meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt/Tanakh/Commentary/Or HaChaim/Torah/Or HaChaim on Deuteronomy/English/merged.txt"}
text: Or HaChaim on Deuteronomy
  אור החיים על דברים
  merged
  
  This file contains merged sections from the following text versions:
  -Or Hachayim, trans. Eliyahu Munk
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  -Sefaria Community Translation
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  Or HaChaim on Deuteronomy
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   אלה הדברים, These are the words, etc. The word אלה is restrictive, especially in regard to what has been written previously. Seeing Moses recorded in this Book only words which he had spoken on his own initiative, the Torah wishes to emphasise that only the words of admonition recorded in this Book were spoken by Moses on his own initiative. We are told in <i>Megillah</i> 31 that Moses personally composed the curses recorded in this Book, and that even legislation which Moses repeated in this Book he had not been commanded to repeat but did so of his own volition. The Torah was concerned that we might conclude that just as Moses had felt free to say things of his own volition in this Book he might have done so in the previous four Books. This is why this Book commences with the words אלה הדברים, "only these are the words Moses spoke of his own volition, none other."
  The Torah also wanted to go on record that during the entire preceding 40 years when Moses had been the faithful shepherd of the people of Israel, he never spoke harshly to the children of Israel unless instructed to do so by G'd. Even though we find Moses reported as having addressed the Israelites with the words: "listen you rebellious people" in Numbers 20,10, he did not include the whole people in that description but only referred to those reluctant to accept authority. This view is supported by the <i>Zohar</i>. The only time Moses included the entire people in an address consisting primarily of words of admonition is in this Book. This is why the Torah here stresses: "to the whole of Israel."
  Furthermore, the Torah wanted to provide the time frame during which Moses admonished the people with these words. He began to speak to them on the first day of Shevat as the Torah speaks of "the eleventh month on the first of the month." We know that Moses died on the seventh of Adar, (<i>Kidushin</i> 38) so that he allowed himself 36 days for these admonitions. These 36 days correspond to the numerical value of the word אלה.
  The word אלה is also an allusion to a statement by Rava in <i>Yuma</i> 19 that the words ודברת בם "and you shall speak about them" in Deut 6,7 mean that the only legitimate subjects of conversation are Torah learning and the instilling of fear of G'd in the minds of people, i.e. words of admonition. The Torah wishes to testify that throughout his life the only words which Moses permitted himself to speak unbidden were of a compelling nature; other than that he only spoke words which G'd had bidden him to speak. Anyone who peruses the words in this Book can see at once that they are either instructions in Torah or words designed to strengthen the people's faith in G'd.
  Still another meaning of the word אלה is based on the words of <i>Bereshit Rabbah</i> 12 which we quoted at the beginning of <i>Parshat Massey</i> that this word separates from what precedes it, the previous subject matter being regarded as something inferior by comparison to what is being introduced by the word אלה. The subject matter being introduced by the word אלה is considered as far greater in importance than what has preceded it. The Torah here explains that the reason for these words of Moses being superior to anything he is quoted as having said in the preceding four Books is 1) the fact that these words were his very own. No other human being could equal Moses in stature which made his words superior to those of any other human being. G'd had indicated this already in Numbers 12,8 when He admonished Moses' brother and sister. 2) He addressed these words to a group of people, i.e. the Jewish people, who also were a select group of human beings, collectively on an incomparably higher spiritual level than any other collection of human beings. In short then: אלה הדברים, "these are (the true) words of Moses, there are none to compare to it."
  אשר דבר משה, which Moses spoke, etc. Inasmuch as Moses commences with hinting at Israel's insubordination already at the sea of reeds, the present generation might well have countered that there was no point in dragging up sins committed by people who had long since died. After all, the last of the 600,000 men whose death had been decreed as a result of the sin of the spies had died on the 15th of Av previously (compare beginning of <i>Midrash Eycha Rabbati</i>). The Torah therefore says that if Moses had spoken in G'd's name such a complaint might have been justified. However, he personally, was not bound by such considerations and he considered it important to remind those who had been younger than twenty at the time of the Exodus to look back on a string of insubordinations the people had been guilty of already at that stage of the Exodus. While it was quite true that the Celestial Court sentences only people over and above the age of 20, the same is not true of courts administered by judges on earth who consider males over 13 years as fully liable for their actions. When Moses "dragged" up these ancient sins, he had in mind all those who had been at least 13 years old at the time.
  אל כל ישראל, to all of Israel, etc. The reason the Torah had to stress that Moses spoke to all of Israel was twofold. 1) Moses reviewed the Torah; 2) he admonished them concerning things they had been already guilty of. Both matters require that the entire people be in attendance. The reason for reviewing the Torah was to ensure that if someone had forgotten a certain commandment it would now be recalled. Seeing that it was quite impossible to single out who might have forgotten which commandment, Moses had to assemble the entire nation to make certain they would all hear the Torah once more. In this manner everyone could remind himself of anything which he had forgotten. The entire nation had to be assembled to listen to the words of admonition as the impression created if Moses had assembled only part of the people would have been counterproductive. Those who had been assembled would complain that only they had been singled out. The words אל כל ישראל may even include those who had already died. Moses addressed both the living and the dead. We find a parallel for this in Isaiah 43,27 "Your original father (Adam) has sinned, etc."
  בעבר הירדן, on the far side of the Jordan, etc. Moses held back with these words of admonition until the Israelites had reached the banks of the Jordan. Once they saw with their own eyes that they had come very close to their eventual destination they would be in a better frame of mind to accept admonitions. As long as they had been a long way from their objective they would not have been in a suitable frame of mind to listen to admonitions.
  במדבר בערבה, in the wilderness in the Aravah; our sages in <i>Sifri</i> explain at this juncture that the words מדבר and ערבה [as well as the following names Ed.] are allusions to places where the Israelites had sinned; It is possible to explain the entire verse as a moral/ethical allusion of a slightly different nature. Moses tried to incorporate in a short verse all the principles of reverence for G'd and the various virtues which have to be practiced by all the people who adopt the teachings of Torah as their lifestyle. These comprise a total of nine מדות, virtues, characteristics.
  1) One has to adopt the virtue of Abraham of whom the Torah testified that he was העברי, (Genesis 14,13) "on the other side," in a moral class all by himself, he did not run with the pack. Moses alluded to this when he said בעבר.
  2) He should always be conscious of a sense of self-imposed humility as a response to rebelliousness. Our sages in <i>Berachot</i> 7 claim that it is better for a person to harbour a single such feeling of self-imposed humility rather than to endure 100 מלקיות, chastisements imposed upon him by others. Moses alluded to this idea when he said הירדן.
  3) The virtue of modesty, humility. Our sages in <i>Erchin</i> phrased this as follows: "Man should always view himself as if במדבר, in a wilderness." I have explained this concept in my comments on Exodus 19,2: ויסעו מרפידים." Here Moses alludes to this idea by saying במדבר.
  4) The humility we speak about should be of a positive nature; it should not consist of a person looking upon himself in a derogatory fashion. Maimonides explains this in chapter five of his treatise <i>Hilchot Deyot</i>. [I have not found it there but I have found something similar in chapter 6. Ed.] He writes as follows: "Another aspect of true humility is not to fail to admonish people whom one observes committing sins on the basis of one's thinking to oneself: 'who am I to admonish others who are of greater stature than I?' One has to carry out the commandment of calling people to order. This is what Moses had in mind when he said בערבה, an allusion to admonishing people based on our ערבות, mutual responsibility of one Jew for the other.
  5) We are told in <i>Avot</i> 3,1 that if one wants to restrain oneself from sinning one should look at three phenomena., i.e. one's lowly origin, one's ultimate destiny, i.e. dust and worms, and the fact that one will have to render an accounting for all one's deeds before the heavenly Tribunal. Another scholar admonishes us in chapter two of <i>Avot</i> to become a penitent a day before our death. The meaning is, of course, that one should be constantly aware of one's impending death. This is what Moses alluded to with the words מול סוף, i.e. that one ought to keep "one's end constantly before (opposite) one's mental eye."
  6) There is a quotation from chapter 4 in <i>Shaar Haprishut of Chovot Halevavot</i> according to which the mark of a פרוש, a self-denying, pious person is that צהלתו בפניו ואבלו בלבו, "he presents a happy face to all whom he greets, while at the same time he buries his true sorrow within his heart." Moses used the word בין פארן to allude to the manner in which such pious people greet others; the word פארן is connected to פאר everything outwardly illustrious, the reverse of sadness, whereas he said ובין תפל, when he described the true state of mind of someone who qualifies for the title פרוש; such a person must not be light-hearted. He should be in a constant state of concern lest he had become guilty of transgressing one of G'd's commandments inadvertently. Perhaps he had only been remiss in serving the Lord with less than all his faculties.
  7) The kind of person the Torah envisages is the one who has a pure heart as David prayed in Psalms 51,12 where he pleaded with G'd to fashion a pure heart for him. At the same time such a person must not hate other people, nor be jealous of them or feel himself to be in competition with them. Moses alluded to this quality in a Torah personality when he said ולבן, the expression "white" symbolising all that is pure.
  8) The ideal personality is engaged in Torah study on a permanent basis like our Patriarch Jacob whom the Torah (Genesis 25,27) describes as a ישב אהלים, a dweller of tents. The word ישב refers to a permanent presence. Moses alluded to this quality when he said וחצרות, and referred to the courtyards of the Lord as the study halls.
  9) The ideal personality should not be engaged in chasing after transient values, possessions of this world. Anyone who engages in the pursuit of these values thereby voids part of his service to the Lord. Man must learn to do with the essentials for survival in this life. Moses alluded to this virtue when he said ודי זהב, i.e. "enough of gold." Alternatively, man should learn to look at all his achievements in this material world as adequate; he should feel as if he owned all the gold in the world. This is equivalent to what the sages taught in <i>Avot</i> 4,1: "who is wealthy? He who enjoys what life has granted him."
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
   ראה נתתי לפניכם את הארץ, "Behold, I have set the land before you;" The Torah switches from the singular ראה, to the plural לפניכם, "before you (pl), because when it comes to looking at the land they were all alike. However each individual Jew was different from his brethren in character, mentality, etc. Similarly, the nature of taking possession of the land and what it meant to each individual Israelite differed, so that the balance of the verse is in the plural.
  באו ורשו את הארץ, "Enter and take possession of the land, etc." Why did the Torah have to repeat the words את הארץ, instead of merely saying אותה, "it?" The reason is that the land which had been mentioned previously was the land which used to belong to Sichon and Og which G'd had allocated to Reuven and Gad. Now that Moses gave instructions to take possession of the land he had to make plain that the land which G'd had sworn to the Patriarchs had not included the lands now inherited by Reuven and Gad. I have already explained this in connection with Numbers 32,7 and have proved the point from the <i>Sifri</i> there.
  
  Verse 9
  
   לא אוכל לבדי שאת אתכם, "I am not able to bear you myself alone." This does not mean that Moses said so in these very words; rather it means that Moses said something which was equivalent to these words.
  
  Verse 10
  
   ה׳ אלוקיכם הרבה אתכם, "The Lord your G'd has multiplied you, etc." This sounds peculiar as we have not read anywhere that the Jewish people had multiplied and become more numerous than the number of people who had participated in the Exodus. Neither did the Israelites increase since the census in the second year of their wanderings. Our sages in the <i>Sifri</i> understood the reference as meaning: "He has made you greater than your judges." Perhaps another thing which Moses had in mind with these words is something we have been taught in the <i>Zohar</i> volume 3 page 211 that when one mentions the abundance of good, its power is increased when it comes to warding off evil influences. The <i>Zohar</i> writes there that whenever one mentions G'd's name as the supreme G'd, the spiritually negative influences lose their power to exercise dominion. Seeing that Moses had first complained that he himself could not handle the Jewish people by himself, he felt it necessary to invoke this Name to counteract any negative influences he might have awakened by his comment.
  והנכם היום, "and here you are as of this day, etc." Moses was very careful to say היום, "today," to alert us to the fact that the statement is to be divided into two separate time frames. The first time frame related to the period during the second year of their wanderings when he had told G'd that he was unable to bear the burden of leadership all by himself. Concerning that period, he had said "G'd has mutiplied you, etc." The second time frame concerned the present, i.e. the fortieth year of their wanderings as he pointed out "as of today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky."
  ככוכבי השמים, "as the stars in the sky." When Moses said these words he referred to something we have learned in <i>Sanhedrin</i> 26 that אין מנין לרשעים, "that the wicked do not really have a number." What the Talmud means is that though from a numerical point of view the wicked may appear to number a great many, their increase in number does not imply an increase in importance. The very reverse is true of the righteous. Though, numerically speaking, they may appear as insignificant, their influence is totally disproportionate to their actual number. This is precisely what Moses had in mind when he compared the "number" of the Israelites to the stars in the sky. Just as each of the stars is an important unit in its own right, so each one of the Israelites contributed to the importance represented by their collective רבוי, multiplicity.
  
  Verse 11
  
   ה׳ אלוקי אבותיכם יסף עליכם, "May the Lord G'd of your fathers add to your numbers, etc." "May you number 1000 times as many righteous people as you are as of today." Concerning the multiplicity, Moses added: "and may He bless you as He has said." Our sages in the <i>Sifri</i> claim that the words: "may you number a thousand times as many righteous people as you are now," were Moses' own blessing, as distinct from the words "may He bless you as He has said." The thrust of the entire passage is to mention the name of the Lord in connection with the Israelites even at a time when Moses mentioned G'd's generosity to the Israelites in the greatest imaginable manner.
  
  Verse 12
  
   איכה אשא לבדי, "How can I bear alone, etc.?" Moses now reverts to what he had said in verse 9: "I cannot bear you myself alone." He had interrupted this train of thought in order to counteract any negative results which would accrue to the people from a complaint about them by their leader. At this point he feels it is safe to carry on with what he had to say in verse 9.
  
  Verse 13
  
   הבו לכם אנשים חכמים, "get for yourselves wise and understanding men, etc." He advisedly used the word "for yourselves" before mentioning that they should be from their respective tribes as the fact that the judges would be selected from within the respective tribes would result in many beneficial effects for the members of these tribes. Please compare what I have written in <i>Parshat Pinchas</i> on Numbers 27,16 "may the Lord of all spirits appoint a man over the congregation."
  ואשימם בראשיכם, "and I will place them as heads over you." Moses means that although he told the people that the appointment of these judges would be for their benefit, i.e. that they themselves would be allowed to select these judges, the fact remained that these judges would exert their authority over the people, if necessary backed up by means of enforcing same.
  
  Verse 14
  
   ותענו אותי ותאמרו טוב הדבר, "you responded to me by saying that the matter was good, etc." Our sages in the <i>Sifri</i> claim that Moses' answer implied that he was critical of the people having approved so readily of his proposal. He felt that they should have objected by saying that surely it was preferable to be instructed by the teacher himself to being instructed merely by the pupil or even by the pupil's pupil. I believe it is possible to explain this verse as a compliment for the Israelites. Actually, the Israelites were sorry not to be instructed forthwith by Moses personally. However, they were willing to put up with this realising that they were doing Moses a personal favour by relieving him of some of the constant pressure he was under. This is the meaning of the words טוב הדבר, "it is a good thing to relieve the pressure from our teacher Moses, even though it is difficult for us to start learning from your pupil instead of from you directly." The words אשר דברת, "which you have spoken," refer to the harsh words Moses had said to the Israelites concerning things which they would have to do. Even though this statement is encapsuled here within the general admonitions, it is possible that Moses was angry also concerning the response of the Israelites.
  On the other hand, Moses was astute enough to formulate his words in such a way that they could be understood as a double-entendre. 1) They could be construed as a criticism as pointed out by <i>Sifri;</i> 2) they could also be interpreted positively as we have tried to explain. The reason Moses did so was because the Israelites could be divided into two categories. There was a category of righteous people; there was also, however, a category of cantankerous people, people who did not miss an opportunity to find fault. The righteous people accepted Moses' words as complimentary; the cantankerous people saw in Moses' words a criticism of the attitude they had revealed.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
   בעת ההיא לאמוד, at that time, saying, etc. The word לאמור, as in many instances, indicates that the words to be communicated were not intended to be literally these words and immediate. In this instance Moses did not command the judges to say specific things; he informed them that an essential part of the judicial process was to listen to the arguments of a litigant only when the opposing side was present.
  Perhaps Moses also wanted to hint at something we have learned in <i>Talmud Jerushalmi Sanhedrin</i> 3,8. We are told there that when Rav Hunna watched litigation and observed that one of the defendants did not argue a point in his favour which he could have argued (out of ignorance) he interfered in the proceedings and drew the defendant's attention to an argument he should use. He based himself on Proverbs 31,9: "open your mouth, speak righteously." This is precisely what Moses may have alluded to when he said לאמור, "to say." No steps must be neglected if they help to establish true and fair judgment.
  Another meaning of the word לאמור may be related to something we learned in <i>Sanhedrin</i> there and which is reflected in a ruling by Maimonides in chapter 21 of his treatise <i>Hilchot Sanhedrin</i>. Here is what he writes: "The judge must listen to the arguments of both litigants and repeat them as it is written in Kings I 3,23: 'the king said this woman says: "my son is alive and your son is dead," whereas this woman says: "my son is alive and your son is dead."' [The verse proves that Solomon himself repeated the arguments of both litigants. Ed.] This is what Moses alluded to when he said לאמור, i.e. that the judges themselves have to repeat the arguments of the litigants. The words לאמור שמוע are to be read together and mean that the judge has to articulate what he has heard from the litigants.
  שמוע בין אחיכם ושפטתם צדק, "listen to your brethren so that you can judge fairly." This whole verse is problematical. How could the judges arrive at a fair judgment unless they had first listened to the arguments of the litigants? Secondly, why did the Torah not simply write an imperative such as שמעו, instead of writing the word שמוע in the infinitive? Clearly, Moses' intention was to make the listening to the litigants' argument an ongoing rather than a one time process. The judges should not give way to the feeling that they had already listened to the litigant enough times so that they are sick and tired of hearing the same thing again and again. There are two aspects to the matter. 1) The judges should not display reluctance to hear renewed arguments by a litigant who claims that he has another point in his favour. 2) The judges should not postpone continuation of the hearing to another date as they are tired of hearing anymore on that particular day, but the proceedings should be wound up in one session if possible. Basically, the subject Moses instructs the judges on is what is called ענוי הדין, postponement of sentence.
  Moses also wanted to warn the judges to be astute enough to detect from between the lines of what the litigants had to say whether they spoke truthfully. It is true that the verdict must be based on what the litigants said (and not on what they did not say or how they said it). If it became clear during their testimony and from their demeanour that the truth appeared to be the reverse of what they actually said, then Moses instructed the judges שמוע בין אחיכם, to listen to what is the difference between what the litigants say and what is obviously a distortion. This would enable them to ושפטתם צדק, "to arrive at a fair verdict," i.e. what appears to the judges to be the true state of affairs. On occasion, such judgment may appear to contradict what is written in the lawbooks. A judge cannot rule fairly except if the verdict is in line with his perception of the truth. The word שמוע addresses itself not merely to the ears of the judge but also to his brain.
  Still another meaning of these words is based on what we learned in <i>Makkot</i> 6 that a court must not accept testimony from the mouth of an interpreter but that the judges must understand and be fluent in the language of the litigant who appears before them. This is implied in the words בין אחיכם, "directly between your brethren."
  Yet another meaning of the words בין אחיכם is to warn the judge not to appear to pay more attention to one of the litigants, to appear to look at one litigant while avoiding looking at the second litigant, etc. The judges must project absolute neutrality in their demeanour vis-a-vis both parties. שמוע בין means that if a judge has occasion to raise his head, he must do so in the direction of both litigants. If, on the other hand, he has occasion to lower his head, he must also do so in equal measure vis-a-vis both litigants.
  בין איש ובין אחיו, "between a man and his brother." This expression refers to three separate aspects of fair judgment. 1) It refers to a statement by Maimonides in chapter 22 of his treatise <i>Hilchot Sanhedrin</i>. "A judge must not be influenced by fear that the litigant whom he will. declare guilty will revenge himself on members of his family." Concerning such a situation Moses said: בין איש. Our sages in <i>Sanhedrin</i> 6 referred to the words לא תגורו מפני איש (verse 17) as the basis for this ruling.
  2) When two brothers appear before a judge in litigation the judge must not reason that he does not have to be so exact in his judgments seeing these men are brothers. The Torah writes ובין אחיו, "and between his brother," i.e. the same yardsticks which apply to litigants who are not related to one another also apply to brothers. These words also apply to what we have learned in <i>Shavuot</i> 31 and the ruling based on this by Maimonides in chapter 21 of his treatise <i>Hilchot Sanhedrin</i>. Maimonides rules that when two litigants appear before a judge, one of whom in fancy dress, the other in shabby garments, the judge is to tell the one dressed in finery to either provide similar finery for his opposite number or to change his own clothing to bring it into line with that of the poorer litigant. This is what Moses alluded to with the words ובין אחיו, the two litigants should give the appearance as if they were brothers, alike in dress.
  Maimonides also writes at the beginning of chapter 3 in the above-mentioned treatise that the words בצדק תשפוט עמיתך, "you shall judge your colleague with righteousness" (Leviticus 19,15), mean that one of the litigants should not be seated while the other one is standing. Moses added ובין גרו, "and between his stranger," to allude to this distinction. Either both litigants are to remain seated or both are to stand in front of the judges. Unless all these conditions are observed there cannot be a judgment based on righteousness.
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
   וייטב בעיני הדבר, "the matter was pleasing in my eyes." Moses meant that the reason the people advanced for dispatching the spies, i.e. to spy out the country, seemed to be a valid reason in his eyes. <i>Yalkut Shimoni</i> on the relevant verse in <i>Parshat Shlach Lecha</i> explains that the spies wanted to find out where the Canaanites had hidden their valuables, etc. The word בעיני, "in my eyes," with the emphasis on the suffix "my," means that Moses meant to say: "inasmuch as I only have eyes of flesh and blood, I was deceived; anyone who viewed things objectively would have perceived your real intent." Please compare what I have written on this subject in connection with Numbers 13,2.
  
  Verse 24
  
   ויפנו ויעלו ההרה, They turned and ascended towards the mountain, etc. Moses chose the expression ויפנו, "they turned," to indicate that they departed from the straight and narrow which they had pursued up until that time. Until the mission commenced, all these 12 men had been righteous;, they only turned from what reason dictated at that point. Please compare what I have written on Numbers 13,26.
  וירגלו אותה, "they spied it out." This means that they did not act in accordance with what the Israelites had said to Moses when they explained the mission as ויחפרו לנו את הארץ, "that the spies will spy out the land on our behalf, etc.," but "they spied it out." They wanted to investigate the nature of the land, its people, not where they had hidden their valuables.
  
  Verse 25
  
   ויקחו בידם מפרי הארץ, They took from the fruit of the land in their hands, etc. Why did the Torah have to add the words בידם, "in their hands?" It would have sufficed for the Torah to write that the spies brought with them some of the fruit, etc. Besides, why did the Torah have to write: "they brought us back word, and they said?" It would have sufficed to write: "they brought us back something good."
  The reason Moses phrased it thus was to remind us that there were two categories of spies. The first category of spies were the evil ones, the ten who brought back a negative report. The second category consisted of Joshua and Calev. Moses referred to both their reports in what he said. Concerning the negative report brought back by the ten spies he said: "they took from the fruit of the land in their hands and brought us back word." Moses did not want to repeat the negative comments made by these 10 spies in order not to arouse the attribute of Justice. He made certain that we would appreciate that he referred to the ten spies by saying: "they took in their hands, etc." We have been taught in <i>Sotah</i> 34 that eight spies between them carried one cluster of grapes, one of them took a fig and a tenth one took a pomegranate. Joshua and Calev, on the other hand, did not take anything, as explained in the Talmud. Moses alluded to this by speaking separately of the spies who brought back fruit with them. He added: וישיבו אותנו דבר, "they brought back word to us, i.e. whatever word they brought back." It is also possible to interpret this exegetially by comparing the use of the word דבר in Numbers 13,26 and the use of the same word here. Just as the ten spies were described there as having brought back the negative report, so Moses used the word דבר here to hint that he was speaking of the same people. It is true that we have a rule that similar-sounding words may be used exegetically out of context only if there is a historic tradition for their having been understood in this way; the rabbis did permit the historically unsupported use of such exegesis if the objective is merely to establish the plain meaning of the verse [as opposed to a new religiously binding ruling, Ed.]. In our situation application of the גזרה שוה is quite unobjectionable. Concerning the report brought back by Joshua and Calev Moses said: "they said the land is good." One could also understand Moses' words: "the land is good" as referring to all of the spies without exception; however, according to our approach Moses made a distinction between the two categories of spies.
  
  Verse 26
  
   ולא אביתם לעלות, "and you did not want to ascend (to the land of Canaan)." Even though ten spies testified, as will be mentioned shortly where Moses describes the ten as demoralising the whole people, conquest of the land of Canaan had never been made subject to the Israelites' prowess or otherwise. It was a gift from G'd as we explained in detail on Numbers 13,2 based on the words "which I (the Lord) am about to give to you." G'd Himself was going to dispossess the Canaanites as mentioned in verse 29, i.e. "He will wage war on your behalf." None of these words represent a contradiction to the report of the spies describing the cities of Canaan and their inhabitants as exceedingly powerful. Nachmanides' objections are quite unfounded, therefore. [The author assumes that we are all familiar with the commentary by Nachmanides who questioned how one could fault the people for believing 10 spies rather than 2 spies. Ed.]
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
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  Verse 31
  
  
  
  Verse 32
  
   ובדבר הזה אינכם מאמינים, "In this matter you did not believe in G'd, etc." Why did Moses have to say: "in this matter?" Rashi understands Moses' words as a reference to G'd's promise that the people would enter the land of Canaan. This does not appear acceptable. I believe the plain meaning of the verse is that Moses referred to the miracles G'd had demonstrated when He lifted the whole Jewish people out of Egypt just as a father carries his son. They did not even believe the miracles they themselves had experienced (Exodus 14,19 compare Rashi there) which Moses recalled in verse 31. Proof that the Israelites were lacking in faith at the time is provided by Exodus 17,7 "If the Lord is in our midst or not?" The <i>Zohar</i> on that verse provided us with the well known parable of the father who carried his son on his shoulder. When they met someone, the son asked the stranger if he had seen his father. Israel's question in the verse we referred to is compared to the effrontery of the child in the parable by the <i>Zohar</i>. This then is what Moses referred to with the words: "in this matter you did not have faith in the Lord your G'd." Moses added: "who is walking before you, etc," in order to underline that in view of the continued miracles performed constantly by G'd there was no excuse for this lack of faith.
  
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   הוא יראנה ולו אתן את הארץ, "he will see it and to him I will give the land, etc." Why did Moses have to say that Calev would see the land seeing that he had been promised that G'd would give it to him? Surely just as 100 is part of 200, the land could not be given to Calev unless he was going to see it! I believe Moses wanted to recall two separate accomplishments of Calev in the matter of the spies and to show that he acquired two separate merits. 1) He separated himself from the advice of the ten spies and did not say a single negative word. 2) He was courageous enough to come out openly against the majority report asking the people to remain loyal to G'd, as we know from Numbers 13,30: "Calev silenced the people." As a compensation G'd granted Calev two good things. Concerning his initial silence G'd rewarded him by not letting him die as part of the decree which G'd decreed against the spies. This is alluded to in Moses saying: בן יפנה הוא יראנה, "the son of Yefuneh will see it." The meaning is that because he "turned away" פנה, he was granted the reward that he would see the land he had spied out. His peers had been specifically denied this, i.e. Numbers 14,23 where G'd said that the men of his generation would not get to see the land of Canaan. In reward for Calev having come out openly on behalf of G'd he was rewarded in that G'd gave him the land, i.e. he personally i.e. לו was allocated a share in the Holy Land.
  
  Verse 37
  
   גם בי התאנף ה׳ בגללכם, "G'd was also angry at me on your account." This is difficult as we have no independent evidence of G'd having become angry at Moses on account of the sin of the spies. Nachmanides explains these words of Moses to mean: "you have continued doing evil until the result was that G'd became angry at me." I do not find this comment acceptable as Moses continued to speak about the subject of the spies even after this verse as is clear from verse 39 "and your children whom you claimed would become booty, will come there, etc." The subject is continued right until the end of this chapter. Why then would Moses interrupt in the middle of one subject to speak about an unrelated subject? As to Nachmanides' justification that Moses wanted to lump together all the reasons why the generation of the Exodus did not get to the Holy Land, I do not see what would be accomplished by this.
  I believe the correct meaning of these words must take into account what the Talmud in <i>Taanit</i> 29 said in connection with Numbers 14,1 that the people cried during that night. The Talmud says that because of their needless weeping on that night the Jewish people were condemned to weep on that date with good reason for many many years when they would mourn the destruction of both Temples which occurred on the anniversary of that fateful night. The Talmud <i>Sotah</i> 9 adds that if Moses had been allowed to enter the Holy Land the very first Temple would have been the final Temple, i.e. there never would have occurred a destruction of the Holy Temple. In this connection there is an interesting <i>Midrash Tehillim</i> on Psalm 79,1 where Assaph appears to have dedicated a hymn to the destruction of the Temple. The <i>Midrash</i> asks, predictably, that instead of dedicating a hymn to such an event Assaph should have written an elegy, a song of mourning! The answer is that Assaph composed the hymn in gratitude to G'd who had vented His wrath on buildings of wood and stone such as the Holy Temple and the city of Jersualem instead of on human beings. If we extrapolate on the reasoning of the <i>Midrash</i> and consider the fact that the Temple Moses would have built would have become indestructible, then every time the people sinned G'd would have had to pour out His wrath at the people themselves instead of at the Temple. In order to avoid such a thing from ever occurring, G'd decided to let Moses die on the East Bank of the Jordan. This is what Moses meant when he said that G'd's anger at him worked in Israel's favour, i.e. בגללכם, "for your sake." Had the sin of the spies not occurred, Moses would have entered the Holy land with the result we have just described. The word בגללכם is derived from גלגול, "revolving," or in the metaphysical sense "transmigration (of souls)." When G'd decreed death on Moses which would result in his ultimate reincarnation, He did the Israelites a great favour by venting His wrath at Moses at that time. Alternatively, the meaning of the words: "G'd was also angry at me on your account," may be that Moses implied that 'if you would not have become guilty of this sin and I would have been allowed to enter the Holy Land and to build the Holy Temple, there never would have arisen an occasion for G'd to become angry at you at all as you would have retained your level of righteousness permanently.' Had it not been for this sin, the power of evil would never have become as great. Now that this had happened, G'd realised that once the Israelites would enter the Holy land they would not be able to maintain their spiritual high. We can derive all this from a study of the song Moses composed in <i>Parshat Haazinu</i>.
  You may counter that this may be fine homiletics, but that the fact remains that Moses' death in Transjordan was caused due to his failure to speak to the rock at the waters of Merivah (Numbers chapter 20) not to the sin of the spies. The answer which I have mentioned already on that occasion is that had Moses spoken to the rock at that time the Israelites could have recovered the spiritually high level they possessed prior to the sin of the spies by means of watching that great display of G'd's power. In that event G'd would have cancelled His oath not to let Moses enter the Holy Land seeing that he had become the instrument of sanctifying the name of G'd on such a scale. As a result, Moses would have entered the Holy Land, would have built the Temple, and the Jewish people would have lived there permanently, trouble free. Israel's sin at this stage then had prevented all these scenarios from occurring.
  
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   ותמדו את פי השם, "you rebelled against G'd's command, etc." Moses referred to the refusal of the Israelites to heed G'd's order not to ascend the mountain. Another element he referred to was that the fear of violating G'd's command should have been greater than the fear of their enemies. The fact that it was not demonstrated the true nature of their wickedness. This is why Moses added: ותזדו, "you sinned deliberately." Furthermore, Moses wanted to make the point that the belated display by the Israelites of faith in G'd's protective powers and their willingness to face the Canaanites was not what it appeared to be at the surface. They once more acted in a rebellious fashion, not because they were throwing themselves on G'd's mercy. They should have humbled themselves; instead they did the very reverse.
  
  Verse 44
  
  
  
  Verse 45
  
   ותשובו ותבכו לפני השם, "you returned and wept in the presence of the Lord." We need to analyze the meaning of this verse. If the meaning is that these people returned from their ill-fated attempt to conquer the mountain and that they wept over their failure and the casualties they had suffered at the hands of the Emorites, this is certainly not made plain by the wording of the verse. Besides, if so, what is the meaning of such expressions as: "G'd did not hearken, and G'd did not give ear?" If the weeping concerned an event which had already occurred, such expressions are pointless! We must assume therefore that what Moses is telling us is that only after the defeat by the Emorites did the Israelites finally decide to humble themselves before the Lord, becoming penitents. They wept in recognition of their great guilt. Nonetheless, and in spite of their profession of humility, G'd did not listen to their prayers, i.e. He did not reverse the evil decree He had issued.
  
  
  
  
  
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   לא אתן…מדרך כף רגל, "I will not give you…as much as for the sole of your foot, etc." Moses meant that G'd would not allow the Israelites to traverse the land of Edom in order to impose their will upon them. However, if the people of Edom would volunteer for the Israelites to pass through their country on their way to the West Bank, G'd would not forbid them to do so. This was the reason for sending messengers to sound out the Edomites on the subject.
  
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   ונעבר מאת אחינו בני עשו, "we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, etc." The reason Moses stresses the brotherly relations with Esau is to remind the Israelites that the Jewish people had abided by G'd's command not to cause any friction or provocation in their dealings with the Edomites. Another reason why Moses refers to them as "our brothers" was because they maintained correct relations with the Israelites, selling them whatever produce the Israelites were willing to buy. We know this from verse 29 in our chapter.
  
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   רפאים יחשבו, these are accounted as Rephaim, etc. Why did the Torah consider it necessary to tell us that these people were considered Rephaim (as of gigantic proportions)? I believe that the fact that amongst the ten nations whose lands G'd had promised to give to Abraham's descendants in Genesis 15,20 the Rephaim are mentioned, the Torah wanted to inform us that Or which G'd gave to the descendants of Lot as an inheritance was identical with the Rephaim mentioned by G'd in Genesis. This is why Moses added: "the Eymim used to live there in previous times;" the "previous times" mentioned by Moses was the period prior to G'd's promise to Abraham, at the covenant between the pieces in Genesis chapter 15. Moses reminded the people that the merit of Abraham will stand by them.
  
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   וגם יד ה׳ היתה בם, Moreover, the hand of the Lord was against them, etc. Moses meant that not only did the people of that generation suffer death in the desert, but they did not enjoy their sojourn in the desert while it lasted, as we have been told in <i>Bamidbar Rabbah</i> 19,21. The people suffered from a variety of afflictions prior to their deaths. Moses said מקרב המחנה "from the midst of the camp," to indicate that G'd made a clear separation between the people whose death had been decreed and the remainder of the camp. The former were in a constant state of groaning because of their diminution.
  
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   ארץ רפאים תחשב אף היא, it is also considered the land of the Rephaim, etc. Rashi says that the reason this land was called the land of the Rephaim was that the Rephaim used to live there at one time; however, this is not the land of the Rephaim G'd had promised to Abraham at the time. I cannot see what forces Rashi to arrive at this conclusion. Where did G'd ever say that these Rephaim were not included in the ones whose land G'd promised to Abraham? On the contrary, whenever Rephaim are mentioned it includes all the people known as Rephaim.  I have seen that Rashi supports his theory by saying that his source is the wording of verse ההוא יקרא ארץ רפאים (Deut.3,13). The fact that the Torah stresses there "this is the land called the land of the Rephaim," suggests that only that part of the Bashan was the land G'd had promised to Abraham under the heading of "the land of the Rephaim." The extra word ההוא means that any other land in which the Rephaim lived at different times was not considered as "their land" (compare Rashi in <i>Chulin</i> 60). I am not persuaded by this proof. Why do we have to assume that the word ההוא in Deut 3,13 is meant to exclude other lands occupied by the people known as the Rephaim? Maybe the word is only meant to exclude the district called Argov seeing it is not called "land of the Rephaim?" Logic would dictate that the word ההוא is meant to indicate precisely what the Torah refers to, not something the Torah wants to exclude. After the Torah had told us that the Rephaim used to live in the land occcupied by the Bney Ammon and the Moabites (the descendants of Lot) at that time, the Torah mentions that these lands were really included in what G'd had promised to Abraham at the time. Furthermore, the word ההוא was not intended to restrict except to tell us that at the time Moses spoke these lands were no longer popularly known as the lands of the Rephaim but as the lands of Sichon and Og rather than as the lands of Bney Ammon and Moav. In fact, even at the time when G'd made the promise to Abraham these cities were not known as lands of the Rephaim as G'd had temporarily designated these cities as the inheritance of the descendants of Lot. Rashi (2,5) himself explains that Abraham who had been promised these lands by G'd, turned them over to Lot (temporarily) who went to Egypt with him becaus he did not reveal the secret of the husband-wife relationship between Abraham and Sarah.
  When we keep these points in mind we can understand why the Torah writes יקרא when speaking of the lands of Sichon and Og, whereas when speaking of the lands of the Rephaim the Torah wrote יחשב. Seeing the whole Jewish people remembered that Sichon and Og had lived in those lands the expression יקרא, "is called" (3,13) was quite appropriate. On the other hand, when the Torah speaks of lands whom no one remembered as having been populated by the Rephaim of old, the term תחשב "was considered" (2,19), is more appropriate. I am convinced that whenever the Torah mentions that a certain piece of land was called "the land of the Rephaim," the intention is to tell us that this piece of land was included in what G'd promised to Abraham at the time he mentioned the Rephaim. According to the words of the <i>Sifri</i> which I have quoted in <i>Mattot</i> that the lands of Sichon and Og claimed by the tribes of Reuven and Gad were not the lands which had been promised to Abraham by G'd at the time of the covenant between the pieces, it makes sense that the Torah wrote in Deut. 3.13 ההוא יקרא ארץ רפאים, "that is the land known as the land of the Rephaim." The Torah means to say: "this is what truly deserves to be called the lands of the Rephaim, and not some other lands such as the one of Sichon and Og which has popularly been known as the land of the Rephaim." Please read what else I have to say on the subject in connection with 3,13.
  
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   ולא אבה פיחון…העבירנו בו, "and Sichon did not want us to traverse it, etc." Whenever the expression לא אבה is used it describes a refusal without an adequate reason being offered. Although Sichon had no reason to fear that the Israelites would infringe on any of his rights and he was convinced that the Israelites were physically unable to cause him any harm, he still refused to let them pass. This is why the Torah had to provide the reason, i.e. כי הקשה ה׳ את רוחו, "G'd helped his spirit to be obstinate."
  
  Verse 31
  
   ראה החילותי תת לפניך, "Behold, I have begun to deliver up to you, etc." G'd used the word: "I have begun" in the past tense, and the word refers to the time G'd had hardened the spirit of Sichon to deny Israel the right of passage through his country in order to have a pretext to deliver him into Israel's hands. The word החילותי refers to the giving of the land, not to the previous paragraph. Moses misunderstood thinking that the word referred to the whole previous paragraph. This was what caused him to think that G'd had revoked His decree against him and this is what prompted his entreaty at the beginning of the next פרשה as explained there by <i>Sifri</i>.
  
  
  
  
  
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   ויתן ה׳ אלוקינו בידנו, G'd delivered into our hands, etc. This verse is best explained by reference to <i>Berachot</i> 54 describing Og as uprooting a mountain of 12 kilometers (equal to the size of the encampment of the Jewish people) and trying to throw it onto the camp of the Israelites. G'd frustrated this plan. Thereupon Moses, who was ten cubits tall, took an axe ten cubits long and threw it at Og, hitting his ankles and killing him. The words ויתן ה׳ refer to G'd making the mountain Og had uprooted drop on his own neck, whereas the word בידנו refers to Moses personally having killed Og using his own hands. Although Moses used only a single hand, the Torah describes his acts by referring to "hands," using the plural ending, much as G'd has been described in Genesis 1,26 as in the plural when He was about to create Adam and said: "let us make a human being, etc." Moses' hand was considered as equivalent to the combined hands of all the Jewish people.
  
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   ההוא יקרא ארץ רפאים, "this is what is known as the land of the Rephaim." I have explained earlier that the meaning of the word is that this land though referred to as "land of the Rephaim" was not the land of the Rephaim in the true sense of the word, i.e. the land promised by G'd to Abraham as the land of the Rephaim. If you were not to understand the verse in this manner and the lands of Sichon and Og would have to be considered as the true lands of the Rephaim, then the <i>Baraitha</i> in the <i>Sifri</i> where we were told that the words "which the Lord your G'd is about to give to you" mean that the lands on the East Bank of the Jordan which you have taken for yourself" are excluded, would be incompatible with what is written here. When you add to this the fact that we have been told in <i>Bereshit Rabbah</i> 44, that the Rephaim were identical with the tribe known as Chivi, and we find that the Chivi is one of the seven tribes the Israelites were to dispossess on the West Bank (compare Exodus 3,17) surely it is impossible to consider the lands occupied by Og as the lands known as "the lands of the Rephaim."
  You may reply that we also find that the Emorite was mentioned among the seven tribes which G'd would dispossess when the Israelites left Egypt, and this included Sichon as we know from Numbers 21,21 where Sichon was described as the "king of the Emorites." Moreover, the Torah continued in verse 25 of that chapter to describe the Israelites as settling in the towns formerly belonging to the "Emorites." In view of this the question against the <i>Sifri</i> appears to have been resurrected! This is no problem at all. The cities of the Emorite listed in Numbers as having belonged to Sichon are not what G'd had promised to Abraham. In fact the Torah had been at pains in Numbers 21,26 to describe even Cheshbon, the capital of Sichon, as a city which had a chequered past; it had once belonged to the Moabites, and had subsequently been conquered by Sichon from the first king of the Moabites. In other words, the Torah offers clear proof that the land over which Sichon ruled at the time was actually Moabite land. The only reason it was called "Emorite" was because king Sichon who belonged to the tribe of the Emorites had acquired it by force. It had never been part of the original lands of the tribe of the Emorites. As a result, it could not have been included in the lands of the Emorite promised by G'd to Abraham.
  Furthermore, all the lands mentioned in the Torah as belonging to the Rephaim are included in what G'd had promised to Abraham when He said "ואת הרפאים" in Genesis 15,20. The lands of Sichon and Og were also included in that promise for the Torah refers to them as "the land of the Emorite and the land of Og." It is also called the land of the Rephaim as the Rephaim were identical with the Chivi. When the <i>Baraitha</i> quoted in the <i>Sifri</i> (reference Deut. 7,13) stated that the lands of the East Bank were not included in what G'd had promised to Abraham, this statement referred to the settlement of that part of the East Bank by the Israelites. Although G'd had given, i.e. promised, the lands of seven Canaanite tribes to the Israelites who participated in the Exodus, this did not mean that all these lands were of equal status, and that all of them qualified for the Israelites to dwell therein. This situation is no different from the situation on the West Bank itself. We know from the Talmud (<i>Keylim</i> 1,6) that there were 10 different degrees of sanctity in the various locations on the West Bank. We need to perceive the lands of Sichon and Og as possessing a lower degree of sanctity than the lands promised to Abraham on the West Bank of the Jordan. G'd wanted the Israelites to loot the belongings of these kings but He had not planned for the Israelites to dwell in their lands.
  This is what the <i>Sifri</i> had in mind when its author wrote: "excluding the lands on the East Bank." The Torah in that instance had been careful to write "which the Lord our G'd swore an oath to give to us" (Deut. 6,23). This meant that those lands G'd had sworn to give to us to dwell in. By that wording the Torah meant to exclude other lands which, though promised to us by G'd, were not promised for us to dwell in because these lands did not qualify for the requisite degree of sanctity [necessary for the Israelites to develop their personalities in keeping with Torah imperatives. Ed.]. You will find something similar in the case of Ammon, Moav, and Edom, who are identical respectively with the tribes Keyni, Kenizi, and Kadmoni in G'd's promise to Abraham in Genesis chapter 15. Jeremiah 49,17 foretells of the desolation of the land of Edom. If so, the promise of that land to the Israelites could not have been meant for them to dwell in it. The same fate had been intended for the lands of Sichon and Og. Only the West Bank of the Jordan contained the lands G'd had intended to give to the descendants of the Patriarchs to dwell in. Nonetheless, despite the fact that those lands were not included in the promise to Abraham, the fact that the Israelites conquered them at the command of G'd and that some tribes settled there conferred a certain degree of sanctity on the soil of those lands.
  
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   ואת יהושוע צויתי, "And I commanded Joshua, etc." Moses meant that he commanded Joshua not to be afraid of these nations, as we find at the end of verse 22: לא תיראום "you must not be afraid of them." Moses did not repeat the words "your eyes are seeing" at the end of verse 22, as this is not something which forms the subject of a command.
  The reason Moses preferred to record these instructions here instead of after the conquest of the lands of Sichon and Og and the settlement of the tribes of Reuven and Gad in those lands, is because the conditions which were attached to the settlement of these lands by these tribes, etc. This could have created the impression that Joshua required the assistance of the heroic men of those tribes before he would undertake the mission of conquering the land of Canaan. Seeing that it was G'd who would conduct the actual battles, Moses did not want a false impression to be created. He introduced the paragraph with the words ואת יהושוע, "and Joshua," to hint that Joshua's part was incidental, as suggested by the conjunctive letter ו. This is also why Moses concluded this paragraph with the words "for your G'd will fight on your behalf." Moses underlined the word הוא, "He Himself," to make it even less plausible for someone who had heard that the men of the tribes of Gad and Reuven had to cross the Jordan in full armour to conclude that this was an indication that the wars of conquest would be dangerous. I have already explained the purpose of that command in my commentary on <i>Parshat Mattot</i>. You may also wish to read my comments on the words את כל.
  בעת ההיא לאמור, "at that time saying, etc." The time referred to is the time when Moses imposed his conditions on the tribes of Reuven and Gad. The word לאמור in this context may mean that Moses did not tell Joshua all this verbatim, but he told him words to this effect. I have shown that there are other instances when the word לאמור is employed in a similar fashion. It is also possible that the meaning is for Joshua to relay such a command to the Israelites at the time they would ready themselves to battle the seven Canaanite tribes, in order to remove fear from their hearts.
  את כל אשר עשה, "all that He has done, etc." This statement incorporates the reason Moses insisted that the tribes of Reuven and Gad cross the river Jordan armed, ready to join the other tribes in the conquest of the West Bank. Moses says that G'd will do to the tribes on the West Bank what He had done to the Emorite Kings Sichon and Og. Just as G'd's help against those kings had been predicated on all of the tribes having readied themselves to do battle, so in order for G'd to do battle on behalf of the Israelites against the 31 kings on the West Bank, all the tribes had to be present in battle formation. In both instances it was G'd who did the actual fighting. In view of the above Moses was not able to say to Joshua "your own eyes have observed what G'd did to these two kings, etc." until after the two tribes had been commanded to cross the Jordan, etc. The collective merit of 12 tribes of Israel cannot be compared to the collective merit of 10 tribes. If G'd had been willing to fight on behalf of 12 tribes this was not proof that He would do the same on behalf of only 10 tribes. I have already explained this on Numbers 32,6.
  
  Verse 22
  
   לא תיראום, "do not fear them!" Moses used the plural ending here even though he spoke only to Joshua as he meant to include the whole people in his instruction not to be afraid of the kings of the Canaanites seeing that G'd was going to do the fighting. As far as my comments on the word לאמור are concerned, Moses said that word in order for Joshua to tell the Israelites to have faith in the Lord.
  
  Verse 23
  
   ואתחנן אל ה׳ בעת ההיא לאמור, "I pleaded with G'd at that time, saying, etc." Why did Moses have to say "at that time?" <i>Sifri</i> writes that when Moses saw how Sichon and Og had fallen, he believed that the fact that he had lived to see this was proof that G'd had relented in His decree against him and that this was an opportune time to plead to be allowed to enter the West Bank. If we accept this interpretation the words בעת ההיא refer to the time of the wars with Sichon and Og. Moses excused himself saying that had it not been for what he had been allowed to witness at that time he would not have pleaded for G'd to rescind His decision seeing he was aware that the decree was final.
  According to the sages in the <i>Sifri</i> even the word לאמור is part of Moses' plea. Moses challenged G'd to tell him if He was prepared to let him enter the Holy Land. I believe that all these comments are merely homiletics. The words בעת ההיא refer to the time when G'd had sworn that except for Joshua and Calev no one who had been over 20 at the time of the Exodus would see the land of Israel. Moses had referred to that date in 1,37 when he had mentioned that G'd had been angry at him also, saying that he too would not get to the Holy Land. At that time Moses had pleaded to cancel His decree and to release Himself from the oath as alluded to by the words: "You have begun to show your servant Your greatness, etc." Our sages interpreted these words as a reference to an invalidation of an oath, as I shall discuss shortly. The reason Moses inserted this paragraph at this point was so that the people should not suspect him of having pleaded only on his own behalf and that he was not concerned with G'd cancelling the decree He had sworn concerning the entire generation. By saying בעת ההיא, Moses indicated that he prayed before the decree had begun to be executed.
  Even though we do not find in Moses' opening words that he prayed also on behalf of his people, his intention had been to pray on behalf of the people as soon as G'd had hearkened to his own prayer concerning himself. This would be relatively simple as we have a principle that once part of a vow has been cancelled, the entire vow is no longer valid (<i>Nedarim</i> 66). The word לאמור in our verse indicates that Moses was concerned not only with himself but also with additional words he was going to say. He thought he acted wisely as he assumed that it would be easier to obtain a cancellation of the part of the decree which referred to him personally not entering the Holy Land. After all, he, personally, had not committed a sin involving lack of faith as had his peers. All of Moses' words demonstrate that he considered G'd as having acted righteously.
  Moses' entreaty also demonstrated four conditions which are necessary in order for one's prayer to be accepted. 1) One needs to pray in a manner similar to a poor man who knocks on a door in order to obtain some alms or some food as a hand-out, as we have been taught in Proverbs 18,23: "the poor man speaks beseechingly." 2) The prayer must be addressed to the source of Mercy, i.e. G'd Himself in His capacity as the attribute of Mercy. 3) It must be offered at a time when prayers are accepted, as we know from Psalms 69,14: "May my prayer to you come at a favourable moment, etc." 4) The prayer must be specific, incapable of being interpreted wrongly. This point is illustrated by <i>Esther Rabbah</i> at the beginning of chapter 7 item 24. [The <i>Midrash</i> discusses the meaning of the words in Esther 3,14: "that the people should be ready for this date," without specifying what precisely they should expect to happen on that day. The point is made that predictions made by Gentile prophets are obscure, liable to be misunderstood, whereas predictions made by Jewish prophets are clear and unambiguous. Ed.] The example quoted concerns a Jewish traveller who tired of the long trek he had to walk and whose ankle gave out. He said: "I wish I had a donkey." Shortly thereafter a Roman whose ass had just given birth to a young donkey passed him and told him to take it and to carry it. The traveller acknowledged that his prayer had been heard but that he had not expressed his prayer appropriately. He had failed to specify for what purpose he had requested the donkey. Thus far the <i>Midrash</i>. The word ואתחנן is the appropriate terminology when one beseeches G'd. By using this word Moses had complied with the first of the four conditions needed for a successful prayer. When he added אל השם, he complied with the second condition, i.e. he addressed his prayer to the attribute of Mercy. When he said בעת ההיא, he indicated that he had waited for the appropriate moment to offer up his prayer, i.e. a moment when G'd was known to be in a favourable frame of mind. Who would know better when such a time occurred than Moses? Perhaps this had been at the moment when G'd had said החל רש, "begin to possess and inherit his land" (Deut. 2,31). This would be in line with the view of our sages who said that Moses offered this prayer after the Israelites had defeated Sichon and Og and conquered their lands. By having waited for the appropriate time Moses had complied with the third of the four conditions for successful prayer we have listed earlier. Moses complied with the fourth condition for successful prayer when he said לאמור, i.e. he was precise in the formulation of his prayer, making it imposssible to misunderstand. I have pointed out repeatedly that the word לאמור is often used to indicate that whatever immediately precedes it does not necesssarily describe the exact words being used. Some of our commentators such as the author of the <i>Yalkut Shimoni</i> hold that the words בעת ההיא, "at that time," refer to Numbers 20,12 when G'd had told Moses and Aaron: "you (both) will not bring this community to the land I have given to them." On the other hand, <i>Midrash Rabbah</i> claims that the time Moses offered this prayer was on the occasion of Numbers 27,18 when G'd had told Moses to appoint Joshua as his successor. It is possible that Moses prayed a similar prayer on each of the occasions mentioned.
  
  Verse 24
  
   א־דני אלוקים אתה החילות להראות, "O Lord G'd, You have begun to show, etc." This (א־ד־נ־י) form of address may be understood as similar to Samuel I 3,18 where the High Priest Eli after being told by his pupil Samuel that G'd said that He would exact retribution from the house of Eli, reacted by saying: "My Master (א־ד־נ־י) will do whatever seems good in His eyes." Eli meant that when a master loses a servant such a loss is keenly felt by him; as a result, The Master would not agree to lose the servant unless He had good reason. When Moses used the word א־ד־נ־י in this instance he meant to say that his own success and wellbeing was a matter for his master (G'd) to evaluate. 
  He also used the 4-lettered name of G'd with the vowels of the attribute of Justice, i.e. אלוקים. Rashi comments as follows: רחום בדין, (the word א־דני means) "the One who is merciful even while dispensing judgment." I have seen that Nachmanides criticises Rashi claiming that he overlooked the fact that the first word א־ד־נ־י is written with the letters א־ד, whereas the second name of G'd is spelled with the letter י־ה, and that our sages have said that whenever this combination of letters in the name of G'd occurs it refers to the attribute of Mercy. Thus far Nachmanides. [According to Rabbi Chavell, Nachmanides meant that only the combination of the letters י־ה describe the attribute of Mercy. Ed.] I believe that Rashi did not refer to the word א־ד־נ־י at all when he made his comment. Rather, he referred to the fact that although the vowels in the Ineffable Name Moses used here are the ones used for the attribute of Justice, i.e. elokim, the fact remains that even when G'd dispenses justice there is always an element of mercy present. This is the reason for the strange vowelling in this instance. <i>Sifri</i> also understands the word in this sense when the author commented: "הויה always means mercy, whereas אלוקים always means justice." <i>Sifri</i> clearly refers to the relative spelling (i.e. consonants) and reading (i.e. vowels) meaning different attributes.
  The reason Moses employed a name for G'd which incorporates both attributes becomes clear when you refer to my explanation of the word לאמור at the end of the last verse. I explained that as soon as Moses' own prayer had been accepted he meant to pray on behalf of the whole generation. Moses felt that the degree against himself could be voided merely by an appeal to the attribute of Justice, whereas in order to void the decree against the people of the Exodus it required the application of G'd's attribute of Mercy. <i>Tanchuma</i> illustrated this with a parable. [the version of this parable in my edition of the <i>Tanchuma</i> is substantially different, but I am quoting the version the author describes. Ed.] A king who wanted to marry a certain lady dispatched messengers to examine the lady in question and to present her with his marriage proposal. The messengers went and came back with the report that they could not have found an uglier person than the lady in question. One of the patrons of the bride-to-be heard about this negative report and told the king that there was not a more beautiful lady in the whole kingdom than the one the king wanted to marry. The father of the bride told the King's messengers that on no account would he allow them to be present at the wedding as they had shamed the bride. When the patron who had sung the praises of the bride wanted to take part in the wedding celebrations the father would not allow him to enter either. The patron remonstrated saying to the father of the bride: "I have praised her although I have never met her, and I told the king that she is the fairest in the land." Moses used a similar argument when he pleaded with G'd. He considered it unfair that he who had been instrumental in promoting the wedding between Israel and G'd and the land of Israel should not be allowed to attend the wedding, the consummation of the deal. Moses' argument was that even if G'd applied the yardstick used by the attribute of Justice, he should be allowed to enter the Holy Land. This is the reason he mentioned the attribute of Justice. He alluded to the element of mercy by punctuating the Ineffable Name in this unusual manner as this related to his prayer for the people as a whole as I explained on the word לאמור. He made a point of using the name for the attribute of Justice as he has been quoted as only praying for himself. [The Torah does not record vowels, only consonants. The reader has to supply the vowels himself. Ed.] He used the indirect reference to the attribute of Mercy, as his prayer for the people as a whole remained potential rather than actual as long as his prayer on his own behalf had not been accepted.
  It is also possible that Moses had to allude to the attribute of Mercy in G'd's name precisely because he demanded to be heard as a matter of justice rather than merely as a matter of mercy. Who is so righteous that he can demand to be judged by the pure attribute of Justice? We have it on the authority of Psalms 143,2 "for before You no creature is in the right."
  אתה החלות, "You have begun, etc." The <i>Sifri</i> offers three possible meanings for the word החלות 1) The word is derived from התחלה, beginning. 2) It is an expression for prayer similar to Maleachi 1,9 ועתה חלו נא פני קל, "and now implore the favour of the Lord!" 3) it means to release, i.e. to release from a vow, etc. Moses said to G'd: "You have released me from my vow" when You said to me in Exodus 3,10 "take My people out of Egypt." At the time I told You that I had already sworn an oath to my father-in-law Yitro that I would not leave him as we know from Exodus 2,21: "Moses agreed to dwell with the man, etc." The word ויאל is used when one swears an oath. Moses argued that if G'd had seen fit to release him from that oath, He could release Himself from His own oath not to let him enter the Holy Land. Another meaning of the word is "opening." Moses said "You have provided an opening for me to implore You by prayer when You said to me in Deut. 9,32: 'let Me be so that I can destroy them, etc.' Did Moses then restrain G'd? The meaning is that G'd had opened a door for Moses by these words encouraging him to pray." We are therefore entitled to understand the word as meaning "prayer." Another explanation sees in the opening for prayer a reference to the time Moses granted the lands of Sichon and Og to the tribes of Reuven and Gad. He had provided an opening for possible cancellation of that vow. This latter explanation [that the word החלות means an opening to cancel a vow. Ed.] seems somewhat strange. What proof could Moses bring from the time G'd had released him from his vow to remain with Yitro? Moses' vow on that occasion had been easy to cancel as he had a ready answer saying that had he known at the time that G'd would call upon him to lead the Jewish people to freedom he would never have made such a vow. What possible opening was there for G'd to rescind His own oath seeing that when G'd swears an oath all future possibilities are known to Him and He could never plead insufficient knowledge of the future as a reason to cancel His vows!
  This problem may be solved when we review what Maimonides wrote in chapter six of his treatise <i>Hilchot Shevuot</i>. He writes: "If someone swore an oath and did not regret it, and is intent on keeping his oath, the court has to examine if keeping his oath would prevent this person from fulfilling some positive commandment or from maintaining peaceful relations with his peers. If keeping the oath were to result in either of these results, the court has to engage in negotiations with that person until it convinces him that had he been fully aware of these consequences he would not have sworn the oath in question. After that they will release him from the obligation which the oath entails." This teaches us that even if no "opening" existed for the court to cancel the vow, one uses one's intelligence to create such an "opening." This is what Moses had in mind when he said: "You have provided an opening already when You prevailed upon me to be released from my vow though I had not expressed any desire to be released from it." The proof that Moses did not ask to be released from his vow is found in Exodus 3,10 where G'd commences a campaign of seven days trying to convince Moses to accept His mission. Moses now argued that G'd could apply this procedure to His own oath not to let him enter the Holy Land even if there had not been a prima facie opening for releasing Himself from His oath. Moses, after all, was desirous of fulfilling the positive commandment of living in the Holy Land, as evidenced by his words: "let me cross so that I can see the good land, etc."
  Should you argue that the situation is totally dissimilar to the one discussed by Maimonides, and it was not G'd who would perform a commandment as a result of releasing Himself from His oath but Moses, the answer is that the reason Moses described himself as את עבדך, "with Your (G'd's) servant," was to hint that it was a well known fact that whatever belongs to the servant belongs to the Master, i.e. G'd would share equally in Moses' performing the commandment of living in the Holy Land.
  
  Verse 25
  
   אעברה נא, "please let me cross, etc." Why did Moses say נא? Besides, why did he say: "so that I will see?" Is seeing the land not a natural result of crossing the Jordan? Perhaps Moses wanted to rebut reasons which had prevented him from entering the Holy Land. Our sages say that there had been two such reasons. 1) The time for Joshua to reign had arrived, and the rule of one monarch must not overlap with the rule of a second monarch by as much as a hair's breadth (<i>Berachot</i> 48). 2) G'd foresaw that the Israelites would sin in the future and He would have to pour out His wrath at them. He therefore preferred to use the Holy Temple as the object on which to pour out His wrath rather than on the people themselves. We have dicussed this in connection with Psalms 79 where Assaph appears to write a hymn in honour of the destruction of the Holy Temple (my translation page 1766). We explained that if Moses had crossed the Jordan the Temple he would have built would have stood forever, and whenever the Israelites would sin G'd would have to vent His wrath on them rather than on the Temple. Compare my commentary on Deut. 1,37.
  This is why Moses referred to these two scenarios with his words. Concerning the fact that the time of his reign must not overlap with the time assigned to Joshua, he said "let me cross," i.e. he did not ask to cross in his capacity as the leader but was content to cross as a simple citizen; he did not expect to be given any special honour. Concerning the eventuality of the Temple becoming the excuse for G'd venting His wrath on the people in any future sinfulness by the people, he said: ואראה, "in order that I may see the land," i.e. he had no aspirations to build the Temple. Moses was thus careful to forestall any argument against granting his wish. As to his using the expression נא, this means that he was ready to abdicate his position as king immediately.
  It is also possible that Moses pleaded for the Israelites to cross the Jordan river immediately before the end of the day so that he could cross at a time when his crossing would not interfere with the period G'd had ordained for Joshua's reign. If you accept my interpretation that the words בעת ההיא referred to the time immediately after G'd decreed that the generation of the spies would not enter the Holy Land, there would not have been any problem with the time, as that event took place 38 years prior to the period when Moses addressed the people here. From Moses' words it is easy to surmise that he prayed on behalf of the whole people seeing that G'd had only decreed that they would die in the desert. He had not decreed that they would die prematurely, i.e. before reaching the age of 60 which would have meant that they died by the <i>karet</i> penalty. If Moses were to enter the Holy Land at that time (38 years ago) it would be understood that the people would enter with him as G'd had not decreed that they had to die prior to age 60.
  There is another way of explaining Moses' choice of words based on <i>Bamidbar Rabbah</i> 19,13 that the redeemer for the people of the generation of the Exodus would be Moses himself. [The <i>Midrash</i> quotes G'd as saying that if the generation Moses had led out of Egypt would die in the desert whereas Moses would lead the younger generation into the Holy Land this would be construed as a sign that there was no hope for the present generation ever to enter the Holy Land. Ed.] There is suppport for this in a statement in the <i>Zohar</i> volume 2 page 120 that this is already alluded to in Kohelet 1,9: מה שהיה הוא שיהיה, "whatever has been, is what will be." Moses knew of this as G'd had revealed to him that it would be part of his role in the future to cross the river Jordan to the Holy Land. In view of this knowledge he merely begged to fulfil his role now instead of in the distant future. The words אעברה נא therefore mean: "let me cross now (we are speaking about 38 years ago)."
  The words אעברה נא may also be part of Moses' answer to something we have learned in <i>Midrash Rabbah</i> that the reason that Moses had to die outside the boundaries of the Holy Land was to enable him to lead his generation to their hereafter, as we have already explained. Moses used the term אעברה, i.e. a temporay crossing rather than a permanent crossing of the Jordan indicating he was quite willing to die and be buried on the East Bank after having first crossed the Jordan, so as to be able to play his appointed role of helping the people of his generation to attain their share in the hereafter. [Our author is vague, speaking of עולם הבא; I believe he may have referred to the time of the resurrection. Ed.]
  Yet another meaning of the term אעברה may be connected to the statement in <i>Ketuvot</i> 111 that any person who has had the good fortune to walk four cubits inside of ארץ ישראל has thereby assured himself of a share in the hereafter. Moses wanted to assure himself of that by crossing the Jordan even temporarily.
  אשר בעבו הירדן, "which is on the far side of the Jordan, etc." Although at first glance these words appear totally superfluous, Moses had to spell this out as there is a good land in the celestial regions known as the "good land," a land which David referred to in Psalms 116,9 as "the land of life" when he asked G'd to let him walk therein. Moses also had to spell out the words: "this good mountain, the Lebanon" in accordance with what we learned in <i>Sotah</i> 14 where the Talmud says that Moses referred to his desire to perform the commandments which can be performed only inside the boundaries of ארץ ישראל. This is why he enumerated the various locations where it would be possible for him to perform these various commandments he had in mind.
  In addition he was astute enough to word his request in such a way that G'd would not be able to say to him that he could accomplish all that he had spoken of by merely looking at the land, albeit with an enhanced power of vision. What he wanted to accomplish in the places he had named he could not accomplish merely with his eyes.
  
  Verse 26
  
   ויתעבר ה׳ בי למענכם, "But G'd became angry with me because of you, etc." Moses repeated himself by first citing G'd as becoming angry with him and then saying G'd would not listen to him. He interrupted himself by adding the words "on your account;" we would have expected him to say: "G'd became angry at me and would not listen to me." Besides, seeing Moses had already said in 1,37 that "G'd became angry at me on your account," we must try and understand what he meant to add here. I have explained earlier that the words "on your account" in 1,37 were an allusion to Moses' intention to offer a prayer on behalf of the whole people בעת ההיא, at that time, in addition to the plea he made on his own behalf. At this point Moses said ויתעבר ה׳ בי למענכם, meaning that as far as the prayer on Israel's behalf was concerned G'd remained angry; as far as the prayer on his own behalf was concerned, G'd did not listen to him. He did not use the term עברה, "anger," concerning G'd's reaction to the prayer on his own behalf as what he had asked for himself was not based on G'd having been angry at him for something he had done.
  Another meaning of this verse could be as follows: "G'd was angry at me, i.e. insisting that I die before crossing the Jordan, למענכם, "for your sake," i.e. so that I will eventually become your redeemer. We have to understand the word ויתעבר in the sense that the prophet Tzefaniah used it in Tzefaniah 1,15 where the יום עברה is a reference to the day on which the people who are the victim of this "anger" will die. When Moses added: "G'd did not listen to me," he meant that G'd was not willing for him to cross the Jordan even temporarily, even on condition that he would return to the East Bank and be buried there.
  ויאמר ה׳ אלי רב לך, אל תוסף, G'd said to me: "enough for you, do not continue, etc." Why did G'd say to Moses both: "enough for you, and "do not continue, etc.?" G'd answered both parts of Moses' request. Concerning the part of Moses' prayer in which he asked to personally be allowed to cross the Jordan, G'd said: רב לך, "enough for you." G'd meant that He did not accept that Moses only wanted to cross the Jordan in order to fulfil certain commandments there. Moses had already fulfilled so many commandments that he did not need the additional merit which would accrue to him from fulfilling מצות התלויות בארץ, the kind of commandments which require one to be in the land of Israel in order to fulfil them. G'd would give him such a great reward that he would not miss out on anything by not having attained this particular merit. Concerning the prayer Moses offered on behalf of the people, G'd silenced him by saying that he should not continue to harp on that subject.
  Alternatively, G'd implied that all the people who would fulfil the commandments which could only be fulfilled in the land of Israel would share the merit they acquired with Moses because he had been the one who had instructed them to observe these commandments. This is the mystical dimension of the words רב לך, "it was due to you their teacher that they will attain the merit which accrues from fulfilling all these commandments." G'd implied: "seeing that you have a share in all the מצות performed by your pupils, there is no need for you to belabour the subject, i.e. אל תוסף דבר, you will also have a share in those מצות."
  The words רב לך may also be G'd's answer to Moses' offer to immediately resign his position so as not to conflict with the period during which Joshua was to reign. G'd answered that Moses could not do this as the position allocated to him was a lifetime position. He had to remain king as long as he was alive. Crossing the Jordan as a private citizen was out of the question. He could not transfer his status to Joshua during his lifetime. The words אל תוסף דבר are essential then.
  Furthermore, it is possible to understand the words רב לך as applying to the subject at hand, whereas the words אל תוסף דבר belong to the next subject, i.e. עלה ראש הפסגה, "ascend the top of the hill, etc." Seeing that G'd had accepted half of Moses' prayer, i.e. to let him see the land, He told him not to speak about it anymore but to go to the top of the summit from where he would be able to see the land in all its details. G'd was afraid that Moses would persist that He should also grant the other half of his prayer. The very fact that G'd had granted part of his prayer might encourage Moses to persist. This is why He had to tell him to ascend instead of continuing to plead. The words בדבר הזה mean that this subject is closed. G'd reinforced this by saying: "for you will not cross this Jordan."
  
  Verse 27
  
   וראה בעיניך, "and behold it with your eyes." The word בעיניך is necessary especially after G'd had told Moses שא עיניך "raise up your eyes!" G'd meant to tell Moses that whatever he had hoped to accomplish by walking in the land, He, G'd would enable him to accomplish by means of his eyes alone. There was no need for him to traverse the land in order to become familiar with it.
  Moreover, we know that there are techniques by means of which distant objects can be brought closer to one's eyes, such as telescopes and binoculars. G'd told Moses that he would see the Holy Land not with his very own physical eyes.
  
  Verse 28
  
   וצו את יהושע, "and command Joshua, etc." What precisely was Moses to command Joshua? <i>Yalkut Shimoni</i> item 823 quoting <i>Sifri</i> on Pinchas claims that Moses was to command Joshua not to be taken in by the Gibeonites. Another opinion cited claims that Moses warned Joshua concerning possible strife amongst the people. There is no hint in the text of this and unless it is based on tradition we do not have to accept this explanation. I believe that the plain meaning of the verse may be understood in light of Samuel I 13,14: ויצוהו ה׳ לנגיד על עמו, "the Lord appointed him as ruler over His people." The word means "he appointed." Please refer to what I have written on Exodus 6,13 ויצום אל בני ישראל. Moses simply told Joshua to exert authority over Israel already while he was still alive. He personally would support him in this before the eyes of the whole nation.
  
  Verse 29
  
   ונשב בגיא, "we abode in the valley, etc." What did Moses want to tell us with this verse? How is it connected to either the previous verse or to the one following? Rashi, quoting <i>Sifri,</i> says that Moses reminded the people that they had become attached to the idol <i>Baal Pe-or</i> and that he exhorted them that all would be forgiven provided they would from now on hearken to G'd's statutes as per 4,1. If we accept this, we still have not explained the word ונשב as the verse only wishes to remind us of the sin of בעל פעור. Even the words מול בית פעור, opposite the temple of the פעור does not appear to make sense. If Moses referred to what had happpened there he should have used the language used by the Torah in Numbers 25,3 ויצמד ישראל לבעל פעור.
  I believe that what Moses meant was that with this verse he concluded the subject with which he had commenced when he said: "I pleaded with G'd" in 3,23. He concluded by saying that his prayer did not help, that instead of both he and the people crossing the Jordan at once, they remained encamped opposite the temple of Pe-or. The expression ישב always means a stay of indeterminate length [the author says: עד עולם, i.e. forever. I do not know the source for this although the Talmud in <i>Megillah</i> 21 states that the word means "a delay." The proof offered there is based on Deut. 1,46 which was certainly not "forever" but for a period of 19 years according to most commentators. Ed.] The reason Moses described the location as being "in the valley" is that the land of Israel is situated at a higher level than all other countries, as we know from Numbers 13,17 "ascend here from the South." Moses added that the place was opposite the temple of Pe-or as he hinted at the place where he would be buried (<i>Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer</i> chapter 45). We are told there that when this idol and accuser of Israel looks at Moses' grave he is scared to raise his voice against Israel (as Moses had fought him successfully on numerous occasions).
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   ועתה ישראל שמע אל החוקים, "And now, O Israel, hearken to the statutes, etc." Perhaps Moses referred to 2 separate incidents which had happened to him personally (when he had been remiss.) The first instance was the matter of speaking to the rock when Moses had struck the rock instead in his eagerness to fulfil G'd's instructions. The second instance was the matter of Zimri publicly cohabiting with the Midianite princess Cosbi when Moses had forgotten the ruling that anyone sincerely jealous of such a desecration of the name of the Lord is to execute the sinner forthwith without trial. On that occasion too, Moses had missed an opportunity to sanctify the name of the Lord as we have explained in that context. Even though Pinchas had articulated this <i>halachah</i> in front of Moses at the time (compare <i>Sanhedrin</i> 82) Moses had answered him: "he who reads the letter must execute what is written therein." As a result, Pinchas acquired the merit of the covenant of peace which in truth had been reserved for Moses himself.
  It is possible that Moses' reason for failing to act correctly had been that "his hands were weakened" when he had acted rashly in hitting the rock instead of speaking to it, all because he had not taken the time to reflect on what G'd's proper instructions had been. It is also possible that he felt that the rule קנאים פוגעים בו, that people jealous on behalf of G'd must execute such a sinner, applied only to someone who had seen the actual sin being performed not to someone who had heard about it second-hand. This is why he did not think he had the right to instruct Pinchas to carry out the deed. As a result "he sat on it," and did nothing contrary to his immediate response to hitting the rock when G'd had instructed him to take along his staff at the time. In view of these two failures on his part, Moses now said to the people: "hearken to the statutes, i.e. the laws which lack rationale such as the commandment to speak to the rock at the time. As far as Moses was concerned that instruction was like a חוקה for him, something he did not understand. Moses continued to speak of משפטים, social laws, i.e. the kind of laws which appear to contain an element of social justice such as the law to execute Jews who have sexual intercourse with Gentiles. Both Moses' failures related to one or the other of these types of commandments; this prompted him to warn the Israelites specifically not to become guilty of the mistakes he had made himself, though inadvertently, and which were the reason he suffered from the decree of not being allowed to enter the Holy Land.
  Moses concluded this exhortation with the plea "so that you will live and come and take possession of the land which the Lord your G'd is about to give to you." He implied that what happened to him should not happen to them. He added: לא תוסיפו על הדבר, "do not add to the word, etc." This too was a warning to the Israelites that something that happened to him should not happen to them. <i>Torat Kohanim</i> at the beginning of <i>Parshat Acharey Mot</i> (page 1138) describes Rabbi Eleazar ben Azaryah who illustrated the difference in impact between two different kinds of warnings. The first example had a doctor tell his patient not to eat cold foods nor to sleep on a cold floor. The second doctor gave the same instructions but added the warning that not heeding his advice would result in the patient's death just as another patient who had ignored this warning had died. The Rabbi pointed out that the warning of the second physician was taken much more seriously. Moses is compared to the second physician as he could tell the people from his own experience that ignoring the warning had proved fatal for him. He had deviated, i.e. exceeded his instructions by not talking to the rock but hitting it.
  ולא תגרעו ממנו, "neither shall you diminish from it;" in this instance Moses referred to his failure to do what was required in the matter of Zimri. His failure to demand that someone execute Zimri had been equivalent to his "diminishing" from one of the social laws of the Torah. Moses said ולא תגרעו, "you must not diminish," to indicate that even if by diminishing a law of the Torah such as the בועל ארמי your intention is to save someone's life by your inaction.
  
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   עיניכם הראות, "you have seen with your own eyes, etc." Moses meant that the Israelites had first- hand experience of the severity with which G'd punishes idol worship. G'd relates to that sin more harshly than to any other sin. He punishes even the people who have not actually served the idol with any of their limbs or their organs but have merely entertained idolatrous thoughts. G'd destroyed people who intended to worship Baal Pe-or. <i>Kidushin</i> 39 cites Ezekiel 14,5 as proof that G'd punishes the mere intention to indulge in idol worship.
  
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   ואתם הדבקים בה׳ אלוקיכם חיים כולכם היום, "But you who have cleaved to the Lord your G'd are all alive this day." Why did Moses add the letter ו at the beginning of the word אתם, "you?" This creates the impression as if it were meant to add an additional dimension to what was written before, whereas in fact it does the opposite, it contrasts the people whom Moses faced with those who served the Baal Pe-or. Another problem is why Moses speaks of הדבקים, "the ones who have cleaved," using the letter ה at the beginning of the word to indicate that the people he spoke about had been mentioned on a previous occasion.
  Perhaps we can understand the verse by keeping in mind the Talmud's explanation (<i>Sanhedrin</i> 108) on Genesis 6,8 that "Noach found favour in the eyes of G'd." The Talmud says that even Noach was not really worthy of being saved but he managed to find favour in the eyes of G'd. When Moses prefaced his remarks with the word ואתם, "and you," he may have meant that even you the survivors deserved death; however, due to the fact that you demonstrated your cleaving to G'd at a certain time you are alive as of this day. The meaning of דבקות then is that the Israelites did תשובה before they too perished, and this is what saved them.
  Moses made a point of saying כלכם, "all of you," to make it plain that he referred to the whole nation. We find that a similar thing occurred in Numbers 25,11 when G'd spoke of not destroying the children of Israel in His jealousy. From G'd's wording it is clear that all of the Israelites had been candidates for destruction at the time. Even though Pinchas had been the instrument of saving most of the people, he could not have accomplished this if the people had not done תשובה at the time already.
  The letter ו here may also be understood as a reference to the people who had intended to worship the Baal Pe-or although not having done so in practice. I had explained that these people too had become culpable for entertaining thoughts of idolatry. Moses contrasts what happened to those people with what happened to those who remained alive. Just as the ones who died were punished for evil thoughts, so the ones who remained alive were rewarded for positive thoughts, for mentally cleaving to their G'd. The common denominator between both categories of people then is what went on in their minds. Hence the linkage by Moses using the conjunctive letter ו in the word ואתם. This conforms to the statement in <i>Kidushin</i> 40 that normally G'd counts a good intention as equal to a good deed even when it could not be carried out, whereas He does not consider an evil intention as culpable though the reason the person who had the evil intention and had not carried it out had been circumstances beyond his control rather than his having had a change of heart.
  Moses phrased it ואתם הדבקים, to reflect a statement in <i>Berachot</i> 7 that in Exodus 33,16 Moses had prayed that G'd's presence should never rest on the Gentiles. We explained there that Moses meant that even if the behaviour of the Gentiles improves to a degree that would make it plausible for G'd to allow His presence to come to rest on them, he, Moses, prayed that the monopoly of being the carrier of G'd's presence should never be taken away from the Jewish people. When Moses said here ואתם הדבקים בה׳ אלוקיכם, he referred to this unique relationship between the Jewish people and G'd. When you accept this interpretation you will realise that the letter ה at the beginning of this word is justified as it refers to an agreement made between G'd and Moses after the episode of the golden calf.
  הדבקים בה׳ אלוקיכם, "who have cleaved to the Lord your G'd." The choice of these two names of G'd used by Moses may be understood in light of what Maimonides wrote in chapter six of his treatise <i>Yessodey Hatorah</i>. He writes that there are seven sacred names of G'd and whoever destroys any of these seven names is guilty of the penalty of 39 lashes. Any letter which is a prefix to the name of G'd may be erased whereas any letter or letters which form a suffix to the name of G'd are treated as if they were an integral part of the name of G'd. Examples for the latter are the letter ך or כם at the end of such names as אלוקיך, or אלוקיכם. These letters have become sanctified by the name of G'd which precedes them and to which they have been attached. Thus far Maimonides on the subject. Moses may have wanted to teach us the lesson that the manner of our attachment to G'd should not be like a letter which forms a prefix of the sacred name of G'd and which therefore may be detached; rather, our attachment to G'd should be like the letters in the suffix of His sacred name which are not subject to erasure or detachment from the holy name itself. Moses illustrates the two varieties of prefixes and suffixes by using first the word ב־שם as the example for the detachable prefix, and אלוקי־כם as the example for the integral suffix which may not be destroyed or detached from the sacred name itself.
  The combination of בה׳ אלוקיכם may also teach that our cleaving to G'd should not be merely like the prefix of a name of G'd which does not commit that letter to become sacred, but it should rather be like the suffix in the holy name of G'd אלוקיכם, i.e. inseparable. It is also possible that Moses hinted at the two levels of commitment to G'd amongst the Jewish people, the elite being committed like אלוקיכם, whereas the bulk of the people's cleaving was more like ב־שם. We have an allusion to this thought in Deut. 32,9 כי חלק ה׳ עמו, "for His people are an inseparable part of G'd." The Torah means that part of His people, i.e חלק, are an inseparable part of G'd Himself. This lends further weight to our interpretation.
  Another meaning of the sequence of the words הדבקים בה׳ אלוקיכם may be understood in light of the <i>Zohar</i> volume 3 page 238 that when someone performs one of G'd's commandments the Ineffable Name comes to rest on the organ with which the מצוה has been fulfilled. The kabbalists claim that the positive commandments are all alluded to in that name. The negative commandments, on the other hand, are alluded to in the name אלוקים. Moses' use of both these names when describing that the Israelites had cleaved to G'd indicated that he alluded to the fact that they had performed both the positive and the negative commandments.
  Moses may also have wanted to illustrate the nature of Israel's cleavage to G'd when he chose these two names. He meant to imply that the Israelites' hearts took pleasure both in G'd and in His commandments seeing that the name "your G'd" made Him their exclusive G'd, so to speak. We find a similar thought in the interpretation by <i>Yalkut Shimoni</i> at the end of <i>Parshat Noach</i> where the author explains Psalms 22,4 ישב תהלות ישראל. We are told there that G'd did not want even the hosts of the heavens to praise Him until after the Jewish people had said: "blessed be the Lord G'd of Israel." The reason is that G'd's uniqueness and Israel's uniqueness form such a strong bond between them. This is the reason you will not find expressions of praise for G'd in the Bible such as "the Lord of the heavens," "the Lord of the earth," or "the Lord of the angels."
  חיים כלכם היום, "all of you are alive as of this day." These words are both a continuation of what is written before as well as an introduction to what follows. These words are a continuation of what is written before in the sense of אלוקיכם חיים, "your G'd is alive," as we know from Deut. 5,23. The words are also linked to what follows in the sense that the life which the Jewish people enjoy are a direct result of the source of life, i.e. our G'd. Even though we might be moving around, eating and drinking, etc., this would not be called being "alive." We know (<i>Berachot</i> 18) that the wicked are referred to as "dead" even while they go through the motions of being "alive." The reason for this is that the source they draw their energy from is itself "dead," i.e. is the source of death, i.e. Satan. Moses revealed to the people that the reason for their being alive was their cleaving to the source of life itself.
  One may summarise Moses' words in one of two ways: 1) The reason you are alive today is because you have chosen to cleave to the source of life, i.e. the Lord your G'd. 2) The reason you have been found worthy to cleave to the Lord your G'd is because you are alive, i.e. you are righteous. You have demonstrated that you are careful to distance yourselves from "death" and have chosen life instead. Both these meanings are part of what this verse tries to tell us.
  When Moses said כלכם, "all of you," he referred to being alive in a particular as well as in a general sense. The "particular sense" means that every individual Israelite was healthy, alive in all his limbs; no one was crippled or otherwise physically handicapped. The Talmud <i>Zevachim</i> 116 explains the words ומכל החי, "and from every living thing you shall bring to the ark, etc." (Genesis 6,19), i.e. Noach was to bring to the ark only animals which did not lack any limbs or organs. Moses alluded to something similar when he said כלכם חיים, i.e. all of you are in perfect physical condition. Our sages in the <i>Mechilta</i> mentioned that all the Israelites who were present at the revelation at Mount Sinai were in perfect physical condition, neither a blind man nor a deaf man amongst them. They base this on Exodus 20,15 "all the people saw the sounds and heard the sound of the shofar, etc." There is no reason to suppose that the physical condition of these people had deteriorated since the revelation. I have already explained elsewhere that any physical ailment is merely a reflection of a spiritual imperfection. The reason that the Torah disqualified priests with a physical blemish from performing service in the Temple is because such a physical blemish is only an external manifestation of a blemish on the person's soul. The <i>Zohar</i> volume three page 4 elaborates on this theme. As to the general condition of the Israelite nation qualifying as חיים "alive" at that time, Moses implied that not a single one of them was not righteous. Moses added the word היום, "as of this day," as he was not in a position to predict whether the people would all be able to maintain the spiritual high they were on at the time he addressed them. After all, man is a free agent, and until the day he goes to the ארץ החיים, "the land of the living," i.e. to the hereafter, there is no guarantee he may not sin.
  
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   ואשמעם את דברי, "and I will make them hear My words, etc." This is best understood in light of what we learned in <i>Shabbat</i> 146 that when the Jewish people stood at Mount Sinai any residual pollutant dating back to the original sin and its pervasive spiritually negative influence departed from them. I explained in that context that this occurred as a result of the power of G'd's words, and that these words were in fact so overpowering that they resulted in the souls of the Israelites being released from their bodies. This is the deeper meaning of the sages' statement that the pollutants departed from them. This is also what Moses referred to when he quoted G'd as saying: "I will let them hear My words, i.e. the Ten Commandments." When the Torah wrote (Exodus 20,1) "G'd spoke all these words, etc." this is what is meant. The reason G'd did this, Moses explains at this juncture, was so that the people would revere G'd for all future times through having been temporarily released from all spiritually polluting influences. These are the only influences which prevent man from heeding G'd's commandments at all times. If the Jewish people, throughout their long and frequently painful history have managed to remain loyal to their G'd and their religion it is because at least for a time they had been free from such pollutants. This enabled them to revert to what is natural for man, i.e. to revere his Maker.
  
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   קול דברים אתם שומעים, "you (only) heard the sounds of words, etc." The words "the sound of words" may best be understood in connection with <i>Shir Hashirim Rabbah</i> on Song of Songs 1,2: "may He kiss me with the kisses of His mouth." The <i>Midrash</i> explains that every utterance of G'd during the revelation at Mount Sinai resulted in the creation of an angel who would stand by each Israelite and ask him: "are you willing to accept me i.e. the respective one of the Ten Commandments and what other sub-commandments it contained?" The Israelite in question would answer in the affirmative whereupon the angel would embrace him and kiss him. The words קול דברים, "the sound of the words," is a reference to these questions the angels asked the Israelites. Please refer to what I have written in <i>Parshat Yitro</i> (page 671) where I explained that the only words the Israelites heard from the mouth of G'd directly were the first two commandments. They were physically unable to comprehend the other eight commandments though G'd uttered them simultaneously. The other eight utterances were turned into angels. When the souls returned to the Israelites' bodies at the time, they heard those commandments from the angels. This is what the <i>Midrash</i> described.
  ותמונה אינכם רואים, "but you did not see an image." How can we understand Moses referring to an image by contrasting it with a sound, i.e. זולתי קול? It seems quite obvious that if one did not see an image that what one heard was only a sound? You may understand this in conjunction with what I explained on the last verse, that the Israelite saw an angel who communicated G'd's words, i.e. the sound to him. This is also a way the <i>Mechilta</i> explains the words: "the whole people saw the voices (Exodus 20,15)." Moses was afraid that the Israelites would think that the angel whom they had seen was the G'd of Israel. He therefore had to underline that all the Israelites saw in addition to the voices described in that verse were the angels described by the <i>Midrash</i>. They most certainly did not see G'd.
  
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   וה׳ התאנף בי על דבריכם, "G'd was angry at me on account of you." Moses repeated this once more, not content with what he had said already in 1,37. He also repeated twice: "not to let me cross the Jordan and not to let me come to the good land." He meant that he suffered not only from the decree of having to die in the desert but from another decree i.e. that even his bones would not be buried in ארץ ישראל although he had made sure that both Joseph's remains and the remains of the brothers would be buried in holy soil (compare Jerusalem Talmud <i>Sotah</i> 1,10). The first time he mentioned the word לבלתי he referred to his not entering the Holy Land while alive, whereas the second time he mentioned that word he referred to not even being brought to burial there. Moses repeats the same theme in another form when he says in verse 22: "I am going to die in this land and I will not cross the Jordan." He means that he will neither cross the Jordan alive nor dead. He contrasts this with the Jewish people, his charges, whom he congratulates by saying: "you will cross and inherit the land." The form of address is what is known as לא זו אף זו, i.e. "not only will you cross the Jordan but you will even take possession of that land."
  <i>Devarim Rabbah</i> approaches the meaning of the words על דבריכם by means of a parable. A person had lost some money in a dark place. He said to himself that if he were to ask people to light up the area for him so that he could retrieve his money no one would pay any attention to him. What did he do? He threw a gold coin amongst the people present and started yelling that he had a single gold coin and now he lost it. He begged people to provide some light so that he could retrieve his coin. The people brought a lantern; once he had retrieved his coin he asked them to wait a little longer until he could find the rest of his money. Eventually, he did retrieve all his money. Moses, or G'd if you will, found himself in a similar situation. Once G'd would make the effort to resurrect Moses, He would wait a little longer to resurrect his generation with him at the same time. After all, Moses had taken them out of Egypt (so that they could be considered his "money"), and it would only be fair that he would bring them to their destination, the land of Israel. Thus far the <i>Midrash</i>. This is an illustration of the word על דבריכם, i.e. if it were not for G'd wanting to bring the Israelites of the generation of the Exodus to the Hereafter eventually, there would have been no need for Moses to be buried on the East Bank of the Jordan.
  
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   ובקשתם משם….בכל לבבך, "and you will seek (G'd) from there with all your heart, etc. Verses 29 and 30 require analysis. [Basically, the author tries to explain why repentance is mentioned only after exile, and why exile by itself does not appear to be classified as an affliction. Ed.] Remember there are two types of penitence. There is the kind of repentance which is self-induced when people become aware they have sinned and want to rehabilitate themselves to be in good standing with their Creator. The second type of repentance is only the result of the sinner first having suffered severe afflictions at the hands of his enemies, etc. The words: "you will seek from there the Lord your G'd" refer to the people whose repentance was not due to their first having suffered persecution, but was motivated by their fondness of G'd. Moses promises "you will find Him because you seek Him with all your heart" even though you may have committed the most serious sins, such as idolatry, as detailed in verse 28. The fact that you found your way back to G'd will save you from having to experience afflictions.
  Concerning the people who become penitents only after having experienced severe afflictions, Moses says: "when you are in dire straits and all the retributions G'd has warned you of have found you at the end of days, you will return to the Lord your G'd and hearken to His voice." Moses makes clear that this repentance is not self-induced and that is why he does not characterise this repentance as being בכל לבבך, "with all your heart." The only reason you decided to become penitents is to escape the afflictions and persecutions. These penitents will have to compensate for their lack of whole-heartedness when they decide to rehabilitate themselves by absorbing more afflictions before their account with G'd is finally settled. This is the precise opposite of what happens to their counter-parts who adopted the path of penitence before they had become victims of afflictions. In their case their very penitence protects them against the afflictions which they had been in line for because of the sins they had committed. According to this interpretation the words בצר לך in verse 30 belong to what preceded them. The meter of the verses then is as follows: "When you seek out the Lord you will find him because you strive for Him with all your heart;" alternatively (the second scenario), "when you are in trouble and as a result become a penitent, even though not with your whole heart, these afflictions will still find you because you have not become a true penitent. In either event, G'd will not destroy you as He is a merciful G'd, etc."
  These three verses may also be explained in the following fashion. ובקשתם משם, "You will seek from there," i.e. once you find yourselves in exile amongst other nations and you pray for your daily needs. The Torah does not speak about the exiled Israelites praying for deliverance from their exile; they only pray to make their existence tolerable. The Torah goes on ומצאת, "and you will find," i.e. G'd is approachable even in exile. Otherwise you would perish in exile. The Torah uses the singular, i.e. "you (singular) will find," as not every Jew who prays on foreign soil, in exile, will find Him responding to him. The reason only selected individuals will find that G'd responds to them even when they are in exile is that they seek G'd with their whole heart. Prayer in exile has to be far more intense than prayer on holy soil in order for G'd to respond favourably.
  When Moses mentions בצר לך, "when you are in trouble," this is an assurance that there will come a redemption, i.e. at a time in exile when things appear totally intolerable, "when all these afflictions have found you and you have been reduced to greatly diminished numbers." This will be a sign that the end of days is at hand and that what you experience are the birthpangs of the Messiah. The Torah promises that at least at that time G'd will encourage the exiled Jews to do תשובה. This is the promise contained in the words ושבת עד ה׳ אלוקיך ושמעת בקולו, "and you will return to the Lord your G'd and hearken to His voice." The Torah explains the reason for this promise by saying that "the Lord your G'd is merciful."
  Perhaps this is the argument of the angel Michael about whom the <i>Zohar Chadash</i> page 30 writes "here the end of days has already arrived and G'd has still not encouraged the hearts of the Jews to become penitents!" I have explained that passage elsewhere in a different context. Meanwhile our eyes are trained on G'd and we anxiously await that He will open His treasure of pure spirit to open blind eyes and to incline our hearts in order for us to appreciate how invaluable it is to enjoy His friendship.
  
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   מן השמים השמיעך את קולו ליסרך, "He made you hear His voice out of the heaven in order to discipline you, etc." The meaning of this verse is similar to what I have explained on Exodus 20,1. I have already referred to it on verse 12 in our chapter where Moses underlined that the people did not see a visual, image during the revelation at Mount Sinai. We mentioned that the people heard the first two of the Ten Commandments directly from G'd. This is what Moses meant when he said: "out of the heaven, etc." The meaning of the word ליסרך is "in order to remove the residual pollutants from you;" we have explained this concept already repeatedly. When Moses said ועל הארץ הראך את אשו, "He showed you His fire on the earth," he referred to the manner in which the Israelites heard the other eight of the Ten Commandments. He alluded to the people "seeing" those sounds in the form of fiery flames which had been "hewn" from G'd's words. I have explained already that Exodus 20,15 referred to this phenomenon with the verse: "and the whole nation observed the sounds, etc." Moses elaborated on this once more in verse 12 of our chapter which mentioned the absence of a visual image for the people to see at that time.
  The words: "and you have heard His words out of the fire" are most appropriate as they refer to the last eight of the Ten Commandments, the "fire" referring to the angel which materialised and asked each individual Israelite if he accepted the commandment in question.
  
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   וידעת היום, "and you should know this day, etc." What is it that the people should know about on this day rather than on any other day? What knowledge were they to store up in their hearts? Perhaps Moses referred to the need to subdue the evil urge which lurks within all of us. Moses may have referred to 10 such pieces of information which the Israelites were to store up in their hearts.
  1) The Talmud <i>Berachot</i> 5 suggests that if the evil urge becomes active our first line of action should be to "drag him to the Torah Academy," i.e. to counter him by Torah study. If this fails, we must remind him of the day we will die, an effective means of putting him in his place.
  2) <i>Sukkah</i> 52 describes that in the future G'd will "slaughter" Satan in front of the eyes of all of Israel. Moses commanded the people to store up an awareness of this day in the future in their hearts. Awareness of this will be a valuable tool in the fight against the evil urge.
  3) Moses also referred to the Day of Judgment. What will a person do when G'd presents him with a list of all his sins on that day? How profound will be his feeling of shame at that time when he will be found wanting in front of an audience of illustrious souls and angels? Reminding oneself of this scenario will help one to subdue one's sinful instincts
  4) Moses may have had in mind a statement in <i>Baba Batra</i> 84 that the reason the sun appears so reddish looking in the morning and in the evening is that it has just passed by the gates of hell whose fires have reddened it. One look at what happens in the course of a day will convince a person that the people who violate G'd's commandments will experience retribution. The reddish appearance of the sun is a reminder of where this retribution is handed out. Moses advises us to concentrate on what goes on in the world by day, i.e. היום.
  5) He may also have alluded to what the kabbalists say i.e. that the sphere of sanctity is known as "day," whereas the sphere of alienation (from G'd) is known as "night." Parts of the world which belonged to the sphere of sanctity may become "alienated" through the deeds of man so that man will find himself as belonging to that sphere. This is why Moses prayed in Psalms 91,5 that G'd "should remove the fear of night." When Moses said וידעת היום, "know the (sphere called) day," he meant that we should endeavour to know this sphere; it would then follow automatically that we would pursue the proper path in life.
  6) He may also have referred to something we have been taught by the <i>Zohar</i> volume three page 178 that in order to conduct oneself properly it is necessary to review every night what one has done during the day so as to repair any spiritual damage one had become guilty of by day. When a person keeps track of his deeds on a daily basis he will repent all the inadvertently committed mistakes he has become guilty of, and he will confess them. Unless he does this, his sins are liable to create within him a lack of sensitivity to having made mistakes, even inadvertent mistakes. This is why Moses commanded the people to make sure they would become aware of their actions on a daily basis, i.e. היום, this very day; do not wait until the Day of Atonement to confess your sins and to rehabilitate yourselves. If you do this, והשבות אל לבבך, you will ensure that your heart remains conscious of and sensitive to your shortcomings.
  Moses may also have alluded to the day the soul was placed in the body of a person. According to <i>Zohar</i> volume one page 233 on that day G'd exhorts the soul which has come from the celestial regions to observe the commandments of the Torah while on earth, threatening with a variety of penalties for non-observance, but also promising reward for observance. When Moses said היום in our verse, he referred to the day when the soul began its journey on earth.
  8) Moses may also have alluded to something we learned in <i>Chagigah</i> 12 that the present material world on earth is called לילה, "night," whereas the celestial regions are known as יום, "day." When observing life in this material world man will observe that often what occurs is the very opposite of what he expected to occur, such as the wicked enjoying the good life whereas the pious frequently live a life of suffering. Moses advises us to concentrate on life in the eternal regions, i.e. in the Hereafter instead of falling victim to the lure of what the transient life on earth appears to offer the sinner. He reminds us by saying והשבת אל לבבך that G'd has an ironclad answer to all these apparent perversions of justice we observe in this world and that all the sinners will be punished while the pious will be rewarded in due course.
  9) Moses may also have alluded to an interpretation in <i>Shabbat</i> 28 on Genesis 1,31: "it was evening it was morning the sixth day." According to the Talmud the letter ה before the word ששי refers to a pact made by G'd with His creation that in due course He would give Israel the Torah on the sixth day (of Sivan). Moses reminds the people never to forget that glorious day which they had experienced when G'd had revealed Himself at Mount Sinai. They were to remember that creation itself continues to exist only for the sake of that day. This must be enough to remind their hearts to be constantly aware of the awesomeness of their obligation to observe the path of Torah. The words כי ה׳ הוא האלוקים are a continuation of the words והשבות אל לבבך. By contemplating the day on which G'd revealed Himself on Mount Sinai, the whole world found out that there is no other G'd in heaven nor on earth. This is parallel to what we learned in the <i>Mechilta</i> on Exodus 20,2 that when G'd began the decalogue He referred to having manifested Himself publicly when He took the Israelites out of Egypt. The author of the <i>Mechilta</i> there quotes Isaiah 48,16 who said: לא מראש בסתר דברתי, "From the beginning I did not speak in secret."
  10) Moses may also have alluded to something we learned in <i>Shemot Rabbah</i> 25,12 that the commandment of the Sabbath is equal in weight to all the other commandments combined. It is in the nature of the evil urge that first he undermines a Jew's desire by saying to him that it is quite futile to endeavour to keep all the commandments, he would never succeed, so why even bother? At the same time, when a Jew has become aware of his sins and he wants to rehabilitate himself Satan tells him that he deludes himself if he thinks that a person who has become guilty of so many sins has a chance to purify himself through penitence. Moses counters these two arguments of Satan. Concerning a person's inability to observe all the commandments, Moses points to the fulfilment of a single commandment, that of היום, the Sabbath day, and assures the Jew that fulfilment of the Sabbath legislation is equivalent to fulfilment of all the 613 commandments. It is not so hard therefore to be a Torah-observant Jew. The scriptural proof for the value of this commandment is found in Exodus 16,25: "for the Sabbath is the day." Moses tells us to concentrate on the meaning of that day and the fact that it is equal in weight to the combined commandments of the Torah, and that this will keep us from sinning. The same thought is also useful for the sinner who wants to become a penitent and who has been told by Satan not to waste his time. If the sinner concentrates on that day and starts by observing the Sabbath he has gone a long way towards rehabilitation. G'd will give him credit for having observed all the 613 commandments.
  
  Verse 40
  
   נתן לך כל הימים, "which He gives to you for all time." Seeing that Moses told the people to observe the Torah in order to enjoy long life, he was afraid that the people would interpret that by observing the commandments of the Torah G'd would lengthen their lifespan on earth. As a result of such reasoning the people might also argue that this was proof that just as man's life on earth is limited in time (compare Job 14,5 "his days are determined, You know the number of his months"), so possession of the Holy Land would also be subject to limitations in time. Moses therefore corrects any such impression by going on record that a) G'd would add years to the people's lives if they observed the Torah, and b) assuring them that G'd's gift of the land to the Jewish people is a gift in perpetuity. It follows that when he mentioned "in order that you will have a long life on the earth, etc," Moses meant that they would not die prematurely, just as we have been told in Deut. 11,21. As to the land itself, it will remain Israel's forever.
  
  Verse 41
  
  
  
  Verse 42
  
  
  
  Verse 43
  
  
  
  Verse 44
  
  
  
  Verse 45
  
  
  
  Verse 46
  
   אשר הכה משה, whom Moses and Israel had defeated, etc. How could the Torah describe this as having occurred "when the Israelites left Egypt," when we all know that this war occurred in the fortieth year of the Israelites' wanderings? Perhaps all the Torah wanted to say was that ever since the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt it had been one of the objectives to defeat these two kings. In fact, had it not been for the debacle with the spies, the Israelites would have defeated these two kings in the second year after the Exodus.
  Furthermore, the Torah may hint that the terror of the Israelites defeating them had been part of the lives of the kings of these two countries and their people. For every practical purpose then these kings and their countries could have been considered as defeated already at that time (compare <i>Bereshit Rabbah</i> 80 that these kings had a tradition they would fall victim to the Israelites). The fact that the Torah speaks about the Israelites inheriting these lands only in the next verse instead of at the end of verse 46 indicates that our interpretation is correct.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   ויקרא משה, Moses called, etc. It is conceivable that as a result of the conquest of the lands of Sichon and Og the Israelites were scattered over a large area at that time. This made it necessary for Moses to call them together. Alternatively, up until this point Moses had addressed only the men; now that he wanted to review the Ten Commandments he made sure that everybody would be present. At the original revelation the entire nation including children had also been present.
  
  Verse 2
  
   ה׳ אלוקינו כרת עמנו ברית בחרב, "The Lord our G'd concluded a covenant with us at Chorev." Moses did not spell out the nature of this covenant. Was it the covenant to keep the Torah as is written in Exodus 24,8: "here is the blood of the covenant which G'd concluded with you concerning all these matters?" Or was it the covenant mentioned in Exodus 34,10: "here I am concluding a covenant in the presence of your whole nation?" In that connection our sages explained that G'd undertook not to allow His presence to rest on the nations of the world. Logic suggests that this is the covenant Moses spoke about at this time, and that he hinted at this when he said: "the Lord G'd concluded a covenant with us." This implied that He would be our G'd exclusively and that He would not conclude a covenant with any other nation. What follows in our chapter is a repetition of this covenant. The whole paragraph then was intended as a compliment to Israel from G'd. Verse 3 would confirm all this.
  
  Verse 3
  
   לא את אבותינו כרת ה׳ את הברית הזאת, "G'd did not conclude this covenant with our fathers, etc." Rashi adds the word לבד. He means that G'd concluded the covenant "not only with our fathers." This is problematical as there was no need for the Torah to write this seeing it had already referred to the covenant G'd concluded "with us" in verse 1. According to my explanantion that the covenant mentioned in verse one refers to the covenant in Exodus 34,10 that G'd would not allow His presence to rest on the Gentile nations, we can understand the sequence of these verses as follows: "G'd did not specifically conclude this covenant with our fathers as we do not find this spelled out anywhere. As a result the reference in verse one to G'd having concluded a covenant with us was not sufficient as the word עמנו, "with us," does not preclude G'd from concluding similar covenants with other nations. Moses therefore went on record in our verse that the covenant he is talking about is indeed an exclsuive covenant between G'd and Israel. The principal message of the verse is that the present generation was given an assurance which even their fathers had not been given.
  כלנו חיים, "all of us who are alive." How could Moses say this? All the people with whom G'd had made the original covenant were dead already as they had died in the desert? Besides, many of the people who faced Moses at this time had not even been born at the time G'd concluded the original covenant with the Jewish people! While one could answer that what Moses said applied only to part of the people, this would be a forced explanation. Besides, what news did Moses convey to people by telling them they were all alive? Did they not know this without having to be told?
  Perhaps we may say that Moses emphasised that all of them who had heard the voice of G'd at the time of the revelation at Mount Sinai and who were alive at this time had survived that experience. This in spite of the fact that G'd had spoken to them out of fire, etc, i.e. that the experience had been extremely overpowering. The words כלנו חיים therefore must be understood as belonging to what follows in verse 4 rather than to what preceded it.
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
   אנכי עומד בין ה׳ וביניכם, "I was standing between the Lord and between you, etc." This verse means that for part of the Ten Commandments G'd spoke with the people face to face, whereas during part of the Ten Commandments He spoke to them through an intermediary. The reason G'd employed an intermediary for part of the Ten Commandments was not His unwillingness to speak to the people directly, but to their fear of dying.
  ולא עליתם בהר לאמור. "and you did not ascend the mountain, saying." This means that G'd forbade you to ascend the mountain because of His wanting to say: אנכי ה׳ אלוקיכם, "I am the Lord your G'd, etc."
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
   שמור את יום השבת, "Observe the Sabbath day, etc." <i>Rosh Hashanah</i> 27 teaches that the formula שמור את יום השבת (in Exodus 20) and the formula שמור את יום השבת (here) were articulated simultaneously. According to this interpretation we can understand the words כאשר צוך in our verse as a reference to the word זכור in the first report of the Ten Commandments in the Book of Exodus. We <i>find</i> in the <i>Mechilta</i> on the parallel verse in Exodus that the word שמור was enunciated later. [The <i>Mechilta</i> there quotes other examples of laws which were articulated by G'd simultaneously, i.e. by His using two words to describe them, and which also had to be written separately due to our limited ability to reproduce words articulated simultaneously as such. Ed.] We must ask why the Torah did not write the words זכור and שמור sequentially in Exodus instead of waitng till here to write this word. Perhaps the Torah intentionally separated these words in order that we should not think that the latter expression refers to the time during which the זכור aspect of the Sabbath applies. We might have understood the two words to mean: "remember to observe the Sabbath (at a certain time)." By separating the apparance of these two words the Torah conveyed that it spoke about two separate commandments one of which applies at the beginning of the Sabbath, the other at its conclusion. It is even possible that G'd Himself only uttered the word זכור; however, intelligent people realised that this word implied both the meaning associated with the word זכור and the meaning associated with the word שמור.
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
   וזכרת כי עבד היית, "remember that you used to be a slave, etc." These are Moses' words. Moses meant that the Sabbath legislation also contains an element which relates it to the Exodus. When someone rests and does not have to perform labour for someone else he will feel that it was G'd who enabled His people to rest up from all its problems and he will concentrate on gladly accepting the laws given by G'd who took the people out of that particular bondage. <i>Pessachim</i> 117 teaches that these words are the reason we have to mention the Exodus from Egypt in the benediction over the wine on the Sabbath.
  You may ask why he [Moses] omitted the reason for the Sabbath that God said in the first instance of the Ten Commandments, "that in six days..." [and on the seventh day of creation God rested] (Exodus 20). This reason is the essential reason for this commandment, not the reason of the obligation [given in this verse]. Moses said this reason [based on] faith in the reason for the commandment. According to what our sages said and wrote elsewhere, the Exodus from Egypt illuminates faith in creation of the world. He [Moses] wrote saying "Remember...and God took you out...with a strong hand and an outstretched arm..." since there you will see that He is the Master of All and from there it will be evident to you the reason stated in the first instance of the Ten Commandments, "that in six days...".
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
   את הדברים האלה דבר השם, "These are the words which G'd spoke, etc." Moses omitted to say "all these words," seeing that some of the words which appeared here were not G'd's words but his own, such as when he said: "as G'd commanded you, etc."
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
   ושמענו ועשינו, "when we hear (them) we will carry (them) out." The reason the word ושמענו is introduced by the conjunctive letter ו is that the people had asked Moses to be their intermediary when receiving G'd's commandments. They explained that initially, in Exodus 19, 9 they had asked to hear the words from the teacher i.e. G'd Himself, instead of merely from the pupil, i.e. Moses. However, in light of their deathly fear they reversed themselves concerning who they were willing to hear the words from. They now made Moses their intermediary. The letter ו in the word ושמענו is the allusion to their previous attitude in the matter. They added the word ועשינו "and we will do" to indicate that the manner of their מצוה performance would be as if they had heard the instructions from G'd Himself instead of merely from Moses, His intermediary.
  
  Verse 25
  
   היטיבו כל אשר דברו, "they are correct in everything they have said." G'd approved that they accepted Moses as their prophet in the matter and that they agreed to carry out the prophet's instructions. Concerning this undertaking by the Israelites G'd added that He wished the Israelites would maintain their present spiritual high indefinitely. Our sages in <i>Avodah Zarah</i> 5 quote Moses as criticising the people as being ungrateful; they should have seized that moment to ask G'd to convert this wish into something permament and to ensure that they would maintain their lofty spiritual niveau for all times. If the Israelites had done this at that time, subsequent debacles such as that of the spies and the uprising of Korach could all have been avoided.
  
  Verse 26
  
   ליראה אותי ולשמר את כל מצותי, "to revere Me and to observe all My commandments." What is the reason that revering G'd does not include keeping His commandments so that the Torah had to mention it separately? Perhaps the reason is that fear of G'd resulted in a negative phenomenon when it became the cause that led to the making of the golden calf. When the people were afraid that Moses would not return, they were afraid that they no longer had an intermediary to whom G'd could speak to on their behalf. They feared that as a result G'd would speak to them directly as He had done during the first two of the Ten Commandments. At that time they had feared for their lives and begged for an intermediary. To forestall such a situation they hastened to make the golden calf as a substitute for the missing intermediary Moses. <i>Tanchuma</i> on <i>Parshat Ki Tissa</i> has told us that the calf actually spoke, thus lending credence to the belief that it was an intermediary. This is why G'd was specific, saying to revere Me as well as to observe My commandments. Henceforth reverence for G'd must lead only to observance of the commandments.
  למען ייטב להם, "in order that He will be good to them, etc." This means that the words: "who would give" were not said in order to describe the usefulness of such an attitude by the Israelites for G'd, but in order for the Israelites to reap the benefits of G'd's love which is the result of listening to His prophet.
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
   ואתה פה עמד עמדי, "As for you, stand here with Me, etc." The reason for this is that seeing that up until now the Israelites had not made Moses their intermediary to accept the commandments on their behalf, G'd told Moses to stand next to Him so that He could speak to him and tell him all the commandments which he was to teach the people. Perhaps the meaning of the verse is that as far as G'd is concerned as soon as He had informed Moses of the commandments He considered the Israelites as having received these commandments. Legally, this works as follows: Supposing a woman authorises someone to accept a marriage proposal on her behalf she is considered legally marrried as soon as her delegate has received the necessary gift and documentation. The delegate's "hand" is considered as equivalent to her own. In similar fashion, once Moses, Israel's delegate, had received the commandments, Israel was committed to observe them. This is what G'd meant when He said: "and I will say them to you." He added: "you will teach them and they will carry them out."
  
  Verse 29
  
  
  
  Verse 30
  
   בכל הדרך…למען תחיון, "all along the way …in order that you may live, etc." The meaning of תחיון וטוב לכם והארכתם means "long life on earth." The additional promise of וטוב לכם refers to the good which they will experience in the hereafter. The meaning of the word והארכתם ימים בארץ is that the Israelites will not ever be exiled from their land.
  According to the view of Rabbi Yaakov in <i>Kidushin</i> 39 that there is no reward in this life for the commandments we observe, it appears that even this Rabbi concedes that if someone is a totally righteous person who has observed all the commandments which it is possible for him to observe, he will experience some reward even in this life. The kind of person who was the subject of Rabbi Yaakov's statement is the one whose credits outweigh his debits. The Talmud on the folio quoted supports Rabbi Yaakov's view and adopts it as normative.
  From the above you may conclude that only people who are guilty of sins,- though these are outweighed by their good deeds-qualify for the statement in the Talmud that such people will experience afflictions in this life. The reason for this is so that such people will not have to experience afflictions in the hereafter for unatoned sins. When a person is not guilty of such sins he obviously will enjoy the benefits this life has to offer. The Torah alludes to this when writing that "if you walk along the whole way" which G'd has commanded. Such a person will enjoy both the hereafter and the good life in this world. The Torah underlines this by not just writing: "you will enjoy long life," but by writing: "you will enjoy long life on the land you are going to inherit." Had the Torah not added these extra words I would have interpreted the reference to long life as referring to the kind of life which is long by definition, i.e. the hereafter.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
   שמע ישראל ה׳ אלוקינו ה׳ אחד. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our G'd, The Lord is One." Why did the Torah repeat itself instead of writing ה׳ אלקינו אחד, "the Lord our G'd is One?" The reason is that the Torah [or rather Israel in its declaration of faith, Ed.] referred to two aspects of G'd. 1) He is our G'd; 2) He is One, i.e. unique. This means that we accept G'd as our exclusive G'd even assuming there were more than one G'd in the world. We accept Him as the Tetragram with all that this implies regarding His various attributes. Furthermore, we express our conviction that He is indeed the only G'd, there is no other independent power in the universe. This by itself would be sufficient reason to serve Him even if He did not represent all the virtues we ascribe to Him.
  In other words, the thrust of this declaration of our accepting the rule of Heaven is that either of the two aspects of G'd, i.e. אלוקינו or אחד is sufficient by itself to establish our relationship with Him. If the Torah had not phrased our declaration of accepting His rule by repeating the word י־ה־ו־ה but had written ה׳ אלוקינו אחד, the implication would have been that the reason we accept G'd is that there is no alternative to Him, He being the only One. In such an event one cannot claim credit for serving the one and only master. By expressing this declaration in the manner recorded in the Torah, Israel makes plain that our acceptance of Him is not one that is due to a lack of choice. We have additional reasons for accepting Him, over and above the fact that He is indeed the only Master.
  
  Verse 5
  
  ואהבת את ה׳ אלוקיך, "And you shall love the Lord your G'd, etc." The conjunctive letter ו means that not only is there a commandment to accept the authority of the Kingdom of G'd but there is an additional commandment to love G'd. The sequence of the verses also teaches that we must not make the mistake of believing that love of G'd is possible without an initial dose of fear of the Lord. The <i>Zohar</i> volume three page 56 spells this out. The letter ו then means that after we have achieved a degree of fear of the Lord we will be able to develop love for Him. The reason the Torah uses the word את which implies joining something, is to teach us that the means to develop דבקות ה׳, an affinity for G'd, is by loving G'd in addition to fearing Him.
  Moreover, once we love G'd we can achieve the level of closeness to G'd which enables Him to be מיחד שמו עלינו, to freely associate His name with us, such as when G'd described Himself to Jacob in Genesis 28,13 as "the G'd of Abraham and the G'd of Isaac". Or, you find that the prophet Isaiah 41,9 quotes G'd as describing Israel as "the seed of Abraham who loved Me." Our verse hints that anyone who is beloved of G'd will experience that He associates His name with such a person. The word י־ה־ו־ה in our verse therefore is to be read both as referring to what precedes it as well as to what follows it.
  This verse is also designed to encourage the heart of the Israelite to love G'd, similar to what we have been taught by <i>Yalkut Shimoni</i> at the end of <i>Parshat Noach</i> where the author explains the verse ישב תהלות ישראל (Psalms 22,4) that the only one of all the praises offered to Him, He chose only the ones offered by Israel. Only after Israel had offered this form of praise did G'd assume His seat on His throne in the celestial regions. This is alluded to by the words ואהבת את ה׳ אלוקיך, as long as G'd has not become "your G'd," He is not prepared to reign as G'd at all. When a Jew is conscious of this he is bound to develop feelings of love for G'd.
  Perhaps our verse intends to arouse in us three distinct kinds of love for G'd which G'd's creatures are familiar with. They are: 1) Loving Him for His goodness (spiritually speaking); 2) Loving Him for the pleasant sensation this affords us; 3) Loving Him because He is so useful to us. The words ואהבת את השם speak of love for what is good, G'd Himself being described as "good" in Psalms 145,9 טוב ה׳ לכל. The mystical dimension of loving G'd for the pleasant sensations He affords us is referred to in Psalms 34,9: "taste and see how good the Lord is;" The Psalmist means that amongst all the pleasant sensations a creature may experience none is comparable to contemplation of the goodness of G'd and of His name. The proof for this is Song of Songs 5,6 נפשי יצאה בדברו, "my soul departed when He spoke." When the pious die a death which is totally painless, such as the death by a kiss of G'd experienced by Moses and Aaron, this is the most pleasant sensation imaginable. So far we have heard that the word י־ה־ו־ה alludes to both spiritual goodness and the most sublime sensation a creature is capable of experiencing at the hand of G'd. The love of the useful which G'd represents is alluded to in the word אלוקיך, as we have defined this already in connection with Psalms 22,4. We have learned in <i>Shabbat</i> 30 that the last words in Kohelet 12 כי זה כל האדם "for this is what man is all about" refer to the whole world being created only for the sake of man observing G'd's commandments on earth. Loving G'd and fulfilling His commandments then is love of a most useful kind.
  בכל לבבך, ובכל נפשך, ובכל מאדך, "with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your material resources." Our sages in the <i>Sifri</i> offer their explanations on this verse and you are advised to read what they wrote. I believe that G'd wrote this verse in order to remove unworthy thoughts from the hearts of those who love G'd. We are taught in <i>Moed Katan</i> 28 that the following three phenomena (blessings) are not granted on the basis of merit: 1) children; 2) life itself (its length, or good health); 3) the quality of one's livelihood. All these three are subject to מזל, natural causes rather than to individual merit. [including genetical as well as horoscopic and environmental factors. Ed.] It is a fact that these are the very three phenomena (blessings) man is most concerned with in this life. If a person lacks even a single one of these three blessings he is considered as good as dead. Seeing that we are told that not one of these three blessings is attainable through one's piety and service of the Lord, this is apt to estrange a person from G'd rather than to make him love G'd. Such a feeling is likely to be reinforced if a person who serves the Lord sincerely finds himself deprived of two of these blessings, i.e. he has no children and no dependable livelihood. No matter how much he may wish to love G'd, his own heart will prevent him from doing so.
  The Torah (our verse) therefore had to command such a person of the need to love G'd with his heart even if G'd, i.e. nature, deprived him of the three most cherished aspirations of every normal human being. The words בכל לבבך urge you to love G'd even though you have not been granted children. We find love and children mentioned in the same breath when G'd said to Abraham to offer "your son whom you love" in Genesis 22,2. This is the kind of love which permeates a person's heart and is the apex of all his desires. The words ובכל נפשך are intended to exhort you to love G'd even though you may lack good health. The words ובכל מאדך are a reference to your livelihood. You are commanded to love G'd even though you have to struggle economically. If G'd, i.e. nature, has not seen fit to provide you with even one of these three blessings which most of us consider essential to make life worth living and you still love G'd, you i.e. Israel, have demonstrated that you feel that your relationship to G'd is more important to you than having even ten children, etc., and that you consider G'd's "table" as superior to your table in this world as we have been taught in <i>Avot</i> 6,5 [slightly different version. The text there is: "for your table is higher than their table, i.e. the "table" of earthly rulers, Ed]. Similarly, the "life" which G'd grants you is superior to mere physical life or good health on this earth. Moreover, the righteous are called alive after they have experienced the death of their bodies. We have this on the authority of <i>Berachot</i> 18 quoting Samuel II 23,20 ובניהו בן איש חי, that Benayahu was the son of a "living" man, that the "dead" are called alive after their physical death.
  We may also approach this verse from the following angle. The Torah is at pains to describe the extent to which a Jew has to love G'd. Love is measured by the way a person relates to achieving the three blessings we have mentioned. Supposing a person was about to die prematurely, was poor and had no children and a prophet were to come and to promise him that he would become perfectly healthy, that his wife was pregnant and would have a healthy child and that he was about to come into a great fortune. Such a person would suddenly be overcome with a tremendous amount of love for his Creator. His heart would overflow with feelings of love and gratitude for the G'd who has thus blessed him. G'd commands every Jew to love Him constantly as if he had just received the good news we have described in our parable. The words: "you shall love the Lord your G'd with all your heart" mean as if He had suddenly provided you with everything you had lacked in life so far. The Torah deliberately used the word בכל to correspond to our parable, i.e. that He granted you children, the most important of your aspirations. The words ובכל נפשך describe the degree of love you would have for G'd if He just announced that whereas you had expected to die you had been granted good health. The words ובכל מאדך describe your feelings of love for G'd if He had just announced that you had become wealthy after having been a pauper all your life.
  When you consider man's love for G'd from an intellectual point of view, you will realise that it does not require all that much effort to want to cleave to one's Creator. In order to view the matter in its proper perspective let me illustrate the matter as follows: We will use a great man who is also blessed with great wealth as our example. This man decides to travel to a place far from home as he is aware of potential dangers which lurk in his home town and endanger both his wealth and his entire existence. This man decided to first convert all his belongings into a valuable gemstone worth millions. He sets out on his journey confident that in the place he selected as his destination both he and his assets will be perfectly safe. However, before he reaches this destination he runs out of food, is left penniless (seeing his wealth is tied up in a single jewel, useless at this point) and he is reduced to being a pauper. In spite of this, he does not lose hope as he is certain that in due course he will reach his destination with his wealth intact. The strategy for man suggested by our verse is similar to what we described in our parable. A man who has developed an affinity and love for his G'd has concentrated all his wealth in this relationship, despising all material benefits this world has to offer in favour of his relationship with G'd. The man in question has based his strategy on an awareness of potential dangers lurking in his hometown, i.e. the עולם הזה, life on this earth. He is so certain of arriving at his destination, i.e. עולם הבא with his spiritual wealth intact, that he does not mind at all that he has to experience some deprivations during his journey (through life on earth). He will find that his love for G'd is amply rewarded when he does arrive at his destination in the hereafter. He will find that the assets he accumulated in this world are worth more than children, good physical health and material wealth combined.
  
  Verse 6
  
   והיו הדברים האלה…על לבבך, "And these words…shall be upon your heart." In accordance with our commentary on the previous verse, we must view this verse as sort of a band-aid for a person who suffers from the dearth of one of the three basic values in this life described in <i>Moed Katan</i> 28. The Torah recommends that anyone who suffers from any of these three deprivations should take our commentary to heart. He should remember that these values (blessings) which he lacks are grossly overrated in the overall scheme of G'd's universe in which the life in the hereafter is the real objective.
  Another lesson our verse wishes to teach the Israelite is that love is not something a person is able to force upon his will to carry out as he can subjugate his will to that of his king and carry out the king's orders. Love is something that is not subservient to willpower but to one's heart. As long as the heart itself does not feel an impulse which causes it to develop a liking for someone or something the owner (of this heart) cannot force it to respond to his urgings. In light of this our verse advises that if you keep all these afore-mentioned considerations "on your heart"-your heart will begin to develop a desire of a spiritual nature for affinity with G'd, and this will in turn develop into love for G'd. We ourselves, who are but spiritual orphans when compared to earlier generations, and who are certainly full of תאוה, burning desires for the sensual things in life, must develop a corresponding desire for closeness to G'd. It must surpass the intensity of our desire for transient values such as women, food, honour, etc.. Hail to us if we can develop such feelings.
  Another idea conveyed by our verse may refer to the three levels of love described here. The Torah acknowledges that the heart loves certain basic phenomena of this world. It is in order to desire food inasmuch as food is what sustains us, keeps us alive. However, we are not to love food with all our heart. This kind of intense love is to be reserved for our feelings vis-a-vis G'd. This is what the Torah meant when it demanded that we "love G'd with all your heart." Similar considerations apply to our love for material wealth or our love for a woman we want to marry. The intensity of such love-relationships is to be subordinate to the love relationship we are to develop vis-a vis G'd. The Torah is also aware that it is relatively harder to deny one's love (lust) for a woman than one's love for food, for instance. Even the righteous Joseph succeeded only with great difficulty in suppressing his urge to consummate his desire for the wife of Potiphar. The Torah therefore demands that in order to properly love G'd we must develop at least as intense a desire for affinity with G'd as we would develop for the woman of our choice.
  The words "love your G'd with all your heart" mean that one must endeavour to become as enthused about loving G'd as one is about loving a woman. It is assumed that the average man feels drawn to any woman, especially if the woman in question is pretty. The word "with all" refers to the more intense desire one displays for a beautiful woman. In one's relationship to G'd one must apply the yardstick one applies to the love for a pretty woman; one has only fulfilled the Torah's commandment if one can honestly say that one loves Him more intensely than any woman. Only one's personal experience can really tell one if one has met the Torah's requirements in this regard. There are no objective yardsticks by which to measure if one has fulfilled one's duty. The reason the Torah adds the words: "with all your soul," is that according to the psychology revealed by <i>Bamidbar Rabbah</i> 10,2, עין רואה ולב חומד, "the eye merely observes but the heart desires." The author of that statement means that the eye by itself does not generate feelings of desire unless prompted by the heart (based on Numbers 15,39). When the Torah writes בכל נפשך, it urges your basic soul (your physical life-force) to provide this impetus to your heart to love G'd. Just as this physical life-force prompts the heart to desire that which is essential for the body's survival such as food and drink, so your physical life-force should prompt your heart to love G'd. Love for G'd should become as natural a phenomenon as love for things which ensure one's physical survival in this world. Both the love for a woman and the love for food and drink, though natural and each intense in its own way, have certain drawbacks which on occasion even cause the owner pain. When one has indulged one's desire for a woman or for food or drink there comes a time when no desire is felt for either of these attractions. This is not the case, however, when one has indulged one's greed for money, and other worldly possessions. It is in the nature of man to be insatiable in this regard. The Torah writes that you should love G'd בכל מאדך, with all your material assets, i.e. just as your love for material possessions is insatiable so your love for G'd should be insatiable; you should never feel that you have come close enough to G'd, etc. Do not impose voluntary limits on your love-relationship with G'd. But, here too, different people relate with different degrees of intensity to the amassing of wealth, some can do without it altogether. The Torah therefore has to write the word בכל, "with all" to tell us that the yardstick we must apply to the degree of love we develop for G'd is not one that corresponds to our individual greed for material possessions. It is not measured by how much we have amassed but by how much we would like to amass. Moreover, it must be equal to the greed displayed for material possessions by someone who is insatiable in that respect.
  
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   וצדקה תהיה לנו, "and it will be a righteousness for us, etc." What is the meaning of the word צדקה in this context? Nachmanides explains that the word refers to the reward for מצוה-performance. Inasmuch as we are G'd's slaves we are not entitled to any reward at all. If, nonetheless, G'd grants us a reward for our observing His commandments this is in the nature of צדקה, charity, as we have no claim. I do not believe that this explanation answers our problem. Moreover, we also need to understand the meaning of the words לפני ה׳ כאשר צונו, "before the Lord as He commanded us."
  I believe that we must understand our verse by remembering that there are two levels of serving G'd. One may serve the Lord out of fear or one may serve the Lord out of love. Every single creature, human or otherwise, is obligated to serve its master out of fear for its survival. Should it fail to do so, Maleachi 1,6 already quotes G'd as asking: "if I am to be served by you because you consider yourselves My slaves and I am your Master, where is the fear of Me?" This is also the meaning of Deut.10,12: "what does the Lord ask of you except to fear Him, etc?" The second level of serving G'd is service out of love for G'd. This is, of course, a great מצוה but it is not a requirement that man must love his Master. Legally speaking it suffices that the slave does not hate his Master. On the other hand, the master is obligated to look after the physical needs of the slave such as food, shelter, medical attention, etc., all in accordance with the master's resources. Moses writes "G'd has commanded us to fear Him," i.e. our obligation is to revere G'd whereas His obligation to us is לטוב לנו ולהחיותינו, "to ensure that we are well off and to keep us alive" in return for our discharging our obligation towards Him.
  Moses added the words כהיום הזה, "as of this day," meaning that just as G'd is discharging His obligation towards us today, so He will continue to do so. <i>Devarim Rabbah</i> 7 describes that while the Israelites were in the desert their garments grew with them as required, the clouds performed ironing duties, etc. Concerning the group of people who served the Lord out of love the Torah writes וצדקה תהיה לנו "this is accounted as a charitable act for us" as we are not obligated to perform service of the Lord from love. The nature of this love is described in <i>Chovot Halevavot</i> chapter אהבת השם section one in these words: "Love of G'd is a longing of one's soul and its inclining towards the Creator; this is a tendency of one's own self to cleave to the supreme Light represented by the Lord our G'd." 
  The Torah writes: כאשר צונו "as He commanded us," to describe that the reason we relate to G'd out of love is not because we have any ulterior motives when we serve Him thus. We find the same idea in Psalms 40,9: "to do what pleases You, my G'd, is my desire." This is a description of someone who performs G'd's will out of pure love. Please read what I have written in Leviticus 18,2 on the verse כמעשה ארץ מצרים. In return for this kind of service of the Lord man is entitled to expect some reward even as a right. Although in truth we ought to pay a reward to G'd who has allowed us to taste the sweetness of His love for us, a pleasant sensation beyond compare, such people deserve the reward for the period they strove to perfect themselves before they came to the realisation that actually they owe G'd and not vice versa.
  Another allusion contained in our verse is based on <i>Tikkuney HaZohar</i> 21 that by observing the commandments we will secure our share in His שכינה, also known as צדקה.
  
  
  
  
  
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   כי אתם המעט, "for you are the fewest, etc." The Torah could not content itself with writing "not because you were numerous, etc.," as that might have implied that though the Jewish people were not more numerous than other nations they were nonetheless equal to them in number.
  
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   ולשומרי מצותיו לאלף דור, "and to those who observe His commandments for a thousand generations." Our sages in <i>Sotah</i> 31 say that those who perform the commandments out of fear will be favourably remembered for one thousand generations whereas those who perform the commandments out of love will be favourably remembered for two thousand generations. This is parallel to what is written in the second of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20,6). I do not believe that the word אלפים in Exodus 20,6 means merely twice one thousand; it may mean as many as 100,000. The reason that the Torah was not more specific is because love cannot be measured so precisely, some people love G'd more than others. As a result, G'd requites some people's love for longer periods than others. What the Torah did postulate was that he who serves G'd out of love, even if his love is minimal, deserves twice as much consideration as he who serves G'd out of fear though out of the most refined kind of reverence.
  
  Verse 10
  
   ומשלם לשונאיו, "and He repays them that hate Him." Why is the first half of this verse written in the plural, i.e "those who hate Him," whereas the individual who is the victim of this repayment is described in the singular? Perhaps the meaning is that unless G'd foresees that not only the individual who hates Him has sinned but also his children and children's children will continue to sin, He would forego repayment, (retribution), awaiting the penitence of the sinner's children. If, however, G'd foresees that the sinner begets only other sinners, He has no incentive to delay repaying such a sinner. This conforms to the principle ברא מזכה אבא, that "a son may confer a merit on his father."
  The verse concludes with the singular, i.e. ישלם לו, "He will repay him," as the Torah speaks about individual sinners and the word לשונאיו was the exception. The Torah adds לא יאחר, "He will not delay." This means that if G'd deals with only a single שונא, person who hates Him, one whose children will not relate to G'd with hatred, then He will devise a means of punishing that person in this life immediately so as to prevent him from incriminating himself further if he were to commit still more sins while being allowed to live. By punishing such a person promptly either by death or afflictions, G'd demonstrates His love as He has hopes that the son of the sinner will confer merits on him through his exemplary conduct on earth.
  The meaning of the words אל פניו, "to his face," is to be understood in connection with Jerusalem Talmud <i>Avodah Zarah</i> chapter 3 that shortly before their deaths G'd lets the righteous experience a foretaste of what is in store for them after death in order that they should die happily. The reverse is true of the wicked. G'd shows them a foretaste of what is in store for them so as to make their deaths a painful experience for them (compare <i>Esther Rabbah</i> on Esther 1,12 that Queen Vashti refused the king's command). The Torah adds: "He will not delay repaying him who hates Him to his face." This refers to punishment in this life; before the face of the sinner is brought to burial G'd will show him what is in store for him. He will not wait until the sinner gets to Gehinom.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
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   והיה עקב תשמעון, "It will be because you hearken, etc." Why did the Torah have to write the word והיה? If the word refers to G'd keeping His covenant with us, i.e. ושמר …את הברית, it would have sufficed for the Torah to write עקב תשמעון without the word והיה as introduction. Another problem is the use of the word עקב instead of simply אם "if." In a simliar situation in Leviticus 26,3 the Torah wrote אם בחוקותי תלכו, "if you walk in My statutes." <i>Tanchuma</i> on our verse writes that the word עקב heel, is an allusion to the kind of commandments people ignore, i.e. step on with their heels because they consider them as inconsequential. This is a purely homiletical comment, of course.
  I think we must explain the word in terms of the statement in <i>Bereshit Rabbah</i> 42,3 that whenever the Bible uses the term והיה it implies that something pleasant is being discussed. Moses was telling the Israelites that it does not behoove a person to rejoice unless he feels secure in the knowledge that he has fulfilled all his obligations vis-a-vis G'd. As long as a person is conscious of failing to perform either certain positive or negative commandments he must not deport himself in a joyful manner. This is what Kohelet had in mind when he said (Kohelet 2,2: ולשמחה מה זה עשה", "and of joy, what does this accomplish?" Moses tells us "as a result of your hearkening to these statutes etc." you will become joyful. There are other instances when the word עקב is used in a similar vein by our sages such as in <i>Sotah</i> 49 where the Mishnah says that at the end (עכבתא) of the period preceding the arrival of the Messiah disrespectful behaviour will become the norm. The period immediately preceding the arrival of the Messiah is referred to as עקב. Similarly, once people have reached the level where they fulfill all of G'd's commandments they qualify for a life full of joy. The author of <i>Chovot Halevavot</i> phrases this thought as follows in the fourth chapter of his treatise dealing with <i>Perishut</i>. "Any person deserving of the title <i>Parush</i> is sad on the inside but exudes joy on the outside." The reason he does not feel this joy is that it does not behoove a person who will eventually appear before his Maker for judgment feeling full of shame and embarassment to be prematurely joyful in this life. If this applies to people deserving of the appellation פרוש, ascetic, pious, then an ordinary mortal who may be guilty of death for sins committed must most certainly not feel joyful. If we use these examples of the use of the word עקב we must understand it as a level when the Israelites have hearkened to every last one of all the commandments.
  Moreover, a person does not experience a feeling of joy until he has completed the "hearkening," i.e. performance of the commandment in question. He cannot be certain that he has done everything correctly. This is similar to what we have been told in Job 15,14-15: "How can a human being feel righteous if G'd does not even believe that His angels are righteous?"
  Another lesson to be learned from this verse is that Torah must be studied in a joyful frame of mind. This is why a mourner is not allowed to study Torah (compare <i>Yoreh Deyah</i> 384).
  Our verse also contains an allusion to Psalms 19,9: "The precepts of G'd are just, rejoicing the heart." Accordingly, we have to read the verse as if it said: "you will be joyful as a result of hearkening to G'd's commandments." The joy may even be the reward, עקב, of your Torah-study. This may be an aspect of what we are told in Avot 4,2 that performing one commandment results in that person performing more commandments. This next מצוה may be the joy one experiences.
  The <i>Zohar</i> volume three page 213 says there is no joy before G'd equal to the joy G'd experiences at the time Israel studies Torah. The Torah uses the word והיה without being specific to show that this joy will be of a very general nature, it will embrace the whole earth all because you hearken to the Lord's commandments. The word עקב also is a hint that a Torah-observant Jew is humble, the word עקב, "heel," reminding him of the need for humility. Once he approaches Torah in such a spirit, תשמעון, "you will hear," i.e. understand the deeper meaning of the Torah and its commandments.
  It is possible that the suffix ן in the word תשמעון is an allusion to the "50 gates of insights." If so, the message is that if one is able to acquire the virtue called humility one will be able to listen to and to understand the words of the Torah. Having reached that stage one will also be able to ושמרתם to "keep" the commandments (in the sense of not committing violations) seeing one has understood them. Torah study and observance of the negative commandments is a protective shield against sin and leads to performance of the positive commandments.
  ושמר ה׳ אלקיך לך את הברית, "and the Lord your G'd will keep for you the covenant, etc." The use of the inverted ו in order to change a past tense into a future tense here needs analysis. We would have expected the Torah to write והיה עקב תשמעון ישמור השם. "As a result of your hearkening…G'd will keep His covenant, etc." In view of my explanation that either the word עקב or the word תשמעון is the focus of this verse it makes perfect sense for the Torah to write ושמר the letter ו being a conjunctive ו as well as a ו ההיפוך. The Torah gives us the choice of either interpretation.
  לך את הברית, "to you the covenant, etc." This sounds peculiar. It appears to mean that only after Israel has observed the spirit and the letter of all the commandments will G'd keep His covenant with us. This appears to contradict what the Torah wrote in Deut. 9,5: "Not for your righteousness, etc. are you about to take possession of their lands but because of their wickedness, etc., and in order that G'd can keep the word which He swore to your forefathers, etc." This establishes clearly that G'd would keep His covenant even if the Israelites did not prove to be righteous! In fact the verses following with their blessings will be the litmus test if G'd only let you dispossess the Canaanite nations because of His oath to the forefathers, or because of your own merit. In the former case your tenure will be shortlived; in the event you entered because you keep G'd's commandments you will experience all the blessings listed beginning with verse 13.
  We may also explain this verse by analysing the promise G'd had made to Abraham. In Genesis 15, 14-16 G'd made two promises. 1) To take the Jewish people out of their bondage with great riches and that the fourth generation of the Emorites counting from Abraham's time [or the generation who left for exile. Ed.] would return to the land of Canaan. 2) to give to the Israelites possession of the land from the river of Egypt as far as the river Euphratus, i.e. the lands of 10 Canaanite tribes (verse 18). At this point (9,5) the Torah says that G'd would keep the first of the promises made to Abraham even if the Israelites were not deserving because the Emorites had forfeited the land and G'd had made a promise to Abraham. He would give the Israelites a homeland which would suffice for them. In the event you find that they did not have sufficient land as the tribes of Joseph complained in Joshua 17,14 that they were far too numerous for the amount of land allocated to them. This was because the second promise to Abraham that the land of Israel would extend to the river Euphratus had not been fulfilled. Moses promises in our verse that if the Israelites were to fulfil all the commandments they could count on G'd to also keep the second part of His covenant with Abraham forthwith, i.e. their territory would extend from the river of Egypt to the river Euphratus.
  It is also possible to understand Moses' words as referring to the seven Canaanite tribes (instead of to all ten), whereas concerning the lands of the remaining three tribes he said ואת החסד, meaning that the gift of the land of these additional three tribes was to be considered as a great act of kindness. An intelligent reader will observe that the lands of these three nations Edom, Ammon, and Moav comprise most of the civilised world. <i>Yuma</i> 10 claims that the kingdom of Edom (Rome) covers most of the known parts of the globe. No wonder that Moses refers to possession of so much land as an outstanding act of kindness. This is quite true as in all these years of our history we have not yet experienced fulfilment of this act of kindness. In the meantime we are still waiting for G'd to give us the additional part of our inheritance.
  There is still another way of looking at our verse. The words עקב תשמעון are an assurance by Moses to the people that in order to dispossess the Canaanites and to inherit their land they did not need to rely on the oath G'd had sworn to Abraham. All they had to do was to keep G'd's commandments. G'd would then keep the covenant on account of the merits the people had acquired. If you possess personal merit such merit is far superior to the merit of the ancestors working on your behalf. Moses makes a point of saying לך את הברית, "to you the covenant;" he did not content himself with saying merely: ושמר לך ה׳ את הברית". The difference in the position of the word לך is crucial to the understanding of our verse. Moses wanted the word לך to appear next to the word הברית. By saying ושמר, Moses indicated that if possession of the land of Canaan would be due to Israel's own merit G'd would keep His covenant for all times. We can be sure that this is true seeing that Abraham himself became the recipient of all these promises not because of the merit of his fathers but because of his own merit. If Israel were to be as deserving as their patriarch, why would they receive less of an inheritance than that promised to their fore-father? On the contrary, they had accumulated additional merits when they accepted the Torah at the revelation at Mount Sinai! They would observe the commandments as an act of obedience to G'd, a greater merit than merely doing so voluntarily. To sum up, the merits of the sons were greater than those of the fathers.
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  ברוך תהיה מכל העמים, "You will be more blessed than all the nations." This can either mean that there will not be a nation which is greater in stature than the Jewish nation, or it could mean: ברוך תהיה, "you will enjoy certain blessings over and beyond those enjoyed by other nations;" what are these blessings? "There will be none amongst you that are barren genetically." Beyond that, "if there is someone amongst you who has become barren through sickness, G'd will remove this sickness from you, etc." It will thus become common knowledge that you have been blessed by the Lord your G'd.
  The words והסיר ה׳ ממך כל חולי, may also be understood in conjunction with <i>Ketuvot</i> 30 "everything is in the hands of heaven with the exception of the common cold." Inasmuch as the common cold is not a sickness decreed upon man as some form of retribution, G'd promises to remove it from Jews who suffer from it. Concerning other maladies which are in the nature of afflictions sent by G'd, the Torah promises that we will not fall victim to them at all if we keep G'd's commandments.
  Our verse also alerts us that one way of becoming aware of G'd's kindness is the fact that He cures Israel of sickness and disease. We should not presume that if we are free from disease this is due to the fact that at certain times it is natural to be in good health, that there simply are no infectious diseases around at such times. To teach us that this is not so the Torah writes that G'd will not put upon us any of the diseases which were rampant in Egypt and of which we were aware. In other words, these diseases occurred in Egypt all the time. If the Israelites are not subject to these diseases this is proof of G'd's special providence; it is not coincidence or a natural phenomenon.
  In addition, G'd assures us that even when He afflicts our enemies with these infectious diseases we will not catch these infections.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
   ואכלת את כל העמים, "You shall consume all these nations, etc." This is a positive commandment. Moses continues that this commandment applies to the nations whom G'd delivers into our hands (the seven Canaanite tribes). There is a clear implication that if the Israelites were to be tardy in carrying out this commandment this would be tantamount to despising a divine gift.
  לא תחוס עינך, "do not display pity, etc." This is what Solomon taught us in Proverbs 12,10: "showing compassion to the wicked is cruelty." Contrary to the common belief that the display of pity is a virtue, the Torah teaches that this is not only not necessarily so, but it can even be a negative virtue. Perhaps the Torah had to warn us about this seeing that G'd blesses Israel with an abundance of children. We have also been taught in <i>Sanhedrin</i> 36 that fathers are apt to show more pity than men who have no children and that as a result men who have no children cannot be appointed to the Supreme Court as they lack a measure of that virtue. To make certain that pity would not be shown to the people whom G'd wants to destroy the Torah had to legislate this in our verse.
  Our verse continues: "and so that you will not serve their deities" (if you allow these people to survive in your country) to warn you that as a result of your misplaced pity you will "shoot yourself in the leg," as their idols will be a snare unto you, eventually leading to your destruction instead of their death. Your pity will be counter-productive.
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
   ונתן מלכיהם בידך, "He will deliver their kings into your hand, etc." You will capture them alive. We have proof of this in Joshua 10,26.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   כל המצוה, "All the commandment which I command you this day, etc." Precisely which commandment is Moses talking about? Besides, had he not already spoken about the need to perform all the commandments in verse 12 of the last chapter? What reason was there to repeat the same thing again at this point? Moses was a clever psychologist, familiar with the workings of the human mind and psyche. He realised that there is a built-in tendency in us to become progressively more lax in our observance, especially if we have performed a number of commandments meticulously and have chosen to perform one or two commandments with special attention to all its details. Once one has done this one is apt to look upon oneself as a pretty good Jew and one tends to be less punctilious with the performance of other commandments. People who are preoccupied with Torah study have a tendency to pat themselves on the back and to disregard some of the commandments which they view as being of minor significance. Such neglect is bound to result in such people suffering various kinds of afflictions; they may experience that others do not show them the respect which they feel is their due, etc. Moses therefore admonishes each and everyone of us not to forget to perform the whole (range) of G'd's commandments. The only effective way Moses found to bring this point across to us was by describing all of the 613 commandments as one single Commandment, i.e. כל המצוה.
  He resorted to a way of illustrating his point which is incontrovertible, based on the <i>Zohar</i> volume one page 170. Acccording to the <i>Zohar</i> man has 248 bones and 365 sinews. G'd commanded us 365 negative commandments and 248 positive commandments, one each to correspond to each of these parts of our body. If one suffers a pain or hurt in one of his bones or sinews he should examine which one of the commandments he had neglected so that the pain in question might be due to such neglect. A man will not be satisfied if in response to his cries of pain caused by the afflicted bone he is told by his doctor that seeing that 247 of his bones do not hurt him he should not really be complaining but count his blessings. Similarly, we must relate to each one of the 613 commandments. We cannot pride ourselves merely on the commandments we do observe but must be keenly aware of the damaging effect on our spiritual health of any commandment which we fail to observe when we have the opportunity. All of these considerations are included in Moses' reference to the need for us to observe the whole commandment, both the negative part and the positive part. The reason for this is למען תחיון, "so that you will live and multiply and come and inherit the land." Inheritance of the land of Israel is conditional on מצוה observance, which in turn is the guarantee of our spiritual and physical wellbeing.
  You may query that in the parable we presented the example does not match the subject matter of the Torah, i.e. אין המשל דומה לנמשל. In the parable we described the hurt experienced by a single organ upsets the entire body's balance, something that is not the case when applied to מצוה-performance. This is why Moses had to describe the commandments in the singular. He wanted to make it easy for us to appreciate that when the 613 commandments are viewed as a single unit that the non-observance of even a single one of them can destroy the entire balance of the fabric and throw everything out of kilter.
  ורביתם, "and you will multiply." This means that any potential obstacles to all these blessings will be neutralised through meticulous מצוה-observance, ensuring your continued unimpeded growth in numbers.
  ובאתם, "and you will come." This is one of the greatest messages in the Torah. Who was comparable to Moses in מצוה-performance, closeness to G'd, etc.? And yet Moses was not one of those to whom the promise "you will come to the land" applied! Surely there can be no more potent warning to the people at large to be careful not to become guilty of anything which would preclude them from attaining their objective of an inheritance in the Holy Land! תשמרון לעשות, "you shall observe to carry out;" The word תשמרון suggests that a person must keep a lookout for an opportunity to observe certain commandments which he has not had an opportunity to perform.
  The entire verse may also be understood by reference to <i>Moed Katan</i> 28 where we learned that there are three major blessings in life which one does not secure through merit but which are governed by "mazzal." They are: children, life (health), and a good livelihood (compare what we wrote on page 1810). Moses illuminates this subject from a new angle. He promises that if you will make every effort to observe all the commandments viewing them as an integral whole, you are assured of the three blessings which normally are subject only to the influence of "mazzal." He begins by describing the commandments in the singular, i.e. כל המצוה, and promises למען תחיון, life, ורביתם, children, ובאתם וירשתם, and you will get your inheritance, i.e. an ample livelihood. If you needed proof that matters which are subject to "mazzal" can become subject to G'd's personal providence, look at the example of Abraham who said of himself that he would not have children as his "mazzal" did not indicate that he would have them. Due to his gigantic endeavour to do G'd's bidding he eventually had many children in spite of his negative "mazzal."
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
   ויענך וירעבך, "He afflicted you and made you suffer hunger, etc." Why did Moses link the afflictions to G'd feeding the Israelites the manna? Does this not project the idea that manna was something of low rank, its only function being to save the Israelites from the pangs of hunger? How can we reconcile this with the many complimentary descriptions the Torah makes about the manna extolling its superiority as heavenly food? The <i>Sifri</i> in its commentary on Numbers 11,7 insists that the reason for that whole verse was to extol the virtues of the manna! Moreover, we are told in <i>Yuma</i> 75 that manna is the food of the angels based on לחם אבירים אכל כל איש, "each man ate the bread of heroes" (Psalms 78,25). I believe that here too Moses spoke of the excellence of the manna. There are two kinds of foods. Some foods are absorbed without negative side-effects by both healthy and sick people. The reason is that these foods do not contain any harmful impurities (additives). The entire food is capable of being digested by our system and is absorbed by our various organs. Such food reinforces our health. There are other kinds of food which, while good for the healthy person, pose a danger for the sick and may even cause his death. This is the reason our verse speaks of ויענך וירעבך ויאכלך, "He afflicted you, He starved you, and He fed you." The afflictions Moses speaks of refer to the tedium of the journey through the desert. The words "He starved you," refer to the absence of food; it is a well known fact that as a result of the discomfort experienced while wandering in the desert bodily functions such as those of the digestive tract are impaired. If, under such circumstances, a person consumes the kind of food which is difficult to digest it will certainly harm him. Even if such a person eats such food only because he is very hungry it is liable to make him sick. We know from daily experience that when a person suffers afflictions he detests the thought of food even if according to his regular meal times he should be very hungry. Moses therefore speaks of G'd feeding the Israelites the manna, the kind of food which even people who suffer from afflictions can eat without danger to their health. This is something quite independent of the fact that manna tasted pleasantly, "like wafers with honey."
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
   וידעת עם לבבך, "You shall know in your heart, etc." This verse reminds a person to reflect that generally speaking no one makes a point of admonishing and disciplining anyone except his own son, as he is not nearly as interested in the education of others as he is in educating his own son. When a person observes his friend's son commit a wrong he is not as much concerned about this as when the wrong is committed by his own son. When we observe G'd disciplining a Jew this is proof that G'd relates to such a Jew as a father relates to a son. When G'd observes the Gentile nations commit all kinds of abominations, He does not react in the same way as He reacts to sins committed by the Jewish people because He does not relate to the Gentiles in the same way, i.e. as a father. He has not associated His name in an exclusive manner with the Gentiles as He has done with us. This is why He demonstrates His concern every time we depart from the norms of behaviour laid down for us.
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
   ארץ אשר לא במסכנות תאכל בה לחם, "a land in which you will not eat bread out of scarceness;" Moses mentions this as there are people, even wealthy people, who always practice the lifestyle of poor people. They may be motivated by one of two reasons. 1) They are afraid they may lose their wealth and find themselves impoverished, forced to curtail their lifestyle. They prefer not to live in accordance with their wealth so that any eventual forced adjustment would be easy for them as they had never indulged themselves in the first place. 2) They do not want to appear wealthy and arouse envy. Moses says אשר לא במסכנות, "where there is no scarceness," to teach the Israelites that both of the reasons mentioned for adopting the lifestyle of the poor do not apply in ארץ ישראל. The two considerations we mentioned were based on the assumption that the society is divided into "haves" and "have nots." This will not be the case in ארץ ישראל because לא תחסר כל בה, "no one will lack anything therein." If our wealth would derive from sources outside the land of Israel there would be a reason for the considerations we mentioned. Some people would make an effort to get rich, others would not. Accordingly, there would be class distinctions after a while. Seeing the source of wealth is the land of Israel itself, everyone has equal access to it and there is no need to fear becoming impoverished or to attract the envy of the less fortunate. Moses says: כל בה, "it contains all (that anyone desires)."
  Moses singles out two examples of the earth's natural wealth which the land of Israel is blessed with, i.e. iron and copper. The reason Moses singles out these two examples is because they are basic to everybody's needs. After this (verse 10) Moses mentions that people would eat and be satisfied, etc. The reason Moses had to mention this cardinal fact was that the perfection of the land does not merely consist of its fruit, its harvests, but the land must also provide basic materials to enable its people to build their shelters and to generally provide the possibility of life in the city. Many successful farmers in various countries who employ outside labour, etc., nonetheless are forced to sell all their produce in order to acquire building materials, clothing and tools. To teach us that the land of Israel would not lack natural resources Moses adds the words לא תחסר כל בה, that nothing essential would be scarce in this land after he had described the seven most valuable foods and fruit the land would produce.
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
   וזכרת את ה׳ אלוקיך, "You shall remember the Lord your G'd, etc." Moses means that we must remember that the source of all the good we will experience is G'd and we must never forget it. If He had not imbued us with strength we could never have achieved what we imagine we have achieved with our own power. Whenever people turn away from religion, if ever so slightly, it is because they forget that their achievements are not truly their own. Such a path leads to a person's eventual destruction. This may be the reason this verse is immediately followed in the next paragraph by the dire warnings about what will happen when Israel "forgets" its G'd deliberately. Once you forget that G'd is the source of all the good you experience, you will eventually forget that you have a very exclusive G'd altogether. Once that happens, you will seek out other deities. Not only will you contemplate idol worship but you will engage in it actively. Not only will this be some kind of loosely defined service, but you will even prostrate yourself in front of such images. <i>Sanhedrin</i> 60 teaches that if one prostrates oneself in front of the idol Markolies one is guilty of idolatry even though this is not an accepted form of worship for that idol.
  
  Verse 19
  
  אבד תאבדון כגוים, "you will most certainly perish, just as the nations, etc." Why did Moses repeat the word אבד תאבדון? Besides, why did Moses have to illustrate this by a comparison to other nations? Moreover, why did he repeat himself another time at the end of verse 20 with the words כן תאבדון, "so you will perish?"
  I believe the verse is best understood in light of the Jerusalem Talmud <i>Chagigah</i> 1,7 that the reason Jerusalem was destroyed was because they "cancelled" Le. deliberately failed to teach their children words of the Torah. The Talmud means that even though many people worshiped idols and committed other cardinal sins, this in itself would not have resulted in the destruction of the Temple and the city had they not openly shown their disdain for the Torah. Such a statement is apt to make some people feel that they could get away with idolatry as long as they deceive G'd and study His Torah at the same time, expecting their Torah study to serve as a protective shield for them. Moses therefore warns that idolatry will lead to destruction of the people and their expulsion from the land of Israel. He reinforces his warning with the words העידותי בכם "I forewarn you this day, etc." The repetition of the word תאבדון refers to two stages of this "perishing." Initially, you will become like Gentiles who have no Torah and who therefore forget that there is a G'd. Once you have become like the Gentiles whom G'd makes perish from time to time, you will be treated in the same maner, i.e. you will perish altogether instead of merely being reduced to the status of Gentiles. According to this interpretation the word כגוים at the beginning of verse 20 is part of verse 19. The word suggests that the first word תאבדון "you will perish" in verse 19 means that you will perish as Jews and be like Gentiles. The same word as part of verse 20 then does "double duty" and refers to the way G'd makes the Gentiles perish; Moses threatens that as stage two of this process the Jews, who have by then declined to be no better than the Gentiles, will also perish bodily, just as many of the Gentiles have done already. Moses continues saying עקב לא תשמעון to teach that where there is no Torah there is not a single element in their favour which could delay their destruction. This is why he added the words בקול ה׳ אלוקיכם, "to the voice of the Lord your G'd." I have already mentioned repeatedly that wherever we encounter the expression the "voice of G'd," this is a reference to the Torah.
  The sequence of the words כגויס..כן תאבדון may also mean that in addition to the expression אבוד תאבדון in verse 19 they will face another disaster, i.e. that those Jews who have survived the disaster will end up as Gentiles. Moses means that these Jewish survivors will be deprived of prophecy and the Holy Spirit. This threat will make the people tremble as there is no greater curse in the world than this threat. Woe to the generations of Jews who have experienced this bitter existence, a fate worse than death. May the Lord have mercy upon us and restore the Holy Spirit to all deserving members of our people as in times of old.
  We may also understand these two verses in the following manner. Moses alludes to three kinds of disasters. One example is what happened when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the first Temple when he killed many Jews and exiled the remainder. Moses referred to this when he said אבוד תאבדון. The second disaster alluded to is what happened during the days of Mordechai when Haman plotted to wipe out every single Jew. Moses referred to this when he said כגוים אשר ה׳ מאביד, "as the nations whom G'd wipes out." He meant that the Israelites might experience the kind of punishment which Haman had in mind for them, i.e. utter destruction such as in Deut. 20,17 where the Torah commands us not to let a single soul of the seven Canaanite nations survive. Had it not been for the merit of Mordechai and Esther who made strenuous efforts to cancel this anti Jewish decree who knows what would have happened. This is what Moses alluded to when he repeated כן תאבדון, "you would indeed perish," i.e. he referred to a separate possibility which fortunately did not materialise. The third disaster Moses alluded to in these two verses is the removal of the gift of prophecy from the people of Israel, and this is the deeper meaning of עקב לא תשמעון בקול ה׳ אלוקיכם. The word עקב again means: "at the end, etc." If after all the admonitions by the prophets you will persist in not hearkening, then the very instrument, i.e. the prophecy, which is meant to help you find your way back to G'd will be denied you. I have already emphasised that this is the worst of the three disasters Moses envisages.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   שמע ישראל אתה עובר היום את הירדן, "Hear, O Israel: you are going to cross the river Jordan this day." The word שמע in this context means "pay attention to this statement." What did Moses want the Israelites to pay attention to, seeing this was not the date on which they would cross the Jordan, something which was quite clear to them? Moses wanted to draw a line between them and himself. Whereas on this day he knew that he would not cross the Jordan, they knew that they were slated to cross the Jordan. By saying אתה, "you," Moses implied "you and not I." According to <i>Devarim Rabbah</i> 3,11 Moses phrased this line so that the Israelites would understand that they should plead with G'd on his behalf to permit him to cross the river Jordan. Moses was afraid the Israelites would not get the hint; therefore he emphasised the word היום, "this day," meaning that the difference between them was only on that day, i.e. that they would cross now whereas he would not. There would, however, come a time when he too would be allowed to cross the Jordan as we learned in the <i>Zohar</i> volume two page 120 on the verse כימי צאתך מארץ מצרים (Michah 7,15). We deduce from that verse that Moses will lead the Israelites into the Holy Land at the time discussed by the prophet.
  
  Verse 2
  
   עם גדול ורם בני ענקים, "a people great and tall the sons of giants." If the Israelites were aware of the nature of these people as is evident from the words אשר ידעת, "whom you know," what was the point in Moses mentioning their attributes? Why did he say twice אתה…ואתה? It would have sufficed to write אתה ידעת ושמעת. The answer is that Moses addressed two groups of people. The first and numerically by far the largest group were the עם בני ישראל. The second group who comprised only Joshua and Caleb were the spiritual elite of the people, especially Joshua who was to be the leader of the people, ready to rule over them. Moses began to address the elite, especially Joshua saying to him: אתה ידעת", "you know (from personal experience)," as he had specific knowledge of the people of Canaan having spied out the land some 38 years earlier. As to the multitude of Israelites, Moses said ואתה שמעת "and you have heard about it."
  
  Verse 3
  
   וידעת היום, "and you know as of this day, etc." Moses emphasises the word "this day" to remind the people that they will not acquire this knowledge only after the conquest but they know as a fact already now that G'd will pass ahead of them, etc. It was important that the people should acknowledge this as fact prior to it actually having happened.
  
  Verse 4
  
   אל תאמר בלבבו, "Do not say in your heart, etc." We can appreciate that the Israelites were not to credit their own righteousness as the reason they dispossessed the inhabitants of the land of Canaan and therefore Moses had to warn them not to do so. However, why were they not to credit their possession of the land to the sins of the Canaanites when the Torah itself gives this as the reason in verse 5? Perhaps Moses was afraid that the Israelites would think that they were only forbidden to take exclusive credit for conquering the land by ascribing it to their righteousness. However, as long as they would acknowledge that both their own righteousness coupled with the wickedness of the local inhabitants had led to those inhabitants being expelled or killed, this would be acceptable, Moses said that no thought of their own righteousness was acceptable under any circumstances.
  
  Verse 5
  
   לא בצדקתך, "Not because of your righteousness, etc." Moses meant that the Israelites' righteousness was not a reason for allowing them to dispossess other nations. This did not mean, however, that they were not a spiritually upright generation. Moses said something similar to the people in Deut. 4,4 when he attributed their being alive to their having cleaved to G'd. Such conduct does not, however, mean that other nations were to be killed on account of the Israelites' goodness. Had there not been a covenant with the patriarchs, G'd could not have justified expelling and killing the Canaanites on account of the Israelites. At the same time, the oath sworn by G'd to the patriarchs by itself would also not have resulted in the Israelites' victory over the Canaanites if they had not been wicked. We have a Mishnah in <i>Eydiot</i> 2,9 which states that "although a father confers upon his son certain attributes (genes) such as handsome appearance, intelligence, etc. etc., there is a limit to the effectiveness of such transfer of parental genes after a number of generations. The Mishnah bases this statement on Isaiah 41,4 קורא הדורות מראש, "He (G'd) determines ahead of time for how long the father can transmit his genes to successive generations." <i>Raavad</i> comments as follows on this statement. "G'd foresees whether a generation is deserving, and if so He allows these genes to be transmitted from father to son until a deserving generation arises such as the generation of Joshua. Thus far <i>Raavad</i>. From this we learn that in addition to G'd's promise to the fathers it is also essential that their descendants be worthy of that promise. Accordingly, Moses told the people that their righteousness was not enough by itself to bring about their conquest of the Holy Land. In fact their righteousness did not even help the oath to Abraham to be fulfilled. The only thing it was good for was to ensure that their conduct was no impediment to the good that G'd had promised being fulfilled now.
  בי ברשעת הגוים…ולמען הקים…אשר נשבע, "for due to the wickedness of those nations…and in order to keep the oath which G'd swore, etc." None of these reasons would have sufficed by itself. Had the Canaanite nations not been wicked G'd would not have had a legal excuse to dispossess them. Their wickedness by itself was not reason enough to give their land to the Israelites unless the Israelites had also proved worthy to take that land. It is also possible that the meaning of the word מורישם is "He destroys them." If that is so, these people certainly had to be wicked as G'd would not decree upon them what He did in Deut. 20,16: "you must not allow a soul of theirs to remain alive."
  
  Verse 6
  
  וידעת כי לא בצדקתך….זכור אל תשכח, "Know therefore that not because of your righteousness …Remember and do not forget!" What did Moses hope to accomplish by admonishing the Israelites about their having had stiff-necked wicked people amongst them in the past? Perhaps their present righteousness would suffice to let them inherit the land and even to be able to point to their righteousness as the reason for this. Moses' reason may have been that the people reflected that even at the times they had been rebellious this did not result in their march towards the Holy Land coming to a halt. They had explained this anomaly to themselves by reasoning that G'd had to fulfil His oath to the patriarchs. Moses therefore wanted to make it plain that their own righteousness was essential in bringing about fulfilment of that oath. If they were to backslide they could still forfeit the promise to inherit the land.
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
   כתבים באצבע אלוקים, "written with the finger of G'd." We need to understand what is meant by ועליהם, "and upon them." I have explained in Exodus 31,18 that the words: "written with the finger of G'd" mean that G'd's finger was pointed at the place on the Tablets where the particular letter was to be inscribed and that in this fashion the letter appeared engraved and this is the meaning of חרות על הלוחות, "engraved on the Tablets." Our verse tells us that whereas the area of the outline of the letter on the Tablets remained engraved, the hollow projected a light which emanated from the finger of G'd and appeared on the surface of the Tablets so that the letters appeared as if written on the Tablets though in fact they were engraved. This is what Moses meant when he spoke of ועליהם ככל הדברים אשר דבר השם, "and upon them like all the words G'd had said." The letter כ describes the result of G'd's engraving the Tablets, i.e. that the letters appeared visible as light on the surface of the Tablets.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
   ואתפש בשני הלחות ואשלכם, "and I took hold of the two Tablets and I flung them, etc." Why did Moses have to mention that "he took hold" of something which was already in his hands? Perhaps as long as the Israelites had not yet been guilty of sin the Tablets were suspended in the air slightly above Moses' hands so that he could not actually touch them. This may be what is meant when we were told in verse 16: "and the two Tablets of the covenant "were above my two hands." Moses had not said that the two Tablets were "in his hands." They seemed to carry themselves. Once Moses espied the golden calf, the Tablets lost their holiness so that Moses had to "take hold of them" with his hands.
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
   ואת חטאתכם…לקחתי, "and I took your sin, etc." Moses hinted that when he burned the golden calf this also resulted in his burning the "sin" itself and the power which it represented. Please compare what I have written on Exodus 32,20: "he took the calf which they had made."
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
   ובשלוח ה׳ אתכם, "And when the Lord sent you, etc." Moses referred to Joshua and Caleb whom G'd sent to spy out the land telling them: "ascend and take possession of the land אשר אני נתתי לכם, "which I have given to you." A comparison with Numbers 13,2 shows that what G'd had said was אשר אני נתן לבני ישראל, "which I am about to give to the children of Israel." Please look at what I have written on that verse. Moses interrupted recounting what happened during the episode of the golden calf by mentioning the episode with the spies as well as the events at Kivrot Hata-avah, at Massah, and at Taverah, because he wanted to lump together all the occasions when the people had aroused G'd's anger. If he had first completed recounting what happened during the episode of the golden calf he would have created so much of a pause between one act of rebellion and the next that the psychological impact of a series of acts of disobedience which he tried to create would have been diminished.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   בעת ההיא אמר ה׳ אלי, "At that time G'd said to me: 'hew for yourself,' etc." Seeing that the materials for the first Tablets were G'd-made as opposed to the raw material being provided by Moses, and that after the episode of the golden calf the Israelites were no longer worthy of such Tablets, G'd told Moses to hew them out of materials that the Israelites were able to relate to, instead of G'd providing supernatural materials unfamiliar to the people which they were unable to relate to and to esteem properly.
  G'd continued by telling Moses that he was to make a wooden ark for these tablets. The expression "make for yourself" a wooden ark does not mean that the ark would be Moses' property or would be paid for out of Moses' private funds; but, seeing that the materials the Tablets were made of were man-made, Moses was also to provide a man-made ark to house the Tablets. This is in sharp contrast to the first Tablets when G'd had not commanded that Moses bring an ark to the Mountain to house the Tablets. Seeing that the original Tablets were of material provided by G'd they did not need a protective cover such as an ark, other than the ark which G'd had commanded Betzalel to construct in Exodus 25,10. Compare what I have written on Deut. 9,17 in connection with the words מעל שתי ידי, "above my two hands." Moses was specific in repeating G'd's command ועשית לך, to teach us that inasmuch as the Tablets were really his (as opposed to the people's), it was appropriate that he be the one to construct the ark for them.
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
   כאשר צוני השם, "as G'd commanded me." Moses meant that all the time it took for him to bring the Tablets to the people and to place them in the ark constructed by Bezalel, the Tablets remained in the ark which he had constructed and taken up to Mount Sinai with him.
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
   ועתה ישראל…כי אם ליראה, And now, Israel, …except to revere the Lord, etc." The thrust of this verse has to be understood along the following lines. We know that there are two different levels of serving G'd, 1) to serve Him out of fear, 2) to serve Him out of love. Moses tells the people that what G'd asks is only that they serve Him out of fear. The reason that G'd is satisfied with this level of service is because fear is an all-embracing emotion. When a person is afraid of the consequences of doing wrong he will make certain that he does not do anything wrong. Moreover, fear, i.e. reverence for G'd is a forerunner of love for G'd. Moses hints at this when he prefaces the verse with the word ועתה, "and now." He means that whereas for now, initially, all that G'd asks for is for you to fear Him, there will come a time when you will do more than that, i.e. to love Him. Once we approach this verse from this angle we can also understand the rhetorical "what is it that G'd asks…only that you fear Him." To the question that fearing the Lord is surely not such an easy thing, Moses implies that once you will have advanced to serving the Lord out of love you will realise that serving Him out of fear was really something minor by comparison. In absolute terms, serving the Lord out of fear is something very great indeed; in relative terms, i.e. after graduating to serving Him out of love, it is only a minor accomplishment. This is the best way to understand what we have been taught in this connection in <i>Megillah</i> 25: "is then serving G'd out of fear something so minor?
  This verse may also be understood as an opening for תשובה, penitence, by the person who transgresses one of G'd's commandments claiming that he simply does not understand why G'd wants him to keep such a commandment. Moses answers such a person by telling him "and now." According to <i>Bereshit Rabbah</i> 21,6 the word עתה always is an opening for man to repent a sin. [The verse under discussion in that <i>Midrash</i> is Genesis 3,22 when G'd justifies expelling Adam from the garden of Eden. Ed.] According to that approach the words ועתה מה ה׳ אלוקיך שואל מעמך mean that G'd makes it very easy for us to become penitent. All we have to do is to demonstrate fear of the Lord. When we demonstrate such an attitude towards G'd He will be pleased with us already.
  Moses continues ללכת בכל דרכיו "to walk in all His paths;" this can be understood in accordance with <i>Vayikra Rabbah</i> 21,5 that if you have committed a string of violations try and compensate for this by performing a string of commandments. Maimonides writes in his commentary on the Mishnah at the end of tractate <i>Makkot</i> that a person who has not angered G'd [by transgressing any negative commandment Ed.] will acquire merit both in this world and in the Hereafter as long as he performs a single commandment. Thus far Maimonides. I have compared the matter to two servants of a king, one of whom has never caused his monarch to be angry at him, and who now visits his king bearing a relatively inexpensive gift, a young dove. The second servant has a history of offending his monarch on repeated occasions; when he visits the king he tenders an ox as a gift. One could reason that the king has reason to be pleased with the offering of the dove and to be displeased with the offering of the ox in view of the previous acts of disobedience of the servant who now offers this gift. Moses here tells the penitent sinner to walk in "all the Lord's paths" i.e. to make up for it by performance of many commandments.
  On a mystical level our verse also targets the hidden connections, i.e. interactions known only to G'd whereby man's actions in our world help unify branches of sanctity in the celestial regions. The same occurs in reverse, of course. Proverbs 16,28 ונרגן מפריג אלוף, "a quarrelsome one alienates his friend," refers to the אלופו של עולם. [Just as man's sins create a chasm between him and his Creator, so his מצוה-performance can close any chasm which existed between man and G'd. Ed.] Moses hints at this interaction. In terms of sanctity, the word מה refers to the presence of G'd, שכינה, as explained by the Talmud <i>Sotah</i> 11 in connection with Exodus 2,4: "his sister (Moses' sister Miriam) stood from afar to know what would happen to him." Rabbi Yitzchok demonstrates there how every word in that verse can be viewed as referring to celestial powers, and he understands the verse as speaking about the שכינה. Just as the word מה in that verse is a reference to the שכינה, so the word מה in our verse refers to the שכינה.
  This approach is also in accordance with what our sages said in <i>Tanchuma Korach</i> 12 אל תקרי מה אלא מאה, "do not read מה, but 100, a reference to the 100 benedictions a person is supposed to recite daily. [This entire fascinating passage in the <i>Tanchuma</i> commences already with the mystical significance of the number 100. For instance, the words לך לך at the beginning of Genesis 12 are understood in terms of their numerical value i.e. 50+50 =100. This was a hint that Abraham's son Isaac would be born when Abraham was 100 years old. Ed.] It is important to associate G'd's ineffable name (י־ה־ו־ה) with the number 100, hence we have to recite 100 benedictions using the ineffable name of G'd. Moses says that basically, this is what G'd asks of the Jewish people, i.e. to create a unity between the Jewish people and G'd and His name. The reason Moses had to say ועתה, "and now," is because this is something that man can only do in this life. Once he finds himself in the hereafter, -though he may accomplish many outstanding tasks,- he cannot perform deeds as he will be like the angels, i.e. beings without a body. We find that our sages have compared this world to שעה, "an hour," when they described the kind of people who set more value by things which occur in this life though it is so transient. The wording in <i>Shabbat</i> 33 is: "they ignore eternity in favour of focusing on the life comprising an hour." When you pursue this approach, the words כי אם ליראה assume the meaning of some kind of material, i.e. the "fear" Moses is speaking about is quasi something tangible. Moses means that although when looked at in terms of something abstract "fear" may be something very great, hard to attain, once we reduce it to tangible terms it becomes much smaller, even though, admittedly, one needs spiritual resources in order to attain it. Moses,' or rather, G'd's message is that the beneficial result of fearing the Lord will be proportionately far greater than the effort invested in attaining such a result.
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
   כיום הזה, as of this day. Moses means that the Jewish people are a worthy community as he had already testified in Deut. 4,4 that "you all cleaved to G'd and stayed alive." The message is that were it not for that merit, the mere fact that they were the descendants of the patriarchs whom G'd had liked would not have helped them if they had been wicked. The best proof for the truth of this statement is the fact that Ishmael, also a son of Abraham, or Esau, a son of Isaac and a grandson of Abraham were not chosen and only some of the descendants of Isaac developed into the Jewish people. (compare <i>Nedarim</i> 31).
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
   אלוקי האלוקים ואדוני האדנים, "The G'd of gods and the Lord of lords, etc." The first statement means that He is the G'd of the angels who are often described as אלהים, such as in Job 1,6 ויבאו בני האלוהים. The expression אדני האדנים refers to terrestrial rulers. Compare Genesis 42,30 דבר האיש אדני הארק אתנו קשות, "the man who is the ruler of the land spoke harshly to us." The reason Moses also had to mention terrestrial rulers is so that we should not think that these rulers are free to do as they please; Moses reminds us that G'd exerts some pressure on those rulers. This is what Solomon meant in Proverbs 21,1: "the heart of the king is in G'd's hand, He directs it to whatever direction He desires."
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
   וידעתם היום, "and you shall know as of this day, etc." Moses means as of this day after you have reviewed all the proofs it is your duty to know that G'd has performed all these miracles as He did not perform them for your children. If your children who have only heard about all this would deny knowledge of these events this is one thing. You, however, who have witnessed all these events are in no position to deny knowledge of them. There was no need for Moses to define what precisely he meant by the word ידיעה, knowledge. They had seen with their own eyes miracles which proved that G'd is unique, has created the universe and is the supreme Ruler who despises those who disobey His laws and has chosen as His people those who adopt the laws of the Torah.
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
   כל היקום..בקרב כל ישראל, "every substance…in the midst of all Israel." This means that the earth swallowed even the substances belonging to Datan and Aviram which were not in the vicinity of their owners wherever they happened to be at that moment. <i>Bamidbar Rabbah</i> 18,13 claims that even a needle was included in this statement.
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
   ושמרתם את כל המצוה..למען תחזקו "You shall keep all the commandment in order for you to be strong, etc." Moses advances this argument against the people who suggested a temporary neglect of Torah study, something which physically weakens those who pursue it with intensity. The argument was that they had to husband their physical strength in order for them to conquer the Canaanites. Compare <i>Sanhedrin</i> 26 describing Torah study as a physically debilitating experience based on the word תושיה in Isaiah 28,29. I have mentioned previously that whenever Moses uses the expression כל המצוה in the singular he refers to Torah study. The reason Moses used the expression ושמרתם here, an expression associated with the observance of negative commandments is that neglect of Torah study would be considered a violation equal to transgressing a negative commandment. Moses concludes our verse by saying: "in order that you will be strong" to tell you that far from weakening you, Torah study and מצוה-performance will strengthen you in the forthcoming war by G'd. This is also the meaning of Proverbs 8,14: אני בינה לי גבורה, "once I have acquired insight (through Torah study) courage and strength will be mine."
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
   והארק אשר אתם עוברים שמה, "and the land which you are crossing over to, etc." Why does Moses repeat the words: "the land you are crossing over to," having said something almost identical in verse 10 already? I believe we have to understand these two verses as follows. Although the Torah had already extolled the virtues of the land of Canaan, describing it as a land flowing with milk and honey, the Torah had to contrast it with Egypt which is also a land blessed with excellent produce as the Torah had testified in Genesis 13,10: "like a garden of G'd, like the land of Egypt." Moses explains that whereas Egypt receives its bounty only by means of natural means, without special providence by G'd, it has another disadvantage compared to the land of Canaan in that you have to irrigate the land with back-breaking labour, whereas in the land of Canaan the rain does the irrigating.
  
  Verse 12
  
   אשר ה׳ אלוקיך דרש, "which the Lord your G'd enquires after (all the time)." Moses emphasises the word אלוקיך, "your G'd" to remind us that the excellence of this land is conditional on the mutually exclusive relationship between Israel and its G'd. If Israel were to find itself in exile due to its sins, the land would not prove excellent for whoever would dwell in it after Israel would be expelled.
  
  Verse 13
  
   והיה אם שמע תשמעו, "and it will be if you will surely hearken, etc." The meaning of the word והיה is usually that something joyful will occur. Moses tempers this by making the joy conditional on it being due to performance of G'd's commandments. Moses continues with the conditional אם [as opposd to the word כאשר "when," Ed.]. The reason is analogous to what we have learned in <i>Shabbat</i> 30 that the only kind of joy Solomon praised was the joy generated through מצוה-performance. Concerning all other kinds of joy Kohelet 2,2 applies, i.e. ולשמחה מה זה עושה, "and of joy, what does it accomplish?" Moses repeated the word שמע based on a comment in <i>Berachot</i> 55 on Daniel 2,21 "He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledgable." G'd does not grant wisdom unless a person has already acquired a measure of wisdom. When Moses says: "if you will hearken" he means if you already have a wise heart and are mentally prepared to hearken, G'd will grant you more such wisdom so that you will surely hearken to G'd."
  לאהבה…ולעבדו…ונתתי, "to love G'd..to serve Him;..and I will give the rain, etc." In view of previous statements to the effect that the reward for מצוה-performance is not paid in this life, Moses assures the people if their service is of a quality that is equivalent to their loving G'd with all their heart then they will also experience compensation in this life. This is the meaning of the conjunctive letter ו at the beginning of the word ונתתי in verse 14. Receiving rainfall at the appropriate time is not the reward for their מצוה-performance but is something additional, i.e. ו, plus. The reward itself is stored up for the Hereafter. Moses also hints that although a good livelihood is one of the three blessings which are within the province of <i>mazzal</i> and not of personal merit as we explained repeatedly (<i>Moed Katan</i> 28), when the nation serves the Lord in the above-mentioned manner Israel as a whole will rise above <i>mazzal</i> and everything which happens to it comes under the scrutiny of the personal providence of G'd.
  בכל לבבכם ובכל נפשכם, "with all your hearts and with all your souls." In this instance Moses did not mention מאדכם, "your material assets" as he did in Deut. 6,5. The reason is that the paragraph in Deut. 6 was addressed to the individual Jew whereas this paragraph is addressed to the nation as a whole. Whereas it is possible to find an individual who values his material assets over and above his very life, the Torah had to command that Jew not to do so. Amongst the people collectively it is psychologically impossible to find them value their assets as worth dying for. In such a setting, the rule applies that people will give up all their wealth in order to save their lives. As soon as Moses had told the people that they should love the Lord with all their souls, it went without saying that the same applies to all their material assets.
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
   לא תתן את יבולה, "it will not yield its produce." Although Moses had already said that G'd would lock the heavens he repeated that the earth would not yield its produce to tell the people that even if they were to plant their fields adjacent to rivers and wells the earth would not produce a harvest.
  ואבדתם מהוה, "and you will perish quickly, etc." Even if you somehow find a harvest dating back to previous years you will still perish. We have an illustration of this curse in <i>Gittin</i> 56 where the Talmud tells how Jewish zealots deliberately destroyed a 21 year supply of grain owned by a certain Kalba Savua during the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans.
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
   למען ירבו ימיכם, "that your days may multiply, etc." Why did Moses not write this verse prior to verse 20, i.e. the writing down of this paragraph and attaching it to the doorposts? If that had been the case our verse and the blessing it contains would also be part of the promise in what was to be attached to the doorposts? Perhaps Moses chose this order in order to teach us that the fulfilment of the commandment in verse 20 would bring in its wake the blessing contained in verse 21. This may be what the Talmud (<i>Shabbat</i> 32) had in mind when it stated that "anyone who takes the commandment of the <i>Mezuzah</i> seriously has his lifespan extended." [The only quotation I was able to find on that folio was that neglect of the commandment of <i>Mezuzah</i> may result in premature death. This itself is questionable. Ed.]
  
  Verse 22
  
   כי אם שמר תשמרון, "For if you diligently keep, etc." Why did Moses repeat the word שמר תשמרון? Besides, what kind of observance does Moses speak about here? Perhaps he intended to warn the people to observe the "fences" around the Biblical commandments which were designed to prevent violation of the commandments proper. Moses warns the people not to disregard these "fences."
  Moses may also have had in mind to reassure the Israelites that if they indeed observed the "fences" with the same determination as the Biblical injunctions, then G'd would ensure that they would be able to observe all the Biblical commandments. Failure to take the "fences" seriously would result in their observance of the Biblical commandments becomimg slipshod. The classic example is that he who conscientiously observes the Sabbath already a few minutes prior to sunset will be helped to observe the Sabbath in all its ramifications. He who waits with beginning the Sabbath until the last possible minute may find himself violating even Biblical aspects of the Sabbath legislation.
  Another thing Moses may have had in mind when repeating the word שמור תשמרון is that one should not only be concerned with personally observing the commandments but should also encourage others to keep them. A person should not say that he has done his duty by observing G'd's commandments and letting others worry about doing their duty. The first word שמור refers to personal observance, whereas the word תשמרון refers to one's encouraging others to do the same. We have been taught in <i>Pessachim</i> 49 that instead of merely reading Deut. 33,4 מורשה, "something to be transmitted by inheritance," we should also read the word as if it had been spelled מאורשה, "betrothed." Just as a person is responsible for the welfare of his bride-to-be, i.e. his ארוסה, so G'd has empowered him by means of the Torah not to let others despise the Torah without protesting this. When possible all legal means have to be employed to ensure that Jews do not violate G'd's law in public just as we would not let such people get away with violence against fellow human beings. Naturally, admonishing trespassers must be done in a manner which does not alienate such people from the Torah. This is why Moses speaks about לעשותה לאהבה, to "perform it lovingly, etc." <i>Yevamot</i> 63 explains that the person who does not only admonish others but demonstrates that he himself demands of himself at least as much as he appears to demand of others is liable to have an impact on his listeners. Something similar is stated in <i>Berachot</i> 6 where the Talmud says: "a truly G'd-fearing person will find that his listeners will respond to him." This is why Moses spoke first of all about לעשותה, i.e. people who had been models to others by themselves performing the commandments. When this is the case such people may plant love for G'd in others. Such people will no longer violate G'd's commandments. This is also the meaning of <i>Midrash Mishley</i> 2,4 that if one succeeds in making words of Torah come forth from the mouth of an uncouth person one has done the equivalent to uttering these words of Torah oneself. <i>Sanhedrin</i> 19 goes further and describes such a person as having created the former.
  ולדבקה בו, "and to cleave to Him." We have already explained on several occasions that all the Jewish souls are hewn from the same celestial "quarry." This is why they are considered part of G'd and all cleave to G'd as per Deut. 4.4. Violations of G'd's commandments however, result in this bond being shattered. When man repents he has to re-establish this bond. When Moses mentions "and to cleave to Him," he speaks of people who have to re-establish this bond, this cleaving to G'd.
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
   ראה אנכי נתן היום, "Behold, I have given this day, etc." Why did Moses employ the term "seeing," in connection with words, i.e. the words of a blessing? Furthermore, why did he describe himself as אנכי? Moreover, why does Moses address the people in the singular i.e. ראה instead of ראו, although during the whole passage he addresses them in the plural [with the exception of verse 29, Ed.]?
  I believe that the wording of our verse is connected to the message Moses wants to convey, i.e. that the people should learn to set more store by the blessings which will accrue to them in the Hereafter than the blessings which accrue to them in this life. In order for the prophet who conveys such teachings to be believable he must possess two qualifications. 1) He must himself have a deep appreciation of the value of the good to be experienced only in the celestial regions. 2) He must have demonstrated that he personally has achieved success in this life and what it has to offer. If the person preaching the values of the Hereafter were not himself blessed with success in this life, his listeners would not believe him thinking that he consoles himself with something in the future because he had been unable to attain it in the here and now. Moreover, even if someone who has experienced all that this life has to offer praises the Hereafter in exaggerated terms he is not liable to be believed unless he can prove that he has first-hand experience of what goes on in the celestial regions. This is why Moses felt impelled to apply the term אנכי to himself when he makes it appear as if he is bestowing the blessing. He invites the people to look at him as a personification of the truth of what he is about to tell them. He had attained all the honour and glory that it is possible to attain in this life. He was king over a mighty nation, was personally wealthy, and physically endowed as a giant as pointed out in <i>Shabbat</i> 92. In addition, he had ascended to heaven and had experienced a taste of what is in store there. After having explained all this to the people Moses mentions the message he had for the people as I shall explain. He used the words ראה אנכי in the singular to remind the people that whatever is perceived by means of the sense of sight is experienced equally by all the people although their perceptions by means of the other four senses may vary in depth. Each one of the Israelites had seen Moses' stature with his own eyes and had been aware of Moses having spent time in the heavens [returning with his skin radiating light. Ed.].
  Moses had something else in mind when he said ראה אנכי, "look at me!" Maimonides explains in his treatise <i>Hilchot Teshuvah</i> chapter 5 that every person has the potential to become the equal of Moses. This is precisely what Moses meant. He said: "Take a good look at me! Everything that I have accomplished you are able to accomplish for yourselves!" Whenever a person aspires to serve the Lord he is not to look at people who have been under-achievers compared to himself and to use such a comparison in order to pat himself on the back on his relative accomplishment, but he is to train his sights on those who have achieved more than he himself and use this as a challenge to set his spiritual sights ever higher.
  Looking at the moral/ethical dimension of our verse, let us look at a quotation from the <i>Zohar</i> volume three page 273 where we are told that every Torah-observant Jew possesses a spark of Moses within him. There is no need to convince us that the generation who had the good fortune to have Moses in their midst had been spiritually inspired by him. When Moses said: ראה אנכי, this sounds almost as if he were talking to himself, saying that because the whole of the Jewish people related to him this gave him stature, i.e. it enabled him to view himself as an אנכי, "a somebody." As a result, when he spoke to the Israelites he felt as if he were speaking to himself seeing his stature was entirely due to them. This would also account for Moses using the singular when addressing the people.
  Another allusion to be found in our verse is an allusion to G'd who is in the habit of referring to Himself as אנכי. Accordingly, the meter of our verse is as follows: "look at the One who calls Himself אנכי; He is about to set the blessing before you this day." Moses used the singular ראה because all of the Israelites were as one in knowing that it is G'd who places His blessing before them.
  נתן לפניכם היום, "who sets before you this day, etc." The word היום, today, or now, was chosen as only now after 40 years did the people appreciate what their teacher Moses had in mind (compare <i>Avodah Zarah</i> 5).
  Why did Moses speak of ברכה וקללה, "blessing and curse" in this verse seeing he commences verse 27 by introducing the blessing and verse 28 by introducing the curse? Why mention all this twice? We have to fall back on <i>Sifri</i> who describes Moses as pointing to the apparently successful wicked people and explaining to them that such "success" will last only two or three days (life on this earth) whereas in the end they will get their due. Thus far the <i>Sifri</i>. According to this interpretation you have to read together the words ברכה וקללה היום, "blessing and curse today," i.e. a blessing which will turn into a curse. Moses refers to the peaceful lives the wicked lead in this world which is shortlived considered only one day long as explained on Deut. 7,11 based on <i>Eyruvin</i> 22. Moses placed the word היום next to the word ברכה, to hint how very shortlived that blessing will be. As a result of all this Moses indicates that success in this life diminishes progressivley and turns into a curse for the people in question.
  Another way of looking at what Moses wanted to say in our verse is also based on <i>Sifri</i>. The author explains that Moses offered the people two choices, two paths in life; one appeared well paved intially but would turn progressively rougher, the other the reverse, starting out unpaved, full of holes, etc. He advised the people of the nature of these paths asking them not to be misled by what their eyes saw at the moment. This is what is meant by the words נתן לפניכם, "what I am placing in front of you." Moses meant that there are two kinds of blessings each accompanied also by a curse. The path of the wicked commences with blessings only to end in curses. The path of the righteous begins with what appears like a curse only to end in blessing. He continues with the word את הברכה in verse 27 to show that the true blessing is the path which began in such an inauspicious manner. He exhorts the people אשר תשמעון, encouraging them to hearken to his advice in spite of the initial difficulties they would experience on that path. At the same time he warns the wicked in verse 28 that what they considered the blessed path is in fact a curse because they do not hearken to the commandments of the Torah. 
  There is yet another way to explain Moses' emphasis on the word היום. At the end of <i>Parshat Eykev</i> (11,24) Moses assured the people that every place in the land they would set foot on would become theirs. This was not part of the oath to Abraham and the other patriarchs. Hence Moses adds that there is a new dimension to the blessing they would receive as of "this day." He adds the words ברכה וקללה, to make it plain that this is a two edged blessing, it contains advantages and disadvantages. If the people will hearken to G'd the promise would prove to be a blessing. If not, this very promise and its fulfilment would turn into a curse as they would find that other nations would envy them and would cause them terrible losses by avenging the Canaanites whom the Israelites had wiped out. Even while they would enjoy the fact that they had conquered the land they would find that G'd would punish them for their sins immediately, thus turning the blessing into a curse.
  
  Verse 27
  
   את הברכה אשר תשמעון, "The blessing if you will hearken, etc." The word את which frequently means "with" means here that in addition to the blessing which is the result of walking in G'd's paths there would be a bonus, i.e. they would hearken to G'd's commandments. Hearkening to G'd's commandments is perceived as a pleasurable experience by itself. It helps the soul to feel "alive" as we know from Isaiah 55,4: שמעו ותהי נפשכם, "hearken and your souls will come alive." Whenever someone who studies Torah gains an understanding of what the Torah has in mind he experiences a physical and spiritual sense of wellbeing. He owes G'd a debt of gratitude for affording him such pleasure. There is no need to add that such a person cannot demand a reward from G'd for having allowed him to experience such joy.
  There is yet another aspect to the words את הברכה. We have been taught in <i>Kidushin</i> 40 that the reward for מצוה-performance is divided into "capital and dividends." When Moses uses the word את he refers to the "dividend" aspect of the blessing which is the reward. The word הברכה refers to the world in which the capital is payable, whereas the word את refers to our world in which the dividends of this capital are paid out.
  Moses was careful to say אשר. Had he used the customary word אם this would have had a connotation of "if," i.e. that the payment of such dividends was somehow subject to doubt. By saying instead אשר, Moses made sure that this dividend would be perceived as something absolute, not subject to doubt or additional conditions. The Torah made this whole blessing dependent on "listening" rather than on performance of a deed or deeds with one's limbs as it wanted to convey the idea that anyone who listens to the living G'd and His Torah becomes imbued with the elixir of life, something which is guaranteed to bring him back to the fold in case he had strayed (compare introduction of <i>Eychah Rabbati</i>).
  
  Verse 28
  
   והקללה אם לא תשמעו, "And the curse in case you will fail to hearken, etc." Moses means that anyone who prevents himself from hearkening to the voice of G'd has already cursed himself. This is why the word והקללה appears before the words "if you will not hearken." Moses adds that in addition you will have demonstrated that you depart from the normal path of life by preparing for yourselves alternate but leaking water cisterns. In effect this is what the words: "you will depart from the way and follow alien deities" are all about.
  
  Verse 29
  
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  
  
  Verse 31
  
  
  
  Verse 32
  
   ושמרתם לעשות, "And you will observe to carry out, etc." Inasmuch as the commandments which Moses is about to convey are all of the kind that can be performed only in ארץ ישראל, Moses applies the term שמירה [usually reserved for the avoidance of violating negative commandments, Ed.] much as we read in Genesis 37,11 that ואביו שמר את הדבר, "his father remained aware of the matter" (Joseph's dream about the brothers and his father and mother bowing down to him). Moses meant by this word that the Israelites should constantly look forward to the opportunity to carry out these commandments although at the time he spoke to them they had no opportunity to fulfil these מצות. He concluded by saying אלה החוקים "these are the statutes." Commandments such as the one to wipe out locations where the Canaanites had worshiped idols, he called "statutes," as they applied only once the Israelites were in that country. They could not carry out this commandment until they had conquered the land.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   לרשתה כל הימים, "to possess it for all time, etc." Moses simply meant that if the Israelites were to keep G'd's commandments then their tenure in the land would continue for ever.
  
  Verse 2
  
   אבד תאבדון את כל המקמזת, "You shall utterly destroy all the sites, etc." We can understand this verse in conjunction with the <i>Mishnah</i> 7 chapter 3 in tractate <i>Avodah Zarah</i>. We are taught there: "there are three categories of houses; 1) a house which was constructed in order to serve as a place of worship. Such a house is (totally) forbidden. 2) A house which originally was not used or intended for such worship but has been redecorated in order to serve as a house of worship. 3) The Gentile made an addition to the existing house which was intended and used as a residence. In the latter two instances the Jew has to demolish all the new decorations or additions and he may have use of the rest of such a house." The Talmud elaborates on this <i>Mishnah</i> saying that if someone prostrates himself in front of any house (indicating he worships it) he has thereby made it completely forbidden to every Jew. From this we deduce that even if someone had only joined together individual stones and attached them to the ground they are still considered as if they were separate and the house is not forbidden until it was used for the purpose for which it has been designated! The Talmud queries why this should be so seeing the Mishnah had forbidden such a house even if the entire house had been built for an idolatrous purpose before anyone had prostrated himself! The Talmud answers that the <i>Mishnah</i> taught us the law that even if the house had only been built for a purpose for which it had not yet been used it is already totally forbidden. Thus far the Talmud on the subject. Maimonides accepts this ruling in his treatise <i>Hilchot Avodah Zarah</i> chapter 8. This ruling is reflected in what our verse says: "all the sites where the Canaanites used to serve idols." The meaning is that it is irrelevant if the place had originally been built for the purpose or not. If idolatrous practices had been performed there the Israelites must destroy it even if only an addition to such a house had been used for idolatry.
  אשר אתם יורשים אתם, "which you are about to inherit." These words are best understood by reference to <i>Hilchot Avodah Zarah</i> 7,1 by Maimonides. He writes: "in the land of Israel it is one of the positive commandments to pursue (seek out) all places where idolatry is practiced until we have succeeded in eliminating it, whereas in the diaspora or in the countries adjacent to the land of Israel we need to destroy such places only as and when we come across them." Maimonides quotes our verse as proof that only in the land of Israel must we seek out such places. The operative clause is clearly: "which you are about to inherit." Once something is ours, the law applies universally.
  The reason Moses repeats the word אבד may be understood in conjunction with the statement in <i>Avodah Zarah</i> 43 that in order to cancel or revoke the idolatrous character of an object two conditions have to be met. The object has to be ground into small pieces and scattered into the wind or into the sea. If only one of these conditions has been met, one did not fulfil one's obligation. This is alluded to when Moses said the word אבד twice.
  את אלוהיהם על ההרים, "their gods on the mountains, etc." Seeing that Moses had said that the various places we mentioned are all forbidden because they have served as places where idolatry has been practiced, Moses had to tell the people that there are sites where idolatry was practiced which have not thereby become subject to destruction. One such example are the mountains. In <i>Avodah Zarah</i> 45 the sages read the words אלוהיהם על ההרים, as a contrast to ההרים אלוהיהם. This means that legally speaking the mountains cannot be declared as deities. If the idolators declare a certain mountain as a deity such a declaration is invalid and does not affect the status of such a mountain in Jewish law. [One reason advanced for this concept is that mountains are an integral part of the universe, cannot be owned by individuals. We have a rule that an individual cannot legally preclude another from using something which does not personally belong to the person who wishes to deny its use to another. Ed.] In <i>Avodah Zarah</i> 51 the Talmud determines that when a certain verse appears superfluous in its own context it may be applied exegetically to another context. If, for instance, the verse was not needed in connection with the subject of what is ritually impure as a result of buildings connected to the ground which hve been used for idolatry, it may be used in connection with whether certain vessels are ritually impure or not if they have been used for idolatrous purposes. The underlying concept there is that we do not need a special verse to tell us that if something was a separate body and was attached to some building which served idolatrous purpose that it becomes ritually impure and cannot be purified.
  We may also understand the words את אלוהיהם by paying attention to its peculiar position in the verse. It is placed between mention of the worshipers and mention of the objects worshiped. The normal syntax of the verse should have been: עבדו שם הגוים את אלוהיהם אשר אתם יורשים אתם, "where the Gentiles worshiped their deities… which you are about to inherit." The reason the Torah departed from its normal syntax may be understood in light of <i>Avodah Zarah</i> 44 where Rav Hunna poses a question about two contradictory verses in Scripture. We read in Chronicles I 14,12 that David burned the idols the Philistines left behind. In Samuel II 5,21 David and his men are reported to have "carried these idols." The Talmud answers that there is no contradiction. In the description in Samuel the prophet refers to what David did after the arrival of Ittai Hagitti, whereas in the description in Chronicles Ezra reported about what was done before the arrival of Ittai Hagitti. [a loyal non-Jewish battalion commander of David, compare Samuel II 15,19-22. Ed.] We are told in Samuel II 12,30 that David took the crown of the king of the Ammonites (after Yoav defeated him) and put it on his own head. How could he do this seeing it had served idolatrous purposes? Rav Nachman answered that Ittai Hagitti had first annulled whatever idolatrous character the crown possessed. From this episode it appears that it is possible even to inherit (make use of) the idol itself! This is possible only when the former adherents of such an idol have themselves deprived it of their original function. Only in such cases may the Israelites subsequently derive benefit from erstwhile idols. This is what Moses had in mind when he wrote אשר יורשים אתם את אלוהיהם, "whom you inherit when their idols are present." Moses alluded to a situation similar to that when Ittai Hagitti annulled the idol's significance as an idol.
  A moral/ethical approach to our verse sees in it a promise that even the unseen, mystical power of the idolatrous images, will be totally destroyed when the Israelites make every effort to destroy every visible evidence of idolatry in the land of Israel. This is why the Torah emphasises כל המקומות אשר עבדו שם, "all the places where they worshiped." This is a reference to the throne of Satan. Israel's effort will be crowned by success and G'd will become enthroned as the sole ruler over the entire globe.
  
  Verse 3
  
   ואבדתם את שמם, "and you will destroy their name, etc." The question is asked in <i>Avodah Zarah</i> 45 what these words can possibly add when we have already been told to utterly destroy every place where idolatry had been performed? The sages answer that even the roots of the trees which were symbols of idolatry have to be uprooted. Rabbi Akiva says that the names of such sites have to changed to something degrading. Thus far the Talmud. Perhaps the Torah wanted to issue a special warning applicable only to the land of Israel, similar to what Maimonides wrote that in the Holy Land we have to seek out such places and destroy them, whereas in other countries we are not obliged to do this. This is why Moses emphasises the words מן המקום ההוא, "from that place."
  
  Verse 4
  
   לא חעשון כן לה׳ אלוקיכם, "Do not do so to the Lord your G'd!" Our sages in the <i>Sifri</i> on our verse understand this as a reference to the prohibition of erasing the holy name of G'd, or even part of it. They read together the words ואבדתם את שמם לא תעשו כן. Perhaps the wording of our verse is intended to draw attention to two separate <i>halachot</i> concerning erasing any part of G'd's name. We have a law about erasing the name of G'd itself, and there is a law about erasing suffixes appended behind the name of G'd. When the Torah says לשם, it refers to any of the various names of G'd and not merely the Tetragram. When the Torah adds the word אלוקיכם, it alludes to the suffix כם. Maimonides writes in chapter six of his treatise <i>Yesodey Hatorah</i> that the penalty of 39 lashes applies only to someone who actually erased letters of G'd's name, as the Torah is not outspoken about the suffixes. <i>The Sifri</i> also concludes from this verse that removing a single stone from the courtyard of the Temple is a violation of a negative commandment as it says in our verse: לא תעשון", "you must not do." It appears to me that this law is not limited to removal of a whole stone but to the removal of any quantity of stone which leaves a visible void.
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
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  Verse 14
  
   אשר יבחר באחד שבטיך, "which He will choose amongst one of your tribes, etc." Moses counters the argument of those who want to belittle the idea that G'd's residence should be limited to the territory of a single tribe and who would therefore assign additional sites for the offering of sacrifices. The Torah says that this is out of the question.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
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  Verse 20
  
   כי ירחיב…את גבולך, "When G'd expands your borders etc." Seeing G'd had objected to the excessive craving for a meat-diet displayed by the Israelites in Numbers chapter 11 where we were told about thousands dying on that account, such a craving had been taboo ever since. Only meat which had first been hallowed as a sacrifice had been permitted to be eaten by the average Israelite during the last 38 years. At this point Moses justifies the new legislation which sanctions the desire to have a meat-diet by referring to the difficulty of making the meat first a sacrifice and having to travel to Jerusalem to do so. It is assumed that the craving will re-surface as a result of most people living a long way from Jerusalem. G'd specifically sanctions the desire to eat meat with the words: "you may eat meat in accordance with all the desire of your soul."
  
  Verse 21
  
   כי ירחק ממך המקום, When the place will be too far from you, etc." The words: "you may eat within your gates" mean that such meat does not have to be sacrificial meat. Our sages differ as to the precise meaning of the word "distant" in our verse (compare <i>Pessachim</i> 93). The Talmud there speaks of the verse in Numbers 9,10 and determines that anyone living as far from Jerusalem as Modin falls under this category. Other opinions hold that even living inside the city of Jerusalem but outside the courtyard of the Hoy Temple is already considered as "distant." We can only wish that the time will soon arrive when this <i>halachah</i> will assume practical significance, i.e. after the arrival of the משיח.
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
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  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
   שמר ושמעת את כל הדברים האלה, "Observe and hearken to all these words, etc." The sequence of the words "observe and hearken" appears to be reversed. The Torah should have written "hearken and observe." Besides, what are the words את and כל meant to include? Furthermore, why is this the only verse in which Moses speaks about the wellbeing of the children due to their parents' observance of the commandments? What is the meaning of the words כי תעשה הטוב which appears to be the result underlying the commandment "so that you and your children will be well off?" Moses had already given the reason for this when he said: "observe, etc." He had added למען, i.e. "in order that as a result of this observance, etc." Clearly the wellbeing was decribed as a result of מצוה-observance.
  I believe that Moses gives two separate instructions here. 1) To observe and to listen to the Torah and the various commandments, i.e. the ones with which the Israelites were already familiar; 2) the various decrees our rabbis have formulated throughout our history known as "fences." Concerning the Torah and the commandments written therein Moses said שמר, "observe," seeing these were already known; concerning the rabbinic decrees which were not yet known he said ושמעת, "be sure to hearken." Moses said את כל to warn the people to be sure that they include all the various decrees and ordinances that would be enacted by the Rabbis in the future. He said the words כל הדברים, "the whole words," to remind us that unless one fulfils both the biblical and the rabbinic part of the commandments one has not truly fulfilled them. Moses concludes this thought with the words למען ייטב לך ולבניך to remind us that it is the performance of all these rabbinic decrees which will enable the Jewish people to raise Torah-true generations of children and grandchildren. This is what would separate us from the people who indulge in a way of life that is abhorrent to G'd.
  כי תעשה הטוב, "so that you will do what is good, etc." Moses explains that the purpose of rabbinic decrees and ordinances is designed only to enable you to do what is good and correct in the eyes of the Lord. Accordingly, this part of the verse is also part of the reason why Moses commands us to "observe and hearken." The good which G'd has in mind for us will be the result of our relating with equal seriousness to rabbinic decrees as we relate to biblical injunctions. All of this is additional to the good that will devolve on future generations as a result of the interpretations of Torah left to us by the scholars. The words כי תעשה are an addition to the words שמר ושמעת.
  Our verse may also remind a person who is in the habit of fulfilling a particular commandment and is fully aware of what it entails not to say that he does not need to study this commandment. Moses tells us that study even of commandments which we fulfil as a matter of routine is a separate מצוה, and is not to be neglected.
  Still another way of understanding the order in which Moses phrases this exhortation is that it is a reference to Hoseah 14,3: ונשלמה פרים שפתינו, "let our lips substitute for the bullocks." Our sages have taught us that when it is physically impossible to observe certain commandments, the way to make up for it is to study these commandments. The classic example is the entire animal-sacrifice legislation which the Jewish people have been unable to fulfil ever since the destruction of the Holy Temple. Just as it is impossible to keep all the "words," Moses contents himself with asking for an effort, i.e. שמר. He uses the word ושמעת as the parallel for the positive commandments. These too are impossible for one individual to perform totally. Moses suggests that studying positive commandments will compensate for the ones a person cannot fulfil physically. In view of the aforesaid it is not possible to observe all the commandments satisfactorily.
  Moses may also have paraphrased something we have been taught in <i>Avodah Zarah</i> 19 that one should first read (commit to memory) the text before explaining it, i.e. trying to understand it. [In my edition of the Talmud the quotation is slightly different. The wording is: לעולם יגריס איניש ואף על גב דלא ידע ואף על גב דמשכת Ed.] This is what Moses had in mind that one should observe the commandments even before one has understood them. He implies that faithful performance will ensure that one remembers the commandment which will lead to ושמעת, that you will study and understand its meaning.
  Moses may also have phrased this verse to reflect a statement in the <i>Zohar</i> volume three page 193 that the sins a person has committed act as a lock, precluding him from unraveling the secrets of the Torah. You find a similar comment in the <i>Shulchan Aruch</i> of the <i>Ari zal</i> in the section on Torah study. He wrote that the gates of understanding to the words of Torah are the questions which trouble normal human beings. This is the mystical dimension of the קליפות, the spiritually negative forces which have beeen created by man's own sins. Moses tells us that if you truly wish to understand that there are answers to these questions which trouble you in your faith you must first שמר, observe the commandments whose meaning bothers you and subsequently ושמעת, you will be able to understand the answer to the question which previously troubled you.
  The verse may also be understood in light of what we learned in <i>Chagiga</i> 15 that "if the Rabbi appears to be of the stature of an angel one should request to hear words of Torah from his lips." Thus far the Talmud. Moses simply says that if the teacher is truly Torah-observant, שמר, you should listen to what he has to teach, ושמעת. When Moses added the words: את כל הדברים, this may be understood in light of the question directed against Rabbi Meir on that same folio in the Talmud how he could learn Torah from an heretic such as Elisha ben Avuyah? The question is reinforced by a quotation from Maleachi 2,7: "for the lips of a priest guard knowledge, and men seek rulings from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts." Surely Elisha ben Avuyah did not fit the prophet's description of who should dispense Torah knowledge? The Talmud answers that Rabbi Meir had also based himself on Scripture as it is written in Proverbs 22,17: "incline your ear and listen to the words of the wise, and your heart to My wisdom." Solomon does not say that one should listen to "their wisdom," i.e. the teacher's wisdom, but he said לדעתי, "to My wisdom," i.e. to G'd's wisdom. This appears to leave us with two contradictory verses from Scripture! The Talmud resolves this problem by saying one verse refers to what ordinary people should do whereas the verse in Proverbs refers to what eminent scholars may do. Rabbi Meir was eminent enough to be able to distinguish which of Elisha's words reflected genuine Torah outlook, something most ordinary people are unable to do. The Talmud there raises another problem. Rava explained the verse in Song of Songs 6,11: "I descended to the nut garden to have a look at the green plants of the vale." He asked: "why are the Torah scholars compared to a walnut? Answer: Just as the walnut is dirty on the outside without its interior becoming defiled by this, so the Torah scholar. Even though he may have sinned, his Torah has not become discredited." Rabbah bar Shiloh encountered the prophet Elijah. He asked him what G'd was currently preoccupied with? Elijah replied that G'd was telling the angels about the teachings of all the Torah scholars except that of Rabbi Meir The reason He did not quote Rabbi Meir was because the latter had quoted what he had learned from the heretic Elisha ben Avuyah. Rabbah bar Shilo wanted to know what Rabbi Meir had been guilty of that he was so discriminated against in heaven? He added that Rabbi Meir had found a pomegranate and eaten it while discarding its outer shell. [a hyperbole for not being infected with the harmful part of the source. Ed.] Thereupon Elijah answered that as of that moment G'd also quoted the sayings of Rabbi Meir. In fact G'd prefaced Rabbi Meir's sayings by referring to him as "My son Meir." Thus far the Talmud. According to our sages then an eminent scholar may listen to words of Torah even from the lips of an heretic. Maimonides does not accept this and rules in <i>Hilchot Talmud Torah</i> chapter 4 that unless the teacher is comparable in personal belief and conduct to an angel of the Lord one should not learn Torah from him.
  According to the opinion of the <i>Shach</i> on <i>Yore Deyah</i> 246,8 only Rabbi Meir makes the distinction between who may study from the lips of a scholar who is a heretic and who may not. The concensus of the scholars in the Talmud is that we do not make such a distinction. He deduces this from the fact that the Talmud quoted Rabbi Meir as defending his attitude based on a verse from Scripture in Proverbs.
  I do not agree with the words of the <i>Shach</i>. First of all we have no evidence in the Talmud that what Rabbi Meir did was subject to disagreement by the scholars in the Talmud. We accept the existence of controversies between the scholars only when there is no other way to reconcile what appear to be conflicting opinions. [the author means that it is an accepted principle not to invent a disagreement between scholars unless the evidence of such a disagreement is incontrovertible. Ed.] Secondly, the fact that the Talmud quoted the verse from Maleachi querying Rabbi Meir's conduct indicates that this very verse formed the basis of a general concensus, i.e. that one does not learn from the lips of an heretic, and that obviously Rabbi Meir agreed with this. Had the Talmud thought that Rabbi Meir did not accept the interpretation of the verse in Maleachi it should simply have said that Rabbi Meir disagreed. The question was only why Rabbi Meir ignored that verse and the concensus? If you were to argue that this is precisely what the scholar had in mind who said that Rabbi Meir based his conduct on the verse in Proverbs, i.e. that he did not accept the interpretation of the verse in Maleachi by the other scholars, why did he phrase it by saying that the verses appear to contradict themselves? Besides, Rava, who was a scholar of a later generation, quoted the verse from Song of Songs in defense of Rabbi Meir. We decide the <i>halachah</i> in accordance with more recent scholars, i.e. although the opinion of Rabbi Meir as to whether exceptions are allowed such as when the student is himself an eminent scholar is subject to dispute, the general principle that one does not learn from an heretic is accepted based on the verse in Maleachi, a principle which Rabbi Meir agrees with. What greater proof could there be that Rabbi Meir was not out of line than that G'd Himself quoted halachic sayings of Rabbi Meir after Rabbi Shiloh's conversation with the prophet Elijah? Let us assume for the moment that the principle espoused in Maleachi applies regardless of whether the student is himself an eminent scholar or not, and that only Rabbi Meir disagreed as to the exception for such scholars. Why did Rabbi Shiloh answer the prophet Elijah that Rabbi Meir found a pomegranate, ate its interior and discarded its shell? Clearly, he must have thought that in general Rabbi Meir shared the view of the other scholars otherwise what kind of a defence was this? After all this you may ask what did G'd think before He heard Rabbi Shilo's defence of Rabbi Meir and what did He think afterwards? Surely G'd did not need Rabbi Shiloh to enlighten Him! Did He not know what Rabbi Meir thought all along without the help of Rabbi Shiloh? Remember that G'd is concerned that man's actions be not only above board in His eyes but that they be approved and seen as meritorious in the eyes of his peers. Otherwise even halachically correct conduct may be accounted sinful in the eyes of G'd. When Rabbi Meir had studied from the mouth of Elisha ben Avuyah he had been guilt-free in the eyes of G'd but had not proven that his conduct was beyond reproach in the eyes of his peers. Now that Rabbi Shiloh had challenged Elijah it had become clear to G'd that Rabbi Meir's conduct was approved even by his peers. This is why G'd could begin to quote Rabbi Meir's Torah at this juncture. From all this it follows that Rabbi Meir's reasoning concerning the whole subject was correct.
  This brings us to the ruling of Maimonides [and the <i>Shulchan Aruch</i> Ed.] in which the distinction made in the Talmud as to who may or may not learn from an heretic is totally ignored. Maimonides simply felt that in his generation there were no people of stature such as Rabbi Meir so that one could proclaim that if they studied Torah from the mouths of heretics this posed no danger to their continued intellectual and spiritual integrity. Perhaps Maimonides understood all the emphasis in the discourse on the subject in the Talmud on the person of Rabbi Meir as singling him out as an exception. This is why he ignored the concensus in the Talmud and applied the principle from <i>Shabbat</i> 112 that "if earlier generations could be compared to angels our generations are like ordinary mortals, whereas if even earlier generations were only ordinary mortals then we are comparable to donkeys." In view of this consideration, Maimonides did not feel he had to even mention the exception to the rule that one's Torah teacher must be like an angel of G'd in piety, etc., in order for us to accept what he is teaching.
  In light of the foregoing we can understand the meaning of Moses saying שמר ושמעת, "be careful when you listen," in that order. He said: "under what circumstances do I tell you to be careful before you listen? Only if you are a relative ignoramus and might easily be misled by what the Torah scholar turned heretic has to say. In such an event you must only listen to teachers whose personal Torah-true conduct is above reproach. However, if you yourself happen to be an outstanding scholar and you therefore need to listen only to a very small part of what such a scholar turned heretic has to say [seeing you know most of it Ed.], you may go ahead and listen to discourses by such people just as Rabbi Meir did when he learned some Torah from Elisha ben Avuyah. You may do so because you are intelligent enough to discard what is worthless."
  
  Verse 29
  
  כי יכרית…את הגוים…השמר לך, "When G'd will cut down…the nations,….be careful, etc." Why did Moses appear to make being on guard against the lure of idolatry dependent on His cutting down the nations occupying Canaan? Were the Israelites to tolerate with equanimity the idolatry of many nations for many years as long as G'd had not cut down these nations? We know that this is not so as we have been told to wipe out idolatry and to refrain from it ourselves without a word about modifying this commandment by stating that it applied only if our neighbours practiced idolatry! Furthermore, why does the Torah write פן תנקש, "lest you be ensnared..after He has wiped them out?" Surely the sequence of events should have been the reverse? Why would the Israelites be in danger of being ensnared by idolatry performed by people whom G'd has already wiped out? Their very fate has discredited their deities who could not save them! Rashi's comment that after G'd has wiped out these nations we are to reflect about the sins which caused them to be wiped out and to be careful not to commit a similar sin so that we would not meet the same fate, does not really solve our problem. Thirdly, the Torah writes both פן תנקש and פן תדרש. In view of the fact that the "ensnaring," תנקש leads to your enquiring into the idolatrous practices, the Torah should have written פן תנקש לדרוש, "so that you will not be ensnared into enquiring, etc," instead of describing these two phenomena as independent of one another! Fourthly, why did Moses write לאמור? To whom did he expect the Israelites to say this? Fifthly, why did Moses use the word איכה as introducing a question? We do not find this word as having this meaning anywhere else! Sixthly, what did Moses mean (13,1) by forbidding both לא תגרעו, "do not subtract from the laws of the Torah" as well as לא תוסיפו "do not add to them?" Whereas we can understand the former, does not the latter exclude the enactment of rabbinic ordinances? Did not the Torah itself write (Leviticus 18,30) "You shall make fences around My commandments," i.e. that the prohibition of idolatry is to be surrounded with rabbinic decrees to ensure we do not violate the essence of the commandment? Is this not an invitation to make additional laws to keep us from becoming ensnared in the sin of idol worship?
  Actually, Moses intended to warn against the errors man is apt to make when he observes with his own eyes that wicked people are being destroyed. He is almost bound to arrive at either one of two possible (erroneous) conclusions when he is an eye witness to such a phenomenon. He may conclude that the idolatry these people had practiced was considered substantive and this is the reason why G'd was so concerned with their worshiping something other than Him that He decided to kill them. Alternatively, anyone witnessing the demise of such idol worshipers will conclude that the form of worship these people had indulged in is not substantive and would not arouse G'd's jealousy. An example would be if someone threw something in the direction of Markulies, or excreted before Pe-or, etc., which is a form of worship not applicable to the respective deity. It is a fact that we do not perform any such acts of worship to the Lord our G'd. Why then did G'd kill those nations? We would conclude that it was not for worshiping idols but for failing to worship G'd instead in the appropriate fashion. Not only that, but these people also failed to observe the various commandments G'd has revealed. 
  Indulging in speculations about the why of these peoples' demise is a waste of time which ought to have been devoted to Torah study instead. If the person who watched the demise of the pagans arrived at the conclusion that the form of worship these pagans indulged in was appropriate but that they addressed it to the wrong address, i.e. to an idol, he may conclude that the proper thing for him to do is to serve our G'd in that fashion. If, on the other hand, the witness of the demise of the pagans concluded that the reason G'd killed them was because their form of worship was too inconsequential, he may believe that if he himself were to do the same it would not have any negative consequences for him as he was not a pagan but believed in G'd and served G'd. After all, G'd had killed these people only because they did not serve Him! The Torah therefore warns: כי יכרית, "when G'd cuts down," etc., and you witness this, השמר לך, "be on guard" not to arrive at either one of the conclusions we have just described. Concerning the first conclusion that the service performed by these people was substantive and aroused G'd's jealousy, the Torah writes פן תנקש אחריהם, "do not be ensnared to follow after them, i.e. as Rashi wrote "do not commit the same stupid mistake as they did when they engaged in this form of worship but remember I have already killed these people as a sign that I abhor such practices." Concerning the second faulty conclusion by the witness of the destruction of these pagans, i.e. that their form of worship was inappropriate in the first place and that something of that nature does not come under the heading of idol worship at all, and that therefore it would not bother G'd, the Torah writes ופן תדרש לאלוהיהם, "and do not speculate about what constitutes proper idol worship by concluding that the nature of the obeisance determines what is true idolatry. This is what is meant by איכה יעבדו הגוים, "in what manner the pagans perform their idolatrous practices." The word איכה is not a question as we thought at first; it is part of a statement expressing amazement by the onlooker who could not fathom that something so undignified could possibly be classified as worship. Moses continues ואעשה כן גם אני, "and I shall do likeweise," to show what such faulty reasoning can lead to when a Jew wishes to express his disdain for an idol by excreting before it, for instance. The Torah warns not to do something of that nature.
  Moses continues (verse 31) לא תעשה כן לשםה אלוקיך, "do not do so to the Lord your G'd, etc." concerning the first error we mentioned, i.e. to indulge in the substantive kind of worship the pagans engaged in, but in order to honour our G'd with such practices. The Torah tells us that we are wrong to assume that their form of worship was acceptable but not the address, by writing "for everything these people have done is an abomination which G'd hates." G'd's jealousy was not aroused by the fact that an aesthetically superior form of worship was lavished on idols instead of on Him, but even the form of their worship is an abomination in His eyes. In order to illustrate that these people had no idea of what constitutes an acceptable form of worship in G'd's eyes it suffices to remind the Israelites that they indulged in sacrificing their own children to such so-called gods. Concerning the second erroneous conclusion, that these forms of worship were of no consequence per se, the Torah explains that the form of worship is hateful to G'd, that "G'd hates everything these people did for their deities." G'd does not need to explain to us why a certain kind of activity is considered an abomination in His eyes. G'd did not explain to us why it is forbidden to marry two sisters while both are alive, although the principle of marrying both sisters itself is not taboo. Similarly, G'd does not owe us an accounting why He considers that something which may appear harmless and of no consequence in our eyes is hateful in His eyes.
  In 13,1, the last verse in this passage, Moses continues: את כל הדבר, "the entire word," thus justifying both the commandment not "to subtract" nor "to add" to the commandment but to observe it precisely as written. The expression "do not add" concerns not adding pagan practices when we serve our G'd for whatever aesthetic reasons we think up. The words "do not subtract from it" refer to excluding the inconsequential forms of worship of the pagans from what is forbidden to us. Everything is part of the overall prohibition of idolatry and all that is connected to it.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
   כי יקום בקרבך נביא, "When a prophet arises in your midst, etc." The word נביא implies that even if this person has an established reputation as a true prophet, if he asks you to violate any of G'd's commandments even temporarily and it involves idolatry he is guilty of death. [He may ask you to temporarily violate a different one of the commandments such as Elijah at Mount Carmel who rebuilt a private altar upon which it was forbidden to offer sacrifices after the Temple in Jerusalem had been built. Ed.]
  ונתן אליך אות או מופת, "and he will demonstrate to you a sign or a wonder, etc." Why did the Torah not first mention what it is the prophet said and which he wishes to lend credence to by performing a miracle? Furthermore, what does the Torah mean when writing: ובא האות…לאמור, and the sign comes about….saying?" Does the sign then say something? Is it not the prophet who says something, i.e. to serve an alien deity, and that is why he incurs the death penalty?
  It appears that our verse addresses the following situation. The prophet claims that G'd has instructed him to legitimise himself by means of a sign or a certain kind of miracle. The idea is that the prophet tells the people that if, as a result of his attempts to create a miracle and this miracle would materialise in a certain predetermined manner, then this would be proof that G'd had asked the people to worship a certain deity. If, on the other hand, said miracle would materialise in a different form, this would be proof that G'd wanted said deity to be burned and destroyed. ובא האות והמופת, and now the miracle has indeed materialised in the form which would indicate that the people ought to worship the deity which the prophet spoke about (although he had been careful to leave the decision to the people themselves), the Torah says: "do not hearken to him!" In other words, such a so-called prophet is guilty of the death penalty even though he himself had not insisted that the people engage in idolatry but had left the decision up to them and to their interpretation of the miracle's meaning. Although the people themselves had freely decided to engage in worship of such a deity, the "prophet" is still guilty of the death penalty.
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
   כי מנסה ה׳ אלוקיכם אתכם לדעת, for the Lord your G'd is testing you, wanting to know, etc." You may well ask why such a prophet should be executed if G'd sent him to test the loyalty of the Jewish people! Clearly then the words כי מנסה do not mean that G'd instructed this prophet to say what he said, but it explains only why the miracles this prophet performed in order to legitimise himself were allowed to happen.
  Alternatively, the fact is that G'd never allowed any miracles to be performed by a prophet except to demonstrate His dominion over the forces of nature, i.e. that He created these forces. The words כי מנסה השם, "for G'd conducts a test, etc." are only an answer to the question why G'd allows some people to perform such miracles instead of preventing them so as not to mislead the Israelites. The Torah answers that G'd allows the world to function in its normal manner. If it were not for the fact that G'd on occasion wants to test His people, He would not allow such charlatans to perform miracles so as not to reinforce the power of the wicked.
  
  Verse 5
  
   אחרי ה׳ אלוקיך תלך, "Follow the Lord your G'd, etc. It is difficult to understand why our paragraph about the false prophet is interrupted by this verse. This verse should have been written only after verse 6 in which the penalty of execution of the false prophet is discussed. Besides, why did Moses use such long-winded phraseology as "you shall follow G'd, fear Him; His commandments you shall observe, and to His voice you shall hearken; Him you shall serve and to Him you shall cleave?"
  I believe that Moses wanted to spell out the various elements which comprise serving the Lord. Once we know this we can better understand why the penalty for a false prophet or a dreamer applies even if he asks you to violate only a single one of these elements which are part of serving G'd by applying them to worship of an alien deity. The first element in serving the Lord, i.e. "following Him" is the acceptance of the yoke of Heaven and not the dictates of any other power claiming to be a god. This teaches us that if the prophet asks the people to accept the sovereignty of any other power he is guilty of enticing the people to serve idols. Moses was careful to use the word תלכו, "you shall walk (future)," to teach us that even if said prophet did not demand immediate acceptance of an alien deity he is still guilty of the death penalty from the moment he made such a statement.
  Moses continues: ואותו תיראו, "and Him you shall fear," to emphasise that only Him you shall fear. You must not be afraid of any other so-called power in this universe. The Torah implies that even if the false prophet does not suggest you worship or sacrifice to any other power but only "fear" it, he has thereby become guilty of the death penalty. One must only fear G'd in Heaven.
  Moses continues: ואת מצותיו תשמרו, "and His commandments you shall observe," i.e. His commandments and not the demands made in the name of any other deity. The new element in this statement is that if, say, the deity orders you to do something which brings in its wake a tangible benefit, such as the promise that if you perform a certain act you will become rich as a result, then although the act itself has no connotation of worship you must not do it as you must not take orders from anyone but G'd. If the false prophet were to say that G'd has ordered him that the people should perform a certain idolatrous act in order to be successful, such a false prophet is liable to execution.
  Moses goes on to say ובקולו תשמעו, "and you shall hearken to His voice," to remind you that you are to listen only to the teachings revealed in the Torah and to teach these sacred words. You are not to listen to words spoken by the <i>Avodah Zarah</i>. [I suppose it would be prohibited to listen to the sound of the voice of the oracle in Delphi. I was there myself, but it did not speak. Ed.] If the false prophet claims to have been instructed by G'd to listen to what such a deity has to say he is guilty of death even though he does not perform a deed or even fears the deity in any way.
  ואותו תעבדו, "and Him you shall serve," etc. This also means "G'd exclusively." We can illustrate this with the story told in <i>Gittin</i> 57 of the Seleucid Emperor who said to Hannah's youngest son that he should merely pretend to throw the ring on his finger in front of the idol and he could then come and bring it back so that the onlookers would gain the impression that he had performed an act of obeisance though in his heart he had not meant to do this at all. The son refused and was killed for refusing. The Torah tells us here that if a false prophet were to come and tell such a son of Hannah in the name of G'd that he could do what the Emperor requested of him, such a prophet would make himself guilty of the death penalty [though all he wanted was to save the boys' life. Ed.].
  ובו תדבקון, "and you are to cleave to Him. This expression may be understood in conjunction with <i>Ketuvot</i> 111 where the Talmud asks how it is possible for man who is made of matter to cleave to G'd who is totally abstract? The answer given is that we are to cleave to Torah scholars as they are the carriers of the <i>Shechinah</i>, the presence of G'd. By cleaving to Torah scholars one is considered as having attached onself to G'd. ובא האות והמופת לאמור נלכה אחרי אלוהים אחרים, "and the sign or the wonder comes about, of which he spoke to you saying: 'Let us follow gods of others, etc.'" Moses does not quote the false prophet as saying: "let us serve the gods of others" in order to teach us that he is guilty of the death penalty even without encouraging the Israelites to "serve" those gods. Even though Moses concludes the verse with the prophet saying: "and let us worship them," Moses merely means that in the end at one point or another such a false prophet will ask you to worship and to serve the deity in question. This is why in the next verse (6) the Torah speaks of והנביא ההוא, "that prophet;" i.e. "this prophet" who wanted to escape execution by his devious ways will be executed, כי דבר סרה על השם, "because he has said something perverse against G'd." Although this prophet did not literally promote idol worship he lied vis-a-vis G'd by prophesying lies. The Torah makes it plain that a true prophet would never predict such things, much less in the name of the Lord. Any command by an established prophet for the Jews to temporarily violate one of the commandments is valid only for one of the commandments not involving idolatry. With regards to idolatry the slightest deviation is taboo and G'd will not even tolerate a minute deviation in an emergency. <i>Sifri</i> confirmed what we have said by translating the word סרה, as "falsified." Committing fraud with the Torah is a capital sin.
  Apart from the approach we have taken to explain our verse, i.e. that it is intended to address the six elements involved in serving G'd, one may also view Moses as alluding to the six major sections of the oral Torah, i.e. the Mishnah. The words: "follow the Lord your G'd" refer to the section called <i>Zeraim</i>. This section contains laws involving the gleaning after the farmers have harvested their grain or orchards, as well as many laws designed to cater to the needs of the poor. It therefore reflects the attributes of G'd who cares for the needy. It also contains a tractate about the need to bring one's second tithe all the way to Jerusalem to consume it or its equivalent in that city. There is also a story <i>Shemot Rabbah</i> 31 about a farmer who had duly discharged all the various commandments dealing with tithes and gifts to the Levite, the priest and the poor, and who found that the normal yield of his field amounted to one thousand bushels. After a while the farmer died and during the year following the father's death the field continued to yield its regular harvest. The son, who was miserly, separated less than the required amount of tithes, and found to his distress that in the following year the yield of the field declined by approximately the amount he had thought he had saved by cutting back on his tithes, etc. He continued to deprive the Levite and the poor of even more of their due only to find that the harvest of his field kept shrinking apace. The story proves that the earth's produce is in direct proportion to whether the farmer fulfils his social obligations laid down in the Torah. This is what Moses alluded to when he instructed the Israelites: אחרי ה׳ אלוקיכם תלכו, "follow after the Lord your G'd!"
  Another nuance in the wording of this verse which suggests that it may allude to laws in the section <i>Zeraim</i> of the Mishnah, is that that section relates to laws governing man's nourishment and his food supply. Maimonides writes in his treatise <i>Hilchot Deyot</i> 3,2 that when man eats and drinks he has to concentrate on the thought that the purpose of eating and drinking is to keep his body in good health so that he can serve the Lord with all his strength. He bases this on Proverbs 3,6: "Acknowledge Him in all your ways (activities)." This is what Moses meant when he wrote אחרי ה׳..תלכו, "i. e. in your ways, your activities.
  ואותו תיראו, "and Him you shall fear." This is an allusion to the second section of the Mishnah, the one called <i>Moed</i> which deals with all the festivals and the Sabbath. The word אתו is an allusion to the Sabbath which is called אות in Exodus 31,17. Festivals are also described in the Torah as אות, "sign." The author of <i>Tikkuney Hazohar</i> chapter 9 relates to that fact by saying that just as one needs to fear violating the Sabbath one should fear violating the laws pertaining to the festivals.
  ואת מצותיו תשמרו, "and observe His commandments." This is an allusion to the section of the Mishnah called <i>Nashim</i> in which the many laws concerning marriage, forbidden unions, family purity, etc., are discussed.
  ובקלו תשמעו, and to His voice you shall hearken; this is an allusion to the various tractates dealing with property rights called <i>Nezikin</i>. One needs to pay careful attention to the judges who render judgment in matters of civil disputes. One must not depart fom what the judges rule, as spelled out in Deut. 17,12 "any man who deliberately fails to obey the ruling by the priest, etc.
  ואתו תעבדו, "and (only) Him you must serve." This is an allusion to the section called <i>Kodoshin</i>. It deals with the details of the Temple Service, etc.
  ובו תדבקון, and to Him you shall cleave." This is an allusion to the sixth and final section of the oral Torah which deals with matters of ritual purity. By observing these laws in its details one becomes worthy of cleaving to the <i>Shechinah</i>, the presence of G'd.
  
  Verse 6
  
   והנביא ההוא או חולם החלום ההוא, "And that prophet or the dreamer of that dream, etc." The Torah had to make reference to the prophet and to the dreamer separately; if the Torah had mentioned only the prophet I would have concluded that the death penalty which is the subject of this verse applies only to someone who had already enjoyed the reputation of being a true prophet. After all, the Israelites have been commanded to hearken to the words of a prophet in Deut. 18,15 where the Torah writes "to him (the prophet) you shall hearken." There is no command in the Torah obligating us to hearken to someone who proclaims that G'd appeared to him in a dream and ordered certain things; in fact many dreams are totally without spiritual significance. I would have reasoned that such a person has not misled the people sufficiently to warrant death. By including the dreamer in our verse the Torah makes plain that such a dreamer is equally guilty in the eyes of the law. If, on the other hand, the Torah had legislated the death penalty only for a person described as having had an appearance of G'd in a dream, I would have deduced from this that only the dreamer is guilty of death but that the words of a prophet who has been known to be a legitimate prophet must be taken seriously even when he asks us to violate the commandment and asks us to temporarily violate the commandment involving idolatry because of some emergency.
  החלום ההוא יומת כי דבר סרה, "of this dream, will be executed for he spoke falsely, etc." The Torah had to write this as whereas we would have rejected a prophet who told us that G'd had spoken to him openly asking us to perform some kind of idolatry, we might have believed a man who claimed to have had a dream of this kind. Many strange and incomprehensible things occur in dreams, after all. At least we would have believed that the person claiming to have had a dream in which say the deity itself, i.e. the miracle he had performed invited us to perform certain acts, had in fact dreamed such a dream. Moreover, I would have reasoned that seeing all that person did was to tell us his dream without editorial comment, the Torah had to make it clear that such a person too must be executed. The Torah explains the reason by saying כי דבר סרה, that even if it turns out that what the dreamer foretold came true, he had no business to tell us of such a dream since by doing so he created a false image of G'd in our minds. G'd' goes on record that He could never give any such instructions which would involve acts of idolatry.
  המוציא אתכם מארץ מצרים, "Who takes you out of the land of Egypt, etc." The Torah justifies the death penalty for the aforementioned dreamer. It recalls that when the Israelites left Egypt all of them were granted the vision of mind-boggling miracles in their waking hours. All of these miracles testified to the fact that only G'd was a power and only He had created nature, i.e. the universe. (compare what I have written on Exodus 20,2 in this connection). By what crooked kind of reasoning would the dreamer accept as truth something he merely saw in a dream which contradicted what he had seen when awake when he came out of Egypt? He should have discounted the dream instead of telling you about it! Surely, what he related to you could not have been the truth! The fact that he nevertheless told you about his dream makes him guilty of the death penalty.
  מן הדרך אשר צוך…ללכת בה, "from the path…He commanded you to go." The Torah further explains the severity of the sin of the "prophet" or dreamer. We have explained repeatedly that the violation of the second of the Ten Commandments is equivalent to violation of all the commandments just as observing this commandment is accounted for a person as if he had embraced all of the commandments. By suggesting that you violate this commandment, the "prophet" or dreamer has in fact become responsible for violating all the commandments. This also explains why if said "prophet" had suggested the temporary violation of any of the other commandments the Torah did not decree the death penalty. The reason is that such a sin did not involve the basic elements of the Torah. The difference of how we are to relate to the message by the prophet and dreamer respectively is as follows; if the prophet has been a true prophet up until now, we do what the people did when Elijah built the altar on Mount Carmel, i.e. we do not question it. On the other hand, we do not accept the message purporting to have been dreamed by someone who has no history of G'd communicating with him as we apply the principle that many dreams are meaningless.
  ובערת הרע מקרבך, "and you shall destroy the evil from your midst." Perhaps the word רע refers to the evil urge which G'd describes as רע in Genesis 8,21 when He speaks of man's inclination to be רע from his early youth. This would account for the use of the letter ה before the word רע, as the reference is to an already well known רע. The Torah tells us that by sentencing and executing sinners such as the false prophet, this evil inclination will be removed from being an integral part of you, i.e. מקרבך.
  
  Verse 7
  
  כי יסיתך אחיך, "If your brother entices you, etc." In this paragraph the Torah teaches that enticement to sin is not only due to external sources but may be due to something within us, in fact some force born within us from the day we see the light of day. Our sages in <i>Sanhedrin</i> 91 derive this from Genesis 4,7: "sin rests at the door."
  There is an additional internal "enticer," i.e. the spiritually negative force man creates every time he sins. This is the mystical dimension of <i>Avot</i> 4,2 that "one sin drags another in its wake." Kabbalists have talked at length about this subject explaining that every sin creates an accuser which in turn increases the power of the original evil urge within us. The more man sins the more powerful the forces which urge him to sin become. This is the meaning of <i>Berachot</i> 34 that מקום שבעלי תשובה עומדים אין צדיקים גמורים יכולין לעמוד, "that it is not possible to draw a valid comparison between the forces of evil to which a repentant sinner is exposed and to similar forces to which the person who is totally without sin is exposed."
  There is a third dimension to the personality of a person who indulges in sin. By doing so he acquires an additional soul, as it were. Just as we have a principle that he who observes the Sabbath is granted an additional soul (spiritually positive force) on that day, the reverse holds true for the habitual sinner.
  When you continue on such an evil path, allowing yourself to be enticed into sin, one eventually integrates one's personality with the forces of evil so much so that instead of merely becoming the victim of enticement one denies the essence of Judaism leading one to embrace idolatry.
  When Moses speaks of בי יסיתך אחיך, "when your brother entices you," he describes the evil urge as someone who considers himself as "your brother" from birth. He adds the words בן אמך, "son of your mother," to explain whence the enticer originates, i.e. he is a "son" of our common mother Eve who was responsible for the fact that good and evil are inextricably mixed within us at birth. Concerning the second aspect of evil within us, i.e. the one created by our own sins -as opposed to Eve's- Moses says או בנך או בתך, "or your own son or your own daughter." These are references to the spiritually negative creations which are the result of our own sins. They too are called alien children. The reason that the Torah lists both בנך, "your son," as well as בתך, "your daughter" to describe such creations, is that some sins produce accusers of a masculine type whereas other sins produce accusers of a feminine variety. It all depends on the type of sin one has committed. The greater the sin the more likely that the accuser it creates is of the masculine type. If the sin is relatively minor, the accuser it creates may be described as בתך, "your daughter."
  With regard to the third acquisition i.e. an evil soul which hence-forth accompanies the sinner constantly, Moses describes it as אשת חיקך, "the wife of your bosom," as it now resides inside the sinner and will add to the power of the forces which entice man to sin.
  Regarding the fourth element which entices man to sin, the opposite of the נשמה יתירה, the "additional soul" a Sabbath-observing Jew is equipped with on the Sabbath, the Torah calls it רעך אשר כנפשך, "your friend who is like your own soul." Once the sinner has been "softened up" by the enticer, the Torah describes the nature of the enticement, i.e. an invitation to serve alien gods.
  Moses makes a point of describing this enticement as occurring בסתר, "secretly," seeing the enticer is in the habit of hiding his true purpose pretending to love you and to have your true interests at heart.
  לאמור נלכה, saying "let us go." Moses inserts the word לאמור to make it clear that the enticer does not openly use words such as "let us commit idolatry," but he expresses himself more obliquely; all the while he aims at the eventual objective, i.e. to commit idolatry. When Moses portrays the enticer saying נלכה נעבוד, "let us go and serve, etc," he includes himself in such a way that his victim thinks that he too had never previously served idols. This makes the victim think that his own soul is speaking to him rather than an outside force which he would define as the evil urge against which he would be on guard.
  אשר לא ידעת, "which you have never known, etc." Moses describes the enticer as marshalling arguments against the undertaking by the Israelites at the time of the revelation not to serve any alien deities. He argues that the undertaking entered into by the Israelites at that time included only the religions which were known at that time. He argues that any religion, i.e. form of idolatry, which did not exist at that time or which the Israelites did not know of at that time, was not something they were committed not to serve. He emphasises his point by stressing אשר לא ידעת אתה ואבותיך, "which neither you personally nor your ancestors were aware of." When your forefathers accepted the prohibition not to serve idols, these idols were not included either in what they undertook not to serve.
  
  Verse 8
  
  מאלוהי העמים, "from among the gods of the nations, etc." The enticer points to the successful lives led by nations bordering on Israel and uses this as proof that there could be nothing wrong with their religion. Alternatively, the enticer points to the vast majority of nations who serve idols, especially during the time of the Romans when the Roman Empire built on idolatry was so pre-eminent in the world. The argument that the whole world prospered while worshiping the gods of the Romans while only the Jewish people were in abject poverty and exile, is apt to entice sinners very easily. Moses warns לא תאבה לו, "do not even be willing to enter into a discussion with such an enticer." Moses paraphrases what Solomon said in Proverbs 1,10: "my son, if sinners entice you do not consent." Deny the suggestion without bothering to argue the merits or otherwise of the enticer's argument. Please read my commentary on Deut. 2,30 that even arguing the point gives the enticer a foothold in your heart.
  
  Verse 9
  
  ולא תחוס עינך עליו, "and your eye shall not take pity on him;" this means that one has to deny the enticer everything he desires or holds dear, even things totally unrelated to what he proposed. The idea is to make him endure suffering. You should not say that there is no point in making this person endure pointless denials seeing that G'd Himself has permitted all these things to be enjoyed by man. Even though the afflictions we speak about affect primarily the soul, they will also have an effect on the spiritually negative mani-festations which have become an inseparable part of this human being. This is the mystical dimension of the whole concept of fasting. Man is to deny himself food and drink in order to weaken the forces of evil within him.
  ולא תכסה, "and you must not cover up, etc," This may best be understood by a reference to <i>Kidushin</i> 81 in which the Talmud relates a story involving Rav Amram. [The subject matter is being alone with a woman who is not your wife and the implications of such a situation. Ed.] Certain female prisoners whose freedom had been bought by the people of Nehardea, the town in which the pious Rav Amram resided, were entrusted to him for safekeeping. He assigned to them the top floor, removing the connecting stairs. One day he was sorely tempted by his evil urge to socialise with one or the other of these women and he single-handedly put up a ladder to climb the upper floor which it would normally require several people to move. When half way up he cried out that his house was on fire which brought out the neighbours before he could succumb totally to the enticer within him. He embarassed himself thereby publicly, but told his colleagues that it was better for him to be embarassed in the here and now, than to face the consequences of his action in the hereafter where his embarassment would be far greater. Moses says here that you should not conceal the fact that the enticer is active within you, but by exposing this fact similar to Rav Amram, you will be able to defeat the enticer by publicly disgracing him for what he is. כי הרוג תהרגנו, "Rather, you must surely kill him." 
  Moses adds: ידך תהיה בו בראשונה להמיתו, "your hand shall be the first against him to kill him." Moses indicates that in contrast to what Rav Amram did in the story related in <i>Kidushin</i> when he called on others to killl the evil urge within himself, you must do so yourself, at least you must begin the job. Only if you failed in your attempt may you do as Rav Amram did, i.e. call upon outsiders to do what is really your task. Only when you are in the position described by David in Psalms 109,22 that "my heart is pierced within me," may you call on G'd to do the job on your behalf as did David in Psalms 109,26, i.e. "Help me O Lord my G'd, etc." If you fail by yourself, Moses' final comment i.e. ויד כל העם באחרונה "and the hand of all the people at the end," applies. This is a reference to the situation when you may do as Rav Amram did and call in outside help.
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
   וסקלתו באבנים, "you shall pelt him with stones, etc. <i>Zohar</i> volume three page 272 speaks of 5 stones needed to kill Satan the enticer and describes the number as a mystical dimension of the verse שמע ישראל.
  וכל ישראל ישמעו ויראון, "and all of Israel will hear about it and fear." When the Israelites will hear the outcry and the reason for it they will hear and continue to fear the Lord. The reason for the sequence of hearing and fearing is that explained by our sages in <i>Kidushin</i> in connection with the story of Rav Amram.
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  לשבת שם לאמור, "in which to dwell, saying, etc." Moses uses the word לאמור. According to <i>Ketuvot</i> 110 that it is a positive commandment to live in what used to be the land of Canaan, we must read the verse as if the words לשבת שם לאמור had been written in the sequence לאמור לשבת שם.
  We also need to analyse why the Torah used the apparently superfluous word אנשים in verse 14 when all that was necessary was for the Torah to write יצאו בני בליעל, "lawless people have emerged, etc." I would have known that what are meant are "men." If one were to argue that the word אנשים is in contrast to minors, there is no need to write this as minors are not subject to punishment. Apparently, by writing the word אנשים, the Torah wanted to inform us that the people in question used to be righteous people, צדיקים. According to <i>Bamidbar Rabbah</i> 16 the word אנשים always refers to righteous people. Moses says that as soon as they depart from their normal lifestyle they lose their status and are immediately described as בני בליעל.
  The Torah also teaches that although you have not had solid evidence that the people accused of having gone out to cause others to serve idols have indeed done so, it is your duty to start an immediate investigation of the rumours.
  
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  This is the intention of this section here, according to the commandment of a city that is rejected, that this whole city [that rejected G-d] be killed by sword, and even their animals. This act will give rise to the nature of cruelty in the heart of man, as the Ishmaelites told us in the king's article that they have a great desire to kill a person and uproot them. The promise of God is that He'll give them mercy, even though nature will give birth to cruelty. The source of mercy [G-d] will affect the power of mercy [within you] to negate the cruelty that was born by virtue of the act [of killing out the city]. And it says about this city [that was killed out] as long as a man has a cruel nature, G-d will behave with him the same way, that G-d is not merciful [on the cruel-natured man], but compassionate.
  The Torah adds once more ורחמך "and He will be merciful," to warn you that G'd will help us practice mercy only if we ourselves have endeavoured to develop this character trait within ourselves.
  והרבך, "and He will multiply you." This is a consolation for the people who have watched their numbers being diminished when they executed the inhabitants of the עיר הנדחת, the city whose majority adopted idolatry as their religion. G'd promises that He will more than make up for the void created by these executions. The Torah adds: כי תשמע בקול השם, "if you hearken to the voice of the Lord." The Torah's promise to multiply the Jewish people will be fulfilled only if the execution of the inhabitants of the idolatrous city was motivated purely by religious considerations. If some of you exploited this opportunity to settle some personal score, the Torah's promise is null and void. The Torah adds the words לשמור את כל מצותיו "to observe all His commandments," to tell us that when one carries out the law concerning the עיר הנדחת one is considered as if one had performed all the commandments collectively.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   בנים אתם לה׳ אלוקיכם, "You are children to the Lord your G'd, etc." Why did the Torah write this statement next to the prohibition to make incisions on one's body? It appears that the reason is to teach us that if one loses a family member to death one should not look upon the deceased as having become lost. The true state of affairs can be understood by a parable. A father sent a son to a distant city to buy some merchandise. Seeing the son did not return, the father sends out someone after a while to try and locate him. The son's absence was felt only in his home town; this does not mean that he no longer exists. Moreover, the chances are that the reason he did not return is that he is better off in his new home as he is closer to the original father, i.e. G'd, who was the primary source of his having lived on earth in the first place. This is the reason we must not make incisions on our bodies, or to make bald spots on top of our heads in mourning for the deceased. This law would not apply to the Gentile nations as they are not in the category of being "children of G'd." The reason the Torah stresses the word אתם, "you," is to explain the difference between the death of a Gentile who does indeed cease to live in any world upon his physical death and the Jew who moves on to a higher world.
  
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   והראה ואת האיה, and the aforementioned birds, etc. It appears that every one of the 24 categories of unclean birds listed here has numerous sub-categories. This is the reason the Torah does not write למינה, "according to its kind," but למינהו, "according to their kind" (<i>Chulin</i> 63). When the bird mentioned is the only one of its kind or there are only a few variants of that category, the Torah speaks of למינו, "its kind." The proof for this theory is that the Torah does not write למינו in connection with the נשר (often translated as eagle), and the Talmud in <i>Chulin</i> 61 when not certain about a particular bird suggests that it may belong to the family of the נשר. Clearly, the sages of the Talmud considered the word נשר as a collective term for quite a variety of birds of its category.
  
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   לא תאכלו כל נבלה, "You shall not eat any carcass, etc." The reason that the Torah adds the word כל, "any" or "all kinds of," is justified according to the sages who hold that two types of prohibitions do apply to the same animal simultaneously (compare <i>Chulin</i> 113). [supposing you were to eat the carcass of an animal which even if ritually slaughtered would have been forbidden because it was already forbidden as an unclean animal during its lifetime. According to that view you would be culpable for two sins. Ed.] According to the sages who hold that one is not culpable for an additional prohibition, i.e. for the prohibition of eating the carcass of say a pig, the word כל, "all or every," is needed to forbid the carcass of either domestic animal, free-roaming animal, or birds. However, carcasses of unclean animals would not be included in this prohibition.
  An additional meaning of the word כל may be related to what we have learned in <i>Me-ilah</i> 4,3 and which has been confirmed by a ruling of Maimonides in chapter four of his treatise <i>Ma-achalot assurot.</i> He writes: "all carcasses may be combined with one another. How does this work in practice? If someone takes a minute amount of the carcass of an ox plus a minute amount of the carcass of a deer, plus a minute amount of the carcass of a hen, if the three amounts combined are equal to the size of an olive then he who eats this combination is liable to thirty nine lashes." Thus far Maimonides. The statement: "you must not eat any carcass" therefore refers to the minimum quantity which is considered a violation, i.e. even if three separate animals were needed to make up the quantity of the size equal to an olive.
  לגר אשר בשעריך, "to the stranger who is in your gates, etc." When the Torah speaks of the stranger it mentions giving it to him, whereas when speaking about the Gentile [who does not even observe the 7 Noachide laws. Ed.] the Torah mentions selling the carcass to him. In <i>Chulin</i> 114 we find a dispute between Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah concerning the meaning of our verse. The former holds that our verse indicates a preference for giving the carcass to the stranger rather than selling it to him although both is permitted; however at the same time the Torah prefers you to sell the carcass to the Gentile rather than to give it to him as a gift. Rabbi Yehudah understands the wording to mean that to the Gentiles the carcass may only be sold, whereas to the stranger it may only be given as a gift. Rabbi Yehudah bases himself on the word או meaning "or." Had the Torah wanted to permit selling the carcass to the stranger it should have written ומכור, "and sell it," instead of או מכור, "or sell it." Rabbi Meir understands the sequence of "giving or selling" as an indication of which method the Torah prefers in each respective situation. In order to understand the approach of Rabbi Yehudah of why the Torah does not state unequivocally that the Gentile may not be given the carcass, etc., we have to refer to <i>Avodah Zarah</i> 67. [The subject under discussion in the Talmud there concerns matters whose substance as well as whose taste is prohibited. The question is whether the taste is prohibited even if it does not only not cause pleasure but has a distinctly negative influence on the palate. Ed.] Rabbi Shimon permits a substance which has become less enjoyable due to the addition of forbidden foreign matter, whereas Rabbi Meir forbids such a substance regardless of whether the taste enhances it or makes it unpalatable. Rabbi Shimon uses our verse to prove that anything which is fit as food for a stranger is called a carcass, i.e. falls under the prohibition that a Jew must not eat it. If it is not fit for a stranger to eat, it no longer rates as a carcass in Jewish law. Thus far the Talmud. From the above we may assume that Rabbi Shimon's exegesis is based on what is given to a stranger. A person would not make a gift of something to someone unless the recipient would enjoy such a gift. Needless to say that something which is unfit to give away is impossible to offer for sale either. From the above the Talmud seems to conclude that the definition of the word "carcass" depends on the suitability of the carcass as either a gift or its having a commercial value. This argument does not appear convincing. It appears to me that the word כל in our verse is meant to tell us that the condition of the carcass is immaterial to the question of whether it is forbidden or not. The mention of selling it or giving it away is totally unrelated to the status of the carcass as a forbidden substance.
  If you accept my argument we need to understand Rabbi Shimon differently. He uses the fact that our verse is phrased in an unusual manner to prove his point. The Torah wrote the word "stranger" next to the word carcass," i.e. "every carcass is for the stranger," instead of writing it in the same way as it did later when speaking about selling the carcass to the Gentile. There the Torah uses the normal syntax, writing: "or to sell it to the Gentile." It is this unusual positioning of the respective words נבלה לגר which form the basis of Rabbi Shimon's exegesis. He most certainly did not fail to give due weight to the word כל. Had the Torah written תתננה לגר, "you are to give it to the stranger," Rabbi Shimon would not have had an "exegetical leg" to stand on.
  We can now understand the reason of Rabbi Yehudah who holds like Rabbi Shimon in the discussion we quoted about נותן טעם לפגם, "when the taste of the forbidden substance is displeasing." Seeing that he holds that once the carcass is not suitable either commercially or as a gift and is therefore not forbidden to the Jew who owns it, we needed to be told that even if the carcass still has commercial value it may be sold or given away by its owner. According to Rabbi Meir who holds that even a commercially unsaleable carcass is forbidden, the whole subject of the suitability of the carcass did not arise so that the wording of the verse did not have to take this into account.
  I have found that in <i>Avodah Zarah</i> 68 the Talmud raises the question of a carcass which is unsuitable either as a gift or as something saleable. Rabbi Meir claims that the word כל includes only carcasses which prior to the animal having died were fit to eat or to give as a gift, whereas animals which were badly diseased before death are not included under the prohibition of the word "carcass" even according to the view of Rabbi Meir! Rabbi Shimon replied that the Torah did not need to write a special word in order for me to know that a diseased animal could not ever become forbidden under the heading of "carcass." According to what we have argued so far, what kind of objection did the Talmud raise against the view of Rabbi Meir? We have already explained that there is no room for Rabbi Meir to use the wording of the verse as Rabbi Shimon does? Perhaps we need to say that the Talmud only elaborates (unnecessarily) when raising this question as if to say: "even assuming that Rabbi Meir could use the exegetical approach of Rabbi Shimon, he would be able to apply the word כל to exclude an animal which had been totally unsuitable as potential food already while it was alive, etc." The fact is however, that there is no real question against Rabbi Meir as we have already mentioned. At any rate, even according to the view of Rabbi Meir that when the taste of the carcass has been negatively affected it is still forbidden, if it had been unfit to eat for reasons of disease and the accompanying stench before its death, it is considered as plain earth and certainly does not fit the definition of "carcass." The two scholars then only disagree as to whether we need a word in the Torah to teach us this latter point.
  
  
  
  
  
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   רק אם שמוע תשמע, "only if you will surely hearken, etc." The reason this paragraph is positioned next to the paragraph following promising that there will not be any poor amongst you is that we have learned in <i>Moed Katan</i> 28 that the wealth or poverty of a person is not related to his piety but to his <i>mazzal</i> The Torah therefore tells us that if all the Israelites will observe all the commandments, both positive and negative, then Moses could promise that there would indeed be no one that would be poor amongst the Jewish people. In such circumstances the passage in <i>Moed Katan</i> 28 would not be applicable. What the Talmud referred to there were only situations in which the person in question while having more merits than debits to his credit questions why he is poor. To such a person the Talmud said that the matter was due to his <i>mazzal</i>.
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
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   כי יהיה בך אביון, "If there will be a destitute person amongst you, etc." Why does the Torah have to write בך, "amongst you," when it already wrote "amongst one of your brethren?" Perhaps Moses alluded to something we have learned in <i>Baba Batra</i> 10 where the Talmud said that the reason G'd chooses to afflict some people with economic hardship in this life is to afford their wealthier fellow Jews the opportunity to assist such a destitute person to support himself in dignity. The words בך אביון may be read together meaning: "on your account, i.e. for your sake," there will be a destitute person." The Torah writes מאחד אחיך, "amongst one of your brethren" to remind you not to evaluate people on the basis of their economic prosperity. The fact that he is destitute does not make him a lesser person, He is still your brother. This is quite independent of the explanation of our sages (<i>Baba Metzia</i> 71) that the reason the Torah mentions different levels of poverty is to teach you to attend first to the local poor before tending to those elsewhere.
  One may also see in these various levels of poverty described as עני, אביון in verse 12, different degrees of G'd's decrees against the poor. We have dealt with this subject on Exodus 22,24 where the Torah told us to extend loans to the poor. We explained there that sometimes the portion which is the due of the poor has been entrusted by G'd to the rich instead and that all his riches are in truth a collection of what originally had been allocated to the poor. When the rich man keeps this in mind he will never begrudge any support he extends to the poor as he is only giving to the poor what was his in the first place. Sometimes the poor finds someone physically close to him who will support him; other times he may have to travel to find someone who helps him sufficiently. This is what the Torah means when it speaks of מאחד אחיך, amongst one of your brethren. Alternatively, the benefactor may not even qualify for the description "your brother" but must be described as באחד שעריך, "someone in one of your cities." He may not even be found in one of your cities but merely בארצך, in your land but not in a Jewish city.
  Alternatively, the word מארצך means that though there is general prosperity in your country this does not preclude the fact that some Jew will be destitute.
  A moral/ethical approach to the whole paragraph sees in the words מאחד אחיך, "one of your brethren," an allusion to the one who is special amongst your brethren, the one to whose coming we all look forward to with longing, i.e. the Messiah. The Messiah has been portrayed as a poor man when the prophet Zachariah 9,9 describes him as riding on a donkey. The Torah also hints at the cause of his poverty when it says בך, "because of you," meaning that if the redemption would be orchestrated by G'd because the Israelites had attained spiritual maturity the Messiah would arrive in advance of G'd's final date for the redemption and he would be able to ride in style to show that the Israelites had qualified for redemption by their own efforts. As it is, by describing him as בך, Moses portrays him as a destitute person who waits anxiously for a handout. The story is told that when Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi once encountered the Messiah, the latter asked him what the Israelites were doing at that time. The Rabbi replied that they were awaiting the arrival of the Messiah. Upon hearing this the Messiah let out a long wail showing his anxious desire to reveal himself and to redeem the Jewish people. The Torah alludes to this when writing מאחד אחיך, "amongst one of your brethren," meaning "amongst the unique one of your brethren, the Messiah (compare <i>Targum Yonathan ben Uzziel</i> on Genesis 26,10 who renders the words אחד העם, "one of the people" as "a unique one, a king"). The words באחד שעריך may be understood as "one who is unique amongst the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court, as we know from Isaiah 11,4 that the Messiah will judge the poor fairly, not relying on external appearances. The word בארצך means that the arena for the Messiah's activities will be ארץ ישראל.
  We may also approach this verse from a different perspective. <i>Zohar Chadash</i> on Noach discussing Genesis 8,8, states in the name of Rabbi Eliezer that if the leaders of one synagogue or one entire congregation were to become true penitents the Messiah would arrive immediately. Accordingly we must understand the word אביון as anyone who yearns for אחד שעריך, "one of your congregations" becoming true penitents. When this happens the "destitute" Messiah will be able to fulfil his desire to arrive joyfully. The Torah writes בארצך "in your land," in order to define the place the Messiah yearns for "the land which the Lord your G'd is about to give you." He is anxious to find out when תפקוד העיר היונה חמדת הלבבות, "the city of the dove will be redeemed," the city to which all hearts aspire (compare Tzefaniah 3,1). G'd commands all of Israel לא תאמץ את לבבך ולא תקפץ את אחיך האביון "not to be stubborn but to do everything to help your brother, the destitute one," i.e. the Messiah to realise his ambition. The single most potent מצוה which will hasten the arrival of the Messiah is charity as we have been taught in Isaiah 54,14: בצדקה תכונני, "you shall be established through righteousness." The paragraph concludes with the words מאחיך האביון, "from your brother who is destitute," referring to the cause of why your brother the Messiah is destitute, unable to realise his mission.
  
  Verse 8
  
   כי פתח תפתח, "for you shall surely open, etc." What made Moses think that such a reason would open the hearts of insensitive people? Perhaps Moses referred to something we read in Proverbs 11,24 that "one man gives generously and winds up with more;" being charitable does not diminish one's wealth but increases it. When the Israelite "opens his hand," G'd "opens the gates of heavenly bounty for him." This is why Moses said כי פתח "in order that G'd will open His hidden treasures, etc." He continues with והעבט תעביטנו, "you shall lend him whatever he lacks, etc." The Torah means that when you open your hand for the poor all you are doing is giving him a loan seeing that G'd will repay you with interest. This is certainly sufficient reason for Moses telling you to open your hand again and again.
  
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   ועבדך, "and he will serve you, etc." The letter ו at the beginning of this word connects it to the previous commandment. This is analogous to what our sages have taught about the word לך in the sequence כי ימכר לך, that a Jewish court is not allowed to "sell" the labour of a Jew except to another Jew. The new addition to this restriction of the court's authority is that the length of time for which the labour of such a Jew may be sold is restricted to six years.
  ובשנה השביעית "and in the seventh year, etc." The words "he will leave" are noticeably missing here (compare Exodus 21,2). The Torah's intention here is that on occasion such a servant will also have to work during the seventh year, such as if he escaped during this period. Even if the original six years may have expired before he was recaptured he has to complete six years of service. This is the ruling of Maimonides in chapter two of his treatise <i>Hilchot Avadim.</i> The Talmud <i>Kidushin</i> 16 derives this from the words "six years he shall serve" in Exodus 21,2. Perhaps we could derive from that latter verse that in the event the servant falls sick for four years he remains obligated to complete six years of labour. The extra letter ו in the expression ובשנה השביעית teach that if the servant escaped he has to make up the time even if it amounts to a whole year.
  
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   לך לעבד עולם, "for you as an eternal slave." Seeing that if the original master had died during the first six years of said servant's service he has to complete his term working for the master's son, the fact that he had his ear pierced לך, "for you," means that he will remain yours (the master's) forever but not your son's forever.
  
  Verse 18
  
   כי משנה שכר שכיר, "for twice as much as a hired hand, etc." Our initial reaction to these words would be that if the servant was sick for only three out of the six years he would not have to make up any time. <i>Kidushin</i> 15 derives from this verse that whereas a hired hand works only by day, a servant, i.e. עבד, works both by day and by night. Our verse alludes to this ruling.
  
  
  
  
  
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   ובשלת ואכלת, "you shall cook it and eat it, etc." In this instance the Torah uses the term "cook" although in Exodus 12,9 "boiling" or "cooking" the passover has been expressly prohibited. Perhaps the Torah here refers back to the peace offering which accompanies the passover which may also consist of cattle, not only of sheep (compare 16,2) Our sages in <i>Pessachim</i> 70 read the words צאן ובקר in that verse as meaning that the passover has to be from the category of animal called צאן, whereas the peace-offering may consist of בקר, cattle. I have elaborated on this subject in my volume פרי תואר on the <i>Yoreh Deyah.</i>
  
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   תחל לספר שבעה שבעות, "you shall commence to count seven weeks." Why did the Torah repeat the need to count seven weeks? Perhaps the Torah meant that in the event that on the date in question the wheat had not yet advanced in growth to the stage when one could cut it with a sickle, and you may use left over wheat from last year's crop to present the new loaves (based on the word ממשבותיכם in Leviticus 23,17 (compare <i>Menachot</i> 83), you must still commence to count the seven weeks starting on the second day of Passover. This is how I have to explain the repetition according to the many authorities who hold that nowadays when we do not have the Temple the whole legislation is only a rabbinic decree. According to those who hold that the decree is biblical also in our times, the basis for such a ruling is the repetition of the words "seven weeks."
  
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  Verse 18
  
   שופטים ושוטרים, "Judges and law enforcers, etc." The Torah positions this commandment adjacent to the commandment to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Temple three times a year to teach us that although there is a Supreme Court in Jerusalem situated at the entrance to the Temple precincts, we must not merely rely on that court but must appoint a nation-wide judiciary. The reason is that judgment should not be delayed until the time of the respective pilgrimages.
  The reason why the Torah demands the appointments of law-enforcement officers is explained in <i>Pessikta</i> by Rabbi Eleazar ben Shamua who says once you have law enforcers you will have effective judges; if there are no law-enforcers the law to appoint judges is not operative. Whenever the Israelites realise that the common people ignore the rulings of the judges, and the judges in turn are unable to enforce their decisions there is no point in making such decisions. On the other hand, when the common people accept law-enforcement the law to appoint judges is applicable.
  תתן לך, "you shall give (appoint) for yourself;" This is an appeal to the people who appoint the judges and enforcers not to think that seeing they have appointed them they are themselves not subject to their authority. The meaning of לך then is equivalent to עליך, "over yourself."
  בכל שעריך, "in all your cities." The reason the Torah writes כל, "all," is to tell us that every single city and town in the land of Israel must have its own judiciary. <i>Yalkut Shimoni</i> on our verse states that our verse draws a comparison between the Supreme Court and the regional courts; just as the Supreme Court has the authority to deal with capital offences and to hand down death sentences so do the regional courts [if composed of a minimum of 23 judges. Ed.] The exegesis appears to be based on the word בכל which includes all the various סנהדרין as having the same authority.
  אשר ה׳ אלוקיך נתן לך, "which the Lord your G'd is about to give to you, etc." We are taught in <i>Makkot</i> 7 that the legal requirement to establish such a judiciary applies only to the towns within the land of Israel.
  לשבטיך, "for your tribes, etc." According to <i>Sifri</i> these words belong to the previous words, i.e. שופטים לשבטיך, "judges for your tribes." If that is so, why did the Torah not simply write תתן לך לשבטיך בכל שעריך, "you shall appoint for your tribes in all your towns, etc.? Perhaps the Torah wanted to ensure that the word לשבטיך appears next to the words ושפטו את העם משפט צדק, "and they will then be able to judge the people with righteousness." In this way the Torah provides the rationale for the legislation. If a city is inhabited by people of more than one tribe it requires two courts in order to satisfy the Torah's demand for fair judgment, משפט צדק. The Torah was careful to write את העם, to instruct us that two courts should not apply different yardsticks but that the whole people must be judged according to a uniform system of laws. [The author may mean that although Israel is comprised of 12 tribes this does not mean that there are twelve states each having its own set of laws, as in many countries where there is both Federal and state law or Federal and provincial law. Ed.] This helps us understand why the Torah writes ושפטו in the third person instead of ותשפטו in direct speech just as the words תתן לך, or when the Torah continues לא תכיר פנים addressing the judges directly. Rashi explains that the words את העם are an instruction that the judges must both be experts in their field and that they must be known to be righteous. [Rashi also quotes the <i>Sifri.</i> My edition has neither the last statement nor the one which says that the same law must be applied equally in all cities regardless of which tribe. Ed.] The various statements prove that when there are no law enforcers there is no rationale for having judges. As a result of such considerations we may equate שופטים with שוטרים. Seeing that their functions depend on one another so do their titles. Rashi also explains that we have here a warning to those who do the appointing to appoint only righteous people. I believe that if that were so, the Torah should have written: שופטים ששופטים בצדק תתן לך. "Judges who judge fairly you must appoint." According to our approach the present wording of the paragraph makes perfect sense.
  I have seen in Maimonides' treatise <i>Hilchot Sanhedrin</i> chapter one that he ignores the ruling that each tribe must have its own judiciary. He refers only to each city having to have its own court, etc. Perhaps Maimonides understood the comment of our sages who said that each tribe must have its own <i>Sanhedrin</i> as applying only as long as each city did not have its own judiciary. Once each city had its own court and law-enforcers there would be no more need for a tribal court. The wording of the <i>Baraitha</i> in <i>Sanhedrin</i> 16 is as follows: "whence do we know that we must appoint judges in Israel? The Torah wrote "You shall give (appoint) judges." How do we know this rule applies to each tribe individually? The Torah wrote: "Judges for your tribes." How do we know that you have to appoint law-enforcers correspondingly? The Torah wrote: "you shall appoint law-enforcers." How do we know that we must appoint them in each city? The Torah wrote "Judges for your cities." Thus far the Baraitha. The difficulty here is why the author of this <i>Baraitha</i> interpreted the words: "for your tribes" which appear in the text at the end of the sequence before he interpreted the words: "in all your cities" which occur earlier in that same verse? The reason may be that the obligation to appoint a judiciary for the tribe is applicable only as long as no judiciaries had been appointed for each city. This would account for the fact that Maimonides did not mention this law at all, as he described a situation when there was no longer any need for this temporay legislation. The Baraitha viewed the Torah's verse as saying: "You have to install a judiciary in every tribe regardless if it comprises 10 cities or only a single city.. In the event that the tribe comprises numerous cities you have to have courts and enforcement officers in every single city."
  You may ask that if every city has to have its own judiciary, why does the Torah speak about a judiciary for the tribes altogether? The answer is that if the Torah had not mentioned "your tribes," I would not have interpreted the words בכל שעריך, to mean "in each one of your cities," but as referring both to your cities on the West Bank and your cities on the East Bank of the Jordan. Once the Torah wrote the words: "for your tribes," it became clear that the words: "in all your gates" must refer to individual cities. This is why once Maimonides ruled that every city has to have its own judiciary he did not need to mention the subject of tribes at all. His ruling is analogous to the <i>Baraitha</i> in <i>Sanhedrin</i> we have quoted that if a city is shared by two different tribes that city must have two courts.
  משפט צדק. "righteous judgment." The Torah did not write בצדק as it did in Leviticus 19,15 where it legislated something similar. In our verse -which is addressed to the judges- the Torah teaches the judges something of great importance. If the judge is truly interested in handing down true judgment, he must dissociate himself from the persons, i.e. the litigants before him and weigh only legal considerations. He must not say to himself that according to the arguments of litigant A, B must be guilty, whereas according to the arguments of litigant B, A must be guilty. He must research only the <i>halachah</i> on the subject matter in dispute. If he were to approach the matter differently he could not help but develop some bias in favour of one of the litigants. As a result the judgment would not reflect true righteousness, צדק. When the judge follows the procedure the Torah suggests then he first forms judgment, משפט, which turns out to be צדק, righteousness. [You will observe that in the quotation from Leviticus 19,15 the Torah describes the reverse sequence, i.e. your interest in righteousness obliges you to pronounce judgment. In that instance a variety of considerations ultimately demanded that you resort to law rather than mediation, etc. Ed.]
  If we are to read the verse as a moral/ethical lesson we could apply a teaching based on what Moses said in Psalms 96,13: ישפט תבל בצדק, "He judges the universe with equity." Kabbalists (<i>Zohar</i> volume 3 page 198) understand the word צדק in this verse as referring to the Celestial Court. According to <i>Beytzah</i> 16 this court decides on <i>Rosh Hashanah</i> each individual's livelihood for the coming year. Accordingly, if a terrestrial judge decides between two litigants on the basis of Torah law he merely publicises a decision already made in the Celestial Court, as any decision not based on Torah law would upset the judgment made by the Celestial Court concerning this individual's livelihood. The words ושפטו את העם משפט צדק mean that these judges hand down to the people the decisions made by the Heavenly Tribunal.
  
  Verse 19
  
   לא תטה משפט, "Do not pervert justice, etc." This commandment is not only addressed to the judges but to all those who by failing to appoint the proper judiciary contribute to unfair judgments being handed down by unauthorised sources.
  
  Verse 20
  
   צדק צדק תרדף, "Righteousness, righteousness shall you pursue, etc." This is a warning to you that if in one city there can be found two exceedingly wise men and two other men also ordained but not as brilliant as the first two, you should not say that seeing both are competent you will not bother the brilliant ones with your little problem but instead submit it for judgment to the lesser sages. You should always seek out the most renowned judge (scholar) to act as judge in any litigation you are involved in.
  
  Verse 21
  
   לא תטע לך אשרה, "Do not plant for yourself a 'sacred' tree, etc." Our sages in <i>Sanhedrin</i> 7 have said that if one appoints an unsuitable judge this is similar to violating the commandment of this verse. According to the sages then the word לך in our verse means that the appointment of an unfit judge is objectionable only if it was made deliberately in order for those who appointed him to benefit from perversion of justice. If, however, a judge was appointed in all innnocence, and it turned out that this judge was not competent, no sin accrues to those who appointed him. The people who appointed said judge would certainly not be comparable to people who plant an אשרה.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   לא תזבח….אשר יהיה בו מום, "Do not slaughter for G'd anything blemished." The wording אשר יהיה בו מום "on which there will be a blemish," must be understood in conjunction with <i>Sifri</i> that our verse forbids an animal suffering from a temporary blemish. This ruling is hinted at by the word יהיה, "will be." That word includes not only permanent blemishes but even temporary blemishes. Perhaps one may also say that if the animal in question has a limb which would result in it becoming blemished unless said limb was amputated, the animal in question is considered blemished even before the operation (regardless of whether the animal is being considered for a sacrifice). The words לא תזבח …אשר יהיה בו מום mean "you must not sacrifice it…as it is going to develop a blemish" (which would disqualify it.)
  
  Verse 2
  
   כי ימצא בקרבך, "If there be found amongst you, etc." The reason the Torah adds the word בקרבך, "in your midst," is to place the burden of dealing with the sinner (idolator) on the local authorities. Jews in other cities are only charged with dealing with the idolator if the people of his own city have failed to do so. This is what is meant by the words באחד שעריך, "in one of your cities." Our sages in <i>Ketuvot</i> 45 make use of the expression שעריך both here and in verse 5 to rule that the execution of the idolator takes place where he performed the sin and not in the city where he was sentenced to death (assuming they are not the same). The reason that the verse concludes with "which the Lord your G'd is about to give to you," is a reminder that one of the reasons G'd gave us the Holy Land is that we observe the commandment to execute idolators.
  לעבר בריתו, "to violate His covenant." Moses means that it is important for the sinner to realise that he violated G'd's sacred covenant. This is the reason he cannot be executed unless he had been properly warned of the penalty in store if he proceeded with his intention to commit this sin. There is also a hint here that if the idolator told the people who warned him to desist that he had sworn an oath to serve this particular deity, that he must be reminded that such an oath is not valid as he had been obligated under a previous oath dating back to Mount Sinai not to engage in any form of idolatry. His execution would therefore be perfectly legal if he went ahead and ignored the warning.
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
   יומת המת, "the condemned person will be executed." The reason the Torah repeats the reference to the condemned being dead is to alert us that if no witnesses could be found or that the warning was not legally valid for some reason, the fact that the terrestrial court could not execute the sinner does not make him any less guilty of death in the eyes of G'd. The word יומת applies when the legal proceedings here on earth could be completed.
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
   כי יפלא ממך דבר למשפט, "If a matter of judgment is hidden from you, etc." The apparently extraneous word למשפט is needed to remind us that the subject matter now being introduced, i.e. the "rebellious elder" who will be executed for insubordination to the Supreme Court, is applicable only to the kind of person who had himself been ordained as judge, etc. (compare Mishnah <i>Sanhedrin</i> 86). If the dissenting opinion was handed down as law by a student who had not yet been ordained, such a pupil is not liable to the penalty provided for in our paragraph. I have found a <i>Baraitha</i> in <i>Sanhedrin</i> 87 which derives the fact that an unordained student is free from the death penalty from an interpretation of the word כי יפלא in our verse as not meaning "if it is concealed," but "if the most distinguished one of the judges errs." If we base ourselves on this exegesis we can understand why the Torah added the word למשפט. It means that unless the dissenting opinion was actually formulated as a practical judgment, -as opposed to a learned opinion,- such as by the presiding judge of the Sanhedrin- the penalty provided in our paragraph is not applicable. This is also why the Mishnah added that the words in verse 12: "and the man who will act deliberately sinfully, etc." prove this point. Accordingly, our verse would prove that the dissenting elder is guilty of death only if he personally acts against the majority decision but not if he instructed others to do so. The word למשפט is needed therefore to also make him guilty if he instructed others to act on the basis of his dissenting ruling.
  We may also approach the verse from the following angle. כי יפלא …למשפט, "Even if the dissenting opinion was issued as an instruction to act contrary to the majority ruling of the local court, and it is proven that the majority opinion was in error, if the subject matter was one where deliberately sinning carries the <i>karet</i> penalty, etc., the dissenting judge will not be executed unless he repeated the same ruling in the face of the majority opinion of the Supreme Court, openly defying them." This is also the concensus of the sages in the Talmud on the application of this <i>halachah.</i>
  
  Verse 9
  
   ודרשת והגידו לך, "and you shall enquire and they will tell you, etc." It is up to you to make these enquiries, i.e. to find out (from the Supreme Court) why the judges ruled as they did. On the other hand, the judges of the Supreme Court are obligated to explain their ruling to you once you ask them. If you did not ask for the Supreme Court to tell you their reasons they are not under any obligation to volunteer it.
  
  Verse 10
  
  The explanation is, obviously [he must obey] that selfsame ruling, but rather even other rulings that are based on that verdict, for many judgments branch from the detail of a single judgment.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
   בי תבא..ואמרת..שום תשים עליך מלך. "When you come to the land…and you will say..l want to appoint a king,…appoint a king over yourself, etc." The wording: "when you come and you will say, etc." shows that G'd did not decree that the people have to appoint a king for themselves. If they want to, however, the Torah gives them the right to do so. The repetition of שום תשים at the end of the verse appears to suggest that it is indeed a positive commandment to appoint a king. Are we faced with a contradiction here?
  It appears to us that the best way to understand the wording of the verse is as follows. There may be two reasons why the people want to appoint a king. 1) They want a king with superior intelligence in whose ability to conduct wars successfully they have confidence. They want him to be able to compete successfully with the bravery, etc., of Gentile kings. This is something G'd mightily disapproves of. The reason for this is that the kings of the Gentile nations are not motivated by what is right but merely what appears expedient, even if objectively speaking their undertakings are not even useful in the long run. Not only that, but they do not trust in G'd but in their own prowess. The second reason for Israelites wanting a king is that they want their king to represent the glory of Israel, G'd's people. They want the king to be the kind of person on whose account (merits) G'd will make the whole nation successful in its undertakings. G'd had done so repeatedly in the days of the Judges when the merit of the individual judge ensured that G'd would grant him victory over enemies who were (or appeared) much stronger. King David too enjoyed success all the time becaue he merited G'd's personal assistance. The request to appoint this kind of king is one which G'd approves of.
  This is why our verse commences with: "when you come to the land and you want to appoint a king over yourself to match what other nations are doing, etc." Clearly, here the Torah describes the first of the two scenarios we described for the Israelites wanting a king. This is the scenario, which, basically, G'd does not approve of. The verse concludes with the Torah encouraging us to appoint a king, i.e. שום תשים. This means that the prerequisite for the Israelites appointing a king is that G'd approves, i.e. אשר יבחר ה׳ אלוקיך (you consult the Supreme Court of 71 elders who in turn consult with a prophet as they are G'd's representatives). When a king is appointed on such a basis he cannot be compared to the kind of king Gentile nations appoint for themselves. Under such conditions we are entitled to understand the words שום תשים עליך מלך as a positive commandment. These words are simultaneously a positive commandment and a negative commandment not to appoint the wrong kind of king for the wrong reasons. Without these words I would have assumed that the appointment of a king with the powers of kings amongst Gentile nations was altogether forbidden. Even though the Torah also writes that a Jewish king is subject to being chosen by G'd, i.e. אשר יבחר ה׳ אלקיך, this would not have been enough to forbid the monarchy as a valid form of government in a Jewish state. Once the Torah wrote שום תשים, repeating the instruction, it was not worried that we would interpret the verse as merely offering us the monarchy as an option.
  You will have noted that G'd was quite upset about Israel in the days of the prophet Samuel when the people demanded from the prophet that he would appoint a king who would rule over them. (Samuel I chapter 8). At first glance this appears quite out of step with what we have learned here. Why would G'd (or the prophet) have been upset if the permission to appoint a king was already solidly based on our passage in the Torah? When you consider what we have written you will have no difficulty understanding why G'd was angry at that time. The Torah had specifically commanded that the reason for establishing a monarchy should not be in order to become more like the Gentile nations; however, this was precisely what motivated the people who demanded that Samuel appoint a king over them. We are told in Samuel I 8,5 that the reason for demanding a king was inter alia לשפטנו ככל הגוים, "to judge us like all the other nations." It was the rationale for the request which angered G'd at that time. Had they asked for a king who would be guided first and foremeost by G'd's wishes, instead of because they hoped to increase their military clout once they had a king, they would have performed a positive commandment with their very request.
  We find a dispute in <i>Sanhedrin</i> 20 concerning the three commandments the Israelites were to fulfil after taking possession of their homeland. Rabbi Yehudah said the three were: 1) to appoint a king; 2) to exterminate the descendants of Amalek; 3) to construct a permanent Temple. Rabbi Nehorai claimed that our passage was written only as a response to people who would demand to be ruled over by a king, but that it does not constitute a positive commandment. Our comments are based on the viewpoint of Rabbi Yehudah and this is the <i>halachah.</i> Maimonides also rules like Rabbi Yehudah that appointment of a king is a positive commandment in chapter one of <i>Hilchot Melachim.</i> Nonetheless the viewpoint of Rabbi Nehorai deserves further examination. After all, the plain meaning of the words שום תשים עליך מלך is clearly a commandment and not merely an option.
  Perhaps we can understand the situation as follows. If all of Israel were to be righteous, would not request a king, and would be content to let G'd be their only king as the prophet said in Samuel I 12,13, then G'd would be willing to act as its exclusive king. If, however, Israel had already reached the stage where they asked for a king other than G'd or in addition to G'd, then the commandment שום תשים would become applicable. This may be the reason the Torah did not commence the passage with the words שום תשים, but prefaced it with the words: "if you will say 'I want to appoint a king over myself.'" When you look at the two verses 14 +15 in this way you find that provided the conditions of the first verse have been met even Rabbi Nehorai could agree that the words שום תשים constitute a positive commandment.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
   לבלתי רום לבבו, "so that his heart does not become arrogant, etc." This may be understood as analogous to <i>Avot</i> 6,1 ומלבשתו ענוה ויראה, "and it clothes him in meekness and the fear of G'd." [The subject is a person who studies Torah with a pure purpose. Ed.] The Torah means that studying Torah as the king is bidden to do daily will ensure that he does not become haughty. Concerning the king developing fear of the Lord, the Torah had already written in verse 19: "in order that he will learn to fear the Lord his G'd."
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   לא יהיה לבהנים…חלק ונחלה, "The priests shall not have a portion and an inheritance, etc." Why did the Torah repeat the word נחלה, "inheritance" in our verse? The reason may be to tell us that if some priests ignored the law and acquired land and used it as an inheritance, such an inheritance is legally invalid. This may be why the Torah phrases it ונחלה לא יהיה לו in verse two, i.e. he will not be allowed to hang on to such an inheritance. The reason this commandment follows on the heels of the legis lation to appoint a king is to tell you that the king is equal to the common people when it comes to giving the priests their due. He is not exempt from the 24 different kinds of gifts the priests are entitled to from the Israelites. "He must not raise his heart," i.e. think that he is above the law in this respect.
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
   תמים תהיה עם ה׳ אלוקיך,"You shall be wholehearted with the Lord your G'd." Inasmuch as the previous verses dealt with people who engage in a variety of magic mixed with their religious tenets, the Torah has to emphasise that our relationship with G'd must be predicated on mutual exclusivity. The difference between Judaism and other religious beliefs is that those beliefs are based on a variety of terrifying phenomena in nature. As a result of the Gentiles' fears and traumas they resort to means which would foretell them what to expect and to try and take precautions against any disaster the stars foretell. We, who are convinced that G'd always has our best interests at heart, do not need to be terrified [except of our sinful conduct, Ed.]. You may therefore best translate this verse as meaning: "you will be complete i.e. תמים and at ease with the Lord your G'd provided תהיה עם השם אלוקיך, that you are on the same wavelength as the Lord your G'd. Any evil in store for you which you would find by consulting your horoscope is not bound to happen anyway. Our patriarch Abraham is the best example of this. He thought that because his horoscope told him that he would not have any children that G'd could not give him a meaningful reward; G'd taught him that he could overcome what he thought would happen (<i>Shabbat</i> 156). The word תהיה belongs both with the word תמים as well as with the words עם ה׳ אלוקיך. "You will be whole when you are on the side of your G'd."
  
  Verse 14
  
   כי הגוים האלה..ישמעו, "For these nations..will hearken to, etc." This means that the Gentiles are forced to resort to astrologers and diviners who will tell them what the horoscope -forecasts; not so you, however. Forecasts based on horoscopes do not have the same meaning for you as they have for them as you have recourse to the prophets.
  The words לא כן, may also mean that you are not in a situation comparable to that of the Gentiles but G'd has made all the horoscopes subordinate to you. This is the meaning of Psalms 8,7 כל שתה תחת רגליו, "You have laid "the All" at his (Israel's) feet." [the verse commenced with "You have made him master over Your handiwork, (the universe) Ed.] Our sages in <i>Shabbat</i> 156 explain Isaiah 41,2: צדק יקראהו לרגלו, as referring to the planet Jupiter (the largest one) whom G'd has placed at the service of Abraham.
  נביא יקים לך, "G'd will make a prophet arise for you, etc." Finally, the Torah responds to the fact that the Gentiles appear better off having a chance to read the future, something apparently not granted to the Israelites. The Torah tells us that the function of the prophet includes telling us what is in store for us. Perhaps King Saul understood it thus when he asked the diviner to bring him in touch with the prophet Samuel (compare Samuel I 28,8). He thought that the prohibition to consult such people is applicable only when there were prophets who could be consulted instead. In the absence of such a prophet, Saul thought that it was legal to consult such people.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
   ככל אשר שאלת, "in accordance with all that you requested, etc." Moses may be telling the people that it is their own fault that not all of them have been elevated to the level of prophecy. At the time they asked G'd to make Moses their intermediary, i.e. their prophet, they had declined being prophets themselves. It was all because they had been afraid of the fact that prophecy brings in its wake a certain amount of fear and emotional pain. This is why they now need an outsider to tell them what they want to know about the future. This is the principal reason the Torah includes the reference to the revelation at Mount Sinai at this juncture.
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  אך נביא אשר יזיד, But a prophet who sins, etc. Why did the Torah write the word אך at the beginning of verse 20? Why did the Torah add the word יזיד when speaking about a prophet who says things in G'd's name which he has not been told to say? It would have sufficed to write אשר ידבר. What does the Torah mean by writing that "you will ask in your heart how you could be expected to know what G'd had not said to the so-called prophet because it had not come true?" Is it not obvious that if G'd had not said it to him there was nothing to come true in the first place? Why does the Torah change its syntax between verse 20 and verse 22 respectively? In verse 20 the Torah speaks of what the prophet would say בשמי, "in My name," whereas in verse 22 the Torah refers to G'd in the third person, i.e. אשר ידבר הנביא בשם השם "which the prophet will say in the name of the Lord?" Furthermore, why does the Torah write הוא הדבר, "that is the thing" which G'd did not say to him, etc.? These two words are totally superfluous!
  We may best understand what the Torah has in mind by recalling the incident involving a true prophet Michayuh and a number (400) of false prophets, notably Tzidkiyahu ben Kenaanah (compare Kings I chapter 22). This occurred during the reign of Yehoshaphat King of Yehudah and Achav King of Israel when the latter invited Yehoshaphat to join him in a war against the Syrians (Aramites) in order to recapture Yavesh Gilead [the equivalent of the Golan Heights in those days. Ed.]. Originally, all the prophets including Tzidkiyahu ben Kenaanah (who was only called in at the insistence of Yehoshaphat) prophesied success, urging the king to go to war. When Yehoshaphat who was uncomfortable in the company of 400 false prophets, all of whom appeared to be Achav's "yes-men" demanded to hear the opinion of a true prophet, one whom Achav had not invited, Michayuh was called, Achav had first demurred claiming that he always prophesied negatively for him and when Michayhu saw that the chief of the false prophets Tzidkiyahu boasted that Achav would succeed with the iron horns he displayed, he too wished the king success, using almost the same language as the other prophets. Yehoshaphat was still suspicious and upon consulting Michayuh again the latter revealed that he had seen a vision of all the Israelite soldiers fleeing into the hills, etc. He also explained that G'd in heaven had allowed Achav to be deliberately misled into going to war so that he would fall in battle. In my commentary on the Books of the Prophets I have dealt with the problem of why the true prophet Michayuh had originally prophesied success for Achav when he had wished him success in his forthcoming battle instead of warning him to desist. I explained that it was precisely this prophet who had been imbued with the spirit of Navot Hacarmeli whom Achav and Izzebel had arranged to become the victim of a judicial murder by framing him. Navot's spirit had complained in the heavens about his life not having been avenged. While Michayuh was thus temporarily under the spell of the spirit of Navot, he had made a comment which lured Achav into waging war. Shortly thereafter his own spirit took over and he revealed to Yehoshaphat in the presence of Achav what he had truly been shown. By that time Achav had good reason not to take him seriously since he had contradicted himself and discredited himself. There are numerous questions regarding the conduct of Michayuh, not the least of which is why he eventually tried to thwart G'd's plan to entrap Achav so that he could fall in battle. Why did he tell Achav about what he had seen in a vision thus encouraging Achav to save his life by not going to war?
  The Torah in its wisdom foresaw events in the future, including what has been described in Kings I chapter 22 when a spirit would emanate from G'd deliberately deceiving the prophets. At such a time the prophets who would speak an untruth would not be culpable as they acted under divine compulsion. Therefore, when the Torah speaks of the penalty for a false prophet it had to make an exception for situations such as that involving Michayuh. This is the reason the Torah commences our verse with the restrictive word אך; in other words the Torah forewarns that there could be an exception to the applicability of the legislation it is about to reveal here. In order to make this point even clearer the Torah added the word אשר יזיד, i.e. when the prophet deliberately and with sinful intent speaks of things G'd has not said to him, only then is he guilty of the death penalty. By writing these two words, a prophet such as Michayhu is let off the hook, so to speak. It even follows that the other 400 prophets who had prophesied could not be executed as they had, after all, prophesied the same as had Michayhu. This leaves us with the question of why the Talmud <i>Sanhedrin</i> 89 claims that although Tzidkiyahu ben Kenaanah who had prophesied precisely the same as all the others was considered as having been guilty of a capital crime? The Talmud explains that Tzidkiyahu should have known that G'd never uses two prophets to announce the same message. Although, in that particular instance, another 400 "prophets" also prophesied what Tzidkiyahu and Michayuh had prophesied when they promised Achav success, all of them stopped prophesying when they had become aware that they had all said the same thing. This clued them in that the spirit of Navot or something else had possessed them. The only "prophet" who continued with the theme and who made a big to do about the symbol of the iron horns was Tzidkiyahu. By doing so he had incriminated himself under the heading of אשר יזיד לדבר דבר, "who says something with sinful intent."
  In view of the above it is natural that generations following that of Moses would ask how they could be expected to distinguish between who is a true prophet relating what G'd had told him to say, and who has either fabricated a story or revealed something G'd had not authorised him to reveal? How would they know when a prophet had been possessed by a spirit analogous to that of Navot Hacarmeli in Kings I 22? Why should a prophet be put to death when we do not know what motivated him? In the case of the story involving Michayuh it is a fact that but for the first pronouncement of Michayuh all 400 prophets were guilty of death seeing they prophesied falsely, Achav being killed in the battle. Who would have known that all these prophets acted under compulsion by heavenly forces? Could the Torah i.e. G'd, who loves justice, take a chance that all these prophets would be put to death? The question put by the Torah in the mouth of future generations with the words וכי תאמר..איכה נדע הדבר אשר לא דברו השם "if you will say …how will we know the word which G'd has not said to him, etc.," includes both what G'd said to the prophet and what He said to the spirit of Navot by telling him to mislead Achav. 
  Our verse continues: אשר ידבר הנביא, "if the prophet relates his prophecy in the name of G'd etc., ולא יהיה הדבר, and the word (subject of the prophecy) will not come to pass, then you will know that the prophet spoke deliberately sinfully, and not because he had been misled by the spirit of someone such as Navot. The reason for this is that כי בזדון דברו הנביא, G'd would not have it said of Him that He gave the power of prophecy to a deliberate sinner. If such a so-called prophet was indeed possessed by the spirit of someone such as Navot it was only because he already planned to abuse the power of prophecy in the first place. הוא הדבר אשר לא רברו השם, "that is the word which G'd had not said to him." The Torah advises that non-occurrence of a favourable prophecy will be proof that whoever made such a prophecy did not make it in G'd's name; such a man was not misled by some spirit such as that of Navot or anything like it which caused him to prophesy. Concerning the last mentioned situation, the Torah adds כי בזדון דברו, "he said it with deliberate sinful intention. There could be another situation of which the Torah cannot tell you that the "prophet" acted with sinful intent although the prophecy was a lie, namely when the "prophet did not speak in the name of the Lord but in the name of a spirit such as the one of Navot Hacarmeli.
  When you examine the text in the Book of Kings where the conduct of Michayuh is described you will find that when he spoke the first time (when he appeared to agree with the 400 "prophets") he never mentioned that he spoke in the name of G'd, he only wished him that G'd would make him successful. In fact it was Yehoshaphat who mentioned that he wanted to hear the word of G'd (Kings I 22,6). It is clear from verse 16 in that chapter that when Michayuh appeared to concur with the 400 prophets (without confirming that he spoke in the name of G'd) Achav himself noticed this and upraided him for not speaking in the name of G'd. [I have taken the liberty of changing the author's words here as I feel that the way I present it strengthens his argument still further. Ed.]
  It is entirely possible that the the words "in the name of the Lord," and the words: "I make you swear" in that verse do not form part of the same statement. If so, it is not surprising why Michayuh revealed G'd's secret (that Achav would fall in battle). If he said what he said without claiming to have said it in the name of G'd, G'd's name would not become associated with a lie. At any rate, seeing that Achav had not believed Michayuh's first glib assurance when he wished him success, there was never any danger that G'd's name would become discredited in Achav's eyes. [You will observe that already in verse 14 Michayuh was referring to what G'd would tell him (future), not to what G'd had already said to him. Ed.]
  
  
  
  
  
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   ואם ירחיב ה׳ את גבולך, "And if the Lord your G'd will expand your boundary, etc." The Torah assures the Israelites that if they will observe all the Lord's commandments not only out of fear but out of love for Him the time will come when He will include the lands of the other 3 tribes in the boundaries of ארץ ישראל, the lands of the Kenite, the Kenizzite and the Kadmoni, all of whose lands were included in G'd's first promise to Abraham in Genesis 15,19. Our sages in <i>Sanhedrin</i> 99 confirm that the redemption in the future depends on our serving G'd out of love.
  
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  וכי יהיה איש שנא לרעהו, "And if there will be a man who hates his fellow, etc." This paragraph alludes to what is taught in <i>Makkot</i> 12 that the guardian angel of Esau, i.e. Samael, will make three errors of judgment in the future. One of them is that although the cities of refuge will provide refuge only for someone who kills inadvertently, this guardian angel is under the impression that such cities also provide refuge for intentional murderers. [The Talmud deals with an interpretation of Isaiah 63,1 assuming the prophet refers to the guardian angel of Edom, i.e. Samael who also mistakes the city Bazrah for Betzer (spelled similarly in Hebrew) and tries to take refuge there. Ed.] כי יהיה לאיש שונא, the worst enemy a person has is his evil urge, he is the root cause of all feelings of enmity. לרעהו, "against his fellow," i.e. that he represents himself as man's friend whereas in reality he means to harm you. He uses the pretense of loving you as a means to harm you. וארב לו, "and he ambushes him," i.e. he causes him to sin. You must remember that the first sin a person commits is considered as if it had been inadvertent. Having committed that sin, however, he thereby provides the evil urge with access to his soul as we know from Genesis 4,7 "that sin crouches at the entrance (to your soul)." As long as man has not sinned the evil urge is till outside the entrance. Not only that, but Satan tries to convince you that what you thought was evil is actually good. This is the worst kind of ambush one can be exposed to. The Torah continues וקם עליו, "and he rises up against him," i.e. once he has caused you to sin he now confronts you openly whereas previously he was treading very carefully, so that you almost did not notice his presence (compare <i>Sukkah</i> 52).
  והכהו נפש, "and he kills someone, etc." the reference is to Samael who injures man's soul because sinning leads to the death of not only the body but eventually to the death of the soul. ונס אל אחת הערים האל, "and he flees to one of these cities;" if he flees to one of these cities of refuge, i.e. Betzer which is one of them, ושלחו זקני עירו, "and the elders of his town have to send messengers there" (to bring him to justice). This is a reference to the Celestial Court which is known as the city of the guardian angel of Esau. ולקחו אותו And they will take him from there and hand him over to the redeemer of blood, i.e. to G'd Himself.
  ומת, "and he shall die." Here the Torah alludes to a mystical aspect of <i>Sanhedrin</i> 38 that G'd pointed His small finger at several groups of the angels who opposed the creation of man, and that He burned them. ביד גואל הדם ומת, "in the hand of the redeemer of blood and he will die." This means that G'd will strike him dead, not the relative of the deceased. Seeing that our sages have said that Samael [the angel of death, -compare the Chad Gadyah song in the <i>Haggadah shel Pessach</i> Ed.] will be killed also by the Israelites who will combine with G'd to kill him, the Torah adds לא תחוס עינך עליו, "you must not have pity on him." Although the righteous have derived benefit from the existence of the angel of death [having received credit for resisting his temptations to sin. Ed.], they have to counterbalance this benefit against the many occasions when the angel of death spilled the blood of innocent people through making them guilty by lying in ambush for them. As a result of his death, וטוב לך, "it will be good for you;" once the spirit of impurity is abolished the good on earth can become complete in the proper place, i.e. within the hearts of the Israelites.
  
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   ועשיתם לו כאשר זמם, "and you will do to him in accordance with what he had planned to do." Our sages in <i>Makkot</i> 5 derive from this word that if the party falsely accused had already been executed on the strength of this fabricated testimony, the court cannot execute the witnesses. This seems a problematical exegesis. Perhaps what the Torah wanted here by writing the word כאשר זמם was to incriminate the false witnesses for merely planning to testify falsely even if they had not yet done so before a court? Once the victim of such testimony has been executed the witnesses had become guilty not only of כאשר זמם, "as he [they, as the singular is used by the Torah for a halachically valid witness, i.e. a minimum of two witnesses. Ed.] had planned," but also of כאשר עשה, "as he had done!" In that case one could not use the argument that we do not condemn somebody to be executed based only on a logical argument, i.e. if we execute them even if they did not succeed with their testimony it is only logical that we must execute them if they did succeed with the intention behind their false testimony. In the scenario we presented this principle of אין עונשין מן הדין would not apply and therefore would not stop us from executing these witnesses.
  However, the fact is that the principal exegetical argument is derived from the fact that the Torah should have written כאשר ענה על אחיו, in which event it would have referred to what the Torah wrote in verse 18 שקר ענה באחיו. Had the Torah written these words I would have known that it intended to do to the witnesses as they had done. The fact that the Torah does not use the more comprehensive word ענה, but writes the word זמם shows that it wishes to limit the parameters which enable the court to apply the death penalty to these witnesses. We have a <i>Baraitha</i> in <i>Makkot</i> 5 which goes as follows: "The son of the scholar who interpreted that the word כאשר זמם means that we do not execute the false witnesses if their victim had already been executed as a result of their testimony, said to his father: 'father, why should they not be executed? We have logic on our side; if we execute such witnesses even if their testimony did not result in their victim's death then surely we must exceute them when it did result in their victim's death!' His father replied that the sages taught that אין עונשין מן הדין, that logic does not suffice as a reason to apply a death penalty in situations where the Torah did not specifically request that a death penalty be imposed. This is not the case here." You must not deduce from this that but for the ruling that in order to apply a death penalty the Torah must state so specifically, the logic of the son would have been unassailable and I would have executed these עדים זוממים, "spurious witneses." The reason is that the distinction between the Torah writing זמם instead of ענה would not suffice to cancel the strength of the logical argument cited in the <i>Baraitha.</i> This is why we also needed the principle of אין עונשין מן הדין, in order not to arrive at a faulty ruling.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   כי תצא למלחמה, When you go out into battle, etc." Perhaps the verse alludes to the battle man fights against his evil urge. It intends to remove fear and timidity from your heart. The Torah writes la-milchamah instead of le-milchamah, vocalising it thus to indicate that it refers to the well-known battle, the most crucial one, the fiercest one. In this battle man suffers from two elements both of which are apt to undermine him and to weaken his power to resist the attacker. 1) Man has never been trained to fight this particular adversary as he has been trained to fight external enemies. 2) the very composition of man is such that the enemy is constantly part of him urging him to steal, to lie, to murder, to eat whatever he desires, etc. These factors make it difficult for a human being to listen to the voice of the Torah which is "only" an external voice. These difficulties are multiplied once man has sinned repeatedly and his deeds have created forces which aid the evil urge in his fight against him, as I have explained on numerous occasions.
  This is why G'd tells you here that "when you go out to do battle and you see horses and riders more numerous than yourself etc." The word סוס, "horse," is a simile for the readiness of the evil urge to do battle and the word רכב is a simile for the fact that man is composed of a variety of materials, drawn to the profane as well as to the sacred, instead of a single element as is his attacker the evil urge. The words עם רב, "numerous people," are a hyperbole for the multitude of evil forces created by man's sins all of which are arraigned against him in this battle. The Torah reassures us לא תירא מהם, "you must not be afraid of them for the Lord your G'd is with you." The Torah agrees that if you were on your own, unassisted by G'd, you would be justified in being afraid of this battle; however, seeing that the Lord your G'd is on your side you need not fear; you may rest assured that G'd will save you provided you want to rehabilitate yourself morally and ethically.
  The Torah continues with המעלך מארץ מצרים, "the G'd who has brought you out of Egypt." The miracle of what happened at the Exodus demonstrated to you that G'd has the power to free you from the spiritually negative forces, קליפות, which had held you captive prior to the Exodus and had prevented the sanctity within you from being freed. The memory of the Exodus must always serve as a sign for you that you can overcome the forces of evil in the war in which you are engaged. We find confirmation of this thought in Psalms 37,32: "The wicked watches for the righteous, seeking to put him to death." The Psalmist assures us in the verse following "G'd will not abandon him to his power; He will not let him be condemned in judgment." Our sages in <i>Kidushin</i> 30 explain that these verses refer to the assault on man by the evil urge and to the assistance G'd extends to man in that fight.
  
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   להלחם לכם..להושיע אתכם, "to do battle for you with your enemies and to save you." The meaning of להלחם is to destroy your enemies, whereas the additional להושיע אתכם means to ensure that not one of you becomes a casualty of war. This last point is always the essence of the miracle by means of which we know that G'd fights on our side. This may be the reason that at the beginning of the verse the Torah mentions ה׳ אלוקיכם emphasising that both the attribute of Mercy and the attribute of Justice are involved here. The attribute of Mercy expresses itself by saving the Israelites, the attribute of Justice by destroying its adversaries. Had it not been for the Torah wanting to emphasise this it only had to write כי אלוקיכם הולך.
  
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   מי האיש הירא, "Who is the man who is afraid, etc." We are told in <i>Sotah</i> 44 that our verse speaks of <i>soldiers</i> who are afraid to die in battle due to sins they had committed. We find such a concept in Isaiah 33,14: "Sinners in Zion are frightened." It is natural that people who have sinned should be worried. Even people who are not aware that they did commit sins would start to worry about such a possibility when they go to war, on a dangerous mission. <i>Shulchan Aruch Or Hachayim</i> 54 mentions that one has reason to worry even if one only knows that one spoke during certain parts of the prayers when one should not have interrupted one's prayer by talking. The reason is simple. When one goes into battle one needs a miracle in order not to be hurt. If one is guilty of sins which one has not atoned for one cannot expect G'd to perform a miracle.
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
   כי תקרב אל עיר, "When you approach a city, etc." Perhaps this paragraph alludes to something that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said in <i>Zohar</i> volume 2 page 62 that G'd sends man an additional soul to guide him on the right path and to save him from committing sins against Him. In our paragraph we may perceive G'd as addressing this additional soul telling it: "when you approach a city," i.e. the body of the human being whom you will inhabit which is kown as עיר. We know from <i>Zohar Chadash Ruth</i> page 97 on the verse in Kohelet 9,14: עיר קטנה ואנשים בה מעט, "there is a small city with few inhabitants," that the city Solomon speaks of is the human body. This additional soul may be the "miracle" needed to protect the Jewish soldier at the time he goes into battle as it helps stop him from committing sins which could result in his violent death in war.
  The Torah was careful to write עליה, which here needs to be translated as "on her account." The idea is that this soul is intended to save the body from the evil urge; it is in line with the verse in Kohelet 9,14 which continues ובא אליה מלך גדול, (the small city) "against which a great king comes and lays siege to it, An insignificant looking wise man saves that small city from the onslaught of the great king using his wisdom" (compare <i>Nedarim</i> 32).
  וקראת אליה לשלום, "and you call out to her: 'peace'." The meaning is that you do not immediately wade into the den of iniquity (your evil urge) and try to conquer it in one single frontal assault; rather you first suggest that it also give heaven its due, as a result of which it will experience great benefits. As a result the evil urge will allow that man has a duty also vis-a-vis heaven. After all, secular activities such as eating and drinking in this life also enable man to perform his spiritual tasks better. As a result of this accomodation with the evil urge one assures oneself of not losing one's hereafter altogether.
   והיה אם שלום, It will be if "peace," etc. The word והיה as usual, refers to something joyful; here too, if your approach to the evil urge is in the manner we have just described so that you have opened the door a crack to spiritually positive values, G'd in His turn will open this door wide, i.e. והיה כל העם הנמצא בה, so that it embraces all the "people" i.e. the 248 bones and 365 sinews which man's body is constructed of and they will all become subservient to the soul (instead of to the evil urge). The body will then perform both the positive commandments and refrain from violating the negative commandments. ועבדוך, "and they will serve you," i.e. like a slave who is afraid of his master and will neither deviate to the left nor to the right.
  -15. ואם לא תשלים, "If she is not prepared to surrender peacefully," If the "city" does not accept the soul's proposal to allow heaven its due, or that even after man began to become a penitent he slid back into sin, then you have to make all out war against the city, i.e. the evil urge. The words ועשתה עמך מלחמה, refer to the body, i.e. the evil urge making war against you. We know that once an attempt to become a בעל תשובה fails, the chances are that the forces of evil will redouble their efforts against any religious instincts a person has. [We have a phenomenon in Israel called חוזר בשאלה. These are persons who used to be very pious but have left the fold. They are not neutral in their attitude as a result of having abandoned the Jewish tradition but become virulently anti religious seeking every opportunity to besmirch our tradition and the people who observe it. Ed.] The author describes a similar process taking place within the personality of the Jew described in our verse. We have learned in <i>Berachot</i> 5 that as a matter of principle one's good urge should be in a constant state of confrontation with one's evil urge. This means that one should deny oneself things which are permitted, should observe private fasts, and even flagellate oneself, all in order to weaken the power of the evil urge. This is why the Torah adds והכית כל זכורה, this will enable you to vanquish all its males, i.e. the forces of Samael and his armies.
  לפי חרב, "by the sword." In our context these words may be understood as analogous to Psalms 149,6: רוממות קל בגרונם וחרב פיפיות בידם, "when they have songs of praise to G'd in their throats this is equal to having two-edged swords in their hands."
  רק הנשים והטף, "Only the women and the children, etc." The word נשים refers to the נפש ורוח, both of which are called "women" in comparison to the higher soul known as נשמה. The word הטף refers to the commandments and good deeds a person has performed (and which are considered his children) prior to his becoming despised by G'd as a sinner. In the case of a wicked person, G'd says of him (Psalms 50,57: "concerning the wicked G'd said: 'who are you to recite my laws?'" When a person turns penitent, these good deeds he had performed (while an active sinner) are accounted for him as merits. We also have a statement in <i>Yuma</i> 86 according to which even inadvertently committed sins will be accounted as merits after a person becomes a בעל תשובה. All of these are subsumed under the heading טף, "children."
  והבהמה וכל אשר בעיר תבוז לך, "and the beasts and all that is in the city you may plunder for yourself;" the word "beasts" refers to the animalistic desires a person suffers from, his love for everything sensual and material. A true בעל תשובה will be able to put all these urges and desires to use in his efforts to serve the Lord.
  כן תעשה לבל הערים הרחוקות, "So you shall do to all the cities which are distant, etc." All the commandments mentioned in this paragraph have been given only to the "cities," i.e. the bodies which have become distant from G'd. We know from Isaiah 57,19 that G'd offers peace to the near and the far. The "far" are the sinners. He has become distant from his holy source, the שכינה from where all holy souls originate. However, מערי העמים האלה, "from any city of these nations" (Canaanites) cities of the Gentiles, which never had contact with sanctity and which had left its source due to its many sins, such a city has no hope of returning to a sanctity it had never possessed in the first place. This is why the Torah mentions אשר לא מערי הגוים, that all the Torah's exhortation to return to the fold is addressed only to the Jew. Others, such as the cities of the seven Canaanite nations, have to be annihilated completely. Moses made the mistake in accepting as proselytes the mixed multitude which he took out of Egypt with the Jewish people (<i>Shemot Rabbah</i> 42,6). G'd had told him in Exodus 7,4: "I will take out My hosts, My people," meaning that He would only redeem the Israelites who had holy roots. The root of these people was evil and they would not fit into a holy society. When Moses "revived" them he did not revive their נשמה as they never had a נשמה in the first place which he could have revived.
  
  
  
  
  
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  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
   כי תצא למלחמה על איביך, When you go to war against your enemies, etc. Why did the Torah need to write this whole introduction when it would have sufficed to write: "when you see an attractive woman amongst the prisoners, etc." The whole of verse one seems extraneous to the subject matter under discussion! Furthermore, seeing the Torah did decide to write: "when you go out to war against your enemies, etc.," why did we need the words "against your enemies?" Against whom does one go to war if not against one's enemies? Perhaps the reason is to be found in halachic relaxations which apply to troops in wartime. A woman such as the attractive woman prisoner mentioned here would be totally out of bounds if not for the fact that she was captured in war; the same applies to other relaxations of the halachah such as the prohibition of eating the hind parts of a pig, etc, (compare <i>Chulin</i> 17). This gave rise to the Torah using a different style in this instance. Seeing that the Jewish soldier was aware of the halachic relaxations which are applicable even to Torah law under conditions of war, the Torah was concerned lest some of the soldiers would actually look forward to the battle in order to avail themselves of these relaxations of Torah law. The Torah was keenly aware of this and reminded the soldier that when he goes to war his only purpose should be to avenge himself on the enemies of the Jewish people, not in order to have an excuse to indulge in things which are normally forbidden. The words כי תצא, "when you go out," are a reminder that although you depart from the normal rules of halachic restrictions when your life is at stake, למלחמה, your mind must concentrate only on the war, on the battle, not on what you consider the fringe benefits. The reason the Torah adds the words על איביך, "against your enemies," is to remind you that your enemies are G'd's enemies as we have been told by David in Psalms 139,21: "O Lord, You know I hate those who hate You, and I loathe Your adversaries." Your entire reason for going to war must be for this sole purpose. If that will be the case, then the Torah's assurance: "and the Lord your G'd will deliver them into your hand" will be fulfilled. From our verse (verse 1) you may deduce therefore that unless your motivation is the one the Torah expects of you, your success will not be assured.
  ושבית שביו, "and you take a prisoner." This is a commandment, as otherwise you create the impression that you belittle gifts G'd gives you. Alternatively, the Torah emphasises the negative when writing the positive, i.e. you are forbidden to marry such an attractive Gentile female unless she has first been your captive. Under no circumstances must you exploit the Torah's permission to wed such a prisoner by engaging in the pursuit of a woman who catches your fancy with the intention of making her your wife or your concubine if she had not previously happened to be your captive. This is the reason that the Torah writes the sequence ושבית שביו וראית בשביה, "if you have taken a prisoner and then you see amongst the prisoners, etc." The reason the Torah wrote שביו, "its prisoner," instead of simply אותו, "it," is because (according to <i>Sifri</i>) we are not speaking about a defensive war but about a war of acquisition, (authorised by G'd, i.e. the High Priest) and the Torah wishes to include permission to take captive even a Canaanite of the seven nations who would have had to be executed had the Torah spoken about the war when the Israelites captured the Holy Land under the leadership of Joshua. In other words, although such a person would have been killed if she had been encountered in Joshua's wars of conquest, the fact that she was captured outside the boundaries of ארץ ישראל saved her life.
  Another thing the Torah has in mind by writing "and He delivers them into your hands," following it up with "and you capture its prisoner," is to limit your authority over human life. Once you have captured a prisoner you are not free to kill him or her unless the Torah had commanded this such as in 20,16 "you must not let anyone survive." The source for this limitation on your powers as a captor is the reminder that G'd delivers your enemy into your hands, you did not achieve victory by your own prowess.
  
  Verse 11
  
   וראית בשביה אשת יפת תאר, "And you see in her captivity a woman of beautiful form, etc." The expression יפת תאר is to be understood literally, whereas according to <i>Sifri</i> the words וחשקת בה, "you will desire her," are understood to include even an ugly looking prisoner. This sounds somewhat strange; if it is true, why did the Torah bother to mention a good looking prisoner if even an ugly looking woman is permitted? All the Torah had to write was: "if you see a woman amongst the prisoners, etc.," and neither the words יפת תאר nor וחשקת בה are needed.
  In order to answer these questions we must understand why G'd altogether permits a Jew to defile himself by sleeping with a Gentile. This is even more problematical as the Torah permits this at a time when G'd has been busy performing miracles so that the Israelites were victorious in battle and suffered no casualties. We would have assumed that at such a time more than at any other the laws requiring ritual, i.e. sexual purity would have to be tightened rather than relaxed! How can a time when the Israelite has to cleave to his G'd be the very time when he is allowed to indulge his evil urge in such a fashion? We can understand the need to permit food for soldiers in war although the Torah has otherwise forbidden such food. In his treatise <i>Hilchot Melachim</i> chapter 8, Maimonides explains that when a soldier is hungry and must feed himself it is acceptable to permit him to eat whatever is available. After all, it may be a case of survival; however, no such reasons apply when a soldier wants to indulge his carnal lust. Our sages in <i>Kidushin</i> 21 explain the whole paragraph as addressed to the evil urge within man. If so, surely whatever the Torah legislates ought to be designed to subjugate that evil urge from the hearts of a holy people at a time when they are engaged in war and when they count on their King, i.e. G'd, to fight on their behalf.
  I believe the clue to understanding this whole legislation is to be found in the <i>Zohar Chadash</i> Balak page 53. We are told there that at the time Adam sinned many souls who originated in holy spheres were taken captive by the spiritually negative forces known as <i>Sitra Achara.</i> These souls are the ones of people who voluntarily converted to Judaism since that time. Many outstanding Jews have come from such conversions such as Ruth the Moabite, the scholars Shmayah and Avtalyon, as well as Onkelos the proselyte.
  I will reveal to you another mystery. There are occasions when a pure soul is very closely attached to an impure soul and the pure soul is unable to exert a spiritually positive influence on the impure soul. The latter remains as it is until the time comes to be freed from its body. We have an example of something like that in the soul of Rabbi Chaninah ben Tradyon whose soul [obviously long before it inhabited the body of that scholar, Ed.] reputedly was attached to that of Shechem, son of Chamor (who had raped Dinah). This is alluded to in the Torah by the letters in the word רחבת ידים (Genesis 34,21) which form the initals of the name of Rabbi Chanina ben Tradyon, as explained by Rabbi Chayim Vittal in his commentary on the relevant verse in Genesis (<i>Likutey Torah</i>). [I have seen this text and it is somewhat different from what the author quotes. Ed.] This soul of Rabbi Chaninah had not exerted a positive influence on the soul of Shechem so that when the latter committed the rape of Dinah the soul of Rabbi Chaninah departed from him and found its mate in the soul of Dinah whose soul had previously been described as נידה, i.e. as polluted. This is the mystical dimension of the words ותדבק נפשו בדינה, "his soul cleaved to Dinah the daughter of Jacob" (Genesis 34,3). You will do well to keep this principle in mind. Sometimes you find a holy soul mixed in amongst those that belong to the domain of the קליפה, the spiritually negative forces. Such a soul may exert a spiritually positive influence on other souls in its environment, driving out the evil resident within those souls or at least weakening it. These are the souls who eventually become proselytes by their own efforts such as Ruth the Moabite and Naamah the Ammonite who became the mother of King Rechavam.
  I have already mentioned repeatedly that by means of the performance of G'd's commandments one's soul becomes "dressed" in the light of the שכינה, so that it is enabled to expel whatever evil still remains within it. This is the mystical dimension of Kohelet 8,5: שומר מצוה לא ידע רע, that "he who observes the commandment will know no evil." This applies in particular to people who are on such a מצוה errand as the soldiers of the Jewish people in war. I have also explained in <i>Parshat Shelach Lecha</i> that people on such an errand are even protected against the evil urge at such a time, not only against the actual commission of a sin (compare the whole discussion in Numbers 13,26 commencing on page 1450). The reverse is true of someone engaged in the commission of a sin; his soul is "dressed" in the spirit of impurity which leads him still further astray.
  After G'd had informed us of all these factors, the comments of our sages will greatly enlighten us concerning this whole legislation. The operative clause are the words כי תצא למלחמה, "that you, the soldier are engaged in performing a מצוה errand against G'd's enemies." This very fact already results in your not being tempted by the evil urge while you are engaged in carrying out this errand. The words וראית בשביה, "and you see at the time of her being taken captive, etc." According to Maimonides in the above quoted chapter of his <i>Hilchot Melachim,</i> the Torah speaks about a moment in time when said soldier is still engaged in his sacred task. This is the reason the Torah speaks of אשת, "a woman of," (genitive) instead of אשה יפת תאר. [remember that in <i>halachah</i> the term "wife of," i.e. the normal meaning of the word אשת in the Torah, is not applicable to a Gentile woman who lives with the same man. Ed.] Our sages in <i>Kidushin</i> 21 interpret the term אשת used by the Torah as including a woman who is married, according to the understanding of this term by the Gentiles. They are, of course, correct; however, if that were the only meaning of the word in this case, the Torah should not have written אשת יפת תאר instead of אשה יפת תאר but אשת איש, "a married woman." Clearly, the Torah's choice of the expression אשת יפת תאר is meant to alert us to the fact that G'd opened the eyes of this soldier who is still engaged in performing the מצוה to recognise something spiritually beautiful within the soul of that female prisoner. It is this soul which the Torah describes as יפת תאר. Holy souls are able to radiate a beautiful spiritual light. The soldier is able to recognise the spiritual light which emanates from that prisoner as he is still enveloped by the שכינה, being still engaged in the performance of a holy task himself.
  The Torah was very careful to write בה, "something within her" instead of אותה, "her." This means that the soldier in question is not infatuated with the body of the woman but with something inside her, her holy soul which he was able to recognise. This explains why such a woman is permitted even if she is outwardly ugly. The words יפת תאר never related to the external appearance of the woman in question. Carnal lust is always something which feeds on the external appearance not on the invisible part of the woman.
  ולקחת לך לאשה, "and you will take her for you as a wife." It is remarkable that throughout this paragraph the Torah always refers to the woman prisoner by a suffix, i.e. והבאתה, ובעלתה, ושלחתה. Only in this instance does the Torah describe the wedding without even mentioning her as a suffix, i.e. ולקחתה. The reason is that the union of the soldier and this woman in marriage occurs in a domain which is hidden from the eye. The Torah does not speak of a union of bodies but of a union of souls. Seeing the souls of the soldier and the prisoner have become attached to one another, the result is marriage. The principle holds true also in normal marriages between Torah-observant Jews, and it was the reason why Dinah's soul was joined by the holy soul of Rabbi Chaninah ben Tradyon as a direct result of her being raped by Shechem.
  Having explained that the ultimate fate of souls within the domain of the <i>Sitra Achara</i> which enjoy the close proximity of a holy soul may be one of two possibilities, who is to know if the "holy" soul which was attached to this prisoner's Gentile soul is one which will depart from her at the first contact with the soul of a Jewish male (as in the case of Shechem), so that nothing holy will remain within her, or if the "holy" soul within her has accomplisehd its task so that the entire soul of that prisoner is now fit to convert as was Naamah or Ruth. In order to establish this with certainty the Torah wrote: והבאתה אל תוך ביתך, "you are to bring her inside your house." During the period that the prisoner sojourns in the house of her soldier-captor, the latter will be able to remove from her part of her spiritually negative characteristics. In that event, she is fit to convert and he may marry her. The words והיתה לך לאשה mean that she may become your wife if you want to marry her. If you are not prepared to marry her, i.e. to form a spiritual union with her, this will be proof that the holy part of her soul, i.e. the holy soul within her that kept her Gentile soul company, has already departed from her so that your two souls are not meant to form a union.
  Seeing that it is not impossible that even a Torah-observant Jew may become infatuated with a Gentile woman and wants to live with her without the benefit of marriage which sanctifies a sexual union between man and wife, the Torah has to provide for such a situation. Remember that we only described the desire a soldier has for a Gentile prisoner as being inspired by something purely spiritual as long as that soldier was actively engaged in performing the commandment of fighting a war against the enemies of his people. As soon as the soldier has brought the prisoner home, or even sooner, as soon as the war is over, the soldier's reaction to the prisoner may reflect his carnal instincts rather than the longing of his soul for a suitable soul-mate. The Torah therefore prescribes a number of measures which will help establish just what it is that said soldier is attracted to. Shaving off the hair of her head, letting her nails grow, or according to others cutting her nails especially short, are all examples of a deliberate attempt to show the soldier-captor his prisoner when she has been deprived of her physical allure. If the prisoner converts and her soldier-captor still wants to marry her this is considered proof by the Torah that this woman has divested herself of all traces of the spiritual impurity inherent in her background. This is why the Torah says והיתה לך לאשה, "you may marry her." The Torah hints at all this strongly when writing instead of ואם לא חפצת אותה, "and if you do not want her," ואם לא חפצת בה, "and if you do not want what is inside her."
  ושלחתה לנפשה, "you must send her away to be on her own." The Torah carefully chose the word לנפשה, to explain why the soldier-captor may not sell this woman (who is after all trophy of the war) as one may sell other Gentile slaves. If he were to sell this prisoner now he would benefit from the proceeds. The Torah had described her as part of the captives G'd had given the people. How could the soldier sell what was G'd's? The word לנפשה reminds the soldier that the only reason this prisoner had been given to him by G'd was because of the soul inside her. Originally, upon meeting her in captivity, the soldier had been attracted to the beauty of her soul and had benefited from her spirituality. It would certainly be inappropriate to now treat her as chattel, cashing in on her as a sex object. Alternatively, the word לנפשה at this stage emphasises that this woman has by now revealed that all she has left is a נפש, the most basic life-force, not a נשמה, a holy soul. Her holy soul from which you originally benefited has already departed from her as did the holy soul of Shechem when he raped Dinah.
  ומכור לא תמכרנה, "and you must certainly not sell her." G'd does not want the Israelites to trade in evil. We have a verse in Psalms 69,27 אשר הכית רדפו, "they pursued those whom You have smitten." The Psalmist scores the Gentiles who want to profit from the fact that G'd had smitten the Jewish people." G'd did not punish the Jewish people for their sins in order for the Gentiles to make a profit out of this. --Similarly, the soldier who had already extracted all he wanted from the body of his prisoner must not now also turn her into chattel to make a profit from selling her.
  תחת אשר עינית, "because you have afflicted her." This means that you have deprived this woman of all her previous assets including her physical allure and have caused her to become ugly and destitute. This final line in our paragraph is proof for our whole approach to the subject of the יפת תאר. Is it conceivable that a Jew who has sexual intercourse with a Gentile woman would abuse her? Did not our sages say in <i>Gittin</i> 38 that "Gentiles are more fond of the beasts belonging to Jews than they are fond of their own wives?" It follows that they would love female slaves who used to be the property of Jews even more so." How could Jews have acquired such a reputation if they had maltreated their slaves? How could the fact that the prisoner spent a month in the house of her soldier-captor be considered as having suffered maltreatment? Surely the Torah refers to her mental anguish and not to her having been physically mistreated. Her mental anguish consists of her being denied the opportunity to share the sanctity of a Jewish home if her captor had married her.
  A moral/ethical approach to our subject is based on the premise that the entire structure of the universe and its continued existence is based on the conduct of the Jewish people. As long as the Jewish people act in accordance with Torah precepts the universe remains intact and there is joy in heaven and on earth. Even G'd Himself is happy and rejoices in the fact that there is a Jewish people. The proper conduct of the Jewish people in turn depends on its ability to vanquish its evil urge. Our verses come to remind man that as soon as his soul leaves the celestial spheres (prior to entering his body) he must be prepared for the struggle with the evil urge. He should not believe that no special valour is needed in order to overcome the spiritually negative forces. On the contrary, the struggle is called מלחמה, "war." This is what our sages had in mind in <i>Avot</i> 4,1 when they said that the true hero is the person who conquers his temptation. This is the reason the Torah did not write le-milchamah i.e. "to any any war," but la-milchamah "to the war, i.e. the well known war against your evil urge."
  על איביך. "against your enemies." This is a further reminder that the war the Torah speaks about in our paragraph is not comparable to one fought by a military hero who, once he has conquered the city he fights against, goes home and rests on his laurels. Rather, it is a war which if the victor relaxes his guard even momentarily after having scored a victory, his enemy is liable to revive and destroy him. The Torah assures us that even though the evil urge is an extremely tough adversary, one whose resources are stronger than human powers to overcome unaided, G'd will give this adversary into our hand -if we are actively engaged in fighting him, כי תצא למלחמה.- This is the meaning of the words ושבית שביו. "You will take him captive." The Torah is careful to write שביו instead of אותו, "him." The reason is that the adversary is not something or someone tangible to which the pronoun אותו, "him or it" could be applied. The best that you can hope for is that he will disappear for a while. The meaning of the words ושביתו שביו may be that you will take captive the souls which up until now the <i>Sitra Achara</i> held captive, i.e. you will capture his prisoners. What is described as "your victory" consists of reclaiming souls which your adversary Satan had captured.
  וראית בשביה אשת יפת תאר, "and you see in her captivity a beautiful woman." The reason the Torah writes אשת (the possessive form) instead of the more appropriate אשה, is to alert us that the subject is man's soul, the one that is inseparable from her "mate," her body. Satan does not exert any influence on such a soul until it has "descended" and inhabits a body. He is only able to take it into captivity once it has become inseparable from its body. This נפש is called אשה, woman. The reason the Torah describes it as יפת תאר, "beautiful," is because this soul is intrinsically very beautiful indeed and it has only dishevelled herself by means of the sins committed by the body it inhabits. Once man conquers his evil urge he will realise how truly beautiful his נפש really is.
  וחשקת בה, "and you will desire her." This means that then the time has come when you will truly desire her, i.e. your soul, instead of the desire you had previously displayed for the seductive machinations of your evil urge.
  והבאת אל תוך ביתך, "and you will bring her into your house." This is a reference to the fact that the true soul moves (spiritually) further and further away from the body it inhabits as a result of accumulations of the sins committed by the body. In its place a spiritually negative force occupies the void left by the soul. We find a somewhat similar concept in Job 18,4: טורף נפשו באפו, "who tears his soul apart in his anger." The body is called בית, "house," as we learned in <i>Taanit</i> 11: "who testifies against man? The walls of his house, i.e. the body." When the evil urge defeats the soul it makes itself at home within the body which used to be the exclusive home of the soul. As a result the evil urge will become known as the בעל נפש, the force in control of the soul. The soul that man had acquired originally now has to fight back to regain its original position and has to get rid of the symbols of impurity which have infested it. One such symbol is the hair on his head and this is why the Torah orders it to shave off the hair on its head. The term קליפה, "peel," which is the best known simile for the spiritually negative forces, is represented in the body by the nails which are like a peel. Trimming the nails then is an indication of man's effort to trim the forces of the קליפה. והסירה את שמלת שביה מעליה, "and she is to remove the garment of her captivity from herself, etc." This is a reference to garments acquired as a result of her becoming defiled. The removal is to take place by means of eradicating the traces of her sins through penitence, self-flagellation, etc. וישבה בביתך, "and she is to dwell in your house, etc," during which time she is to confess her sins and weep in sorrow over all the trespasses she has committed against her father and mother, i.e. against G'd and the community of Israel whose traditions she has flouted (compare <i>Berachot</i> 35). ירח ימים, "for a full month," which is sufficient for this purpose. The Torah may have in mind the month of Elul which our sages set aside for penitence prior to the Day of Judgment, Rosh Hashanah.
  ואחר כן תבא אליה, "after that you may join her, etc." You are now permitted to benefit from her spiritual light. This is the mystical dimension of Proverbs 16,26: נפש עמל, עמלה לו, "when someone toils for his soul, he toils on behalf of his true self." This will assist him to remain on the correct path. ובעלתה, "and you have become her master." The reason the Torah describes you as her master is because the moral strength of your actions has rehabilitated her. Eventually, this soul will once more inhabit your body and remain in it performing the task assigned to it. This is what the Torah means with the words והיתה לך לאשה, "she may become your wife.
  The Torah now spells out the alternative. If the man does not make an effort to rehabilitate his soul so that she will radiate the spiritual light she was meant to radiate within him, the very least he must do is to make sure that her status will not deteriorate further. Solomon said in Kohelet 12,7: "and the spirit returns to G'd who gave it." Our sages in <i>Shabbat</i> 152 comment on this that the reason Solomon added the word "who gave it" [something which is obvious if we speak about "returning" something, Ed.], is to remind us that it must be returned in the mint condition in which we received it from G'd. אם לא חפצת בה ושלחתה לנפשה, "If you do not desire her you must send her away to be on her own." This means that you must not hand her over to a prison guard but to give her her freedom.
  It is also possible that these words may be understood in light of what we learned in the <i>Zohar</i> volume three page 67 on Isaiah 26,9: נפשי אויתיך בלילה, "at night my soul yearns for You." The word נפשי represents the שכינה, G'd's Presence. Accordingly, the meaning of the Torah is that the captor must release the captive to return to G'd, the place this soul originally came from. ומכור לא תמכרנה, "but you must not sell her;" this too may be understood in light of the comment of the <i>Zohar</i> volume two page 97 on Exodus 21,8: לעם נכרי לא ימשל למכרה, "he does not have the power to sell her to an alien people." To the <i>Zohar</i> the operative word in our verse is the word בכסף. The word is derived from <i>kosseph,</i> something one desires greatly. The problem with most people is that they sell their souls to the enemy (Satan) in return for material things which they urgently aspire to i.e. כוסף. The Torah issues a warning not to sell something of permanent value in return for something of transient value. We have ourselves mentioned that the word כסף alludes to such imaginary values which a person craves when we explained Leviticus 25,37: "you must not give him your money against interest." לא תתעמר בה, "you must not enslave her." Onkelos understands this to mean that you must not provoke mental anguish in her, i.e. in the soul of the sinner; in terms of the soul, sin is called ענוי, affliction. After all, it is you who have caused her to sin, עינית.
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
   והיה הבן הבכר לשניאה, "and the firstborn son is from the wife whom you hate." The Torah does not describe this as merely a possibility but assumes as a fact that the firstborn son from these two marriages will be that of the wife who is hated. It is similar to Genesis 29,31 where the Torah told us that G'd opened Leah's womb because she was hated by her husband. G'd always looks out for those who suffer from a broken heart.
  
  Verse 16
  
   הנחילו את בניו, את אשר יהיה לו, when he allocates the inheritance to the sons he has, etc. The Torah did not write ביום אשר הנחילו את אשר יהיה, לו את בניו, "on the day he allocates his inheritance to the ones who are his, i.e. his sons," which would have been far more appropriate, because the Torah wanted the word הנחילו to appear next to את בניו. This is an allusion to what we learned in <i>Baba Batra</i> 130 that a father may allocate to one of his sons [because he is his natural heir. Ed.] more than would be his share if all the children would inherit equally when no special allocation has been made.
  לא יוכל לבקר "He cannot give preference (the status of being the firstborn), etc." If he did so, he violates a negative commandment. This rule answers a question raised by <i>Tossaphot</i> in <i>Baba Batra</i> 130 which commences with the words תלמוד לומר לא יבכר.
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
   כי יהיה לאיש…איננו שומע, "When a man has a delinquent son…he refuses to listen, etc." Why does the Torah write איננו instead of אינו? Perhaps the Torah wanted to emphasise that when the evil urge dominates within man this deprives man of his normal ability to hear and to understand. The reason is that the evil urge takes up its position at the entrance of man's heart preventing words to get through to the soul. I have compared the matter to a king whose security guards were thieves and robbers. Can one imagine that these guards would permit their victims who want to complain to the king that they have been robbed to gain entrance to the king's palace and thereby to help incriminate themselves? Our situation is quite similar.
  בקול אביו ובקול אמו, "to the voice of his father or to the voice of his mother." Why did the Torah have to write the word: "his father," instead of merely writing "his voice," i.e. that of the man who has been described as having this son? The Torah wanted to emphasise that the rebellious son and those who have given birth to him of which the Torah speaks here are his original parents i.e. his Father in heaven and his Mother, i.e. community of Israel, G'd's partner (compare <i>Zohar</i> volume two page 85). This relationship between us and our Father in heaven, i.e. G'd, has already been formulated by Solomon in Proverbs 1,8: שמע בני מוסר אביך ואל תטש תורת אמך, "My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not abandon the teachings of your mother." Solomon refers to G'd and the community of Israel respectively. If the son of a terrestrial union became a delinquent it was only because the parents failed to discipline him in time and did not give him proper guidance. This in turn caused him to rebel. The Torah tells us that "when a 'man' has a delinquent son, etc.," i.e. a son who rebels against G'd, remember that even if both his biological father and his biological mother discipline him he will not pay attention to them seeing that he does not even listen to his Father in heaven. In fact, the result of rejecting the laws governing our conduct between ourselves and G'd bring in its wake that we will also ignore the laws of conduct between man and his fellow.
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
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   וכי יהיה באיש חטא משפט מות, "And when a man is guilty of a sin carrying the death penalty, etc." The reason the legislation in this paragraph follows on the heels of the legislation of the previous paragraph is because G'd extols the importance of refining man. First the Torah was concerned with man's personal refinement as expressed in the verse כי תצא למלחמה, man goes to war against his evil urge. Next G'd showed His concern about the rehabilitation of man's children, hence the paragraph about the delinquent son, בן סורר ומורה. In our verse the Torah refers to the scholars of the respective generation whose task it is to watch over evil doers. The Torah writes: כי יהיה באיש חטא משפט מות and he continues to be rebellious against G'd's law without repenting he will wind up being executed, והומת. The Torah blames the fact that it came to an execution on negligence by the leading scholars, the Rabbis. When the Torah writes: ותלית אותו על עץ, "you must hang him from a tree," this refers to the scholar, the fruit-bearing tree, who will have to bear the guilt or punishment of the sinner. G'd had charged the scholars with ensuring that errant sinners become penitents by disciplining them both by word and by deed (compare <i>Erchin</i> 16). We have written about this duty of the scholars already in <i>Parshat Kedoshim</i>. When the scholars are derelict in their duty to persuade the sinner to mend his ways the result is the death by execution of the sinner.
  The Torah continues with לא תלין "do not let the body hang overnight." This is a commandment addressed to the people at large not to suspect a Torah scholar of a sin when they have observed him commit a deed which could be interpreted as a sin. You must assume that even if had committed a sin, he had already repented it by nightfall so that he would have rehabilitated himself before the following morning. The word נבלתו, "his dead body" in the sequence לא תלין נבלתו is a reference to the sin. We find that sin is also referred to as a "dead body" on occasion. כי קבר תקברנו, "for you must surely bury him." The Torah speaks about the need for you to bury this sin on that very day when it had been committed or presumed to have been committed. The reason for this is כי קללת אלוקים "for it is a curse of G'd." If you were not to give the scholar in question the benefit of the doubt and at least assume that he has meanwhile repented his mistake you would be desecrating the name of the Lord and would besmirch His honour.
  The Torah concludes this paragraph with לא תטמא את אדמתך, "do not defile your soil." We can best understand this in conjunction with <i>Shabbat</i> 119 that Jerusalem was not destroyed until people were wont to impute base motives to the Torah scholars. The Talmud bases this on a verse in Chronicles II 36,16: "But they mocked the messengers of G'd and disdained His words and taunted His prophets." This is the reason that G'd commanded that people must not insult the Torah scholars. If they do, the Jews would be replaced by Gentiles in the Holy Land, who in turn will defile the land by their very presence.
  
  
  
  
  
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   לא תראה את שור אחיך או את שיו נדחים, "You shall not see the ox of your brother or his sheep cast off, etc." This paragraph is an allusion to the need for the scholars to admonish the plain people in order for them to become the true people of the Lord. The term used by the Torah to describe these morally upright righteous people is אחים, brothers. I have already explained to you that this appellation is reserved for the finest group of individuals (compare <i>Shemot Rabbah</i> 52,5). It is these people whom G'd commanded that when they see an "ox" who is lost, i.e. a human being on a lesser moral level who is compared to a beast, to engage in rescuing him. The reason the Torah speaks of "ox and sheep" instead of donkeys, for instance, is that the Jewish people whom the Torah alludes to by the words "ox or sheep" are basically sacred, fit for the altar as opposed to such animals as the donkey. The word אחיך, "your brother," is a simile for G'd who "owns" all of us. The reason that Moses employs this unlikely sounding simile is that the Torah wanted to make plain to which one of His holy people the commandment to restore lost Jewish souls applies, i.e. to the righteous, the Torah scholars.
  נרחים, "gone astray;" the word is used in a similar sense in Deut 4,19: "and you are drawn astray." Someone who violates G'd's commandments is considered as having gone astray. The Torah commands that we must not ignore such people but bring them back to one's "brother" i.e. to G'd. The reason the Torah repeats the instruction השב תשיבם, "you shall surely restore them" is that if you will make the first move in setting such people on the right path they will complete the journey back to G'd under their own steam.
   ואם לא קרוב אחיך, "And if your brother is not near, etc." Here the Torah hints that it speaks of a period during our final exile, when we will be quite estranged to our Father in Heaven. The period described is the one of which Bileam spoke in Numbers 24,17 when he said: "I can see it but it is not near." The very fact that the redemption does not seem near at hand is apt to estrange the Jewish people to G'd. Even in the present generation the knowledge that the ultimate redemption is so far away undermines the people's faith in G'd. Nonetheless G'd commands ואספתו אל תוך ביתך, "you are to gather him inside your house." The house the Torah speaks of is the Torah academy, etc. There you will teach him the paths of Torah so that the light radiated by Torah study will save this person spiritually. This process will continue until G'd is placated and will claim him back, i.e. עד דרש אחיך אתו. The words והשבות לו, "and you will return it to him," mean that your concern for the straying Jew will be accounted for you as if you had rescued him from becoming totally lost.
  Alternatively, the meaning of the verse is that the Jewish people must engage the common people in the study of both halachah and Mussar, religious law and religious morals, until the day one dies, i.e. we are recalled by G'd. The Torah is particular about describing this as והשבת לו, to warn that if we remain inert in this matter we will be responsible for such people winding up in Hades instead of in the Eternal Life in the hereafter.
   וכן תעשה, "And similarly you shall do, etc." These additional examples of animals or objects gone "astray," are due to the fact that man is composed of three components. 1) the composition of the body ; 2) the spiritual part of man; 3) the part of Torah to which every Israelite is "betrothed." The Torah writes כן תעשה לחמרו, "so you shall do to his donkey" as a simile for the body. It writes כן תעשה לשמלתו, regarding the spiritual part of man; we have been told in <i>Shabbat</i> 152 that the spiritual part of man is called שמלה "garment," when the Talmud recounts a parable about a king who has given garments to his various servants. Finally, the Torah describes the part of Torah every Israelite is betrothed to as אבדה when our verse speaks of אבדת אחיך. In <i>Kidushin</i> 2 Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai tells a parable explaining why it is that although the Torah describes a betrothal as something initiated by a man the Talmud describes it as something happening to a woman, According to Rabbi Shimon the Torah considers that man when searching for a wife searches for a part he has lost, i.e. אבדה. It is not woman who has to search for what man had lost i.e. the "rib" G'd had taken from Adam when He created woman. Seeing man's betrothed is the Torah, he has to consider it as a lost object if he has strayed from the path of Torah. It therefore is part of our duty to ensure that this lost object is restored to all those Jews who have lost it.
   לא תראה את חמור אחיך..נפלים בדרך, "You must not observe the donkey of your brother falling down, etc." This verse speaks of a state of estrangement from tradition which is far greater than that which the Torah spoke of when it referred to נדחים, "straying," in verse one of our chapter. The Torah warns that one must not use this degree of one's fellow's estrangement from G'd and the Torah as an excuse to remain aloof reasoning that any attempt to bring such people back to the fold would end in failure anyway. As long as the "fallen" Jew co-operates in efforts made to rehabilitate him, i.e. עמו, we are not allowed to ignore him; if; however, he refuses to co-operate in such attempts to lead him back into the fold we are allowed to leave him to his own devices. This is what Solomon had in mind when he wrote (Proverbs 9,8): "Do not rebuke a scoffer, for he will hate you."
  
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   כי יקח איש אשה, "when a man takes a wife, etc." The Torah addresses average people even those who have forsaken the path of Torah because they claim that their time is too short and they are so preoccupied with earning a subsistence that they cannot observe all the Torah's restrictions. The words כי יקח איש אשה may be translated as "when a man decides to betroth himself to Torah (which is supposed to be his life's companion)," ובא אליה, "and he consummates this relationship," i.e. a relationship which had been initiated at the time all the Jewish souls stood at Mount Sinai when G'd revealed Himself and they received the Ten Commandments, and now ושנאה, he hates the path of Torah, and he does not want to grant her the things which are due to his "wife" as a matter of right as spelled out in Exodus chapter 21. When his "wife" remonstrates with him asking why she does not receive her due, her "husband" claims that she has not provided him with what he considers the obligation of any wife to her husband, i.e. food and drink. He also claims that he does not observe that his devotion to Torah has paid any dividends such as his economic situation improving. In fact he claims that when he looks around at all his friends who have not adopted the path of Torah they all seem to be better off than he. This is what the Torah alludes to by the sentence ושם לה עלילת דברים והוציא עליה שם רע ואמר את האשה הזאת לקחתי, "and he accuses her and gives her a bad name saying I have married this woman, etc." He does not deny having "married" the woman, i.e. having made a commitment to Torah. The "husband" claims "when I came near to her I did not find her hymen," i.e. a symbol of strength. He claims that people who relied on Torah were compelled to look elsewhere to find sustenance. 
  The Torah replies that the wife's father, i.e. G'd, and the community of Israel, will defend her virtue before the Supreme Court. ולקח אבי הנערה ואמה, "the father and mother will display the בתולים, of the "maiden" (wife), i.e. proof that loyalty to Torah results in spectacular achievements by its adherents. The Torah adds that this defence of the Torah's reputation will be public, i.e. השערה, "in the town square." This is an allusion to what the <i>Zohar</i> volume 3 page 80 writes that in the future G'd will demand that the Torah will be compensated for all the insults it had endured for so long. This is also mentioned indirectly in <i>Avot</i> 6,2 where Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said that day after day a heavenly voice goes forth from Mount Chorev proclaiming: "Woe to mankind for their disregard of Torah." In our paragraph G'd is described as demanding the compensation for the insults endured by the Torah throughout the ages at the hands of those who have rejected it and sold it short, something the author in <i>Avot</i> spoke about. 
  G'd is described as the father of the virgin-bride who has been subjected to unjust accusations, her groom denying her virginity at the time of marriage. The father of the bride, i.e. G'd, says: "I have given My daughter to this man." This means that "I have not given her to him in order that he should abuse her in some out of the way corner of the house, but in order for him to bestow upon her all the rights a wife is entitled to, including her entitlement to physical sustenance, clothing and intimacy." According to <i>Tikkuney Zohar</i> section 6 the Torah is entitled to the same considerations as the physical wife of a husband. The Torah is in need of the same three rights by her partner the Israelite as those the husband has to bestow on his physical wife.  וישנאה, "and he hates her." Here the Torah explains that the immediate reason for the estrangement between Israel and Torah, i.e. husband and wife, is an emotion called hatred. The Torah also hints at the underlying reason, i. e. the apparent failure of the Torah to live up to the Israelite's expectations.  והנה הוא שם עלילת דברים, "Now, behold, he made a wanton accusation against her;" the reason the Torah underlines the (apparently superfluous ) words והנה הוא, "and behold he," is to alert us that the accusation is unwarranted, is false. It is only due to his hatred of her that the husband made such an accusation. ואלה בתולי בתי, "and here are the signs of my daughter's virginity." This is hyperbole for describing something as clear as daylight. Just as one can prove that a bride was a virgin at her wedding by looking at the sheet on which the marriage was consummated, so the fact that Torah did not disappoint in what one could expect of her can be demonstrated beyond doubt. It had been created prior to the universe, which itself was only created for its sake and which continues to exist only on its account. Any good which is available and which is dispensed in this universe is only acquired through Torah either directly or indirectly.
  The Torah continues that the judgment for the Israelite who accused Torah unjustly of having failed him will be pronounced by the court. In the first instance he will receive 39 lashes. The Talmud in <i>Berachot</i> 5 stated that when a man has been subjected to afflictions he should examine his life-style in order to discover which sins he is guilty of. If he cannot find a specific sin that he was guilty of he should attribute his afflictions to his having neglected Torah study. Most commentators find this difficult to understand, claiming that inasmuch as neglect of Torah study is a grave sin, how can the Talmud consider this as a "sin of last resort," i.e. something to fall back on only if one cannot find onself guilty of any other sin? The answer is that the commandment of Torah study and its fulfilment is not one of the commandments that can be measured. Even a person who has studied a relatively great amount of Torah and has devoted many hours to it on a daily basis cannot be sure that he has fulfilled this commandment adequately. If one is stricken with afflictions and knows of no other sin one is guilty of, it is in order therefore to examine how much time one has wasted, time which could have been put to better use studying Torah.
   וענשו אתו מאה כסף, "And they shall fine him one hundred shekalim." This is an allusion to the one hundred benedictions each one of us is meant to recite every day as explained in <i>Menachot</i> 43, based on Deut. 10,12: "and now what, מה, does the Lord G'd ask of you, etc." The Talmud interpreted the word מה as equivalent to מאה, i.e. G'd asks that we recite one hundred benedictions. That verse spoke about a penitent as we know from <i>Bereshit Rabbah</i> 21 that the word ועתה or עתה always refers to a penitent sinner.
  ונתנו לאבי הנערה, "and the elders shall give (these 100 benedictions) to the Father of the virgin-bride, i.e. to G'd, etc., because he (the Israelite) has slandered the virgin-bride of Israel." This is a reference to the שכינה, the Divine Presence, which includes all of Israel, the tenth emanation [popularly known as כתר. Ed.] or virtue, called the oral Torah, a concept familiar to students of the Kabbalah.
  ולו תהיה לאשה, "and she shall be his wife, and he must not divorce her as long as he lives." Although the commandment to study Torah is normally understood to involve setting aside certain parts of the day and night for study, a person who has rejected Torah study previously and who has thereby slighted the Torah must henceforth occupy himself with honouring the Torah all day and all night, i.e. "he cannot send her away as long as he lives." <i>Vayikra Rabbah</i> 25,1 states that if a person was in the habit of studying Torah for an hour daily before committing a sin, then part of his rehabilitation is to study two hours daily. This is applicable to people whose sins did not consist of insulting the Torah. In order to make up for the insult to Torah which the person in our paragraph is guilty of he has to henceforth devote himself exclusively to Torah.
  ואם אמת הדבר, "But if the matter was true, etc." If it turns out that the Torah which this person studied and which he examined and found defective, was taught by heretics, such as the Torah taught by Tzadok and Bayssus, such Torah does not give man strength but exerts a negative influence on him. G'd commands to stone such a "Torah" to death until it is completely dead, as per our verse. Whereas the teachers of this kind of Torah employed words spoken by G'd, i.e. the text of the Torah, the intention of the teacher teaching it disqualifies it. We have been taught in <i>Gittin</i> 48 that if a heretic painstakingly writes an entire Torah scroll it must be burned forthwith, as he did something despicable, etc. When the Torah concludes our paragraph with the words: "you shall wipe out evil from your midst," it refers to someone who deliberately distorts the meaning of the Torah.
  
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   כי ימצא איש שוכב עם אשה בעלת בעל, "If a man be found having intercourse with a woman married to someone else, etc." This verse is best understood with reference to <i>Sanhedrin</i> 59 that if a Gentile engages in Torah study he is guilty of the death penalty. The Torah is already betrothed to her husband the Israelite, she is his bride. ומתו גם שניהם, "Both of them shall die etc." both the Gentile studying the Torah and the "Torah" itself. This means that such "Torah" instead of spreading its spiritual light will darken the horizon of the Gentile who studies it. It will not be perceived as possessing life-giving powers as when it is studied by an Israelite. Torah, which according to Proverbs 4,22 is a source of life to those who encounter it, will not prove to be a source of life to pagans who study it but the reverse.
  
  
  
  
  
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   לא יבא עמוני ומואבי בקהל השם, "Neither an Ammonite nor a Moabite may become members of the Jewish people, etc." The reason which the Torah gives for denying the male members of these tribes the right to convert to Judaism, i.e. that they did not come forward with bread and water to assist the Israelites when the latter came out of Egypt is hard to understand. Does not the Torah itself testify in Deut. 2,29: "as did the members of the tribe of Esau and the Moabites?" The reference is to both of these nations having sold provisions to the Israelites at the time. Rashi explains the apparent contradiction as 1) the verse in 2,29 referring to the Israelites' offer to buy food in return for money (2,28). 2) What is written here refers to the fact that they hired Bileam to curse the Jewish people and to lead it into sin at the end of the 40 years trek through the desert whereas what is written earlier refers to what transpired in the first year of the Israelites' wanderings. Perhaps the word על דבר is meant to alert us that what they did with Bileam would have sufficed to exclude them forever as members of the Jewish people. The word קדמו means they should have come forward on their own account offering bread and water as gifts. This would have been only small recompense for all which our forefather Abraham had done for them. Instead of repaying good with good they had repaid good with evil. The plain meaning of the words לא קדמו אתכם is that they did nothing for your benefit.
  These verses may also be understood in light of what we have learned in <i>Yevamot</i> 76 where the Talmud searches for a reason why female members of the Moabite and Ammonite people are allowed to convert to Judaism. Rabbi Yochanan is quoted as saying that the daughter of a male Ammonite who converted may marry a priest. The Mishnah there already stated that the prohibition for Moabites and Ammonites to convert applies only to the males as the Torah speaks of עמוני and not of עמונית. It is not the way of the women to go out. Women are supposed to be in their homes. This is why they were not guilty of not coming forward with bread and water. This interpretation is based on the interpretation by Avner, Saul's general. In fact Amasa was very adamant about this halachah threatening to stab to death anyone who refused to accept it. [there was an attempt to use these verses to declare David as a bastard on the basis of his being descended from Ruth the Moabite. Ed.] According to the Talmud (at least one opinion) the tradition to permit a female member of these tribes to convert was approved at the time of the prophet Samuel already; otherwise how could Samuel have crowned David king if his great-grandmother Ruth had not even been Jewish? The argument between the teachers of the Mishnah Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Shimon did not concern the validity of Ruth's conversion, but on which scriptural verse such a validity was based i.e. on the word עמוני being restrictive and excluding the females, or on the reason provided for by the Torah a for the non-admission of the male Moabites seeing only the males normally come out of their houses to welcome strangers, not females. <i>Tossaphot</i> on the following folio, commencing with the words: כתנאי, comment as follows: "if you were to argue that according to Rabbi Yehudah there is a difficulty where the Torah writes that a מצרי i.e. only a male Egyptian must not be rejected for conversion for up to three generations, the answer is that in the case of the עמוני and the מואבי the Torah could have written the shorter version עמון,מואב instead of the longer version עמוני,מואבי so that I have reason to believe that if the Torah employed more lettters than necessary it was in order to exclude the females. In the case of the Egyptians, however, this argument does not apply as the word מצרים instead would have been longer than מצרי not shorter as in the case of עמון.
  I do not find the words of <i>Tossaphot</i> convincing at all. We do not find instances where the Torah writes something at the beginning of a paragraph prejudging a halachah to be discussed later; this would be especially inadmissible if it would lead to our misunderstanding the Torah's halachic intention. According to Tossaphot we would have to "guess" at why different yardsticks apply to the use of the word מצרי than apply to such words as עמוני or מואבי. Furthermore, even assuming that the Torah did have to write the word מצרי in order for us to know that there is a halachic distinction between the conversions of male and female Egyptians respectively, it could be argued that the Torah had to change the manner in which it described the nationalities mentioned earlier in order to fall in line with the word מצרי. However, if the word מצרי itself is already a change from the normal word מצרים which the Torah should have employed if it wanted to apply the same rule to male and female Egyptians then the whole thing cannot be explained other than that the Torah preferred to use as short a version of the word as was compatible with what the Torah wanted to say.
  However, to get to the crux of the problem; why did Avner use both arguments? First he relied on the Torah writing מואבי as excluding female Moabites, just as did Rabbi Yehudah a millenium later. Immediately afterwards the Talmud quotes Avner retorting to Doeg that the reason the conversion rules do not apply to female Moabites is that females do not go out and offer food and drink to another people. This latter argument was that of Rabbi Shimon, not that of Rabbi Yehudah. We must assume that Avner did not withdraw his first argument but buttressed it by additional proof from our verse here. Logic supports this theory for if Avner had retracted from his original argument that the word מואבי was restrictive, why would he have used it altogether knowing it could be refuted from the word מצרי a few verses later? True, if we accepted the answer <i>Tossaphot</i> have given it is conceivable that one could have construed Avner as changing his mind, although we raised objections to <i>Tossaphot's</i> answer. The fact is, however, that Avner made it clear by the manner he dealt with the objection based on the word מצרי that he did not share <i>Tossaphot's</i> opinion.
  I believe that Avner shared the same approach as did Rabbi Yochanan who arrived at the halachah on the basis of both verses combined, i.e. the restrictive meaning of מואבי as well as the Torah citing the fact that these people failed to offer bread and water to the Israelites when the latter needed it. He needed this as the exegesis based on the latter verse alone could have been neutralised by the word מצרי. We would simply have assumed that even though women do not go out to offer bread and water to another people, the fact that the men failed to do so would disqualify the entire nation not merely their males. Besides, the Moabite and Ammonite women have at least 50% genes of their fathers who are disqualified as potential Jews, so why make special allowances for them, unless we had more cogent proof from the Torah such as the restrictive word מואבי instead of מואב. Under normal circumstances the genes of the father determine what nation one belongs to as per Numbers 1,2 "according to their fathers' families." Unless we had additional reason to do so, the word מואבי by itself would not have been sufficient proof to change the halachah from the norm. Only both indications combined could accomplish this exegesis as being ironclad.
  This then is why Avner offered both verses as proof that Moabite and Ammonite women may convert to Judaism. Seeing that this argument appears to have been settled 1000 years before that of Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Shimon, we must try and understand what Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Shimon argued about. I believe that Rabbi Yehudah felt that the word מואבי is sufficient to prove the point that Moabite women may convert. As to the words על דבר אשר לא קדמו, etc, this neither adds nor detracts from his case, according to Rabbi Yehudah. I will explain later why this is so. The reason that although the Torah also wrote מצרי and אדומי, which at first glance suggests that this legislation also applies only to the males of these nations whereas we do not make such a distinction, is simple. In their case there is no reason to make a distinction as neither their males not their females had been called upon to provide the Israelites with bread or water. Seeing the Torah had used this as a criterion for denying the male Ammonites and Moabites the right to convert, there is no reason to treat Egyptian males and females as different from one another when it comes to accepting them as converts. This is precisely the reason the Torah did not have to bother to write the longer word מצרים in order to make its point. Rabbi Yehudah did not agree with Rabbi Shimon that one had to worry either about the comments of Avner or those of Doeg.
  As to the reason why the Talmud interpreted the verse כל כבודה בת מלך פנימה, "that the true distinction of a king's daughter (a chaste woman) is the fact that her activities are confined to her house (Psalms 45,14)," the implications of this verse apply only to chaste women. The Moabite women who had already engaged in luring the Israelites into being both sexually and religiously disloyal to their G'd, could certainly not claim to be better than their male counterparts by reason of the verse in Psalms. The Torah could therefore have expected them to be at least equally forthcoming when it came to offer bread and water to the Israelites. Since neither they nor their males had done this, this constituted an a priori case for denying them the right to convert. On the other hand, one may argue that what these women did when they lured the Israelites into sexual promiscuity at Shittim did not reflect negatively on their character. 1) They were forced to do so by their respective husbands. 2) The fact that it is not normal for women to go out and offer food and drink to other nations is a natural trait of women. The fact that these Moabite women [not the Ammonites anyway. Ed.] did not act in character in one single instance, is no reason to deprive them of the status of normal women. As a result of all these considerations, the message from the word מואבי instead of מואב is inconclusive.
  Rabbi Shimon holds that the message we derive from the verse in Psalms 45,14 is quite conclusive, i.e. it relieves the women from the obligation to offer food and water outside their homes. Moreover, he holds דרשינן טעמי דקרא, that when the Torah bothers to write a reason such a comment may be used exegeticaly to establish a <i>halachah.</i> When the Talmud refers to the dispute between teachers of the Mishnah it does mean that Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Shimon disagree on something more than the applicability of the verse in Psalms 45,14 to the women mentioned in our verse.
  As a result of what we have explained so far you may find that there are actually three distinct approaches to the subject in the Talmud as to why women of the tribes of Moab and Ammon may convert. 1) The opinion of Rabbi Yochanan who uses both the word מואבי and the words על דבר אשר לא קדמו jointly. 2) Rabbi Yehudah who relies exclusively on the word מואבי as distinct from מואב. 3) Rabbi Shimon who relies principally on the words על דבר אשר לא קדמו.
  According to Rabbi Shimon then Rabbi Yochanan's reliance on the words על דבר makes sense. The question why we need the words על דבר at all remains open only according to the approach of Rabbi Yehudah. It may be answered in accordance with what we wrote previously.
  After having taken another long look at the whole subject, I have come to the conclusion that one cannot fault the Moabite women for not offering bread or water as they could not have done so without first obtaining their husbands' consent. The conduct of their husbands towards the Israelites made it plain that even if these women had asked for permission to offer such supplies to the Israelites, their husbands would never have consented. The argument offered in the Talmud by Doeg therefore must be viewed as the argument of an heretic. We find something analogous when the prophet Achiyah Hashiloni was confronted with what he considered a spurious question by the wife of King Jerobam and he described it as being an heretic's question (compare <i>Midrash Shemuel</i> 22 on Kings I 14,6).
  
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   ולא אבה ה׳ אלוקיך לשמוע אל בלעם, "but the Lord your G'd refused to listen to Bileam, etc." Although G'd could have found a reason for allowing Bileam to curse the Israelites seeing they were guilty of sins, He decided not to allow him to do so and to extend His goodwill to the Israelites even though they could not claim it by right. The Torah adds כי אהבך, "because G'd loves you," i.e. not because of your merit. Please read what I wrote on the meaning of לא אבה on Deut. 2,30.
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
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   כי תצא מחנה על איביך, "When a camp goes out against your enemies, etc." The Torah means that although there are nuances of transgressions which G'd does not go out His way to punish you for, and even if He does decide to punish you the punishment is very mild, the Torah informs us that at a time when there is general danger, such as when one goes out to war, one needs to be careful not to become guilty of violating even the smallest detail of G'd's commandments, i.e. מכל דבר רע, "from anything which is evil." The word דבר includes even causes which bring about evil. The Torah follows this up with the example of a soldier who became ritually unclean due to an involuntary nocturnal seminal emission. Our sages in <i>Ketuvot</i> 46 explain that sexual fantasies one has during the day often are the cause of such emissions during one's sleep. The reason the Torah wrote these two veרses next to one another is to warn us not to entertain such fantasies during the day so that we would not become defiled during the night.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
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  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
   לנכרי תשיך ולאחיך לא תשיך. "You may pay interest to a Gentile but you must not pay interest to your brother (the Jew)." Why did the Torah repeat here once more that we must not pay interest to a Jew when this had already been stated in verse 20? Our sages in <i>Baba Metzia</i> 75 say that the repetition is to teach that anyone doing this is guilty of the violation of two separate negative commandments. Perhaps the Torah meant here that although the interest you give to your fellow Jew ultimately goes to the Gentile, this is prohibited when the go-between is a Jew and the Jew does not know the Gentile in question either through having borrowed from him or through holding some kind of collateral belonging to the Gentile in question. This is also the <i>halachah.</i>
  There is also an allusion here to a subject debated by the codifiers and later authorities in <i>Yoreh Deyah</i> 159. Some authorities, including Rabbi Joseph Karo, hold that extending loans to pagans is permitted only when the Jew finds it difficult to make a living without doing this even though there is general agreement that the Torah has permitted the practice. The wording לנכרי תשיך may be understood as "you may extend loans with interest to Gentiles, provided that as a result of this permission you will not ultimately charge interest on loans to Jews."
  
  Verse 22
  
   והיה בך חטא. "and you will be guilty of a sin." We can understand this in accordance with the Talmudic statement in <i>Shabbat</i> 32 that failure to honour one's vows may result in the death of one's wife or children while they are still minors." The word חטא means that something is lacking, missing [such as to miss a target להחטיא. Ed.]. Looked at from this perspective, failure to pay one's vows results in one's being deprived of something else which is his, such as the wife whom our sages describe as אשתו כגופו, "a person's wife is like his own body." One has a tendency to look upon one's minor children as one's property. The appropriate punishment for people who do not honour their vows to G'd then is to remind them by depriving them of something else they hold dear.
  
  Verse 23
  
   וכי תחדל לנדר לא יהיה בך חטא. "If you refrain from making vows this will not be considered as a sin for you." This can also be understood in light of a statement in <i>Gittin</i> 7 that "if a person experiences that his income is barely sufficient he should give some away as charity. If he has ample income he must certainly be charitable." In addition to this the Talmud states in <i>Ketuvoth</i> 66 that "if one wants to "salt away" one's money he will find that it decreases." It is a psychological truth that inasmuch as man is very fond of his money he is loath to part with it. A person may wish to counteract his natural tendency to hang on to his money by making a vow to G'd so as to obligate himself against his avaricious nature to give some of his money away for a worthy cause. This is why the Torah has to warn us that the consequences of not living up to the promises one has made in the form of a vow may be devastating.
  Concerning paying a vow late the Torah says that the party guilty of this is guilty of a sin, i.e. he may experience being deprived of someone his is fond of. Concerning people who fail to give charity the Torah says וכי תחדל לנדר, that even if the failure to make vows may result in your not donating to charity and this in turn may result in your own money-supply diminishing in worth or amount, at least you will not suffer the additional disaster of losing someone dear to you, such as when והיה בך חטא applies to you..
  
  Verse 24
  
   מוצא שפתיך תשמר, "You shall carry out what you have promised with your lips." The Torah suggests that you should wait before making a vow, a promise, until you are in a position to honour it forthwith. In that event it is perfectly acceptable for you to make vows. This is why the Torah writes immediately adjoining ועשית כאשר נדרת, "and you will do in accordance with what you have vowed." The famous teacher of the Mishnah Hillel conducted himself according to this principle by not designating the lamb he would offer as a passover offering as such until he had reached the Temple yard where it was to be slaughtered (compare <i>Pessachim</i> 86).
  Another meaning of our verse may be this: the words מוצא שפתיך תשמר mean that you should be very careful before you say anything (as it may be in the nature of a commitment). If, however, you did say something, treat it as if it were as sacred as a vow, i.e. כאשר נדרת לשם אלוקיך נדבה, "as if you had made a sacred vow to the Lord your G'd, instead of merely a voluntary gift of a secular nature." The Torah uses the expression נדבה to indicate the generous frame of mind you were in when you made this promise. We know that this is the general meaning of the word נדבה from Exodus 25,20: "which he donates in his heart," or Exodus 35,21: "which his spirit had donated."
  אשר דברת בפיך, "as you have said with your mouth." We may understand this in light of <i>Zohar</i> volume three page 294 commenting on Kohelet 10,20: "for a bird of the sky may carry the sound, etc." When a man merely entertains some thoughts, his lips already move without his being aware of this. This is what the Torah alludes to with the words: "which you uttered with your mouth." If the meaning were not what the <i>Zohar</i> suggested what point is there in the Torah adding the word: "with your mouth?" Who does not know that one speaks with one's mouth? Our sages in <i>Rosh Hashanah</i> 6 interpret our verse in a different manner. After all, there are 70 legitimate ways of interpreting the written Torah.
  
  Verse 25
  
   ואל כליך לא תתן, "but you may not put any of them into your vessel." The Torah prefaces the word כליך with the conjunctive letter ו to remind us that there was another commandment which immediately preceded this commandment. We refer to the prohibition to overeat from the grapes of the vineyard of your employer. We derive this prohibition from the fact that the Torah wrote שבעך "to your satisfaction," i.e. not more than your fill. After this the Torah added: "neither shall you put any into your vessel."
  
  
  
  
  
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   השמר בנגע הצרעת, "Take heed of the affliction known as Tzoraat, etc." According to <i>Shabbat</i> 132 on our verse the meaning is that a person afflicted with this plague must not remove the afflicted section of his skin in order to remove the evidence of his disease. The reason why the Torah added that we should remember what G'd had done to Miriam is intended to remind us of the true source of such an affliction and to remind those who think they can cure it by cutting off the skin where it appears that they are on the wrong track. The way to get rid of this affliction is to remove its cause, i.e. to rehabilitate a character fault which caused it in the first place.
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
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   ואליו הוא נושא את נפשו, "and his life depends on it." The Torah tells us that although paying a labourer late is at worst only a sin comparable to robbery, the penalty the Torah has in mind for the employer is as if he had committed a capital crime. When the Torah writes יהיה בך חטא "for it shall remain a sin against you," this is similar to what we find in Kings I 1,21 "and I and my son will remain sinners." In this instance the Torah first gave the reason for the penalty of the employer when it wrote: ואליו הוא נושא את נפשו "for he is risking his life for it," i.e. the penalty too will be that applicable when one had taken someone else' life.
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
   לא תטה משפט גר יתום, "You must not pervert the judgment of a proselyte or an orphan, etc." You might be inclined to favour the proselyte in judgment seeing the Torah has commanded us so many times to love the proselyte. The Torah therefore saw fit to warn us not to pervert his judgment even in his favour. The Torah continues by writing: "do not take the garment of a widow as a pledge," in order to demonstrate that this is the only exception when the Torah does treat a widow differently in judgment compared to ordinary people. You must not take this pledge after the loan has been extended though you may take the garment as collateral at the time the loan is extended.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
   אם בן הכות הרשע, "if the person found guilty (the wicked one) is convicted he is to receive 39 lashes, etc." The reason the Torah wrote the word בן with the vowel <i>chirik</i> instead of the customary vowel <i>segol</i> is that he who administers the lashes must evaluate if the victim is physically able to absorb these lashes without injury. In the event that the health of the individual in question cannot absorb the normal number of lashes, i.e. that he is not <i>ben hakkot,</i> he receives only as many lashes as are compatible with maintaining his level of health (compare <i>Makkot</i> 22).
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
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   לא תהיה אשת המת החוצה לאיש זר, "the wife of the deceased shall not marry a man who is an outsider (stranger), etc." This is a warning to her and to anyone who would cohabit with her that they would be guilty of 39 lashes if they ignored this negative commandment. The Torah also hints here that her brother-in-law, i.e. the potential husband in this levirate marriage, is not obligated to cohabit with her more than a single time. This is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yossi in <i>Shabbat</i> 118 who stated that he engaged in five such cohabitations from each of which a son was born. According to the Jerusalem Talmud <i>Yevamot</i> 1,1 Rabbi Yossi referred to 5 such levirate marriages he was required to endure as he had lost 5 brothers none of whom left behind any children. The additional word ולקחה, "and he shall marry her," is intended to give permission for the surviving brother who has fulfilled the duty of the levirate marriage with his sister-in-law to continue living with this woman in a regular marriage. When the Torah adds the word ויבמה, "and perform the levirate marriage on her," this is intended to counter the argument that everything which has been written by the Torah about this arrangement up until now only gave the brother of the deceasesd the option to perform this cohabitation as distinct from his duty to do so. We could have reasoned that inasmuch as under normal circumstances marrying a sister-in-law is absolutely forbidden, that the Torah relaxed this ruling only in order to give the brother-in-law permission to marry her, but did not obligate him to marry her. This is why the additional word ויבמה is necessary.
  
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   וענתה ואמרה ככה יעשה לאיש, "and she will say in reply: "so shall be done to any man, etc." The reason the Torah employs the term עניה, "reply," is because it is in answer to her brother-in-law who had refused to marry her.
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
   להציל את אישה, in order to save her husband, etc. It is interesting that instead of writing: "the wife stretches out her hand in order to save her husband," the Torah reversed the order by writing: "in order to save her husband she stretches out her hand." This teaches that if the woman had no other way of saving her husband except by grabbing his adversary's private parts she is not culpable. She is only free form guilt if the adversary was clearly threatening the life of her husband, not if he merely engaged in a brawl with him. The Torah managed to convey all this by writing the word "to save (the life of) her husband" prior to describing what the woman actually did.
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
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   כל עשה אלה, כל עשה עול. "are all who do this, anyone who commits a wrong." The verse refers to people who use deceptive weights or measurements. The Torah means that anyone committing other wrongs is no better than people using deceptive weights or measurements. We should not think that the Torah singled out people who use deceptive weights and measurements for the description תועבה, "abomination," a term used as a rule for violation of sexual mores or for violating the laws of ritual impurity and forbidden foods.
  
  Verse 17
  
   זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק, "Remember what Amalek did to you, etc." The reason the Torah singles out Amalek is because this nation was unique, attacking the Israelites by seeking them out, not even knowing where they were to be found. Just as an eagle flies far and wide to search for prey, so the Amalekites marched through hundreds of miles of desert in order to locate the Israelites.
  
  Verse 18
  
   אשר קרך בדרך, "who happened to you on the way, etc." This expression may be understood on the basis of <i>Rosh Hashanah</i> 3 where we are told that the cloud of G'd was continuously enveloping the Israelites so that no one knew the exact whereabouts of this people until the death of Aaron when this cloud dissipated. At that time the Canaanite (Amalekites dressed up as Canaanites) attacked the Israelites. In view of this, how did the Amalekites locate the encampment of the Israelites? To answer this question the Torah writes אשר קרך בדרך, "who chanced upon you on the way." The Torah goes on with ויזנב בך, "and he struck your hindmost ones, the ones who trailed behind." The Torah means that the cloud did not permit the Amalekites to penetrate into the camp of the Israelites; however, they struck only those whom the cloud had expelled as unfit for this kind of protection. When the Torah speaks of הנחשלים אחריך, "the weaklings behind you," it refers to the spiritually weak Israelites.
  ואתה עיף ויגע, "and you were tired and exhausted." You were still עיף from your long and hard bondage in Egypt, and יגע exhausted from your trek through the desert.
  ולא ירא אלוקים, "and he did not fear G'd." This fact inspired more fear in you than the combined fatigue and exhaustion you had experienced. We know from Isaiah 33,14: "the sinners in Zion are frightened," that people who are aware of having sinned will experience fear as opposed to those who are serene in their knowledge of leading a blameless life. The Torah is at pains to describe Amalek in terms which will cause us to hate him by describing his surprise attack on the Jewish people, his exploiting a time when the Israelites were tired and exhausted, pouncing upon them like an eagle. At that time they were also deprived of the power of the righteous who ensured that through their conduct G'd's cloud would completely envelop and protect them.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   והיה כי תבא, "It will be when you come, etc." The Torah introduces this paragraph with the word והיה, indicating a joyous event; the message is that the only true reason for being joyful is when one is privileged to live in the Holy Land. Compare what David had to say about the return to Zion, i.e. (Psalms 126,2) "then our mouths will be filled with laughter."
  אשר ה׳ אלוקיך נתן לך נחלה וירשתה, "which the Lord your G'd is about to give you as an inheritance and you will dwell in it." What exactly is this verse driving at? If the purpose of our verse is to convey the legislation of בכורים, "the offering of the first fruit," the Torah should have commenced these instructions with the words תקח מראשית כל פרי, "take from the first ripened fruit, etc." seeing this is the beginning of this legislation. Why did the Torah write ולקחת with the conjunctive letter ו when there is no connection to the most recently mentioned commandment? It appears that G'd actually commanded 4 separate commandments here. 1) The Israelite should realise in his heart that it was not he nor his strength which enabled him to conquer the land of Canaan but that it was a gift to him from G'd. This is why the Torah first wrote: "which the Lord your G'd is about to give to you." G'd gives it to you in order for you to realise this. The Torah advisedly used the formula אלוקיך, "your G'd," to remind you that He gave you the land in order for you to recognise Him as such. 2) You must drive out the former inhabitants of this land. You have to do this even if it appears to you that there is a good reason for keeping some former inhabitants in this land. The Torah demands that the enemies of G'd must be expelled from His land. This is why the Torah stresses וירשתה, "and you shall possess it." 3) Dwelling in the Holy Land is a commandment all by itself. We have numerous instances where the Talmud extols the importance of the commandment to dwell in the Holy Land. Compare <i>Ketuvot</i> 111. 4) The bringing to the Temple annually of some of the first ripened fruit which this land produces.
  
  Verse 2
  
   מראשית, "of the first, etc." This means that if a number of fruits ripen all at the same time only some of them have to be offered under the heading of בכורים. Our sages in <i>Bikkurim</i> 1,6 who stated that only the seven species mentioned in Deut. 8,8 are the subject of this legislation, derived this by the exegetical tool called גזרה שוה, i.e. the Torah employing similar sounding words in two unrelated subject matters when one or both of these words are superfluous in their context. The word which gives rise to this <i>halachah</i> is the word ארץ in the verse we just mentioned. According to <i>Menachot</i> 84 the words כל פרי, "all the fruit," mean that just as in Deut. 8,8. the Torah enumerated the seven species for which the land of Israel is especially extolled, so the law of בכורים applies only to these species.
  אשר ה׳ אלוקיך נתן לך "which the Lord your G'd is about to give to you;" The Torah emphasises the part of the land that G'd gives to you, because He had reserved for Himself part of that land, i.e. every seventh year when you are not allowed to work the land (compare Leviticus 25,4). It states there specifically that during the seventh year the land reverts to being G'd's. The legislation of <i>Bikkurim</i> applies only during the six years the Israelite farms his land. Although the land produces a harvest also during the seventh year the legislation does not apply as the land does not then belong to the farmer but is officially "ownerless."
  
  Verse 3
  
   אשר נשבע ה׳ לאבותינו, "which the Lord swore to our forefathers to give to us." The wording of this verse excludes this passage being recited by proselytes. He is obligated to bring the offering but cannot recite a line which would make a liar out of him (compare <i>Bikkurim</i> chapter 1).
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
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   וענית ואמרת, "And you shall answer and say, etc." Some commentators understand the word וענית as similar to Job 3,2: i.e. "he answered." It is also possible that the word is related to עני. When an undeserving individual has received a great favour from his king, he humbles himself before his king with a contrite heart. Similarly, the Jewish farmer who has seen the blessing G'd has showered on his field or orchard humbles himself before the Lord. He does so by recounting the lowly beginnings of the Jewish people whose ancestor Jacob was a hired hand working for Laban, who made every effort to destroy him. Up to this point the word וענית applies to the recital of the Jewish farmer. Once he recalls the Exodus and how G'd has elevated the Jewish people the Torah refers to his recital as ואמרת, "you will say (with a sense of great satisfaction)". This is what the sages had in mind in <i>Pessachim</i> 116 when they said that the order in which we recount the story of the Exodus on the night of the "Seder" is that one begins by reciting something shameful only to conclude with something representing praise and satisfaction.
  After having had a good look at our paragraph I have also found in it an allusion to our inheriting the celestial regions. The words והיה כי תבא אל הארץ hint that a person has no right to rejoice until he arrives in the land of the higher regions of which Solomon says in Proverbs 31,25: "she looks forward to the יום אחרון, "the final day" with laughter." This means that even a woman of valour such as described by Solomon as the epitome of woman-hood does not permit herself joy in this life. Joy in this life is vanity and רעות רוח, "a vexation of the spirit." The Torah continues with אשר ה׳ אלוקיך נתן לך, "which the Lord your G'd will give to you," i.e. only that land (the hereafter) is called an enduring inheritance. The reason the Torah is careful to say נתן לך, "gives to you," is because all of the treasures of this world are as nothing compared to the gift of an inheritance in the "higher world." No matter how much wealth any one of us has acquired in this world, it would not suffice to acquire, i.e. to buy even the least bit of an inheritance in the hereafter. This is why the Torah can only describe such an inheritance as a gift from G'd not as something we could trade for our assets in this world.
  וישבת בה "and you will dwell therein;" this is best understood in light of the description of what the righteous will be doing in the hereafter supplied by <i>Berachot</i> 35. The Talmud there describes the righteous as sitting in the hereafter with their crowns on their heads.
  ולקחת מראשית, "and you will take from the first, etc." we can understand this according to the <i>Zohar</i> volume two page 59 that all the commandments a person performs in this life together with all the good deeds he does are collected and stored up in the celestial regions awaiting his arrival there at which time they will serve him as an entrance card to an audience with the King of Kings, the Almighty. This idea is based on Isaiah 58,8: "that your righteousness walks ahead of you when the Glory of G'd gathers you in." ולקחת מראשית כל, "and you will take from the first of all, etc." The Torah means that the word ראשית refers to the best, the choicest. When presenting an offering to G'd you will only take the choicest of the products this world has to offer. Another meaning which the Torah alludes to when choosing the word ראשית is the Torah itself. We have it on the authority of <i>Bereshit Rabbah</i> 1 that the Torah itself is called ראשית.
  אשר ה׳ אלוקיך נתן לך, "which the Lord your G'd gives to you;" this may be understood in terms of what our sages in <i>Berachot</i> 35 said about an apparent contradiction between two verses in Psalms. In Psalms 24,1 the Psalmist says: "the earth and all which is in it belongs to G'd," whereas in Psalms 115,16 the same Psalmist proclaims: "the heavens are G'd's heavens, whereas He has given the earth to man." The Talmud resolves the apparent dilemma by saying that the first verse is true when man has failed to thank the Lord by reciting a benediction before he enjoys the pleasures this earth provides. The second verse is true after man has obtained permission from G'd to treat the earth as his by means of reciting the appropriate benedictions. In other words, once man has complied with G'd's commandments, whatever he has accomplished on earth is considered as something he has accomplished in his own domain, albeit one that G'd has given to him as a gift. Were it not so, none of man's actions would be of the slightest value since he would constantly toil within a domain to which he has no claim and upon which he could not therefore make a lasting impact. When the Torah wrote: "which the Lord your G'd gives to you," it referred to the gift of the entire earth to man provided he had first complied with G'd's wishes.
  ושמת בטנא, "and you will place it in a basket, etc." This is a hint that all the good deeds a person does have to correspond to the guidelines set by our sages as we read in Deut. 17,11: "in accordance with the Torah which they (the sages) will teach you and in accordance with the judgments they will say to you." These sages are the ones who have expounded the Torah in 60 tractates of the Talmud, the numerical value of the letters in the word טנא, "basket" symbolising these 60 tractates of the Talmud. Unless the performance of all these good deeds is based on the authority of the sages and the framework which they have provided both the do-gooder and his good works will be burned.
  והלכת אל המקום, "and you will go to the place, etc." According to the Zohar volume one page 81 man does not normally proceed directly to be received by G'd in His palace, but he has to prepare himself in a place called the ante-chamber. Sometimes the period such a soul has to stay in the ante-chamber preparing itself for the fateful interview may be quite lengthy. Our verse alludes to the period needed for man's soul to prepare itself for entering the palace where it will come face to face with G'd, i.e. "the place which He chooses for His name to reside in."
  ובאת אל הכהן, "and you will come to the priest, etc." We may look at this in light of <i>Chagigah</i> 12 where the archangel Michael is described as standing ready to sacrifice the souls of the righteous on a celestial altar in honour of G'd Almighty. The words which the Torah here tells the person offering his בכורים to recite are to be understood as the words which the soul is to recite to the arch-angel Michael, who is the High Priest in the celestial regions, before he proceeds to offer this soul as a sacrifice.
  The words אשר יהיה בימים ההם, "who will officiate at that time," may be understood in light of the <i>Zohar</i> who says that the "priests" (angels) officiating in the celestial spheres are subject to rotation. We have a statement to this effect in the <i>Zohar Chadash Parshat Lech Lecha</i> concerning the status of the archangel Michael. This is the reason the Torah wrote אשר יהיה בימים ההם. We are told there that this angel only attained the position of "High Priest" after he had offered the soul of King David thus enabling it to enter the celestial regions. This occurred after Solomon had built the Temple on earth. [According to the text in the <i>Zohar Chadash,</i> although G'd had forgiven David the sin with Bat Sheva, David had not yet secured entry to the hereafter until that day. Ed.] The recital of the abbreviated history of the Jewish people including the words אשר נשבע ה׳… לתת לנו, "which the Lord had sworn an oath …to give to us," refers to the land of Israel which is the means through which Torah observance and performance of good deeds will continue. 
  The Torah goes on with ולקח הכהן הטנא מידך, "and the priest will accept the basket from your hand," to indicate that the only thing the celestial High Priest will accept from you as a suitable gift for G'd are offerings based on Torah values as taught to us by the oral Torah, i.e. as per the number 60 represented by the word טנא and referring to the 60 tractates of the Talmud.
  וענית ואמרת, "and you will say in your (spiritual) poverty," the Torah refers to the fact no matter how much a person tries to do good in this life it is not enough to please the Lord. Our sages in <i>Eyruvin</i> 17 said that when Abraham, Isaac and Jacob face G'd to be judged, neither one of them is able to hold his own seeing that it is not possible for man born of woman to meet the standards demanded of him by G'd. Job referred to this when he said (Job 4,17) "can mortals be aquitted by G'd, can man be cleared by his Maker?" The recital the Torah prescribes for the farmer bringing the first fruit is nothing but a list of the excuses cited by man for his failure to live up to G'd's expectations of him. First he refers to the adverse circumstances under which he laboured at Laban the swindler. This is a simile for the temptations of the evil urge who is a great swindler having tricked Eve into eating from the tree of knowledge. The Torah itself had described the tempter, the serpent, as very wily (Genesis 3,1). The words אבד אבי are a reference to Adam. Isaiah 43,27 quotes G'd as saying "your original father (Adam) has sinned, and your spokesmen (priests and prophets) trangressed against Me." The word אבד is a reference to the mortality this sin introduced to the human race, something which affected all subsequent generations who became infected with an evil pollutant. This is the mystical dimension of the foreskin which is part of the embryo from its very earliest gestation. Another meaning of the words אבד אבי "who denies my Father," is similar to Psalms 14,1: "the withered man has said in his heart 'there is no G'd.'"
  The word אבי, "my father," may also be a reference to the soul seeing all the efforts of Satan are aimed at corrupting and destroying the holy soul in man. The soul is called "father" in the <i>Zohar</i> volume one page 76. It is Satan who tries to prevent man from carrying out his duty to serve his Maker. This is not all Satan was responsible for, but וירד מצרים, "he descended to Egypt," i.e. to the place where the evil urge is at home, the epitome of physicality, the place where the soul is under the greatest amount of pressure to yield to Satan. This is the mystical dimension of Isaiah 65,25: ונחש עפר לחמו, "and the serpent feeds on dust." This is a simile for Satan subsisting on all the material pleasures of this world, enjoying them for their own sakes, something which is an abomination to G'd. Literally, the very fact that man's body is narrow, מצר (same as מצרים) accounts for the fact that the evil urge within us is so close to our soul that we can hardly avoid touching. The four basic raw materials which G'd employed to create this physical universe have all become predominantly secular and even defiled through man's original sin so that G'd had to decree mortality on His creatures. [The author, in common with all other Kabbalists, has explained that death is part of the rehabilitative process for the spirit which will ultimately redeem man. Ed.]. This perversion of the basic raw materials man is made of is the reason people respond so readily to the seductive tactics of Satan. The body itself is called מצרים, "Egypt," (confined), because it exerts constant pressure on man through the pleasures man lusts after. 
  ויגר שם, "it sojourned there," i.e. intitially the presence of Israel's soul in Egypt, Satans' home, was only comparable to the presence of a stranger. [compare the parable the prophet Nathan told David to illustrate to him how wrong he had been in taking Bat Sheva as his wife. Ed.] We read in Samuel II 12,4: "the traveller went" (and seduced David). Compare the treatment of these verses in <i>Sukkah</i> 52. 
  במתי מעט, "few in numbers." This is a reference to the relatively weak forces of Satan at that time. Afterwards these forces increased manifold due to the active co-operation of man himself. This is why the Torah continues: ויהי שם לגוי גדול ועצום "and while there it became a powerful nation." This is the mystical dimension of Psalms 25,11: וסלחת לעוני כי רב הוא "and pardon my iniquity though it is great." Rabbi Yitzchak Luria explained that the word רב, "great," refers to the evil urge whose powers are great. The fact that G'd commanded us to perform the rites of the scape-goat on the Day of Atonement is proof that Satan's power must not be discounted. G'd commanded that we present one scape-goat each to Him and to the Azzazel (Leviticus 16,8).
   וירעו אותנו המצרים ויענונו, "The Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us, etc." The Torah means that by means of the transformation which had taken place in the four basic raw materials from which G'd had created the physical universe we ourselves became evil. You have to translate the words וירעו אותנו "they made us evil". Once the composition of the raw materials had become redefined, the willpower of the life-force, נפש, within man was bound to reflect the nature of the material his body is made of.
  ויענונו, "they afflicted us;" this describes the utter inability of the victim to resist his attacker anymore, in this case the attack by the evil urge. The Talmud relates an interesting story involving this point in <i>Kidushin</i> 81 involving Rabbi Amram who was well known as "Rabbi Amram the pious." Some female prisoners had been rescued from their captors by men of his town Nehardea who entrusted their care to Rabbi Amram. The Rabbi provided accomodations for them in the second floor of his house and removed the staircase leading to the upper floor as a precaution to protect the chastity of these girls or women. It happened that when one of the girls passed the space near where the ladder used to stand, Rabbi Amram experienced a sudden shaft of light which he considered as due to the physical beauty of that girl. This caused the evil spirit within him to be aroused to the point where he tried to put the ladder back in place. Although the ladder was far too heavy for one man to carry, his urge was so strong that he managed it. At the last moment before completing the climbing of the ladder, he was able to shout for help exclaiming that there was a fire in the house which needed to be extinguished. Naturally, the townspeople including the local scholars came to help, and when they became aware of the true state of affairs they chided Rabbi Amram for embarassing them in such a way. Rabbi Amram retorted that it was better both for them and himself to be embarassed before their peers on earth rather than to be embarassed after his departure from earth in the celestial regions in front of all the righteous souls keeping company with G'd. The Rabbi implored the evil urge to leave him, whereupon the latter departed in a column of fire. Thereupon Rabbi Amram said to the evil urge: "although you are a column of fire and I am only flesh and blood, I am superior to you."
  ויתנו עלינו עבודה קשה, "and they made us perform hard labour." This is hyperbole describing that instead of the evil urge bothering them only from time to time, the attempts by the evil urge to pervert the Israelites became something ongoing. This is why the Torah describes it as עבודה קשה. Another meaning of the expression is along the lines of the statement in <i>Kidushin</i> 30 that the evil urge appears anew every single day in a stronger form. All the words the Torah has written here are what the servant Israel argues before G'd Almighty after his death in order to explain why his offering to G'd is so insignificant.
  ונצעק אל ה׳ אלוקינו, "We cried out to the Lord our G'd, etc." Here the Torah provides a hint that it is necessary for man to pray to G'd daily to save him from the wiles of the evil urge. וישמע ה׳ את קולנו, "and G'd listened to our voice, etc." Although G'd Himself created the evil urge in order to examine if man truly serves Him, nonetheless when man cries out to G'd to be saved from these temptations He responds when He sees how the evil urge has made a deep imprint on us, one described here as ,ענינו, עמלנו לחצנו. The word עני refers to the complete collapse of our spiritual resources to fight the temptation of the evil urge; the word עמלנו refers to the burdensome task of fighting off the evil urge; the word לחצנו refers to the evil urge imposing his will upon us against our better judgment. G'd listened to our appeal because we suffered from all these three pressures. Another way of looking at this verse is to understand the word ענינו as a reference to the fact that most Torah scholars suffer from personal poverty. In fact <i>Midrash Tehillim</i> 5 quotes the Torah as wanting to know from G'd why the scholars devoting themselves to its study are poor. Although one must not generalise, as there have always been some Torah scholars who enjoyed great material wealth, we are taught in <i>Avot</i> 6,4 that the normative approach to the path of Torah is when its scholars eat bread and salt, drink water sparingly (as opposed to wine), sleep on the floor and generally practice a life of asceticism. The word עמלנו should be understood as in <i>Berachot</i> 17 "hail to those who labour hard in order to acquire Torah." In our day and age when a tremendous amount of toil is required to extract even a single halachah or new Torah insight, we can appreciate what the sages meant with their statement. Finally, the word לחצנו refers to the fact that all the people who make their lives dependent on Torah study, etc. experience that they are being opposed from many quarters so that ועיני כל אליו ישברו, "and the eyes of all the Torah scholars have to be trained upon Him (for help)."
   ויוציאנו ה׳ ממצרים, "And the Lord took us out of Egypt, etc." This is a reference to G'd saving us from the onslaught of the evil urge which squeezed us i.e. מצרים. Our sages in <i>Kidushin</i> 30 state that without G'd's help it would be impossible to withstand the temptations of the evil urge. They base this on Psalms 37,32: "the 'wicked one' watches for the righteous and attempts to kill him. The Lord will not abandon him to his power."
  ביד חזקה, "with a strong hand, etc." Here the Torah alludes to the means G'd employs in order to save man from the attacks of the evil urge. The Talmud in <i>Kidushin</i> which we cited previously quotes G'd as saying that He has created antidotes to every potential hazard in His universe. The antidote to the evil urge is Torah study, for instance. יד חזקה is a reference to Torah based on Deut. 33,2: "from His right hand He presented the fiery Torah to them."
  ובזרע נטויה, "and with an outstretched arm." The Torah refers to three separate means employed by G'd to save man from being victimised by the evil urge. <i>Menachot</i> 43 states that anyone wearing phylacteries on his arm, fringes on his garments, and who affixes a <i>mezzuzah</i> on the doorpost of his house, will not easily succumb to sin. In our verse we may understand the words בזרע נטויה as an allusion to the effect of phylacteries worn on the arm against the temptation by the evil urge. The Torah continues ובמורא גדול "and with great fearsomeness;" this may be viewed as an allusion to the power of the phylacteries worn on the head to combat attempts by the evil urge to corrupt us. Concerning the power of fringes worn on our garments to fight off the evil urge, the Torah writes ובאותות. The reason is that the commandments to wear ציצית is a sign demonstrating that we are not idolators but are servants of the Lord. Nachmanides in his commentary on <i>Parshat Shelach Lecha</i> claims that these fringes allude to an all-embracing known as <i>Ottot.</i> The word ובמופתים corresponds to the law to affix <i>mezzuzot</i> to the door-posts of our houses. This practice originated in Egypt prior to the killing of the firstborn when the sign of the blood of the passover lamb protected its inhabitants against the angel of death, Satan incarnate. According to <i>Zohar</i> volume three page 265 just looking at a <i>mezzuzah</i> has such a powerful effect on the forces of the קליפה that many of them are frightened by merely seeing the name שדי on the outside of the capsule.
  It is entirely possible that the entire verse contains a hint at the power of the Torah which saves man from the evil urge and the various cravings for satisfying one's urges in this life. The verse contains 5 separate items each one representing one of the five Books of Moses. The expression ביד חזקה, "with a strong hand," corresponds to the Book of Genesis in which the deeds of G'd the Creator who has fashioned the whole universe are described. The expression בזרע נטויה, "with an outstretched arm," corresponds to the Book of Exodus in which G'd is described as displaying His might against the Egyptians both in Egypt and at the sea, and where we learned about His manifesting Himself to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai. The expression ובמורא גדול, "and with great awesomeness," reflects the Book of Leviticus in which we are commanded to perform the various acts of service to the Lord in the Tabernacle, where G'd taught us to fear the holy sites, and where He sanctified the Tabernacle when He killed the two sons of Aaron who had made unauthorised use of a holy site. The expression ובאותות, "and with signs," corresponds to the Book of Numbers, where the Israelites were reported counted איש על דגלו באותות. The expression ובמופתים, "and with miracles," corresponds to the Book of Deuteronomy, during the course of which Moses admonished the Jewish people pointing to all the miracles G'd had performed on their behalf and which alone accounted for their surviving up until then. Moses warned the people that G'd had not paid them back for their evil deeds as He would have been entitled to do, but had instead made them the recipients of all His love and kindness. This Book also contains information about the institution of prophecy and the miracles such prophets would be authorised to perform under certain conditions and how the performance of such miracles may serve to establish the prophet's credibility.
   ויביאנו אל המקום הזה, He has brought us to this place, etc. The Torah refers to the higher world, the world inhabited by the נשמה, the superior soul. This soul is unable to make all these statements until after it has left the body it had inhabited and has reached the regions known as <i>Gan Eden</i> of the celestial regions. This occurs after it has had its fill of the <i>Gan Eden</i> to be found on earth. This is why these words about the soul having been brought back to this place have been said at this stage. The very fact that the soul has managed to reach these regions and face G'd and to tell Him all the aforegoing is already a delight for it, especially when compared to its former location in what was merely an earthly Paradise. The Torah goes on to describe this earthly Paradise as ארץ זבת חלב ודבש, "a land flowing with milk and honey". We have a similar description of an idyllic country in the terrestrial regions in Song of Songs 4,11 when Solomon says דבש וחלב תחת לשונך, "honey and milk lie under Your tongue."
   ועתה הנה הבאתי, "And now, here I have brought, etc." We have mentioned repeatedly that whenever the Torah uses the word עתה it has a connotation of תשובה, repentance. The person whom the Torah describes as reciting this prayer is a penitent. Although we have described him as having already been a resident in the terrestrial <i>Gan Eden</i> which certainly places him amongst the select group of the righteous, this is not enough when one desires entry to the celestial <i>Gan Eden.</i> Here we deal with the mystical dimension of the judgment G'd subjects the souls to in the future, something referred to as עמק יהושפט, [compare Yoel 4,2 where this location is described as where G'd judges the survivors of the war of Gog and Magog Ed.]. Even the prophet Samuel dreaded to face this final judgment and this is why he was so upset when the necromancer brought him back at the behest of King Saul (compare <i>Midrash Tehillim</i> 8 and <i>Chagigah</i> 4). This <i>Midrash</i> claims that there never was nor ever will be a valley named "the valley of Yehoshophat," i.e. that the name Yehoshaphat is a combination of the Hebrew for "G'd will judge."
  
  והשתחוית לפני ה׳ אלוקיך, "and you will prostrate yourself before the Lord your G'd." Here the Torah pays a tremendous compliment to the souls who will enjoy this privilege, i.e. that they may face the Lord without a dividing curtain between them and Him. Hail to the soul which achieves such stature.
   ושמחת בכל הטוב, "And you will rejoice with all the goodness, etc." The word טוב may be understood as in Psalms 145,9: "G'd is good to all." In order that we should so understand the verse, the Torah wrote בכל הטוב, i.e. "you will rejoice with the One who is the only One representing all goodness." He is the source of all goodness. אשר נתן לך, "which He has given to you." This goodness is a free gift, it is not value for services rendered.
  The reason the Torah writes the additional word לך is to exclude anyone else including angels from becoming recipients of all this goodness G'd has at His disposal. This is in line with <i>Berachot</i> 5 that when the Torah mentions טוב, it refers to the Torah. The angels were not given the Torah. If mankind at large were only aware of the goodness represented by the Torah there would be an endless queue of people offering all their material possessions in order to receive the Torah.
  ולביתך, "and to your house." The Torah emphasises that the goodness of G'd will not only be experiences by the soul but also within the soul's house, i.e. the body it inhabits. Each one will experience it in accordance with his capacity to do so.
  והלוי, "as well as the Levite." This may be understood on the basis of an assurance in the <i>Zohar</i> volume two page 94 that certain people who deserve it are assigned a soul from a higher spiritual domain, from the עולם האצילות. The word הלוי in our verse is an allusion to this soul which accompanies some people.
  והגר אשר בקרבך, "and the proselyte within your midst." This too may be understood according to what is written in the <i>Zohar</i> volume three page 217. It is stated there that when a person has an opportunity to perform one of the commandments which are not usually capable of being performed, G'd enables the souls who have already departed from earth without having had the opportunity to perform this commandment to join a soul in the body of the Jew who is about to perform this commandment. In this way these souls can claim their share in its performance. This is the גר אשר בקרבך "the stranger within your midst" which the Torah alludes to in our verse.
  
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  Verse 15
  
   השקיפה ממעון קדשך, "Look down from Your holy abode, etc." Why did Moses repeat his reference to heaven by calling it both "holy abode" as well as "heaven?" If all Moses had wanted was to tell us that G'd's abode is a holy place he should simply have written: השקיפה ממעון קדשך השמים, without the additional word מן.
  I believe the Torah wants to make us privy to a secret, i.e. that G'd has prepared two distinct sources in the celestial spheres from which to exert His benevolent influence on mankind. One source is the reservoir of spiritual input into man, i.e. the source from which the holy souls are despatched to inhabit our bodies. The other reservoir is that which provides us with physical goodness, i.e. the sustenance enabling His creatures to stay alive by means of food, etc. In the language of the <i>Zohar,</i> the combination of these two are called זווג, coupling, pairing (as in marriage). This term is applicable whenever one of the two of the pair in question is active, i.e. provides the input, and the other is the recipient of that input. According to our Kabbalists the input of holy souls which used to originate from the celestial spheres has been interrupted ever since the day the Temple was destroyed, so that nowadays we receive input only from the source which provides the material goodness G'd has to offer. Moses, i.e. the Jewish farmer in our chapter, prays that G'd should provide the spiritual input, i.e. ממעון קדשך, "from Your holy abode." This input originates in the highest celestial region, hence the Torah describes that abode as קדש, holy. Kabbalists have already revealed (<i>Zohar</i> volume two page 121) the difference between a level called <i>kadosh,</i> and the level in the celestial spheres called <i>kodesh.</i> The latter level is higher than the former as every intelligent student will appreciate. The words מן השמים "from the heavens," refer to the lower of the above-mentioned levels within the celestial spheres. The pairing, זווג which results when the input originates only in the spheres called <i>kadosh</i> is inferior to that which results when the input from heaven includes input from the part known as <i>kodesh.</i> Concerning the first request, that G'd should provide input from the highest regions, the farmer asks that "Your people will be blessed," i.e. with sons and daughters whose souls originate in מעון קדשך. Concerning the heavenly input into our world of material blessings i.e. food, the blessings originating in the sphere called השמים, the farmer asks the blessing for the אדמה, the earth on which the Israelite dwells (compare <i>Maaser Sheyni</i> 5,13).
  
  Verse 16
  
   היום הזה, "On this day, etc." Did then Moses command these commandments on the day the Torah reports this, i.e. a few days before his death? Did G'd not command all these commandments already when the people were at Mount Sinai? Rashi explains that Moses meant that the commandments should be regarded by the people as if they were something new each day. I think that maybe what the Torah had in mind is this. Whereas it is true that all these commandments had been legislated and taught ever since the people had stood at Mount Sinai, the commandments which pertained to the land of Israel had thus far been only in the realm of theory, i.e. they had to be studied but could not be performed. Moses says, that as of the day he addressed the people, the laws pertaining to the land of Israel were no longer in the sphere of theory but had begun to assume practical significance. The people might therefore view these commandments as if they had just been given to them. The word היום, "this day," is not to be interpreted literally but refers to an imminent period.
  
  Verse 17
  
   את ה׳ האמרת היום להיות, "You have distinguished Hashem this day to be a G'd for you, etc." The reason the Torah added the word היום, "this day," may be understood in conjunction with what we learned in <i>Ketuvot</i> 110 that "anyone who lives in the diaspora is considered as if he did not have a G'd." The words את ה׳ האמרת היום apply only to people who are in the Holy Land. Even though at that precise moment the Israelites were still on the land that used to belong to Sichon and Og, this was considered part of the Holy Land seeing that it had been conquered by the whole nation at the command of their prophet Moses. We have discussed and proved this point in connection with our commentary on Numbers 32,3. Seeing that the land in question was no longer part of the diaspora, the Israelites could truly claim to have adopted the Lord as their G'd, and G'd in turn adopted them as His exclusive people.
  Another meaning of this verse may be based on the <i>Zohar</i> volume one page 108 according to which the other countries on earth have been assigned by G'd to a respective שר, minister, who is in charge of them on G'd's behalf. The land of Israel and its people on the other hand are not subject to any delegate of G'd but are ruled over directly by G'd Almighty. In Psalms 17,2 David phrased it thus: "My judgment will proceed from directly in front of Your eyes." In other words, we are not subject to the authority of any of G'd's deputies.
  Still another thought which may be concealed in our verse is that Hashem, the attribute of Mercy, will participate in judgment of the Jewish people. While it is true that G'd judges everyone and every nation according to their just deserts, i.e. להיות לך לאלוקים, in your case, G'd the merciful will cause the Israelites to say (to acknowledge) that His judgment is fair, i.e. they will bless the Lord even when they experience what appears to them to be a harsh judgment.
  וללכת בדרכיו, "and to walk in His ways, etc." Moses compliments the Jewish people that they walk in G'd's paths even in matters G'd has not specifically commanded. As soon as they have divined what it is that He would want them to do, they do so of their own accord. Specific examples are such good practices as visiting the sick, burying the dead. The Israelites learned from G'd visiting Abraham or burying Moses that these were virtues He wants us to practice though there is no specific commandment ordering us to do so. Israel's walking in the paths of G'd extends both to חוקיו, His statutes, the laws that appear to have no rationale, as well as מצותיו ומשפטיו, His other commandments and His social laws, i.e. the laws governing inter-personal relationships, relationships which are to be administered by terrestrial courts. ולשמע בקלו, "and by listening to His voice;" this is a reference to Torah study. The reason the Torah describes this as G'd's "voice" may be understood with reference to <i>Sifri, 115</i> where the author asked: "how do we know that if one studies Torah from the mouth of a minor scholar this is equivalent to one's hearing the Torah from G'd's own mouth? Answer: it says in Deut. 15,5 אם שמע תשמע בקול ה׳ אלוקיך (compare Rashi on that verse). Why did the Torah mention Torah study as the last of the virtues Israel is to practice? This is to inform us that even if a person has mastered all the disciplines of Judaism, is thoroughly familiar with all the laws and precepts, he is still obligated to make study of the Torah part of his daily program. It is a commandment all by itself. As long as man lives he has never fully discharged his obligation to engage in the study of Torah as we know from Numbers 19,14: זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל. We may translate this as: "this is the obligation to study Torah. It extends until man dies while engaged in its study."
  
  Verse 18
  
  He (G-d) said to (Israel) to be to Him a treasured nation, that even if another nation were to come along and improve their deeds and to try to cleave to the divine presence, nevertheless, they will never achieve the level of the Jewish people, and it is this aspect of the Jewish people that is referred to as ‘treasured’, and this is the greatness of the Jewish nation…
  Alternatively, this is intended as reassurance to the Jewish people that although there would be stormy periods in their relationship with G'd, periods during which G'd would be very angry at them, G'd would never exchange them for another nation. The words כאשר דבר לך have to be understood as in <i>Berachot</i> 7 where the meaning of Exodus 33,16: ונפלינו אני ועמך, "and I (Moses) and Your people will be distinguished" is discussed. This was a request by Moses that G'd not allow His Presence to rest on any other nation and not to grant them prophets. We have explained in our book <i>Chefetz Hashem</i> that what Moses meant was that even if another nation were to qualify for such favourite treatment by G'd on the basis of its moral and ethical achievements, whereas at that same time the Israelites would be habitually violating the Torah precepts, G'd should not distinguish such a nation by making it His favourite. At that time G'd promised Moses that the Israelites would retain their status of being special to G'd.
  ולשמר כל מצותיו "and to observe all His commandments." Seeing that this is a commitment undertaken by Israel vis-a-vis G'd why does the Torah write such a line in a verse which portrays G'd's commitment to Israel?
  Perhaps the glory of Israel consists in the fact that G'd has seen fit to "give" this nation all His laws, something He had not seen fit to do for any nation or individual during the 2,000 years of mankind's existence prior to G'd's revelation at Mount Sinai. G'd had only given a few laws to Adam and Noach, holding back the vast majority of them until He revealed them to Israel. We must remember that the principal function of these commandments is to act as a barrier against the various abominations in our universe. Observing these commandments acts like inoculation against the danger of becoming polluted by these various spiritually negative influences which abound all around us.
  A second explanation for the strange phenomenon of G'd being described as "keeping all His commandments," maybe that it is an assurance that G'd will strengthen all the forces which are active to promote the keeping of His commandments. We have to understand this verse as a gentle reminder that even with the best will in the world we would not be able to observe all of G'd's commandments unless we received a heavenly assist.
  A third meaning may be based on Kohelet 8,5: "he who keeps the commandments will know no evil;" our sages in <i>Pesachim</i> 8 derive from that verse that anyone engaged in the performance of a commandment either himself or even as a delegate for someone else, will not come to harm while so engaged. The word ישמר in our verse then means that G'd will watch over people engaged in מצוה-performance.
  A fourth meaning may be that our verse speaks of a dimension which even Moses himself had not attained, even though he too was part of this nation called עם סגולה. Our sages in <i>Sotah</i> 14, commenting on Moses' prayer to be allowed to enter the Holy Land, ask why Moses was so anxious to do this. Did he perhaps want to taste the produce of that land? They answer that what motivated Moses to make this request was his desire to be allowed to fulfil all the commandmnets which can only be fulfilled on the soil of that land, not in the desert or anywhere else for that matter. G'd's promise here refers to His granting the Israelites the opportunity to fulfil all the commandments, i.e. to let them live in the Holy Land. This is why the Torah emphasised the word היום when speaking about G'd's undertaking vis-a-vis Israel. He referred to the time when entry to the Holy land had become imminent. This was a distinction which had been denied even to Moses.
  When you examine the two verses 17 and 18 respectively you will find that between them they describe six virtues which Israel excels in, and 6 six distinctions G'd bestows on the Jewish people. 1) "to be your G'd;" 2) to walk in His paths; 3) to observe His statutes; 4) to observe His commandments; 5) to observe His social laws; 6) to hearken to His voice. Verse 18 is G'd's response where He bestows six distinctions upon us. 1) to be His precious people; 2) to protect us when performing all His commandments. 3-5) to make Israel supreme over all the nations; to be famous and a glorious example amongst all the nations through the performance of laws given to us exclusively by G'd; 6) to be a holy nation, an achievement which is due to Torah-observance. The verse concludes with כאשר דבר לך, "as He said to you" (in Exodus 19,6) where the Torah wrote: "these are the words you are to say to the children of Israel."
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   ויצו משה וזקני ישראל את העם, Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, etc. Why did Moses single out this paragraph to mention the elders of Israel? Moses referred to what is spelled out by our sages in <i>Berachot</i> 19 that when the desecration of G'd's name is at stake there is no room for worrying about the respect or honour due to one's rabbi. We base this principle on Proverbs 21,30: "there is no wisdom, insight, or counsel which prevails against G'd." Moses, the Chief Rabbi of the Israelites, decreed that the elders too issue the same command to the people. [I believe the author means that normally Moses would consult with the elders and leave it to their own wisdom to communicate the Torah insights they had learned from him to the people in their own time and in their own words. In this instance, when a renewed commitment to Torah was required by a generation most of whom had not been alive at the revelation, Moses acted in what appears like a somewhat autocratic manner for the reasons mentioned. Ed.] Moses used the word שמר, because it refers to negative commandments, and the rule that one does not bother to give honour to elders applies when we need to make sure that negative commandments are not violated in public.
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
   למען אשר תבא אל הארץ "in order that you may enter the land, etc." Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra explains this to mean that when you commence to observe His commandments, i.e. to inscribe the stones, (and this is the first commandment), you will enter the Holy Land by dint of this merit. Nachmanides understands the words: "in order that you will enter" as a commandment to inscribe the entire Torah on these stones at the time the Israelites would cross the Jordan [as opposed to Ibn Ezra who wrote that only the actual commandments had to be inscribed on these stones. Ed.] I do not believe that either one of these two explanations does justice to the plain meaning of our verse. Another thing we have to explain are the words כאשר דבר ה׳ אלוקי אבותיך לך, "as the Lord the G'd of your fathers has said to you." The Torah should have written the word לך, to you, immediately after the words כאשר דבר, and we would have entertained no doubt about who had said this to the Israelites.
  However, the Torah had to consider the fact that previously Moses had told the Israelites that the fact that they would enter the Holy Land was not due to their own merits (compare 9,5), but to the wickedness of the Canaanites residing in that land at that time. Another reason given by the Torah at that time for the Israelites entering and taking possession of the land was the promise G'd had made to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In view of all this, the Torah here had to state that fulfilment of a commandment would be a factor in the Israelites entering the Holy Land due to their own מצוה-input. The positioning of the word לך at the end of the verse is an arbitrary decision by Moses, the author of our verse. The meter of the whole verse is as follows: "in order that your entry into the land which the Lord your G'd gives to you in accordance with what He said to your forefathers will be one which you are entitled to by your own merit, so that you do not have to rely on the covenant G'd made with your ancestors."
  
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  Verse 14
  
   וענו הלוים, and the Levites will "answer," etc. Actually, the meaning is that the Levites will commence speaking whereas the people will respond by saying "Amen." Onkelos translates the word וענו by writing ויתיבון, "the Levites will sit down." According to Onkelos these words would be in response to the Torah mentioning in verses 12 and 13 that these tribes would "stand" on the mountains to listen to the curses and blessings respectively. Targum Yonathan ben Uzziel translates the word וענו as ויכרזון, "the Levites will proclaim." I find this difficult, seeing the Torah added that they would speak קול רם, "in a loud voice." Why would the word וענו merely duplicate the meaning of קול רם? Perhaps what Yonathan ben Uzziel meant was that not only the recital but also the proclamation should be in a loud voice.
  
  Verse 15
  
   וענו כל העם ואמרו אמן, and the entire people are to respond by saying "Amen." In this instance the Torah was not satisfied to write ואמר כל העם as it did with respect to all the other ten curses listed here. The Torah wanted to make certain that the Israelites were required to respond (not merely say). Had the Torah not written the word וענו at this point we might have thought that it was the Levites who had to say the words ואמר כל העם, "and the entire people are to say."
  
  Verse 16
  
   ארור מקלה אביו ואמו, "Accursed is anyone who degrades his father or his mother." It is important to examine why Moses selected that only people guilty of non-observance of these eleven out of a total of 613 commandments were deserving to be publicly declared as being accursed? Are there not some more severe violations, such as the violation of commandments dealing with incest which would qualify no less for the treatment we see here accorded to the violators of these eleven commandments? Is it not difficult to consider adultery as less serious than moving a boundary stone, for instance?
  Perhaps the Torah here enumerates only sins which are normally committed in secret, or which will not be revealed by their victims. This may be the reason why the Torah speaks of ושם בסתר, "and emplace it in secret" (verse 15 where the sin is idolatry). If that sin would be committed in public the sinner would not merely be accursed but he would be executed and the Israelites themselves would be charged with seeing to it that he does not get away with his sin. The same consideration may apply to someone who degrades his father or mother. The Torah speaks of people who do this in private where the hand of the law cannot reach them. This is why Moses wants to make it plain that they will be accursed by the heavenly tribunal. The same consideration applies to someone who moves boundary stones or fences in a manner which is hard to detect. Not only that, who can prove who has moved the boundary? How are we going to convict the culprit? Similarly, the son-in-law who sleeps with his (consenting) mother-in-law is untouchable by the terrestrial courts so that the Torah has to demonstrate by this means that such people are not immune to the consequences of their actions. The reference to someone who strikes his fellow in secret, i.e. where there are no witnesses, is another such example of offences which cannot be adjudged by a terrestrial court seeing that the evildoer will deny having hit the other fellow, or he may not even be accused of doing so if he acted under cover of darkness or wore a mask, for instance.
  The reason the Torah inserted the offence of sleeping with a beast between the sin of sleeping with the wife of his father or the sin of sleeping with his sister, is to suggest that commission of either sin is as unlikely as having sexual intercourse with an animal. All three sins represent the most abominable aberration of which one can become guilty.
  
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   ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת, "Accursed is one who does not uphold the words of this Torah, etc." This verse includes both what is spelled out, i.e. the person who fails to observe the commandments mentioned in this paragraph and to thereby undermine the character-building effects of Torah observance, as well as all the other commandments not listed in this paragraph. Our sages in <i>Sotah</i> 37 concentrate on the wording here, i.e. אשר לא יקים…לעשות. Why was it not sufficient for the Torah merely to write לעשות, "to do?" They say that if the Torah had only written the words לא יקים or לעשות, no Israelite would have been able to face G'd. After all, if one does not own a field, for instance, how can one fulfil all the commandments that a farmer has to fulfil? Or, if a person did not own a slave, how could he be expected to treat the slave in accordance with the duties that the Torah imposes on the owner of such a slave? This is why the Torah adds the words לעשות in addition to writing the word להקים, "to uphold," to tell us that unless one has the opportunity to uphold, i.e. to fulfil the commandments of the Torah, one is not subject to the curse pronounced by the Torah through the Levites in this paragraph. It is our duty to make up our minds that we will carry out the commandments when the opportunity arises to do so.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   והיה אם שמוע, "It shall be if you surely hearken, etc." We must try and understand exactly what this verse promises. If it is that Gd will make the Jewish people superior to all other nations, the Torah should have written יתנך ה׳ עליון, "G'd will give you to be supreme, etc." instead of writing words such as ונתנך which sound as if they are a continuation of the conditional "if you surely hearken, etc." Perhaps the message of the verse is: "hearken to the voice of the Lord." The meter of the verse would be "if you begin to hearken,-אם שמוע, -then you will indeed listen to the voice of the Lord," תשמע בקול השם. The verse then continues by assuring us that as a further result of listening to the voice of G'd we will not transgress the negative commandments and will carry out the positive commandments, i.e. לשמר לעשות. The reason we will be able to do this is because the Torah saves us from sin, as alluded to in the word שמר. Moreover, the power of Torah study is so great that it will even bring the performance of the positive commandments in its wake, i.e. לעשות. Not only this, but the power of Torah study for the right reason is so great that G'd will make our nation the one that is supreme on earth.
  In addition to the meter of the verse we have just explained, the Torah also wishes to let us know that the level of our Torah study must correspond to the realisation that it emanates in a sacred domain. The word תשמע implies that our listening must take into account who it is we are listening to, i.e. ה׳ אלוקיך. When one listens to what G'd says one does not listen in the same off-handed manner as when one listens to one's peers, but one tries to absorb every nuance of the words G'd says to us in the Torah. Moreover, the words לשמר ולעשות, are a promise parallel to what we have been taught in <i>Avot</i> 4,5 that if the reason that one studies Torah is in order to be able to observe its precepts one is rewarded by the opportunity to study, to teach, to avoid transgressing negative commandments, and to fulfil positive commandments. Our whole verse speaks of this kind of Torah study.
  ונתנך ה׳ עליון "then G'd will make you supreme, etc." G'd apportioned the amounts of the goodness He bestows on earth to be commensurate with the מצוה-performance of the community or individual in question. There are 3 levels of such performance our verse speaks about. The words שמוע תשמע refer to Torah study. 2) The word לשמר refers to the avoidance of violating negative commandments. 3) לעשות refers to the performance of positive commandments. Correspondingly, the Torah describes three levels of blessings. 1) Torah study as an independent discipline will be rewarded by the promise contained in this verse i.e. "G'd will make you supreme," you will be on a higher level than all the nations who do not possess Torah.
  ובאו עליך כל הברכות, "and all these blessings will come upon you." This is an additional promise to that announced in verse one. The Torah adds further: והשיגוך "and they will overtake you." This may be understood in line with <i>Yalkut Reuveni Parshat Vayikra</i> that seeing that G'd is the source of mercy, if someone appeals to that attribute of G'd He is liable to grant his requests to pour out all His goodness to such a person. However, once this outpouring of G'd's goodness is about to reach the person who had requested G'd's mercy, etc., the Celestial Tribunal will assemble and examine if such a person is entitled to all these blessings. If they find that such a person is not really entitled to all these blessings they will withhold it from him. Our verse bears the message that in the case of Israel, if we have lived up to the demands made upon us by the Torah these blessings will actually overtake us, i.e. they will not be prevented from reaching us once they are on the way by a terrestrial court. [I presume that the author means that just as decisions made by the terrestrial tribunal are only reflections of decisions which have already been arrived at in the Celestial Court, so that, if the celestial court had decided that the potential recipient of all these blessings does not deserve them, the terrestrial court will deny them to the recipient in accordance with what has already been decided in the celestial court (not the attribute of Mercy). Ed.] 
  You will note that all the blessings mentioned here are a reward for Torah study in the following manner:  ברוך אתה בעיר, "You are blessed in the city;" we learned in <i>Avodah Zarah</i> 19 that this blessing appears in all three parts of the Bible, i.e. in the Torah, in the Books of the Prophets, and in the Holy Scriptures. People who busy themselves with Torah study find that their worldly pursuits are crowned with success. [The Gaon of Vilna corrects this statement in the Talmud, substituting the word דרכיו, "his paths" for the word נכסיו, "his material possessions." I am mentioning this to forestall obvious questions. Ed.]
   ברוך פרי בטנך, "the fruit of your womb will be blessed." We find that Oved Edom Hagitti who hosted the Holy Ark in David's time when everybody else was afraid of hosting it was so blessed as detailed in Chronicles and <i>Berachot</i> 63 that his wife and his eight daughters -in-law gave birth to sixtuplets (or 6 births at intervals of 2 weeks each.)
   ברוך אתה בבאך "You shall be blessed when you come in and you will be blessed when you go out." This means that you will depart from this life without sin. All of this you will accomplish thanks to the merit of Torah study which will protect you against sin (compare <i>Baba Metzia</i> 107).
   יתן ה׳ את איביך הקמים עליך נדפים, "G'd will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck down, etc." We may understand this in light of Chronicles II 20,22 "As they began their joyous shouts and hymns, the Lord set ambushes for the men of Amnon and Moav and the mountain of Seir who had been marching against Yehudah." Our sages in <i>Shemot Rabbah</i> claim that the word used for joyous shouts, i.e. רנה, is a hyperbole for Torah.
   יצו ה׳ אתך את הברכה באסמיך, "G'd will command the blessing for you in your storehouses, etc." Why was this blessing not included with blessings listed earlier? Its place is certainly not after the blessing that G'd will strike down people attacking us! Here the Torah gives us an assurance that the Israelites will not experience what happened to someone who experienced a miracle and whose peers were so upset that this individual was found worthy of G'd performing a miracle for him, i.e. reversed the laws of nature for his sake, so that celestial forces acted as his servant. We are told in <i>Taanit</i> 24 that it happened that Rava was challenged to demonstrate to scoffers who refused to consider G'd's answering prayers for rain in winter (when there was supposed to be rainfall) as an act of providence. He claimed that the same G'd could make it rain in the middle of the summer in response to his prayer. He prayed for rain in summer and so much rain descended that it overflowed the town and ran into the Tigris river not too far away. On the following night Rava's father appeared to him in a dream demanding to know who had had the effrontery to put heaven to such trouble as to make it rain in summer? He told his son to change his bed because he had caused so much anger in heaven. Rava did so and on the following morning he found traces of a knife with which his bed had been slashed. This is why the Torah writes after speaking about G'd frustrating our enemies' designs that we will enjoy blessings even in the hidden storage houses. The evil eye does not exercise any influence on hidden places; this is why the Torah emphasised that this blessing will occur in places which are out of reach of the evil eye. The Torah goes on וברכך בארץ, "and He will bless you in the land, etc." meaning that the nations of the world will not make a united front against you as Jacob had been afraid they would after Shimon and Levi had killed all the males in the city of Shechem (Genesis 34,30).
  
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   יקימך ה׳ לו לעם קדוש, "G'd will establish you for Him as a holy nation, etc." Starting with this verse up to and including verse 11 the Torah describes the rewards accruing to the Jewish people for not violating the negative comandments which are all subsumed above under the heading of שמר. This is why our verse repeats: "if you observe, i.e. not violate, the commandments of the Lord your G'd." A person acquires the attribute "holy" if he has refrained from violating negative commandments. We know this from Leviticus 19,2 where the imperative to be holy follows immediately after the legislation forbidding all kinds of sexual unions. This in turn is followed by another string of negative commandments. It is appropriate therefore for the Torah to write that as a result of your observing these negative commandments G'd will establish you as a holy nation for Him. Our sages in <i>Vayikra Rabbah</i> 24,6 also agree that the term "holy" is applied to people who refrain from violating the laws governing our sexual mores. These laws are all of the kind to which the observance called תשמר applies, i.e. one must merely refrain from violating them. It is appropriate therefore for the Torah to speak of G'd establishing us as a holy nation for Him in return for our observing these laws. The word לו, "for Him," is a hint that the Israelites will replace the angels when they qualify for the description "holy nation." G'd had selected the angels who are described as holy to stand in front of him as we know from Daniel 8,13. Once the Israelites will qualify for this description the angels will be merely adjuncts to them. We find an allusion to that time in Numbers 23,23: כעת יאמר ליעקב ולישראל מה פעל השם, "at a time when it will be said (revealed) to Jacob and to Israel what G'd has wrought" (compare <i>Bamidbar Rabbah</i> 20,20 on this verse).
   וראו כל עמי הארץ, "Then all the people of the earth will see, etc." The promise in this verse also refers to the result of our observing the negative commandments. As long as a Jew observes these commandments his face never loses the צלם אלוקים, the image of G'd in which he has been created. As a result of his reflecting this צלם אלוקים, all other creatures, man and beast alike, will relate to him with awe. This is not true of Jews who indulge in the kind of activities which G'd has declared as being abominations in His eyes.
   והותרך ה׳ לטובה בפרי בטנך, "And G'd will give you bountiful goodness, in the fruit of your womb, etc." Although the Torah had already mentioned earlier "the fruit of your womb will be blessed," there is a difference. At that time (verse 4) the promise was in return for studying Torah. Here the promise is a reward for observing the commandments. This is why the Torah had to detail it as one reward cannot be deduced from another reward. The Torah emphasises והותרך השם לטובה, "He will grant you additional goodness," and did not say פרי בטנך, "the fruit of your womb," because this promise is specifically designed to compensate you for observance of the negative commandments. The Torah means that in view of the fact that if one does not violate G'd's commandments one does not create negative, destructive forces in the universe, it follows that one's children will not be afflicted by these negative phenomena which are caused by one's own sins. Compare what I have written on the subject in connection with ראובן בכרי אתה, in Genesis 49,3.
  בפרי בהמתך ובפדי אדמתך. Both of these blessings will accrue to you as a result of your observing the negative commandments.
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
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   יפתח ה׳ לך את אוצרו הטוב, "G'd will open for you His store of goodness, etc." From this point on until the end of verse 13 the Torah describes the reward for fulfilling the positive commandments. This is why verse 13 concludes with the words "if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your G'd." The channels which G'd employs to direct the outpourings of His goodness to earth are activated through performance of commandments rather than through the passive refraining from violating negative commandments.
  יפתח ה׳ לך; "G'd will open for you." The pronoun "for you" is important as it indicates G'd's special providence for the Jew who observes these commandments. The new element in this promise is that although there may be many people whose conduct would preclude G'd from opening these channels of His bounty, G'd will not let this interfere with His special providence for the subject in our verse. The word הטוב in our verse is the mystical dimension of the "river" or "channel" of G'd's goodness we have referred to. It is what Solomon referred to in Proverbs 10,25 וצדיק יסוד עולם, "that the righteous is the foundation of the world." את השמים, "the heavens," this is a reference to the source of this input, a concept familiar to Kabbalists.
  והלוית גוים רבים ואתה לו תלוה, "and you will lend to many nations but you will not have to borrow." It is a well known phenomenon in our literature that as long as the Jewish people observe G'd's laws the good the Gentiles experience in this world reaches them only via the Jewish people. Should the Jewish people, G'd forbid, not live in accordance with Torah precepts their פרנסה, livelihood, would consist only of scraps the Gentiles have left over. Moses illustrates this concept here by presenting both the positive side of the picture, i.e. "you will lend, etc.," and by implication, the negative side of the picture "and you will not have to borrow. If Moses had not presented the alternative we would not have recognised that the first half of the verse is a blessing as it is an accepted norm that the wealthy borrow from one another at different times, not because they are in need of sustenance.
  ונתנך השם לראש, "and G'd will place you as a head, etc." Moses means that the fortunes of the people of Israel will be guided directly by the "head" i.e. G'd Himself, not an intermediary; ולא לזנב, "and not as a tail." This is a reference to the various "ministers" in the celestial regions which G'd has appointed to be in charge of the different nations of the world. The Israelites will always be on a "higher" level than these nations being cared for by G'd Himself. והיית רק למעלה ולא תהיה למטה; "you shall only be above and you will not be below." We may understand this best by referring to <i>Yalkut Shimoni</i> Jeremiah item 312, who explains Jeremiah 30,10: "and you My servant Jacob do not fear, etc." When Jacob had the dream with the ladder he observed angels ascending and descending. He assumed the angels to be the "ministers" of the various nations whose role in history would be ascents followed by descents. He was afraid that the same would happen to his descendants. Jeremiah reassures Jacob on that score. In our verse Moses tells us: "you will not be below," i.e. the fortunes of the Jewish people will not parallel those of the Gentiles whose place in the sun will be of brief duration. כי חשמע…לעשות, "when you hearken to carry out, etc." The Torah refers to the carrying out of positive commandments. Why did the Torah not write specifically what it is that we are to carry out, i.e. the commandments? The reason is that there are numerous commandments which most people can never carry out. Concerning these commandments all we can do is תשמע "to hear, i.e. to be prepared to fulfil these commandments if the opportunity arises and to study them meanwhile. Why does the Torah mention once more לשמר, seeing this is a description of how we relate to negative commandments, whereas these two verses speak about positive commandments? The Torah wanted to remind us that the reward for the carrying out of positive commandments can only be expected after one has first made a point of observing all the negative commandments. This is what the prophets meant when they described the sacrificial offerings of many Jews as an abomination. These Jews wanted to ingratiate themselves with G'd and reap rewards for fulfilling positive commandments while ignoring the negative commandments of the Torah. Positive commandments performed by sinners bear no fruit.
  
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   והיה אם לא תשמע, "It will be if you do not hearken, etc." The Torah made it plain here that unless we fulfil all three aspects of Judasim i.e. Torah study, scrupulous observance of the negative commandments, and the carrying out of positive commandments, some or all of the consequences described forthwith will occur. Learning Torah and not observing the negative commandments does not protect us. Observing both negative and positive commandments but neglecting the study of Torah will still result in the curses of the following verses being fulfilled. Non-observance of each of these three groups of Torah laws will attract its own kind of curses. The Torah commences by describing the punishments in store for the Jewish people if they fail to study Torah. .ארור אתה בעיר, "you will be cursed in the city;" this verse until the words ואבדך מהר, "and you will quickly perish" and the end of verse 20 are a row of escalating curses which are retribution for abandoning Torah, i.e. abandoning Torah study. When one abandons study of the Torah it is viewed as if one had abandoned G'd Himself. This is why this paragraph concludes with the words אשר עזבתני, "for you have abandoned Me."
  
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   ידבק השם בך את הדבר, "G'd will make the pestilence adhere to you, etc." The penalties introduced with this verse through verse 44 ending with the words: "you will be the tail," refer to your failure to observe the negative commandments. This is the reason verse 45 concludes appropriately with: "because you have failed to hearken to the voice of your G'd to observe His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you." Any intelligent student will realise that all these terrible curses are the result of the commission of sins. The reason the Torah uses the simile "G'd will make the pestilence adhere to you," is because we know that if one commits only a single transgression the spiritually negative force one has created thereby attaches itself to the personality of the guilty person and eventually becomes part of his soul. This is the mystical dimension of mental illness. This evil part of man is called דבר, pestilence, as we have learned in Chabakuk 3,5: "pestilence walks ahead of Him." Satan, here called "pestilence," is described as preceding G'd. All the forces of evil are branches of Samael i.e. Satan, and are called by his name. All the various diseases and afflictions mentioned in our chapter are variations of the theme. When Rabbi Ami in <i>Shabbat</i> 55 claims that there is no death which is not due to sin and that there are no afflictions which are not the result of sin, he meant that sin "gives birth" to a variety of bodily afflictions. Jeremiah 2,12 speaks of the bodily afflictions being the result of Israel's wickedness.
   והיו שמיך אשר על ראשך נחשת, "And the sky above your head will turn to copper." We may understand this with the help of the <i>Zohar</i> volume one page 6 that the sources of G'd's goodness will be blocked through our sins. We have an allusion to this in Job 14,11 "that the river is destroyed and dries up."
   יתנך השם נגף, "G'd will cause you to be struck down by your enemies, etc." This too is the direct result of your sins as hinted at in Kohelet 8,9: "when a man rules over another to his detriment." Solomon means that the reason man experiences another force ruling him is that he has sinned and the forces he created now try to control him. Similar considerations govern all the various curses written in this chapter. All of them are outgrowths of sinful conduct.
   והיו בך לאות ולמופת, "They will be a sign and a wonder in you, etc." When a person commits even a single sin this is somehow engraved on his forehead.
  ובזרעך עד עולם, "and in your offspring, forever." The reason for this is that the soul of man becomes evil, corrupt, through all the spiritually negative forces his sins have created and which become progressively more and more part of his personality. We described these outgrowths previously as being like children one sires or gives birth to. We have also explained in connection with Genesis 49,3 that the mystical element of death which G'd decreed upon Adam and all his descendants is due to the fact that all his descendants have at least indirectly tasted the sin which Adam tasted. The transformation in Adam's character brought about by his eating from the forbidden fruit became part of his genes, and therefore, albeit in a less intense form, part of the genes of his descendants. [Seeing that both Eve and Adam transmitted this, it could easily not become diluted through subsequent matings of one human being with a guilt-free and therefore unpolluted human being. Ed.] This is what the Torah means here when it writes: "and in your offspring, forever."
  
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   תחת אשר לא עבדת…בשמחה, "Because you did not serve…out of joy, etc." This punishment and what follows until verse 58 אם לא תשמר לעשות is for non-performance of the positive commandments of the Torah. The Torah repeats the same words in verse 58 to make certain that we appreciate which set of curses is in response to which set of sins. The reason the Torah speaks of our failure to perform the commandments out of joy is to contrast joyful מצה-performance with the absolute opposite, i.e. exile experienced amid the most depressing conditions. The Torah paints a picture of the punishment fitting the crime. The Jewish people who shook off the yoke of G'd's commandments will instead have to bear the far heavier burden of their captors' yoke around their necks.
   אם לא תשמור לעשות, "if you will not be careful to carry out, etc." This verse reminds us that we will be punished for non-performance of positive commandments. The Torah includes all the positive commandments as designed to demonstrate our fear/reverence of the Lord. Fearing the Lord is itself one of the positive commandments as stated by Maimonides at the beginning of his <i>Sefer Hamada, Hilchot Yesodey Ha-Torah</i> chapter 2. We have already explained in connection with 27,26 why the Torah did not write the conditional "if you will not perform the commandments, etc." The reason is that many people will simply never be able to perform some of the positive commandments.
  It is also possible that this verse intends to parallel what the Torah wrote in a parallel paragraph in Leviticus 26,23 "and if in spite of all these penalties you still refuse to be disciplined." Similarly, our verse may be an introduction to a renewed set of curses in the event the experience of what G'd brought upon the Jewish people still did not have the effect of making penitents out of them. The words תשמור לעשות may then refer to the violation of negative commandments plus the non-performance of the positive commandments. G'd warns that after all the curses He has already brought upon the recalcitrant Jewish people He has still more curses at His disposal to make them realise their mistakes.  מכות גדולות ונאמנות וחלים רעים ונאמנים. "great and lasting blows, malignant and chronic illnesses." The Torah uses the expression נאמנים, normally translated as "faithful," to tell us that though there are well-known medications which usually cure these diseases, in this instance the illnesses will remain "faithful," i.e. they will not respond to treatment.
   ונשארתם במתי מעט, "and you will remain few in numbers, etc." This is due to your "not listening to the voice of the Lord your G'd." The latter comment by the Torah refers to the Israelites failing to correct their neglect of Torah study. והיה כאשר שש ה׳ עליכם להיטיב אתכם, "And it will be just as the Lord enjoyed to grant you benefits, etc." The Torah reminds us that a person should not say that G'd's virtues include that He is so merciful and compassionate that it is imposssible to imagine that He would allow the misfortunes of the Jewish people to continue after the curses which the Torah has spelled out thus far have already been visited upon His people. This is why the Torah has to tell us that there are circumstamces when G'd has to feel joy in disciplining His people. According to this concept nature does not recoil from these kinds of joy. We have a statement in Proverbs 11,10 that "there is joy when the wicked perish." Our sages in <i>Sanhedrin</i> 39 interpret the verse (Kings I 22,36) ויעבר הרנה, "that a note of jubilation was heard throughout the country when people heard that Achav had fallen in battle." According to the Talmud that joy was heard in the celestial regions. Yonathan ben Uzziel translates the verse in question as "G'd will bring joy to the people because a king who had been rebellious against G'd perished." Nonetheless, the plain meaning of the verse is not uprooted by this translation and has been properly translated by Onkelos as: "a shout or proclamation went through the camp when the sun set: 'every man to his town, every man to his village.'"
  We need to understand why the Torah does not include verses of comfort in the list of curses which are recorded here as it did in Leviticus chapter 26,42-44. Besides, why did Moses altogether repeat the curses already recorded by G'd in Leviticus?
  I believe the reason Moses repeated the curses here is because in Leviticus they were all addressed to the people as a whole, not to each Israelite individually. Someone might have argued that if part of the nation would live their lives as Torah-observant people G'd would not be so particular about the part who did not. This is why Moses saw fit to write the curses in this chapter all in the singular so that every Israelite would understand that he personally was being addressed by the Torah. In order not to be misunderstood Moses uses a plural on occasion, such as when he speaks about "your skies turning to copper," seeing the individual Israelite does not each have his own sky. At the same time, Moses speaks about the sky being above the head of the individual Israelite, i.e. ראשך. On another occasion Moses says ישא ה׳ עליך גוי מרחוק, "G'd will bring up against you (pl) a nation from afar." Clearly, G'd would not command an entire nation to march against Israel because of an individual sinner; rather Moses speaks here about the possibility that part of the Israelites are disloyal to G'd. At any rate, in the main Moses uses the singular for the reasons that we have mentioned.
  Now we can also understand why Moses did not see fit to include verses of comfort as did G'd in chapter 26 in Leviticus. G'd had to reassure the multitude that they would not be subject to total extinction; this is why we have verse 42-46 in Leviticus 26 affirming this. In our chapter, where the individual is addressed, such words of comfort would be counterproductive. If these individuals insist on their wayward behaviour G'd will most certainly destroy them. We have clear evidence of this in the legislation dealing with the עיר הנדחת, the city whose inhabitants became idolators (Deut. 13,14-19). There G'd had commanded to wipe out an entire Jewish city, lock stock and barrel. There certainly was no need either to tell us that a sinner will be brought to court and executed. In Parshat Nitzavim (29,19) the Torah deals with individuals or even a whole tribe becoming wicked and the fact that G'd will single them out for destruction at His hands. There too, the Torah does not bother to write lines of comfort and reassurance.
  Do not raise the question that there are two or three instances in our chapter where the Torah addresses the multitude rather than the individual, such as the statement "you (pl) will remain few in numbers, or the words להאביד אתכם, "to destroy you" (pl). In each of those instances the Torah had already addressed the message of the paragraph to the individual Israelites first. Everybody understands that the individuals to whom the Torah speaks are part of a great multitude, i.e. of the same people.
  You may counter: "why did the Torah not address the curses in Leviticus in the singular and then there would have been no need to repeat all these curses a second time in our chapter?" I would then have concluded that all these terrible punishments would be meted out only to individuals and not to the people as a body. Or, I would have reasoned that even though the Torah describes these sins as very major, the people as a whole would learn from what happened to sinful individuals and would mend their ways. By mentioning verses of comfort and referring to the continued validity of the covenant between G'd and the Patriarchs, the Torah made it plain that not only individuals but the whole people may become the target of these curses.
  To sum up, we have found that G'd punishes us separately for neglect of Torah study, for violating the negative commandments as well as for failure to carry out the positive commandments. Although we have a statement in <i>Menachot</i> 41 that G'd does not mete out punishments for failure to carry out positive commandments unless He happens to be very angry at the time on account of some other sin, there are two positive commandments for which the Torah legislated the <i>karet</i> penalty as a matter of routine. Failure to be circumcised or to be included in the eating of the passover lamb are punishable by extinction from one's people. Furthermore, if a person deliberately decides not to carry out positive commandments written in the Torah, G'd will curse him and he is subject to all the disasters listed in our chapter.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   ויקרא משה אל כל ישראל, Moses called out to the entire Jewish people, etc. Even though Moses had been addressing the whole Jewish people up until now also, he gathered the women and the children as well as the proselytes to prepare them for renewed acceptance of the covenant which is the subject of <i>Parshat Nitzavim.</i>
  
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   אתם נצבים היום, "You are standing today, etc." We have to analyse what these words are meant to tell us. Besides, why did Moses have to single out ראשיכם, טפכם, "your heads and your children," and did not simply say כלכם, "all of you?" Moreover, what was the reason for this covenant? Just a few lines ago (28,69) Moses had written: "these are the words of the covenant, etc." If Moses was anxious to include what is written in this portion in the covenant, he should have written this chapter sooner and everything would have been included in what are described as "the words of the covenant in 28,69." 
  It appears that what Moses wanted with this new covenant was to make the Israelites responsible for one another in their מצוה-performance. Each Jew has to see to it that his fellow Jew does not stumble and commit sins. The proof that this is what Moses had in mind here is to be found in verse 28 of our chapter where the Israelites are relieved of their responsibility when the nature of the sin committed is one that is secret. The Torah emphasises הנגלות, "publicly committed sins," must be dealt with by ourselves. It is clear that that verse speaks of the mutual responsibility of one Jew for the conduct of another. Naturally, the degree to which we have to carry out this responsibility varies with our position in the community.
  Let us now understand the meaning of the words: "you are standing here today." We may best understand this by referring to Ruth,2,5 נצב על הקוצרים, "the one standing over the reapers." The word in Ruth means "the one appointed over the reapers." Moses added the word כלכם, "all of you," to make plain that the mutual responsibility with which he charged each member of the people applied to one and all. We have been taught in <i>Shabbat</i> 54 that anyone who is in a position to protest a sin being committed by a fellow Jew, and who does not exercise his power of protest will be considered as an accessory to that sin. Some people's authority extends to their entire city whereas others may have authority to do this only within the walls of their own houses. Every Jew is responsible in the parameter where he can enforce his will. ראשיכם refers to the highly placed individuals in society. Such people share in the responsibility of the conduct of the whole nation. שבטיכם refers to heads of tribes, whereas זקניכם ושוטריכם, refers to heads of households, "your elders and law enforcement officers." Finally, כל איש ישראל, every man of this people possesses some influence over other members of his household. At this point the Torah interrupts before continuing with its reference to children, women, and proselytes. They are listed separately as they are the ones who will not become accessories when they do not admonish fellow Jews about their duties to perform the commandments. Children are not culpable as they do not understand the meaning of sin. How could they be expected to call their elders to order? The same applies to the women. Proselytes most certainly cannot be expected to call to order Jews who are natural born Jews. Our sages explained in <i>Yevamot</i> 45 that Deut. 17,15 שום תשים עליך מלך, is restrictive and means that only a fellow Jew may be appointed over you. However, we know from <i>Niddah</i> 13 that there is an obligation for Jews to call proselytes to order, and that Jews who fail to do so may find themselves culpable as accessories if the proselyte commits a sin.
  Something deeper hinted to in the meaning of the words you all standing... is that all those who are distant from holiness (transgressors), their 'standing' is lowly and their heads are sullen; however for THIS it is written 'you all standing...' to be standing in front of Hashem--to be before Hashem...[even they] should stand and raise their heads!
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
   לעברך בברית…ובאלתו, "for you to enter (pass) into the covenant…and His curse" (if need be). The reason Moses added the word ובאלתו, "and His curse," will become clearer when we have explained the need for the covenant. Why was the Torah not satisfied with all the admonitions and curses which have already been recorded in the Torah? Some clever people who want to escape the cumulative curses and punishments recorded in chapter 28 may decide to commit a single transgression, such as violating the Sabbath or the laws of idolatry and to thereby become guilty of only a single one of all these penalties seeing that those laws are considered the cornerstones of Judaism. Such people prefer this to first accepting the authority of G'd and the Torah which would make them potentially liable to as many as 36 penalties of <i>Karet.</i> Moses acted astutely when he persuaded these people to accept upon themselves the covenant so that in the future they would be liable for each transgression separately. The oath (curse) would apply if any of these people deliberately flouted the laws he had undertaken to observe as a result of embracing this covenant. Once they had done this, even the intention of violating a fundamental law of Judaism would not safegaurd them against becoming culpable for each transgression separately.
  
  Verse 12
  
   למען הקים אותך היום, "In order to establish you today," etc. The reason Moses makes the Israelites potentially liable for many penalties is to make certain they would be G'd's people and would be afraid of sinning due to the terrible curses of which the Torah warns potential sinners.
  Another meaning why Moses wrote down all this may be so that people would not complain why G'd makes them responsible for the conduct of their peers. It is difficult enough to keep all the commandments without having to worry about everybody else keeping them too. This is why Moses said that G'd's intention in all this is for the benefit of the Jewish people, enabling Him to establish the Jewish people as His people. If not for this new commitment, some Israelites would backslide starting with minor sins and eventually becoming guilty of the commission of serious sins. Ultimately, the Israelites would forfeit their status as G'd's people. G'd initiated this mutual responsibility to act as the guarantee that such backsliding would not occur.
  
  Verse 13
  
   ולא אתכם לבדכם…כי את אשר ישנו פה ואת אשר איננו פה, "Not only with you alone, but both with those who are present here today as well as with those who are not here today." Why did Moses have to spell out "and not with you alone?" Would it not have sufficed to write "the ones who are here today, as well as the ones who are not, etc.?" This would have made it clear that the covenant was not made exclusively with the people present at that time! However, the whole intention of these verses is to obligate the people present at this time to commit their offspring to observe the Torah, forever. In order to make this plain the Torah had to write: "not with you alone, etc." Had the Torah written only the second half of the verse I would have known that future generations are obligated to observe the Torah; I would not have known, however, that those present were charged with seeing to it that their offspring kept the Torah. By writing the words: ולא אתכם לבדכם, the Torah makes it unmistakably clear that not only the obligation to keep the Torah applied to the generation present, but even the obligation to see to it that their children would also do so.
  
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   כי אתם ידעתם, "For you know, etc." We need to analyse why the Torah suddenly provides this rationale for what it legislates in this paragraph. Nachmanides wrote that this is the introduction to what follows "so that there not be amongst you a root flourishing with wormwood, etc." I consider this explanation a little forced. It is not the custom of the Torah to write the reason for its legislation before writing the legislation itself. Perhaps the verse may be understood differently. Inasmuch as what is being legislated here is something unique, i.e. obligating unborn generations to observe a code of conduct over which they have never been allowed to make a decision, as had their ancestors at Mount Sinai, this requires an unusual approach. We have a rule in <i>Ketuvot</i> 11 that "one cannot hold a person responsible for committing a wrong which he had never been aware of." According to this principle the acceptance by the parents of the obligation to keep the Torah would not be binding on the children at all. This is why the Torah adds: "for you are aware what your life was like before you became G'd's people and received the Torah, etc." In other words, the Torah is reminding us that it is a privilege to be G'd's people, to keep the Torah, etc. This is not comparable to imposing duties and restrictions on your children. The purpose of a life filled with מצוה-observance is to avoid the pitfalls of the abominations and detestable idols the Egyptians were captive to. Moses tells the people present that inasmuch as they know all about this they also know that what is being asked of them is to confer benefits rather than restrictions on their children and children's children.
  
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   פן יש בכם…ללכת לעבוד, "lest there be amongst you ….to go and serve the gods, etc." In this verse the Torah warns against the mere intention to practice idolatry, making the person doing this culpable. The operative word is לבבו פונה, "his heart turns, etc.
  פן יש בכם, what precisely is this "root flourishing with gall and wormwood?" If these words refer to the previous statement where the Torah describes when this person's "heart turns to go and serve idols," the words פן יש בכם should not have been repeated. The Torah should have written something of this order: פן יש בכם איש או אשה אשר לבבו פונה…שרש פרה ראש ולענה. Furthermore, what is the meaning of the words "a root of wormwood?" Apparently the Torah does not speak about wormwood and gall but about a root. How does the Israelite who plans to engage in idolatry "bless himself in his heart?" Besides what is the point of the word לאמור in this verse? What does the Torah mean with the words: "for I will walk in the path my heart sees fit," in verse 18?
  The basic idea underlying this verse is to warn the Israelite that anyone who attempts to get away with none or only minor punishments by only thinking about sinning but not actually violating any of the Torah's commandments will be disappointed. The Torah tells such a person that at this particular stage of his thinking he is merely a root, Le. harmless in itself; however, the outgrowth of this root will be gall and wormwood. This is why, in the first instance, the Torah speaks of פן יש בכם שדש פורה ראש ולענה, "it is first and foremost a root from which unexpected plants will grow."
  The clever Israelite who looks for devious ways to escape the curses of which the Torah warns first blesses himself in "his heart." This means that he says to himself that merely contemplating sins is not so bad. This is why the Torah uses the words והיה בשמעו. We have explained repeatedly that the word והיה always has a joyful connotation. This Israelite says to himself that as long as he only contemplates sinning, he is not guilty of anything. This contributes to his joy. The Torah puts the record straight telling such an individual that if he thought he could cancel the oath Moses committed him to before accepting it even if he had answered "Amen", this would not help him. We have learned in <i>Shavuot</i> 26 that when it comes to oaths one's mouth and one's heart must act in unison, and that if someone makes up his mind to invalidate the words of an oath he will utter, only his intention commits him, not his words. When Moses speaks of שרירות לבו, he describes a person who uses the loophole we just quoted to escape culpability. Not only that, but למען ספות הרוה את הצמאה, "in order to add the watered to the thirsty," i.e. to benefit from the blessings G'd will shower upon the Torah-observant people. The word ספות is related to כריתה, an end. The word רוה is an alternative for רבה, "increase." The word צמאה describes something small, insignificant. The Israelite intends to limit or totally cut off any punishment by cancelling the oath Moses wants him to undertake.
  This kind of conduct is what Moses calls שרש, from which eventually will sprout gall and wormwood. Normally, the justification of swearing an oath is to make it a bulwark against the temptations of the evil urge. David referred to such an oath in Psalms 119,106 when he said: "I have firmly sworn to keep Your just social laws." Our sages in <i>Ruth Rabbah</i> credit Boaz with having sworn such an oath to resist the temptation to sleep with Ruth before they were married. The person whom Moses refers to in our paragraph uses an oath to establish a circumvention of the law. This is much worse than merely not answering "Amen" when required to do so. Moses considers this the root of all the evil that will develop from such an attitude.
  The Torah singles out such a person for worse punishment than that in store for people who accepted the covenant but who violate it from time to time.
   לא יאבה ה׳ סלוח לו "G'd will not be willing to forgive him;" Although it is one of G'd's major attributes to pardon and forgive man's sins, the kind of devious scheming person described here does not qualify for G'd exercising this attribute. As a result of G'd's unwillingness to forgive such a person, He will punish him with all the severity at His command once such a person has translated sinful thoughts into sinful deeds. He will be subjected to all the curses written in the Torah. 
  
  Even though the Torah refers here to האיש ההוא, "that man," the same applies to a family or tribe which conduct themselves in the same manner.
  
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  Verse 20
  
  ומחה ה׳ את שמו מתחת השמים, "and G'd will blot out his name from under the heaven." Remember that the root of the souls of all the Israelites originates in a sacred part of heaven, immediately below the throne of G'd. 
  In this instance, a unique instance, the Torah threatens that in spite of the sacred origin of his soul, it will be utterly blotted out in retribution for the devious plan to be parasites and to benefit from the blessings granted to the Torah-observant majority while at the same time violating all the commandments.
   והבדילו ה׳ לרעה, "And G'd will single him out for misfortune, etc," This seems a paradox. After the soul of the person has already been blotted out, how can G'd separate it from other souls? We may have to understand this in connection with Isaiah 60 that all the Jewish souls originate in the same place as we have been told by <i>Vayikra Rabbah</i> 4,6 on Genesis 46,26 where all the 70 souls of the family of Jacob are described as כל הנפש, "the whole soul" (singular), as opposed to the souls of Esau which are described in the plural (Genesis 36). When the Torah writes that "G'd will blot out his name from under the heaven, this means that G'd will not take action against this man and consign him to the forces of the קליפה which is here called רעה, "evil," until He has separated his soul. This "separation" implies certain restrictions G'd imposes on the forces of the קליפה concerning the soul of this person. G'd makes it a point to always set some limits on the forces of destruction though He Himself allocated to these forces the parameters within which they may operate. We have quoted an example of such restrictions placed on the forces of destruction when Rava's father warned his son not to sleep in his bed in order not to be killed by these forces ( <i>Taanit</i> 24).
  מכל שבטי ישראל, from all the tribes of Israel. Seeing that a Jewish soul has an affinity to all the tribes, G'd has to separate this person's soul from all the tribes lest the evil which befalls it will have negative repercussions on those tribes.
  Alternatively, the word והבדילו may mean that after G'd has wiped out the name of this person, i.e. his soul, from under the heaven, He will transfer it to a spiritual region reserved for destroying such souls. ככל האלות, "like all the curses, etc." this means that the רעה, "evil" in store for this soul will include all the curses mentioned in the Torah thus far.
  
  Verse 21
  
   ואמר הדור האחרון..וראו את מכת הארץ, "The later generation will say,…when they see the destruction and the conflagration, etc." Clearly, the Torah envisages that such punishment will not be something isolated. Why does the Torah mention the reaction by a later generation viewing the destruction of the Holy Land before mentioning the fact that they have seen it? The Torah should have written: "the later generation will see what destruction happened to this country and they will ask what caused it." Besides, the word ואמר is totally superfluous here seeing the Torah repeats in verse 23 that "they will say" i.e. all the other nations who came face to face with the destruction in the Holy Land. Furthermore, why did the Torah begin the verse in the singular, i.e. ואמר, only to switch to the plural, i.e. ואמרו כל הגוים, "and all the nations will say?"
  I believe the best approach to understanding the sequence in our verse is as follows: "the later generation will say, etc." who is this later generation? Your children. The Torah had to spell this out seeing that other nations also have later generations. The Torah adds that not only your own children will raise this question, but even the Gentile who lives nearby and the nations who come from afar.  וראו When all these nations from near and far will observe how this land has been devastated, they (too) will say: "what has caused this destruction?" It is taken for granted that your children who live in the land did not have to come and see the destruction. This is why the Torah could commence with describing only their reaction. The reason the Torah speaks of כל הגוים, "all the nations," is that those who have seen the desolation in the Holy Land will tell all those who have not seen it with their own eyes.
  The desolation described in this verse refers to the people of whom the Torah spoke in verse 17, the ones who decided to become idolators. The curses which had been mentioned immediately prior to this verse referred to the individual who tried to outsmart the Torah by hedging his acceptance of the oath of the covenant prior to affirming it with his mouth. The warning that G'd would erase that man's name applied only to the individual described in verse 18. Exile and desolation of the land of Israel are the result of idolatry.
  
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  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
   הנסתרות לה׳ אלוקינו, והנגלות לנו, "The hidden sins are G'd's business, but the visible ones (are our business to deal with)." We have to understand this verse as the response by the Jewish people to Moses that he cannot hold them responsible for sins committed by fellow Jews in private. However, they accept the responsibility to try and stop sins being committed in public. לנו ולבנינו עד עולם, "for us and our children forever." This is the official acceptance by the Israelites of the oath Moses wanted them to swear.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   והיה כי יבאו עליך כל הדברים, "It will be when all these things will come upon you, etc." Why did the Torah speak about "all these things," instead of merely writing: "when the blessing or curse will come upon you?" ...
  Perhaps we can understand this better in light of <i>Berachot</i> 54 that "one must recite a benediction when he experiences something he perceives as a blessing as well as when he experiences something which appears to him as evil." The Talmud there on folio 60 goes so far as to say that even when we experience something which we perceive as evil we must accept it joyfully. ...
  This is what the Torah has in mind when it introduces this verse with the word והיה which always has a joyful connotation. Moses could not have made this point if he had written only: "when the blessing or the curse come upon you." I would then have read the words "the blessing" as referring to the word והיה, which implies something joyful. The words: "or the curse," I would have understood as belonging to what follows, i.e. something that might lead to penitence but not something that the Israelite would acknowledge as being meant for his own good.
  When having a second look at our verse I have realised how much G'd's fondness for the Jewish people is reflected here. When referring to the blessing the Torah writes: כי יבאו עליך, when the blessing will come upon you," whereas when writing about the curse the Torah writes: והקללה אשר נתתי לפניך, "the curse which I have presented before you." This is another reason why the introduction והיה כי יבאו עליך כל הדברים האלה is necessary. ...
  Had Moses not used this formulation we would have interpreted the word לפניך as applying both to the blessing and to the curse in equal measure. Only the introductory words enable us to realise that the nature of the curse will be different from the blessing. Do not worry about the fact that the Torah writes הדברים "the things" in the plural, whereas the blessing is mentioned in the singular. There are many examples in the Torah of constructions such as this.
  הברכה והקללה, "the blessing or the curse, etc." There is no need for the Torah to tell us that G'd will welcome Israelites with open arms if they sin and return in penitence before G'd has withdrawn the blessings they have become used to. The message of our verse is that even if the Israelites sinned so much that G'd has brought the curses upon them, He will still assist them in their penitence though it is due only to the afflictions the people have experienced.
  We have to explain the need for the Torah to mention the blessing at this juncture altogether. It would have sufficed to write the word הקללה, "the curse," as this is the catalyst that sparks repentance. Perhaps the Torah describes some of the thought processes which preceded the penitence of the Israelites. As long as the Israelites had not sinned and had experienced blessings in abundance they had not attributed it to their lifestyle. They had taken such blessings for granted, considering them as their due. Only after being deprived of these blessings do the Israelites begin to perceive that the lifestyle they used to enjoy was due to G'd bestowing special blessings on them.
  והשבת אל לבבך, "and you will take it to heart, etc." The Torah uses this expression because sinners are misled by their hearts. 
  The Torah refers to an additional error the exiled Jew makes before he becomes a penitent. Even when he considers for a moment that the troubles he finds himself in are due to his having disobeyed G'd, the evil urge will tell him that this is not so. He will try and convince the Jew that they are not the only people who have experienced exile from time to time. The Torah counters this argument by writing בכל הגוים, "amongst all the nations." When other nations are exiled they are exiled to one or two countries. No nation has ever been scattered to the four corners of the earth as have the Jews.
  
  Verse 2
  
   ושבת עד ה׳ אלוקיך, "And you will return unto the Lord your G'd." The expression ושבת is stronger than והשבת אל ללבך, as I explained. The former does not refer to repentance but to a reinforcing of the faulty life-outlook of the sinning Jew who finds himself in exile. The Torah makes this plain by adding the words עד השם.
  
  Verse 3
  
   ושב ה׳ אלוקיך את שבותך, "and the Lord your G'd will will bring back your captives, etc." This is a reference to some of the sanctity which the Israelites had lost to their captors, i.e. Satan, as a result of their sins. The word ושב refers to the bodily return of the Jews from exile, whereas the words ושב השם refer to the invisible part of the exile of the people, i.e. parts of their holy souls.
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
   ומל ה׳ אלוקיך את לבבך, And the Lord your G'd will circumcise your heart, etc." In view of the Torah already having described the Israelites as having done תשובה why would G'd have to circumcise their hearts? Besides, what does the Torah mean in verse 8 ואתה תשוב ושמעת בקול השם, "and you will return and hearken to the voice of G'd?" This seems to contradict the statement in verse 2? Moreover, the words ואתה תשוב after G'd has circumcised our hearts make no sense at all. What can still be lacking in the process of penitence once G'd has circumcised our hearts?
  I have already pointed out in my commentary on כי תבא that there are three categories of blessings and punishments concerning three different parts of Torah observance. There is a separate reward and punishment for 1) Torah study, 2) observance of the negative commandments, 3) performing the positive commandments. 
  In accordance with this, the process of repentance must also include all these three areas of Torah observance. The words ושבת עד ה׳ אלוקיך refer to the Jews beginning to study the Torah again. This is why the Torah continues with the words "and you listen to His voice." Seeing that the Torah does not mention anything else in that context it is clear that the subject of ושבת is your return to Torah study. The words ושב ה׳ את שבותך ושב וקבצך, are a promise that the people will be redeemed by the merit of Torah study (<i>Zohar</i> volume three page 72). We also have it on the authority of Jeremiah 9,12 that the disaster struck the Jewish people as a result of their abandoning Torah. This is why when they rectify this error and devote themselves once more to Torah study G'd will gather them in and bring them back to ארץ ישראל.
  Concerning the failure to keep the negative commandments the Torah says: "and G'd will circumcise your hearts." We are familiar with the concept that the foreskin of the heart is a hyperbole for doing what is forbidden and a love for the forbidden. G'd now says לאהבה את ה׳ אלוקיך "in order to love the Lord your G'd." In response to the Israelites learning to love G'd, He in turn, will take care of all our troubles. He will deliver our enemies into our hands and He will afflict all our enemies with the curses mentioned previously. 
  Concerning the performance of the positive commandments as part of the Israelites' repentance the Torah writes: "you will return….and carry out all the positive commandments, etc." The additional reward accruing to the people as a result is described in verse 9 "G'd will make you abundantly successful in your various endeavours, etc."
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
   כי המצוה הזאת אשר אנכי מצוך היום, "For this commandment which I command to you today, etc." Why did the Torah have to write the word "today?" Besides once the Torah had told us that the Torah is not hidden from you, is it not clear that it is not very distant? Why did the Torah bother to write לא רחוקה היא? Why did the Torah have to remind us that Torah is not beyond the ocean? Even if it were, it is an accessible location and we could have secured it by means of ships!
  Perhaps the Torah refers to two factors which contribute to failure of Torah observance by the people. 1) Ignorance of what is written in the Torah. 2) The difficulty in keeping the commandments. Moses told the people that although prior to his going up on Mount Sinai the Torah had indeed been in the heavens it was no longer in heaven but accessible to all.
  He told the people that it was not in a distant land or across the sea, i.e. that although he personally had not been favoured by G'd to keep these commandments on holy soil, they would be more fortunate. When Moses asked the rhetorical question: "it is not across the ocean so that you would have to ask who would cross the ocean to get the Torah for you," he lamented his own inability to even cross the Jordan to be able to keep the Torah commandments applicable on the other bank. He portrayed the Jordan as an insurmountable obstacle for him, much like crossing an ocean.
  Nonetheless, the principal meaning of this line is that there are no valid excuses for not observing Torah. It is easily accessible. 
  The reason the Torah added the word "today" is the imminence of the Israelites crossing the Jordan.
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
   העירותי בכם היום את השמים ואת האריץ, "I call as witness against you today both the heaven and the earth, etc." This whole verse appears superfluous in light of verse 15 where Moses asked the people to choose life rather than death. Why did he have to repeat it? Besides why did Mose change the sequence and choice here? In verse 15 the choice was between life and goodness on the one hand and death and evil on the other. Here the Israelites are given choices between life and death and blessing and curse. What did Moses mean when he rephrased what he said in verse 15? Besides, why did Moses not simply exhort the people to "choose life?"
  
  We must understand terms such as "good" and "evil" to refer to life in this world. It makes sense therefore that Moses told the people: "I place before you life and death," i.e. reward and punishment in this world. If the Israelites would be good they would live, if they would sin they would die. These are the two choices we have in this world.
  However, there are two more choices which pertain to the hereafter. Moses calls them ברכה and קללה, respectively, i.e. "blessing or curse." These are not immediate choices, or better, the results of such choices will not become known immediately. The whole approach is similar to what we have in Deut. 28,6: "You are blessed at your arrival (in this world) and you are blessed at your departure (from this world)." As you enter this world without sin so you will leave it without sin (compare <i>Baba Metzia</i> 107). Moses had to separate these two paragraphs from one another in order for us to appreciate that he talks about different domains in each paragraph.
  When he continues "and you shall choose life," this is the purpose of our existence in this world. Moses means that we should concentrate on immediate problems such as making sure that G'd will grant the necessary rainfall as a result of our observing the commandments.
  Although earlier (verse 15) Moses mentioned חיים וטוב together, i.e. a reference to choices covering both our terrestrial life and preparing for our hereafter, in our verse here the emphasis is on the here and now.
  
  Verse 20
  
   לאהבה את ה׳ אלוקיך, "to love the Lord your G'd, etc." This passage is a continuation of the thoughts in verse 19 "in order that you may live, you and your offspring." The purpose of this desire for life on this earth must be to learn to love G'd and to obey His commandments. When Moses concludes: "for He is your life, etc." Moses merely reflects that there cannot be a meaningful purpose in life on earth other than to cleave to G'd to the best of our abilities. This makes our life in this world a fitting prelude to our life in the celestial spheres., i.e. ארך ימים.
  לשבת על האדמה, "to dwell in the land, etc." We have to read this as if the word לשבת had been prefaced with the conjunctive letter ו. Dwelling in the Holy Land is part of the attainment of completeness through performance of all parts of Torah observance. Our sages have so extolled the virtue of dwelling in the Holy Land that they said that anyone who walks in it a distance of four cubits qualifies for a share in the hereafter (<i>Ketuvot</i> 111).
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   וילך משה, "Moses went, etc." We need to know where Moses went. Yonathan ben Uzziel translates that Moses went to the study hall. Other commentators such as Nachmanides and Rabbeynu Bachyah say that he went from the camp of the Levites to the encampment of the Israelites much like a man who takes leave from his friends. The wording of the Torah is vague and does not provide a clue as to where Moses actually went. Another thing we are entitled to know is who told Moses that he would die on that day. Have we not been told in <i>Shabbat</i> 30 that man is not informed of precisely how long he will live? If that is correct, who told Moses that he would die on that day?
  I believe we must explain our verse by recalling the <i>Zohar</i> volume one page 217. We are told there that 40 days prior to man's death his נשמה leaves him. <i>Zohar</i> bases this on Song of Songs 4,6: ונסו הצללים, "and the shadows fled." These "shadows" search for a resting place in the celestial regions and the righteous are aware of this. It is described there that Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai was aware of the fact that Rabbi Yitzchak's soul had already departed from him while the latter was still alive. 
  It is also mentioned there that the names of the Israelites are actually the names of their respective souls. I myself have explained this on Proverbs 10,7 "that the name of the wicked will rot." <i>Zohar Chadash</i> 120 interprets this to mean that the wicked will not be able to remember his name, the reason being that the wicked has no soul. Having been deprived of his soul it is not surprising that the wicked does not recall his name.
  Here we are told that "Moses went;" this means that his soul, the spirit of life named Moses, had gone from him just like in any other צדיק whose end is at hand. In this instance Moses' soul is referred to in the masculine gender, i.e. וילך, to stress the greatness of his soul. By writing וידבר את הדברים האלה the Torah indicates that Moses was aware when walking that he would die on that day. He made this plain when he said: "I am exactly 120 years old today, etc." Our sages in <i>Rosh Hashanah</i> 11 interpret Moses' words as: "today my days and years have been completed."
  Having read all this you may ask how it was that Moses knew that he would die on that day and not 40 days later seeing we said that the soul leaves 40 days before one's death? Read what I have written on Genesis 47,29 "Israel's days to die approached."
  וידבר את הדברים האלה, He spoke these words, etc. Moses wanted to show that though he was 120 years old and about to die he had the strength to say all the words recorded from here until the end of the Book of Deuteronomy. No one except Moses possessed the physical or intellectual strength to do this.
  
  Verse 2
  
   לא אוכל עוד לצאת ולבא, "I am no longer able to go out and come in" (lead you in war). Moses attributed his inability to do so to the fact that he had already lost control over his soul the one which bore his name, as we explained in the name of the <i>Zohar.</i> It had already departed from him.
  He also wanted to explain to the people why he was convinced that he would die on that day. While we have already supplied the reason for this, it is not in the nature of the righteous to let on to their peers that they have some superior perceptions; this would be arrogant. This is why Moses cited two different reasons. 1) I am unable to lead you in war, i.e. I no longer have G'd's permission to do so. This permission has now been given Joshua. 2) G'd has told me: "you will not cross this river Jordan." From these two indicators it was clear to him that he had outlived his usefulness and was about to die. 
  The letter ו before the word השם is to be understood as the reason for the word היום Moses had used immediately before.
  The sequence of the words וה׳ אמר אלי, "and the Lord had said to me, etc." which follow so closely on Moses' statement: I cannot go out, etc." indicate his loyalty as a servant of the Creator. He suggested by this sequence that if, per chance, this same G'd would now give him instructions to cross the Jordan, he, Moses, would gird himself and be ready to lead the Israelites across though he did not feel capable of doing so at this moment. The only reason he did not insist on doing so was that G'd had told him not to.
  
  Verse 3
  
   ה אלוקיך הוא עובר לפניך…הוא ישמיד "The Lord your G'd will personally cross ahead of you;…He will destroy these nations, etc." Moses had to repeat the word הוא, "He," a second time as he intended to console the people over his own death which represented a double loss for them. Firstly, it had been he who had repeatedly protected the people from G'd's anger such as at the episode of the golden calf and then again when G'd had threatened to wipe out the people after they had accepted the majority report of the spies. Secondly, Moses had defeated the two mighty kings Sichon and Og. They would therefore be concerned who would take Moses' place should the need arise.
  Concerning the fact that he had been able to assuage G'd's anger on two critical occasions, he now said that G'd would עובר לפניך, in the sense this word occurred in Exodus 17,5 where G'd had said to Moses עבור לפני העם, suggesting that Moses forgive, "pass over" the sins he had accused the people of committing. At that time, G'd wanted the miracle of producing water to be credited to Moses rather than to Himself. On another occasion, immediately after the sin of the golden calf, G'd had said to Moses: "Let Me be so that I can destroy the people." In other words, it had been G'd who had given Moses a hint that his prayer might help (Exodus 32,9). In view of this Moses said: "He will pass over your sins Himself;" you do not depend on me doing this for you.
  As far as Moses' prowess in warfare, He told the people that it was not his own personal strength which had performed all these valiant deeds but that G'd had been the real Warrior. As to the means G'd would employ in His fight against the Canaanites, Moses cited Joshua as the official representative who would march at the head of the army. 
  He emphasised the word הוא, "he," to make clear that the fact that Joshua marches at the head was crucial. When the army of Israel [a small contingent of about 3.000 men. Ed.] suffered a defeat at the town of Ai (Joshua 7,5-15) and there were about 36 Jewish casualties, Joshua is reported as falling on his face complaining to G'd. One of the reasons cited by the Talmud <i>Sanhedrin</i> 44 for this defeat was that Joshua had not been at the head of that army contingent. He had not considered the objective as deserving his personal attention. Moses here stresses that it is Joshua's task to walk in front of the army.
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
   כי אתה תבא את העם הזה, "for you will come with this people, etc." Moses did not say תביא, "you will bring this people," seeing it was G'd who would actually bring the people by destroying their opposition. All Joshua was required to do was to march at the head of the people. While it is true that our sages in <i>Sanhedrin</i> 8 drew our attention to the end of our portion (verse 23) where G'd tells Joshua "you shall bring the children of Israel to the land I have sworn to them," the reason that G'd used the expression תביא was to correct the impression Moses' words had left when he said תבא. According to Rabbi Yochanan Moses meant "you and the elders." G'd objected by saying that there can only be one authoritative spokesman per generation, i.e; <i>dabbar echad ledor.</i> To make this point, G'd said to Joshua "you will bring," instead of "you will come." Now that we have that verse we can interpret the verse in which Moses said "you will come" as a reminder that G'd would do the actual "bringing."
  
  Verse 8
  
   וה׳ הוא ההולך לפניך, "as to the Lord, it is He Who will walk in front of you." In this instance Moses did not refer to the Lord as "your G'd" as he did on most other occasions. The reason is that G'd does not associate His name with individuals who are still alive. When speaking of the Jewish people as a whole it is quite in order to refer to G'd as "your G'd" such as in Exodus 20,2 "I am the Lord your G'd," the opening sentence of the Ten Commandments. 
  When Moses refers to G'd by the pronoun הוא, saying "He walks before you," instead of saying "and G'd walks before you," he did so to preclude us from thinking that G'd plus some other force would destroy the Canaanites. Omission of the word הוא would have left us with והשם, "and G'd, etc." Moses did not want that anybody should misunderstand the meaning of the letter ו in this context.
  הוא יהיה עמך, "He will be with you." Moses again stresses the הוא, to emphasise that G'd's שכינה i.e. a very high level manifestation of His presence will walk in front of Joshua. הוא יהיה עמך, this manifestation of G'd's presence will remain at Joshua's side. Its effect will be that Joshua will not weaken in face of a variety of challenges.
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
   הקהל את העם,..למען ישמעו ולמען ילמדו, "assemble the people…in order that they hearken and in order that they learn, etc." Why did Moses have to write the word למען, "in order that," twice? Would it not have been simpler to write למען ישמעו וילמדו?
  Perhaps the answer is contained in the very instructions to Moses having been to "assemble the people, the men, the women and the children" in order to read the Torah before them, something women are not obligated to hear. In Deut 11,19 the Torah's instructions to teach it had been reserved for בניכם, your male children, as opposed to your daughters (compare <i>Kidushin</i> 29). This may have been the reason the Torah separated the "hearing" from the "learning" in our verse and wrote the word למען twice. The males, including the male children, were to study the Torah; the women and their daughters were to listen to the Torah.
  The Torah first speaks about למען ישמעו, "in order that they hearken" as it refers to the negative commandments which apply equally to men and women. 
  The words למען ילמדו, "in order that they learn," refer to the positive commandments many of which women are not obligated to perform if they must be performed only at certain times. Had the Torah lumped both statements together we would have concluded that negative and positive commandments both carry the same penalties.
  I have seen a statement by our sages in <i>Chagigah</i> 3 "the women were to come to listen whereas the men were to attend in order to study."
  
  Verse 13
  
   ובניהם אשר לא ידעו, "and their children, who do not know, etc." This division is in line with mention of "and the children" in verse 12 as part of the מצוה of הקהל. Moses says that although he is aware that the children are too young to understand what they would hear at that assembly, they are not too young to learn to fear G'd, i.e. one must train them in יראת השם from an early age. 
  This is the reason why Moses changed the sequence in which he described this process. Whereas in verse 12 he had said ילמדו ויראו they would "learn and (as a result) fear," in this verse he says "they will learn to fear." Being present at such an experience as הקהל is inspirational even for young children and inspires fear of G'd. Moses adds the comment כל הימים, "all the days," to remind us that when fear of G'd is instilled in children at an early age it will last them all their lives.
  Our sages (<i>Chagigah</i> 3) ask why the women had to drag their children along for this assembly, and they answer "in order to receive credit for complying with the instruction." Presumably they referred to those children who could not even appreciate that their elders were listening to the Torah, i.e. the babies in arms. They must have understood that Moses' reason for bringing them applied only to children who were already somewhat older.
  
  Verse 14
  
   הן קרבו ימיך למות, "Behold, your days are drawing near to die, etc." The reason for the word הן here is to justify Moses' having said that he had reached his 120th birthday on that day. Our sages in <i>Rosh Hashanah</i> 11 mention that by the word היום in verse 2 Moses meant that he reached the age allotted to him. As a result, G'd's word came to him saying: הן, "you are correct," the time has come for you to die. The reason G'd said קרבו ימיך (pl.) instead of saying קרב יומך, "your day has arrived (sing.)" may be understood in the same vein as Genesis 47,29 where we have explained this wording.
  Another intention of the Torah for using the expression הן קרבו, may be as follows: "The days which are yours have approached; these days are the ones on which parts of your soul are approaching." This is the mystical dimension of Psalms 104,29: תוסף רוחם יגועון, "when You take away their breath they will perish." In my commentary of the <i>Ari Zal</i> on this verse on page 391 of my commentary on Jacob's impending death, I have explained all this in detail. The approach of the different parts of the soul making up the composite of one's soul, spell the imminence of physical death. The verse in Psalms then has to be translated as: "when all the parts of their spirit come together their bodies will die."
  והתיצבו באהל מועד, "and stand both of you in the Tent of Meeting, etc." This is the first instance where G'd commands Joshua to display a symbol of his new authority in Moses' presence. G'd did this by giving both Moses and Joshua simultaneous instructions using the plural התיצבו. We have explained this word as meaning "being appointed" in connection with Deut. 29,12. The word has a similar meaning in Samuel I 13,14 where Samuel tells King Saul ויצוהו ה׳ לנגיד על עמו, that in His heart G'd had already appointed someone else as leader of His people. This was some time before G'd ordered Samuel to anoint one of Yishai's sons as king. G'd's words to Joshua "for you will bring the children of Israel to the land, etc." (verse 22) are interpreted in <i>Sanhedrin</i> 8 as another such appointment of Joshua to a position of authority.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
   וקם העם הזה וזנו אחרי אלוהי נכר, "and this nation will arise and stray after idols, etc." How can Moses describe such a deviation as a קימה, "a rising," instead of as a ירידה, "a descent, a degradation?" Perhaps we may relate the description וקמו to 32,15 where Moses described the Israelites as first waxing fat and as a result "kicking." Up until that point Israel had been referred to as "Yeshurun." At this point Moses pointedly speaks about העם, the common people rising. The coarsening of the Jewish people was due to their material blessing which G'd had showered upon the nation deserving of the distinctive appellation "Yeshurun."
  Another meaning of the verse is that not only the generation Moses describes in our verse will worship idols but also the following generation. We find in Judges 2,11 that after the death of Joshua and his generation, the Israelites began to worship the Baal. This is what G'd had predicted in our verse when He said to Moses that after he would die this people would rise and stray after alien gods.
  
  Verse 17
  
   ועזבתים והסתרתי פני מהם, "and I will abandon them and hide My face from them, etc." The meaning is that if G'd were to allow Himself to dwell on the troubles which will befall His people, His mercy would be stirred and He would banish His anger. This is why He informs the people in advance that if they were to turn to idols, He, G'd, would turn His face away from them so as not to be tempted to show them compassion.
  ואמר ביום ההוא, "and the people of Israel will say on that day, etc." They will be intelligent enough to conclude that all the troubles which suddenly overtook them must be due to G'd having deliberately left their midst. Had G'd not abandoned them it would be impossible that He would tolerate such treatment of His people. Compare what the prophet said in Judges 10,11. We gain the impression from there that G'd Himself had become fed up with the sufferings His people had to endure.
  
  Verse 18
  
   ואנכי הסתר אסתיר פני ביום ההוא, "But I will surely hide My face on that day, etc." The difficulty in this verse is that G'd is portrayed as hiding His face after the Israelites have already confessed their sins, and have acknowledged that their troubles were due to G'd having turned His back on them. If all our verse wanted to do was to provide us with the reason why what happened so far had occurred, there is no need for this. We already know that G'd turned His face away as a result of the Israelites flirting with local deities! Moreover, why did Moses repeat the mention of G'd hiding His face, i.e. הסתר אסתיר? Another thing which is puzzling is why Moses used such a long-winded expression as על כל הרעה, followed by כי פנה אל אלוהים אחרים.
  The fact is that our verse does want to provide a reason for G'd's turning away His face. Someone might say that G'd had not judged the Israelites fairly, G'd forbid, for the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 27,8: "assailing them with unchained fury." <i>Sanhedrin</i> 100 states that "man will be measured by the yardstick he himself applied in measuring others." 
  G'd will certainly apply fair yardsticks when judging the Israelites. At first glance it might appear as if turning His face away from the Israelites results in their being punished over and above what they deserve, as the Judge deliberately ignores what happens to them. Perhaps this is what our verse means when writing "is it not (only) because my G'd is not in my midst that all these troubles have found me?"
  To ward off such an interpretation of the previous verse, the Torah writes: ואנכי הסתר אסתיר פנים, "and I am surely going to turn away My face;" I am legally entitled to turn away My face from them. This is why G'd had to repeat the word. ביום ההוא, "on that day." On the day they stray after alien gods. The reason the Torah wrote על כל הרעה אשר עשה, is "on account of all the evil it (Israel) has done." This is best understood in light of <i>Chulin</i> 5 that "anyone who admits that idols are independent powers has in fact denied the entire Torah." G'd explains that as soon as the people turned to idols they had in effect turned away from the whole of the Torah, i.e. from G'd. As a result, even if as a result of G'd's turning His face away from them the Israelites would be afflicted with all the curses of the world this would be no different than measuring them with the yardstick by which they themselves had measured others..
  Remember that just as the blessings and rewards G'd has promised are meant for the performance of a string of commandments, etc., so curses and punishments are administered in respect of a string of violations of G'd's commandments. As a result, if someone either transgressed all the commandments bar idolatry, or only committed idolatry, he is deserving of all the punishments as commission of idolatry is considered as equal to committing all other violations. No wonder then that G'd hid His face from His people.
  
  Verse 19
  
   ועתה כתבו, "And now write, etc." G'd says to Moses: "and now," although Moses could not delay by a single day seeing he was going to die on this day. G'd meant for Moses to write this down before he would command Joshua what is written in verse 23. Although the instruction to call Joshua and to give him certain instructions had preceded the command to record this song, G'd wanted the song to be recorded first. 
  You will find that Moses complied with these instructions as we find in verse 22 that he wrote down the song and taught it to the Israelites. Only in the verse following did G'd give His instructions to Joshua to bring the Israelites across the Jordan, to be strong, etc. Normally, we would have expected G'd to complete all His various instructions and only then to write down this song (<i>Haazinu</i>) and to teach it to the people. Seeing that G'd did not want the normal procedure to be followed, He wrote the word ועתה, "and now."
  ולמדה, שימה בפיהם, "and teach it and place it in their mouths." G'd commanded three separate commandments here. 1) To write down the song; 2) to teach it to the children of Israel so that they would understand it. [as one has to teach any poem. Ed.] 3) To "place it in their mouths," i.e. to teach them how to read it correctly. 
  Moses carried out all three instructions as the Torah recorded (verse 23) "Moses wrote the song. 2) He taught it to the children of Israel. 3) Moses said in the hearing of the entire congregation the words of the song (verse 30)." He read it to them in such a way that they would know how to read it properly in the future. This is the meaning of the words שימה בפיהם.
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  
  
  Verse 27
  
   הן בעודני חי עמכם, "Behold even while I am still alive amongst you, etc." This again reminds us of what the Talmud stated in <i>Berachot</i> 18 that the righteous are called alive even after their bodies have died. When Moses mentions the words: "here when I am still alive amongst you," he did not imply that he would soon die, but that he would live in a different region of the universe, one which could not be described as עמכם, "amongst you."
  The Torah writes היום, "today," i.e. Moses hinting that the "amongst you" he spoke of refers only to the balance of the day on which he was addressing them. The plain meaning of the verse is that the word היום means עד היום, "until today."
  The reason that Moses referred to the people's acts of rebellion in the past tense, i.e. הייתם, was in case they had already repented of their sins at that very hour. We have been taught in <i>Kidushin</i> 49 that if someone betrothes a woman on the understanding that he (the groom) is a totally righteous person, and we are aware that until very shortly prior to that moment he was a thoroughly wicked person, the lady in question has to consider herself as betrothed as we assume the groom had resolved to become a perfect בעל תשובה at the time he asked her to accept the token of her betrothal to him.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   האזינו השמים ואדברה, "Give ear, O, heavens, and I will speak, etc." First of all we must understand why Moses added the word: "and I will speak." Why did he not simply say האזינו השמים דברי, "give ear to my words, O heavens?" Secondly, why did Moses not lump heavens and earth together and write: האזינו השמים והארץ, or שמעו השמים והארץ? Thirdly, why did Moses use the word להאזין when he referred to the listening done by the heavens whereas he used the expression שמיעה when describing the kind of listening he wanted the earth to do? Fourthly, why did Moses use an imperative when ordering the heavens to listen, i.e. האזינו, whereas when speaking to the earth he simply said תשמע instead of שמעי? Fifthly, why did he say that what he had to say to the heavens was tough talk, ואדברה, whereas when speaking to the earth he used the term אמירה indicating soft talk? Sixthly, why did he speak about אמרי פי, "the words of my mouth," instead of simply "my words?"
  I have seen that our sages in the <i>Sifri</i> explain that seeing Moses was closer to heaven than to earth he said האזינו השמים, whereas Isaiah (Isaiah 1,2) who was more distant from heaven, addressed the heavens by saying שמעו שמים, "listen heavens!" This answers some of the questions we have posed but not all of them.
  If we do not accept the approach of <i>Sifri</i> we must first explore the meaning of the word להאזין. It seems to me that the word can have two meanings. One meaning is intransitive, one inclines one's ear in order to hear better. One strains to listen. The second meaning is: "listen with your ear," i.e. the meaning is transitive; one appeals to the listener to respond to what one has to say. The first meaning may imply that the one who does the listening is a long way from the source of the sound, and this is why he cannot hear without inclining his ear and paying extra special attention. According to the second meaning the ear of the listener may be quite close and this is why the person doing the talking says only האזין, "listen." This is the approach chosen by our sages. Seeing that the word can also have an alternate meaning as we have tried to explain, we have chosen to approach our verse assuming that Moses employed the alternate meaning. After all, there are 70 legitimate ways to explain the Torah.
  From an homiletical point of view we are at liberty to explain any verse differently from the way our sages have explained it as long as our explanation does not run counter to the <i>halachah.</i> This applies all the more when we are able to demonstrate that our explanation will utilise both possible meanings of the word להאזין.
  We propose to adopt the following approach which will answer all the questions we have raised. Inasmuch as the heavens are the symbol of the highest spiritual regions in the universe, Moses addressed them first asking them "incline your ears in order to hear my words." To the earth Moses said: "תשמע, "you will hear," i.e. you do not need to incline your ear seeing I am standing right close to you. The reason Moses spoke of אמרי פי "the words of my mouth," seeing Moses' mouth was so close to the earth. [the sound waves did not have to be carried far. Ed.]
  Pursuing this approach will help us clear up all the other nuances in the verse, each one in accordance with the relative position of the earth and the heavens. He called to the distant region to incline its ear to enable it to hear, forcing himself to speak loudly, hence ואדברה. To the nearby region, he made it plain that although he also addressed it there was no need for him to call out to be heard.
  When you keep these considerations in mind you will also understand the reason why the prophet Isaiah employed the opposite expressions, addressing earth as if it were distant and heavens as if it were near. The reason is explained by Isaiah himself when he said: כי ה׳ דבר, "for the Lord has spoken." In Isaiah we deal with a message from G'd. G'd who is in heaven does not have to shout in order to be heard in heaven. This is why He said שמעו when addressing heaven. Earth, which is distant from heaven, however, qualified for the form of address האזיני, as it had to be warned to strain to listen carefully seeing the message came all the way from heaven.
  Perhaps the expression האזינו may simultaneously have both the meanings we outlined earlier.From the physical point of view, i.e. the words emanating from Moses' mouth, the meaning is as we stated. From the spiritual point of view, i.e. from the respective soul's point of view, it may correspond to the meaning our sages have adopted as its true meaning here. This would prove that Moses' soul had ascended to heaven at the time and this is what our sages had in mind when they described Moses as being closer to heaven than to earth at that time, as distinct from Isaiah.
  On a moral-ethical plane perhaps Moses addressed the two components man is made of, the spiritual and the physical component. Moses called the spiritual part "heaven," and the physical part "earth." Our sages in <i>Sanhedrin</i> 91 alluded to something of this kind when they interpreted Psalms 50,4 יקרא אל שמים מעל ואל הארץ לדין עמו. "He summoned the heavens above and the earth, for the trial of His people." The Talmud understands the verse as a justification for G'd judging man who is composed of both body and soul. Each one on its own cannot be held responsible for the acts of the other. When they are together, however, G'd is able to punish man for his sins.
  When Moses addresses the spiritual element within man he calls out to it and says האזינו השמים, i.e. "listen you heavenly parts," the ones which are concealed inside man and therefore have to make an effort to listen, להאזין. He employs the tough ואדברה, so that the soul will accept the authority of its Creator and carry out its duty.
  Vis-a-vis the physical part of man, the visible part, Moses said ותשמע הארץ, addressing the parts of man which consist of earth. He said אמרי פי, because the body being by nature far from the regions where abstract intelligence predominates, requires the soft-toned approach in order to be able to listen properly.
  It is also possible that Moses tailored his words to the several levels of Israelites. There was the layer comprising the leaders on the one hand, and the vast multitude of the common people. The latter were not known by any distinctive appellation. Moses described the leaders and the elite as שמים, seeing they were on a spiritually lofty level; he addressed them imperatively האזינו השמים, whereas afterwards he said ותשמע הארץ. He implied that if the leaders of the people had demonstrated that they accepted Moses' instructions it would be automatic for the common people to do so also. The <i>Zohar</i> volume two page 36 phrases it thus: "If the head of the people behaves properly the whole people behaves properly."
  There may be another allusion here. People who are absorbed in listening to words of Torah and absorbing them are described as שמים, heaven; this is similar to Psalms 82,6: אני אמרתי אלוקים אתם ובני עליון כלכם, "I had said that you are divine beings, sons of the Most High, all of you." We have pointed out in connection with Genesis 6,3 (page 87) that the deeds of the righteous are able to transform mere earthly matter and give it a divine form, whereas the wicked, alas, accomplish the reverse by their evil deeds. 
  We have also mentioned that the "form" is known as "heaven," whereas the "material" is known as "earth." Moses uses the expression ואדברה, suggesting that the heavens should not only listen carefully to what he has to say when his words are flattering and pleasing, but, even when he had to communicate admonitions on account of sins which had been committed, he wanted these normally "heavenly" people to listen with equal intensity to what he had to say.
  ותשמע הארץ, "and hear O earth;" Moses meant that even after the separation of body and soul, when the body is no more than mere earth, "this earth" should still listen to the words coming forth from Moses' mouth. This may be understood also with the help of the <i>Zohar Chadash Bereshit</i> 20. In the future a heavenly voice will travel past every marked grave and invite the dead to rise from their graves. They base this on Kings II 23,17: "What is the grave-marker I see here?" [The grave in question was that of a prophet. Ed.] This is a reference to the promise by G'd that even the bodies of the righteous would be able to respond when one addresses them. ותשמע הארץ אמרי פי, from the sequence of what Moses said you can learn that he who is not on the spiritual level of מאזין, does not possess the kind of body that will respond at the time of the resurrection to the proclamation mentioned in <i>Zohar Chadash</i> being addressed to the bodies undergound.
  
  Verse 2
  
   יערף במטו לקחי, "May my teaching drop like the rain." We may understand these words of Moses as being similar to the statement in <i>Avot</i> 3,21: "if there is no flour there will be no Torah, etc." The message is that just as the Israelites require rainfall for their physical survival so they require words of Torah instruction for their spiritual survival. The meter of the verse is: "May my teaching drop like rain." G'd does not expect His people to study Torah until He has provided physical sustenance for them. Conversely, you may conclude from Moses' words that if words of Torah will not drop from the people's lips, G'd in turn is not anxious to provide rain for them. This is precisely what Rabbi Eleazar ben Azaryah meant in <i>Avot</i> when he said on the one hand: "if there is no flour there is no Torah; if there is no Torah there will be no flour." Accordingly, you can understand what Rabbi Eleazar ben Azaryah said in this vein: "if you observe that there is not enough flour, know that the reason is that there is not enough Torah study." The reason that Moses employs the simile of rain falling for describing Torah study is because just as rain falls in droplets so Torah is absorbed a little at a time.
  Another reason why Moses chose the simile of rainfall to describe Torah study may have been to alert his listeners that just as the absence of rainfall for a prolonged period would result in death for those deprived of it, so the absence of Torah for a prolonged period would also bring death in its wake. It is similar to what Isaiah said in Isaiah 1,19: "if you agree and give heed, you will eat the good things of the earth; but if you refuse and disobey, you will be devoured by the sword." לקחי, אמרתי, Moses repeats the message in different words in order to make them apply to the two Torot, i.e. the written Torah as well as the oral Torah. Moses aims the word לקחי at the written Torah whereas he refers to the oral Torah when he tells the people to listen to his אמרתי. Moses referred to the Torah G'd had handed him personally, written by G'd's own finger. Although G'd only gave him two tablets containing Ten Commandments, these Ten Commandments contained within them everything that is written in the entire Torah, compare (<i>Bamidbar Rabbah</i> 13). As to the oral Torah, Moses used the term אמרתי, seeing the oral Torah was received by Moses from G'd on a mouth to mouth basis. It was not recorded in writing. Moses labelled the written Torah מטר, rain, whereas he labelled the oral Torah טל, dew. The reason he did this is because the written Torah is the more important of the two. It is the foundation of everything. The oral Torah is a collection of details none of which were spelled out clearly enough in the written Torah. What appears in the oral Torah has only been hinted at in the written Torah. This is why the Torah (Moses) describes the written Torah as rain which is basic and fundamental to nature. Dew, on the other hand, is something which improves the basic work of rainfall just as the oral Torah rounds out the written Torah.
  There is another aspect to the choice of Moses' similes, one that is best understood by the Kabbalists. Please read the comments of the <i>Beer Heytev</i> on <i>Orach Chayim</i> chapter 238 where he quotes the <i>Ari Zal.</i> The author claims that the preoccupation with the study of the written Torah is an obligation which applies only during the day and not during the night. Therefore it is not in order to read the written Torah at night. We have a <i>Baraitha</i> in <i>Midrash Tehillim</i> that during the 40 days that Moses was in heaven, close to G'd, he was able to distinguish between night and day only by means of the subject matter G'd taught him. When G'd taught Moses <i>Mishnah,</i> i.e. oral Torah, he knew it must be night-time. The reason is that it was not permitted to study the written Torah at night.
  This is the reason why Moses described the written Torah as rain, something which does not fall every day, at all hours, only during the rainy season but not during the summer. We have already described several times what happened to the Amora Rava (<i>Taanit</i> 24) who prayed to heaven in order that there be a rainfall in summer because he wanted to prove to a scoffer that G'd can make rain in summer. Similarly, the written Torah is described as rain. Our sages allocated only certain parts of the day to its study, by day and not by night. Dew, on the other hand, is something which we observe on a year round basis, day in day out. It descends both in summer and in winter. Similarly, the oral Torah is described as dew. It is to be studied both by day and by night. There is no restriction on what is a good time to study the oral Torah. The fact that the sun dissipates the effect of the dew is no argument; after all, it is not the fault of absence of dew which on occasion nullifies its effectiveness.
  כשעירים עלי דשא, "like showers on young growth, etc." We may understand this simile in connection with a <i>Baraitha</i> quoted in <i>Midrash Mishley</i> 10. Rabbi Yishmael is quoted as saying that when the time comes when a man has to give an accounting of what he did with his time while on earth, one of the questions he will be asked is if he has a command of the written Torah. If he answers in the negative he is asked why he did not study. Next they ask him if he has a command of the oral Torah. If he answers in the affirmative He is asked whether he also has a command of the Talmud. The questioning continues in that vein. He is not asked whether he has a command of esoterical matters i.e. מעשה מרכבה. They ask a person only on matters which he was capable of studying and absorbing. This is the meaning of כשעירים וכרביבים, meaning that just as G'd makes it rain in little droplets on the grass which is still very young, and in bigger droplets on the grass which has already reached a certain height, one's Torah knowledge is expected to match one's age and one's I.Q. This rule is at one and the same time both harsh and kind. The Torah makes allowances for people who are under-endowed mentally; on the other hand, even someone who has a good command of Scripture, Mishnah and Talmud may be found wanting as he did not measure up to his potential and also studied esoterics, i.e. מעשה מרכבה
  
  Verse 3
  
   כי שם ה׳ אקרא, "For I will proclaim the name of the Lord, etc." Moses explains that the whole objective of his speeches is to exalt the name of G'd, much as we have read in the <i>Zohar</i> volume 3 page 98 that the entire written Torah is an elongated name of the Lord. Concerning this statement Moses says: "and my teaching drop like rain [the teaching being a simile for the name of G'd. Ed.]. The word אקרא may be understood as from the root יקר, precious.
  Another thought Moses may have had in mind here is that although he compared the written and oral Torah respectively to rain and dew, the people should not think of that distinction when studying Torah. All they should concentrate on is to study G'd's Torah. The reason Moses said כי, "for," is to to warn that the reason for Torah study should be to learn the word of G'd in order to better appreciate what His name stands for. Only in this fashion can a man truly ascribe greatness to G'd and His name. In other words, Torah is to be studied לשמה, for its own sake. The reason Moses said אקרא, is that he wants every individual to do precisely this, to proclaim the greatness of G'd. Alternatively, we may understand this in terms of the <i>Zohar</i> volume three page 273 that all the people who are engaged in Torah study are sparks of Moses' soul, and this does not only apply to the generation of the Jews in the desert but all down the long millennia of history until the coming of the Messiah. Anyone who studies Torah is blessed by Moses. This is the reason he could credit Israel's preoccupation with Torah to himself.
  Another thought Moses may have had in mind when saying כי שם ה׳ אקרא, is that it is the reason for what Moses said later, i.e. הבו גדל לאלוקינו. In order to appreciate this let us look at <i>Yalkut Shimoni Noach</i> item 62 where the author interprets Psalms 22,4 ישב תהלות ישראל, "the enthroned One, the Praise of Israel." According to the <i>Yalkut</i> what this verse means is that G'd did not take His seat on His throne until the angels in heaven had proclaimed: "blessed be the Lord G'd of Israel." He had not been satisfied with being called the "G'd of the heaven and of the earth." This is why Moses here called on the Israelites to praise the Lord. The operative word in what Moses is saying is the word אלוקינו, "our G'd." Only when the Israelites are engaged in studying the Torah do they truly praise the Lord in a manner no one else can. When the angels praise the Lord by reciting the formula: "blessed be the Lord G'd of Israel," this threatens to become a mockery unless the Israelites are engaged in Torah sudy. Should they fail to do so, they make liars out of the angels. Our sages have offered many different interpretations on this verse.
  
  Verse 4
  
   הצור תמים פעלו, "The Rock, His work is perfect." Moses had stated in the last verse that the cause of rainfall and dew is Torah study. Moses now adds that if someone who does study Torah nonetheless experiences extreme poverty, or if one sees a person who had suffered deprivations until he shook off the yoke of Torah and suddenly became very wealthy, the reason is not due to this person shaking off the yoke of Torah. The onlooker should not make such phenomena an excuse to become an heretic, but should acknowledge G'd as a fair Judge. This is reason Moses describes G'd as הצור, as someone Who is strong and steadfast even if He appears to discipline man. Our response has to be that תמים פעלו, "that whatever He does is perfect." This is the correct reaction to when we observe that G'd apparently compensates very sparingly people who have been very generous doing good works and who have studied Torah. The words כי כל דרכיו משפט, "for all His ways are justice," refer to the reverse phenomenon, i.e. people who have apparently done hardly anything to deserve the way in which G'd appears to lavish His bounty on them. We have to remember that G'd does not afflict the righteous until he has become guilty to suffer afflictions, and He does not lavish His goodness on the wicked unless they had done something to deserve it.
  Moses continues with אל אמונה ואין עול, "A G'd of faith without iniquity, etc." Our sages in the <i>Sifri</i> understand the word אמונה, to mean "faithful to repay the righteous in the hereafter," and the words אין עול, "without iniquity," they understand as His repaying the wicked for the good they have done in this life. The sages' thinking may be understood when one reads how they interpret Psalms 4,8: "You put joy in my heart when their grain and wine show increase." <i>Midrash Tehillim</i> on this verse explains that when David observed all this he said to himself: "if people who constantly violate many of G'd's commandments fare like this, I, who strive to carry out G'd's will, will most certainly fare at least as well. This is why my heart is filled with joy when I behold the success of the nations." The meaning of אל אמונה then is that the righteous draws additional faith from the way G'd deals with those who are merely Gentiles. The words ואין עול refer to G'd's need to pay the Gentiles their reward in this life as it is the only life they have.
  צדיק וישר הוא. "He is righteous and upright." This is a reference to the fact that G'd the Creator created the universe based on justice, as we know from Proverbs 29,4: "a king sustains earth by justice." Our sages in <i>Tanchuma Shoftim</i> say that G'd swore an oath that He would erect the universe based on justice. On the other hand, we find that He has at least 13 attributes (virtues) which are all various forms of mercy rather than justice. If G'd swore that the universe is based on justice, how does the attribute of Mercy fit into the picture?
  We have to understand this on the following basis. When G'd first assumed His seat of justice He placed justice on its appropriate place. When it came to executing justice, G'd allowed Himself to be influenced by considerations of mercy. David described this in Psalms 145,17: "whereas G'd is righteous (just) in all His paths, He is pious (flexible) in His actions." In other words, G'd first established what justice demanded under the given circumstances, but He made allowances before carrying out the demands of strict justice." When man entreats G'd He will show him mercy צדיק וישר הוא. "He is righteous and upright." He is righteous by judging justly. When the Talmud asks in <i>Avodah Zarah</i> 6 whether it it is not impossible that Noach could have been "treifah," seeing he is described in the Torah as "perfect," the Talmud retorts that the word תמים did not necessarily refer to his being unblemished physically (able to live for 12 months) but it could refer to his character being unblemished. Rashi comments on this that Noach was righteous in his דרכיו, "his attitude was guided by justice." All of this was only the original attitude. Afterwards G'd is ישר, more accomodating to man than required by the strict rules of justice as our sages in <i>Baba Metzia</i> 16 explain based on Deut. 6,18.
  
  Verse 5
  
   שחת לו לא בניו מומם, "Its corruption caused them no longer to be His fit children due to their blemish." When they become corrupt they cause harm to themselves. They are no longer called the children of the living G'd as our sages have said in <i>Baba Batra</i> 10: "as long as the children of Israel follow the path of G'd they are called "children;" if they stray, they are called "slaves." Moses mentions that if Israel becomes corrupt vis-a-vis G'd they are no longer His children. He adds the word מומם, their blemish, to remind Israel that if it does become blemished the fault is not with G'd but with themselves. Moses had to add this so that one would not conclude that the blemish found in the Israelites must eventually be traced back to G'd Himself, to their origin. G'd had created man, i.e. Israel, ישר, morally upright; we know this from Isaiah 5,1 where G'd describes Himself as "having owned a vineyard on a fruitful hill. He broke the ground, cleared it of stones and planted it with choice vines, etc. etc. Instead it yielded wild grapes." In other words, the corruption, the blemish, developed out of the people not out of their association with G'd. We are told in <i>Sotah</i> 3 that one does not commit a sin until after one's mind has been invaded by a streak of madness. This is the mystical dimension of Deut. 15,21 מום רע, "a severe blemish." The continued presence of this blemish is attributable exclusively to the deeds of man.
  דור עקש ופתלתל, "a perverse and twisted generation." If the generation were smitten only with perversion the words of Torah might suffice to straighten out these people. Who is responsible for the people to have become so twisted? None other than their inherent tendency to be stiff-necked, not to be willing to admit they had been mistaken. It is tragic to be a witness to all kinds of heresy being rampant during these generations and whenever someone comes along and tries to straighten out the misguided thinking of these heretics they become reinforced and even more entrenched in their heresy. This leads to these people losing their homeland.
  
  Verse 6
  
   הלה׳ תגמלו זאת, "Is this the way you repay the Lord?" The reason Moses employs the term גמול, "compensation," [something that does not really apply in our relationship with G'd. Ed.] is that instead of our going out of our way by showing appreciation for what G'd has done for us we do the very reverse.
  עם נבל ולא חכם, "a nation which is vile and unwise!" Why does the Torah contrast two characteristics which are not opposites? Vileness is not the opposite of lack of wisdom! Moses means that even though they may be a vile people by nature, if at least they possessed some wisdom they would not display their vileness vis-a-vis G'd! The vile recognises that the fact that he is vile is to his detriment and therefore he would not display such a trait.
  This is more or less what Moses meant when he added: הלא הוא אביך קונך, "Isn't G'd the One Who is your father and the One Who owns you?" Moses makes 4 distinctions here. 1) Seeing that G'd created man, he calls G'd "your father." 2) He acquired all of us as His slaves when He took us out of bondage in Egypt, and revived us in the desert and brought us to the Holy Land, a land full of goodness. This then is the meaning of קנך. 3) He awarded us an additional and superior gift, i.e. His Presence amongst us and the availability of prophets in our midst. This is what Moses meant when he said הוא עשך, "He has made you." G'd has added a new element to your life, something no other living beings enjoy. 4) He has equipped us with an automatic entrance card to the hereafter, life's main arena. How could even a vile nation be prepared to jeopardise all these advantages unless they were foolish also?
  
  Verse 7
  
   זכר ימות עולם, "Remember the days of yore, etc." Moses again makes four divisions corresponding to the four divisions he made in the previous verse. Where he had spoken of "your father" in the previous verse, i.e. an allusion to G'd the Creator, he now says "remember the days of yore," i.e. the six days of creation. Those were the days in which G'd manifested Himself as extremely active. Corresponding to the words קנך, "the One Who owns you" in the previous verse, words which were meant to allude to the Exodus from Egypt and other acts of kindness by G'd for Israel, Moses now says בינו שנות דור ודור, that the Israelites should examine the happenings during the two generations in question, i.e the generation of the Exodus and the generation of Israelites who did enter the Holy Land. By reviewing these two periods in our history we can understand by what right G'd considers Himself as "owning" us. Concerning the word עשך, "who has made you," which Moses referred to in the previous verse, something we described as the supreme improvement G'd made in the condition of man (Israel) [since the sin in Gan Eden. Ed.] when He granted the Jewish people His presence on a regular basis, Moses now says שאל אביך ויגדך, "ask your father and he will tell you;" the "father" in this case is a simile for the prophets whom G'd provided for us to consult with. Finally, concerning the fourth section of the previous verse, ויכננך, the automatic entrance card to our hereafter, Moses now says זקניך ויאמרו לך, "your elders and they will tell you." Moses refers to the scholars of the Jewish people who are familiar with the preparatory steps necessary to safeguard our entitlement to life in the hereafter.
  
  Verse 8
  
   בהנחל עליון גוים, "When the Supreme One gave nations their inheritance, etc." This is a reference to the time when G'd assigned "guardian angels" for the various Gentile nations to represent them at the celestial court. This is an allusion to the fact that G'd considered these nations as inferior so that He did not want to relate to them directly but only by means of an intermediary.
  בהפרידו בני אדם, "when He separated the children of man." The meaning is that G'd did not deliver all the nations into the hands of a single "deputy," i.e. a minister appointed by G'd to deal with them. Rather He appointed different "ministers" to be in charge of the fates of the various nations. The manner in which G'd went about doing this when He established the borders of the various nations was that He took into consideration the needs of the people of Israel. We must remember that when G'd created the souls He planted them originally in one of two trees. One of these trees is a "good" tree, the other is an "evil" tree. The good tree is the one from which the soul of Adam emanated, whereas the other "tree" is a simile for Samael, the symbol of wicked man. Once Adam sinned and the previous division between good and evil became eroded so that good and evil began to appear intertwined, even the offspring of Adam began to produce wicked souls until eventually one totally pure soul, that of Jacob, emerged. From that time onwards the good tree became clearly identifiable once again. This is why the Talmud in <i>Baba Metzia</i> 84 tells us that the beauty of Jacob's soul was comparable to that of Adam before the sin. The "good" tree we are speaking of has 70 branches corresponding to the number of people who descended to Egypt with Jacob. Accordingly, when G'd separated the various nations from one another, He divided them into 70 to correspond to the seventy branches of sanctity.
  The idea underlying this division was to enable each branch of sanctity in the world to be able to rule over its spiritually negative counterpart. This is the mystical dimension of Proverbs 5,5: "her feet descend to death." The idea is that the feet of sanctity stomp on the heads of the קליפה, the spiritually negative forces. In other words, Jacob's branches rule over the nations of the world. Moses continues with, כי חלק ה׳ עמו "for G'd's portion is His people," meaning that inasmuch as G'd has chosen the Jewish people to be governed by Himself directly and has thus elevated Israel over the other nations, He thereby rules over mankind as a whole. The reference of חלק ה׳ עמו refers to Israel after they had received the Torah when they became fit to be called the people of G'd. Moses adds יעקב חבל נחלתו, "Jacob is the measure of His inheritance." The word חבל refers to the most important part of that inheritance. This is an allusion to the quotation from <i>Baba Metzia</i> 84 about the beauty of Jacob matching that of original man, Adam.
  Moses also had in mind the fact that there are two categories of souls. One kind of soul has descended directly from a very high region in heaven, and that is the type of soul referred to here as חלק ה׳, "part of G'd," so to speak. Other souls originate in a pool called נחלת שדי, the inheritance of the G'd known as שדי. These souls Moses refers to as חבל נחלתו, "tied by a rope to His inheritance." The word חבל was chosen by Moses deliberately to allude to something very important revealed by the Kabbalists. Every vital soul of man has a "string" connected with its root. This "string" begins at his nostrils and it is by means of this "string" that the soul derives its sustenance enabling it to live. Concerning the soul of the wicked, the Torah said in Numbers 15,31 (in connection with deliberate sinners) הכרת תכרת הנפש ההיא, עונה בה, "that person (soul) will surely be cut off, his sin is upon him." This means that the lifeline connecting that person's soul to its origin will be severed. Once the soul cannot derive sustenance from its source it dies. Of the righteous, on the other hand, the Torah stated in Deut. 4,11 "As to you who have cleaved to the Lord your G'd, you are all alive today."
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
   ימצאהו בארץ מדבר ובתהו ילל ישימון. "He discovered it in a desert land, in desolation, a howling wilderness." It appears that Moses referred to a thought expressed in <i>Pessachim</i> 119 that the Israelites did not leave Egypt until G'd had made them to be like a fishpond devoid of fish. [the Talmud deals with the meaning of the word וינצלו in Exodus 12,36. Ed.] Finding Israel in the desert was as unlikely as finding fish in the pond referred to. In Rabbi Chayim Vital's <i>Likutey Torah</i> on <i>Parshat Vayera</i> we read that if the Israelites had remained in Egypt at the time of the Exodus they would have remained mired in that impurity forever as they would have descended to the 50th and absolute level of impurity. This is why Moses stresses "where", i.e. in what spiritually low state G'd found the Jewish people. He does not describe the area as מדבר, "a desert," but as ארץ מדבר, "desert land," as the former has absolutely no spiritual content, is completely barren of spiritual values.
  Moses also said that not only did this land not have much to offer spiritually, but it was תהו ילל ישמון, it was full of spiritually negative influences. <i>Zohar</i> volume one page 16 describes תהו as one of the levels of the קליפה. ילל ישימן are descriptions of similar phenomena. The reason that such phenomena flourish in those environments is the absence of spiritually positive forces. This is a reason why the Torah describes the fact that G'd "discovered" Israel in the desert land in the future tense, to emphasise that unless the Jewish people in that region enjoy the ongoing protection and supervision of G'd, i.e. יסבבנהו יבוננהו, they would be spiritually lost. Moses means that the Exodus was due to the fact that the Jews could not absorb any additional negative influences in Egypt. He protected them at the time He brought the plagues upon the Egyptians. A simple example of this is Exodus 9,6 which tells us that not even the cattle of the Israelites suffered from the plague of pestilence, not to mention the immunity of the Jewish firstborn during the last plague.
  יבוננהו, "He granted it discernment." Moses refers to the people receiving the Torah which is the source of their insight, the instrument by which G'd preserved the people "like the pupil of His eye" (Compare Proverbs 2,11 תבונה תנצרכה, "understanding will preserve you.") When Moses added the reference to the "pupil of His eye," we are reminded of Zachariah 2,12: "for anyone who harms you (the Jewish people) is as if he harmed the pupil of his own eye." The prophet meant that an eye cannot tolerate being touched by the finger of man. The reason is that whereas the eyeball is scrupulously clean, man's fingers are not. The eye symbolises spirituality, the finger, physicality. The former does not like to be touched by the latter. This is the mystical dimension of Rabbi Shimon's saying in the <i>Zohar</i> volume two page 211: "woe to the soul that has to suffer from alien fire." He viewed the fire which enters the soul to punish it as alien fire relative to the fire represented by the soul itself. This is why you find in that passage of the <i>Zohar</i> that the soul of the righteous has to immerse itself in the fiery river Dinur, etc.
  Moses compared the type of protection G'd afforded the Jewish people as comparable to the way in which we protect the pupils of our eyes. G'd protects the spirituality whereas He considers everything outside the "eye" as physical and potentially lethal even by mere touch. Israel had not attained such a level of spirituality until after it had received the Torah. When Moses first spoke of יבוננהו, and only afterwards of יצרנהו, he referred to the negative commandments.
  Another thought that may have prompted Moses to choose these expressions may be related to what we learned in <i>Berachot</i> 54: "three categories of people are in need of protection, one of them being the Torah scholar." The reason is that the destructive forces in the universe are jealous of the Torah scholar's achievements and status and try to harass him. Moses therefore says יבוננהו, that by giving the Torah scholar insight, i.e. the Torah, G'd has armed the scholar against such harassment. Once he possesses such insight he himself understands that he has to protect the Torah like the pupil of his eye.
  
  Verse 11
  
   כנשר יעיר קנו, "He was like an eagle rousing its nest, etc." Our sages in the <i>Sifri</i> pursued their own path in interpreting this verse; we ourselves also pursue our own path based on <i>Vayikra Rabbah</i> 17,4 discussing the affliction of <i>Tzoraat.</i> As long as the Israelites serve the merciful judge (in a general way), G'd does not immediately afflict the persons but rather the קן, property, such as the houses of the Israelites. If this proves ineffectual, G'd affflicts the clothing, and only as a last resort does He afflict the body of the sinner. Moses uses the simile of the eagle to show that just as the eagle rouses its young first, so G'd rouses the children of man to warn that man has to put his spiritual house in order. Any afflictions are in keeping with the victim's ability to endure them. Compare <i>Bereshit Rabbah</i> 55,2 that G'd never subjects man to a trial which is beyond his capacity to survive intact spiritually.
  יפרש כנפיו יקחהו, "spreading its wings and taking it." We may understand this as being analogous to <i>Sifri Devarim</i> 3,29 that G'd's right hand is stretched out to welcome the repentant sinners. The previous arousal described in our verse leads to G'd stretching out His hand to those who have responded to the arousal. Moses uses the future tense when saying יפרש, "He will spread out," to indicate that the "whole reason G'd spreads out His wings" in the first place is in order to be able to "catch" the penitents. Were it not for the fact that He hopes for the Israelites to return to Him in penitence, He would not indulge in the gestures described here by Moses.
  ישאהו על אברתו, "He will carry it on His pinions." This may be understood by reference to the <i>Zohar</i> volume one page 92 explaining Kohelet 10,20: "some winged creature may betray the matter." According to the <i>Zohar</i> there is a class of angels known as בעלי כנפים, "winged creatures." It is their task to relate to the heavenly regions every worthwhile thing a Jew has uttered and to use its wings for that purpose. Moses referred to G'd, i.e. His messengers, carrying such words which please the Lord to the celestial regions.
  
  Verse 12
  
   ה׳ בדד ינחנו, "The Lord alone guided it, etc." This may be understood on the basis of <i>Bereshit Rabbah</i> 38,6 commenting on Hoseah 4,17: חבור עצבים אפרים הנח לו, "Ephrayim is addicted to images; let him be." According to the view of the <i>Midrash</i> as long as the Israelites will live peacefully with one another and they maintain unity, even the sin of idolatry may be allowed to fester, i.e. הנח לו. The meaning of the word is similar to the way it is used in Esther 2,18 "the king made a הנחה," an amnesty of outstanding taxes to certain of his provinces. The reason Moses chose the expression בדד, is to relate it to the word בד, alone, no longer part of a foreign culture, G'd will lead it.
  ואין עמו אל נכר. "No other deity is with Him." This means that though they are idol worshipers, G'd does not account this sin for them. The words אין עמו must be understood similarly to the way our sages in <i>Rosh Hashanah</i> 30 interpreted Jeremiah 30,1 דרש אין לו, "whom no one seeks out." The Talmud translates instead: "it is not investigated" i.e. brought to one's attention (at that time). This proves that it merits investigation nonetheless. [The subject matter is the use of the Lulav even after the destruction of the Temple on all seven days, as a reminder of former times. Ed.] Here too, the sin of idolatry certainly deserves investigation and judgment but not at this time. [I confess that I find this interpretation of אין עמו אל נכר very hard to understand. Why is there a need to depart from the plain meaning? Ed.]
  We may also understand the verse as follows: "When does G'd alone guide the fortunes of the Jewish people? When they have rid themselves of all alien deities."
  
  Verse 13
  
   ירכיבהו על במותי ארץ, He makes him ride on the heights of the earth." This verse is not the continuation of what has been written immediately before, but it is the beginning of a new subject and the verse belongs to what follows. The basic subject being introduced here is וישמן ישורון, "Yeshurun became fat and kicked."
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
   לא אלוה, "non-deity." The Israelites do not offer sacrifices to these demons because they consider them as deities, but because they hope that by this means the demons would do their bidding and take care of their needs. Concerning other sacrifices, offered to deities because the Israelites offering these sacrifices do believe that they have divine powers, Moses says: אלהים לא ידעום, "gods they never knew before." Moses scores the Israelites for offering sacrifices to deities who never even demonstrated their power to the people who used to worship them previously. חדשים מקרוב באו, new ones, recently arrived." Compare what I have explained on Deut. 13,7 when we discussed the seducer.
  
  Verse 18
  
   צור ילדך תשי, "You neglected the Rock that begot you;" This is best understood in connection with <i>Sanhedrin</i> 38 that at the time G'd was about to create man, He consulted with the angels about His project. Some angels strenuously opposed the creation of man. G'd not only ignored these angels and created man, but He punished the angels who had opposed man's creation. Whenever Israel sins this weakens G'd's argument in favour of having created man. This is what Moses meant when he said ילדך תשי, "you weaken the One who begot you."
  ותשכח אל מחללך, "You forgot the G'd who brought you forth." The word מחללך may be understood as a reference to jewels as in Hoseah 2,15 ותעד נזמה וחליתה, "when she was decked out with her nose-rings and her jewelry," etc. What Moses means is that Israel forgot the very G'd who had made her a more precious jewel than any other creature including the angels. Compare Psalms 66,12, or Isaiah 49,3 "Israel in whom I glory." G'd means that He wears the name of Israel like a person wears a jewel. Our sages have offered a variety of interpretations of this verse.
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
   כי דור תהפוכות המה, "for they are a generation who have reversed themselves." Inasmuch as G'd had said in the first half of this verse that He would hide His face from them, awaiting what would befall the Israelites, this implies that even if they were to turn penitent -seeing G'd would not observe this as He had stopped watching what the Israelites were doing,- He would not accept such penitence. Moses offers as the reason for such an attitude by G'd that the people have turned already from good to evil; he adds בנים ולא אמון בם, "they are thoroughly faithless children." Even if they were to repent to the point of again qualifying for the description of children (of G'd), such repentance will not endure as they are fickle and do not keep faith. As a result of such considerations G'd hides His face from them.
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
   אמרתי אפאיהם, "I had said 'I will scatter them, etc.'" The meaning of the word אפאיהם is: "I will continue My anger with them until their memory will cease from human memory."
  
  Verse 27
  
   לולא כעס אויב אגור, "If it were not for the fact that I am afraid of the anger of the enemy, etc." The author understands the word אגור in this verse as identical with the same word in Proverbs 6,8, i.e. the ant which gathers in the supplies needed in winter during the preceding summer. G'd also refers to the numerous occasions when the Gentile nations have caused Him to be angry. G'd is saying that He is concerned that by wiping out Israel all the Gentile nations will conclude (gather further evidence) that the Jewish religion had never been the truth as demonstrated by the disappearance of the Jewish people. This is the meaning of ינכרו צרימו, "their tormentor will misinterpret (the course of history)." Furthermore, פן יאמרו ידינו רמה, "lest they would say 'our hand has prevailed.' Not only will they deny the authenticity of the Jewish religion but they will continue to sin by claiming that their religion had been the true religion all along. They will not attribute their wellbeing to G'd's patience with them but to the power of the deities they worship and believe in.
  ולא ה׳ פעל כל זאת, "and it was not the Lord who accomplished all this." This is a reference to all the glory the Jewish people had achieved prior to its decline. The nations will claim as proof for their theory that a) the Israelites had not been doing something that they had not been doing for a long time; 2) the Gentile nations gained control over them and destroyed them.
  Alternatively, the Gentiles will conclude that what had befallen Israel could only be explained in terms of a combination of both alien gods and the Lord cooperating to bring about the demise of the Jewish people.
  
  Verse 28
  
   כי גוי אבד עצות המה, "for they are a people bereft of counsel;" As distinct from the Gentile neighbours, the Jews do not respond to being disciplined by their G'd and turn penitent. They are inherently unable to learn the lessons of history. ואין בהם תבונה, "and they do not possess discernment." They are unable to draw conclusions through unprejudiced observations. As Moses continues: "if they possessed wisdom they would use it intelligently." They would have understood that the outpouring of G'd's wrath upon them was not a natural disaster, a coincidence, but a warning to repent and to mend their ways. Moses elaborates on a few examples which should have demonstrated to the Israelites that G'd had been their support all along in the past.
  
  Verse 29
  
  
  
  Verse 30
  
   איכה ירדף אחד אלף, "How could one man pursue a thousand?" This refers to the fact that one Gentile suddenly was able to put to flight one thousand Jews. During all the normal wars between the various nations such a thing was unheard of. Not a single enemy amongst the nations possesses such superiority over his opponents.
  Another meaning: "How could one special nation amongst all the Gentile nations pursue one thousand Israelites? Please compare what I have written on Leviticus 26,8 on the verse: "five of you will pursue one hundred."
  אם לא כי צורם מכרם, "unless their Rock had sold them." The reference is to the attribute of Justice, as I have explained in connection with verse 4. Moses added וה׳ הסגירם, "and even the attribute of Mercy had delivered them." Unless both the attribute of Justice and the attribute of Mercy cooperated it is impossible to explain a decline of such dimensions in the fortunes of the Jewish people.
  
  Verse 31
  
   כי לא כצורנו צורם, "For our Rock is not like their Rock, etc." Moses means that the reason that one Gentile was able to put to flight a thousand Jews was not due to G'd's lack of power but to His deliberate decision to "sell out" His people. Israel's troubles are not due to the sudden prowess of the Gentile nations. Israel's source of strength, as we pointed out in connection with the debacle of the spies, is not comparable to the short-lived source of strength of the idolators. This is the mystical dimension of Proverbs 12,19: ועד ארגיעה לשון שקר. "but a lying tongue endures only briefly." We can learn from the idolatry practiced by many nations when they worshiped the god Kemosh, a national god of the Moabites. Although, according to Rabbi Saadyah Gaon, many marvellous deeds were attributed to that deity, it did not take long before people ceased to worship it. Many other deities which enjoyed a great reputation in antiquity suffered a similar fate. Our Rock, by comparison, remains at the height of His power as even the Gentiles admit, compare Maleachi, 1,11: "for My name is great among the nations." If these nations observe the downfall of Israel they too will arrive at the conclusion that their religion is true, after all. ואיבינו פלילים, "yet our enemies judge us." The word is used in the sense it is used in Exodus 21,22 ונתן בפלילים, "he shall pay it, (the damages) by order of the judges." Whereas up until then even the nations had admitted that the power of the G'd of the Jews was in a class by itself, the demise of the Jewish people will convince them that they had been wrong.
  
  Verse 32
  
   כי מגפן סדם גפנם, "for their vine is from the vine of Sodom, etc." The Torah here provides the reason why the Jewish people have been "sold" by G'd. The reason Moses says מגפן, from the vineyard instead of simply גפן, is to remind us that everything that exists in the domain of sanctity has its counterpart in the domain of the סטרא אחרא, the spiritually negative domain. This is what we have been taught by Solomon in Kohelet 7,14: "G'd has made the one as well as the other." Israel has been compared to a vine already in Psalms 80,9: "You plucked up a vine from Egypt." The counterpart is the vine originating in Sodom. This is why Moses speaks of Israel in disgrace as representing a vine from Sodom. ענבמו ענבי רוש, "its grapes are grapes of gall." Seeing that not all Israel's branches are vines from Sodom, Moses describes them as containing such parts, i.e. מגפן instead of the whole vine, i.e. גפן. The reason Moses uses the comparison with Sodom is that just as Sodom's measure of guilt was complete before G'd destroyed it, so Israel would not be destroyed until its measure of guilt is complete.
  ומשדמות עמורה, "and from the fields of Gomorrah." On the branches of a holy tree, the higher the branch the more holy its character. The highest branch, due to its extreme holiness, is described in the masculine gender to reflect that this is the one which provides the input, whereas the lowest is described in the feminine gender to reflect the idea that it is the recipient of that input. Moses described Israel's attachment to an evil root. He called the first one גפן, vine, masculine, to describe the fact that it provides the input, whereas the secondary one is described as שדה, field, which is feminine in Hebrew, reflecting its passive role as the recipient of that input. The intelligent reader will understand how to transfer concepts which are familiar from sanctity to its counterpart when dealing with spiritually negative phenomena.
  
  Verse 33
  
  
  
  Verse 34
  
   הלא הוא כמוס עמדי, "Is it not concealed with Me?" Moses means that on account of the reaction of Israel's enemies to its punishment, G'd has so far refrained from dispensing the justice due for the sins committed by this people. If they appeared to do well this was not proof of their innocence, nor that they would not eventually be made to suffer the punishment they were guilty of. G'd reserved the indictment in anticipation of the Day of Judgment. Concerning that day, the prophet said (Isaiah 10,3: "and what are you going to do on the Day of Judgment (punishment)?" Read up on how much even the prophet Samuel was afraid of that day when he was asked to materialise before Saul (<i>Chagigah</i>) 4 and he thought that he was about to face that day of Judgment. Moses repeats the statement by saying חתום באוצרותי, "sealed in My treasuries." We may compare this to Exodus 34,7 where the Torah speaks about G'd being נושא עון, "suspending punishment for sins." Once G'd reaches the point where He is no longer able to tolerate the wickedness, He seals them in His treasuries and takes His revenge on the evildoers by even removing the sun from its orbit (if need be) as we have been told in <i>Nedarim</i> 8, "a day on which the sun will burn like a furnace." When Moses adds לי נקם, "Mine is the vengeance," this is a reference to G'd personally exacting this punishment.
  
  Verse 35
  
   לי נקם ושלם, "Mine is the vengeance and the retribution." As mentioned previously and in <i>Avodah Zarah</i> 3, when that day arrives G'd will remove the sun from its orbit and the wicked will be burned by it whereas the righteous will experience the sun's heat as therapy and be healed by it. The sequence of the words לי נקם ושלם, means that at one and the same time what will be G'd's vengeance against the wicked will be the payment of a reward for the righteous.
  לעת תמוט רגלם, "at the time when their foot will falter." This is the mystical dimension of <i>Sotah</i> 49 of the period known as עקבות משיחא. It is a period when the feet of Samael will begin to totter as the wicked will falter. [actually that folio in <i>Sotah</i> only describes the breakdown of social mores during the period preceding the arrival of the Messiah. Ed.]
  כי קרוב יום אידם, "for the day of their disaster is near." This is the day referred to by the prophet as "the day of the Lord" (Tzefaniah 1,6).
  והש עתידות למו, "and the future will rush towards them." These are the words of comfort which will all be fulfilled once the wicked get their just deserts. At that time G'd will hasten to keep His promises to the righteous.
  
  Verse 36
  
   כי ידין ה׳ עמו, "When the Lord will judge His people, etc." After having concluded the subject of the people who have caused G'd to become angry, the Torah now turns to Israel as a whole, assuring the people that He will not quarrel with them forever. The words כי ידין השם mean that G'd will take a look at what many righteous have endured, some of whom have been murdered, others burned, etc. G'd will comfort Himself, i.e. relent, when He observes all this. This is why Moses says ועל עבדיו יתנחם, "and on account of His servants (what happened to them) He will relent." He relents on account of those of His children who remained His loyal servants. Furthermore, when G'd sees that the Israelites do not have the strength to save themselves from exile, and their righteous do not enjoy enough authority to discipline the sinners, He relents. He is aware that there are no longer any prophets amongst the Israelites, nor the outstanding men of former years whose influence on the people had beeen considerable. Compare Michah 7,1 אין אשכול לאכול, "there is not a cluster to eat." This is an example of Moses saying: כי אזלת יד, "G'd sees their might is gone." The words אפס עצור, mean that neither what was guarded nor preserved is still left." We find a similar statement in Samuel I 9,17: זה יעצור בעמי, "He will deliver My people," [King Saul. Ed.] The literal meaning is more like "he will stop the rut of My people," or "he will stop everybody from doing what he feels like, and introduce discipline into the lives of the nation." At any rate, it is a reference to the people being in a state of disarray. ועזוב, "and it is abandoned." This is a reference to the disarray the people find themselves in and which makes them feel abandoned. At that point,
  
  Verse 37
  
   אי אלוקימו Israel will begin to ask at such a time: "where is their G'd, the Rock that used to be its refuge?" Even though the deeds of the Israelites are not such that they qualify for G'd's intervention on its behalf, the people will come with a complaint against G'd although they observe only a small part of G'd's Torah. They do at least feel that their G'd ought to take them under His wings. They are conscious that they suffer all kinds of afflictions on account of the Lord being their G'd. They allowed themselves to die for the sake of the holy name of G'd, even. This is why they (the survivors) look to G'd hopefully, i.e. צור חסיו בו, "the Rock in whom they sought refuge."
  
  Verse 38
  
   יקומו ויעזרכם, "Let them arise and help you!" There are two kinds of idolatry and idolators. 1) Someone is wholly committed to serve idols for their own sake. 2) Someone who only serves idols for self-serving purposes, i.e. in order to manipulate the deity for his own purpose. G'd forbade both kinds of idolatry in Exodus 20,4. Concerning the person who only goes through the motions of serving an idol for what he expects to get out of it, G'd said here: "let the deity arise and help you, i.e. you will be sorely disappointed." Concerning the other type of idolator G'd says sarcastically: יהי עליכם סתרה, "let them be a hide-out for you!"
  אשר חלב זבחמו יאכלו, "the fat of whose offerings they used to eat, etc." This is G'd's response to their words. The sequence of the words here has to be read as follows: "For G'd will judge His people…and He will then relent considering all they have already suffered, taking into consideration also their present state of utter helplessness plus the fact that after all the people do turn to Him." G'd then responds that those who used to offer sacrifices and eat the fat parts themselves experienced that not therein lay their salvation יקומו. They should arise (anew) in order to finally realise that their salvation did not lie in the number of their sacrifices but that only G'd is the Saviour. This is the meaning of ראו עתה כי אני השם, "See, now, that only I am the Lord" (verse 39).
  
  Verse 39
  
   ראו עתה כי אני אני הוא, "See, now, that I, I am He." Moses repeats the word אני twice, once each vis-a-vis the two kinds of idolators we have just described. The word אני, emphasises "I and no one else" when applied to the first kind of idolator, whereas it means "I alone," when applied to the second kind of idolator. He continues: ואין אלוהים עמדי, "and there is no other deity with Me," that there are no intermediaries between G'd and His creatures.
  אני אמית ואחיה, "It is I who kill and who bring to life." This statement is addressed to the people who believe that there are two distinct forces at work in the universe, a benevolent one and a destructive one. The Torah goes on record that this is not so, but that all fateful decisions are exclusively G'd's domain. In order to emphasise that G'd intervenes even in what appear to be minutiae, G'd adds: "I strike down and I heal."
  ואין מידי מציל. "and there is no one who can rescue from My hand." This means that all creatures are mortal. In order to make this point clear G'd did not say ואין מציל מידי, but ואין מידי מציל.
  
  Verse 40
  
   כי אשא אל שמים ידי, "For I raise My hand towards heaven, etc." The wording is equivalent to an oath. G'd swears by the fact that He raises His hand that He will take revenge on Israel's oppressors.  אם שנותי ברק חרבי, "If I sharpen My flashing sword, etc." The whole verse is an expression by the attribute of Justice.
  The verse may also mean that even the attribute of Mercy concurs to take vengeance on the enemies of the Lord, i.e. those who have proven themselves to be enemies of Israel. The word ולמשנאי, "and to those who make Me hated," refers to the people who seduced Israelites to give up their religion and thereby to express their hatred for G'd.
  
  Verse 41
  
  
  
  Verse 42
  
  
  
  Verse 43
  
   הרנינו גוים עמו, "O nations, sing the praises of His people, etc." Moses means that when the time comes that G'd exacts retribution from the nations, from the enemies of the Jewish people, the other nations will praise the Israelites and jubilate and elevate them, as we know from Psalms 144,19: "Hail to the people who experience this."
  כי דם עבדיו יקום, "for He will avenge the blood of His servants." The verse tells us that G'd will not only avenge the blood Israel's enemies have shed but also the other afflictions they have caused the Jewish people. G'd will even avenge evil intentions against the Jewish people which have not been carried out as indicated in Psalms 7,17: ישוב עמלו בראשו, "His mischief will recoil upon his own head." [The Psalmist had previously spoken about people who dug a pit intended for a third party to fall into (verse 16). Ed.]
  וכפר אדמתו עמו, "Any residual sins of His people, its land will atone for." The desolation of ארץ ישראל for many many years was part of the atonement process for its people.
  
  Verse 44
  
   הוא והושע בן נון, "he and Joshua son of Nun." Although Joshua stood beside Moses, G'd's word came only to Moses, as is plain from the words וידבר ה׳ אל משה in verse 48. Although Moses had added the letter י to Joshua's name in Numbers 13,16, this was in order to lend him prestige vis-a-vis Israel. When G'd mentions Joshua's name, it remained unchanged as it was not appropriate to make him look prestigious vis-a-vis his teacher (Compare Isaiah 10, 15: "Is the axe going to boast in the presence of the wood cutter?").
  
  Verse 45
  
  
  
  Verse 46
  
  
  
  Verse 47
  
  
  
  Verse 48
  
   בעצם היום הזה לאמור. "on that very day, saying." Moses was to tell the people that he would ascend the mountain in order to die. This corresponds to what <i>Sifri</i> explains on the word בעצם that on the three occasions when this word appears it reflects G'd's determination not to be interfered with. In this instance the Israelites had threatened to physically prevent Moses from ascending the mountain to die there.
  
  Verse 49
  
  
  
  Verse 50
  
   ומת בהר, "and die on the mountain." G'd wanted Moses to be willing to die. G'd does not remove the souls of the righteous from their bodies unless they agree. G'd added והאסף אל עמיך, "and be gathered in to your people," this is an allusion to what the Talmud says in <i>Ketuvot</i> 104 that the righteous in the hereafter come out to welcome the righteous who is about to join them. G'd told Moses he was going to be met by a reception committee.
  We may also understand this as one of the three reasons G'd supplied for the death of a man of Moses' calibre. The meter of the whole verse is something like this: ומת, "and die;" the reason this was to occur on the mountain may be explained on the basis of <i>Sotah</i> 14. The Talmud wanted to know why Moses was buried on the mountain of Nebo and concludes that it was because of the sin of Baal Pe-or. As long as Moses would be able to look down on that idol from his grave he could hold its power in check. This is why the Torah makes a point in 34,6 to tell us that Moses' grave is opposite the temple of Pe-or. A second reason why G'd told Moses "which you are ascending," was to enable him to amass certain spiritual wealth which it would have been impossible for him to attain by the performance of good deeds on this earth as long as his soul was fused to his body. The word אשר is a reference to the celestial regions. The third reason is introduced by the words והאסף אל עמיך, "and be gathered in to your people." We can understand this in light of <i>Bamidbar Rabbah</i> 19 interpreting Deut 33,21 ויתא ראשי עם. "He came at the head of the people." According to this <i>Midrash</i> the generation of the desert would merit to partake in the resurrection only due to Moses being buried on the East Bank of the Jordan, just as they were buried there. The people considered Moses one of their very own as per Exodus 32,7 "Go on down for your people have become corrupt." The operative word here is עמיך i.e. that in order to save his people at the time of the resurrection Moses had to die here and now. While it is true that the Torah employed a similar expression at the time Aaron died, this does not prevent us from using this verse exegetically.
  
  Verse 51
  
   על אשר מעלתם בי, "because you trespassed against Me, etc." Please compare my comments on Numbers 20,12 where I have elaborated on all this.
  
  Verse 52
  
   כי מגגד תראה את הארץ, "For you will see the land from a distance, etc." The meaning of the verse is similar to 34,1 "He showed him the entire land." Please study my commentary on that verse.
  ושמה לא תבא, "but you will not enter there." It is difficult to understand why, after having already told Moses that he would not enter the land, the Torah would repeat the words "to the land, etc." Perhaps we can best understand this by a reference to <i>Devarim Rabbah</i> 2 that in the future Moses together with the patriarchs would enter the Holy Land. In the <i>Zohar</i> volume two page 120 it is stated that Moses would appear at the head of this whole generation of Israelites who had perished in the desert when the redemption would take place. This is why when the Torah said: "you will not enter there," G'd was afraid that anyone who heard this would conclude that Moses would never enter the Holy Land. By limiting the denial of Moses' entrance to "the land which I am about to give to the children of Israel," G'd corrected such an impression, and made certain that the people understood that Moses was only denied entry at this time (compare my comments on Deut. 3,25: "please let me cross").
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
   וזאת הברכה, and this is the blessing, etc. We need to explain the conjunctive letter ו at the beginning of this verse. Moreover, we need to examine the need for the entire verse. If the Torah meant to inform us as to who was the person who bestowed this blessing and who it was bestowed upon, surely we would have known this without the benefit of this verse. All the Torah had to do was to commence with the word ויאמר in verse two and I would have known all this. If, on the other hand, the Torah wanted to inform us that Moses bestowed these blessings immediately prior to his death, this too had become clear from what the Torah had written in the previous paragraph. Besides, why was it important to record precisely when Moses bestowed these blessings?
  It appears therefore that the Torah's purpose was to accord praise to Moses, the man of G'd. Although he had been instructed by G'd in the previous paragraph to ascend Mount <i>Ha-Avarim, Har Nevo</i>, in order to die there, he did not harbour any negative thoughts in his heart concerning this although his premature death had been due in part to the Israelites' rebellious behaviour at the time when he struck the rock. Ordinary people would not feel inclined to bless those who have caused them to die. Not so Moses. The Torah therefore records that Moses not only did not harbour any hatred but even went out of his way to bless these people. This is also the reason why the word זאת was prefaced by the letter ו, to alert us to the fact that immediately before proceeding to bless the people G'd had told Moses to ascend the mountain in order to die.
  The Torah adds the words: "before his death," in order to further underline this characteristic of Moses, i.e. that he blessed the people even at this hour though he was painfully aware of the people's share in his death. The letter ו also testifies to the fact that the blessings Moses pronounced were unreserved; he did not hold back part because he had misgivings about his impending death.
  Another message that the Torah may wish to convey by writing וזאת הברכה, "and this is the blessing," is to draw our attention to the patriarchs who had blessed their children. Abraham had blessed Isaac, Isaac had blessed his children, and Jacob had blessed his children when on his deathbed, assembling them all around him. The Torah goes on record that Moses' blessing the people is to be understood as adding an additional dimension to the blessings the tribes had received at the time from their father Jacob. <i>Sifri</i> has explained this in connection with Deut. 1,11: "may the G'd of your fathers add more blessings, etc."
  The fact that the Torah here emphasises הברכה, with the definitive article, is a hint that this blessing was superior even to the blessings bestowed by Jacob at the time. The Torah goes on to outline in which respect this blessing by Moses was superior.
  1) The words אשר ברך משה, "which Moses blessed," is a clear reference to the superiority of Moses as an individual. I have explained this in connection with Numbers 12,7 where G'd extolled Moses' virtues to his brother Aaron and to his sister Miriam.
  2) The words איש האלוקים, "the man of G'd." <i>Tanchuma</i> explains this expression going as far as to consider it parallel to Elimelech who was described as איש נעמי, "the husband of Naomi" in Ruth 1,3. What the Torah means is that when Moses would decree something (without consulting with G'd) G'd would honour what Moses had decreed. We plan to explain this phenomenon still further.
  3) The words את בני ישראל, "the children of Israel," are an indication that all the Israelites were a vessel deserving to be blessed at that time, a condition that had not existed previously. We have explained on several occasions that the presence of G'd does not come to rest on fewer than 600,000 Jews as only this number is able to comprise the combined degree of sanctity which assures Israel of being suitable carriers of the שכינה. The reason that the Torah added the word את and did not content itself with writing בני ישראל, may have been in order to allude to a hidden dimension, something which does not manifest itself openly. It may be a veiled reference to the fact that even when the Israelites are in exile, some part of G'd's presence never completely deserts them. This concept is based on Psalms 91,15: "I will be with him in distress." [Moses was the author of this Psalm. Ed.] Moses, who may be viewed as "Israel's best Man" in the mystical relationship between G'd and Israel, bestows this additional aspect of blessing on his people.
  4) The words לפני מותו, "before his death," may indicate that although Moses possessed outstanding spiritual powers throughout his life, these powers were enhanced at this time when he was close to his death. This may also be a further meaning of the introductory word וזאת, i.e. in addition to all the spiritual powers Moses was endowed with, at this time he possessed even greater spiritual resources.
  Another meaning of the word וזאת may be gleaned from the comments of the <i>Yalkut Shimoni</i> who says that Moses did not rate the description "man of G'd" until he blessed the Jewish people. The meaning of the word then is that in spite of all the feats performed by Moses in his 120 years he only qualified for the title איש האלוקים when he blessed the people at this time.
  איש האלוקים, the man of G'd. This may be an outstanding compliment to Moses. Whereas we are told in <i>Erchin</i> 17 in the name of Rabbi Eliezer the great, that if G'd were to go to arbitration with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that none of them could prevail, [seeing all had to depend on G'd employing His attribute of Mercy, Ed.] Moses alone was able to be judged on the basis of the attribute of Justice, i.e. האלוקים. This is also what David had in mind when he said in Psalms 143,2: "and do not enter into judgment with Your servant for before You no living creature is in the right." He meant that even a צדיק, [play on the word יצדק in that verse, Ed.] can survive when the attribute of Justice is applied to him. The Torah tells us here that Moses was the only צדיק who did not fit the description by David. He was a "man" who could be evaluated and not be found wanting even when measured by the yardstick of the attribute of Justice.
  Another meaning of this expression may be that Moses trained himself to acquire the virtue of reverence for G'd. He was not blessed with this virtue by birth, it was not one of the genetic gifts he enjoyed. We may understand this better with the help of a statement in the Talmud comparing the respective virtues of King Saul and King David. Rav Hunna (<i>Yuma</i> 22) states that "whereas Saul committed one grievous error which spelled his doom (as a king and dynasty), David committed two errors without paying for it by losing his kingdom and his dynasty." The reason why G'd applied a stricter yardstick when judging Saul's behaviour was that Saul was of a natural disposition which made it easy for him to revere G'd and be obedient. David, on the other hand, had no such genetic advantage and found it much more difficult to discipline himself. This is why he was introduced to us in the Book of Samuel I 16,11 as אדמוני, i.e. similar to Edom, to Esau, in temperament. Had Saul possessed David's temperament he would have become ten times as guilty of disobeying G'd as David was. The Torah testifies here that Moses' attaining of the title איש האלוקים represented a supreme effort by Moses seeing that he was an independent spirit by nature.
  The words איש האלוקים convey yet another meaning. It is a description of someone unique. There never has been nor will there ever be again a human being to whom the description איש האלוקים can be applied in the way the Torah applied it to Moses. This is why the term is coupled with the words את בני ישראל. The Torah means that Moses achieved his status only due to what he had done on behalf of the Jewish people and what he suffered at the hands of Jewish people. Seeing that no other leader endured what Moses endured and came out on top as did Moses, the description which fits Moses would not fit anybody elese.
  
  Verse 2
  
   ויאמר, ה׳ מסיני בא, He said: "Hashem came from Sinai, etc." Our sages in the <i>Sifri</i> understand this to mean that G'd came towards the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, וזרח משעיר למו, and that on the way towards the Jewish people He first offered the Torah to the descendants of Esau (who lived in Se-ir). The words הופיע מהר פארן would mean that G'd also offered the Torah to the Ishmaelites whose abode was in the desert of Paran. The difficulty with this exegesis is why would the Torah mention the Ishmaelites last when, geographically speaking, G'd would have first encountered the Ishmaelites, seeing He is described as coming from Sinai? Furthermore, we need to know why the Torah employs three different verbs for describing G'd's arrival, i.e. בא, זרח, הופיע? Why did the Torah not simply lump all this together by writing: "He came from Sinai, Se-ir and Paran?" Besides, why did the Torah first mention the place when referring to Sinai, whereas it describes G'd's "shining" or "appearing" before mentioning where this took place, i.e. Se-ir or Paran respectively?
  We may best understand this when considering why the Torah had not been given to Jacob who, after all, had raised twelve sons all of whom were loyal to the Abrahamitic tradition. <i>Midrash Hagadol</i> on Genesis 32,2 says that the <i>Shechinah</i> does not come to rest on an assembly of fewer than 600,000 (Jews or angels). Giving the Torah to the Jewish people required the presence of 600,000 as the Torah reports that G'd descended on Mount Sinai for the occasion (Exodus 19,20).
  How do we reconcile this statement with the opinion offered in <i>Avot</i> 3 that even if two people discuss words of Torah the <i>Shechinah</i> is present? Knowledgeable scholars explain that the first statement refers to the total presence of the <i>Shechinah,</i> whereas the statements we find in <i>Avot</i> regarding the presence of G'd when 10 or even fewer Jews engage in Torah is a reference to a portion of the <i>Shechinah.</i> This "portion" of the <i>Shechinah</i> suffices to inspire the people studying Torah to gain greater insights. The degree of insights afforded such people studying Torah varies with the number of people involved in such study. The fewer the number, the smaller the input due to the <i>Shechinah.</i>
  When the Torah mentions here that G'd came from Sinai, this is a reference to the totality of the <i>Shechinah.</i> It arrived to welcome the people of Israel. On the other hand, when G'd approached the tribe of Esau and Ishmael respectively, He employed only a small portion of the <i>Shechinah.</i> One such portion appeared to Se-ir, the other to the Ishmaelites in Paran. What the Torah describes here is the return of these two "portions" of the <i>Shechinah</i> which had "offered" the Torah to the nations mentioned. This is why mentioning Sinai first is perfectly in order as the bulk of the <i>Shechinah</i> had never departed from the encampment of the Jewish people at Sinai. The very words זרח and הופיע are only descriptions of the insignificant parts of the <i>Shechinah</i> which appeared to these nations. We find a similar expression in <i>Makkot</i> 23 where the Talmud describes the appearance of Holy Spirit in the hall of the academy with the words הופיע רוח הקודש בבית דינו של שמואל. The Edomites (descendants of Esau) enjoyed a relatively greater portion of the <i>Shechinah</i> on that occasion than the Ishmaelites as their biological relationship to the Jewish people is closer than that of the Ishmaelites.
  We have now explained all the nuances in our verse including the fact that Sinai is mentioned at the outset as the source from which the <i>Shechinah</i> travelled to these other nations. The purpose of the whole verse is to demonstrate the spirituallly high level of the Jewish people at the time which made it possible for Moses to bestow such far-ranging blessings upon them both collectively and according to their respective tribes. Moses acted no differently from Isaac when he prepared himself to bless Jacob and asked him to approach his father so that he could kiss him (Genesis 27,26). Extolling Israel's superiority put them in a suitable frame of mind to receive the blessing just as being kissed by his father put Jacob in the right frame of mind to receive the blessing.
  You will do well to read what I have written on Genesis 48,8 where Jacob asked Joseph who the two lads were whom he had brought to be blessed. Moses' display of love for the Jewish people is part of his many outstanding characteristics.
  ואתה מרבבות קדש, and arrived with the myriads of holy ones. According to Rashi who quotes <i>Sifri,</i> the letter מ preceding the word רבבות means that G'd was accompanied only by some of the myriads of holy beings, or at least the Torah describes it in this fashion to demonstrate the "humility" of G'd. According to this view the word ואתה means "He brought." This is certainly not the plain meaning of this word. On the other hand, if we understand the word ואתה to mean "He came," there is no proof that G'd was accompanied by even some of His holy hosts. Perhaps those commentators thought that there was no need to mention that G'd was accompanied by merely some of His myriads of holy hosts and that therefore He was accompanied by all of them. What the Torah does tell us then is that though G'd was accompanied by all these myriads of holy hosts He did not leave them in a terrestrial domain.
  If we ignore the conventional explanations we may view what is written here as a reflection of the spiritual level of the Jewish people. The Torah tells us that G'd left behind Him in the Celestial Regions the myriads of holy hosts and instead came to take up residence amongst the Jewish people here on earth. The word ואתה means that G'd arrived for a permanent visit with the Jewish people, making them His people and His inheritance. The <i>Zohar</i> on <i>Terumah</i> item 140 describes the anguish experienced by these heavenly hosts when they became aware that G'd had moved His abode to the "lower" terrestrial regions.
  מימינו אש דת למו, from His right hand He presented the fiery Torah to them. This is the reason why G'd chose to take up residence on earth and departed from the myriads of holy beings in the Celestial Regions. We find something analogous in <i>Shemot Rabbah</i> 33,1 explaining Exodus 25,2 as a parable describing a king who had an only daughter who stipulated to his son-in-law to be that there must always be room in his house for him. G'd considered the Torah His only daughter and when He gave it to Israel He stipulated that there be a place for Him also amongst the Israelites. The Torah explains that the reason G'd left His abode in the Celestial Regions was that He had given His "right hand," i.e. the Torah, to the Jewish people and He could not bear being separated from the Torah.
  The reason the Torah describes the Torah as אש דת instead of as דת אש is in order for the word אש, "fire" or "fiery" to appear next to the word מימינו, "on His right." The Torah emphasises that when G'd gave the Torah to the Jewish people He did so with His right hand as well as with His left hand. The word אש symbolises G'd's left hand, as it stands for the emanation גבורה. This is the mystical dimension of the statement in <i>Devarim Rabbah</i> 3,12 that the Torah (parchment) was white fire inscribed with black fire. It is also the deeper meaning of <i>Avot</i> 6,1 that studying the Torah provides תושיה, wisdom, through the emanation of גבורה and עז וממשלה, strength and authority derived from the emanation חסד.
  
  Verse 3
  
   אף חבב עמים, Also a lover of people, etc. Our sages in <i>Baba Batra</i> 8 understand these words to mean that although on occasion G'd displayed fondness for the other nations when He exiled the Jewish people amongst them, כל קדושיו בידיך והם, the Jews who study Torah continue to enjoy special privileges such as exemption from certain taxes even while they are in exile. It appears that our verse provides the rationale for what is written in the previous verse, namely that G'd came to both Se-ir and Paran. He did so in order to subject them to His anger on the day of judgment when these nations would excuse their conduct by saying that they had never been given a chance to receive the Torah and had not been informed of its contents so that they could have lived by its precepts. The entire verse needs to be understood as follows: "G'd had also displayed His love for the other nations when He offered them the Torah at the time he gave it to the Israelites."
  The words כל קדושיו may best be understood in line with <i>Yalkut Shimoni</i> at the end of <i>Parshat Kedoshim</i> item 626, on Leviticus 20,26: "and I have separated you from the other nations to be Mine." If the Torah had written: "I have separated the other nations from you," this would have meant that we do not accept proselytes. Seeing that the Torah uses the reverse order and writes: "I have separated you from the nations," this means that when Gentiles wish to convert to Judaism they are able to do so. [this is the thrust of the comment; our author has enlarged on it. Ed.] The words קדשיו בידיך mean that G'd reserves the right to allow those who wish to sanctify themselves by embracing the Torah to do so.
  Another approach to our verses may be this. The meaning of the words אף חובב is that there remains one single fondness for the Jewish people vis-a-vis the other nations, namely that those who study Torah, the "holy ones," enjoy some privileges as I have explained. The word והם, "and they," refers to the Jewish people who are the principal subject of the verse. We are told that the Jewish people are able to maintain their sanctity or improve it because תכו לרגלך, "they planted themselves at Your feet." This is an allusion to the statement in <i>Shabbat</i> 146 that as a result of the revelation at Sinai the Israelites were completely cleansed of any residual pollutant dating back to the sin in Gan Eden. They achieved this status because they planted themselves at G'd's feet, i.e. embraced the Torah wholeheartedly. This enabled them to be addressed by G'd directly. Our sages in <i>Shabbat</i> 86 go so far as to say that at that time their souls left them (based on Song of Songs 5,6: "my soul left me when He spoke"). It was this experience which removed their pollutant. This remained an advantage of the natural born Israelites over their proselyte counterparts (compare <i>Zohar</i> volume three page 14).
  ישא מדברותיך, accepting Your pronouncements. The word means "authority" in this instance. We find a similar meaning for דבר in Psalms 47,4: "He subjects peoples to us." The meaning is that only natural born Jews have true authority over other Jews; proselytes or their (immediate?) descendants may not become kings. Our sages in <i>Kidushin</i> 76 have derived this ruling from Deut. 17,15: "from amongst your brothers." This restrictive clause applies not only to kings who must be natural born Jews but also to judges and princes. The Talmud <i>Sotah</i> 41 relates that when King Agrippas read these words in the Torah his eyes started watering with tears as he was not a natural born Jew. The meaning of the words ישא מדברותיך here is that only a natural born Jew may arrogate to himself a position of authority over fellow Jews. The reason that the word ישא is in the singular is an allusion to <i>Sanhedrin</i> 8 that the Jewish people will have only a single authority, there will be no power-sharing.
  An additional meaning of the word ישא מדברותיך could be that it provides the rationale for תכו לרגליך. We have been told in <i>Shabbat</i> 88 that the acceptance of the Torah by the Jewish people was not exactly voluntary but that G'd threatened to bury them under the Mountain if they would not accept the Torah. On the other hand, the acceptance of the Torah during the period of Esther and Mordechai was entirely voluntary as a result of Haman's decree against the Jews being cancelled. I have explained the reluctance of the Jews to accept the Torah in my commentary on Exodus 19,5. It did not extend to acceptance of the biblical commandments but only to the rabbinic decrees. At any rate, the words תכו לרגליך are a reference to the threat of death at the Mountain if they would not accept the rabbinic ordinances. The people accepted the biblical parts of the Torah wholeheartedly and voluntarily. They did so in order to be spiritually uplifted by it, i.e. ישא מדברותיך. When the Torah wrote in Exodus 24,7 that the Jewish people said unanimously: "we will do all that G'd has said and we will hear it," the word "all" refers to the rabbinic ordinances.
  The word מדברותיך may also be understood as referring to the people giving guidance to the Jewish people, the ones who introduce certain new ordinances if circumstances seem to call for this. When the Jews during the time of Mordechai observed how successful the latter had been in his looking after Jewish interests, the people voluntarily embraced all such rabbinic ordinances.
  Still another meaning of the words ישא מדברותיך may be based on the <i>Midrash Rabbah</i> (Song of Songs 1,2) explaining the words ישקני מנשיקות פיהו, "may He kiss me with the kisses of His mouth." According to this <i>Midrash</i> every single word which G'd spoke He communicated to every single Israelite asking if the Israelite in question was prepared to accept the law in question. The Israelite would answer in the affirmative. In response G'd would kiss him and place a crown on his head. This is why the Torah adds… והם תכו ישא מדברותיך. The reason that the Torah writes מדברותיך instead of the usual דברותיך is because the words themselves "spoke" to the Israelites asking them if they were prepared to accept them.
  The reason the word ישא is in the future tense instead of in the past tense, is because after the episode with the golden calf the Israelites were deprived of the crowns we have mentioned (Exodus 33,5), whereas Moses received them (<i>Shabbat</i> 88). This is based on a concept developed in <i>Chagigah</i> 15 that two places are reserved for each person, one in purgatory and one in Paradise. The one who forfeits his place in Paradise leaves it for his colleague who is more deserving, and the same is true for those who vacate their place in purgatory. This is the mystical dimension of Exodus 33,8 that "the people looked after Moses." Our sages in <i>Sanhedrin</i> 110 explain this to mean that each Israelite suspected Moses of committing adultery with his wife. This is not to be understood literally, of course, but it means that the Torah which was considered as betrothed to the Jewish people had become Moses' exclusive bride seeing he had taken over the parts that the people had previously been entitled to. By the Torah writing ישא in the future tense we receive the assurance that the removal of the crowns of the Israelites after the episode with the golden calf is reversible and that the time will come when they will once more merit and receive these crowns. Our sages (a glossary in the prayer-book edited by the <i>Ari Zal</i>) state that these crowns return to the heads of the Israelites on every Sabbath and that on the Sabbath Moses retains only his own crown. This is the reason that we say in the Sabbath morning prayer that Moses rejoices in his (personal) share, i.e. even though on that day he retains only this single crown.
  Our verse may also be a veiled reference to the statement in <i>Makkot</i> 24 that the Israelites heard the first two of the Ten Commandments from G'd Himself whereas Moses was the intermediary for the balance of the commandments. On the other hand, the <i>Mechilta</i> on <i>Parshat Yitro</i> claims that all of the Ten Commandments were spoken by G'd in a single utterance. We explained this apparent contradiction by referring to the tradition that the souls of the Jewish people left them during the revelation. This occurred after they had heard the first two of these commandments. The words תכו לרגליך are a reference to this overpowering effect of G'd speaking to the people as a result of which their souls left them. This is further supported by the words ישא מדברותיך, i.e. that G'd "uplifted their souls" after they heard part of His words. They heard the balance of the Ten Commandments from the mouth of Moses after their souls had been restored to them. This is the reason why we read in the next verse תורה צוה לנו משה, "Moses commanded us the Torah," instead of "G'd commanded us the Torah." A close look at the word תורה reveals that its numerical value equals 611, i.e. an allusion to the number of commandments the Jewish people heard from the mouth of Moses. When you add the two words ישא מדברותיך you get the total of 613 commandments.
  The words in our verse may also reflect something we have been told in <i>Megillah</i> 29 that the Presence of G'd accompanied the Israelites into exile. In this connection, the Talmud relates that the angels wanted to expel Rabbi Sheshet from the synagogue on account of the presence there of the <i>Shechinah.</i> Thereupon Rabbi Sheshet asked G'd: "if there is a person who has been subjected to insults and another who has not, which of the two deserves to be expelled?" As a result of this appeal G'd instructed the angels not to bother Rabbi Sheshet. This is the meaning of והם תכו לרגליך, "they have already been humbled at Your feet," i.e. the very fact that the Jews have been exiled is enough of a putdown for them so that if they use this fact as an argument ישא מדברותיך, He will uplift them when they are confronted by the angels i.e. "Your spokesmen."
  Still another allusion which may be contained in our verse is based on <i>Berachot</i> 5 that G'd gave the Israelites three good gifts all of which they acquired only by means of suffering afflictions first. They are: the Torah, the land of Israel, and the hereafter. The Talmud in <i>Berachot</i> 63 also states (based on Proverbs 30,32: "if you have exalted yourself through acting arrogantly, etc.") that if a person is prepared to suffer disgrace for the sake of Torah he will eventually be elevated to a high position. This is the meaning of the sequence תכו לרגליך, ישא מדברותיך. "You will eventually be elevated as your disgrace was due to your humbling yourself for the sake of Torah." Torah confers high office on a person as we know from Proverbs 8,15: "kings reign through me."
  Still another message contained in our verse is based on <i>Rosh Hashanah</i> 21 based on Psalms 8,6: "You have made him only a little less than divine." This means that G'd endowed Moses with 49 of a possible 50 "gateways to insight" when the latter was on Mount Sinai. The 50th gateway is reserved for G'd Himself. I have explained this concept in connection with Isaiah 11,9: "for the earth will be full of knowledge of the Lord." The prophet means that at that stage of the development of mankind G'd will hand over even the 50th gateway of insight to man, something He had not even done for Moses. This will be part of the Messiah revealing himself. In accordance with this concept the words תכו לרגליך refer to the Torah insights which had already been revealed, whereas the words ישא מדברותיך are a reference to the final degree of insight which so far had been withheld by G'd.
  
  Verse 4
  
   תורה צוה לנו משה. Moses commanded the Torah to us. Seing that Moses is speaking, why did he not write: "I commanded the Torah to them? Perhaps we have to view this verse as a continuation of the previous verse as follows: "He will uplift the people of Israel due to their cleaving to His words of Torah which Moses had commanded them." Similarly, the meaning is that all the people of Israel will raise their collective voice jointly protesting that since Moses had commanded them the Torah and they had accepted it they deserved some consideration even in exile, etc.
  The words צוה לנו may be understood as describing the authority which Torah exercises over the people of Israel which even includes the king who rules only by dint of the Torah and who is obligated to personally write two copies of the Torah (Deut. 17,18). This is also one facet of the verse we quoted from Proverbs 8,15 that the "kings rule through Me."
  
  Verse 5
  
   ויהי בישרון מלך, He became king in Yeshurun. This verse means that in order for a king to become legally crowned in Israel he must be approved by a popular assembly including the heads of the people. This rule is spelled out in a <i>Tossephta Sanhedrin</i> 83 that only the Supreme Court of 71 judges is authorised to appoint a king. Moses referred to this rule when he mentioned the "heads of the people." When he added יחד שבטי ישראל, he referred to a national assembly of the people approving of such a choice.
  Another meaning of this verse is connected to Proverbs 8,6: "I speak of lofty things," a reference to Torah's rule. The words: "when the heads of the people assemble," mean that when the people request that a king be appointed such a king may be appointed in addition to the Torah. This is precisely what happened during the lifetime of the prophet Samuel. We read in Samuel I 8,5 that all the elders of the people assembled, approached Samuel and said to him: "seeing that you have aged and your sons do not follow in your footsteps, please appoint over us a king to judge us like all the other nations." Unless such a situation exists the Torah is supposed to be the only authority ruling over Israel. This is part of what Samuel replied (Samuel I 8,12) "and the Lord your G'd is your king." The king he referred to was the Torah.
  Perhaps Moses alluded to this when he employed the word ויהי which always signifies something regrettable. We are told that Samuel was deeply grieved by the people's request for a king and that G'd had to tell him that this request reflected a rejection of Him as king even more than a rejection of the prophet as their leader (Samuel I 8,7). Moses prophesied concerning this situation when he used the word ויהי at the beginning of our verse.
  Our verse also hints that the kingdom of Israel will endure only if the heads of the people assemble together (keep the peace amongst themselves) not if the leaders of the people are split. If the leaders are split, the tribes themselves will not be able to maintain their unity. A look at Jewish history shows that as long as the people were united under David and Solomon the king and the nation were extremely successful, whereas as soon as a split developed the fortunes of the Jewish people took a turn for the worse.
  
  Verse 6
  
   יחי ראובן ואל ימות, "May Reuven live and not die, etc." According to <i>Sifri</i> on our verse the words "may Reuven live" mean that Moses prayed that Reuven should have a share in the hereafter. Perhaps what is meant is that the leaders of that tribe who died during the uprising of Korach should have a share in the hereafter. [seeing that a prayer for someone who had died hundreds of years ago would seem futile and even sinful. Ed.] According to <i>Bamidbar Rabbah</i> 18, the 250 men who died offering incense were all heads of the courts, most of them from the tribe of Reuven. Seeing that one could have assumed that the community of rebels including Korach would not have a share in the hereafter, Moses prayed that Reuven, i.e. the tribe, should live. Granted that only 250 of their number had been guilty of joining the uprising, the fact that these 250 men represented the elite of the tribe could have brought disaster on the whole tribe and jeopardised their share in the hereafter.
  It is also possible that Moses referred to Reuven, Jacob's son, personally. His continued share in the hereafter might have been endangered seeing that his most illustrious offspring had become guilty of the uprising against Moses. All of this is in accordance with the view expressed by one scholar in <i>Sanhedrin</i> 108 that the rebellious group of Korach did not forfeit their share in the hereafter.
  ויהי מתיו מספר, "even though he may be few in numbers." Moses prayed that the surviving members of the tribe be righteous seeing that their holy roots had been undermined due to their leaders having been guilty of taking part in Korach's uprising. The prayer concerning their numbers may be understood in accordance with <i>Sanhedrin</i> 26 where the Talmud discusses the prayer of King Chiskiyah that G'd should not be influenced by the attitude of Shevna his heretic scribe who commanded the support of the majority amongst the people of beleaguered Jerusalem at the time. At that time G'd replied to Chiskiyah not to worry because numbers are not relevant when He deals with the wicked. Similarly, Moses mentioned that though there may have been a substantial number of the tribe of Reuven who were not righteous, G'd should not judge the tribe by this numerically significant segment. This may be the meaning of Samuel II 23,3 that צדיק מושל יראת אלוקים, "a righteous person" (even when in the minority) rules' G'd.
  
  Verse 7
  
   שמע ה׳ קול יהודה, "Hearken, O Lord, to the voice of Yehudah." Seeing that Yehudah had sinned in his relationship with Tamar and had confessed his guilt (Genesis 38,26) when he said: "she is more righteous than I," Moses prayed that G'd should accept his confession. He mentioned this only in order to be able to continue with ואל עמו תביאנו. We have explained in our commentary on Genesis 49,9 (page 424) how the union of Yehudah and Tamar enabled Yehudah to qualify for the description אריה, a fully grown lion. Yehudah's spiritual ascent had been due to his being able to tear himself away from the prey, i.e. from the pools of souls that had been taken captive by the forces of Satan as a result of Adam's sin. In our verse Moses alludes to this when he refers to Yehudah's "hands having performed a mighty deed."
  ועזר מצריו תהיה, "may she be a helper against his enemies." the word תהיה, refers to the eventual descendant of Yehudah, Ruth the Moabite, without whom even such illustrious people as Zerach and Peretz could not have guaranteed that he would become the founder of the dynasty culminating in King David and eventually the Messiah. The word עזר, is an allusion to the first female, Eve, who was described by the Torah (Genesis 2,18) as Adam's helper, עזר. Similarly, Yehudah's female descendant Ruth would perform this role in asssuring that he could attain his destiny. Compare also what I have written on Genesis 43,9 (page 347).
  
  Verse 8
  
   וללוי אמר תמיך ואוריך לאיש חסידך, "And concerning Levi he said: "Let your Tummim and your Urim be with Your faithful one." This is a prayer that Levi should continue forever to be qualified to perform the respective duties of the Levites and the priests.
  אשר נסיתו במסה, "whom You have tested at Massah." Seeing that Jacob (Genesis 49,5) had expressed himself negatively concerning any union of Shimon and Levi, cursing their anger, Moses goes on record to say that in the meantime the Levites had proved at Massah that they (by themselves) did not display anger and transgress G'd's commands. Instead of having tested G'd's patience there (Exodus 17,7) where the people questioned G'd's ability to provide them with water) as had the other tribes, this tribe had stood the test of loyalty (and had not participated in that complaint). [There may be an allusion to this in that paragraph as at the beginning the Torah speaks about the whole community arriving at that place whereas when speaking about who complained the word "whole" is absent. Ed.]
  
  Verse 9
  
   האומר…יורו משפטיך ליעקב. "Who says ….they shall teach Your laws to Jacob." We may explain this verse best according to <i>Baba Batra</i> 60 where the Talmud relates that Rabbi Yannai had a tree the branches of which overhung the adjoining street causing inconvenience to the passers-by. He was called upon to expound the law in a similar situation and asked to be given until the morrow before presiding over this litigation. During the intervening night he gave instructions to cut down the branches of his tree which overhung the street so as not to be accused of being himself guilty of an offence which he was supposed to adjudicate. [The Talmud explains that originally Rabbi Yannai had thought that the shade provided by his tree for the passers-by outweighed any damage it could cause to the passers-by who failed to look where they were going. Ed.] The word האומר is an allusion to the kind of judge qualified to sit in judgment of others, i.e. only people who ensure that their own house is in order may judge others. In order to face one's parents and criticise them one must first be free from guilt himself.
  Another message contained in this verse refers to the Torah's injunction in Deut. 16,18 that the judges should be from the respective tribes. Moses adds here that inasmuch as the tribe of Levi had demonstrated during the episode of the golden calf that they did not show favouritism even to their closest family members if the latter were guilty, that they could preside in judgment even over litigations involving members of other tribes. This is the meaning of יורו משפטיך ליעקב, i.e. they can judge any descendant of Jacob.
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
   ומשנאיו מן יקומון. "and let his enemies rise no more." The unusual construction מן יקומון may be a reference to the kingdom of the Greeks which would fall victim to the Hasmoneans (members of the tribe of Levi; compare <i>Bamidbar Rabbah</i> 14). Moses prayed that the Levites be able to maintain themselves even during the period when the Greeks (or other nations) would generally oppress the Jewish people. The plural משנאיו is a reference to a time when the Jews would be oppressed in their homeland and appear helpless. Even at such a time, מחץ מתנים, the Hasmoneans would smite their oppressors.
  
  Verse 12
  
   לבנימין אמר, Concerning Benjamin, he said, etc. The word לבנימין was said by Moses, whereas the word אמר is the Torah speaking. If it were not so how could we understand these two words? The following verse in which we have וליוסף אמר, or ולזבולון אמר must also be understood in this way.
  ישכון לבטח עליו, "may he dwell safely alongside Him." Seeing that the Temple was in the territory of Benjamin it is natural that that tribe should enjoy the greatest feeling of security. After all, who would dare attack the king? [G'd who dwells in the Sanctuary. Ed.]
  
  Verse 13
  
   מברכת ה׳ ארצו, "blessed of the Lord be his land, etc." Perhaps there is an allusion here to the time when the tribe of Joseph would complain to Joshua that it did not have enough land to support its population (Joshua 17,14). Moses blessed their land especially, i.e. that it be enlarged according to circumstances. Another reason the tribe of Joseph merited this special blessing was the fact that Joseph their founder had provided sustenance for all the brothers in Egypt. He who provides sustenance is considered as if he were the father as we know from Psalms 77,16 where the Psalmist speaks of "the sons of Jacob and Joseph" as if Jacob had had no other sons. <i>Sanhedrin</i> 19 explains that this unusual phrase is due to Joseph having been the provider.
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
   ורצון שכני סנה, "and the goodwill of the One who allotted me a place at the burning bush." Moses refers to the time when he found favour in G'd's eyes who appointed him to release the Jewish people from their painful bondage. This is the reference to his having stood in front of the burning bush.
  תבאתה לראש יוסף ולקדקוד, "may these rest on the head of Joseph, etc." Moses speaks in respect of two outstanding virtues of Joseph. 1) Although he had been exiled to Egypt and had experienced many temptations and injustices he remained loyal to his father's upbringing. (Compare what <i>Midrash Rabbah</i> 1,7 writes on Exodus 1,5, i.e. "although Joseph was in Egypt.") Moses alluded to this when speaking of ראש יוסף. 2) The second virtue of Joseph deserving special mention is the fact that he repaid the evil his brothers had done to him by doing good for them. <i>Tanchuma</i> explains this on Genesis 37,17 נסעו מזה. In spite of the brothers having severed their connection with Joseph at that time, he provided for them as we know from Genesis 47,12.
  
  Verse 17
  
   בכר שורו הדר לו, "Like a firstling bull in his majesty, etc." Here Moses blessed two outstanding individuals who were descended from Joseph. Concerning his first born son Menashe, Moses said the words בכר שורו are a reference to Gideon. The reason he chose the simile of the bull is because of what the angel said to Gideon (Judges 6,28) "take the bull which belongs to your father, and take the second bull which is seven years old and destroy the altar of the Baal belonging to your father, etc. and offer ….it as a burnt offering." The הדר, "spiritual beauty," Moses speaks about is that Gideon needed only 300 men to defeat the Midianites, as all these men were of spiritually outstanding quality. Such success reflects favourably on the leader, hence הדר לו, it is a compliment for him.
  וקרני ראם קרניו, "he has thorns like the horns of the wild-ox." This is a reference to Joshua, a descendant of Joseph's younger son Ephrayim. His reputation was world-wide, "his horn" comparable to the horn of the wild-ox.
  בהם עמים ינגח, "with them he gores nations." When the kings of the Emorites heard that G'd was with Joshua they no longer had any fighting spirit and could not offer Joshua resistance. 
  The reason that Moses repeats that he speaks of both the myriads of Ephrayim and those of Menashe is because both blessings were meant for both these tribes. Although Moses mentioned Menashe first, the blessing extended to that tribe was of somewhat lesser range than that for Ephrayim. Moses followed the pattern of giving his blessings in an ascending order. When giving details of the blessings he mentioned Ephrayim first as he received the major blessing.
  
  Verse 18
  
   שמח זבלון בצאתך, "Rejoice, O Zevulun, on your journeys;" Although as a general rule we are not supposed to rejoice as per <i>Kohelet</i> 2,2 ולשמחה םה זה עושה, "and of joy, what does it accomplish?" Moses says here that Zevulun goes to sea joyfully even though he leaves the halls of Torah study in order to engage in commerce. The reason he is entitled to do this is that the proceeds of his commerce are intended to enable Issachar to devote himself to uninterrupted Torah study.
  Another meaning of these words is that when a man sets out on an undertaking he does not know if he will be successful. Moses is giving Zevulun an assurance that he will be successful; this is why he emphasizes that he may rejoice even at the outset of his journey. He may consider himself as a שליח מצוה, someone to whom the performance of a מצוה has been entrusted.
  באהליך, "in your tents." This is a simile for Issachar. The reason Moses uses this simile is twofold. 1) It denotes the fact that any dwelling in this world is to be considered only a temporary dwelling; our whole terrestrial existence is transient. 2) It describes that the <i>Shechinah</i> forms a "tent" over Zevulun and Issachar. Even though Zevulun is preoccupied with commerce and does not spend his time in the אהל של תורה, the tent of Torah, he qualifies for the presence of the <i>Shechinah</i> no less than Issachar his partner. David alludes to this when he said in Psalms 85,14: "Justice goes before him as he sets out on his way."
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
   מרחיב גד, "the One who enlarges Gad." G'd had enlarged Gad's properties as we know from Numbers 32,1 where the Torah tells us that the tribe possessed large numbers of cattle and sheep. The reason they had so much cattle is also mentioned in Numbers 31,53 that the soldiers each plundered as much as they could. Seeing that the men of Gad were renowned as fighting men they garnered more for themselves than the other tribes. Moses' simile "like a lion who is at rest after he has brought the torn off limbs of his prey," accurately reflects what happened.
  
  Verse 21
  
   וירא ראשית לו. "He chose the first portion for himself." Moses means that actually the ראשית, i.e. the Torah, should have been his share as Moses the lawgiver was buried in his territory. Alternatively, Gad became custodian of a חלק, a small part of the lawgiver, i.e. Moses' earthly remains securely hidden. The reason why Moses was buried there, i.e. on the East Bank of the Jordan was ויתא ראשי עם, in order for the generation of the Exodus, the heads of the nation, to eventually be resurrected together with Moses in order to be allowed to cross the Jordan. The reason that generation is referred to as ראשי עם is that they were the generation whom G'd acquired as His people.
  Another meaning of the words וירא ראשית לו is that it is a reference to the initial inheritance this tribe took possession of in the lands formerly owned by Sichon and Og. The word לו means that it became his inheritance rightfully. It was not just a land grab. There was a need to confirm this in view of <i>Ketuvot</i> 111 that anyone who lived in the land of Israel or is buried there is assured of a portion of the hereafter. Moses had to confirm that as far as the land of Gad (and Reuven and half the tribe of Menashe) is concerned the same consideration applied. The words כי שם חלקת מחקק ספון mean that just as Moses who is buried in that land will be resurrected so will be the tribe of Gad, or vice versa, i.e. that Moses was not buried in exile.
  צדקת ה׳ עשה. "carrying out G'd's justice." These words refer to Moses again. This is the explanation why Moses would merit to bring others with him at the time of the resurrection. He had performed acts of righteousness vis-a-vis G'd.
  An alternative explanation may be that Moses had done more than was required of him, i.e. צדק, as we have already mentioned in our commentary on Deut. 6,25 וצדקה תהיה לנו (pages 1815-16). ומשפטיו עשה עם ישראל. This means that Moses was constantly involved in defending the Israelites vis-a-vis G'd, usually succeeding to wrest a favourable verdict from Him, such as in the matter of the golden calf, the uprising of Korach, etc. The word עשה may be understood as "rectified, rehabilitated."
  Still another meaning of our verse may be to understand the words צדקת ה׳ עשה as referring to how G'd dealt with Moses when He decreed that Moses be buried on the East Bank of the Jordan and did not let him complete his prayer in which Moses had asked to be allowed to remain with the main body of the Israelites. The words עם ישראל are a reference to incidents which caused Moses problems.
  Alternatively, the words צדקת ה׳ עשה may refer to Gad who acted in a manner which G'd considered as righteous when this tribe undertook to join the main body of the Israelites and to remain with them until completion of the wars of conquest. If we were to consider the matter on a purely legal basis, i.e. their obligations vis-a-vis G'd, the tribe of Gad was not obligated to do this. They had received their inheritance in the place of their choosing as they had argued at the time in Numbers 32,5. If that had not been so G'd would never have consented for them to remain on that territory. As a result, the fact that they crossed the Jordan as the vanguard of the Israelite army was an act that was considered as righteousness for them. However, it was an act of righteousness only vis-a-vis G'd. Vis-a-vis their compatriots it was a sacred duty, not something for which they deserved a reward. The wording צדקת השם עשה is very appropriate then.
  The wording ומשפטיו עם ישראל is equally appropriate as it stresses that what the people of Gad did with Israel was no more than what the law demanded of them. If they wanted to appear free from guilt both in the eyes of G'd and in the eyes of Israel they could not have done any less. Seeing that G'd was not in need of the bravery of the soldiers from the tribe of Gad, the Torah describes their fulfilling their duty as applying only to the Israelites.
  
  Verse 22
  
   גור אריה, "a lion cub, etc." Perhaps the Torah referred to Samson who tore the lion with his bare hands as if it had been only a lamb (Judges 14,6). יזנק מן הבשן, "leaping forth from Bashan." This is a reference to the Holy Spirit with which Samson was endowed when he performed his deeds of valour. It made him appear as if he leapt out of the mountains of Bashan.
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
   ברוך מבנים אשר. "Asher is the most blessed of the children." I have explained this statement in Numbers 7,72 where the prince of this tribe is mentioned (page 1381).
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
   אין כאל ישרון, "There is none like G'd, O, Yeshurun." There is no other G'd like the G'd of Yeshurun (Israel) who performs all these deeds on their behalf, i.e. who rides all over the heavens on behalf of Israel in order to assist them. The word בעזרך means "in order to help them," i.e. to fight on "your" behalf. Compare Exodus 14,14: "G'd will fight on your behalf." When G'd engages in warfare on behalf of Israel all the forces of heaven are His chariot.
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
   וישכן ישראל בטח, Israel dwelled in safety; when does this situation occur? When they live in isolation. The statement introduced by the words וישכן, etc., is a continuation of the previous statement ויאמר השמד, that G'd had ordered the Israelites to wipe out the Canaanites. As a result of fulfilling this instruction Israel would be assured of dwelling safely in the Holy Land. 
  The additional words עין יעקב, may mean that although Israel's eyes are directed at the promise of inheriting a land flowing with milk and honey, i.e. at material considerations, this will not lead to their rejecting G'd's Torah as long as they have eliminated all the former inhabitants of the land.
  
  Verse 29
  
   אשריך ישראל…עם נושע בשם, "Fortunate are you, O Israel; …a nation delivered by the Lord." Whereas any wars the other nations are engaged in are fought by their protective angels, and each nation is afraid that the protective angel of its adversary may prevail unless G'd smites that angel, this does does not apply in the case of Israel whose "protective angel" is G'd Himself. -Compare Exodus 14,30 where the Torah describes the Israelites seeing the protective angel of Egypt dead, as explained by <i>Shemot Rabbah</i> 21,5. Israel is fortunate not to have to depend on intermediaries. This enables the Jewish people to be free from fear.
  Another meaning of the words נושע בשם is that it may refer to the king of the Israelites enjoying G'd's deliverance when in difficulties. When discussing Deut. 30,3 we pointed out that since the Torah does not speak about G'd "bringing back" the exiles but about G'd "returning" (<i>Megillah</i> 29), this means that the Jews are in the enviable position of G'd descending into exile with them as it were, so that He returns with them to the Holy Land when the time is ripe. ואשר הוא חרב גאותיך. These words may mean: "and Who is the sword drawn against those who feel superior to you." Nobody enjoys a mightier sword than that of G'd who fights on Israel's behalf.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  ויראהו ה׳ את כל הארץ; G'd showed him the entire country. The Torah may mean that G'd enhanced Moses' natural eyesight so as to enable him to see the whole land in all its details. This could be achieved by one of two means. 1) To provide Moses with additional eyesight by enabling him to utilise the original light G'd created on the first day of creation which He withdrew from man as a result of Adam's sin. According to <i>Chagigah</i> 2, Adam had been able to see from one end of the earth to the other by means of that light. 2) Or, G'd brought the land closer to Moses so that he could see it in detail with his normal eyesight.
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
   לאמור לזרעך אתננה, to say: "to your descendants I will give it." The reason the Torah had to write the word לאמור "to say" at this juncture, was that as of now G'd had not given this information to the patriarchs. [In connection with a statement that the dead communicate with one another, Ed.], our sages in <i>Berachot</i> 18 claim that G'd ordered Moses to tell the three patriarchs (after his death) that He had already discharged the oath He had sworn to them to give the land to their descendants. Perhaps the reason G'd wanted Moses to tell the patriarchs [instead of telling them Himself, Ed.] may have been so that Moses would make sure that the patriarchs would appreciate that G'd was able to keep His promise to them only after having overcome many difficulties and setbacks en route.
  ושמה לא תעבור, "but you yourself will not cross there." Perhaps the reason this is repeated at this point is that G'd wanted to tell Moses that he did not need to enter the gate to heaven by first having set foot in the land of Israel. The <i>Zohar</i> volume one page 81 says that all the souls ascend to heaven by way of ארץ ישראל. Seeing that Moses' soul was being gathered up by G'd personally, and that G'd immediately deposited it in the Celestial Regions, there was no need for his soul to travel via ארץ ישראל in order to achieve its objective. The words וימת שם משה mean that where Moses died his soul ascended to heaven immediately.
  
  Verse 5
  
   וימת שם משה, "Moses died there, etc." The Torah emphasises that Moses only died there, whereas he lives on in more sacred regions.
  
  Verse 6
  
   עד היום הזה, until this day. These are G'd's words recorded by Moses. The same applies to the previous statement: "Moses died there."
  I have seen a comment by Rabbi Avraham ben Ezra according to which these lines were written by Joshua. It is not proper to write such things and present them as the plain meaning of the verses; this would give rise to the impression that Moses had not completed the written Torah himself when he handed it over to the Levites. I have heard a number of our people who are very confused about this section and who as a result may commit heresy in their attitude to the written Torah. Comments such as the one I have quoted in the name of Rabbi Avraham ben Ezra are typical of the Gentiles who claim that Israelites have tampered with the text of the holy Torah so that it contains things which were not there originally while it omits things which had been included originally. We must accept the statement in <i>Baba Batra</i> 15 that Moses wrote the entire Torah whereas he completed the writing of these last eight verses by using tears instead of ink [or by weeping while writing it. Ed.]. [This criticism of Ibn Ezra seems hard to accept as there is an opinion in the Talmud (Rabbi Yehudah) on the folio we have quoted that Joshua wrote these last eight verses. Surely our author does not include the Talmud in his accusation! Perhaps the author had a version of the Ibn Ezra in which the last eight verses are described as having been written by Joshua at a later stage of his life. Ed.]
  
  Verse 7
  
   בן מאה ועשרים שנה במותו. he was 120 years old at his death. This means that at the precise moment his soul left him Moses had completed 120 years. Another nuance the Torah may have in mind by writing the word "at his death" is that seeing the Torah reported only afterwards that neither Moses' eyesight nor his vigor had diminished that this statement was true up until the moment Moses died.
  
  Verse 8
  
   ויבכו בני ישראל, The Jewish people wept, etc. When Aaron's death is reported in Numbers 20,29, the Torah wrote that "the whole house of Israel wept for thirty days." Our sages in <i>Avot de Rabbi Natan</i> 12 claim that Aaron's having been a lover of peace was the reason why he was mourned even more than Moses when he died.
  Rabbi Avraham ben Ezra wrote that the line in Numbers refers to the whole house of Israel weeping in honour of Moses who remained alive. One must not accept his explanation as it is not permissible to change a verse which describes a virtue of the people and to downgrade this virtue by attributing it to a less noble consideration. By doing so Ibn Ezra suggests that when Moses himself died the people did not get unduly upset when he was being eulogised.
  Perhaps we may understand the difference in the people's reaction to the two deaths as stemming from the fact that Aaron's death was unexpected whereas they had been informed well in advance that Moses was about to die. The sudden realisation that Aaron had died had a more profound effect on the people. Moses had told the people for six weeks running, during all his exhortations, that he was approaching his death (compare Deut. 4,22). No wonder that they did not react as profoundly at the time Moses was eulogised as at the time Aaron was eulogised.
  Another possible reason for the difference in the reported reaction of the people was due to the immediate visible effects of Aaron's death such as the disappearance of the protective clouds which had hovered over the encampment of the Israelites ever since the Exodus. Their disappearance had been followed immediately with an attack by the Canaanite as explained in <i>Taanit</i> 3. These factors combined to stir the entire nation into weeping at Aaron's death. When Moses died they did not experience such a negative fallout; on the contrary, they knew the way was clear to cross the Jordan and take possession of the land of Canaan.
  Still another possibility to explain this relatively muted reaction by the Jewish people to Moses' death was the fact that immediately after Moses died the <i>Shechinah</i> settled on Joshua. The people took comfort from this fact. This may be compared to someone who has lost a bag of precious stones, but has found some pearls instead. Although he mourns the loss of the stones, he does not do so with the same intensity as he would have done had he not found the pearls. This is why not all of the people wept at Moses' death. This is also the reason that the report of the people weeping for the death of Moses is followed immediately by the report that Joshua was filled with a spirit of wisdom, etc. When Aaron had died this was equivalent to the loss of diamonds which had not been replaced by other precious stones. Even though Eleazar was appointed as High Priest in his father's stead, they did not weep for the absence of a High Priest but for the loss of something which was irreplaceable, i.e. the benefits Aaron's presence had bestowed upon them.
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
   ולא קם נביא עוד, and no other prophet arose, etc. The past tense קם means that as of the time when these words were written no other comparable prophet had arisen. The addition of the word עוד means that no comparable prophet would arise in the future either.
  בישראל, "amongst the people of Israel." This is a hint that the greatness of Moses as a prophet was due in large measure to the people of Israel. This is supported by the statement in the <i>Sifri</i> that during all the years when the Jewish people were in G'd's disfavour, G'd did not even communicate with Moses. Our sages claim that the word בישראל means that whereas no comparable prophet arose in Israel, there was a prophet of comparable stature amongst the Gentiles, i.e. Bileam.
  
  Verse 11
  
   לכל האותות as evident by all the signs, etc. This verse is part of the previous verse in which the relationship between Moses and G'd is described as one where they talked to each other face to face. The reason this was so was to enable Moses to perform all the miracles he had performed. In other words, G'd had informed Moses face to face when instructing him to perform the miracles.
  We may also understand these words in light of what Maimonides wrote in chapter 10,1 of his <i>Hilchot Yesodey HaTorah</i> that when a prophet arises in Israel there is no need for him to legitimise himself through the performance of miracles such as the ones performed by Moses in which the laws of nature were changed. It suffices if he correctly predicts events which will take place in the future. You will find that the Torah wrote something reflecting the people's belief in Moses as a prophet on two separate occasions. One occasion is in Exodus 14,31 where the Torah reports that "the people believed in G'd and in Moses His servant." The second occasion is Exodus 19,9 where G'd promised Moses that the people would have faith in him on an ongoing basis.
  Please refer to what I have written on Exodus 20,16 in connection with the words: "speak with us and we will listen." I explained there that the meaning is that the Israelites expressed their willingness to accept whatever Moses would tell them in G'd's name. This proves that they had previously accepted him as a prophet.
  This is why the Torah writes here that no prophet like Moses arose again amongst the Israelites, i.e. no other prophet enjoyed the complete trust of the people as had Moses. ולכל היד החזקה. These words refer to the miracles of splitting the sea of reeds, which was one of the miracles that caused the people to believe in Moses; the words ולכל המוראה הגדול refer to the revelation at Mount Sinai and Moses' share in it. At that time the people realised there would never be another prophet who would be able to do this.
  The Torah concludes with the words לעיני כל ישראל, before the eyes of the whole nation of Israel. This means these people all were eye witnesses to the miracles performed by Moses. They did not have to rely on reports by other later prophets who would tell them about this. They knew that Moses the prophet of G'd was true, that his Torah was true, and that the living G'd was a true fact.