Sforno on Deuteronomy

‫ספורנו על דברים‬
Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash
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Sforno on Deuteronomy

Chapter 1

Verse 1

'‫לאה הדברים אשר דבר משה לא כל ישרלא וגו‬, he means that in all the locations mentioned
by him here he had communicated what follows to the people, some in each location.
In all of these locations the people had angered G’d. Each time he reminded them
that if it had not been for their sins they would have long since reached their
destination. The locations in question were the following: '‫אחד עשר יום מחורב וגו‬,
all the 38 years that they were wandering in the desert they did not travel in a
straight line, nor did they travel on well marked routes used by desert travelers.
Each time they arrived at a spot where they made camp Moses reminded them that the
reason that they had still not reached their final destination was due to their
having committed so many sins. The proof was that ‫אחד עשר יום יש מחורב עד קדש‬
‫דרך הר שעיר‬...‫ברנע‬, the shortest route to Kadesh Barnea, the southern boundary of
the Land of Israel is only 11 days’ march away from Mount Chorev when traveling via
Mount Seir. In fact, G’d made them reach Kadesh Barnea after they set out from
Chorev in only three days by leading them through the great and terrible desert. If
they were still not in the Holy Land this was only due to their sins. The delay had
been designed to make them have remorse and to return to G’d without mental
reservations.

Verse 2

Verse 3

‫ויהי בארבעים שנה‬, after the men slated to die in the desert had finished dying.
‫דבר משה לא בני ישרלא‬, to those who would enter the Holy Land.
‫ככל אשר צוה ה' אותו לאוקים‬, he reviewed the whole Torah for them that had been
revealed up until this point.

Verse 4

‫אחרי הכותו‬, he did this after the Jewish people had achieved a degree of quiet in a
land which was inhabited, or fit to be inhabited.

Verse 5

‫בעבר הירדן בארץ מואב הואיל משה באר‬, seeing that they were no longer moving around
all the time, for the encampment in the steppes near Moav was their last stop
before crossing the Jordan. Now, seeing that Moses himself had already given up
hope of personally crossing the river Jordan he began to explain the parts of the
Torah concerning which he thought some doubts could arise after his death. He did
this by starting with a reminder of the covenant concluded between Israel and G’d
at Mount Chorev. (compare 5,2) ‫לאמר‬, before beginning with reviewing portions of
the Torah, Moses explained the reason for the need to do this as being that they
were about to cross into what would become their homeland where many commandments
of the Torah would apply for the first time. Seeing that he could not do this at
the time when they actually applied already, he had to do this now before his
death. While on the subject, Moses reminded the people how, indirectly, due to
their sinful conduct he was now unable to cross the Jordan with them, and that as a
result he wanted to make sure that they would not again become guilty of such
sinful behaviour.

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

‫ נתתי לפניכם את הארץ‬, the inhabitants of that land whose courage had already melted
and who would not offer much resistance.
‫באו ורשו את הארץ‬, the various districts in which the people reside for they are
afraid of you and will either flee or will die without your having to engage in
battle.

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

‫טרחכם‬, your petty arguments which did not even involve financial claims.
‫ומשאכם‬, your bicckering involving the provision of the needs for the many.
‫וריבכם‬, and your mutual financial claims upon one another. He reminded them of all
this in order that they should remember their sins. He hoped that the people
repented their past conduct honestly, for in the past, in spite of Moses having
told them that they would take over the land of Canaan without even having to fight
for it, something that should have been their major concern seeing that they were
in the desert. Rather than focusing on their major problem, how to get out of the
desert into the promised land, they had wasted their time and efforts in the
pursuit of petty concerns, undermining their inter-personal relationships in the
process. Due to this interminable quarreling, Moses had been forced to appoint a
large number of judges that had to exert authority over the individuals down to
every 10 people requiring at least one such judge. This could only have been due to
some character weakness, some pre-disposition to be quarrelsome.

Verse 13
Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

‫ונלך את כל המדבר הגדול והנורא‬, a way no one had crossed on foot before because of
the many snakes and other predators and their size. These are referred to once more
in 8,15. Our sages in Sifri 18 have described that the snakes were as large as
beams and the scorpions as bows. If G’d had nonetheless chosen to lead them on this
route, it had been to shorten the distance they would have to travel so that they
could get to their destination before their tendency to quarrel, etc., would result
in major sins. Nonetheless, G’d’s efforts in this respect had not proven to be
sufficient; they had sinned on numerous occasions at locations Moses recalls by
name.

Verse 20

Verse 21

‫עלה רש‬, for no one will oppose you.

Verse 22

‫ותקרבון לאי כלכם‬, even though you had leaders appointed to act as your
representatives, appointed to concern themselves with your communal concerns, you
all ganged up on me.
‫נשלחה אנשים‬, “we ourselves want to appoint these men and dispatch them.” This was
something G’d did not approve of, and this is why He told Moses: “you dispatch
them!” (Numbers 13,2) The men that were to spy out the land were to be appointed by
Moses himself, not by a mob. G’d was afraid that the people would appoint totally
unsuitable people to be their spies. The Torah had therefore made a point of
reporting that the men selected for this task by Moses were all known as
outstanding people, ‫כלם אנשים‬, including such men as Joshua and Calev. Even those
among them, who in the end expressed their belief that they could not hope to
conquer this land, did not have the effrontery to badmouth the land itself, but
praised it as an excellent land. This was also why it was possible for the people
to repent their sin, i.e. they had made a faulty judgment in believing the 10
spies’ assessment of the chances of conquering the land. (compare Numbers 13, 41-
45.

Verse 23

‫וייטב בעיני הדבר‬, I thought that none of you would not believe G’d when He had said
that He would bring you to that country and that it was a good land and that you
would be able with His help to conquer it. I believed that the thought behind your
desire to send out spies was not that you wanted to see if you could conquer it,
but that you wanted to select for yourselves the best sections of the land, and
that this was what you had in mind when you said (verse 22) “the cities which we
will come to.” This seemed totally reasonable, since you were aware that the
conquest would not be immediately of the whole country, seeing G’d had told us this
in Exodus 23,29.

Verse 24

‫ ;ויבאו עד נחל אשכול‬in accordance with Moses’ instructions to ascend from the south
(Numbers 13,17) from Kadesh Barnea, where the people had been encamped at the time.
This was located at the southern tip of the country, as spelled out in Numbers
34,4.

Verse 25

‫ויאמרו טובה הארץ‬, even the wicked spies acknowledged the goodness of the land when
they said “it is also flowing with milk and honey.” (Numbers 13,27).

Verse 26

‫ולא אביתם לעלות‬, for at that point you revealed your original sinful approach, i.e.
that your motivation had not been to select the best part of the country for
yourselves at this time, as I had thought, based on what you had said. Your purpose
in the mission had been to determine if it was possible to conquer this land,
something that revealed that you did not believe G’d’s promise to you. As a result
of your lack of belief you accepted what the spies told you when they said that
these people are too strong, and you refused to ascend to this land.

Verse 27

‫בשנאת ה' אותנו‬, because we had worshipped idols while we were in Egypt.
He has now decided to deliver us into the hands of the Emorite even though He is
perfectly capable to conquer the Emorites and to kill them, He will take revenge on
us by delivering us into their hands.

Verse 28

Verse 29

Verse 30

Verse 31
‫אשר נשאך ה' לאוקיך‬, in this great and terrible desert. If G’d had wanted to take His
revenge on you, all He had to do was to leave you to the mercy of these predators.

Verse 32

Verse 33

‫לתור לכם מקום לחנותכם‬, in the same desert, as mentioned already in Numbers 10,33
‫לתור לכם מנוחה‬. All of this is a demonstration of G’d’s loving care for you.

Verse 34

‫את קול דבריכם‬, your uncalled for weeping.

Verse 35

Verse 36

Verse 37

‫גם בי התאנף ה' בגללכם‬, this was in order that you would have reason to cry
throughout the ages, as G’d had decreed in Numbers 14,28. When that verse referred
to ‫דבריכם‬, “your words,” the objectionable words G’d had referred to were: “our
children and wives will become loot,” (Numbers 14,5). Moses told the people at this
stage the real reason for his impending death, even though the cause occurred
already 38 years earlier. At that time G’d had announced His decree ‫אם יראה איש‬
‫באנשים הלאה‬, adding that by contrast‫וטפכם אשר אמרתם לבז יהי‬, “your children
concerning whom you had predicted that they would wind up as loot, as prisoners of
war, would conquer the land.” The major point Moses is making, [and I am
paraphrasing the author who quotes Psalms 106,26-27, Ezekiel 20,23, as well as
Psalms 106,32-40, Ed] is that were it not for the fact that he also had not been
allowed to enter the Holy Land, they would have been condemned to extinction. The
fact that he, the innocent leader, had been included in their punishment was for
the sake of the nation’s survival as such, even if traumatic exile experiences lay
ahead of them. (compare our author on Deut. 4,1)

Verse 38

Verse 39

Verse 40

Verse 41
Verse 42

Verse 43

Verse 44

Verse 45

‫ולא שמע ה' בקולכם‬, on account of the desecration of His name that was part of their
sin. Whenever a sin includes ‫חילול השם‬, the desecration of G’d’s name, (seeing that
is by definition something public) forgiveness without death of the penitent sinner
is impossible. Not only that, but G’d’s decree had been formulated as an oath,
something that made it irrevocable after both Joshua and Calev had made efforts to
make the people reconsider their negative attitude by accusing G’d of hating them.
As a matter of fact, even when they did repent afterwards, this was not genuine,
but was based on their fear of punishment. As a result, such a repentance is not
sufficient to cancel the punishment due in this life. Something similar had already
occurred with Kayin, who also repented but only because he could not face the
punishment in store for him. (Genesis 4,15) Both King Shaul, in respect of his
failure to wipe out Amalek completely, (Samuel I 15,26) and the High Priest Eli
(Samuel I 3,14) repented, but did so only out of their unwillingness to face their
punishment.
‫ולא האזין לאיכם‬. G’d did not even listen to your plea to delay the punishment, or to
suspend the part of the punishment for their children after their parents had died.
Moses used this fact as proof that the repentance of their parents at the time had
not been complete, sincere. As a result, even their tears had been to no avail.

Chapter 2

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5
Verse 6

Verse 7

‫ידע לכתך‬, He repaired or improved that way wherever necessary. The word ‫ ידע‬is used
here in the same sense as in Exodus 5,25 ‫וידע לאוקים‬, where it meant that G’d took
benevolent notice of the plight the Israelites were in and began to rectify their
situation. Similar uses of the term are found in Exodus 33,12 where Moses is the
beneficiary of such ‫ידיע‬, and in Deuteronomy 34,10 where he is again described as
the beneficiary of such a ‫ידיע‬, intimate familiarity with G’d.

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

‫האימים לפנים‬, seeing that the descendants of Lot had no legal claim to inherit
anything from Avraham at all, G’d announced that He had given them ancestral land
just as He had done to the descendants of Esau who were descended from Avraham in a
straight line. G’d testifies that both the Ammonites and the Moabites came to
possess what they owned contrary to accepted norms.

Verse 11

Verse 12

‫וישמידום‬. Esau and Moav destroyed more land and people than they needed for
themselves. They did so in order to wipe out all the former people residing there
so that they could not one day avenge their defeat. This was a totally
unjustifiable genocide. Neither Esau nor Moav populated all the land under their
control The area known as Har Seir bordered on areas formerly belonging to Moav and
was unpopulated by any members of the tribe of Esau. The same was true on the other
side of that boundary; it was not populated by any Moabites. This is why Moses is
speaking of G’d having told him that although this was in effect “no-man’s land,”
the Israelites were not even to traverse this region, as, nominally, it belonged to
either the descendants of Lot or those of Esau.
‫כאשר עשה ישרלא‬, a reference to the time when the Torah was committed to writing when
the lands of Sichon and Og had already been captured. Those two kings had been most
powerful; nonetheless, they had been vanquished within a very short space of time,
contrary to accepted norms. This all showed that G’d had given these lands to the
Israelites.

Verse 13

‫עתה קומו‬, seeing that it is forbidden to you to cross territory belonging to either
the Moabites or the Edomites, ‫קומו ועברו לכם את נחל זרד‬, which is outside the
territory of either one of these nations. From that point you will be able to
advance as far as the Jordan.
Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

‫ארץ רפאים תחשב אף היא‬, there can be no question that the Ammonites had no legal
right to dispossess these people; the only reason why they succeeded in doing so
was because it was G’d’s will.

Verse 21

Verse 22

‫כאשר עשה לבני עשו‬, just as G’d had done for the descendants of Esau who, after
settling in the land of Seir, had driven out the inhabitants (the Chori) from
there.

Verse 23

‫והעוים היושבים בחצרים עד עזה‬, even though the latter belonged to the descendants of
Esau or the Philistines with whom Avraham had made a solemn non aggression pact,
the Israelites were not now denied the right to conquer these lands. The reason
they could do so now was that the Philistines no longer owned the land in question
‫כפתורים היוצאימ מכפתור‬, the Cretans emigrating from Crete because their island
could not contain them all and who were seeking “lebensraum,” had annihilated the
Avim and replaced them in that land. When the Israelites conquered the land in
which Avimelech used to be king, it already had been lost by Avimelech. [Perhaps
the reason that this coastal strip was still known as “the land of the
Philistines,” long after the Israelites drove out the Canaanites, is the same as
when the Torah referred to the land of the descendants of Ammon as “the land of the
Refaim,” (verse 20) the latter having been its original owners.” Ed.]

Verse 24
Verse 25

Verse 26

Verse 27

Verse 28

Verse 29

Verse 30

‫כי הקשה ה' לאוקיך את רוחו‬, in order for him to refuse to allow the Israelites to
traverse his territory.
‫ואמץ את לבבו‬, in order to make war against them.

Chapter 3

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7
Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

‫כי רק עוג מלך הבשן נשאר‬....‫ערי ממלכת עוג בבשן‬, the reason why he ruled in that
district was because he was the only one remaining from the Refaim of old. Ever
since the war between Amrafel and his allies who defeated the Refaim on their way
to Sodom at Ashterot Karnayim (Genesis 14,5), there were numerous individual Refaim
remaining. These defeated the Ammonites as mentioned in 2,21. During that war
against the Ammonites only Og survived. Seeing that he was a famous hero, equaling
the combined power of all the other Refaim, he was the one who ruled.

Verse 11

‫ ;באמת איש‬according what the Refaim had adopted as their standard cubit, i.e. a
much longer one than that of average sized citizens. Such subjective, as opposed to
standard. measurements, are mentioned in Isaiah 56,11 where the prophet speaks of
‫איש לבצעו מקצהו‬, “every one has done his own thing.” The word ‫ איש‬also occurs
describing such individual feats in Kings I 20,20 ‫ויכו איש אישו‬, “each man struck
the opponent facing him.” There are other verses in which the word ‫ איש‬does not
mean “man,” but is a simile for the individual nature of something, No doubt there
were many “cubits” other than the one described here as 9 times the length of the
cubit of an average sized individual. The reason the Torah relates this
historically hardly important information is to impress the reader with the
extraordinary size of these Refaim. The strength of such giants can be imagined
once we are aware of their size. The fact that the Ammonites had been able to
defeat a nation whose warriors were of such proportions gives us a clear indication
that it must have been G’d’s will that they were able to do so. (compare our
commentary on 2,21).

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16
Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

Verse 23

Verse 24

‫ואת ידך החזקה‬, demonstrated by overriding well known laws of nature. No one but the
Creator of the universe is able to do this. Moses credits G’d with having done all
this only in order to be able to bring the Jewish people to the Holy Land. In view
of the length to which G’d had gone to do this it behooves the people to do
everything in order to justify their remaining in that land.

Verse 25

‫אעברה נא‬, in order to exterminate all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan in
order that the Jewish people will never be exiled from that land. (compare our
author on 1,34)
‫ואראה את הארץ הטובה‬, let me see it so that I can bless it with the blessing that
its goodness be at the Jewish people’s service for ever.

Verse 26

‫ויתעבר ה' בי למענכם‬, G’d was angry at me for trying to ensure your permanent stay
in that land while He had already decreed that at a certain point in history your
descendants would be exiled among the gentiles.

Chapter 4

Verse 1

‫ועתה ישרלא‬, after you have seen the decree of G’d to exile you if you sin, be on
guard to meticulously observe His commandments without adding to them or detracting
from them. An addition or a detraction will both have destructive consequences for
you.

Verse 2

‫ולא תגרעו ממנו לשמור‬, a person should not make the mistake made by King Solomon
that he can ignore a prohibition since he knows the reason for the prohibition and
can create conditions when such a prohibition would not be justified. [the Torah
had forbidden a king to marry too many women, warning that these could lead him
astray. Solomon relied on his wisdom not to lead him astray and ignored the Torah’s
law with disastrous consequences for his kingdom. Ed.]

Verse 3

‫עיניכם הרואות‬, Moses reminds the people that they had observed the truth of this
with their own eyes when their brethren, in their lust, not meaning to commit
idolatry, had nevertheless done so, as they had been overcome by their libidos at
the time so that they succumbed to seduction. The Torah testifies that their
original sin had “only” been to whore with the daughters of Moav. (Numbers 25,1)
The Torah, in outlawing sexual relations with non Jews had added that if this law
was ignored the result would be intermarriage, idol worship by the children of such
a marriage, etc. (Exodus 34,16) Every Israelite who indulged his lust for a Moabite
girl had considered himself immune to such a warning. They proved to have been
wrong, with the loss of 24.000 Israelites as a result. G’d had wiped out everyone
of them who had worshipped Baal Peor. They had been tricked into it without
realising it.

Verse 4

‫ואתם הדבקים בה' לאוקיכם חיים כלכם היום‬, you have all been smart enough to avoid a
lure which would end up in your committing an idolatrous act.

Verse 5

Verse 6

‫כי היא חכמתכם‬, observance of the laws of the Torah is your true wisdom and will
enable you to resist the lures and challenges by the heretics.

Verse 7

‫כי מי גוי גדול אשר לאוקים קרובים לאיו‬, for it will pay you to be considered
intelligent and wise in the eyes of the gentiles seeing that G’d is close to us ‫בכל‬
‫קראנו לאיו‬, whenever we call upon Him. This teaches the gentiles that we are the
chosen people. If the gentiles would consider you as being fools this would be a
desecration of G’d’s name for they would then ask derisively: “is this the nation
that claims to be G’d’s special nation?” (compare Ezekiel 36,20)

Verse 8

‫ומי גוי גדול אשר לו חקים ומשפטים צדיקים‬, the reason that you will be considered as
so wise in the eyes of the gentile nations is because you observe the commandments
and statutes of G’d. There is no other nation in existence that can boast such a
set of laws which by themselves point the way to G’d’s existence and His wonderful
ways. Who else has social laws which have neither been designed for the benefit of
the judges nor for the benefit their bureaucracy and their clerks, but serve one
interest only the dispensation of justice and fairness? Our sages phrased it thus:
“what is justice for one is at the same time fairness, righteousness for the
opposing party.” (Sanhedrin 6). Restitution of stolen property to the victim is
justice, having returned stolen property makes the erstwhile thief once more a
‫צדיק‬, a righteous person.

Verse 9

‫רק השמר לך‬, even though I have said that you are wise people in the eyes of the
gentile nations, be careful not to absorb the views of the wise men of those
nations who deny the existence of G’d the Creator and His ability and His
supervision of the universe He has created. They may try to convince you with all
kinds of intelligent sounding theories.
‫פן תשכח את הדברים אשר ראו עיניך‬, The reason why G’d has cautioned you to be so much
on your guard is that you might forget the evidence of your own eyes, at Mount
Sinai, as well as in Egypt and at the Sea of Reeds, and as a result be misled by
your mental eyes when interpreting the Torah. This was the purpose of miracles
which challenged your intellect, to show you that commonly held concepts are not
necessarily true. [perhaps the author has in mind the first such miracle Moses
experienced when he observed with his physical eyes that the burning bush did not
burn up and turn into ashes. The Israelites, when observing the spectacle of fire
within the ice of the hail, the seventh plague, collectively experienced another
challenge to the concept that fire and water are totally incompatible with one
another. Ed.]
‫והודעתם לבניך‬, you must therefore relate these experiences you had with your own
eyes to your children who have not seen such miracles.

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

‫כי לא ראיתם כל תמונה‬, this is in contradiction to a category of philosophers

believing that beyond the celestial phenomena we observe in the sky there are none
that are more substantial and influential, and these are the only ones which
existed since prehistoric days.

Verse 16

‫תמונת כל סמל‬, something that would reflect the belief of those who hold that every
perishable, ephemeral phenomenon in this world has a counterpart in the celestial
regions which it is derived from, and that people made themselves replicas of what
they thought the original looked like.

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

‫חלק ה' לאוקיך אותם לכל העמים‬, He arranged for them to appear in a manner appropriate
for the needs of each respective nation, according to their individual differences.
This very fact proves how wrong those are who believe in the universe’s existence
being the result of “the big bang,” i.e. forces, sources of energy, which operated
without design, happenings which are totally random, haphazard. How could zodiac
signs be of significance unless a superior intelligence had arranged for them?
(compare Maimonides, Moreh Nevuchim 20,2 quoting Aristo.)

Verse 20

‫ואתכם לקח‬, to walk in His paths and to cleave to Him. Seeing that this is so, you
have no need for depending on messages the gentiles perceive as being contained by
their horoscopes.

Verse 21

Verse 22

‫כי אנכי מת‬, I have to warn you very insistently, seeing that I will not be crossing
the Jordan with you. Compare Deuteronomy 31,29 where Moses predicts the corruption
of the people at some point after his death.

Verse 23

Verse 24

‫אש אוכלה הוא‬, a fire which consumes other fire, thereby destroying the soul
together with the body.
‫ל קנא‬-‫א‬, [I am paraphrasing the author here. Ed.] Jealousy is based on someone
observing that something contractually exclusively his, as for instance the,
fidelity of his wife- is being offered or provided for someone else. If a master’s
servant provides the services he is supposed to provide only for his master to
others, this arouses the master’s jealousy. If a Jew in any shape or form makes
available to idolatrous cults the services he is supposed to perform for G’d, he
arouses G’d’s jealousy.

Verse 25

‫להכעיסו‬, to cause the benevolent presence of G’d to remove it self from Israel, in
order to clear the way for the people to be just like the gentile nations, free of
the yoke of the Torah’s commandments.

Verse 26

Verse 27

Verse 28

‫ועבדתם שם לאוהים מעשה ידי אדם‬, when Jews find themselves outside of the land of
Israel against their will and in the course of time they are invited by member of
their host country, they are not guilty of deliberately performed idolatrous
practices. (Avodah Zarah 8).
‫אשר לא יראון‬, because they do not do what they do out of their own free will, as do
the members of the host nations who by fashioning the same kinds of sculptures or
drawing similar pictures do so as an act of admiration for the idols they worship.
When the members of the host countries make such sculptures they mean to draw
attention to the force in the universe which is responsible for such phenomena in
our day and age. [in the author’s time, art, generally, was legitimate only if it
claimed to represent matters compatible with the dogmas of the Church, for
instance. Ed.] The members of the host countries labour under the mistaken belief
that the “originators” of the phenomena they worship produced what they produced
out of their own volition; they do not realise that these “originators” had been
programmed to do this by G’d the Creator. They pray to these phenomena thinking
that these have the power to help them. Moses, representing G’d, says that the fact
is that no phenomenon in this physical universe is able to do anything unless it
has first been sanctioned by G’d.

Verse 29

‫ומצאת‬, even though you will not have a Temple at your disposal once you are exiled,
not any of its sacred vessels.
‫כי תדרשנו בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך בצר לך‬, the reason why you will be able to find your
way to G’d is that your conditions in exile will be so tough that you will turn to
G’d sincerely with all your heart and all your soul.

Verse 30

‫באחרית הימים‬, at the end of your exile, as Moses had predicted in Deut. 30,1-2.

Verse 31

Verse 32

‫כי שלא נא‬, the proof of what I said that G’d will not forget the covenant made with
your forefathers is that at Mount Sinai during the revelation all of you had been
elevated to the level of prophecy. When I took you to be My people this did not
mean that each and everyone of you by their own merits had deserved to be elevated
to that spiritual status. I did this on account of the patriarchs. The difference
between you and the gentile nations is that although the exceptional gentile may
have experienced prophetic insights, there never has been a nation who have
experienced something similar as a whole nation as you did at Mount Sinai.
Verse 33

Verse 34

‫או הנסה לאוקים‬, even though G’d from time to time may have seen to it that certain
people among the gentiles escaped what seemed like imminent disaster, such
instances were limited to a few select individuals;
‫במסות באותות‬, all of which proved that your good fortune was not due to some
coincidence but had been planned by G’d.
‫ובזרוע נטויה‬, ready to inflict further chastisements to demonstrate that that if
the afflicted person did not respond with penitence You would continue to
discipline him.

Verse 35

‫אתה הראית‬, G’d has shown you all this.

‫לדעת‬, for you to know and understand beyond any doubt ‫כי ה' הוא הלאוקים‬, that Lord
is the G’d Who is responsible for every phenomenon in the universe, that He has
created it.

Verse 36

‫ליסרך‬, to bring you to the level of prophecy on the occasion of your receiving the
Torah, Your experience at that time paralleled the experience of the prophet
Eliyahu at the same mountain in Kings I 19,11 when he first experienced a
tremendously powerful wind, etc. He also, like you experienced the fire (Kings I
19,12), before being addressed by G’d.

Verse 37

‫ותחת כי אהב את אבותיך‬, having done all this because He loved your patriarchs, ‫ויבחר‬
‫בזרעו‬, He chose the descendants of only one of them (Yaakov) .
‫ויוציאך בפניו‬, by performing a series of miraculous deeds
‫ממצרים‬, from Egypt; ‫להוריש‬, G’d intended to take you out of slavery, a state in
which you would not have been able to appreciate His intentions.

Verse 38

‫לתת לך את ארצם‬, which is really G’d’s favourite land, one that is always ready to
help its inhabitants to achieve their perfection on earth.

Verse 39

‫וידעת היום‬, it behooves you therefore to understand how these miracles confound any
theological theories that are not in agreement with Jewish tradition.
‫והשבות לא לבבך‬, having carefully examined all these factors you are to establish
firmly in your heart which is the truth, namely ‫כי ה' הוא הלאוקים‬, that the Lord
known to us as Hashem is the true G’d, the word itself indicating that He is
victorious in any competition who make similar claims because He is eternal. His
fame extends both ‫בשמים‬, in the celestial spheres above, as well as ‫על הארץ מתחת‬,
for you will realise that the very order which exists among celestial phenomena,
their predictability to the second, is proof that Someone is guiding them, has
programmed them.
‫אין עוד‬. You will also realise that it is quite inconceivable that there could be
more than One such supreme authority over all these phenomena. Among disembodied
spiritual forces it is quite impossible for two such forces to co-exist as equals.
One such force, power, must be superior to the other.

Verse 40

‫ושמרת את חקיו‬, Once you have understood all this you will naturally observe all of
G’d’s statutes. Jeremiah 10,7 already expressed this as a given when he asked
(rhetorically) ‫מי לא ייראך מלך הגוים‬, “who would not be in awe of You, King of the
nations?”
‫ כל הימים‬,‫ואת מצותיו אשר אנכי מצוך היום‬, the reason you will be observing these
laws for all time is that the religion will not be renewed or altered, ever.

Verse 41

‫אז יבדיל משה שלש ערים‬, after he had concluded with his introduction to the detailed
discourse on the Torah. The reason why he set aside these cities at that time was
to show the Israelites how the observance and carrying out of G’d’s commandments is
of such supreme importance, and that he, though about to depart the earth, wanted
to perform at least this commandment, the observance of which is linked to the land
of Israel.

Verse 42

Verse 43

Verse 44

‫וזאת התורה‬, the theoretical, philosophical part of the Torah. The word ‫ זאת‬refers
to what has just been concluded.

Verse 45

‫לאה העדות‬, what follows are the practical, tangible aspects of the Torah.

Verse 46

Verse 47

‫ויירשו את ארצו‬, they inherited his country after having conquered land that had
been inhabited, suitable for settlement. This land would offer the opportunity to
observe all of G’d’s commandments in it. They would not need to fear invaders, etc.
This is where Moses began his review of the Torah and his speech of warning the
people of the importance of remaining loyal to G’d.

Chapter 5

Verse 1
Verse 2

Verse 3

‫היום כלנו חיים‬, this is why the covenant has to be mad with you who enter the Holy
Land, so that you will arrange things in such a manner that future generations who
were not present at the time this covenant was made will consider it binding for
themselves and conduct themselves accordingly.

Verse 4

‫פנים בפנים‬, not in a nocturnal vision when you were asleep.

Verse 5

‫ פני בפנים דבר ה' עמכם‬,‫לאמר‬, the word ‫עמכם‬, “with you,” is used in the sense of
‫לאיכם‬, “to you,” [seeing the Israelites did not respond to G’d with words of their
own at that time. Ed.] ‫לאמר אנכי‬, A explained on Exodus 20,1-2. If so, why did
Moses have to stand in a position between that from which G’d’s voice emanated and
the people? This was only to tell you the meaning of the words of G’d and to add to
the degree of awe with which G’d’s words have to be related to. You yourselves were
too sacred to hear G’d’s voice any further. [This is also the reason why you were
afraid to ascend the mountain when you saw the fire. Ed.]

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

‫לקדשו כאשר צוך‬, in the manner He had already issued commandments pertaining to
Sabbath observance at Marah (Exodus 15,26)

Verse 13
Verse 14

‫למעו ינוח עבדך ואמתך כמוך‬, from the positioning of the commandment that your beasts
of burden have to refrain from performing work for you on the Sabbath, before
mentioning your children and servants observing such Sabbath rest, it is clear that
the reasons animals owned by you must rest o the Sabbath is for the sake of the men
working them, not because animals per se are subject to the spiritual concepts
governing the Sabbath and its laws. The need for one’s slaves to observe the
Sabbath rest is, of course, part of the reminder that when you were slaves you did
not enjoy such a day of rest. Hence, do not treat your slave in the hateful you
were treated when you were in his shoes.

Verse 15

Verse 16

‫ולמען ייטב לך‬, even in this life already. As our ages (said Peyah 1,1) that “there
are commandments for the fulfillment of which one “eats” the dividends in this life
whereas the principal is reserved for use in the world to come.” Honouring father
and mother is one of those commandments.

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

Verse 23

Verse 24

‫ואת תדבר לאינו‬, even though your words will be inferior in value to G’d’s words.

Verse 25
Verse 26

Verse 27

Verse 28

Verse 29

‫ושמרתם לעשות‬, seeing that things have developed in this fashion it is no more than
a minimal request that you observe and carry out G’d’s commandments,
‫ולא תסורו ימין ושמלא‬, neither to add to them even if your intentions are good, nor
to detract from them.

Verse 30

‫למען תחיו וטוב לכם‬, in order that you will live enduringly in a good and happy
frame of mind.
‫והארכתם ימים בארץ אשר תירשון‬, so that you will acquire “long life” in a world which
is itself one of unlimited duration.

Chapter 6

Verse 1

‫וזאת המצוה‬, so called because the commandments that can be fulfilled only in the
land of Israel are the ones through whose performance the One Who has commanded
them considers Himself blessed.

Verse 2

‫למען תירא את ה' לאוקיך‬, for you will remember then that He is the owner of the earth
you till, and that you are considered as aliens, or at best as resident strangers
by Him.
‫ ובן בנך‬,‫ ובנך‬,‫אתה‬. This is a reminder that even the generations who had not been
eyewitnesses to G’ds powerful miracles will learn to revere Him when they accept
the commandments, as you have seen.
‫ולמען יאריכון ימיך‬, and in order that these commandments (their performance)
acquire for you your ticket to the world after death, a world in which there is
only long, infinite life.

Verse 3

‫ושמעת ישרלא‬, when you have attained this purpose which G’d had had in mind for you
from the beginning in His great kindness. It is important that through performance
and awareness you will appreciate the tremendous goodwill G’d has demonstrated by
His legislating these commandments.
‫ושמרת לעשות אשר ייטב לך‬, and you will endeavour to carry out all these tasks out of
a feeling of love for G’d, in order to be worthy of His goodwill, aware that He is
interested in creating conditions which will make you merit a continued existence.
Seeing that this is His purpose in legislating any and all of these commandments,
you will also observe these commandments in order to multiply greatly on earth.
This is a goal you will achieve if your performance of these commandments is not
for the sake of the material reward but ‫לשמה‬, for His honour, as acts of
righteousness and justice in the pure sense. ‫ ארץ זבת חלב‬,‫כאשר דבר ה' לאוקיך לך‬
‫ודבש‬, as He had said to you concerning this land that it “flows with milk and
honey.” This land is inherently capable of providing those of its owners who take
the lesson we just spelled out to heart, with an easy livelihood, a livelihood
which leaves the person sufficient leisure time to pursue Torah studies and by
means of this to penetrate more deeply into its meaning and also to be fruitful and
to multiply.

Verse 4

‫שמע ישרלא‬, listen Israel with your mind open;

'‫ה‬, He is the One Who is responsible for the existence of a physical universe and
our globe, the only part of it on which physical life exists.
‫לאוקינו‬, He is the choicest of all the abstract forces assigned to supervise the
conduct of human beings, and even inert creatures. From Him we yearn for assistance
in helping us to achieve our purpose on earth. We do not turn to any intermediary.
He alone is fit to have prayers addressed to.
‫ ;ה' אחד‬seeing that He created all phenomena in this universe, celestial or
terrestrial out of a total void, it is logically impossible for there to be another
phenomenon representing an existence independent of Him. It also makes him
basically different, unique, for all things created by Him are by definition
potentially terminal, transient existences. He is absolutely unique in the world
based on four basic raw materials, water, fire, earth, air. This idea appears to be
hinted at in the letter 4=‫ ד‬in the word ‫ אחד‬which is written larger than usual and
the letter ‫ ע‬in the word ‫ שמע‬which is also written in larger than normal script,
suggesting that we should use our eyes to take note of these concepts, the
“testimony, ‫ ”עד‬that this is so. This is why our sages said that we must draw out
the word ‫ אחד‬when reciting it so as to give us time to reflect on the full meaning
of the verse.

Verse 5

‫ואהבת‬, you will then enjoy doing things which are pleasing to Him when you
understand that there is nothing in this world which is more worth doing. [the word
‫ ואהבת‬is not perceived a commandment by the author; in fact it is questionable if
loving someone could be the subject of a commandment altogether. Ed.]

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9
Verse 10

.‫אשר לא בנית ובתים מלאים כל טוב אשר לא מלאת‬You will attain wealth without having
toiled for it.

Verse 11

Verse 12

‫השמר לך פן תשכח‬, for wealth acquired in such a fashion is liable to fostering the
desire, greed for more; in the pursuit of more material wealth man is liable to
forget his Maker.

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

‫מה העדות‬, a reference to the philosophical, theological aspects of the Torah. These
invariably relate to the supernatural matters described in the Torah.
‫והחקים והמשפטים‬, the practical laws,
‫אשר צוה ה' לאוקינו אתכם‬, and He did not deem the seven Noachide laws as adequate.

Verse 21

‫עבדים היינו‬, seeing that during the many years of our being slaves we could not
attain the degree of perfection G’d had in mind for us to attain, He performed
miracles in order to lead us out and to bring us to the land in which we could
attain this degree of perfection.

Verse 22

Verse 23

Verse 24

‫ויצונו ה' לעשות את כל החקים הלאה‬, in order to make us ready by means of their
observance,
‫ליראה את ה' לאוקינו‬, this is the result of acquiring a measure of understanding of
His greatness; all of this G’d wanted us to appreciate ‫לטוב לנו כל הימים‬, for He
desires to confer goodness, love, He has no egotistical motives. ‫לחיותנו כהיום הזה‬.
To keep us alive as of this day.

Verse 25

This is what I had in mind when I said to you ‫וצדקה תהיה לו לטוב לנו כל הימים‬, it
will be good for us not only in this life but will be a charitable act assuring us
of life in the hereafter.
We will enjoy the transient life on this earth as a result of having first assured
ourselves through observance of the commandments of our share in the world to come,
i.e. eternal life.

Chapter 7

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

‫כי עם קדוש אתה‬, and it is not appropriate for you to desecrate your sanctity
through women committed to alien deities, who will bear you children that are
already genetically corrupted. It is this that the prophet Maleachi 2,11 had in
mind when he spoke of ‫אשר אהב ובעל בת נכר‬ '‫כי חלל יהודה קדש ה‬,”for Yehudah profaned
what is holy to the Lord, what He desires, by sleeping with daughters of alien
gods.”
‫בך בחר‬, as distinct from corrupt seed; our sages referred to this concept as “the
benevolent presence of G’d is present (rests on) only families who are genetically
offspring of families with good Jewish pedigrees.” (Kidushin 70)

Verse 7

‫לא מרבכם‬, not in order to be honoured by a multitude.

Verse 8

‫כי מאהבת ה' אתכם‬, seeing that you are the seed of someone who loved Him and who was
more familiar with His name than any member of any of the other nations.

Verse 9

‫ל הנאמן‬-‫הא‬, Who is constant, not subject to change.

‫שומר הברית ומשלם לשונאיו‬, the meaning of the words ‫רשע וטוב לו‬, [a favourite
argument of the heretics who point to the afflictions suffered by the pious and the
good life enjoyed by the pious in this life. Ed.] can be understood on two levels:
1) the “good” the wicked appear to enjoy in this life is due to merits accumulated
by their forefathers who had not been recompensed for these as yet by G’d. A
prominent example of this is the enjoyable life lived by Ishmael who benefited by
Avraham’s merits. G’d Himself referred to this in Genesis 21,13 when He said ‫כי‬
‫זרעך הוא‬, “because he is your seed. 2) The wicked person himself has accumulated
some merits; seeing that on balance he does not qualify for life in the hereafter,
G’d has to compensate him while he is on earth. This He does by letting him enjoy
the transient joys available in this life to the extent his merits entitle him to.

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

‫והיה עקב תשמעון‬, Moses explains that the reason why the King, i.e. G’d, commands
them to observe all these commandments is in order to be able to fulfill the
promises made to their forefathers regarding them. The people were meant to observe
these commandments out of a feeling of love for G’d, not because they did so in
order to earn a reward. [If I understand the author correctly, the words‫ ואת החסד‬in
the phrase ‫את הברית והחסד‬, are to establish reciprocity of G’d’s loving care for
the patriarchs, the parties to the covenant, and their descendants’ feeling of love
on their part towards the Creator. Ed.]
‫את המשפטים‬, for the earth’s continued existence is linked to performance of justice
by its inhabitants. (Proverbs 29,4)
‫ושמרתם‬, and study them, (according to Sifri)
‫ועשיתם אותם‬, as a result of studying them you will perform them in accordance with
halachah.
‫ושמר ה' לאוקיך לך את הברית‬, the one He swore, when He said (Genesis 17,7) “I will
give My covenant between Me and you, and between your descendants after you for all
generations as an eternal covenant, to be your G’d and that of your descendants
after you.” Being our G’d means that He will supervise our fates not by means of
some intermediary, such as the fates which are supervised by appointees of G’d,
including horoscopes, and angels assigned to each nation. Besides, anything which
is done by G’d personally, without His having recourse to an intermediary, is
something that endures forever. Compare Kohelet 3,14 ‫כי כל אשר יעשה הלאוקים הוא אשר‬
‫יהיה לעולם‬,”anything which G’d does Himself is something that will endure forever.”
By contrast, transient phenomena, [such as extinct species, for instance, Ed.] are
proof of the fact that they were the products of intermediaries of G’d. [G’d had
commanded the waters to produce the living creatures of the waters, and He had
commanded the earth to produce vegetation and the mammals, etc. Water and the earth
are both intermediaries. Ed.]
‫ואת החסד‬, as He had said in Genesis 17,8 when He promised the land of Canaan to
Avraham’s descendants. Such acts are acts of loving kindness and have nothing to do
with the reward awaiting us as compensation for performing the commandments in the
world to come. (based on the statement in Kidushin 39 that reward, in the sense of
compensation, for commandments performed is not something that is due while we are
on earth.)

Verse 13

‫ואהבך‬, He loved you, in the sense that you are “children,” reflecting His image;
our sages (Avot 3,10) paraphrased this when they said: “Israel is beloved of the
Lord,” as we know from the fact that He refers to them as ‫בנים‬,”children of the
Lord.” By performing the commandments the eternal nature of the covenant will be
reinforced so that it is perfect.
‫וברכך‬, with material wealth, measurable in terms of money. This blessing improves
the quality of the transient life on earth. By means of this blessing He insures
your ability to enjoy the loving kindness of living in the land of Israel
successfully, happily.

Verse 14

Verse 15

‫כל חולי‬, any manner of illness including those that are the result of climactic
conditions.
‫הרעים‬, the ones which are contagious.
‫אשר ידעת‬, that the Egyptians were smitten with at the Sea of Reeds.
‫לא ישימם בך ונתנם בכל שונאך‬, even though these diseases will strike your enemies
they will not infect you, as described in Psalms 91,7 “thousands may fall by your
side….but the source of the death will not reach you.”

Verse 16

‫לא תחוס עיניך עליהם ולא תעבוד את לאוהיהם‬. By not ignoring idolatry in your country
by people remaining there you will ensure that no Israelites will worship such
deities. If you will turn a blind eye to their practices they will undoubtedly lead
you into sin.
‫כי מוקש הוא לך‬, although you relate to them by protecting their freedom of worship,
they will turn out to be a stumbling block for you by seducing you to join them in
their religious rites.

Verse 17

‫ לא תירא מהם‬,‫איכה אוכל להורישם‬...‫כי תאמר‬, for you will say that they outnumber you.
Do not say this in a manner which will inspire fear in you, but reflect on the fact
that this would be an argument only if the Lord your G’d had not already
demonstrated that with His help you can overcome. ‫זכור תזכור את אשר עשה ה' לאוקיך‬
‫לפרעה וכל מצרים‬, they outnumbered you by a far greater margin than the Canaanites
and they were stronger than the Canaanites.

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

Verse 23

Verse 24

‫ונתן מלכיהם בידך והאבדת את שמם‬, for allowing any
would become an ongoing source of irritation for
Haddad, sole survivor of the people of Edom, who
irritation (militarily) for such a powerful king
onwards)
of these Canaanites to survive
you, as demonstrated by the young
became a lifelong source of
as Solomon. (Kings I 11,14 and

Verse 25

‫פן תוקש בו‬, for sometimes, especially if you are successful with the investment of
silver and gold deriving from idolatrous sources, you will attribute this to the
goodwill of their idols, which in turn will become a trap for you (theologically
speaking).

Verse 26

‫תתעבנו כי חרם הוא‬, you must treat that silver and gold as if it were an
abomination;
‫כי חרם הוא‬, not only would you not benefit by their silver and gold, but neither by
their other possessions. It is out of bounds for you, it would bring harm to your
other properties, the ones you acquired legally, with the approval of the Torah.

Chapter 8

Verse 1
‫כל המצוה אשר אנכי מצוך היום תשמרון לעשות‬, the objective of people worshipping idols
is nothing other than their obsession with transient values which consist mostly of
three categories, having children, living to a ripe old age, and success in
amassing money or its equivalent. The Torah promises that by observing G’d’s
commandments as spelled out in the Torah one may achieve all these three
objectives. This is meant by the Torah writing: ‫למען תחיון‬, when commanding the
laws of the Torah G’d did not only mean to guarantee you eternal life in the
hereafter, but He had in mind also successful, rewarding life on earth.
‫ורביתם‬, you will multiply by having numerous children.
‫ובאתם וירשתם‬, attaining wealth and honour by inheriting the land.

Verse 2

‫וזכרת את כל הדרך‬, during which He gave you bread to eat, clothes to wear, by
supernatural means.
‫לנסותך‬, to test you if, seeing that you did not have to work hard for a livelihood,
you would in return carry out His will.
‫לדעת את אשר בלבבך‬, so that what you had in your mind will come to light, so that
every angel will know that you had a justified claim to a higher rank in the
universe than even the ministering angels.

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

‫ ;מיסרך‬along with the commandments He has given you, He gives you a superior
moral/ethical challenge to help you achieve perfection as seen from His
perspective.

Verse 6

Verse 7

‫לא ארץ טובה‬, a land which is the confluence of numerous good, desirable qualities
not found together in other districts of the globe. These qualities are the
following, the Torah prefacing each with the word ‫ ארץ‬again. <br>1) ‫ארץ נחלי מים‬
‫עינות ותהומות‬, not the waters from polluted rivers or static ponds, waters
described as evil waters in Kings II 2,19.<br> 2) ‫ ארץ חטה ושעורה‬, crops which are
basic as food.<br> 3) ‫ארץ זית שמן ודבש‬, products fit for the palate of a king.<br>
4) ‫ארץ אשר לא במסכנות תאכל בה לחם‬, a land in which money can be found cheaply, a
land full of treasures as per Isaiah 2,7 “the land is full of silver and gold and
there is no end to the treasures it hides.” Dearth of money is more serious than
shortage of the products which can be bought with it, as we know from the Talmud
Taanit 19 which declares that whereas the blowing of the shofar in supplication to
G’d on account of a shortage of foodstuffs does not have to be arranged
immediately, shortage of money, i.e. people not having the money to buy the
available food products gives rise to immediate supplication to Gd including the
sounding of the shofar at public prayer meetings. <br> 5) ‫ארץ אשר אבניה ברזל‬, a
land whose stones contain iron, i.e. a useful metal, or whose stones are strong as
iron, providing excellent building materials.

Verse 8

Verse 9

‫תחצוב נחושת‬, you will mine copper; the Torah’s definition of “good” iron, material
that is excellent for either building material, or raw material for a variety of
vessels.

Verse 10

‫וברכת את ה' לאוקיך‬, the reason why the Lord blesses you in such a fashion is so that
you will remember that only from Him could you have been given a land with such an
abundance of advantages.

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

‫ומצור החלמיש‬, which was turned into water for your benefit. Compare Psalms 114,8:
“Who has turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint stone into a fountain of
water.”

Verse 16

‫למען ענותך‬, so that you will keep His commandments out of a sense of poverty, as do
people who have no bread in their baskets (which would give them a feeling of
confidence).
‫ולמען נסותך‬, to see if He will give you your livelihood without your having to
perform back breaking labour if you perform His will as written in the Torah
‫להיטיבך‬, more so even than to the ministering angels, who, in spite of their
devoted service are in a state of panicky flight before Him.

Verse 17

Verse 18
Verse 19

‫והיה אם שכוח תשכח‬, this will happen if you attribute your success to your own
efforts instead of giving credit to G’d and thanking Him for it by blessing Him.
‫תאבדון‬, you will be lost both in the terrestrial world and will forfeit your claim
to eternal life after you depart from this earth.

Chapter 9

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

‫לא תאמר בלבבך בהדוף‬, when you see that you enjoy victory against all odds, so that
you realise this victory has to be credited to your enjoying a heavenly assist, do
not commit a terrible error.
‫לרשת‬...‫בצדקתי הביאני‬, that G’d did all this on account of your being a model of
righteousness, and that furthermore the speed with which all this occurred was on
account of
‫ברשעת הגויים הלאה ה' מורישם מפניך‬, that the Lord dispossessed them on account of
their wickedness, because He wanted His retribution against these people to be
orchestrated by your destroying them. This would be the very opposite of what David
prayed for when he thought G’d was punishing him. He prayed that the judgment
should not be executed by man but that he preferred to be punished by G;d directly,
not by one of His surrogates, especially one of his peers. (Samuel II 24,14)

Verse 5

‫ולמען הקים‬, so that as a result of observing the commandments the nation would
merit to inherit the land. We find another instance where, as a result of complying
with a command by G’d to wipe out the family of Achav, G’d not only confirmed Jehu
as king but extended his dynasty for four generations. (Kings II 10,30)

Verse 6

‫כי עם קשה עורף אתה‬, being stiff-necked and righteous simultaneously is a non
starter, as these two character qualities are mutually exclusive. Being stiff-
necked means to follow the dictates of one’s own heart, one’s own opinions instead
of accepting the yoke of the Creator’s commandments as being supreme. Such a person
will reject even theories which have been proven beyond doubt if they conflict with
what he deems good or convenient for himself. The simile of a “stiff-necked” person
or people described someone who appears unable to turn around and face his teacher,
as his neck is too stiff.

Verse 7

‫זכור לא תשכח‬, Moses adds proof to his characterising the Jewish people as being
stiff-necked by reminding them of how many times during his stewardship of the
nation they had angered G’d, so that it reminds one of a dog which returns to his
own excrement finding it attractive. This happened again and again although each
time they had been subjected to disciplining by G’d, and they learned more about
His greatness on each occasion.

Verse 8

‫ובחורב הקצפתם‬, Moses underlines the serious nature of this negative characteristic
known as “stiff-necked,” by reminding the people that even at Mount Sinai when G’d
had already decided to wipe them out, (verse 14 our chapter) G’d had justified this
by referring to their stiff-necked nature. He had not decreed death for them on
account of a specific and horrific sin, but on account of their attitude which bode
ill for the future, indicated that such a people was not capable of becoming true
penitents.

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

‫וההר בוער באש‬, so that you actually committed the sin (golden calf) while the
“King” i.e. the presence of the Shechinah, was actually still in your immediate
vicinity.

Verse 16

Verse 17
Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

‫ובתבערה ובמסה‬, even though you have seen with your own eyes that because you had
made G’d angry the Tablets He had made Himself were shattered, and I had to pray
for you and fast for 40 consecutive days and nights, you repeatedly angered G’d
again at the locations I just mentioned, as if putting G’d to the test each time.
‫ובקברת התאוה‬, when you demanded to eat meat.

Chapter 10

Verse 1

‫"בעת ההיא אמר ה' לאי "פסל לך‬, in spite of all my prayers, the repair, the
reconstitution of what had been damaged, proved to be incomplete,for the
substitution for the first set of Tablets was not something made by G’d Himself,
and this is why He commanded me: ‫פסל לך‬, “carve it out by yourself!”

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

‫ ובני ישרלא נסעו‬, even though they had seen that the prayer of a righteous person
may prove a protection for the members of his generation so that it is most
appropriate to mourn his death, in this instance we find that the Israelites in
their search for water journeyed on without delay, not a word being said about
their taking time out to mourn the passing of Aaron. This is the meaning of the
construction: “there Aaron died, was buried…and Eleazar became High Priest in his
stead.” They neither took time out to mourn Aaron nor did they celebrate the
appointment of a new High Priest, a position which made that person the
interlocutor on their behalf. Rather, ‫משם נסעו הגדגודה‬, to graze their sheep;
‫ ארץ נחלי מים‬,‫ומן הגדגודה יטבת‬, for all the locations mentioned had water which was
adequate for the needs of their livestock. Still, they paid no heed to the damage
they had incurred by the death of a righteous man such as Aaron, neither to his
honour, nor to the dishonour they had caused themselves by allowing the passing of
a man of such caliber to go by unnoticed. [Numbers 20,28-29 reports Aaron’s death
as well as the fact that the entire community of Israel bewailed his death for
thirty days. Ed.]

Verse 7

Verse 8

‫בעת ההיא הבדיל‬, after G’d had already set aside the tribe of Levi as the tribe to
perform the holy service in the Temple so that you are not deemed worthy for this
task, my prayer was not effective enough except to prevent G’d from destroying you,
so that He said to me: “arise and make them journey, and be in front of the
people!” (verse 11) The expression is used in the same sense as in Numbers 10,2)

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

‫ויבואו ויירשו את הארץ אשר נשבעתי‬, if not for G’d’s oath you would not have merited
to inherit it due to your excessive rebelliousness.

Verse 12

‫ועתה ישרלא‬, seeing that this is the situation as of now, it is up to you to try and
repair the damage caused by your iniquities from here on in. First and foremost,
try and be clear about what it is that the Lord asks of you, expects of you: '‫מה ה‬
‫לאוקיך שולא מעמך‬, He does not ask these things because He is in need of them, seeing
the whole earth and all of the celestial regions are all His. ‫כי אם ליראה‬, you can
do this by simply realising His greatness;
‫ולאהבה אותו‬, this will also be a natural result if only you reflect on all the
goodness you have experienced at His hand. ‫לטוב לך‬, all of this G’d asks only for
your own good, so that you will qualify for eternal life in the hereafter.

Verse 13

Verse 14
‫והארץ‬...‫הן לה' לאוקיך השמים‬, the fact that He owns the entire universe is convincing
proof that whatever He asks of you is only for your own good, not for His, seeing
that He has everything. The phenomena in the heavens and on earth are
indestructible, permanent, and if you observed that at times they performed out of
character to their nature, this was only because I, G’d, made them perform so in
your interest. However, G’d was fond of your forefathers

Verse 15

‫רק באבותיך חשק‬, and this is why He performed miracles which interfered with natural
law; these miracles were for your benefit, but were orchestrated only because of
His fondness for them. Clearly, G’d’s purpose must have been that there should
arise on earth someone even more perfect than any other creature, i.e. a perfect
human being, one that realises his full potential, will resemble Me to the maximum
extent that a creature can resemble its Creator, i.e. ‫( בצלמנו כדמותנו‬Genesis
1,26).

Verse 16

‫ומלתם את ערלת לבבכם‬, therefore, it is appropriate that you remove the “foreskin,”
prejudices with which your intelligence is afflicted, so that you will realise the
errors you have made in your world outlook based on false premises.
‫וערפכם לא תקשו עוד‬, so that you will no longer be stiff-necked, a condition which
prevents you from truly recognising your Creator and how evil it is to turn your
back on Him.

Verse 17

Once you removed this “foreskin,” you will recognize that ‫כי ה' לאוקיכם הוא לאוקי‬
‫הלאוקים‬, the eternal One Who will outlast anything as He is not made of any physical
raw material so that He can outlast even materials that are not composites of other
elements. [It is an axiom among philosophers of the author’s time that amalgams,
phenomena which combine within them several elements, are by definition not
durable, as just as these elements had to be fused to bring the final product into
existence, this process will reverse itself in due cause, something we know as
“dying.” Ed.]
‫ואדוני האדונים‬, the supreme leader; the “leaders” referred to are the celestial
bodies, especially those that even to the naked eye appear as performing a
recognisable orbit. The “leaders” are the ones perceived as guiding and dictating
the respective orbits of these celestial bodies. They are performing like different
parts of a clockwork, so that when each performs its assigned function, the whole,
i.e. the clock, becomes a reliable instrument telling time. [my metaphor. Ed.]
‫ל הגדול‬-‫הא‬, the like of whom in greatness is not found among any creatures claiming
greatness.
‫הגבור‬, the One Who, single-handedly, ensures the continued existence of everything,
as per Nechemyah 9,6 ‫ואתה מחיה את כולם‬, “and You keep all of them alive.”
‫והנורא‬, supervising His creatures’ activities in order to mete out reward and
punishment. Seeing that this is so, it behooves us to be in constant awe of Him.
‫אשר לא ישא פנים‬, does not treat a deviant with leniency just because his father was
righteous. This is so in spite of the fact that He confers benefits on the
descendants of a righteous father for many generations to his descendants.
‫ולא יקח שוחד‬, He does not offset a merit against a demerit, a sin; or in the words
of our sages: “a good deed performed does not extinguish the sin committed.”
(Nachmanides Moses tells the people all this so that they should not reassure
themselves that they can wipe the slate clean by performing good deeds after having
committed sins and thus escape the retribution they deserve for the sins committed.
The only way the slate can be wiped clean is by genuine repentance.
Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

‫היא תהלתך‬, your glory consists in the privilege of being a servant of a Being Who
rules the entire cosmos.

Chapter 11

Verse 1

Verse 2

‫כי לא את בניכם‬, therefore, you who have become witnesses to G’d’s miracles for the
generations by reason of the fact that you enter this land and conquer it.
‫וזרועו הנטויה‬, which is ever ready to smite those who will revert to their sinful
ways.

Verse 3

Verse 4

‫ויאבדם ה' עד היום הזה‬, for then the choicest captains of the Egyptian cavalry were
drowned with their armies in such a decisive manner that even now, forty years
later, they have not recovered from this defeat. Until this day these military
leaders of Egypt have not been replaced.

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

'‫כי עיניכם הרואות את כל מעשה ה‬, which He performed against those who rebelled
against Him, to Pharaoh in Egypt, to Pharaoh at the Sea, to those who rebelled
against Him in the desert, Datan and Aviram,. It is therefore up to you who have
experienced all this with your own eyes to warn your children who have not been
eyewitnesses to these events. Therefore,

Verse 8

‫ושמרתם את כל המצות אשר אנכי מצוך היום‬, the commandment to erect the stones in the
Jordan as well as the stones you will take with you from the Jordan on which you
will inscribe the Torah for the benefit of future generations so that the memory
that these events really happened will be preserved.

Verse 9

‫ולמען תאריכו ימים על האדמה‬, for if your children will not observe G’d’s
commandments they will be exiled from this land before the warnings in the
paragraph commencing with ‫ונושנתם בארץ‬, “you will become well established in the
land,” can ever become a reality (Deut.4,25).

Verse 10

‫כי הארץ אשר אתה בא שמה לרשתה לא כארץ מצרים היא‬, which does not require rainfall.

Verse 11

‫למטר השמים תשתה מים‬. For there are not enough rivers to irrigate the farmland so
that the earth requires rainfall to irrigate the crops.

Verse 12

‫דורש אותה‬, to carefully scrutinize the deeds of its inhabitants to determine if

they are deserving the rain or not. Therefore, you should remain aware of the fact
that

Verse 13

‫ונתתי מטר ארצכם בעתו‬...‫אם שמוע תשמעו‬, so that you will find your livelihood
painlessly, and the land will cooperate with you. If not, G’d will not provide any
rain and you will not have food to eat (16-17)

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

and as a result of such a development ‫ואבדם מהרה‬, from hunger, which is a more
painful death than dying by the sword.. Therefore, remain on guard!

Verse 18

‫ושמתם את דברי לאה על לבבכם‬, to understand them through intensive study;

‫ועל נפשכם‬, so that you will observe them willingly.

Verse 19

‫ולמדתם אותם את בניכם‬, train your children in the regular performance of the
commandments
‫לדבר בם בשבתך‬, so that you will make them a regular part of your conversation with
your children.

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

‫כי אם שמור תשמרון לאהבה‬, the thrust of your preoccupation with Torah is to be that
you show the acts of loving kindness G’d has performed, which in turn will ensure
that you love Him.
‫ללכת בכל דרכיו‬, to emulate the way in which He governs His universe, i.e.
application of justice and righteousness.
‫ולדבקה בו‬, all your actions should strive to carry out His will, as Proverbs 3,6
‫!בכל דרכיך דעהו‬

Verse 23

‫והוריש‬, He will give you a chance to earn your livelihood easily so as to have time
to serve Him.

Verse 24

Verse 25

‫לא יתיצב איש‬, not even outside the land of Israel.

Verse 26

‫ראה‬, pay good attention so that you will not be like the nations of the world who
relate to everything half-heartedly, always trying to find middle ground. Remember
that ‫אנכי נותן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה‬, I present you this day with the choice of
two extremes, opposites. The ‫ ברכה‬is an extreme in that it provides you with more
than you need, whereas the ‫ קללה‬is another extreme making sure that you have less
than your basic needs. You have the choice of both before you; all you have to do
is make a choice.

Verse 27

Verse 28
Verse 29

‫ונתת את הברכה‬, bless the people who observe G’d’s commandments,

‫ואת הקללה‬, and curse those who violate them deliberately.

Verse 30

‫הלא המה בעבר הירדן‬, at the entrance to the land as soon as you cross the Jordan.
This procedure is meant to demonstrate that your settling in this land will not be
in an unsatisfactory, inadequate manner, but that it will be either completely
successful or the reverse.

Chapter 12

Verse 1

‫לרשתה כל הימים‬-...‫לאה החקים והמשפטים אשר תשמרון‬, observance of all the commandments
listed forthwith is, among other things, a condition to ensure that you will remain
ancestral owners of this land for all time. ‫כל הימים‬, during all the time when you
are busy wiping out locations dedicated to idolatry and you will not yourselves
worship idols by becoming like them by offering your sacrifices wherever it pleases
you.

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

‫לשכנו‬...‫המקום אשר יבחר ה' לאוקיכם מכל שבטיכם‬, the place where His Name will have a
permanent residence, during the early period at Shiloh, later on in Jerusalem,
Solomon’s Temple, better known as ‫בית עולמים‬, the permanent Temple.
‫תדרשו‬, you shall seek out this place to worship and to offer your sacrifices, as
per Isaiah 11,10 ‫לאיו גויים ידרשו‬, “nations will seek Him out there.”
‫ובאת שמה‬, G’d will not come to you, as in the case of the idolaters, but you will
come to Him.

Verse 6

Verse 7
Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22
‫אך כאשר יאכל את הצבי‬, in a place that has not been consecrated.

Verse 23

‫רק חזק לבלתי אכול הדם‬, even though you hope that by eating the blood you will be
able to divine the future as do the demons as our sages said in Chagigah 16 that
upon eating blood one can hear the future in the same manner as do the ministering
angels.” [On that folio the Talmud does not describe the demons as eating blood,
specifically; also the Talmud describes the knowledge of the demons of future
events as not based on their intelligence, but as something they overheard in the
celestial regions. Nachmanides elaborates on all this, particularly in his
commentary on the relevant verse in Acharey Mot. Ed.]

Verse 24

‫ על הארץ תשפכנו כמים‬,‫לא תאכלנו‬, you are to treat it so that it becomes unfit to
eat, just as is water when you pour it on the earth. It is not enough to hide it,
as one hides wine or oil and other liquids which are designed as drinks.

Verse 25

'‫תעשה הישר בעיני ה‬.‫כי‬....‫לא תאכלנו‬, when you refrain from eating it this shall not
be because you despise it, i.e. it repels you; you must not eat it in order to
thereby do what is right in the eyes of the Lord. Our sages in Torat Kohanim on
Kedoshim 9,10 phrase it thus: “one must not say: ‘I am revolted by pig’s meat,’ but
one should say: ‘I am perfectly capable of enjoying pig’s meat; the only reason I
do not is in order to comply with G’d’s prohibition of it.’”

Verse 26

Verse 27

Verse 28

Verse 29

Verse 30

‫ואעשה כן גם אני‬, that I will serve the Lord in Heaven, my G’d, but by imitating the
mode of worship practiced by the people whom G’d drove out on my account.

Verse 31

‫כי כל תועבת ה' אשר שנא עשו ללאוהיהם‬, for even the manner in which they worshipped
their idols is largely completely abhorrent in the eyes of the Lord.

Chapter 13

Verse 1
‫לא תוסף עליו‬, for you might add something which is despicable in the eyes of the
Lord. If, perchance, you would add new ways of the serving the Lord, you have no
assurance that such innovation is acceptable to G’d, for instance the burning of
one’s children in G’d’s honour.
‫ולא תגרע ממנו‬, even if, in your judgment, the rationale for observing the
commandment in question no longer applies, is no longer relevant. An example would
be Solomon’s reasoning that the restrictions placed by the Torah on the number of
wives a king may have did not apply to him as none of these wives could possibly
incite him to turn away from G’d. (compare Sanhedrin 21).

Verse 2

Verse 3

‫אשר לא ידעתם‬, the miracle proving the existence of such a phenomenon seeing you had
never heard of its existence. Seeing we do not know the function of the phenomenon
makes it more difficult to dismiss the idea that it possesses powers. It is unlike
sun and moon whose functions and limitations we know. We know that it is useless to
pray to sun and moon, as their obvious limitations are known to us.

Verse 4

‫לא תשמע לא הנביא ההוא‬, do not even turn to listen to find out if his words have even
partial substance, for there can be no question that the man is full of lies and
tells you things he has made up, all for an evil purpose; ‫כי דבר סרה‬, for what he
portrays as a miracle is nothing but sleight of hand or forgery of some other kind.
‫או לא חולם החלום ההוא‬, to see if even part of what he dreamt reflected some truth of
what was going to happen; you may be sure that the dreamers did not actually dream
any part of what he claimed to have dreamt, but he invented all of it in order to
seduce you;
‫כי מנסה ה' לאוקיכם אתכם‬, by referring with hostility to a person who spoke out
against G’d, you will be proven as truly loving G’d.
‫לדעת‬, once your previously theoretical faith in G’d has been so tested, you will
become truly tested in your intimate conviction of G’d’s goodness which becomes an
unshakable enduring conviction. Someone who believes truly in the goodness of the
Lord cannot help but hate anyone who denies G’d’s goodness, just as if you love a
human being truly you cannot help hating a person who hates the person whom you
truly love.

Verse 5

‫אחרי ה' לאוקיכם תלכו‬, similarly phrased to ‫ והלכת בדרכיו‬in Deut. 28,9. You are not
to seek out new paths which the “prophet” or “dreamer” employs to make you depart
from the ways of the Lord.
‫ואותו תיראו‬, even though the person who now claims to be a prophet had previously
been considered as a pious and thoroughly G’d-fearing individual. Your prior esteem
of him and his views must turn into total rejection and you must allow your awe and
reverence for G’d and His words to outweigh any argument he may present. ‫ואת מצותיו‬
‫תשמורו‬, so that you will only observe His commandments and not any new ones claimed
to be His by the new “prophet.” This refers in particular to matters involving
idolatry where the most minute deviation automatically challenges the totality of
Torah and all of its laws.
‫ובקולו תשמעון‬, you are to carry out all the instructions given to you by properly
accredited prophets and to listen to their commands, such as to Elijah at Mount
Carmel, and not to the instructions of anyone canceling any of G’d’s commandments.
‫ואותו תעבודו‬, exclusively. You cannot simultaneously serve any other deity as
spelled out in Exodus 22,19 ‫זובח ללאוהים יחרם‬, “if anyone is found offering
sacrifices to any other deity he is guilty of death.”
‫ובו תדבקון‬, the objective of all your activities must be to carry out His will
unaffected by any prior hostility.

Verse 6

'‫ כי דבר סרה על ה‬,‫יומת‬, even though he had claimed to speak in the name of the Lord
and not in the name of some other deity, something which had convinced him that his
crime was not subject to the death penalty. We encounter such a scenario in
Jeremiah 26,16 where the elders of Jerusalem do not want to convict Jeremiah to the
death penalty because he had spoken in the name of the Almighty G’d, i.e. had not
denied His sovereignty, although he was perceived as a false prophet, no one
accepting his predictions of doom and his call to repentance.
‫להדיחך מן הדרך‬, even though he had never asked you to abandon G’d, and had only
presented an “updated” version of this same G’d’s commandments. He had, however,
asked you to depart from “timeless Torah,” making G’d’s laws something that could
be changed from time to time, thus making Moses the father figure of all prophets
irrelevant. [my words. Ed.]

Verse 7

Verse 8

‫הקרובים לאיך‬, even though these nations live in your vicinity and you are aware of
the lies which their religion is based upon, and because you are, there would be no
reason to worry about the influence of such a religion upon you.
‫או הרחוקים ממך מקצה הארץ‬, so that on account of the very distance there is no real
concern that you would learn from their ways.

Verse 9

‫לא תאבה לו‬, when he suggests that you investigate the truth of his words that a
certain form of idolatry is demonstrably effective for its believers, do not assent
to listen to him.
‫ולא תשמע לאיו‬, you must not listen to him to make such an experiment, and to go
through a “conditional” obeisance as a test. The reason is that the moment you even
entertain doubts about the utter falsity of what the seducer claims, in the end you
will become a victim of his persuasiveness. You could not even entertain any doubt
about G’d and His Torah unless you had never properly understood the greatness of
G’d and His mastery in the universe.

Verse 10

Verse 11

‫כי בקש להדיחך‬, even though he did not cause tangible damage, and therefore might
have thought himself immune from prosecution, as opposed to the person who incited
to idolatry in the Ir Hanidachat, a city whose majority became idolaters. He is
guilty of the death penalty ‫כי בקש להדיחך‬, because of his attempt to convert people
to idolatry. His execution will prevent him from seducing still others. Failure to
execute him might result in his success.

Verse 12

‫וכל ישרלא ישמעו וייראו ולא יוסיפו‬, neither the seducer himself nor others who found
him convincing.

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

‫ואת בהמתה לפי חרב‬, to wipe out their memory as a form of vengeance on behalf of the
G’d of Israel. The principle underlying the destruction of the belongings of these
people is the same as that contained in G’d’s commandment to destroy every vestige
of Amalek in order to obliterate any memory of that nation. (compare. Deut. 25,19)
The prophet Samuel spelled this out prior to ordering King Sha-ul to carry out this
commandment in Samuel I 15,3.

Verse 17

Verse 18

‫ולא ידבק מאומה מן החרם‬, in order to ensure that such loot not become a stumbling
block for you, as when loot of idolaters is retained, something the Torah has
forbidden not only in practice, but even the desire to own such loot has been
forbidden (Deut. 7,25). We have discussed this matter on that verse.

Chapter 14

Verse 1

‫ לא תתגודדו‬,‫בנים אתם לה' לאוקיכם‬, it is bad manners to display excessive grief over
the loss of a relative as long as a more relevant relative (G’d) is still alive.
This is why G’d reminds us in this context that we are His children, i.e. that
whatever relative we may mourn we have a father who is alive and well so that we
are not really orphaned.
‫ולא תשימו קרחה בין עיניכם על מת כי עם קדוש אתה‬, there is no reason to mourn
excessively for the person who has passed as he, at least, has not experienced any
loss, on the contrary, he has been promoted to the region of eternal life,
something of which our sages in Avot 4,6-7 have said that a single hour of the
serenity experienced in that life is worth all the combined delights ever
experienced during one’s transient life on earth.

Verse 2
‫סגולה מכל העמים‬, this is why G’d prohibits your disfiguring yourself. He did not
prohibit this to the Gentiles, as they are not as special as you are.

Verse 3

‫ ;לא תאכל כל תועבה‬before the Torah had been revealed, given, the Israelites as well
as mankind generally were aware of the concepts “pure, ‫טהור‬,” and “‫טמא‬, impure.”
This is clear already from G’d’s command to Noach to take into the ark with him one
pair each of the “impure” species,” and seven pairs each of the “pure” species of
animals and birds. (Genesis 7,2) When G’d, after the deluge, permitted man to eat
meat, He did not distinguish between meat from “pure” animals and meat from “impure
animals.” However, now, after the giving of the Torah, when the Jewish people had
become so special, it was no longer appropriate for them to ingest the remains of
impure animals or birds (or even fish). Our sustenance should not be dependent on
such inferior living beings. We should remain constantly aware of the gulf between
man and beast, especially beasts which had never been suitable as sacrifices.

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14
Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

‫לא תאכלו כל נבלה‬, even of the pure species which you may eat after they have been
slaughtered ritually.
‫כי עם קדוש אתה לה' לאוקיך‬, even though the dead carcass is in a state of being fit
for human consumption, such as by strangers in your midst or residents who have not
yet converted to embrace all of Judaism’s laws. ‫עם קדוש‬, ready to achieve the
perfection intended for it by its Creator. (this would be slowed down or impeded by
eating lower forms of living creatures, not that eating them would be harmful,
objectively speaking.)
‫לא תבשל גדי‬, as is the custom among the Gentiles who believe that by doing so they
will increase the numbers of their livestock (compare Moreh Nevuchim, section three
3,48)

Verse 22

‫עשר תעשר‬, for by tithing the crops of the fields and orchards as well as that of
your livestock, you will actually increase their numbers (G’d will see to this)
instead of decreasing the amount at your disposal. This is what our sages meant
when they said in Shabbat 119 ‫עשר בשביל שתתעשר‬, “give the tithes so that you will
be enriched” (with the dot in the letter ‫ ש‬of the word ‫ תתעשר‬on the right hand
side.).

Verse 23

‫למען תלמד ליראה‬, for the site chosen by G’d for the Temple also houses the Supreme
Court, Sanhedrin, from where knowledge and understanding is dispensed.

Chapter 15
Verse 1

Verse 2

‫וזה דבר השמטה‬, when G’d said ‫והשביעית תשמטנה‬, (Exodus 23,11) the meaning was that
you should also have a concept of sh’mittat kessaphim, releasing overdue debts by
your debtor at the end of that year. The words ‫משה ידו‬, “what is owed him as a
creditor” in our verse make this pretty clear. [Furthermore, if the word ‫ מקץ‬means
“at the end,” it is clear that this verse does not refer to the produce grown
during that year. Ed.]

Verse 3

Verse 4

‫אפס כי לא יהיה בך אביון‬, even though I have said that you must forgive overdue
debts, the fact is that there will be no need for this commandment to apply in
practice as there will not be anyone in that kind of need. There can hardly be a
question that during all the years when Joshua was the leader of the people this
promise applied and no one was in need of having past due debts forgiven. We have
it on irrefutable authority that as long as Joshua and the elders of his generation
were alive the Jewish people kept the Torah in an exemplary fashion. (Joshua 24,31)

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12
Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

‫וזכרת כי עבד היית‬, not only did He take you out of bondage, but He saw to it that
you were generously endowed with gold, silver, garments, etc.

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

‫לא יקשה בעיניך‬, to furnish him with some of your wealth upon his departure, seeing
that he has served you faithfully and you will not become poor by doing so.

Verse 19

‫כל הבכור‬, after the Torah has listed a number of acts of kindness you are to
perform with parts of your harvest in the field and orchard, something called the
“tithe for the poor,” as well as an equivalent at the end of the sh’mittah year in
money, i.e. the waiving of past due debts, acts of charity, and acts of helping
your former servant to establish an economic base for himself, Moses now explains
in detail commandments which are acts of gratitude vis a vis G’d, i.e. the giving
to G’d or His representative the firstborn males of your livestock, i.e. sheep,
goats and cattle. It is incumbent upon the owner of such herds to thank the Lord,
for it is He Who is the source of his wealth. This is followed by repetition of the
commandments to observe Passover, the commemoration of our obtaining political
freedom, as well as the annual date on which the early barley harvest is
acknowledged with an appropriate offering, and of Shavuot, the obtaining of our
spiritual freedom when we received the Torah in capsule form, i.e. the Ten
Commandments. Shavuot also ranks as the primary harvest festival celebrating the
cutting of the wheat harvest.<br> Finally, we observe the Sukkot festival signaling
that the last of the various harvests, particularly that of the trees has been
successfully brought into the barns. On each of these festivals the farmer brings a
gift for G’d with him when he makes the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Temple.
This is spelled out in 16,16. Seeing that the occasion for this is one or all of
these three festivals, there is no need for the Torah to mention a specific date as
we all know the dates of these festivals. The Torah does mention the season during
which these festivals occur, to remind us that they are connected with times of
significance to each farmer.

Chapter 16

Verse 1
‫שמור את חודש האביב‬, make sure that the month of Nissan always occurs in the spring,
by manipulating the calendar, if necessary and inserting an extra month of Adar. By
doing this the solar orbit (year) and the lunar orbits, (12 moons equaling a year)
can be brought into line with each other.
‫ועשית פסח‬, on the first evening of the festival of matzot
‫כי בחודש האביב הוציאך‬, because it was G’d’s will that your departure from Egypt
should be at the time when the month signaling the beginning of spring should
occur, astrologically a time when the zodiac sign of the lamb ascends in tandem
with the sun, and is opposite the moon, the latter symbolising the Jewish people,
as opposed to the Egyptians who worship the sun as a major deity.
‫לילה‬, on that occasion, the sun/lamb being opposite the moon occurred at night.
Seeing that one cannot offer a sacrifice at night, the Torah arranged for the
Passover to be offered on the afternoon preceding that night. As a commemoration of
that event, it was decided not to change the time of offering the Passover even
though the astrological/astronomical data change from year to year.

Verse 2

‫ובקר‬, the cattle, of course, only as the festival offering, known as ‫חגיגה‬. This
was an offering that did not accompany the Passover on the original occasion in
Egypt.

Verse 3

‫לא תאכל עליו חמץ שבעת ימים‬, even though in Egypt the prohibition of eating chametz
was in effect for only one day, as our sages pointed out in Pessachim 96.
‫תאכל עליו מצות‬, seeing it was an offering commemorating the redemption, something
that took place in a short moment in time, it is not appropriate to eat chametz,
something which by definition requires time in order to become leavened. (compare
Hoseah 7,4, “from kneading the dough until it has been baked”).
‫לחם עוני‬, bread which they ate while in a state of ‫ענים‬, external pressure, not
having time to wait until the dough had risen so that it became leavened. The
taskmasters had always been rushing them, during their entire stay in Egypt as
slave labourers.
‫כי בחפזון יצאת‬, the reason why we have to remember this state of haste is because
haste is a form of pressure. It was because you always had to rush while being
slaves that the redemption when it came also came in the guise of extreme haste.
Jeremiah 31,12 describes such an experience in the words ‫והפכתי אבלם לששון‬, “I will
turn their mourning into joy.”
‫למען תזכור את יום צאתך מארץ מצרים כל ימי חייך‬, the reason why I have commanded to
eternalize this manifestation of G’d’s direct guidance of your fate, ‫השגחה‬, is so
that the compensation of the shorter lunar year with the seasonal orbits of the
solar year be effected through the addition of extra days or an extra month, so
that this month will always occur partially after the equinox of spring. I did not
legislate anything similar for the solar year as there is no need for it, and that
would have little to do with the Exodus. There is no reason why the gentile nations
should commemorate the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. ‫כל ימי חייך‬, every time the
calendar is adjusted, be it to add a day or to add a month, you will be reminded of
the reason for this being a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt.

Verse 4

‫ולא יראה לך שאור בכל גבולך שבעת ימים‬, even though this was not a requirement on the
original Passover in Egypt.
‫ולא ילין מן הבשר‬, so that you should not think that leftovers of the Passover
sacrifice were forbidden only on the original occasion, seeing that on that
occasion the people were in such a state of haste, that the Torah did not want
leftover sacred meat to be at the disposal of the Egyptians.

Verse 5

‫לא תוכל לזבוח את הפסח‬, even though in Egypt there was no need to slaughter the
Passover either on an altar or in a Temple (precincts), this is not the way it is
to be observed in the future.

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

‫וביום השביעי עצרת‬, on that day the Israelites are to be assembled together in
communal worship of the Lord. They will sing the song sung by the Israelites after
they had crossed the Sea of Reeds on dry ground. This is why this day has been
given a special sanctity.
‫ולא תעשה מלאכה‬, if not for that, the seventh day would not be recognisable as holy
at all, just as the seventh day of Sukkot is not called a ‫מקרא קודש‬, holy
convocation.

Verse 9

‫מהחל חרמש בקמה‬, in the standing barley, which is to serve as the Omer offering. We
know already from Exodus 9,31 that the barley crop ripens in spring (in the
latitudes which include Egypt and the Land of Israel. Ed]. Seven weeks elapse
between the beginning of the barley harvest and that of the wheat harvest. Hence
you are to count these seven weeks.

Verse 10

Verse 11

‫והגר והיתום והלאמנה‬, they shall rejoice on the festival of cutting (the wheat).
Their rejoicing will take the form of their collecting the portions of this harvest
set aside for them by the Torah, i.e. the ‫פאה‬, corner of the field with standing
grain; the gleanings, what the farmer had overlooked, etc. These have been
enumerated in connection with the festival in Leviticus 23,22.

Verse 12

‫וזכרת כי עבד היית‬, where you did not own any money of your own, seeing that
whatever is in the hands of a slave is owned by his master. (Pessachim 88)
‫ושמרת ועשית את החקים הלאה‬, by leaving behind gleanings, the peyah, etc., as a
goodwill gesture for your G’d Who has taken you out from there and given you wealth
and landed property.

Verse 13
‫ ומיקבך‬,when you gather in the harvest into your houses and your barns from the
grain presses and wine presses.

Verse 14

‫והגר והיתום והלאמנה‬, they will rejoice over finding the various gleanings of the
tree fruit harvested at that period.

Verse 15

‫כי יברכך‬, so that you will have a great deal of gathering in to do, and as a
result, the poor will also find much to collect.
‫והיית אך שמח‬, you will be completely joyful; no sadness will intrude on your happy
frame of mind.

Verse 16

Verse 17

‫איש כמתנת ידו‬, not that he has to give away all that he owns so that as a result he
will become a charge on public charity; an interpretation offered by foolish
gentiles. Our sages have long ago postulated that even the most generously inclined
person should not give away more than one fifth of his wealth. (Ketuvot 50)

Verse 18

‫שופטים ושוטרים‬, after Moses had addressed a number of commandments to the people at
large, he now turned to instruct the leaders of the people in commandments of
special concern for them. By paying especial attention to observing these laws, the
leaders, especially the judges, kings and prophets, would be able to maintain the
spiritual level of the people at large, and thus ensure the people’s continued
tenure of the Land of Israel. In the words of the prophet: “when the lion roars who
does not tremble?” (Amos 3,8) Tzefaniah phrased it somewhat differently, providing
degrees of reactions to people in varying degrees of authority. (Tzefaniah 3,3
describes the princes, leading authorities as being feared like roaring lions,
whereas the judges who have no executive powers are feared in the manner one is
afraid of wolves.)
‫נותן לך לשבטיך‬, in the gates (cities) He is about to give to you. You are to divide
the judges to districts, i.e. each of your cities must have a judiciary. This
restriction does not apply to land conquered outside the traditional boundaries of
Israel; there, seeing the land was not divided into tribal parcels, the judiciary
appointed also did not have to adhere to this pattern. Examples of such regions
were Syria, etc.
‫משפט צדק‬, the manner in which the complaints of the litigants were heard should be
such that the resulting decisions could be expected to be fair, ‫צדק‬, righteous. The
judges were not to discriminate in their treatment of either of the opposing
litigants.

Verse 19

Verse 20
‫צדק צדק תרדוף‬. When you are about to put this legislation into practice, the party
in charge of appointing such judges is told by Moses to select only those who are
already known for their sense of fair play and righteousness. He will have to look
for such people all over the tribe. If potential judges do not have all the
qualifications which are desirable in a judge, this qualification of fairness is
the overriding quality all must possess. This is what the prophet Samuel was told
by G’d when he had to look for a replacement of King Sha-ul among the sons of
Yishai. (Samuel I 16,7) He was specifically told to ignore external appearances.
‫למען תחיה וירשת‬, such qualities are of even greater importance in the Land of
Israel, as a failure to comply would result in the ancestral right to that country
being denied to you. Compare Isaiah 57,17 who quotes G’d as telling him that a
corrupt judiciary [getting away with sinful greed? Ed.] was a primary cause for
G’d’s anger at the people.

Verse 21

‫לא תטע לך אשרה‬, in this verse the Torah lists three items whose common denominator
is that they appeal to the senses, are desirable, but at the same time are all
spiritually negative, harmful. <br> The first one is ‫האשרה‬, something beautiful
and decorative for buildings, but at the same time something ugly from the vantage
point of holiness as it is usually a conduit leading to idolatrous practices.
Seeing that this is so, we are commanded whenever faced with such choices to give
preference to that which leads to spiritual righteousness at the expense of
physical perfection or beauty. By the same token, we are to prefer spiritual
qualities possessed by someone chosen as a judge to external features, impressive
though they may be. <br> The second item is ‫המצבה‬, even though such a kind of
altar was welcomed by G’d as an outlet for someone who wanted to bring an offering
to G’d, this was before the Torah had been given. Consider, for example, Exodus
24,4 where the Torah welcomed 12 such monuments erected by Moses, where these
monuments symbolised the fact that the person offering a sacrifice considered
himself as constantly in the presence of the divine. (compare Psalms 16,8 '‫שויתי ה‬
‫לנגדי תמיד‬, “I feel myself constantly in the presence of the Lord.”) The Jewish
people had not been able to maintain this spiritual level after they had committed
the sin of the golden calf. Even when such a ‫ מצבה‬is dedicated to heaven it had
become hateful in the eyes of the Lord, i.e. G’d had expressed His distaste in
Exodus 33,3, after having provisionally “forgiven” the people by appointing an
angel to lead them to the Holy Land, but refusing to lead their ascent by His
presence being among them. We encounter a similar concept described as the
difference between an old man whose beard proclaims his respectability, as opposed
to the old man whose beard is disheveled, i.e. reveals traces of a youth which was
spent irresponsibly. We look for people whose exterior testifies to their
blameless interior, character. [This metaphor is used by the Chazzan in his private
introductory prayer on Yom Hakippurim. Ed.] <br> The third item, also reminding us
of the rejection of an externally basically beautiful animal as a sacrifice, is a
series of blemishes, some quite minor, not affecting the value of the animal in
question in the market place at all. Such a blemish in an animal worth 1000 dollars
disqualifies it as an offering, whereas another similar animal worth one single
dollar, but without such a blemish, is given preference over the far more expensive
animal, which is rejected. The Torah gives us three examples to teach us basically
the same lesson. What is true of the blemished animal for presentation on the
altar, is equally true for the venerable old scholar who is afflicted with some
character fault. We are to look further in order to find a less impressive
individual not afflicted with such character fault.

Chapter 17
Verse 1

Verse 2

‫כי ימצא בקרבך‬, after Moses instructed the people to appoint judges in each city so
that each court would judge primarily people who lived in its vicinity, Moses
continues with the trial of an idolater, something that is not judged locally, in
the town where he lives, but in the town in which he committed the crime.
Subsequently, Moses deals with the problem of disagreements among members of the
court, or several courts with one another. Such disagreements are also not to be
judged locally but “in the place that the Lord has chosen,” (verse 8) i.e. the same
court in which an elder who refuses to submit to the majority view of his
colleagues is to be judged.
‫לעבור בריתו‬, the covenant embracing all the commandments, for worshipping idols is
an offence considered as equivalent to having violated all of the Torah’s
commandments.

Verse 3

‫לאוהים אחרים‬, independent ones, having no relation to Hashem whatsoever, but

disembodied beings. ‫ולשמש או לירח‬, which are physical bodies;
‫אשר לא צויתי‬, which I had not appointed to act independently of My will. This is in
contrast to the philosophers of idolatrous religions who believe that G’d had
appointed His agents to be in charge of a city each, within which they have power
over life and death without reference to their Master. The inhabitants of each such
city are under the illusion that by pleasing the local agent of G’d, their “patron
saint,” their fates will be affected beneficially.

Verse 4

Verse 5

‫את האיש ההוא או את האשה ההיא‬, no mention is made in this connection of the idolatry
being the result of seduction, the victim being foolish and knowing what he or she
did, so that there is no need to convict him or her in the location where he or she
committed the offence to teach the people who were aware of the sinner’s opinions
that the truth is the opposite of what the sinner thought.
‫לא שעריך‬, to the public place where the idolatrous act was performed. By convicting
and executing the idolater the public would have to admit that the deity worshipped
by the convicted sinner was either unable or unwilling to save his life.

Verse 6

‫על פי שנים עדים או שלושה‬, even if the charge is idolatry, the entire testimony is
disqualified if one of the witnesses is found to be inadmissible. We do not rule
that seeing there are a sufficient number of reliable and legally admissible
witnesses left, we proceed with the trial on that basis.

Verse 7
Verse 8

‫כי יפלא ממך‬, even though you have appointed competent judges in each town and city,
in order that each court would dispense justice in its home base, if a doubt arises
as to what the correct ruling is according to reliable tradition, the local court
is not to hand down a ruling according to their opinion when it is not supported by
authentic tradition, but the problem should be submitted to the Supreme Court,
Sanhedrin. The same holds true when the judges in the local court were deadlocked.

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

‫והאיש אשר יעשה בזדון‬, who deliberately hands down a ruling to be applied forthwith,
which is against that handed down by the Supreme Court, ‫ומת האיש ההוא‬, he is to be
executed at the behest of the Supreme Court, and thereby all the people will hear
about it and the absolute authority of the Sanhedrin will be preserved and the
people will remain in awe of it.

Verse 13

Verse 14

‫אשימה עלי מלך ככל הגויים‬, a monarch whose authority will be transferred from him to
his biological heir after his death throughout the generations. This is quite
different from judges, each of whom is appointed for his lifetime, with his heirs
having absolutely no claim to succeed their father. The people were commanded to
appoint such a hereditary position of king after they had conquered and settled in
the land of Israel, the principal reason being to ensure that the Jewish people
would not be like a flock without a shepherd, (Moses’ words in Numbers 27,17.)
The fact is that G’d disapproved of a hereditary type of monarchy such as is
customary among the gentile nations, so that He stipulated that if the people
insisted on appointing a king who would start a dynasty, the initial king had to be
approved not only by the people but by G’d’s representative on G’d’s behalf, as we
know from Samuel I 8,18. The restrictions in appointing the original king were
designed to ensure that such a king could not lead the people away from G’d’s
Torah; on the contrary, they are meant for the people to see in him a shining
example of Torah-observance, which in turn would inspire their own piety. Seeing
that when the people asked Samuel for a king their purpose was far from what the
Torah had legislated having a king for, the people were suitably punished as per
the verse in Samuel I 8,18 that we referred to earlier. The prophet Hoseah 13,11
describes G’d granting the people’s wish as stemming from the fact that He was
angry at them. Summing up, we may view the permission to appoint a king as being in
the same category as the permission for a soldier to marry a physically attractive
prisoner of war. G’d, the master psychologist, knows that sometimes in order to
become wise enough to appreciate the Torah’s prohibitions, an individual, or even a
whole nation, must find this out by having chosen in their own wisdom to ignore the
Torah’s preferences. David’s experiences with his son Avshalom, born to such a
prisoner of war whom he married because he was initially physically attracted to
her, bears this out. In fact, his experience with his son Adoniah was not much
better. (compare Tanchuma Ki Teytze, section 1).

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

‫למען ילמד ליראה‬, in the philosophical, ethically instructive passages of the Torah
acquainting us with the marvelous characteristics of G’d and His reluctance to
interfere with man’s free choice. Such knowledge must lead one to revere G’d ever
more.

Chapter 18

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

‫כי בו בחר ה' לאוקיך מכל שבטיך‬, and it is therefore called for that you provide him
with food and clothing in order that he will be free to perform the Temple service
on your behalf.

Verse 6
Verse 7

Verse 8

‫לבד ממכריו לא האבות‬, the members of any priestly roster, known as ‫ בית אבות‬or as
here. plain ‫אבות‬, do not have the right to share their sacrificial meat with their
relatives or friends except when this meat was part of the daily or weekly public
offerings. These may be shared or exchanged between different rosters. However, any
offerings brought to the altar on the pilgrimage festivals are not subject to the
authority of the priestly roster officiating during that week at all. The
expression ‫ממכריו‬, “of his acquaintances,” does not apply to the days of the
festivals. Therefore, the Torah orders that on that occasion basically any priest
present may eat a share of such offerings regardless of whether he belongs to the
roster of that particular week. This is why the Torah writes; ‫חלק כחלק יאכלו‬, of
the offerings presented during the festivals all the priests enjoy an equal share.

Verse 9

Verse 10

‫לא ימצא בך‬, even among non-Jewish residents of the Holy Land. A prominent example
would be the woman used by King Sha-ul to produce the deceased prophet Samuel to
give him a message. (Samuel I 28)

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

‫תמים תהיה‬, whole-hearted to the extent that you will not even try and gain
information about future events except through an authentic prophet.

Verse 14

‫ואתה לא כן נתן לך‬, even if you were to consult the various types of soothsayers
listed here, their messages would never prove accurate as our sages already told us
‫אין מזל לישרלא‬, “no part of Israel’s destiny is linked to astrological
constellations.” (Shabbat 156)

Verse 15

‫לאיו תשמעון‬, if his instructions which appear to deviate from Jewish norms are meant
as a temporary measure, addressing a specific emergency.

Verse 16

Verse 17
Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

?‫ ;איכה נדע את הדבר‬when the authentic prophet commands a specific commandment such
as when Elijah sacrificed on a private altar, something that had been forbidden for
hundreds of years, or when Joshua waged war against Jericho on the Sabbath with all
the violations this involved. (Kings I 18, and Joshua 6)

Verse 22

‫ולא יהיה הדבר‬, for when the prophet commands a “new” commandment, unless it is
accompanied by a miracle attesting to his authority by G’d to do so, the fact that
he failed to produced the promised miracle proves that he is a false prophet. An
example of this is mentioned in Joshua in the valley of the river Jordan. (Joshua 3
when Joshua promised miracles and the people crossed the swollen Jordan river with
dry feet, the waters having backed up) Also the predicted collapse of the
protective wall around Jericho as the result of blasts on the shofar was such a
miracle legitimising violating the Sabbath on that occasion. (Joshua 6) <br> In the
case of the prophet Elijah at Mount Carmel, the heavenly fire descending and
consuming his offering on the rebuilt altar, as well as the water in the
surrounding moat, proved that he had acted with G’d’s approval, was totally
authentic. (Kings I 18,38) Concerning the reverse, a prophet being punished for
failing to carry out the instructions of his colleague, an example is found in
Kings I 20,35-36. Were this not so, why would someone be punished for not
inflicting physical hurt on his fellow man?

Chapter 19

Verse 1

Verse 2

‫שלוש ערים תבדיל‬, after Moses had explained the function of the judges, the king,
the priests, and the prophets, Moses now details some of the tasks that fall under
the jurisdiction of the judges, among them the establishment of the cities of
refuge, the boundaries of the land, the examination of witnesses to establish that
their testimony is truthful and accurate, and that they are acceptable as
witnesses. Next, he deals with the tasks that fall within the competence of the
king, such as leading the nation in war, especially aggressive wars beyond the
boundaries of the land of Israel. (20, 1-9) The priests also have a role to play
during the preparation of what are termed ‫מלחמת רשות‬, “halachically permissible
wars,” although they are not fought in order to repel invaders. The priests and
judges cooperate in some of their duties, especially the ‫עגלה הערופה‬, the calf
killed when a murder in the field was unresolved. (21,1-9)

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

‫ובערת דם נקי מישרלא‬, the penalty for spilling innocent blood in the Holy Land is
normally the shedding of the murderer’s blood, which alone brings atonement, no
substitutes being allowed, such as financial reparations (compare Numbers 35,33)
‫וטוב לך‬, because the murderer cannot kill additional people, the ones surviving the
execution will be awed by having heard or witnessed the execution. (verse 20)

Verse 14
Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

‫ שקר ענה באחיו‬,‫והנה עד שקר העד‬. His testimony was deliberately false, meant to
incriminate his fellow Jew. He did not err in what he thought he had witnessed,
such as there having been poor lighting on a cloudy day. Neither did he err in the
day of the month when the supposed crime occurred, having been unaware that the
most recent month had been extended by a day.

Chapter 20

Verse 1

‫כי תצא למלחמה‬, outside the boundaries of the land of Israel. When a war is fought
inside the boundaries of the Land of Israel, i.e. a defensive war, no one is
allowed to be exempt from army service; even a bridegroom fresh from the wedding
canopy is called up. (Sotah 44)

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

‫פן ימות במלחמה ואיש אחר יחנכנו‬, perhaps the man in question had been guilty of a
sin on account of which he would be punished by death or one of the punishments
mentioned in the Tochahach, the lengthy warnings of Moses in chapter 28. His death
would undermine the morale of his brothers in arms.

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8
Verse 9

‫ופקדו שרי צבאות‬, after all those who were sent home had left. If even one of the
people that should have been sent home were included in the roll call by the
commanders this might eventually prove demoralising if the party in question became
a casualty of war. Compare Amos 9,1 ‫הך הכפתור וירעשו הספים‬, “strike a knob and the
very foundations will quake,” [insignificant appearing actions have far-reaching
consequences. Ed.]

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

‫הרחוקות ממך מאד‬, distant from the present location of the Israelites in their
camps. At that time the boundaries of the Land of Israel will be far from the
center in every direction.

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

‫לא תשחית את עצה לנדוח עליו גרזן‬, do not destroy its trees merely in order to
practice wielding an axe. Destruction must not be wanton; it is justified only if
it serves to harm the enemy residing within the city.
‫כי ממנו תאכל‬, wanton destruction of such trees is justified only when it is not
certain that without such action the war will come to a successful conclusion. The
wars of conquest of the Land of Israel, however, the success of which has been
guaranteed by G’d, does not fall into this category; it will be won without the
need to destroy such trees. Destroying fruit bearing trees in the Land of Israel
harms the country.
‫כי ממנו תאכל‬, because as soon as you have conquered the land you yourselves will
want to eat the fruit of such trees.
‫כי האדם עץ השדה‬, for is a tree of the field equivalent to a human being, capable of
defending itself and therefore posing a danger to you? Neither is it able to
surrender on account of the siege; seeing that this is so, even though part of its
timber could serve as a rampart for helping you to mount an attack against the city
itself, since this will not be achieved (directly) by cutting down these trees it
is not proper for you to destroy such trees, as opposed to your being permitted to
kill human beings in that city opposing you and endangering you.
‫לבא מפניך במצור‬, so that you would besiege the city on their account so they would
surrender to you? [the underlying idea, if I understand the author and the text
correctly, is that the purpose of laying siege to a city instead of assaulting it
and destroying it, is to preserve it intact after its inhabitants have been forced
to surrender. Cutting down fruit bearing trees would be the opposite of your
objectives in such a war. Ed.]

Verse 20

‫רק עץ אשר תדע כי לא עץ מאכל הוא‬, even if it belongs to a category of trees which
normally bear fruit; if you know that it is defective or too old to still bear
fruit, so that no sane human being would waste his time on tending it, pruning it,
etc. ‫אותו תשחית‬, such a tree you may destroy for your own purposes.

Chapter 21

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

‫לא נחל איתן‬, where people do not normally walk.

‫וערפו‬, a discreet death, not one drawing attention to itself. The animal does not
experience pangs of death, not knowing of its impending fate. Naturally, people
knew even less about this impending procedure. This procedure parallels what the
murderer had done when he ambushed an unsuspecting victim in a location which was
isolated so that the court never found out who the murderer was. Had the court
known of the identity of the murderer they would have dealt with him instead of
this heifer having to be killed.

Verse 5

‫לשרתו ולברך‬, the (Temple) service of the priests is instrumental in attaining

expiation for the innocent blood spilled, and in securing blessing for the land.
‫ועל פיהם יהיה כל ריב וכל נגע‬, so that they are familiar with the psyches of the
people and their norms, as they observed already by watching their fathers deal
with such matters. Perhaps, due to such cumulative empirical knowledge they have
some knowledge of whose character has been tainted by sin so that such intuitive
knowledge will help them bring the truth to light. (in the investigation of the
murder)

Verse 6

Verse 7

‫ידינו לא שפכו את הדם הזה‬, we have not left a stone unturned in (making public)
locating the murderer in the land.
‫ועינינו לא ראו‬, we are certain that the murderer did not commit this act where he
could be seen. Had he been seen, he would have been challenged and prevented from
committing the deed. At the very least, such witnesses would have come forward.

Verse 8

‫כפר לעמך‬, Please Lord, grant atonement to Your people, on behalf of the one who has
spilled the blood. This is a veiled request to bring the murderer to justice as it
is not given to man to do this. Compare Ketuvot 30 “if someone is guilty of
judicial execution (and human justice did not reach him) he will either be killed
by the secular authorities (for something else he is accused of) or terrorists will
attack him.”
‫ונכפר להם הדם‬, it will be atoned through heavenly judgment, the heavenly agent
spilling the murderer’s blood accomplishing this. It will appear in the eyes of man
as if the matter had taken care of itself independently. [one cannot pinpoint why
the party concerned died a violent death, not knowing what he had been guilty of.
Ed.]

Verse 9

‫ואתה תבער‬, when you are aware of someone’s guilt it is up to you to sentence the
party and to carry out the sentence and not to rely on heaven to intervene. When
you are unaware of the identity of the guilty party, and you have made exhaustive
attempts to find him without success, you may rest assured that G’d Himself will
take care of the problem.

Verse 10

‫כי תצא‬, beyond the boundaries of your land.

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

‫ובכתה את אביה ואת אמה‬, to get her father and mother out of her system and
reconciling herself to the fact that henceforth she would live in the Land of
Israel, have no more contact with her parents. (whether they are dead or alive)
Similar wording occurs in Psalms 45,11 ‫שכחי עמך‬, the psalmist urging the Jewish
people, compared to a princess, to forget their former environment and associates
as she had been promoted to a loftier position. The prisoner of war described here
as embracing Judaism has similarly been promoted to a far superior environment,
severing her previous relationships completely. The weeping mentioned in our verse
has nothing to do with the death of her parents for we do not kill mothers
altogether. She weeps for having no longer a father and mother in the legal sense
as these did not convert. Any other convert, not a prisoner of war, would similarly
weep for this separation having occurred in her life as a result of her new status.

Verse 14

Verse 15

‫כי תהיינה לאיש שתי נשים‬, after the victory in war the Torah addresses internal
matters in the Jewish state. The most important ones are interpersonal
relationships with wives, children, livestock, jewelry, hunting for food, building
homes, tilling the soil and matters related to clothing.

Verse 16

‫לא יוכל לבכר את בן האהובה על פני בן השנואה הבכור‬. The firstborn son’s entitlement
to an extra share in his father’s inheritance must not be transferred on account of
his father loving his mother more or “hating” her, i.e. loving her less than his
second wife. If the reason the father wants to transfer the extra portion of the
inheritance away from the chronologically entitled son due to that son’s
misconduct¸ this is in order, as we know from Baba Batra 133 ‫אם לא היה נוהג כשורה‬
‫זכור לטוב‬, íf the chronologically oldest did not conduct himself properly his
inheritance may be transferred to another better one. [opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben
Gamliel only, not accepted by codifiers. Ed.] It appears that this is what Yaakov
did when he took birthright privileges away from Reuven (Chronicles I 5,1)
transferring it to Joseph.

Verse 17

Verse 18

‫סורר ומורה‬, his obstinacy removed all hope that he would change his lifestyle.

Verse 19

Verse 20

‫זולל וסובא‬, such gluttons will become impoverished so that they will resort to
robbery with violence in order to satisfy their needs. (Sanhedrin, 71, based on
Proverbs)

Verse 21
Verse 22

Verse 23

‫כי קללת לאוהים תלוי‬, every disembodied creature is known as elohim; this includes
the soul of human beings known as ‫צלם לאוהים‬, “image of G’d.” [as He is without
body, so this essence of a human being is without a body, does not need a body.
Ed.] (Genesis 1,27) This is how we can understand the woman, known as ‫ בעלת אוב‬in
Samuel I 28,13 whom King Sha-ul approached and asked to raise the prophet Samuel
for him producing a disembodied image. Seeing that the disgrace done to a person
after he has died is also an insult to this disembodied essence of him, the Torah
describes it as ‫קללת לאוהים‬, equivalent to cursing the dead person’s eternal
essence. ‫קללת לאהים‬, leaving the dead corpse hanging without burial is an insult to
that very eternal essence of a human being called ‫לאהים‬.
‫ולא תטמא‬, do not allow the spirit of impurity, death, to linger overnight in a
location where a body remains unburied.

Chapter 22

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

‫וכן תעשה לשמלתו‬, even though such a find is far less likely to occur, so that you
might consider it as having been abandoned on purpose.

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

‫למען ייטב לך והארכת ימים‬, in the matter of dispatching the mother bird before
taking her chicks, we find some display of protective concern by the Torah for the
preservation of the species, an effort not to destroy the seed of the birds of the
field although they are ‫הפקר‬, unclaimed property. In the example of the dispatch of
the mother bird the Torah appears to teach us that even the display by us of
concern for such totally unclaimed eggs or chicks is rewarded by the Creator with
the party showing this empathy receiving dividends in this life and the principal
(reward) in the world to come.

Verse 8

‫ולא תשים דמים בביתך כי יפול הנופל‬, if it were to happen that someone falls off that
roof you could not have been the indirect cause, seeing you had put up a protective
railing. Had you not done so, your family might bear part of the guilt for such a
mishap.

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

‫כי יקח איש אשה‬, after the Torah has dealt with matters concerning the settling of
the people in the Land of Israel, it turns to instructions designed to ensure that
the Shechinah, benevolent Divine presence, will maintain its beneficial presence
there. One of the most important elements in ensuring this is the avoidance of
forbidden mating and the offspring of such couplings. The Torah therefore addresses
both forbidden incestuous relations amongst Jewish partners, and intermarriage or
living together of Jews and Non-Jews without the benefit of “marriage,” something
which is anyway legally impossible. All of this belongs to the heading ‫והיה מחניך‬
‫קדוש ולא יראה בך ערות דבר ושב מאחריך‬, “your encampment shall be holy. Let nothing
unseemly be found among you so that He would turn away from you.” (23,15)

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19
Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

Verse 23

Verse 24

‫אשר ענה את אשת רעהו‬, he violated her and made her unfit to continue being the wife
of her betrothed. We find a similar expression in Michah 2,9 ‫נשי עמי תגרשון מבית‬
‫תענוגיה‬, “you drive the women of My people away from their pleasure homes.”
[compare Nachmanides who explains that the woman is not considered as an unwilling
helpless victim in the scenario described by the Torah here. Hence the comparison
with the chapter in Michah by our author is not so baffling. Ed.]

Verse 25

Verse 26

‫אין לנערה חטא מות‬, even though in the end she stopped resisting, i.e. she became a
willing partner; seeing that initially she had been forced she is exonerated by
judicial prosecution. Our sages go so far as to state “even if she said that had
she not been forced she would have hired the man in question to sleep with her,”
(Ketuvot 51) [the rapist kindled her libido so that she lost control over her
emotions. Ed.]
'‫כי כאשר יקום איש על רעהו וגו‬, this situation is not comparable to someone having
sexual intercourse with a beast when the Torah condemns the “innocent” beast to
share the death penalty with the human being. (Leviticus 20,15). The difference is
that the animal in question did not offer any resistance at all, whereas the woman
in question in our verse initially did offer resistance. What happened to her is
comparable to a murdered person who had been forced to commit a sin and who was
murdered for having refused to do so.

Verse 27

‫צעקת הנערה‬, we give her the benefit of the doubt, assuming she had cried for help.

Chapter 23

Verse 1
Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

‫אשר לא קדמו‬, neither of these two nations met the Israelites, but the Moabites at
least gave them bread and water in return for money, as we read in Deut. 2, 28-29
‫כאשר עשו לי בני עשו היושבים בשעיר והמואבים היושבים בער‬, “as the Children of Esau
who dwell in Seir did for me, as well as the Moabites who dwell in Or.” The
Ammonites did not even sell us bread and water. However, the Moabites added to
their sin of hostility by hiring the prophet Bileam to curse us. Therefore, ‫לא‬
‫תדרוש שלומם‬, for while neither of them have shown basic human civilities, the
Moabites have even displayed open hostility.

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14
Verse 15

‫והיה מחניך קדוש‬, both free of ritual impurities as well as from repulsive things,
even though not ritually impure.
‫ולא יראה בך ערות דבר‬, a description of Jewishly unfit offspring or some other
impediment to G’d’s Shechinah resting over the Jewish people, as our sages
(Kidushin 70) said: “the Shechinah rests only over the ancestrally pure Jewish
families.” They added that anyone who can trace his ancestry to King David, (folio
76) by his ancestor having been a soldier in his army, is acceptable without
question.
‫מאחריך‬, if you were to turn your rear to Him by ignoring these laws and thus
insulting Him.

Verse 16

‫לא תסגיר עבד לא אדוניו‬, after the Torah had spoken of the sanctity that must be
prevalent in an encampment of Jewish soldiers in war, it switches to matters which
are apt to happen in such surroundings, explaining how to correct deviations. One
of these is how to deal with a gentile slave who has escaped from his master and
taken asylum among the Jewish people; another is the subject of loose women who
have infiltrated into the encampment of the Jewish army, an everyday occurrence in
gentile armies. (verse 18)

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

‫לא תשיך לאחיך‬, after warning us concerning behaviour the result of which is G’d’s
withdrawing His benevolent presence from the Jewish people, He cautions us
concerning the acts of loving kindness which would ensure the continued presence of
His Shechinah. Two major steps in that direction are: 1) not to charge a fellow Jew
interest on a loan extended to him, 2) not to be tardy in discharging the
obligations assumed when making a vow in favour of G’d. (verse 22) These include
vows representing donations to charity which are due without delay, seeing that
there is never a shortage of people in need who have to be supported by
charity.<br> Then there is the subject of what a labourer may eat when he is
surrounded by fruit belonging to his employer, as well as the matter of divorce,
something that must not be given to a woman unless she has been guilty of a serious
misdemeanour, i.e. )24,1( .‫ ערות דבר‬A major reason for granting a divorce is the
effort to prevent bastards from being born. No other reason is considered as valid
to divorce one’s wife, the prophet Maleachi 2,14 reminding people that at least G’d
will testify against the husband who dealt treacherously with the wife he married
in his youth and now abandoned.<br> The loving kindness performed with a newly wed
(betrothed) woman is that her husband is given a chance to fulfill the commandment
of making his bride joyful during the first year of their marriage. (24,5). The
prohibition against taking as a pledge, i.e. collateral for overdue debts, tools
needed for the debtor to make his living, such as millstones is self-evident.
(24,6) Precautions against potential hazards that could hurt many people,
prohibition against kidnappers coupled with the death penalty is a preventive
measure, i.e. an act of kindness designed to protect parents against their children
becoming the victims of such “stealing.” The isolation of people afflicted with the
skin disease known as tzoraat, is all too well known. It not only prods the victim
to mend his asocial behaviour, but it protects society at the same time. Cautions
against tale-bearing and other forms of abuse of the power of speech are acts of
kindness in respect of the potential victims of such slander. Not muzzling an ox
while he threshes, is a show of understanding for the ox’s feelings in helping to
provide food for its owner while himself being denied that same food. Etc. Etc.

Verse 21

‫לנכרי תשיך‬, you are allowed to pay interest to the gentile (on your loan from him)
and you must not betray his trust by citing the prohibition to charge or collect
interest.
‫ולאחיך לא תשיך‬, even though according to the deal you made you obligated yourself
to pay him interest and you are perfectly willing to pay same.
‫למען יברכך‬, in order that you will receive G’d’s blessing instead. By not
desecrating G’d’s name in your dealings with the gentile by reneging, you will
merit G’d’s blessing.

Verse 22

‫כי תדור נדר לה' לאוקיך‬, you are, of course, expected to honour your undertakings
without reinforcing them in the form of a vow or oath. When you made a vow to G’d,
however, not only are you obligated to pay up, but the payment must be made without
undue delay.
‫כי דרוש ידרשנו‬, He will demand it of you,
so that if that becomes necessary you are already guilty of a sin of omission.

Chapter 24

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

‫כי תועבה היא‬, because this is a sure recipe leading to legalised adultery, people
marrying for short periods of time, and then legally swapping wives by going
through phony but legally correct divorce procedures.

Verse 5
Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

‫משאת מאומה‬, even the slightest indebtedness such as portage, compensating someone
for transporting something for a few steps.(as described by Baba Metzia 115)

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

‫לא יומתו אבות על בנים‬, even if the crime involved was insurrection against the
established authority, king, etc. It had been a widely accepted rule that kings
would also execute the family members of rebels in order to ensure that the
surviving relatives of such executed rebels would not form an active opposition to
the king as a result of their grievance. Such matters are referred to in Isaiah
14,21 “prepare a slaughtering block for his sons because of the guilt of their
father. Let them not arise to possess the earth! Then the world’s face shall be
covered with towns.” The meaning of the word ‫ שונאים‬which I used earlier is to be
understood as in Samuel I 28,17 ‫ויהי ערך‬, “he became a foe.” In any event, the
Torah prohibits Jewish kings from killing one person as a substitute for another;
this is part of G’d’s pity for members of His people. Amatziah, King of Yehudah,
abided by this legislation when he executed the servants who had killed his father
but did not touch their children (Chronicles II 25, 3-4)
Verse 17

‫לא תטה משפט גר ויתום‬, during strife; be particularly on guard not to be unfair to
orphans or proselytes who may be reluctant to speak up on their own behalf so as
not to “make waves.” You should go out of your way to argue on their behalf so as
to compensate for their feelings of insecurity in facing adversaries. [the verse is
directed at the judges. Ed.]

Verse 18

‫ויפדך ה' לאוקיך משם‬, He took note of your desperate situation and dealt with you
over and beyond the requirements of justice in order to be able to redeem you. This
has all been documented in 26,7 ‫וירא את ענינו ואת עמלנו ואת לחצנו‬, “He ‘saw’ our
afflictions, our hard labour and our oppression.”

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

‫וזכרת כי עבד היית‬, and at that time you were in need of even unripe grapes.

Chapter 25

Verse 1

Verse 2

‫והפילו השופט‬, he will stretch him out on the post. [The lashes are not applied when
the victim is standing upright, but when he is at least inclined. (Makkot 22) Ed.]

Verse 3

‫מכה רבה‬, more than the victim’s general constitution can bear.
‫ונקלה אחיך‬, if he were to be unable to control his bowel movements on account of
his pain..

Verse 4

Verse 5

‫ויבמה‬, by doing so he removes her status as yevamah from her as she is now his
wife. She will be a wife in all respects including the legislation applying to
divorcing her and possibly remarrying her.

Verse 6

‫ולא ימחה שמו מישרלא‬, in that the child born from this union will be considered by
G’d as if the deceased had fulfilled the commandment to be fruitful. This is easily
understood when we consider that this child is the product of a legal marriage
entered into by the deceased husband of his mother. The fact that the deceased’s
brother did not have to go through a marriage ceremony with the widow of his
brother makes this clear to everyone. This explains why G’d would be angry at the
brother who refuses to marry his sister-in-law, as he thereby deprived his deceased
brother forever from fulfilling the mitzvah of being fruitful

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

‫ככה יעשה לאיש אשר לא יבנה את בית אחיו‬, he deserves this public embarrassment seeing
he had refused to restore the house his deceased brother had begun to build when he
betrothed his (now) widow. This reminds us of the statement in Shabbat 118 by Rabbi
Yossi who did not refer to his wife as ‫אשתי‬, “my wife,” but as ‫ביתי‬, “my house.”

Verse 10

Verse 11

‫וקרבה אשת האחד להציל את אישה‬, [the author, obliquely, established a conceptual link
between this paragraph and that preceding it. Ed.] Even though the Torah had not
only given permission to the widow in the yevamah legislation to publicly embarrass
her brother in law for failing to do his duty by marrying her, but had even
commanded her to do so, in this instance, when a wife tries to save her husband’s
life by resorting to tactics which embarrass his opponent she is punished for doing
so.

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

‫לא יהיה לך בביתך איפה ואיפה‬, after having mentioned the ways in which the
benevolent presence of the Shechinah can be assured for the Jewish people, the
Torah reminds you that if G’d hates corrupt justice this is not an isolated
instance of what G’d hates in interpersonal relations, something we call “civics,”
He even hates it when someone owns and keeps instruments which are designed to be
used in a corrupt, deceptive, manner, so that even without putting these
instruments to use the owner/keeper has become guilty of violating a negative
commandment. G’d’s presence, Shechinah, cannot tolerate neighbours who even think
of using such means to deceive others.

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

‫תמחה את זכר עמלק‬, by killing even their livestock, as King Sha-ul was commanded in
Samuel I 15,3. This was intended to avenge the unprovoked attack by Amalek against
G’d when, by attacking His people, they demeaned His image, besmirched His honour.

Chapter 26

Verse 1

Verse 2

‫מראשית כל פרי האדמה אשר תביא מארצך‬, the choicest of each category. [the word ‫ראשית‬
is not understood as “first.” Ed] We find the term ‫ ראשית‬used in this sense in Amos
6,6 ‫וראשית שמנים ימשחו‬, “they anoint themselves with the choicest oils.” In verse 1
of the same chapter we read ‫נקובי ראשית הגויים‬, “the ones known as the choicest of
the nations. ” These “choicest” fruit are the seven types of produce for which the
Land of Israel is famous, and this is why we have been commanded already in Exodus
23,19 to offer samples of these in the Temple. The gift known as ‫ ביכורים‬is not
literally the fist ripe produce of each of these seven species, but the ones that
grow on the best soil the farmer has so that it is truly also his choicest. The
seven categorise of produce have been enumerated in Deut. 8,8-9.

Verse 3

‫לא הכהן אשר יהיה בימים ההם‬, even if the priest in the particular generation may not
be outstanding in wisdom, you must not therefore treat with less respect than his
position warrants. This is why the Torah added the seemingly superfluous words '‫לה‬
‫לאוקיך‬, words usually only used when addressing men of outstanding caliber such as
kings and prophets. [If I understand correctly, the author mans that only high
ranking people need to be reminded by implication that there is a higher authority
than they themselves. Hence the addition of the words ‫ לה' לאוקיך‬after the word
‫הגדתי‬. Ed.] At any rate, the idea is that seeing that the priest receives the
bikkurim on behalf of G’d, it is as if G’d’s agent is addressed by the title
reserved for his Master.
‫הגדתי היום‬, equivalent to “I have made a public acknowledgment of the great works
of the Lord today.” We find similar phrasing in Samuel II 19,7 when Yoav accuses
David of having insulted all his ministers and generals by grieving over the death
of his rebellious son instead of appreciating the loyalty of his followers who had
saved his life under most difficult circumstances. The words there are: ‫כי הגדת‬
‫היום כי אין לך שרים ועבדים‬, “(by your excessive grieving) you have made clear that
you do not consider that you have any loyal followers.”
‫כי באתי לא הארץ‬, that I have come to this land from another country '‫אשר נשבע ה‬
‫לאבותינו לתת לנו‬, as when G’d had said in Genesis 17,8 “I gave this land to you and
to your descendants after you.” Seeing that G’d had sworn this oath at the time, I
consider myself though apparently an outsider, a stranger, as if I am a permanent
resident thanks to His gift, and this is why I have brought these choice fruit that
it is incumbent upon anyone who has received the land as either a gift or even as a
tenant to present to the real owner of the land in recognition of His largesse.

Verse 4

‫והניחו לפני מזבח ה' לאוקיך‬, to make plain by this gesture that these fruit are not
really intended for the priest, but are a present to G’d, Who, in turn, gives them
to the priest just as He does with other offerings brought to Him.

Verse 5

‫ארמי אובד אבי‬, my father, i.e. Yaakov, who was for a while a wandering lost person
without a home of his own, was not at the time able to establish a nation deserving
or fit to inherit this land.

Verse 6

‫ויענונו ויתנו עלינו עבודה קשה‬, seeing that once the Jewish people had become a
nation they were not legally capable of receiving gifts as the gifts given to
slaves automatically belong to the slave’s master.

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

‫ויתן לנו את הארץ הזאת‬, after we had left Egypt as free men we did not have any
part of the land to settle in, and He gave us this land which is a superior land
flowing with milk and honey.

Verse 10

‫ועתה‬, after I have become thoroughly aware how great and extensive is Your loving
kindness demonstrated by how You have made us fit to take possession of the land
and to take us out to freedom in a manner enabling us to accept a gift which will
be legally ours, and you have given us such a choice land, ‫הנה הבאתי את ראשית פרי‬
‫'האדמה אשר נתת לי ה‬, I herewith present as a token of my gratitude a gift of the
choicest fruit of this land which the Lord has given me.

Verse 11
Verse 12

Verse 13

‫הקודש מן הבית‬, because of our and our fathers’ sins the privilege of performing
Temple service was removed from the firstborn, who otherwise would also have been
the recipients of all the various tithes. Ezekiel 20,26 refers to this when he
writes: ‫ בהעביר כל פטר רחם‬,‫ ואטמא אותם במתנותם‬, “and I defiled them through their
own gifts, when causing each first born to pass;” the prophet calls this line the
‫ווידוי מעשר‬, the confession represented by the fact that the tithe cannot remain in
the home but must be given to Levites who supplanted the family priest, the
firstborn as a result of their having participated in the sin of the golden calf.
(Maasser Sheyni 5,10)
‫וגם נתתיו ללוי‬, the meaning of the word ‫ גם‬in our context is the same as the words
‫אף על פי‬, “even so.” We find the word ‫ גם‬used as ‫ אף על פי‬also in Ruth 1,12 when
Naomi explains to her daughters-in-law that even if she were to get married
immediately she would not be able to produce sons who could become the husbands of
her daughters-in-law and thereby keep their deceased husbands’ names alive
vicariously (symbolic levirate marriage). We must therefore perceive the farmer’s
declaration to mean: “I confess that my sin was great so that as a result I am
forced to destroy or remove all sacred things from my house even though I,
personally, have discharged my duties by giving the Levite and his companions these
tithes at Your command. Having done so, I pray that You will look down
benevolently. Seeing that normally the word ‫ השקפה‬is used in Scripture as “looking
down to confirm something negative,” the farmer had to add that he means that he
has merited a benevolent ‫ השקפה‬as expressed by the plea ‫וברך את עמך את ישרלא‬, “and
bless Your people, Israel, etc.”

Verse 14

Verse 15

‫ואת האדמה אשר נתתה לי‬...‫וברך את עמך‬, in the same manner as You have sworn to our
forefathers, when You swore to them: “I will take you up from the poverty in Egypt
to a wide good land, etc.” (Exodus 3,17)

Verse 16

‫היום הזה‬, that You entered into the covenant with him. The “covenant” comprised the
undertaking by Israel to keep G’d’s statutes as something that would ensure their
welfare, something He had not done for any other nation.
‫בכל לבבך‬, you must embrace these laws with all your heart, without mental
reservations or doubts about their authenticity. Your sole motivation must be to
carry out His will.
‫ובכל נפשך‬, you must not allow yourself to be distracted, sidetracked, by the evil
urge, i.e. temptations, because you are so firm in the belief of the superiority of
the Lawgiver.

Verse 17

In this respect, ‫את ה' האמרת היום‬, when you accepted upon yourself to become a
party to this sacred oath, which puts at risk every physical goodness on earth in
the event that you desecrate this oath ‫האמרת‬, by doing so you elevated the image of
the Lord, Who, as a result, will be even more honoured in your eyes than before you
entered into this reciprocal covenant with Him. You have thereby demonstrated that
it is more important for you to do His will than to enjoy any of the transient
pleasures of this life.
‫להיות לך ללאוקים‬, that He will be the most exalted of all disembodied phenomena,
powers; you are aware that all that occurs in your life is the result of His
guiding fate and history, in your case, without resorting to deputies, agents, any
intermediaries who carry out His commands. Seeing that this is so, it would be
inconceivable that in your religious rites you were to turn, even only as an
auxiliary, to any other phenomenon purporting to be His agent. You bow and humble
yourself only before Him, directly.
‫וללכת בדרכיו‬, to try and emulate His characteristics to the extent He has seen fit
to reveal these to you.
‫ולשמוע בקולו‬, as is fit for His servants.

Verse 18

‫וה' האמירך היום‬, by entering into the covenant with you, a distinction He has not
accorded to any other nation.
‫להיות לו לעם סגולה‬, so that He may achieve with you what He hoped to achieve with
mankind when He created man, saying: “let us make man in our image, etc. (Genesis
1,26).
‫ולשמור כל מצותיו‬, He accorded you an additional distinction in having chosen you to
observe all of His commandments; by comparison the other nations have not been
rated important enough in His eyes to warrant these commandments. Proof is the
statement of our sages that if a gentile decides to observe the Sabbath legislation
voluntarily as a religious act, he is guilty of death, as ever since the first sin,
man had been condemned to labour in the sweat of his brow for a livelihood, and
only the Jewish people have been relieved of this decree on one day of the week,
i.e. the Sabbath. (compare Sanhedrin 58) All other nations have been given only
seven commandments to observe.

Verse 19

‫ולתתך עליון על כל הגוים‬, in your ability to understand the meaning of life on earth
and to teach it. This is the meaning of Exodus 19,6 “you shall be for Me a kingdom
of priests and a holy nation.”
‫לתהלה ולשם ולתפארת‬, for the Almighty, as per Isaiah 49,3 “Israel, you in whom I
glory.”
‫ולהיותך עם קדוש‬, and your being a holy and eternal nation.
‫כאשר דבר‬, when He said at the time in Exodus 20 “you shall be unto Me a kingdom of
priests and a holy nation.”

Chapter 27

Verse 1

‫ויצא משה וזקני ישרלא‬, G’d co-opted the elders seeing it was they who would stand at
Mount Gerizim and Mount Eyval, and not Moses.

Verse 2
Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

‫ושמחת לפני ה' לאוקיך‬, over the privilege of entering a covenant with G’d at Mount
Gerizim and Mount Eyval.

Verse 8

Verse 9

‫וידבר משה והכהנים הלוים‬, Moses co-opted the priests to caution them on the
importance of studying the Torah in depth. This was because it was their primary
duty to teach the Torah to the people. [service in the Temple occupied only a few
days’ a year of each priest’s time. Ed.] (compare Deut. 33,10 ‫יורו משפטיך ליעקב‬,
“they shall teach Your laws to Yaakov.”)
‫הסכת‬, illustrate the concepts for you in your mind, as in Amos 5,26 ‫את סכות מלככם‬,
“they even named the idol ‘image’.”

Verse 10

‫ושמעת בקול ה' לאוקיך‬, you will hearken to the Lord your G’d as a result of carrying
such a vivid image of your duties in your mind.

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

‫ארור האיש‬, all of the “cursed be” mentioned here had first been intoned as a
blessing for all the people refraining from becoming guilty of the sins that are
mentioned here. (compare Sotah 32) This is also the reason why the Torah commences
the paragraph with the words ‫לאה יעמדו לברך את העם‬, “these are the people who take
up position to bless the people.” The principal reason for these lines is to curse
the sinners who violate these commandments, so that they alone will bear the burden
of their guilt, the people at large not sharing in that responsibility. The reason
is that the sinners referred to were in the main the leaders of the people, so that
the ordinary Israelite did not have the power to protest the carrying’s on of their
leaders. This thought has been stated clearly by Ezekiel 22,6-7 “every one of the
princes of Israel in their midst used his strength for the shedding of blood, etc.
etc.” In that same chapter the prophet specifically singled out most of the (12)
sins listed in our paragraph here. These obscenities were all carried out in
Jerusalem; however, this does not mean that all the inhabitants of the city were
guilty of these iniquities, mostly it was the highly placed members of society who
were guilty of them. When the sins of the population at large are mentioned, these
sins are generally attributed to the city in which these sins have been carried
out. Compare verse 8 in that chapter of Ezekiel. [the reference to the “city “ as
the place where all this had taken place is found in verse 3 of that chapter. Ed.]

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

Verse 23

Verse 24

Verse 25

‫לוקח שוחד להכות‬, as in the case of Doeg the Edomite (Samuel I, chapter 22), whose
accusation was intended to win him favours from the king. Compare also chapter 23
about the Ziphites. Tale-bearing is such a type of interest mentioned in our verse.

Verse 26

‫אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת לעשות אותם‬, who neither observes nor admits that
they are all worth observing. but, who in his arrogance, considers some commandment
or commandment of the Torah not worth his while observing. In the Talmud such a
person is considered a “heretic because he rejects a single one of G’d’s
commandments.”

Chapter 28

Verse 1

Verse 2

‫ובאו עליך כל הברכות הלאה והשיגוך‬. They will catch up with you although you did not
even make an effort to “catch up” with them.
‫כי תשמע בקול ה' לאוקיך‬, all of this will occur when you make the pursuit of Torah
your principal endeavour, relegating secular activities to something subordinate.
In recognition of this approved lifestyle of yours, the blessings G’d bestows on
you can obviously not be described as something that you were actively pursuing.
The blessings mentioned by Moses here were the ones that were in evidence during
the period of the first Temple during the part of that period when the Jewish
people did observe the commandments of the Torah, until verse 9 ‫יקימך ה' לו לעם‬
‫קדוש‬, a condition which was fulfilled at the beginning of the period of the Second
Temple as described by Shimon Hatzaddik in Yuma 21 who reported on the
manifestation of miracles in the Second Temple as proof of the fulfillment of that
prophecy by Moses.

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9
Verse 10

‫וראו כל עמי הארץ‬, as our sages told us on folio 69 in Yuma about Alexander the
Great prostrating himself in front of that High Priest.

Verse 11

‫והותירך ה' לטובה‬, meaning that your success will be demonstrably greater and more
noticeable than that of other nations.

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

Moses concludes the blessings applicable to the period of the Second Temple by
warning ‫ולא תסור מכל הדברים אשר אנכי מצוה אתכם היום ימין או שמלא‬, meaning that the
people are not to introduce changes in the commandments of the Torah, and
especially not to make any changes in the social legislation, ‫משפטים‬. Neither are
they to introduce variations in the observance of certain commandments which were
part of the culture of nations that lived in the land of Canaan, and which had been
well entrenched in the entire region. Especially, is this forbidden if by adopting
those habits, which, though unrelated to idolatry and of no religious significance,
you adopt them in order thereby to display some respect for the culture of the
members of those tribes still residing in your midst. In the Torah’s view this
would constitute ‫ללכת אחרי לאוהים אחרים לעבדם‬, that you are on the path to adopt
idolatrous practices, eventually even worshipping those idols. However, the
admonitions up unto verse 36 i.e. ‫יולך ה' אותך ואת מלכך‬, refer to periods during
the Second Temple, the period of the Seleucids until the Hasmoneans started their
uprising to rid the land of the Neo Greeks. Eventually, Aristobulus, a King of the
Hasmonean Dynasty, was exiled by the Romans to Rome at the command of Pompey.
Starting with this incident up until verse 63 ‫ונסחתם‬, Moses refers to the period of
the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans. What follows are admonitions
dealing with our present exile.

Verse 15

‫אם לא תשמע בקול ה' לאוקיך לשמור לעשות את כל מצותיו וחקותיו אשר אנכי מצוך היום‬, with
these words Moses introduces his admonitions, the ones which parallel chapter 26 in
Leviticus, but are sounding far more devastating. Israel is described as
“backsliding,” having, with the help of Torah legislation, been the frontrunner in
civilised countries. Whenever the Torah speaks about the Jewish people abandoning
the laws of the Torah, the intention is not to make us think that they slid into
anarchy, but worse, they slid into adopting the laws of the prevalent cultures and
civilisations. Clearly, this is an even greater affront to G’d the Lawgiver, than
merely being passive and not carrying out Torah legislation. Social legislation
involving tithes was largely ignored, leading to such great scholars as Hillel, and
the High Priest Yochanan decreeing legalistic means of circumventing the
legislation so that the people would not be guilty of violating such basic social
laws as forgiving overdue debts at the end of the Sh’mittah year. The Rabbis, in a
number of instances, were forced to preserve the spirit of the law, sometimes at
the expense of what may be termed “the letter of the law.” The discontinuance of
the examination by the priest of a woman suspected of marital infidelity, Sotah, is
one such example, the Rabbis feeling that when infidelity had become the norm
rather than the exception, it would not do to demand a miracle from G’d every time
such a situation arose. Moreover, the chances were that the husband’s sexual life
was not so free from blemish that he could point a finger at his wife. (Compare
Shviit,1,3, Maasser Sheyni 5,15, Sotah 46,48,49) Other practices, such as referring
disputes to pagan judges of the nation (Greeks or Romans) occupying Israel at the
time, made it almost impossible for the Jewish judiciary, even when meaning to
preside over Torah law, to be an effective legal instrument. All of these
conditions became a self-fulfilling prophecy in the decline of the Jewish people as
a holy nation and led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of Jewish
independence on a land of their own.

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

Verse 23

Verse 24

Verse 25

Verse 26
Verse 27

Verse 28

Verse 29

Verse 30

Verse 31

Verse 32

Verse 33

Verse 34

Verse 35

Verse 36

Verse 37

Verse 38

Verse 39

Verse 40

Verse 41
Verse 42

Verse 43

Verse 44

Verse 45

Verse 46

Verse 47

Verse 48

Verse 49

Verse 50

Verse 51

Verse 52

Verse 53

Verse 54

Verse 55

Verse 56
Verse 57

Verse 58

Verse 59

Verse 60

Verse 61

Verse 62

Verse 63

Verse 64

Verse 65

Verse 66

Verse 67

Verse 68

‫והתהכרתם‬, you will begin to manufacture or make by hand all kinds of goods the host
country lacks in order to secure your economic well being, but
‫ואין קונה‬, no one will buy these goods due to antisemitic reasons, as they do not
want you to gain a foothold in their country.

Chapter 29

Verse 1
Verse 2

Verse 3

‫ולא נתן ה' לכם לב לדעת‬, even though He had tried by means of His teachings and His
miracles to give the people a knowing heart, as we know from Exodus 10,20 ‫ולמען‬
‫וידעתם כי אני ה‬.....‫'תספר‬, “and in order that you will tell…and be aware that I am
the Lord,” the lesson had not taken hold due to your overwhelming quarrelsomeness.

Verse 4

‫ואולך אתכם‬, however, now that you have seen the vastness of His love for you and He
has brought you to take possession of the lands of Sichon and Og, so that you are
able to sustain yourselves by your own efforts, the time has come that you will
finally possess the necessary sagacity, a heart which is knowledgeable.

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

‫ושמרתם את דברי הברית הזאת‬, the one you will accept at Mount Gerizim and Mount
Eyval.
‫למען תשכילו את כל אשר תעשון‬, so that you will be successful both in your life on
earth in all your undertakings, as well as achieving your goal to live on eternally
in the world beyond physical death.

Verse 9

‫לפני ה' לאוקיכם‬...‫ אתם נצבים‬, so that anyone who is capable of misleading me cannot
mislead Him. You will accept this covenant in His presence, on His authority, not
merely on mine.
‫ראשיכם שבטיכם זקניכם ושוטריכם‬, the people Moses describes as ‫ראשיכם‬, are those who
are heads of their tribes, elsewhere referred to as ‫נשיאים‬, “princes. The term
‫ראש‬always includes the people who wield authority. ‫זקניכם‬, your judges. ‫ושוטריכם‬,
the law enforcers empowered by the judges to enforce their judgments. Each one of
these categories of people have the duty to teach the people (within the parameters
of their special competence) how much better it is for them to accept Torah law
than to defy it or neglect it.

Verse 10

‫טפכם נשיכם‬, people who normally require the consent of their husbands or fathers to
do what they do.
‫מחוטב עציך עד שואב מימיך‬, from the leader of the wood choppers to the most lowly of
the water carriers. The construction here parallels comparisons as ‫מעולל ועד יונק‬,
“infants as well as sucklings,” (Samuel I 15,3) i.e. the highest ranking within its
category to the lowliest ranking. Similar expressions are used when the Torah
speaks of ‫משור ועד שה‬, oxen as well as lambs, meaning the most expensive animals of
your livestock to the least expensive. Similarly,‫מגמל ועד חמור‬, “from the camels
down to the donkeys.”

Verse 11

‫לעברך בברית‬, you are all arranged in this order in order to signal your acceptance
of the forthcoming covenant. It is clear from Moses’ addressing all the assembled,
that they were of one mind at the time, all willing and eager to accept the
covenant.
'‫ למען הקים אותך וגו‬,‫אשר ה' לאוקיך כורת עמך היום‬, G’d’s objective in concluding this
covenant with you this day is to reaffirm that you are His people and that He is
your G’d. By entering into this covenant with Him you acquire eternal life, life
beyond the death of your bodies. Seeing that the purpose of the covenant is of such
importance, is of so elevated a nature, it is necessary that you embrace it
wholeheartedly.

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

‫ואת אשר עמנו פה עמנו היום‬, a reference to future, as yet unborn generations. You
will therefore have to explain to these unborn generations in due course that you
yourselves only received this land on the understanding that subsequent generations
of Jews would remain loyal to the terms of your acceptance. They will continue to
inherit the land from you only on that basis.

Verse 15

‫כי אתם ידעתם את אשר ישבנו‬, and this is why you have to be concerned that there
should not be among you ‫איש או אשה‬, neither a man nor a woman who would seduce you
to follow the vain pursuits of the nations with whom you will be living in close
proximity, and who might be the cause that you would default on the undertakings in
this covenant. This is the reason I have insisted that all of you be present at
this ceremony, seeing that G’d examines hearts He will know who only pays lip
service to this covenant and who is sincere about it. You will not be able to
deceive Him.

Verse 16

Verse 17

‫איש או אשה‬, neither a man nor a woman who would seduce you to follow the vain
pursuits of the nations with whom you will be living in close proximity, and who
might be the cause that you would default on the undertakings in this covenant.
This is the reason I have insisted that all of you be present at this ceremony,
seeing that G’d examines hearts He will know who only pays lip service to this
covenant and who is sincere about it. You will not be able to deceive Him.
‫פן יש בכם שורש פורה ראש ולענה‬, a simile for people planning to beguile the
multitude to adopt their own idolatrous beliefs.

Verse 18

‫והתברך בלבבו‬, while accepting the covenant with his lips, he already resolves in
his heart to honour it in the breach, comforting himself, thinking ‫שלום יהיה לי כי‬
‫בשרירות לבי לאך‬, “I will be alright even though I will do my own thing.” He
considers that seeing that he already planned to breach the covenant at the very
moment when he accepted it with his lips, the covenant is not binding upon him.
The only reason he had mouthed acceptance of the covenant was to become at one and
the same time a beneficiary of the overwhelming number of people for whose sake G’d
was going to bestow so many blessings on His people. This is the meaning of the
words ‫ ;שלום יהיה לי כי בשרירות לבי לאך למען ספות הרוה את הצמאה‬he knows full well
that the holy community of the Jewish people, his brethren, have attained that
status by resisting the lures of the evil urge instead of succumbing to it. This is
why they will benefit from G’d’s largesse in such abundant manner. He therefore
decided to have the best of both worlds by at least paying lip service to a
covenant he knows he will not live by.

Verse 19

‫לא יאבה ה' סלוח לו‬, when he will violate the covenant which he accepted as a sacred
oath with his lips, although he had mentally had his reservations at the very time
when he confirmed the covenant with his mouth.

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

'‫במהפכת סדום אשר הפך ה‬....‫גפרית ומלח‬, the people seeing this know full well that
this was not something accidental but that it is a finger of G’d. The comparison is
based on Sodom seeing that its destruction had both been predicted to Avraham and
confirmed by Lot and his daughters who were survivors of that event.

Verse 23

‫ואמרו כל הגויים‬, when they are faced with these incontrovertible facts.

Verse 24

Verse 25

‫לאוהים אשר לא ידעום‬, they did not even know of such a deity’s existence. For such
unproven and almost anonymous deities they abandoned their G’d, the One Who had
been proven as true, powerful, through all the miracles He had performed for them.
‫ולא חלק להם‬, a deity, be it a horoscope or whatever which He had not assigned to
them. The reason G’d had never assigned such a horoscope to them had been to show
them that they did not need it, as did the other nations. Moses had mentioned in
Deut. 4,19-20 that G’d had assigned such intermediaries to the gentile nations.

Verse 26

Verse 27

Verse 28

‫הנסתרות לה' לאוקינו‬, even though I have said that all of you are standing in the
presence of the Lord whom it is impossible to mislead and deceive, so that He will
collect His dues from everyone who owes him, G’d collects directly only from those
whom it is not possible for His appointed representatives, i.e. a legally
constituted judiciary to bring to justice.
‫והנגלות לנו ולבננו עד עולם‬, however, any sins committed publicly must be dealt with
by this judiciary, forever, [I suppose the words ‫ עד עולם‬mean that there is no
statute of limitations as in gentile countries. Ed.] ‫לעשות את כל דברי התורה הזאת‬,
to avenge G’d‘s having been slighted by the public commission of violations of
Torah law, especially those affecting other people directly.

Chapter 30

Verse 1

‫והשבות לא לבבך‬, you will be able to distinguish the truth between apparently
contradictory phenomena. When you become the victim of what has been predicted for
the sinners, you will realise how far you had strayed from G’d’s Torah, i.e. from
G’d Himself.
‫בכל הגויים‬, while you are still in exile.

Verse 2

‫ושבת עד ה' לאוקיך‬, your repentance will have as its exclusive purpose to henceforth
carry out only G’d ‘s will to the extent that He has revealed it. Our sages in Yuma
86 have said of this type of repentance that “it reaches right up to the throne of
G’d’s Majesty.”
‫ושמעת בקולו ככל אשר אנכי מצוך היום‬, instead of listening (abiding by) man-made laws
as you were in the habit of doing.
‫אתה ובניך‬, also the children of this generation will recognise this. Jeremiah 31,33
refers to “everyone knowing Me,” i.e. G’d, adding ‫למקטנם ועד גדולם‬, “from their
early youth till their reaching adulthood.”
‫בכל לבבך‬, without any reservation.
‫ובכל נפשך‬, without allowing the “natural,” evil urge inspired temptations to
sidetrack you by downplaying the importance of some of G’d’s legislation

Verse 3

‫ ושב וקבצך‬, during the ingathering of the exiles.

Verse 4
Verse 5

Verse 6

‫ לאהבה‬,‫ומל ה' לאוקיך את לבבך ואת לבב זרעך‬, He will open your eyes so as to remove
every erroneous conceptions which have prevented you from recognising the
theological truth of all aspects of the Jewish religion. Once these “blinds” have
been removed from your eyes you will realise that everything G’d has done was out
of His love for you, and had to be done ‫למען חייך‬, in order to ensure that you will
be part of eternal life after your body dies.

Verse 7

‫על אויביך ועל שונאיך‬, both against those who oppose you openly and attack you, as
well as against those who hate you only in their hearts without translating their
hatred into hostile action. According to Jeremiah 30,11 G’d will eliminate all
those nations.

Verse 8

‫ואתה תשוב‬, not from the root ‫ שוב‬to return, but from the root ‫ישב‬, i.e. you will
sit at ease, undisturbed. Compare Isaiah 30,15 ‫בשובה ונחת‬. This period will be
ushered in by the arrival of the Messiah after the hostile nations have been
eliminated. Moses contrasts what will happen to those nations and what will happen
to the Jewish people at that time. G’d will never exile you again. All this has
been spelled out by Jeremiah 4,1 when he said:‫ולא תנוד‬....‫לאי תשוב‬....‫אם תשוב ישרלא‬,
“if you return Israel….return to Me, and you do not waver, …nations shall bless
themselves by you, etc.”
‫ועשית את כל מצוותיו אשר אנכי מצוך היום‬, not adopting any new religious rites or
philosophies.

Verse 9

'‫והותירך ה‬, He will grant you success beyond any success you have ever enjoyed
previously.
‫הכתובה בספר התורה הזה‬...‫לטובה‬, as He said when He said: ‫והתהלכתי בתוככם והייתי לכם‬
‫ללאוקים ואתם תהיו לי לעם‬, “I shall walk freely in your midst and will be your G’d
and you will be My people” (Leviticus 26,12) This promise will be fulfilled when
‫לטוב כי תשמע‬...‫כאשר ה' ישוב לשוש עליך‬, as He had once delighted in your forefathers
(the patriarchs). This time the good you will experience at G’d’s hands will not be
due to the merit of the patriarchs but will be due to the fact that your repentance
is so wholehearted and unreserved. Due to your unreserved repentance your former
demerits will be converted into merits, seeing that it was, after all, these
demerits and what followed that have become the catalyst of your eventual return to
G’d. You will enjoy G’d’s goodwill just as did the patriarchs.

Verse 10

Verse 11

‫כי המצוה הזאת‬, and the reason that I said in verse 1 that the repentance must be
wholehearted and among the nations, i.e. while you are still in exile, is so that
it can trigger your salvation. For, indeed this commandment, i.e. the one to return
to G’d in sincere penitence ‫אשר אנכי מצוך היום‬, Moses reminds the people that in
the list of sacrifices in Leviticus 5,5 et al, where various kinds of sin and guilt
offerings are listed as means to expiate for the error committed, the essential
refrain is always “‫והתוודה אשר חטא‬,” that the guilty person first confesses his
mistake, his sin, even the one committed inadvertently. Compare also Numbers 5,6-7)
‫לא נפלאת היא ממך‬, so that you would need to ask the prophets in order to understand
it correctly.
‫ולא רחוקה היא‬, so that you have to ask the leading Torah scholars of your
generation who live a long way from you to explain how to observe this commandment.
You can easily observe this commandment even in the Diaspora where you may not have
any Torah scholars nearby.

Verse 12

‫לא בשמים היא‬, in order to repent you do not need to turn to a prophet who
represents heaven,

Verse 13

‫ולא מעבר לים היא‬, neither, when you are in exile, overseas, do you need to travel
to the leading Torah scholars across the ocean in order to become a true penitent.
True, there are commandments which are difficult to master without expert guidance,
repentance, however, is not one of them.

Verse 14

‫בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו‬, to recognise with your heart the nature of your sins and the
One against Whom you have sinned so that you will express your confession and
remorse to Him with your heart and with your lips.

Verse 15

‫את החיים‬, eternal life, not just life on earth.

‫ואת הטוב‬, the pleasant aspects of life on earth.
‫ואת המות‬, eternal oblivion.
‫ואת הרע‬, the unpleasant aspects of life on earth.

Verse 16

‫וחיית‬, forever;

Verse 17

Verse 18

‫כי אבוד תאבדון‬, for you would perish forever.

Verse 19

‫ובחרת בחיים‬, you will opt for eternal life

‫למען תחיה אתה וזרעך‬, so that both you and your offspring will experience this life
‫לאהבה את ה' לאוקיך‬, when I said to choose “life,” I did not mean that you should
keep the laws for the sake of the reward in store for you, but that you should make
this choice for the sake of true “life.” This alone is sufficient reason to choose
this option. Whatever satisfaction you experience during life on earth should be
with a view to the kind of life in store for you after your body has died.

Verse 20

‫ולדבקה בו‬, meaning that all of your activities during life on earth should be
focused on giving glory to His name.
‫כי הוא חייך‬, for your cleaving to Him is your real life, the reason why you will
enjoy eternal life;
‫ואורך ימיך לשבת על האדמה‬, during the transient life on earth, during which through
study, serious contemplation of your duties, and your performance of them you will
qualify for the life awaiting you in the hereafter. Compare Avot 4,16 where we have
been told that life on earth is merely to be viewed as a vestibule to the
hereafter, a place in which one makes suitable preparations for eternal life in the
Palace.

Chapter 31

Verse 1

‫וילך משה‬, he was self-propelled, just as was Amram, Moses’ father who married his
aunt Yocheved, daughter of Levi, and almost certainly many years his senior.
(Exodus 2,1) Another of many uses of the word ‫ וילך‬meaning that the person
described acted of their own initiative is found in Deut. 17,3 where the Jewish
idolater described had not been seduced by anyone. After having concluded the
matter of the covenant between G’d and this second generation of Israelites many of
whom had not been born at the time of the Exodus, Moses now proceeds to comfort the
people over his impending death. He does so in order that the joy over G’d having
concluded this covenant with them should not be turned into sorrow over the
prospect of his impending passing from the scene. Rejoicing over having been found
fit to become a party to such a covenant is something natural, the psalmist in
Psalms 149,2 speaking of Israel rejoicing with or over its Maker. Being in G’d’s
presence, such as here, is always a joyful experience, as is offering sacrifices to
Him, as we know from Deut. 27,7.when the occasion was to mark the erecting of the
stones after the successful crossing of the river Jordan.

Verse 2

‫בן מאה ועשרים שנה אנכי היום‬, Moses mentions his age to remind the people that there
is no reason to be sad that someone of his age has to die. According to any life
expectancy and law of nature, he was no longer fit to go on living by natural
means.
‫לא אוכל עוד לצאת ולבא‬, even if I were still able, I would not be able to function
physically as a leader should, such as leading you in he conquest of the Land of
Israel as I am suffering from symptoms of old age.
‫וה' אמר לאי לא תעבור‬, furthermore, G’d had said to me a while ago: “you will not
cross;” even if I were physically capable of leading you, the fact that G’d told me
that I would not cross the Jordan would have made my leadership pointless. You are
therefore better off without me so that you will be able to cross.

Verse 3

‫ה' לאוקיך הוא עובר לפניך‬, so that you have no reason to be saddened by my absence.
You will enjoy leadership superior to mine, by G’d Himself orchestrating the
crossing of the river. '‫יהושע הוא עובר לפניך כאשר דבר ה‬. Although, strictly
speaking, Joshua is not he people’s leader in that crossing, he will be the one who
nominally will be leading you across the river, just as G’d has said.

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

‫לא ירפך‬, for at the hour of battle G’d will lend you additional mental fortitude
‫ולא יעזבך‬, neither will He abandon you afterwards by decreasing the attention He
pays to your affairs. As a result, none of the neighbouring nations will dare
attack you.

Verse 7

‫כי אתה תבא‬, even though I myself have not merited this.

Verse 8

Verse 9

‫את התורה הזאת‬, a reference to the final commandment in the Torah, Hakhel, for the
king to read the Torah once in seven years before the entire Jewish people, minors
and babies in arms included.
‫ויתנה לא הכהנים בני לוי‬, from whose hands the King who would read it in public would
receive it. The Talmud Sotah 41 describes that the Torah scroll passed from the
deputy High Priest’s hands to those of the High Priest himself, who in turn handed
it to the King.
‫הנושאים את ארון‬, one of the three occasions when the priests rather than the
ordinary Levites carried the Ark; at the time when the miracle of the waters being
split would occur once more, the priests carrying the Ark were the catalyst.
‫ולא כל זקני ישרלא‬, from whom the priests had received the Torah scroll on that
occasion. On the folio in Sotah 41 mentioned earlier, the details of this whole
procedure are described.

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

‫למען ישמעו‬, in order that the wise men in the congregation would understand.
‫ולמען ילמדו‬, and in order that the less intelligent members of the people would
learn it from them.
‫ויראו את ה' לאוקיכם‬, once they have understood the greatness of Torah they will
automatically revere and be in awe of its author, G’d, whose supreme intelligence
they will admire.

Verse 13

‫ובניהם אשר לא ידעו‬, seeing that due to their tender age they are unable to
formulate their questions if they have any.
‫ישמעו‬, either simply that their ears will hear sounds, or, if they are a little
older, that they will hear words.
‫ולמדו‬, they will ask adults and learn by listening intently to the answers they
receive from people who do understand.

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

‫ועזבתים‬, to the various nations who will overpower them.

‫והסתרתי פני מהם‬, after they will have fallen under the control of the gentile
nations who will abuse them and oppress them I will ignore my natural sense of
pity, and make believe as if I were unaware of their plight.
‫על כי אין לאוקי בקרבי מצאוני הרעות‬, all of this has befallen me because G’d has
abandoned me. Seeing that they feel abandoned, they will not bother to pray to Me,
nor will they do teshuvah, considering such prayer futile, wasted.

Verse 18

‫ואנכי הסתר אסתיר פני מהם‬, not as they thought that I was no longer in their midst;
wherever they are My presence is with them, as our sages said in Megillah 29
“wherever the Jewish people have been exiled G’d’s presence accompanies them.
However, it does not manifest itself by saving them from their oppressor.”
‫על כל הרעה אשר עשה‬, Israel had done harm to itself, not G’d.
‫כי פנה לא לאוהים אחרים‬, while being beset by all of their problems, instead of
turning to Me in prayer, supplication and remorse, they chose to pray to idols
instead.

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21
‫כי ידעתי את יצרו אשר הוא עושה היום‬, for I, G’d, know its nature, its character;
they do not look forward to taking over the land of the Canaanites in order to
serve Me, as I wanted them to and hoped they would do. (compare Psalms 105,44-45
“He gave them the lands of nations; they inherited the wealth of peoples; in order
to observe His statutes and His teachings, and observe His laws.”) Instead they
look forward to gratify their own cravings as a result of which their excess wealth
will be the cause of their decline and corruption, as per 32,15 “Yeshurun waxed
fate and kicked, etc.”

Verse 22

Verse 23

‫ויצו את יהושע‬, at that time G’d appointed Joshua to be the leader. The expression
‫ ויצו‬used here has been used elsewhere to describe someone’s appointment, such as
in Samuel I 25,30 ‫וצוך לנגיד‬, “He appointed you as leader,” or Samuel II 7,11 ‫צויתי‬
‫שופטים‬, “I appointed judges.” There are more such examples in Scripture.

Verse 24

‫על ספר עד תומם‬, together with the portions Haazinu and Vezot ha’brachah.

Verse 25

Verse 26

‫והיה שם בך לעד‬, the written Torah, reposing in the Holy Ark is witness that I have
predicted and warned against your abandoning G’d and His Torah. This is why I
arranged for this testimony to be preserved in a place accessible even to the High
Priest only once a year on the Day of Atonement. This original copy of the written
Torah will, if need be, prove that all that is written in all the Torah scrolls
later and accessible to all the people all the time was a true copy of the Torah
Moses had received from G’d at Mount Sinai. It will serve as proof that the Torah
scrolls in circulation among the Torah scholars and the righteous people who
commissioned copies for their private libraries, are all true to the original and
do not contain additions or omissions.<br> It would appear, however, that the Torah
scroll found by the High Priest Chilkiyah (Kings II 22,8) was the very one which
Moses had handed over to the priests who carried the Ark across the river Jordan
which we referred to earlier. It contained only the passage dealing with the
legislation pertaining to the king. It was this scroll in which Joshua wrote
(added) the renewal of G’d’s covenant with the people which took place at Shechem.
This was the record of Israel’s renewed undertaking to serve the Lord. Compare
Kings II 22,13 where King Yoshiyahu refers to this scroll containing matters not
contained in Moses’ original Torah scroll, as Joshua had written part of this
scroll after the covenant’s renewal in Shechem. The King had become painfully aware
how far the people had strayed from their solemn undertaking.

Verse 27

Verse 28
‫ואדברה באזניהם את הדברים הלאה‬, the words of poetry contained in the portion Haazinu.
‫ואעידה בם את השמים ואת הארץ‬, just as we read in the opening words of that poem in
32,1.

Verse 29

‫כי ידעתי‬, in the course of that song (poem) I will reveal that I know how you will
act so that the evil, if and when it befalls you, will not be perceived as “bad
luck,” as coincidence, but can be traced back to my warnings. Once you realise and
admit hat you had become guilty of a corrupt way of life, you will repent and turn
to G’d in sincere remorse. Compare Isaiah 48,5 ‫ פן‬,‫ בטרם תבוא השמעתיך‬,‫ואגיד לך מאז‬
‫תאמר עצבי אשם‬, “Therefore I told you long beforehand, announced things to you
before they happened, that you might not say: “my idol caused them.”

Verse 30

‫את דברי השירה הזאת עד תומם‬, including 32,36 ‫ כי ידין‬and ‫ כי אשא‬in 32,40, although
those verses are not strictly speaking, part of Moses’ warning and testimony.

Chapter 32

Verse 1

Verse 2

‫יערוף כמטר לקחי‬, here my teachings will pour down and flow without interruption
like rain for those who understand and are prepared to receive it from the
fountain, the source of wisdom.
‫תזל כטל אמרתי‬, and it too will contribute in accordance with the information which
has been revealed to ordinary people. Even though these scraps of information are
sparse, they are as useful to the recipients as is dew for the grass. The reason is
that both in quantity and quality it is ‫כשעירים עלי דשא‬, intelligent people can
discern wonderful insights by listening to these words of mine; [ ,‫וכרביבים עלי עשב‬
‫ עשב‬being coarse, unrefined grass, it is a simile for coarse unrefined people. Ed.]
even the most ordinary, uneducated people will acquire some knowledge by listening
to what I have to say. It will help them to recognise and appreciate their Maker.

Verse 3

‫כי שם ה' אקרא‬, If this is as I said, then you Israel who have received these words
of wisdom, will appreciate that the thrust of my address is a prayer, a prayer that
all of us, including myself, will experience the ultimate redemption after the last
exile. [Moses includes this in his preamble in order to make sure that his
listeners will not fail to see the forest by concentrating too much on the
individual trees. Ed.] Our author first proceeds to quote examples of such
formulations as Moses uses here meaning prayer. We find in Lamentations 3,55 ‫קראתי‬
‫שמך ה' מבור תחתיות‬, ”I have called on Your Name from the depths of the Pit.”
Clearly, Jeremiah refers to his prayer. We read in Psalms 99,6 concerning the trio
of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, that they were known as ‫קוראי שמו והוא יענם‬, “that
whenever they prayed to G’d He would respond to them favourably.”<br> Moses
therefore tells the people: “when I pray for the ingathering of the exiles I want
G’d to orchestrate this so that it is like the eagle rousing his young and carrying
them to a new destination on the back of his wings.” (verse 11) Moses continues,
focusing in his prayer on the arrival of the Messiah by saying ‫ה' בדד ינחנו‬, G’d
will do this all on His own, without anyone’s assistance (verse 23). At the very
end of his shirah, (verse 43) he exclaims ‫הרנינו גויים עמו‬, which is equivalent to
the instruction in our verse here of ‫הבו גודל ללאוקינו‬, render glory to our G’d.

Verse 4

Do not relate to Him differently on account of what you hear in my song about
Israel’s future. Do not come to the mistaken conclusion that G’d will ever change
and that the experiences that will befall the Jewish people during the course of
history, and which I am about to foreshadow, are evidence of His changing and
possibly becoming the Jewish people’s enemy. You are very well aware through the
variety of miracles He has performed on your behalf that ‫הצור‬, He remains the Rock
and His actions are always motivated by pure motives. This being so, if at times He
does not appear to help you, save you, this is not due to a weakening on His part,
neither is He hard of hearing so that He did not hear your pleas; never ascribe any
injustice to Him;
‫כל דרכיו משפט‬, all of His paths are justice;
‫ל אמונה‬-‫א‬, a totally reliable and loyal G’d is He; when He swore to the patriarchs
that He would perform deeds of love for their children on account of these
patriarchs’ merit;
‫ואין עול‬, never false, even when He visits retribution on you.
‫צדיק‬, because He is so righteous He will not abandon you even in exile
‫וישר הוא‬, not withholding from anyone of His creatures the reward due to it for any
good deeds. This is the reason why He often appears as being overly patient before
He pays back certain people for their sins. He has to reward, pay, those who hate
Him while they are still on earth as they have already forfeited any portion they
claimed to life in the hereafter.

Verse 5

‫שחת לו לא בניו מומם דור עקש ופתלתול‬, however, a twisted and perverse generation He
does not view as His true children, such as when they made the golden calf. ‫מומם‬,
their blemish was not due to anything G’d had done Moses recalls that when G’d
first told him about the people having become corrupt during his stay on the
mountain that they were “your people” (Exodus 32,7), that although Moses, when
accepting the conversion of the mixed multitude to Judaism had meant to sanctify
the name of G’d, the fact was that instead of becoming a shining example to the
world, these people had corrupted what would otherwise have been a kingdom of
Priests. They had re-introduced idolatry among these people so recently weaned from
it.

Verse 6

‫הלה' תגמלו זאת‬, after G’d had planned to make you superior over all other nations,
is it indeed imaginable that you would respond by frustrating His intention by
desecrating His name and to thereby prevent G’d from realising His declared
intention when He created man that he should reflect the image of G’d? (Genesis
1,26)
‫עם נבל‬, a contemptible nation, repaying generosity of the most lavish kind by
ingratitude.
‫ולא חכם‬, pursuing a policy while not considering its ultimate result.
‫הלא הוא אביך קנך‬, He is not like a natural father who had no control over the type
of son he had sired, but had to leave this to chance; G’d deliberately adopted the
Jewish people giving them the kind of existence that would make Him proud to be
called your “owner,” and made Him look forward to achieve His aim in creating
mankind through you. Had He not made you into a nation you would have remained an
insignificant tribe of sorts.
‫ויכוננך‬, He equipped you with the basic ingredients to enable you to become the
precious nation He mentioned prior to the revelation at Mount Sinai.

Verse 7

‫זכור ימות עולם‬, After concluding the introductory section of his poem, during the
course of which he announced that it was his purpose to proclaim the perfect
righteousness of the Lord G’d, Who has proven a loyal G’d showering goodness upon
the people of Israel, and Who would not reverse a blessing once bestowed, Moses
begins to discuss Israel’s past and future.<br> First, Moses reminds the people
that G’d had originally hoped to bestow a brilliant future for all of mankind, i.e.
‫ימות עולם‬, He had hoped that history would develop in that direction. When this
failed to happen, ‫שנות דור ודור‬, during the years of one generation after another,
G’d decided on His pilot project the Jewish people and He raised them to an
elevated position among the nations. This is basically what He will do at the end
of “history,” [history is perceived as a period of education for the people filling
or making a brief appearance on the stage of history. Ed.]<br> Second, G’d had
provided the people with optimum conditions to serve Him joyfully while they
enjoyed all the material advantages that life on earth has to offer. He gave them a
beautiful country, one flowing with milk and honey, to do this in. Instead, they
rebelled and repaid good with evil. There can be no question that the people
responsible for frustrating G’d’s master plan deserve to be severely punished for
this.<br> Third, due to the serious nature of their sin they deserve to be wiped
out completely. If it were not for the desecration of the Lord’s name that would be
a by-product of the destruction of His chosen people, nothing would have prevented
G’d from administering this punishment.<br> Fourth, Moses reveals the reason why
the redemption of the Jewish people will occur at the end of what we call
“history,’ ‫באחרית היים‬.<br> Fifth, Moses elaborates somewhat on the nature of this
redemption and the retribution G’d will wreak at that time on the other nations of
the world. The nations will primarily be punished for what they did to the Jewish
people throughout history. These then are the five sections into which the portion
of Haazinu is divided, our sages having given us an easy way of reminding ourselves
of this division by calling the portion ‫הזי'ו ל'ך‬. (Rosh Hashanah 31) Moses
therefore commences with the words: ‫זכור ימות עולם‬, “study history and thereby
learn to recognise how much G’d had endeavoured to shower good upon you, starting
already with first man whom He transferred to Gan Eden, the most exclusive
environment on earth.
‫בינו שנות דור ודור‬, you will then understand what amount of goodness G’d
“squandered” on successive generations who did not deserve it. These generations of
mankind, instead of appreciating it, did their best to ruin the universe until G’d
was forced to put an end to them by bringing on the deluge.

Verse 8

‫יצב גבולות עמים‬, after the tower of Babylon episode, when mankind had lived in a
single community, G’d separated them, dividing them up, and established territorial
boundaries for the various new nations. Instead of destroying the people who had
engaged in building the tower as a challenge to G’d, He did not destroy them as He
had the generation of the deluge, but limited their future scope of influence, by
assigning only clearly marked territories within which they could be sovereign.
‫למספר בני ישרלא‬. For the sake of the Children of Israel who were few in numbers, and
who would eventually emerge from among these nations. Proof of all this is ‫כי חלק‬
‫ה' עמו‬, that G’d has no special claim on any nation other than the people of
Israel. All the other nations worship alien deities. Moses explains that had it not
been for the fact that G’d knew that the people of Israel would emerge eventually
from among one of these nations, He would have wiped out all the people involved in
the building of the tower.
Verse 9

‫יעקב חבל נחלתו‬, for he as well as his sons became servants of the supreme G’d. By
contrast, whenever there was a pious and G’d fearing individual among the gentile
nations, such piety and belief in G’d was never transmitted to and carried on by
the next generation.

Verse 10

‫ימצאהו בארץ מדבר‬, in the desert He found that the heart of this nation which He
considered His only share among mankind was pure and loyal, as testified to in
Jeremiah 2,2 “you followed Me into the desert.”
‫יסובבנהו‬, to Mount Sinai, as mentioned in Exodus 19,12 when G’d had said to me:
‫והגבלת את העם סביב‬, “and you will fence in the people around the Mountain.”
‫יבוננהו‬, as G’d had said to Moses in Exodus 24,12 ‫והתורה והמצוה אשר כתבתי להורותם‬,
“and the Torah and the commandment which I have written in order to instruct them.”
‫יצרנהו‬, He carefully engirded them from being enslaved to other nations and from
being subject to the angel of death, as we have been taught by Eyruvin 54 that the
words ‫חרות על הלוחות‬, are best understood as ‫חירות על הלוחות‬, freedom on the
Tablets, i.e. acceptance of the Torah would result in the immortality of the person
observing it totally.
‫כאישון עינו‬. Just as a man watches carefully over his eyeball after having tended
it, so G’d watched over His people. G’d tried to surround the Israelites with
layers of protective legislation to counter their natural tendency to be obstinate
and “do their own thing.”

Verse 11

‫כנשר יעיר קנו‬, may it be His will that just as at Sinai it had been His intention
to make you immortal, and He would have succeeded if the sin of the golden calf had
not intervened, He will do so once more in the future, when Israel/Moses’ prayer in
this respect will be granted. This is what Zecharyah 10,8 spoke about when he said:
‫אשרקה להם ואקבצם כי פדיתים‬, “I will whistle to them and gather them, for I will
redeem them.”
‫על גוזליו ירחף‬, as we read I Isaiah 49,22 ,‫ ועל עמים ארים נסי‬,‫הנה אשא על גוים ידי‬
‫והביאו בניך בחצן‬, “I will raise My hand to nations, and lift up My ensign to
peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their bosoms, etc.”
‫יפרוש כנפיו יקחהו‬, as per Isaiah 27,12 ‫ואתם תלוקטו לאחד אחד בני ישרלא‬, “and you
shall be picked up one by one, O Children of Israel.”
‫ישאהו על אברתו‬, as in Isaiah 60,8 ‫מי לאה כעב תעופנה‬, “who are these who fly like a
thick cloud?”

Verse 12

‫בדד ינחנו‬ '‫ה‬, as per Jeremiah 46,28 ‫ואותך לא אעשה כלה‬...‫כי אעשה כלה בכל הגויים‬,
“though I will wipe out all the other nations …you I will not wipe out.”
‫עמו לא נכר‬ ‫אין‬, as per Tzefaniah 3,9 and Isaiah 54,5, both of whom emphasise this
exclusive nature of G’d.

Verse 13

‫ירכיבהו על במתי ארץ‬, this is something He has to do seeing that He did not achieve
the desired result at the time He gave the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount
Sinai. He will make a second attempt at achieving this as we know from Psalms
105,45 ‫בעבור ישמרו חקיו‬, “in order that they may observe His statutes.” G’d gave
them the land of nations in order that they keep His statutes.” Ezekiel 20,6 extols
the land of Israel as ‫ארץ צבי‬, the choicest of all the countries
‫ויאכל תנובות שדי‬, Moses mentions only the eating, not referring to the labour in
the fields leading up to this, eventually. He meant that it would not take any
effort to reach the state of eating the produce the land has to offer. Compare
Joshua 24,13 “vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant you are eating
from.”

Verse 14

‫ודם ענב תשתה חמר‬, grape juice was fit to drink without investing much toil
beforehand. This is an example of people earning their livelihood easily. The
reason why G’d had arranged things in such a fashion was so as to leave the people
ample time to study Torah, and to enable them to fulfill the various commandments
of the Torah which do consume time.

Verse 15

‫וישמן ישורון ויבעט‬, however, even the most erudite of them, the ones known
admiringly as Yeshurun, (based on Bileam’s prophecy of ‫אשורנו ולא קרוב‬, in Numbers
24,17) acted as if they were animals, kicking the very people who give them food.
‫שמנת עבית כשית‬, you, the elite of the people, preferred to concentrate on the
physical enjoyments offered by a life of leisure, and by doing so ‫עבית‬, you became
too gross to understand the finer points of the teachings of the Torah, the only
truth. Isaiah 28,7 describes the conduct of the spiritual elite of the people when
he writes: “but these are also so muddled by wine, and dazed by liquor, Priest and
Prophet are muddled by wine;“
‫כשית‬, compare what Isaiah 44,18 writes, “they have no wit or judgment, their eyes
are besmeared and they see not;”
‫ה עושהו‬-‫ויטוש לאו‬, so that, following the example of their elite, the people at
large abandoned G’d the One Who had made them;
‫וינבל צור ישועתו‬, despising the Rock of its salvation, i.e. sliding from bad to
worse in their lifestyles.

Verse 16

‫בתועבות יכעיסוהו‬, causing the benevolent presence of G’d to forsake the people of
Israel so that they would no longer enjoy an advantage over the gentile nations.

Verse 17

‫לשדים לא לאוה‬, forces which are not enduring; our sages in Chagigah 16 already
taught us that these demons known as ‫ שדים‬are as mortal as is man himself.
‫ חדשים מקרוב באו‬,‫לאוהים לא ידעום‬, whenever they discover a phenomenon not previously
known to them they thought that this must be an ancient power and proceeded
promptly to worship it.

Verse 18

‫צור ילדך תשי‬, even you, Yeshurun, the one blessed with erudition, once you turned
your attention to the physical enjoyments of life on earth, undermined, weakened
your wisdom and your knowledge about the greatness of G’d and His Torah.
‫ל מחוללך‬-‫ותשכח א‬, Who had treated you so well. Compare Isaiah 51, 12-13 ‫אנכי הוא‬
‫ותשכח ה' עושך נוטה שמים וארץ‬...‫מנחמכם‬, “I, I am He Who comforts you!…You have
forgotten the Lord your Maker, Who stretched the skies and made firm the earth.”
Verse 19

‫וינאץ מכעס בניו ובנותיו‬, after He had failed to make you attain your perfection
while on your own land, He chose a third route, namely to refine your character
while you were in exile; by doing this He appeared to despise His sons and His
daughters, and did not display mercy on their children nor respect the dignity of
their daughters.

Verse 20

‫אסתירה פני מהם‬, from the sons and daughters.

‫אראה מה אחריתם‬, because I can foresee that there is no chance that they will become
penitents.
‫ כי דור תהפוכות המה‬for they have thoroughly turned their hearts away from the path
of the living G’d;
‫בנים לא אמון בם‬, completely faithless children who had not learned from their
fathers any true values in life.

Verse 21

‫הם קנאוני בלא לא‬, the generations during the first Temple aroused My jealousy
because they practiced idolatry, i.e. they worshipped “non-gods,”
whereas the generations during the second Temple made Me angry with their reliance
of various vain phenomena. As a fitting punishment
‫אקניאם בלא עם‬, during the first Temple I will arouse their jealousy by the “non-
people,” the Babylonians, destroying the Temple and taking them captive, (compare
Isaiah 23,13 and how he describes the Chaldaens), whereas the second Temple will be
destroyed through a thoroughly wicked nation
,‫בגוי נבל אכעיסם‬, possessing neither their own language nor alphabet. (Gittin 80).

Verse 22

‫כי אש קדחה באפי‬, for when I disciplined them in order to induce them to repent
their sins this people lit a fire in My wrath ‫ותיקד עד שאול תחתית‬, they heaped sin
upon sin until My wrath burned to the very bottom of Sheol, (lowest layer of
purgatory). In other words, their punishment would consist of being consigned to
this lowest region of purgatory. (compare Chronicles II 28,22 describing Achaz
adding sins as a result of his kingdom having been severely chastised by G’d.)
‫ותלהט מוסדי הרים‬, it burned and consumed down to the foundations of the mountains.
The “mountains” are a simile for the high-ranking personages, all of whom were the
first ones to be exiled prior to the destruction of the first Temple. (compare
prediction by Isaiah 3, 1-3)

Verse 23

Verse 24

Verse 25

‫ גם בחור גם בתולה‬,‫ומחדרים אימה‬, young men and women hiding in their houses will be
made orphans.

Verse 26
‫אמרתי אפאיהם‬, I had said that I would leave a small “corner” (from ‫פאה‬, the 1/60th
of the farmer’s field to be left for the poor to help themselves to) of them
survive whereas I would destroy the balance. This is what I will do at the end of
history before the final redemption, seeing that I had been unable to achieve My
purpose either through giving them the Torah, or through giving them the Land of
Israel, or even through sending them into exile to give them a taste of what they
had lost due to their obstinacy. (compare Yoel,3,5 warning the Jewish people of
precisely this )

Verse 27

‫לולי כעס אויב אגור‬, that on account of the violent anti-semitism which the gentile
nations would unleash against the small remnant of Jewish people so that in order
to save themselves from further persecution they would ‫פן ינכרו צרימו‬, attempt to
divest themselves of their Judaism altogether, something the gentiles would hold
out to them as a lifesaving gesture,
‫פן יאמרו‬, and lest the gentiles would approach these remnants of the Jewish people
saying to them
‫ידינו רמה‬, “we have prevailed, we have proven right with our religion, our faith,”
and
‫ולא ה' פעל זאת‬, “this was not what G’d did to you for not obeying Him,” so that you
would still have hope to escape your fate by doing teshuvah. G’d scattered you to
so many different places on earth that the total oblivion of the people through
assimilation by inducements of the gentiles would not be likely. This was what
Devorah meant when she said in her song in Judges 5,11 ‫צדקות פרזונו בישרלא‬, G‘d
performed righteous deeds when He scattered Israel (instead of sending them to a
single country into exile)

Verse 28

‫כי גוי אובד עצות המה‬, Moses is quoting the gentiles’ assessment of the Jewish
people at that point.

Verse 29

‫לו חכמו ישכילו זאת‬, how the Israelites could have fallen into their hands,
something that is completely unnatural, could only have been due as punishment for
their sins.
‫יבינו לאחריהם‬, if they would only examine history they would soon realise what is
in store for them for their sins if this is what has befallen Israel for its sins.

Verse 30

‫איכה ירדוף אחד לאף‬, they should have realised that if they were able to pursue the
Israelites, one against 1000, that this was not something natural.
‫אם לא כי צורם מכרם‬, He fought against them, neutralising their aggressiveness and
turning them weak like women.

Verse 31

‫כי לא כצורנו צורם‬, no doubt what happened was due to the difference between their
deities, and our G’d. Every nation enjoys a degree of success in its undertakings
as long as its specific deity, i.e. agent appointed for them by G’d, is active, or
its constellation is in the ascendancy in the sky. Although their specific deity
will never become their adversary, they may fall within the power, the orbit of a
competing deity, one that looks out for the interests of a different nation. This
occurs in tandem with a master plan worked out by G’d for such historical
developments. This is why when they “fall” this does not happen until one becomes
so strong that it appears as if a single member of one nation can put a thousand of
the competing nation to flight. [The author’s view of the collapse of empires
appears based on the fact that when a major power was replaced by another this was
not the result of a gigantic power struggle in which one nation proved stronger,
but that the former world power had already declined in strength so much that they
had become a pushover for the aggressor challenging them. Ed.]
‫ואויבינו‬, even though these nations which are enemies of the true G’d and therefore
enemies of His chosen nation, as Moses mentioned already in verse 26 and again in
verse 42 when he speaks of ‫מראש פרעות אויב‬, “from the beginning of our people’s
existence it had enemies.”
‫פלילים‬. philosophers of the various nations. Ovadiah 8 refers to them as ‫והאבדתי‬
‫חכמים מאדום‬, “I will wipe out the wise men from Edom.”

Verse 32

‫כי מגפן סדום גפנם‬, the reason that in this matter they do not display their
customary insights is that they boast about their secure and unthreatened
existence, concerning themselves exclusively with physical gratifications just as
had the people of Sodom. In order to attain their maximum gratification they
completely eschewed all manner of caring for the less fortunate, as testified to by
Ezekiel 16,49 when the prophet said ‫ גאון שבעת לחם ושלות‬,‫הנה זה היה עוון סדום אחותך‬
‫השקט היה לה ולבנותיה ויד עני ואביון לא החזיקה‬. “only this was the sin of your
sister Sodom; arrogance! She and her daughters had plenty of bread and untroubled
tranquility. Yet she did not support the poor and the needy. “
‫ענבימו ענבי רוש‬, from this vine there sprouted forth for them grapes which are
poison. This is a simile for the evil deeds committed by the Jewish people which
backfired. The sins singled out are those of a social rather than a theological
nature, as pointed out by Ezekiel.
‫אשכלות מרורות למו‬, a bitter growth in their clusters; developing of erroneous
philosophies, primarily justifying one’s conduct, rationalising it, is a natural
corollary of such attitudes as self-centredness. First and foremost, they convince
themselves that G’d does not ”see,” i.e. does not care, [that there is no personal
G’d. They totally misinterpret G’d’s patience with the sinner. Ed.]

Verse 33

‫חמת תנינים יינם‬, their wine is the venom of asps; among the clusters mentioned in
verse 32 there are also poisonous grapes, hidden and unidentifiable among the
grapes. This disaster awaits them as a manifestation of the attribute of Justice
they have richly deserved. Until they actually are extracting the juice from these
grapes [this is all hyperbole, of course, Ed.] G’d did not convert His threat of
retribution into something actual. Compare Isaiah 63,3, G’d saying that He alone
squeezed out these grapes by treading on them.

Verse 34

‫הלא הוא כמוס עמדי‬, the meaning is similar to Isaiah 63,4 ‫כיום נקם בלבי‬, “as the day
of vengeance which I had kept hidden in my heart.” [the sins had to accumulate
beyond reprieve before G’d carried out what had been at the back of His mind for a
long time. Ed.]
‫חתום באוצרותי‬, sealed away securely. Compare Daniel 12,9 ‫כי סתומים וחתומים הדברים‬,
“the matters are sealed and safely stored.”
Verse 35

‫לי נקם‬, it is up to Me to do the avenging from My enemies.

‫ושלם‬, also the repayment tit for tat is My privilege and duty.
‫לעת תמוט רגלם‬, the time when this will occur will be when they are already
perceived as tottering.

Verse 36

‫כי קרוב יום אידם וחש עתידות למו כי ידין ה' עמו‬, for the day when the nations will
experience their judgment is near as soon as G’d will judge His own nation. We know
this from Ezekiel 20,38 ‫וברותי מכם המורדים והפושעים‬, “I will remove from amongst
you the ones who rebel and are professional sinners.” Soon thereafter, the gentile
nations will experience their own judgment.
‫ועל עבדיו יתנחם‬, He will reconsider the evil times for which His people are due on
account of His servants, the righteous among them, as we know from Isaiah 65,8 ‫כן‬
‫ לבלתי השחית הכל‬,‫אעשה למען עבדי‬, “so will I do for the sake of My servants and not
destroy everything.”
‫כי יראה כי אזלת יד‬, the reason why G’d does something for the people on account of
His servants the righteous that He had not done during all the many years of the
exile, is that He sees that this time they really had come to the end of heir rope;
they had reached the kind of low that makes living on a hopeless undertaking. This
is what had happened in Egypt immediately before the redemption, the Exodus. The
Torah spells this out even in the recital by the farmer in Deut. 26,7 “He saw our
plight, our misery and our oppression.” As a result, “He brought us to this place.”
(the Land of Israel)
‫ואפס עצור ועזוב‬, and none remains either imprisoned or roaming free. A reference to
the people having no secret stash of cash hidden in their homes or buried in the
field.

Verse 37

‫ואמר‬, at that point G’d will say to Israel

‫אי לאוהימו‬, where is now this god of the gentile nations upon whom you have relied,
spurning Me? This is the period when all of G’d’s agents who had been assigned as
protective forces for the gentile nations will be simultaneously removed from their
function. Compare Isaiah 24,21.

Verse 38

‫יקומו ויעזרכם‬, “let them arise now and help you!” G’d will follow up by mockingly
telling the Jewish people that now the time had come for them to appeal to the
gentile nations whose lifestyles they had shared to help them against the judgment
being visited upon them by the G’d, the One whom they had forsaken. They had
assumed that by assimilating during their exile, these host nations as well as
their gods would protect them.

Verse 39

‫ראו עתה כי אני אני הוא‬, realise now that it had been I Who had brought disaster in
exile upon you!
‫ואין לאוהים עמדי‬, I had not required the assistance of any other deity. Your
misfortune was not due to any celestial forces appointed by Me.
‫אני אמית ואחיה‬, only I decree death and resurrection.(compare Ezekiel 37,12)
‫מחצתי‬, I have smashed, by decreeing your unsettled condition, forcing you to move
from one country to another without taking permanent root in any of them. (compare
Kings I 14,15) where the prophet compares the existence of the Jewish people after
G’d has chastised them as similar to that of a reed which is constantly moving.
‫ואני ארפא‬, and only I can bring healing, as described in Isaiah 30,26.

Verse 40

‫כי אשא לא שמים ידי‬, in order to swear an oath. This is a formulation similar to
Daniel 12,7 ‫וירם ימינו ושמלאו לא השמים‬,”he raised both his right hand and his left
hand toward heaven.”
‫ואמרתי חי אנכי לעולם‬, I used the fact that I live forever as the guarantee that I
can keep My oath. This too has a parallel in Daniel 12,7.

Verse 41

‫אם שנותי‬, even though I had sharpened the blade of My sword against the Jewish
people during the time of their exile, ‫את ברק חרבי‬, this was only the flashing
appearance, not the ‫פי החרב‬, the lethal part of the sword.
‫ותאחז במשפט ידי‬, and even though I was compelled to deal with them according to the
rule of law, for ‫כי ידין ה' עמו‬, “G’d does judge His people,” this does not mean
that their adversaries will go free, rather
‫אשיב נקם לצרי‬, I will wreak vengeance on My foes, reprisals for what they have
done to Israel. Compare Ezekiel 25,12 and 25,14 on this subject in detail.
‫ולמשנאי אשלם‬, and I will pay back those who hate Me measure for measure, as spelled
out in Ovadiah 15.

Verse 42

‫ אשכיר חצי מדם וחרבי תאכל בשר‬, similar to Isaiah 66,16 ‫כי באש ה' נשפט ובחרבו את כל‬
‫בשר‬, “for the Lord will contend with fire, with His sword against all flesh.”
‫מדם חלל ושביה‬, as in the same verse in Isaiah ‫“ 'ורבו חללי ה‬many will be the ones
slain by the Lord.”

Verse 43

‫הרנינו גויים‬, “you who are the arrows of the Lord and His sword make the nations
acclaim, sing aloud! So that they will realise that G’d is fair and does not commit
any injustice. Compare Psalms 67,5 ‫ישמחו וירננו לאומים כי תשפוט עמים מישור‬,”nations
will exult and shout for joy, for You rule the peoples with equity”
‫עמו‬, His people shall give thanks with shouts of joy and music, ‫כי דם עבדיו יקום‬
‫ונקם ישיב לצריו‬, for He does avenge the blood of His servants. G’d punishes the
nations by avenging what they have done to the Jewish people.
‫וכפר אדמתו‬, for the soil of the Land of Israel having been desolate and barren
while its people were in exile and for what had occurred on that soil in the
interval.
‫עמו‬, His people will also have to atone for all the wrongs they did during the long
years they had been in exile. The purpose of this dual atonement by both the soil
and the people is to bring back the Shechinah, G’d’s benevolent presence to the
Land of Israel, as envisioned in Isaiah 52,8 ‫כי עין בעין יראו בשוב ה' ציון‬,”for
every eye will see when G’d returns to Zion.”

Verse 44

Verse 45
Verse 46

‫אשר אנכי מעיד בכם היום‬, in the song of Haazinu which I use to make Israel be
witness to my admonitions. The principal message is that just as while the Jewish
people observe the commandments G’d arranges for their livelihood to be attained
with ease and without much sweat, so, He will destroy them if they do not, because
they thwart His plans for mankind as a whole.
‫אשר תצוום את בניכם‬, near the end of your respective lives command your children to
observe the matters which I have spoken to you about. It is a matter of life and
death for them.
‫לשמור לעשות‬, you have to observe all these matters in order that as their role
model, your children will do so also.

Verse 47

Verse 48

Verse 49

‫וראה את הארץ‬, to extend your blessing there.

Verse 50

‫ומות בהר‬, accept your death willingly so that it will be an atonement for your
trespasses
‫והאסף לא עמך‬, and thereby you will become part of the “bundle” of eternal life
joining all the other deserving souls who have preceded you.

Chapter 33

Verse 1

‫וזאת הברכה אשר ברך משה‬, after G’d had shown him the whole Land of Israel before he
died, in order that he should be able to pronounce a blessing both over the land
and over the people who were going to live in it. Both Moses‘ plea to see the land
by crossing the river Jordan (Deut. 3,25) ‫אעברה נא ואראה‬, and G’d’s purpose in
granting him this part of his prayer (Numbers 27,12) were intended for this
purpose, i.e. for him to bless the people after viewing the Land of Israel would
inspire him to do so. Here we have the text of this blessing.

Verse 2

‫ ויאמר‬, before he commenced with his blessing in verse 25 with the words ‫ברזל‬
‫ונחושת מנעלך‬, he pronounced a list of prayers addressed not to the people but to
G’d, in order to prepare the ground for his blessings when he intoned it to become
effective. Words of blessing are invariably addressed to the recipient of the
blessing directly. When G’d instructed the priests to bless the Jewish people, part
of that instruction was: ‫אמור להם‬, “say to them!” (Numbers 6,23) All Moses’ words
from verse 25 on are couched in this traditional mode of phrasing a blessing.
'‫ה‬, this is an exclamation mode.
‫מסיני בא וזרח וגו' אש דת למו‬. Moses recalls the Israelites’ merit in order that his
prayer on their behalf be accepted. He therefore tells G’d, that at the time when
He came from Sinai and became manifest in a number of locations to Israel, the word
‫ קדש‬in the expression ‫ מרבבות קודש‬does not refer only to the myriads of angels but
to the totality of Torah, and that the experience of holiness by Israel at the time
emanated from the “right” side of this emanation, i.e. the people experienced what
is known in kabbalistic parlance as ‫אספקלריאה מאירה‬, “a clear undistorted vision.”

Verse 3

‫אף חובב עמים‬, he says to G’d that: “I am aware that You are fond of other peoples
also, as when You said that the Jewish people are the most precious ‫מכל העמים‬, from
among all the nations, You meant that the species of mankind is something precious
to G’d, as our sages said in Avot 3,18 ‫חביב אדם שנברא בצלם‬, the species of man is
especially dear to G’d among all of His creatures, seeing that only man has been
created in the image of G’d.” [i.e. there are other nations to which Your relate
with fondness. Ed.] ‫כל קדושיו בידיך‬, You have said that You are holding all Your
holy possessions (the Torah) in Your hand [people hold their most precious
possessions in their hand, do not entrust them to a briefcase, for instance, which
they may deposit somewhere and forget to pick up. Ed.] When You told us in Exodus
19,5 that we are to You an especially precious nation, a kingdom of Priests, You
also singled us out as being Your children, (same paragraph in Avot), as well as in
Deuteronomy 14,1 “You are children to the Lord your G’d.”
‫והם תכו לרגלך‬, whereas they, the other nations, are lying broken at Your feet.
(compare Proverbs 29,13 for a similar use of this expression where it refers to
offering prayer to G’d with a broken heart)
‫לרגלך‬, at the footstool of Your throne at Sinai.

Verse 4

‫ישא מדברותיך‬, a reference to when the people said to G’d at the revelation at Mount
Sinai that He should make Moses His intermediary, elevate him to communicate G’d’s
words, conveying His words to them, as they were afraid they would i.e. if they had
to listen to G’d’s voice directly any longer. (This is the meaning of Moses hearing
the voice of the Lord speaking to him (only) in Numbers7,8 The word ‫ מדברותיך‬in
this verse refers to the Torah, which was attributed to Moses, on account of the
people preferring to hear its words from Moses’ mouth. This is why the Torah
describes the people as saying ‫תורה צוה לנו משה‬, “Moses has commanded the Torah to
us,” instead of “G’d has commanded the Torah to us.” (verse 5)
‫מורשה קהלת יעקב‬, when something has not been acquired directly but is inherited,
i.e. handed over from another owner, it is described in terms of ‫ירושה‬, an
inheritance. Had the Jewish people not requested to hear the words of the Torah
from Moses instead of from G’d Himself, Torah would not now be described as ‫מורשה‬.

Verse 5

‫ויהי בישורון מלך‬, since that occasion G’d became “King” in Israel among all those
who study Torah more than superficially.
‫בהתאסף ראשי עם‬, at the time of the giving of the Torah, when, according to Deut.
5,19, all the elders and leaders of the people are described as approaching Moses,
telling him (verse 20) that G’d had shown them His glory,
‫יחד שבטי ישרלא‬, G’d had thus become King over all the tribes of Israel at one and
the same time as they all accepted His status as being their supreme authority. The
words which the people used to express this acceptance were:‫ואת תדבר לאינו את כל אשר‬
‫ידבר ה' לאוקינו לאיך ושמענו ועשינו‬, “and you say to us all that the Lord our G’d will
say to you, and we will hear it and do it.” (Deut.5,24)

Verse 6
‫ יחי ראובן‬, even though the tribe of Reuven had chosen to live in a ritually
unclean country (East bank of the Jordan), a region which is not really part of the
“Holy Land,” as per Joshua 25,19 “although the land of your heritage is an unclean
land, etc.,” and as a result of this they are not really entitled to eternal life
in the hereafter, Moses prays that his (Reuven’s) heart may live on forever,
‫ולא ימות ויהי מתיו מספר‬, may he not die out in this life on earth so that his
numbers will become too insignificant. (Yaakov already described people who are few
in numbers as being in danger of being wiped out, Genesis 34,30) Moses prays that
the tribe of Yehudah be included in the blessing of Deut. 11,21 “so that you will
enjoy many years on the earth, etc.”

Verse 7

‫וזאת ליהודה‬, this is also what I request and pray for on behalf of the people
residing in the tribal territory of Yehudah that includes the members of the tribe
of Shimon who were an enclave within the tribal territory of Yehudah. Let them not
die in the wars in which they will be involved. They all go out to war together.
‫ויאמר שמע ה' קול יהודה‬, in addition to what Moses had said under the heading of
‫וזאת ליהודה‬, that whenever this tribe would pray to G’d either during war or any
other occasion
‫ידיו רב לו ועזר מצריו תהיה‬, though his own hands strive for him (during battle),
help him against his foes.” I pray that You, G’d, be his hands, although to all
intents and purposes people watching him may credit his own prowess with his
victory.” ‫רב לו‬, an expression of avenging wrong done to him. ‫עזר מצריו‬, when they
are attacking him and he is on the defensive.

Verse 8

‫תומיך ואוריך לאיש חסידך‬, Moses refers to G’d having given to Aaron who was the
outstanding member of the tribe of Levi, the pious tribe, the urim and tumim lodged
within his breastplate pouch. The Talmud Yuma 73, derives from the above that any
priest who speaks with holy spirit is of the calibre that when he employs the urim
and tumim to address enquiries to G’d, he will receive G’d’s answer to such
enquiries. Hence the word “‫איש‬,” a man of lofty spiritual standing, as if to
underscore that character trait.
‫אשר נסיתו במסה‬, Moses reminds G’d that in all the various tests (Numbers 14,22)
that the Jewish people had subjected Him to, the tribe of Levi had never been a
participant in such demonstrations of lack of faith. This was also why the decree
which G’d imposed on the generation of the spies did not apply to them, and the
Levites that were of age at that time did not die in the desert.
‫תריבהו על מי מריבה‬, You have challenged them at the waters of strife, as a result
of which You deprived the people of the two outstanding heads of the tribe of Levi.

Verse 9

‫האומר לאביו‬, during the episode of the golden calf,

‫ואת בניו לא ידע כי שמרו אמרתך‬, he showed no personal consideration for his closest
family members when it involved carrying out G’d’s commandment. When speaking of
the Levites’ children, Moses refers to their performing the rite of circumcision on
their sons even in the desert, though many babies died through infections
contracted after they had been circumcised, so that the other tribes did not
perform this rite in the desert. Our sages in Yevamot 72 claim that the northerly
wind did not blow during those 40 years [except at midnight according to some, Ed]
and that without the therapeutic effect of the northerly wind the babies would have
been at risk.
‫ובריתך ינצורו‬, as our sages confirm in Yuma 66 that the members of the tribe of
Levi never became guilty of worshipping idols. This distinction proved itself both
in Egypt and in the desert.

Verse 10

‫יורו משפטיך ליעקב‬, Moses prays to G’d that seeing that this tribe has proven so fit
as a standard bearer of the Jewish nation, let them be the teachers of Torah.
Compare Moed Katan 17 “if the Rabbi is comparable to an angel, let the people come
and listen to his words of Torah.”

Verse 11

‫ברך ה' חילו‬, "please G’d bless their worldly activities," so that by making an easy
livelihood they can devote themselves to instructing the people in your Torah.
‫ופועל ידיו תרצה‬, may their Temple service find favour in Your eyes.
‫מן יקומון‬. So that their enemies cannot rise against them with any chance of
success. Moses referred to internal enemies, such as Korach and King Uzziah, both
of whom challenged the exclusive and hereditary status of the Priests.

Verse 12

'‫ידיד ה‬, as our sages interpret this compliment (Shabbat 55) that Binyamin died
only because of the venom of the original serpent, which brought death for human
beings into this world. He, personally, had not committed any deed which would have
warranted his death otherwise.
‫ישכון לבטח עליו‬, Moses prays that this tribe should not join the rebellion against
the dynasty of the house of David and become part of the Northern Kingdom.

Verse 13

‫מבורכת ה' ארצו‬, Moses explains that the lands given to the tribe of Joseph are
naturally fertile, blessed by G’d.
‫ממגד שמים מטל‬, He now prays that in addition to this “natural” fertility, G’d
should also endow Joseph’s portion with the attributes provided only by Divine
assistance, such as regular dew from the skies so that it will not have to depend
on rain, and on the underground springs, all of which will help to produce
bountiful crops.

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

‫ורצון שכני סנה‬, may it enjoy the goodwill of the Lord Who first manifested Himself
to me at the burning bush. It was on that occasion that G’d had first indicated
that He was going to redeem the Israelites forthwith, in response to the groaning
of the Jewish people as reported immediately before the Torah reports Moses’
encounter with G’d. (Exodus 2,23-24) In Psalms 91,15, Moses, the author of that
psalm, refers to G’d responding to the outcry of the oppressed. ‫תבאתה לראש יוסף‬,
apart from the blessings the tribe of Joseph shares with all the other tribes,
Moses prays that G’d will relate to this tribe without employing His usual
intermediaries (such as angels).
‫ולקדקוד נזיר אחיו‬, seeing that he was the most self-controlled of all his brothers,
[my definition of Nazir, Ed.] (alternative translation, the crowned head in Egypt)
and he conducted himself with unparalleled piety toward his brothers, Moses feels
that Joseph’s descendants deserve the distinction he prays for.

Verse 17

‫בכור שורו‬, although Yehudah is the leader of the tribes, just as the lion is the
leader of the free roaming beasts, the ox ranks first among the domesticated pure
animals, as we know from a comment by our sages in Chagigah 13 that the lion is the
king among the predators whereas the ox is the king among the domesticated animals.
This makes Joseph rank second among twelve tribes. Compare Hoseah 13,1 ‫כדבר אפרים‬
‫רתת נשא הוא בישרלא‬, “when Ephrayim spoke piety in Israel he was exalted.” The
prophet spoke of the earlier generations such as when Joshua was the leader, when
Ephrayim was highly esteemed. in the eyes of G‘d as well as by the people.
‫הדר לו‬, even though he does not enjoy the official position of being Royalty, he is
fit and deserving of such honours.
‫בהם עמים ינגח יחדו‬, he, together with the tribe of Yehudah, proving Royalty will
prevail over many nations by locking horns with them. Compare Isaiah 11,13-14 “then
Ephrayim’s envy shall cease and Yehudah’s harassment shall end; Ephrayim shall not
envy Yehudah, and Yehudah shall not harass Ephrayim. They shall pounce on the back
of the Philistines to the west and together they shall topple peoples of the east.”

Verse 18

Verse 19

‫עמים הר יקראו‬, Issachar and Zevulun will call the nations of the earth to the “good
mountain” with choice wares not to be found among those nations.
‫שם יזבחו זבחי צדק‬, even the merchants of the gentile nations who had been offering
sacrifices to “dead” deities all their lives, when they come to Jerusalem, the
”good mountain,” will offer sacrifices which qualify for the description “offerings
of righteousness” (to the real G’d).
‫כי שפע ימים יינקו‬, for Issachar and Zevulun draw from the riches of the sea among
which are found such rare sources of colours as the chalazon worm from which
techelet, blue wool is dyed. There one can also find a type of “white glass” or
silicon on the beaches of the sea, much treasured for use in exotic goblets.

Verse 20

‫ברוך מרחיב גד‬, Who has given him a larger tract of land on the east bank of the
Jordan than any other tribe received even in that part of the country. For while it
is true that the lands of Sichon and Og were larger in the number of square meters
accorded to the tribes on the west bank, the latter were of the category known as
“flowing with milk and honey,” whereas the land on the east bank was primarily
grazing land as opposed to “homesteading” land, i.e. farming land.
‫כלביא שכן‬, he deserves the extra acreage as he holds his own against enemies that
surround him and he behaves like a brave courageous lion though badly outnumbered.
Such a lion does not hesitate to devour what is around him.

Verse 21
‫וירא ראשית לו‬, he was also entitled to this, although when the tribe of Gad chose
lands formerly belonging to Sichon or Og, a land which was not part of the “Holy
Land,” there had been additional motivation to that of having good grazing land for
their flocks, namely that their part of the land would contain Moses’ burial place.
This is the meaning of the reference to ‫מחוקק‬, “the legislator” in our verse.
‫ויתא ראשי עם‬, this was where the leaders of the people came together at the head of
the nation in order to conquer the land.
‫צדקת ה' עשה ומשפטיו עם ישרלא‬, this was where the legislator, ‫מחוקק‬, performed the
righteous deeds of Hashem, by explaining to them G’d’s Torah in detail. This was
also where the people of Israel were judged, and where Moses argued with the people
about the application of the various social laws of the Torah. The term is found in
Samuel I 12,7 where the prophet Samuel tells the people to line up so that he can
not only judge the people but explain the righteousness of the laws of G’d, i.e.
‫'צדקות ה‬.

Verse 22

‫גור אריה יזנק מן הבשן‬. Actually, lions do not grow up in Bashan, a land reserved
for cattle, as we know from Psalms 22,13 ‫אבירי בשן‬, “the mighty ones (bulls) of
Bashan.” Lions, as predators do not lie in wait to jump on their prey there. They
would only lie in wait in Bashan, a region considered safe from predators, if they
planned to attack prey beyond the borders of Bashan. The tactics of the tribe of
Dan are compared by Moses to the tactics of the lions. Dan will feel secure in his
lair from which he will attack unsuspecting adversaries.

Verse 23

‫נפתלי שבע רצון ומלא ברכת ה' ים ודרום ירשה‬, You, Naftali, have become the heir to
the west and the east. You have enjoyed so much blessing from the Lord that there
is no need for me to pray on behalf of your portion of the land to be blessed.
Seeing that the fruits of Ginnosaur, the earliest ripening fruit of the land, grow
within your boundaries there is no need for me to pray for such blessings to
materialise. When you offer the first and finest of your products as bikkurim they
will surely generate much goodwill for you from Hashem.

Verse 24

‫ברוך מבנים אשר‬, Asher will enjoy an exceptional blessing, not shared by the other
tribes. It is in the nature of things that wealthy people attract the jealousy of
those who are not so blessed with wealth. Asher will not be subject of jealousy,
but, on the contrary, will be well liked by all the other tribes.
The reason is that he will sell the abundance of olive oil over which he disposes
at low prices to his fellow tribes.

Verse 25

‫ברזל ונחושת מנעלך וכימיך דבאך‬, may your door bolts be iron and copper, and your
security last all your days.‫אין כלא ישורון‬, after Moses had completed his prayer
concerning the tribes, he began blessing Israel as a whole.You, who are also known
as Yeshurun, wear this title due to the nature of your power, ‫לא‬, being different
from all the other nations in two vital aspects. 1) other nations will not covet
your land or try to invade it as they are afraid, something that proved true during
the entire reign of Joshua and while any of the elders who were his advisers
remained alive. (compare Joshua 24,31). Moses describes the land during that period
as if bolted securely with heavy metal bolts, i.e. 2 .‫ )ברזל ונחושת מנעלך‬Your
kingdom will not experience constant ups and downs such as the kingdoms of other
nations whose position in the world constantly changes. ‫כימיך דבאך‬, your position
among the nations will be constant. The reason why I am certain that my blessing
will materialise is that ‫ל רוכב שמים וארץ‬-‫אין כא‬, no one else has a G’d that rides
the heavens and the earth. Moses develops a theological/philosophical concept that
contradicts that of the nations of the world, even those who recognise a supreme
G’d who has created the universe. In their estimation, such a G’d would not bother
to constantly stoop down to earth to see what goes on there, i.e. “ride both the
heavens and the earth.” These nations believe that such matters must be left to
delegates, such as the constellations of the stars, horoscopes, etc.

Verse 26

‫ובגאותו שחקים מעונה‬, a reference to the presumed haughtiness of G’d, Who, just
because of His lofty stature would only remain in the celestial spheres. This, i.e.
the domain called ‫שחקים‬, is a reference to the orbit of a constellation that occurs
during the day when, because of it being light, no stars or other celestial objects
are noticeable. The force of energy propelling this “constellation” is invisible
just as the ‫מעונת האריה‬, the hidden lair of the lion, which harbors within it
unseen and unsuspected strength.

Verse 27

‫לאוקי קדם‬, the true G’d ever since the beginning of all existence. Anything that is
of more recent origin has been called into existence by this G’d.
‫ ;ומתחת זרועות עולם‬beneath the heavens this G’d manifests Himself as the G’d of
everlasting arms, (in the sense of extensions of His essence) mortal rulers whose
power is of short duration, even the supposed basic elements, as well as what we
call nature, the phenomena supplying nourishment for all he mortal forms of life on
earth, including the ability to procreate.
‫ויגרש מפניך אויב‬, He, this eternal G’d, expelled on your account the inhabitants
that inhabited the land promised to your forefathers by Him. He had said to you:
‫!השמד‬, “destroy!” For you certainly did not conquer this land by force of arms with
your sword, so that you would be afraid of losing it after a time, when your
strength would ebb, as does the strength of every conquering nation after a while.
Seeing that it had not been you who had driven them out, you have no reason to fear
a natural erosion of your power to hold on to this land. [Only the One Who has
expelled them is in a position to expel you if you give Him reason to do so. Ed.]

Verse 28

‫וישכון ישרלא בטח‬, as we read in Joshua 11,23 ‫והארץ שקטה ממלחמה‬, “the land was
tranquil, rested from war.” ‫בדד עין יעקב לא ארץ דגן ותירוש‬, insulated, secure is
Yaakov’s tenure, He, the G’d of Yaakov, is the source of the land producing corn
and wine. He is the Lord whom you seek out, who, after all said and done is ‫עין‬
‫ישרלא‬, Israel’s fountain. This is manifest in the manner in which ‫שמיו יערפו טל‬, His
heavens will provide your land with ample and blissful dew. Moses’ blessing
envisages the times of the Messiah when the heavens by dripping dew will make the
land fruitful as it had been before Adam’s sin, as documented in Genesis 2,5-6 that
when there was not yet a human being to till the soil, and G’d had not yet made it
rain on to the earth, a vapour rose from the earth and irrigated it,” so that it
could produce crops without the need for rain from above. Once the messianic age
will dawn, conditions on earth will be similar to what they were before Adam had
sinned, and, as a result, growing one’s food had been decreed to be something
laborious, involving sweat. The Talmud Shabbat 30 foresees that at that time ready
made cakes will materialise from the soil of the land of Israel.

Verse 29

‫אשריך ישרלא‬, at that time true ‫אישור‬, happiness, will become manifest in our world,
This is the loftiest level of collective satisfaction a nation can attain.
‫מי כמוך‬, so that there will not be another nation that can compare to you. Compare
Maleachi 3,12 ‫ואשרו אתכם כל הגויים‬, “and all the nations will account you happy,
etc.”
'‫עם נושע בה‬, in those days your salvation will not be due to your having prevailed
in war, in a dangerous conflict, but G’d will do all the fighting on your behalf if
there is any need for it.
‫מגן עזרך‬, the One Who had proven to be your shield in exile so that you had not
perished. Compare Psalms 124,2-8 “had it not been for Hashem Who had helped
us…….the waters would have swept us away and drowned us…our help was due only to
the name of Hashem.”
‫ואשר חרב גאותך‬, “and He will again be the sword of your pride.” This sword will
triumph over the nations when these will wage war against us. Compare Isaiah 66,16:
‫ובחרבו את כל בשר‬, “with His sword against all flesh.”
‫ויכחשו אויביך לך‬, the same ones who had previously belittled You, even despised
You, will have to deny their previous attitude when they decide to honour You.
Compare Isaiah 60,14 “all those who used to torment you shall prostrate themselves
at the soles of your feet.”
‫ואתה על במותימו תדרוך‬, even their kings will humble themselves before you. Compare
Isaiah 49,23 ‫'והיו מלכים אומניך וגו‬, ”Kings will become your children’s
babysitters.”

Chapter 34

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

‫הראיתיך בעיניך‬, in order for you to give it your blessing.

‫שמה לא תעבור‬, so that by your crossing the river your blessing would not invalidate
the decree issued by Me, that if the sins of the Jewish people were to reach a
certain measure that they would be expelled from the land. [According to what the
author explained on Deut.1,35-39 it was the fact that Moses was forbidden to cross
the Jordan although personally not guilty of accepting the assessment of the 10
spies who counseled against trying to conquer the land, that preserved their chance
to participate in the resurrection of the dead when the time would come for this.
Our sages subscribe to the concept that whatever Moses did had enduring, eternal
validity, provided it had been based on a valid premise. A blessing after setting
foot in the Holy Land would have been of more enduring value than one pronounced
when not on holy soil. Denying Moses the chance to pronounce his blessing while on
holy soil, indirectly benefited the whole generation of the people who were adults
at the time of the Exodus. It preserved their chance to participate in the
resurrection, as did the fact that Moses was buried outside the Holy Land, and his
appearance at the resurrection without the people whom he had shepherded for 40
years would be embarrassing for him. Ed.]

Verse 5
Verse 6

‫ויקבור אותו‬, if Moses buried himself, as is the opinion of some of our

commentators, (compare Rashi) it would have been his disembodied soul that
accomplished this, for it is stated clearly that his body died on the summit of the
mountain from which he viewed the Holy Land, as the Torah wrote in verse 5: “Moses
died there.” On the other hand, the burial is described in our verse as having
taken place in the valley.

Verse 7

Verse 8

‫ויתמו ימי בכי אבל משה ויהושוע בן נון מלא רוח חכמה‬, for during the days of weeping
for Moses there was neither wisdom nor counsel (‫)חכמה ועצה‬.

Verse 9

‫כאשר צוה ה' את משה‬, a reference to the fact that political decisions such as
expansionary wars needed G’d’s confirmation, which was to be obtained by means of
the urim vetumim in the breastplate of the High Priest, i.e. Eleazar, son of Aaron.
We were told this in Numbers 27,21 when Joshua was appointed Moses’ successor.
[This was an example of Joshua’s inferiority as a leader compared to Moses, who
never had to resort to such indirect methods of receiving a message from G’d. Ed.]

Verse 10

‫ולא קם נביא עוד בישרלא כמשה‬, no other subsequent prophet ever attained the lofty
spiritual stature of Moses. This explained the statement by our sages that no
prophet is allowed to innovate something in the Torah since Moses had died.
(Shabbat 104) This statement also explains the rule that no Rabbinical assembly may
invalidate a decree by another such Rabbinical assembly which had preceded it,
unless it could be proven to be more competent and consisted of a greater number
than the Rabbinical assembly which had originated said decree. (Megillah 20)
'‫אשר ידעו ה‬, whom G’d had endowed with so much knowledge by turning His face to
him. We have been told in Samuel I 10,6 that receiving even a small measure of
prophetic insight makes the recipient an ‫איש אחר‬, a different person. This is why
the prophet Amos 2,11 when referring to the deeds of loving kindness performed by
G’d for the people lists the fact that G’d gave many Israelites prophetic insights.
The people, during Amos’ time, instead of availing themselves of the spiritual
inspiration thus accessible, forbade these prophets to impart their visions, etc.,
reversing and frustrating G’d’s purpose. Seeing that all of G’d’s activity stems
exclusively from His own personal knowledge (cannot be evaluated properly by His
creatures, seeing that they are “only” His creature) the Torah records G’d as
saying that ‫אשר ידעו ה' פנים לא פנים‬, that in His communications with Moses and
granting him insights into His ways, He did so exclusively for Moses’ benefit. This
expression ‫ ידע‬appears repeatedly in Scriptures in this sense of endowing someone
with insights. One example is Psalms 144,3 ‫מה אדם ותדעהו‬, “what did man do that You
should take the trouble to grant him such insights?” Another such example is found
in Exodus 33,17 ‫ואדעך בשם‬, “I granted you some insights about My essence, by making
you familiar with some of My attributes.” [my translation. Ed.] Compare also Exodus
2,25 Psalms1,6 and numerous other examples. [If I do not err, the author feels that
seeing that G’d’s omniscience is axiomatic in Judaism, such phrases as the ones
quoted cannot simply mean “G’d knew,” for there would be no point in the Torah
stating the obvious. They must therefore imply that G’d communicated some of His
knowledge. In Exodus 2,25 the Torah meant to tell us that the Jewish people would
shortly become aware that G’d knew all about their condition and would do something
about it, something that would also raise their spiritual level as a result. Ed.]
‫פנים לא פנים‬, while in full possession of his faculties.

Verse 11

‫לכל האותות‬, the occasion when Moses experienced this type of communication from G’d
described as ‫ פנים לא פנים‬occurred when he was called upon to perform the many
supernatural miracles in Egypt. Clearly, his experience at the burning bush had not
been of that calibre. Otherwise, why would the Torah have told us that he was
afraid to look at the spectacle? (Exodus 3,6) This had been the very opposite of
what G’d told Miriam and Aaron about his quality of prophecy in Numbers 12,8 i.e.
that Moses can look without hesitation at visual images G’d shows him.

Verse 12

‫ולכל היד‬, and when G’d demonstrated His power over immanent parts of the universe
such as the Sea of Reeds, when He split it, or the earth when He made it open a
crevice to swallow Korach and his cohorts, or when the manna descended from heaven
on a regular basis.
‫ולכל המורא הגדול‬, the revelation at Mount Sinai;
‫אשר עשה משה לעיני כל בני ישרלא‬, when they were afraid and stood at a distance,
whereas Moses approached the mountain which was wrapped in a dark cloud, while it
was flaming. During such experiences Moses had acquired the status of a prophet
with whom G’d communicates ‫ פנים לא פנים‬At that time G’d also endowed Moses with a
kind of awesomeness when He made his forehead emit rays of light.
‫לעיני כל ישרלא‬, compare Exodus 34,30 when even Aaron recoiled when he saw Moses.