapeutic effect of the northerly wind the babies would have been at risk.
  ובריתך ינצורו, as our sages confirm in Yuma 66 that the members of the tribe of Levi never became guilty of worshipping idols. This distinction proved itself both in Egypt and in the desert.
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  יורו משפטיך ליעקב, Moses prays to G’d that seeing that this tribe has proven so fit as a standard bearer of the Jewish nation, let them be the teachers of Torah. Compare Moed Katan 17 “if the Rabbi is comparable to an angel, let the people come and listen to his words of Torah.”
  
  Verse 11
  
  ברך ה' חילו, "please G’d bless their worldly activities," so that by making an easy livelihood they can devote themselves to instructing the people in your Torah.
  ופועל ידיו תרצה, may their Temple service find favour in Your eyes.
  מן יקומון. So that their enemies cannot rise against them with any chance of success. Moses referred to internal enemies, such as Korach and King Uzziah, both of whom challenged the exclusive and hereditary status of the Priests.
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  'ידיד ה, as our sages interpret this compliment (Shabbat 55) that Binyamin died only because of the venom of the original serpent, which brought death for human beings into this world. He, personally, had not committed any deed which would have warranted his death otherwise.
  ישכון לבטח עליו, Moses prays that this tribe should not join the rebellion against the dynasty of the house of David and become part of the Northern Kingdom.
  
  Verse 13
  
  מבורכת ה' ארצו, Moses explains that the lands given to the tribe of Joseph are naturally fertile, blessed by G’d. 
  ממגד שמים מטל, He now prays that in addition to this “natural” fertility, G’d should also endow Joseph’s portion with the attributes provided only by Divine assistance, such as regular dew from the skies so that it will not have to depend on rain, and on the underground springs, all of which will help to produce bountiful crops. 
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  ורצון שכני סנה, may it enjoy the goodwill of the Lord Who first manifested Himself to me at the burning bush. It was on that occasion that G’d had first indicated that He was going to redeem the Israelites forthwith, in response to the groaning of the Jewish people as reported immediately before the Torah reports Moses’ encounter with G’d. (Exodus 2,23-24) In Psalms 91,15, Moses, the author of that psalm, refers to G’d responding to the outcry of the oppressed. תבאתה לראש יוסף, apart from the blessings the tribe of Joseph shares with all the other tribes, Moses prays that G’d will relate to this tribe without employing His usual intermediaries (such as angels).
  ולקדקוד נזיר אחיו, seeing that he was the most self-controlled of all his brothers, [my definition of Nazir, Ed.]  (alternative translation, the crowned head in Egypt) and he conducted himself with unparalleled piety toward his brothers, Moses feels that Joseph’s descendants deserve the distinction he prays for.
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  בכור שורו, although Yehudah is the leader of the tribes, just as the lion is the leader of the free roaming beasts, the ox ranks first among the domesticated pure animals, as we know from a comment by our sages in Chagigah 13 that the lion is the king among the predators whereas the ox is the king among the domesticated animals. This makes Joseph rank second among twelve tribes. Compare Hoseah 13,1 כדבר אפרים רתת נשא הוא בישראל, “when Ephrayim spoke piety in Israel he was exalted.” The prophet spoke of the earlier generations such as when Joshua was the leader, when Ephrayim was highly esteemed. in the eyes of G‘d as well as by the people.
  הדר לו, even though he does not enjoy the official position of being Royalty, he is fit  and deserving of such honours.
  בהם עמים ינגח יחדו, he, together with the tribe of Yehudah, proving Royalty will prevail over many nations by locking horns with them. Compare Isaiah 11,13-14 “then Ephrayim’s envy shall cease and Yehudah’s harassment shall end; Ephrayim shall not envy Yehudah, and Yehudah shall not harass Ephrayim. They shall pounce on the back of the Philistines to the west and together they shall topple peoples of the east.”
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  עמים הר יקראו, Issachar and Zevulun will call the nations of the earth to the “good mountain” with choice wares not to be found among those nations.
  שם יזבחו זבחי צדק, even the merchants of the gentile nations who had been offering sacrifices to “dead” deities all their lives, when they come to Jerusalem, the ”good mountain,” will offer sacrifices which qualify for the description “offerings of righteousness” (to the real G’d).
  כי שפע ימים יינקו, for Issachar and Zevulun draw from the riches of the sea among which are found such rare sources of colours as the chalazon worm from which techelet, blue wool is dyed. There one can also find a type of “white glass” or silicon on the beaches of the sea, much treasured for use in exotic goblets.
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  ברוך מרחיב גד, Who has given him a larger tract of land on the east bank of the Jordan than any other tribe received even in that part of the country. For while it is true that the lands of Sichon and Og were larger in the number of square meters accorded to the tribes on the west bank, the latter were of the category known as “flowing with milk and honey,” whereas the land on the east bank was primarily grazing land as opposed to “homesteading” land, i.e. farming land.
  כלביא שכן, he deserves the extra acreage as he holds his own against enemies that surround him and he behaves like a brave courageous lion though badly outnumbered. Such a lion does not hesitate to devour what is around him.
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  וירא ראשית לו, he was also entitled to this, although when the tribe of Gad chose lands formerly belonging to Sichon or Og, a land which was not part of the “Holy Land,” there had been additional motivation to that of having good grazing land for their flocks, namely that their part of the land would contain Moses’ burial place. This is the meaning of the reference to מחוקק, “the legislator” in our verse.
  ויתא ראשי עם, this was where the leaders of the people came together at the head of the nation in order to conquer the land.
  צדקת ה' עשה ומשפטיו עם ישראל, this was where the legislator, מחוקק, performed the righteous deeds of Hashem, by explaining to them G’d’s Torah in detail. This was also where the people of Israel were judged, and where Moses argued with the people about the application of the various social laws of the Torah. The term is found in Samuel I 12,7 where the prophet Samuel tells the people to line up so that he can not only judge the people but explain the righteousness of the laws of G’d, i.e. צדקות ה'. 
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  גור אריה יזנק מן הבשן. Actually, lions do not grow up in Bashan, a land reserved for cattle, as we know from Psalms 22,13 אבירי בשן, “the mighty ones (bulls) of Bashan.” Lions, as predators do not lie in wait to jump on their prey there. They would only lie in wait in Bashan, a region considered safe from predators, if they planned to attack prey beyond the borders of Bashan. The tactics of the tribe of Dan are compared by Moses to the tactics of the lions. Dan will feel secure in his lair from which he will attack unsuspecting adversaries.
  
  Verse 23
  
  נפתלי שבע רצון ומלא ברכת ה' ים ודרום ירשה, You, Naftali, have become the heir to the west and the east. You have enjoyed so much blessing from the Lord that there is no need for me to pray on behalf of your portion of the land to be blessed. Seeing that the fruits of Ginnosaur, the earliest ripening fruit of the land, grow within your boundaries there is no need for me to pray for such blessings to materialise. When you offer the first and finest of your products as bikkurim they will surely generate much goodwill for you from Hashem.
  
  Verse 24
  
  ברוך מבנים אשר, Asher will enjoy an exceptional blessing, not shared by the other tribes. It is in the nature of things that wealthy people attract the jealousy of those who are not so blessed with wealth. Asher will not be subject of jealousy, but, on the contrary, will be well liked by all the other tribes. 
  The reason is that he will sell the abundance of olive oil over which he disposes at low prices to his fellow tribes.
  
  Verse 25
  
  ברזל ונחושת מנעלך וכימיך דבאך, may your door bolts be iron and copper, and your security last all your days.אין כאל ישורון, after Moses had completed his prayer concerning the tribes, he began blessing Israel as a whole.You, who are also known as Yeshurun, wear this title due to the nature of your power, אל, being different from all the other nations in two vital aspects. 1) other nations will not covet your land or try to invade it as they are afraid, something that proved true during the entire reign of Joshua and while any of the elders who were his advisers remained alive. (compare Joshua 24,31). Moses describes the land during that period as if bolted securely with heavy metal bolts, i.e. ברזל ונחושת מנעלך. 2) Your kingdom will not experience constant ups and downs such as the kingdoms of other nations whose position in the world constantly changes. כימיך דבאך, your position among the nations will be constant. The reason why I am certain that my blessing will materialise is that אין כא-ל רוכב שמים וארץ, no one else has a G’d that rides the heavens and the earth. Moses develops a theological/philosophical concept that contradicts that of the nations of the world, even those who recognise a supreme G’d who has created the universe. In their estimation, such a  G’d would not bother to constantly stoop down to earth to see what goes on there, i.e. “ride both the heavens and the earth.” These nations believe that such matters must be left to delegates, such as the constellations of the stars, horoscopes, etc.
  
  Verse 26
  
  ובגאותו שחקים מעונה, a reference to the presumed haughtiness of G’d, Who, just because of His lofty stature would only remain in the celestial spheres. This, i.e. the domain called שחקים, is a reference to the orbit of a constellation that occurs during the day when, because of it being light, no stars or other celestial objects are noticeable. The force of energy propelling this “constellation” is invisible just as the מעונת האריה, the hidden lair of the lion, which harbors within it unseen and unsuspected strength.
  
  Verse 27
  
  אלוקי קדם, the true G’d ever since the beginning of all existence. Anything that is of more recent origin has been called into existence by this G’d.
  ומתחת זרועות עולם; beneath the heavens this G’d manifests Himself as the G’d of everlasting arms, (in the sense of extensions of His essence) mortal rulers whose power is of short duration, even the supposed basic elements, as well as what we call nature, the phenomena supplying nourishment for all he mortal forms of life on earth, including the ability to procreate.
  ויגרש מפניך אויב, He, this eternal G’d, expelled on your account the inhabitants that inhabited the land promised to your forefathers by Him. He had said to you: השמד!, “destroy!” For you certainly did not conquer this land by force of arms with your sword, so that you would be afraid of losing it after a time, when your strength would ebb, as does the strength of every conquering nation after a while. Seeing that it had not been you who had driven them out, you have no reason to fear a natural erosion of your power to hold on to this land. [Only the One Who has expelled them is in a position to expel you if you give Him reason to do so. Ed.]
  
  Verse 28
  
  וישכון ישראל בטח, as we read in Joshua 11,23 והארץ שקטה ממלחמה, “the land was tranquil, rested from war.” בדד עין יעקב אל ארץ דגן ותירוש, insulated, secure is Yaakov’s tenure, He, the G’d of Yaakov, is the source of the land producing corn and wine. He is the Lord whom you seek out, who, after all said and done is עין ישראל, Israel’s fountain. This is manifest in the manner in which שמיו יערפו טל, His heavens will provide your land with ample and blissful dew. Moses’ blessing envisages the times of the Messiah when the heavens by dripping dew will make the land fruitful as it had been before Adam’s sin, as documented in Genesis 2,5-6 that when there was not yet a human being to till the soil, and G’d had not yet made it rain on to the earth, a vapour rose from the earth and irrigated it,” so that it could produce crops without the need for rain from above. Once the messianic age will dawn, conditions on earth will be similar to what they were before Adam had sinned, and, as a result, growing one’s food had been decreed to be something laborious, involving sweat.  The Talmud Shabbat 30 foresees that at that time ready made cakes will materialise from the soil of the land of Israel.
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  אשריך ישראל, at that time true אישור, happiness, will become manifest in our world, This is the loftiest level of collective satisfaction a nation can attain.
  מי כמוך, so that there will not be another nation that can compare to you. Compare Maleachi 3,12 ואשרו אתכם כל הגויים, “and all the nations will account you happy, etc.”
  'עם נושע בה, in those days your salvation will not be due to your having prevailed in war, in a dangerous conflict, but G’d will do all the fighting on your behalf if there is any need for it.
  מגן עזרך, the One Who had proven to be your shield in exile so that you had not perished. Compare Psalms 124,2-8 “had it not been for Hashem Who had helped us…….the waters would have swept us away and drowned us…our help was due only to the name of Hashem.”
  ואשר חרב גאותך, “and He will again be the sword of your pride.” This sword will triumph over the nations when these will wage war against us. Compare Isaiah 66,16: ובחרבו את כל בשר, “with His sword against all flesh.”
  ויכחשו אויביך לך, the same ones who had previously belittled You, even despised You, will have to deny their previous attitude when they decide to honour You. Compare Isaiah 60,14 “all those who used to torment you shall prostrate themselves at the soles of your feet.”
  ואתה על במותימו תדרוך, even their kings will humble themselves before you. Compare Isaiah 49,23 והיו מלכים אומניך וגו', ”Kings will become your children’s babysitters.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  הראיתיך בעיניך, in order for you to give it your blessing.
  שמה לא תעבור, so that by your crossing the river your blessing would not invalidate the decree issued by Me, that if the sins of the Jewish people were to reach a certain measure that they would be expelled from the land. [According to what the author explained on Deut.1,35-39 it was the fact that Moses was forbidden to cross the Jordan although personally not guilty of accepting the assessment of the 10 spies who counseled against trying to conquer the land, that preserved their chance to participate in the resurrection of the dead when the time would come for this. Our sages subscribe to the concept that whatever Moses did had enduring, eternal validity, provided it had been based on a valid premise. A blessing after setting foot in the Holy Land would have been of more enduring value than one pronounced when not on holy soil. Denying Moses the chance to pronounce his blessing while on holy soil, indirectly benefited the whole generation of the people who were adults at the time of the Exodus. It preserved their chance to participate in the resurrection, as did the fact that Moses was buried outside the Holy Land, and his appearance at the resurrection without the people whom he had shepherded for 40 years would be embarrassing for him. Ed.]
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  ויקבור אותו, if Moses buried himself, as is the opinion of some of our commentators, (compare Rashi) it would have been his disembodied soul that accomplished this, for it is stated clearly that his body died on the summit of the mountain from which he viewed the Holy Land, as the Torah wrote in verse 5: “Moses died there.” On the other hand, the burial is described in our verse as having taken place in the valley.
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  ויתמו ימי בכי אבל משה ויהושוע בן נון מלא רוח חכמה, for during the days of weeping for Moses there was neither wisdom nor counsel (חכמה ועצה).
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  כאשר צוה ה' את משה, a reference to the fact that political decisions such as expansionary wars needed G’d’s confirmation, which was to be obtained by means of the urim vetumim in the breastplate of the High Priest, i.e. Eleazar, son of Aaron. We were told this in Numbers 27,21 when Joshua was appointed Moses’ successor. [This was an example of Joshua’s inferiority as a leader compared to Moses, who never had to resort to such indirect methods of receiving a message from G’d. Ed.]
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  ולא קם נביא עוד בישראל כמשה, no other subsequent prophet ever attained the lofty spiritual stature of Moses. This explained the statement by our sages that no prophet is allowed to innovate something in the Torah since Moses had died. (Shabbat 104) This statement also explains the rule that no Rabbinical assembly may invalidate a decree by another such Rabbinical assembly which had preceded it, unless it could be proven to be more competent and consisted of a greater number than the Rabbinical assembly which had originated said decree. (Megillah 20)
  'אשר ידעו ה, whom G’d had endowed with so much knowledge by turning His face to him. We have been told in Samuel I 10,6 that receiving even a small measure of prophetic insight makes the recipient an איש אחר, a different person. This is why the prophet Amos 2,11 when referring to the deeds of loving kindness performed by G’d for the people lists the fact that G’d gave many Israelites prophetic insights. The people, during Amos’ time, instead of availing themselves of the spiritual inspiration thus accessible, forbade these prophets to impart their visions, etc., reversing and frustrating G’d’s purpose. Seeing that all of G’d’s activity stems exclusively from His own personal knowledge (cannot be evaluated properly by His creatures, seeing that they are “only” His creature) the Torah records G’d as saying that  אשר ידעו ה' פנים אל פנים, that in His communications with Moses and granting him insights into His ways, He did so exclusively for Moses’ benefit. This expression ידע appears repeatedly in Scriptures in this sense of endowing someone with insights. One example is Psalms 144,3 מה אדם ותדעהו, “what did man do that You should take the trouble to grant him such insights?” Another such example is found in Exodus 33,17 ואדעך בשם, “I granted you some insights about My essence, by making you familiar with some of My attributes.” [my translation. Ed.] Compare also Exodus 2,25 Psalms1,6 and numerous other examples. [If I do not err, the author feels that seeing that G’d’s omniscience is axiomatic in Judaism, such phrases as the ones quoted cannot simply mean “G’d knew,” for there would be no point in the Torah stating the obvious. They must therefore imply that G’d communicated some of His knowledge. In Exodus 2,25 the Torah meant to tell us that the Jewish people would shortly become aware that G’d knew all about their condition and would do something about it, something that would also raise their spiritual level as a result. Ed.]
  פנים אל פנים, while in full possession of his faculties.
  
  Verse 11
  
  לכל האותות, the occasion when Moses experienced this type of communication from G’d described as פנים אל פנים occurred when he was called upon to perform the many supernatural miracles in Egypt. Clearly, his experience at the burning bush had not been of that calibre. Otherwise, why would the Torah have told us that he was afraid to look at the spectacle? (Exodus 3,6)  This had been the very opposite of what G’d told Miriam and Aaron about his quality of prophecy in Numbers 12,8 i.e. that Moses can look without hesitation at visual images G’d shows him.
  
  Verse 12
  
  ולכל היד, and when G’d demonstrated His power over immanent parts of the universe such as the Sea of Reeds, when He split it, or the earth when He made it open a crevice to swallow Korach and his cohorts, or when the manna descended from heaven on a regular basis.
  ולכל המורא הגדול, the revelation at Mount Sinai;
  אשר עשה משה לעיני כל בני ישראל, when they were afraid and stood at a distance, whereas Moses approached the mountain which was wrapped in a dark cloud, while it was flaming. During such experiences Moses had acquired the status of a prophet with whom G’d communicates פנים אל פנים  At that time G’d also endowed Moses with a kind of awesomeness when He made his forehead emit rays of light.
  לעיני כל ישראל, compare Exodus 34,30 when even Aaron recoiled when he saw Moses. 
  