Kommentar zu Dewarim 3:34

ונפן ונעל AND WE TURNED AND WENT UP — every journey towards the north (from the wilderness towards Canaan) is “uphill”.

Kap. 3. V. 1. ונפן. Abweichend von dem ammonitischen Gebiete. ׳ויצא וגו Daher ward ihm kein Friedensangebot gesandt (רמב׳׳ן).

ונפן ונעל, “we turned around and ascended; from the south to the north.”

דרך הבשן, “on the way to Bashan,” which is situated between the river Jordan and the land of the Bney Ammon. Anyone travelling from the south to the north in that region is automatically ascending.

אל תירא אתו DO NOT FEAR HIM — In the case of Sihon, however, it did not feel it necessary to state, “Do not fear him״!? But in the case of Og Moses feared lest the merit that he (Og) had been of service to Abraham might avail him, as it is said, (Genesis 14:13: see Rashi thereon), "And the fugitive came", and that was Og (Genesis Rabbah 42:8; see Rashi on Numbers 21:34).

ויתן ה׳ אלוקינו בידנו, G'd delivered into our hands, etc. This verse is best explained by reference to Berachot 54 describing Og as uprooting a mountain of 12 kilometers (equal to the size of the encampment of the Jewish people) and trying to throw it onto the camp of the Israelites. G'd frustrated this plan. Thereupon Moses, who was ten cubits tall, took an axe ten cubits long and threw it at Og, hitting his ankles and killing him. The words ויתן ה׳ refer to G'd making the mountain Og had uprooted drop on his own neck, whereas the word בידנו refers to Moses personally having killed Og using his own hands. Although Moses used only a single hand, the Torah describes his acts by referring to "hands," using the plural ending, much as G'd has been described in Genesis 1,26 as in the plural when He was about to create Adam and said: "let us make a human being, etc." Moses' hand was considered as equivalent to the combined hands of all the Jewish people.

חבל ארגב [ALL] THE LINE OF ARGOB — We render this in the Targum by בית פלך טרכונא Now I have seen that the Jerusalem Targum of the Scroll of Esther terms a palace טרכונין. I learn from this that חבל ארגב signifies “the province of the Royal Palace”, denoting that the province is called after its name (after the name of the palace). Similarly, also the term ארגוב found in the Book of Kings (2 15:25) where the meaning is that Pekah the son of Remaliah slew Pekahia the son of Menahem near the king’s palace (את ארגוב), I learn that thus (after the palace) was the province named.

ארגוב, the meaning of this word depends on the context in which the word appears.

כל חבל ארגוב, “the whole district of Argov;” according to Rashi the word refers to “a province;” other commentators believe that Argov is the name of an individual who used to own this strip of land, having inherited it, and that it had been measured with a rope to determine its boundaries, hence the word חבל ארגוב. Onkelos translates it as בית פלך טרכונא, “the resi-dence in a district by that name, i.e. a famous palace.” Our verse then would refer to the province in which the palace was situated.

I learned from this that, etc. I.e., from Targum Yerushalmi I learned that a palace is called טרכונין, and then we can learn from this that ארגוב also means a palace. The term הפרכיא, in other words, means the Royal Palace.

In other words the empire is called after its name. I.e., an important city.

מערי הפרזי [BESIDES] UNWALLED CITIES — unconfined and open, i.e. without a wall. Similar is, (Zechariah 2:8) “As open spaces (פרזות) shall Jerusalem be inhabited”.

לבד מערי הפרזי, “apart from the ‘open’ cities;” the ones scattered throughout the countryside, not protected by a wall. The word occurs in connection with Jerusalem in Zecharyah 2,8 where the prophet suggests that in the future Jerusalem will not need a wall around it to protect it against invaders.

V. 5. בצרת (siehe zu Bereschit 11, 6). – פרז, הפרזי verwandt mit eindringen, einbohren, wovonברזל und rabb. ברזא das Spundloch, פרס brechen, פרץ einbrechen, durchbrechen, daher auch: sich weit verbreiten, sich schrankenlos ausdehnen, und פרש auseinanderlegen, ausbreiten. ערי הפרזי heisst das offenen Land, entweder weil es eindringbar, offen ist, oder weil die Häuser nicht zusammenhängen, weithin zerstreut liegen, insofern ist es auch Gegensatz von קריה, deren Häuser eng miteinander verbunden sind.

החרם — This has a present frequentative meaning: going on and destroying (see Rashi on Numbers 25:17).

בזונו לנו, “we looted for ourselves.” In 2,35 the mode of the verb used for the same word “looting” is בזזנו. Why the difference? Our ages say that in chapter 2 the loot was universally acclaimed as something very welcome. Here, the Torah wanted to convey that the people already related with disdain, בוז, to the loot. This is also why here the Torah adds the words וכל הבהמה, an expression not found in

מיד means, FROM THE CONTROL OF.

צידנים יקראו לחרמון וגו׳ THE SIDONIANS CALL HERMON SIRION — But in another passage it states, (Deuteronomy 4:48) “Even unto Mount Sion which is Hermon”. So you see it had four names. And why had they all to be written in Scripture? To tell the praise of the land of Israel: that there were four kingdoms (kings) priding themselves in this — one saying, "After me shall it be named", and another saying, "After me shall it be named" (Sifrei Devarim 37:10; cf. Chullin 60b).

HERMON, THE SIDONIANS CALL SIRION, [AND THE AMORITES CALL IT SENIR]. “But in another place Scripture states, even unto Mount Sion which is Hermon.²⁶⁰Further, 4:48. Thus you see that the mountain has four names [Hermon, Sirion, Senir and Sion. Scripture’s reference to this multiplicity of names is] to tell the praise of the Land of Israel because there were four kingdoms priding themselves in this; this one saying ‘After me shall it be called,’ and another saying, ‘After me shall it be called.’” This is Rashi’s language from the words of Agadah.²⁶¹Chullin 60b.
It is indeed possible that this praise [that four nations were vying for this mountain] is correct but the main purport of the verse is to state that the Sidonians, children of Canaan’s firstborn,²⁶²Genesis 10:15. called Mount Hermon “Sirion” when it was formerly in their possession; and the Amorites, who now dwelled there and from whom Israel was to capture it, called it “Senir.” [Senir] is a Canaanite word for “snow,” as Rashi testified about it, and as Onkelos also rendered it, [“mountain of snow”]. And because it is a mountain of snow, also on account of its frigid temperature causing it to be bleak [and unapproachable], it is called Hermon [from the word cherem — “banned”], this being a surname of the mountain. Perhaps the name “Sirion” in the Sidonian language indicates this characteristic while the real name of the mountain [as mentioned by the Torah further on]²⁶⁰Further, 4:48. is Sion. The verse stating, from the top of Senir and Hermon²⁶³Song of Songs 4:8. [which would seem to indicate that these were two separate mountains], really refers to two surnames of the [same] mountain and thus means “from the top of the snow and the bleakness,” or it may mean “from the top of Senir and from the whole mountain.” Similarly, that which is stated in the Book of Chronicles, And the children of the half-tribe of Menasheh dwelt in the land, from Bashan unto Baal-hermon and Senir and Mount Hermon where they increased²⁶⁴I Chronicles 5:23. also means “and Senir and the whole mountain which is Mount Hermon.” Baal-hermon, however, was a city or a tower which they called “Baal,” or perhaps it was the name of one of the Baal-idols that was worshipped there.
It is possible that after Israel was in the Land, names of places were somewhat changed; this mountain was large — and they called the highest part of its summit Senir, and the second part thereof they called Hermon. Or they²⁶⁵I.e., the mountains mentioned in the above-quoted verses from the Song of Songs and the Book of Chronicles. may be other mountains which people after the [period of the] Torah called by these names [Senir, Hermon — and they really represent two separate mountains, but the names mentioned in the Torah indicate different names of but one mountain, as explained above]. There are many cases like this. So also, and the Hermons from the hill Mizar²⁶⁶Psalms 42:7. [would indicate that there were other mountains by the name of Hermon, for otherwise we have no explanation why they called “the Hermons,” in the plural].

צדונים יקראו לחרמון שריון, “The people of Tzidon referred to Mount Hermon as “Siryon. Nachmanides explains that the principal intent of this verse is to inform us that the Tzidonim, the descendants of Tzidon the firstborn son of Canaan, called Mount Hermon while they were still in possession of it, “Siryon.” The Emorite, i.e. the fourth son of Canaan who occupied that region at the time when the Israelites were in the desert, having wrested it from their cousins the Tzidonites recently, called that Mountain Snir, another word for שלג, snow. They, called it thus to indicate that this mountain is almost all the time capped by snow. Seeing that it is so cold up there, it is without vegetation, חרב hence the letters חר in the name חרמון. Perhaps in the dialect spoken by the Tzidonim, the word שריון also reflects the fact that it is freezing cold up on that mountain.

צידונים יקראו לחרמון שריון והאמרי יקראו לו שניר, “The people of Tzidon would call Mount Hermon Siryon, whereas the Emorite would refer to it as Senir.” We find here three separate names seeing that in Deut. 4,48 Mount Hermon is also called Siyon. Why did the Torah have to record all these names of Mount Hermon? It was to give us an idea of the prominence and esteem in which the land of Israel was held. Everyone of these respective nations (their kings) would refer to his own land by a name reflecting a location in the land of Israel. [By calling his capital Mount Hermon in their language, they would pay tribute to that Mountain in Israel and to their own standing in Israel. Of course, in their arrogance, they would make believe that the Israelites had named their mountain to correspond to the capitals of their own respective countries. Ed.] (Sifri Eykev 37).

This is snow, etc. Rashi is answering the question: Since the letters of שרין are the same as the letters of שניר, except that the letters resh and nun switched places, then what is the reason [the verse needs to mention both]? Therefore, Rashi explains: Because of the snow it is called שניר [but it is not called שרין].

V. 9. צידונים וגו׳ ist wieder von Mosche in seinen Bericht eingeschaltete Erläuterung. שׂניר übersetzt Onkelos טור תלגא: Schneeberg und weist Raschi auf die Ähnlichkeit mit Schnee hin.

שניר SHENIR — This signifies "snow" in the German language (Schnee) and in the Canaanite (Slav) language (Snih).

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

מיתר הרפאים [ONLY OG … REMAINED] OF THE REST OF THE REPHAIM whom Amraphel and his allies slew in Ashteroth-Karnaim (Genesis 14:5), and he (Og) escaped from the battle, as it is said, (Genesis 14:13) "And the fugitive came", and that was Og (Genesis Rabbah 42:8; cf. Rashi on Genesis 14.13.1).

FOR ONLY OG KING OF BASHAN REMAINED OF THE REMNANT OF THE REPHAIM; BEHOLD, HIS BEDSTEAD WAS A BEDSTEAD OF IRON etc. The purport of the verse is to tell that this Og was called the king of the Amorites because he ruled over them, but he himself was of the Rephaim. And in order to tell of his height and strength, since the Rephaim were a people great, and many, and tall as the Anakim,²⁶⁷Above, 2:10. it states that his bedstead was a bedstead of iron, no bedstead of wood being able to support him as it does other people. It is in the city of Rabbah which was his dwelling place, and when the children of Ammon destroyed the Rephaim as is mentioned above,²⁶⁸Ibid., Verse 21. and his city [Og’s capital, Ashtaroth] was captured, he alone was saved from the hands of the Ammonites. It is this which is stated, For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed was left there in Rabbah which now belongs to the children of Ammon, and the Ammonites preserved it as testimony that they destroyed a great and tall people; and the mighty man whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks²⁶⁹Amos 2:9. — from him they captured his kingdom. This is the sense of the word behold [behold, his bedstead …], meaning: “behold, the proof of [Og’s strength] still exists; it is the iron bedstead, very long and wide, and is to be found in Rabbah of the children of Ammon,” since his bedstead, which was in Ashtaroth, was plundered and lost.²⁷⁰That is, when the Ammonites destroyed the Rephaim and captured Og’s capital city Ashtaroth (above, 1:4) they plundered it and took his bedstead from there and brought it to Rabbah.

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

'כי רק עוג מלך הבשן וגו, because he had survived from the time when giants walked the earth, G’d told Moses not to be afraid of him. (verse 2)

כי רק עוג מלך הבשן נשאר מיתר הרפאים, “for only Og, the King of Bashan remained from the remnant of the Refa-im;” Nachmanides feels that the message of the verse is that in spite of the fact that at that time, Og was the King of Bashan, his origin had been among the Refa-im. In order to suitably impress the reader with the physical dimensions of these Refa-im, of whom Og was typical, the Torah describes the size and raw material that his bed was made of. Any wooden bedstead would have collapsed under his tremendous weight. He lived in a city called Rabbah, which became his capital after the Ammonites had destroyed the Refa-im including his capital city, he was the only one who had escaped at that time. The purpose of telling us all this is that the Ammonites must have been a very powerful people if they had succeeded in defeating a race of giants of the dimensions of Og. The Israelites are reminded of the historical testimony of the achievements of the Ammonites down to their own period.

כי רק עוג מלך הבשן נשאר מיתר הרפאים, “for only Og, King of Bashan, was left of the remnants of the giants” whom Amrafel and his colleagues had killed, as we read in Genesis 14,5: “they killed the Rephaim in Ashtarot Karnayim.” Og had escaped from the battle; this is why the Torah reports “the escapee” as reporting to Avram that Lot had been taken captive (Genesis 14,13). Our sages in Tanchuma Chukat 25 identify this “fugitive” as having been Og.

The amoh of Og. Rashi is answering the question: It says in Maseches Berachos (54b) that Og uprooted a mountain that was three parsoh squared, implying that Og was a great giant. Yet in the verse here it is written that his bed was only “nine amos long and four amos wide in a man’s amoh.” If this refers to the amoh of the average man, then Og was only eight amos tall — twice as tall as an average person plus another amoh. If so, how then was he able to uproot a mountain? Therefore, Rashi explains: “The amoh of Og.”

V. 11. כי רק וגו׳. Die Ogs Herrschaft unterworfene Bevölkerung waren Emoriten und keine Refaim. Nur er war aus dem Geschlechte der רפאים, die dem Eroberungsschwerte der Ammoniter erlegen waren (Kap. 2, 21), übrig geblieben und hatte dann die ganze Gegend des Baschan bezwungen und zu seinem Reiche gemacht. In der ammonitischen Hauptstadt Rabba, seiner früheren Heimat, bemerkt Mosche, wird noch sein Bett als Erinnerung an das früher dort hausende Riesengeschlecht aufbewahrt (רמב׳׳ן).

הנה ערשו ערש ברזל, “behold, his bedstead was a bedstead made of iron.” This need not be understood literally; it means that the materials used in constructing Og’s bedstead were as sturdy as if they had been made out of strong metal. (B’chor shor) The word ערש occurs in Amos 3,12 as meaning: the leg of a bed.

באמת איש AFTER THE CUBIT OF A MAN — i.e. after the cubit of Og.

הנה ערשו, his crib when he was still growing up;

באמת איש, “by the standard measure “cubit” applied to everybody else.” Onkelos translates this as אמת מלך, “by the measure known as “cubit” in the country under control of that king.” The measure was called after this king who had established it. The word מלך when used by Onkelos is a defective spelling for the word מלכא, King, in Aramaic. Onkelos alludes to the fact that Og was the only survivor of the descendants of Kayin whose giants had been introduced to us by the Torah in Genesis 6,2 as בני אלוהים. (Compare author’s comments at the end of Numbers, 21,34 and this Editor’s translation.)

NINE CUBITS WAS THE LENGTH THEREOF [of Og’s bedstead], AND FOUR CUBITS THE BREADTH OF IT, AFTER THE CUBIT OF A MAN. The meaning of after the cubit of a ‘man’ is that of the biggest man [i.e., Og], just as the expression, be thou strong and show yourself a man²⁷¹I Kings 2:2. [which means “a strong man”]. And in the opinion of Onkelos, after the cubit of ‘a’ man means “after the cubit of ‘the’ man,” and the translation thereof [in Aramaic] is “the king” [indicating that no ordinary man is meant here — “the” man means the king]. Similarly, eth hakeves echad²⁷²Numbers 28:2. [which literally means: “the one lamb” — should be eth hakeves ha’echad: “the one ‘specific’ lamb”]; balailah hu²⁷³Genesis 19:33. [should be: balailah hahu — “in ‘that’ night”]. There are many similar cases. That is to say, [after the cubit of a man means] after the cubit of [“the” man] — Og himself.

תשע אמות ארכה “it was nine cubits long.” (about 5,4 meters.) This is the average height of the walls of walled cities in those days.

ערש ברזל, he was already so strong when he was still quite young that when he stretched out his bed frame would collapse. As a result, they made an iron bedstead for him. An adult would not have needed this as he would have known how to move around in it without breaking it.

באמת איש, measurements applied to fully mature men.

הלה היא ברבת עמון, it has still been preserved on the site where he had grown up in order for anyone seeing it to be amazed by it. One does not make a spectacle of the bedstead of an adult in one location as adults move around and sleep in many different beds at different times.

באמת איש, of a fully grown man. [the אמה is the length from one’s elbow to the fingertips. Naturally, this differed in length at different times in one’s adolescence. Ed.]

ואת הארץ הזאת AND THIS LAND mentioned above (v. 8), "from the brook of Arnon to Mount Hermon", ירשנו בעת ההוא WE POSSESSED AT THAT TIME.

ואת הארץ הזאת ירשנו בעת ההיא, “and we inherited this land at that time.” Rashi says that the words ואת הארץ הזאת refer to the land mentioned just previously. The words מערורר אשר על נחל ארנון, are not connected to what has been described previously, but introduce a new section, seeing that the people of Israel inherited more territory, lands inherited by the tribes of Reuven and Gad mentioned at the end of the verse. This is clear from the fact that Mount Hermon is situated far to the north of the river Arnon. Nachmanides writes that in his view the words הארץ הזאת אשר ירשנו בעת ההיא וגגו' were all regions given to the tribe of Reuven.

“Mentioned above, etc. I.e., it is not referring to the land mentioned afterwards, “From Aro’er which is on Wadi Arnon.” For the land they inherited at that time extended from Wadi Arnon to Mount Chermon, and not only from Aro’er until half of Mount Gilod. Rather, the verse means: “The land mentioned above that we took from the two kings, which extended from Wadi Arnon until Mount Chermon, we inherited it and fortified it.” Afterwards starts a new account: “From Aro’er which is on Wadi Arnon ... I gave to the Reuvenites and the Gaddites, and I gave the rest to half the tribe of Menashe, etc.”

AND THIS LAND — “this land mentioned above, from the brook of Arnon unto Mount Hermon²⁷⁴Above, Verse 8. — WE TOOK IN POSSESSION AT THAT TIME. FROM AROER, WHICH IS BY THE BROOK ARNON — this is not connected with the beginning of the verse [defining this land] but with the end thereof: I gave unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites. But as regards the possession, it was unto Mount Hermon.”²⁷⁴Above, Verse 8. This is Rashi’s language. The correct interpretation appears to me to be that the verse is stating: “and this land ‘which’ we took in possession at that time [I allocated in the following way]: from Aroer [etc.] I gave unto the Reubenites.” So also is the verse, and thou shalt let them know the way they shall walk therein²⁷⁵Exodus 18:20. [means “the way ‘which’ they shall walk therein”]. There are many similar cases.

V. 12. ירשנו ,ואת הארץ הזאת haben wir bereits völlig in Besitz genommen und die Besitznahme durch Verteilung vollendet.

ואת הארץ הזאת ירשנו, “and this land we have inherited;” this phrase is abbreviated; the line should have begun with the words: ‘”and this land which we have inherited at that time ...as well as its towns, I have given to the tribe of Reuven.” All of this has been explained in Numbers 32,33.

מערער אשר על נחל ארנן FROM AROER, WHICH IS BY THE BROOK ARNON — this must not be connected with the first part of this verse (defining הארץ הזאת) but with its conclusion — with נתתי לראבני ולגדי I GAVE TO THE REUBENITES AND TO THE GADITES; however, as respects possession (taking by conquest) that was "[from the brook of Arnon] to Mount Hermon" (v. 8).

This is not to be connected ... but with its conclusion, etc. Rashi is answering the question: The verse implies that they only inherited this land, and they gave it to the Reuvenites and the Gaddites. And afterwards it is written, “And the rest of the Gilod ... I gave to half the tribe of Menashe.” But from where did they get this land, since they had not inherited any more land? For this reason Rashi explains: “This land” refers to the land mentioned above, “From Wadi Arnon to Mount Chermon,”, etc. In other words: The land mentioned above is what we inherited at that time, and from that land I gave to the Reuvenites, the Gaddites, and half the tribe of Menashe.

ההוא יקרא ארץ רפאים IT IS THAT WHICH IS CALLED THE LAND OF REPHAIM — it is that which I gave to Abraham (cf. Rashi on 2:20).

ALL THE REGION OF THE ARGOB — ALL ‘HAHU’ (THAT) BASHAN IS CALLED THE LAND OF REPHAIM. The meaning thereof is: “and all the region of the Argob — all ‘the’ Bashan ‘asher’ (which)²⁷⁶Ramban thus explains the letter hei in hahu [habashan ‘hahu’ — “that” Bashan] as meaning asher (which): “the Bashan ‘which’” is called the land of Rephaim. is called the land of Rephaim” [I also gave to the half-tribe of Menasheh]. This usage [a letter hei meaning asher (which) or (who)] is also found in the following verses: And all ‘hahikdish’ Samuel the Seer, and Saul the son of Kish,²⁷⁷I Chronicles 26:28. Here too, the letter hei in hahikdish means asher hikdish (“which” he dedicated). [meaning: asher hikdish — “‘which’ he dedicated”]; ‘hahoshivu’ foreign women²⁷⁸Ezra 10:17. [meaning: asher hoshivu — “‘who’ had married”]. In all these cases the letter hei is in the place of asher (which or who). There are many similar examples. Now [Argob] was considered part of the land of Rephaim because of Og who ruled over it, or because it originally belonged to the Rephaim and was left to Og because he and the people that dwelled in it were of the remnant of the Rephaim.²⁷⁹Verse 11.
Va’ethchanan

ההוא יקרא ארץ רפאים, "this is what is known as the land of the Rephaim." I have explained earlier that the meaning of the word is that this land though referred to as "land of the Rephaim" was not the land of the Rephaim in the true sense of the word, i.e. the land promised by G'd to Abraham as the land of the Rephaim. If you were not to understand the verse in this manner and the lands of Sichon and Og would have to be considered as the true lands of the Rephaim, then the Baraitha in the Sifri where we were told that the words "which the Lord your G'd is about to give to you" mean that the lands on the East Bank of the Jordan which you have taken for yourself" are excluded, would be incompatible with what is written here. When you add to this the fact that we have been told in Bereshit Rabbah 44, that the Rephaim were identical with the tribe known as Chivi, and we find that the Chivi is one of the seven tribes the Israelites were to dispossess on the West Bank (compare Exodus 3,17) surely it is impossible to consider the lands occupied by Og as the lands known as "the lands of the Rephaim."

ההוא יקרא ארץ רפאים. A tribe mentioned to Avraham at the time of the covenant between the pieces. (Genesis chapter 15). I have already commented on the significance of this verse on 2,20

כל חבל הארגוב לכל הבשן ההוא יקרא ארץ רפאים, “the entire region of the Argov comprising all of Bashan, that is what used be called the land of the Refa-im.” Nachmanides trying to justify the letter ה [normally representing a definitive article, implying that the noun following is familiar to the reader, Ed.] in the word הארגוב, writes that Bashan and Argav are lumped together as a contiguous region, seeing that both regions formed part of the land of the Refa-im, the reader is familiar with what Moses is describing here. The region still bore that name at that time due to the fact that it was ruled over by the last of the famous Refa-im, the giant Og. It is also possible that Moses wanted to let us know that the region retained its original name although ownership had changed repeatedly.

ההוא יקרא ארץ רפאים, “the land called ‘the land of the Rephaim,’” i.e. the land G’d allocated to Avraham.

That is the land which I gave to Avrohom. Rashi is answering the question: Above (2:11), it is also written, “The land of Rephaim”! However, this [land mentioned here] is the land of Rephaim that I gave to Avrohom.

You may reply that we also find that the Emorite was mentioned among the seven tribes which G'd would dispossess when the Israelites left Egypt, and this included Sichon as we know from Numbers 21,21 where Sichon was described as the "king of the Emorites." Moreover, the Torah continued in verse 25 of that chapter to describe the Israelites as settling in the towns formerly belonging to the "Emorites." In view of this the question against the Sifri appears to have been resurrected! This is no problem at all. The cities of the Emorite listed in Numbers as having belonged to Sichon are not what G'd had promised to Abraham. In fact the Torah had been at pains in Numbers 21,26 to describe even Cheshbon, the capital of Sichon, as a city which had a chequered past; it had once belonged to the Moabites, and had subsequently been conquered by Sichon from the first king of the Moabites. In other words, the Torah offers clear proof that the land over which Sichon ruled at the time was actually Moabite land. The only reason it was called "Emorite" was because king Sichon who belonged to the tribe of the Emorites had acquired it by force. It had never been part of the original lands of the tribe of the Emorites. As a result, it could not have been included in the lands of the Emorite promised by G'd to Abraham.

Furthermore, all the lands mentioned in the Torah as belonging to the Rephaim are included in what G'd had promised to Abraham when He said "ואת הרפאים" in Genesis 15,20. The lands of Sichon and Og were also included in that promise for the Torah refers to them as "the land of the Emorite and the land of Og." It is also called the land of the Rephaim as the Rephaim were identical with the Chivi. When the Baraitha quoted in the Sifri (reference Deut. 7,13) stated that the lands of the East Bank were not included in what G'd had promised to Abraham, this statement referred to the settlement of that part of the East Bank by the Israelites. Although G'd had given, i.e. promised, the lands of seven Canaanite tribes to the Israelites who participated in the Exodus, this did not mean that all these lands were of equal status, and that all of them qualified for the Israelites to dwell therein. This situation is no different from the situation on the West Bank itself. We know from the Talmud (Keylim 1,6) that there were 10 different degrees of sanctity in the various locations on the West Bank. We need to perceive the lands of Sichon and Og as possessing a lower degree of sanctity than the lands promised to Abraham on the West Bank of the Jordan. G'd wanted the Israelites to loot the belongings of these kings but He had not planned for the Israelites to dwell in their lands.

This is what the Sifri had in mind when its author wrote: "excluding the lands on the East Bank." The Torah in that instance had been careful to write "which the Lord our G'd swore an oath to give to us" (Deut. 6,23). This meant that those lands G'd had sworn to give to us to dwell in. By that wording the Torah meant to exclude other lands which, though promised to us by G'd, were not promised for us to dwell in because these lands did not qualify for the requisite degree of sanctity [necessary for the Israelites to develop their personalities in keeping with Torah imperatives. Ed.]. You will find something similar in the case of Ammon, Moav, and Edom, who are identical respectively with the tribes Keyni, Kenizi, and Kadmoni in G'd's promise to Abraham in Genesis chapter 15. Jeremiah 49,17 foretells of the desolation of the land of Edom. If so, the promise of that land to the Israelites could not have been meant for them to dwell in it. The same fate had been intended for the lands of Sichon and Og. Only the West Bank of the Jordan contained the lands G'd had intended to give to the descendants of the Patriarchs to dwell in. Nonetheless, despite the fact that those lands were not included in the promise to Abraham, the fact that the Israelites conquered them at the command of G'd and that some tribes settled there conferred a certain degree of sanctity on the soil of those lands.

V. 14. חות יאיר (siehe Bamidbar 2, 41). Daselbst V. 42 wird noch eine Eroberung Nobachs berichtet, der das von ihm eroberte Kenath ebenfalls mit seinem Namen Nobach belegte, eine Namengebung, die jedoch, wie dort angedeutet, sich nicht erhielt. Hierauf bezieht sich wohl hier das עד היום הזה: Jairs Namengebung wurde von seinen Zeitgenossen respektiert und wurde daher eine bleibende.

תוך הנחל וגבול THE MIDST OF THE BROOK AND THE TERRITORY, i.e., all the brook and in addition, land on its opposite bank. The words therefore are as much as to say, עד "unto” the Brook of Arnon, ועד "and” that which is mentioned as being "unto” (i.e. the Brook itself) is included (by the words תוך הנחל), and even more than this (namely, the גבול, land on the other side of the brook).

Until its opposite bank etc. I.e., the inheritance of the Gaddites, which was on the eastern side of the Yardein, continues across the western edge of Wadi Arnon. For the verse, “and the border,” means: “This is the border [of their inheritance],” which continues until the wadi on the western side [of the Yardein]. And then it continues up until and includes Yabok. For, “even more,” also includes Yabok.

מכנרת FROM CHINNERETH — This is on the western side of Jordan. The inheritance of the children of Gad was in the east side of the Jordan, and there fell as their lot the width of the Jordan, adjoining their territory, and in addition, land on its opposite bank up to Chinnereth. This is the meaning of what is said here, "And the Jordan and the territory thereof”, i.e. the Jordan and some land on its opposite bank.

This is on the western side of the Yardein, etc. I.e., the Kinneres is on the western side of the Yardein. Since the inheritance of the tribe of Gad was on the eastern side of the Yardein, we find that Gad’s inheritance extended from the eastern side of the Yardein along its entire width, and continued from [the eastern side of] the Yardein westward until the Kinneres. The phrase, “The Yardein and the border,” means that the Yardein itself is included in the inheritance, and also beyond until the Kinneres.

ואצו אתכם AND I COMMANDED YOU — He now addresses himself to the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad.

ואצו אתכם בעת ההיא, ”I commanded you at that time, etc.” Moses was now speaking to the tribes of Gad and Reuven. Seeing that they were part of the people of Israel, Moses used the pronoun אתכם, “you,” as if his commandment applied to all the tribes. Actually, it would have been less misleading if he had used the pronoun אותם, “them.” (compare Ibn Ezra). We find something similar at the end of the Torah where Moses “officially” addresses the Levites (Deut. 31,25-27) commencing with “Moses comman-ded the Levites ... to take the Torah scroll and to place it at the side of the Ark; “I have known your rebelliousness and stiff neck, etc.” Although Moses is reported as speaking to the Levites, he addresses the whole people. [The Levites most certainly did not have an exclusive on being rebellious, rather the reverse. Ed,]

He was speaking to Bnei Reuvein and Bnei Gad. Rashi is answering the question: The rebuke from the beginning of this book until now was all directed at the entire Bnei Yisroel. But how can, “Cross over in the forefront ahead of your brothers Bnei Yisroel,” be referring to the Bnei Yisroel? Is it possible for Bnei Yisroel to cross over ahead of Bnei Yisroel?! Rashi therefore explains: He was speaking to Bnei Reuvein and Bnei Gad.

ואצו אתכם, “I commanded you;” Moses addresses the tribe of Reuven, Gad and half the tribe of Menashe. The reason he used the pronoun אתכם, “you,” instead of as we might have expected אותם, “them,” is because these two and a half tribes remained part of the Jewish nation made up of twelve tribes owning ancestral land. (Ibn Ezra)

לפני אחיכם [YE SHALL PASS OVER EQUIPPED] BEFORE YOUR BRETHREN — they used to go in front of the other Israelites into battle because they were mighty men, and the enemy fell before them, as it is said of Gad, (Deuteronomy 33:20) "He tears the arm together with the crown” (cf. Rashi on Numbers 32:17).

They went ahead of Bnei Yisroel, etc. Otherwise, what is the meaning of, “ahead of Bnei Yisroel”? It should say instead, “with Bnei. Yisroel.”

ואת יהושוע צויתי, "And I commanded Joshua, etc." Moses meant that he commanded Joshua not to be afraid of these nations, as we find at the end of verse 22: לא תיראום "you must not be afraid of them." Moses did not repeat the words "your eyes are seeing" at the end of verse 22, as this is not something which forms the subject of a command.

ואת יהושע צותי, “and I have commanded Joshua;” this is what has been written in Numbers 27,23: ויסמוך ידיו עליו ויצוהו, “he (Moses) placed his hands firmly upon him, and he commanded him.”

The reason Moses preferred to record these instructions here instead of after the conquest of the lands of Sichon and Og and the settlement of the tribes of Reuven and Gad in those lands, is because the conditions which were attached to the settlement of these lands by these tribes, etc. This could have created the impression that Joshua required the assistance of the heroic men of those tribes before he would undertake the mission of conquering the land of Canaan. Seeing that it was G'd who would conduct the actual battles, Moses did not want a false impression to be created. He introduced the paragraph with the words ואת יהושוע, "and Joshua," to hint that Joshua's part was incidental, as suggested by the conjunctive letter ו. This is also why Moses concluded this paragraph with the words "for your G'd will fight on your behalf." Moses underlined the word הוא, "He Himself," to make it even less plausible for someone who had heard that the men of the tribes of Gad and Reuven had to cross the Jordan in full armour to conclude that this was an indication that the wars of conquest would be dangerous. I have already explained the purpose of that command in my commentary on Parshat Mattot. You may also wish to read my comments on the words את כל.

בעת ההיא לאמור, "at that time saying, etc." The time referred to is the time when Moses imposed his conditions on the tribes of Reuven and Gad. The word לאמור in this context may mean that Moses did not tell Joshua all this verbatim, but he told him words to this effect. I have shown that there are other instances when the word לאמור is employed in a similar fashion. It is also possible that the meaning is for Joshua to relay such a command to the Israelites at the time they would ready themselves to battle the seven Canaanite tribes, in order to remove fear from their hearts.

את כל אשר עשה, "all that He has done, etc." This statement incorporates the reason Moses insisted that the tribes of Reuven and Gad cross the river Jordan armed, ready to join the other tribes in the conquest of the West Bank. Moses says that G'd will do to the tribes on the West Bank what He had done to the Emorite Kings Sichon and Og. Just as G'd's help against those kings had been predicated on all of the tribes having readied themselves to do battle, so in order for G'd to do battle on behalf of the Israelites against the 31 kings on the West Bank, all the tribes had to be present in battle formation. In both instances it was G'd who did the actual fighting. In view of the above Moses was not able to say to Joshua "your own eyes have observed what G'd did to these two kings, etc." until after the two tribes had been commanded to cross the Jordan, etc. The collective merit of 12 tribes of Israel cannot be compared to the collective merit of 10 tribes. If G'd had been willing to fight on behalf of 12 tribes this was not proof that He would do the same on behalf of only 10 tribes. I have already explained this on Numbers 32,6.

לא תיראום, "do not fear them!" Moses used the plural ending here even though he spoke only to Joshua as he meant to include the whole people in his instruction not to be afraid of the kings of the Canaanites seeing that G'd was going to do the fighting. As far as my comments on the word לאמור are concerned, Moses said that word in order for Joshua to tell the Israelites to have faith in the Lord.

ואתחנן — All forms of the verb חנן signify an ex gratia gift. Although the righteous might make a claim to reward depend Upon their good deeds, yet they solicit from the Omnipresent only an ex gratia gift. [Because He had said to him, (Exodus 33:19) “I will show grace (וחנתי) unto him to whom I will show grace”, he (Moses) when referring to his entreaty of God uses the expression (lit., spoke to Him) "I implored grace (ואתחנן)” (Midrash Tanchuma 5:2:3] — Another explanation is that the idea of an ex gratia gift is not to be stressed; but this is merely one of the ten terms by which prayer is described, as are enumerated in Sifrei Devarim 26:7.

AND I BESOUGHT THE ETERNAL AT THAT TIME, SAYING. [The time referred to, is] when Moses mentioned the conquest of the lands of Sihon and Og. He said, And I commanded Joshua at that time,¹Above 3:21. intimating, that “I [Moses] will not go over there, for I besought the Glorious Name²Further, 28:58. [to rescind the decree forbidding me to enter the Land], but He hearkened not to me and He commanded me to charge Joshua, for he shall go over before this people.”³Verse 28 here.
The purport of the expression at that time is that it alludes to the time of the decree that he mentioned, Also the Eternal was angry with me [for your sakes, saying: ‘Thou shalt not go in thither’],⁴Above, 2:37. though [Moses’] supplication is not mentioned there on the day of that event. The correct interpretation, however, is that the expression at that time refers to the time mentioned: “when I conquered Sihon and Og and I began to war against the nations given to Israel and I allocated the land to the two tribes [Reuben and Gad].” In that case, this supplication [referred to here] was offered when it was said to Moses, Get thee up into this mountain of A barim,⁵Numbers 27:12. for it was then that he sought mercy in the matter and entreated this supplication. And when G-d did not hearken to his voice, he again prayed, Let the Eternal, the G-d of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,⁶Ibid., Verse 16. as is mentioned there. It is this verse, And charge Joshua³Verse 28 here. [that constitutes the answer to Moses’ second request]. Now, there [in the Book of Numbers] Scripture mentioned the prayer on which he was affirmatively answered [namely, the appointment of a successor]⁷Ibid., Verses 18-21. and here he mentioned this [unsuccessful prayer] in order to inform the people that, although the Land was beloved to him, he did not merit [to enter] it because of them. All this was part of his reproof.

I pleaded to Hashem. Rashi explains that even though the righteous can claim rewards based on their good deeds, they ask the Almighty only for an undeserved gift. This is difficult to understand, for why would one think that they would ask for reward based on the good deeds that they had already performed? A person can never have any claim that Hashem owes him, because all of the mitzvot that a person does can never be sufficient to pay Hashem back for all the goodness that He does…

23:1 וָאֶתְחַנַן – I Prayed. Written (in the verse) before (vs22) is, לֹא תִירָאוּם, You shall not fear them (3:22). (Moses thought to himself) “I encouraged Israel. Perhaps He will have mercy upon me”

ואתחנן אל ה׳ בעת ההיא לאמור, "I pleaded with G'd at that time, saying, etc." Why did Moses have to say "at that time?" Sifri writes that when Moses saw how Sichon and Og had fallen, he believed that the fact that he had lived to see this was proof that G'd had relented in His decree against him and that this was an opportune time to plead to be allowed to enter the West Bank. If we accept this interpretation the words בעת ההיא refer to the time of the wars with Sichon and Og. Moses excused himself saying that had it not been for what he had been allowed to witness at that time he would not have pleaded for G'd to rescind His decision seeing he was aware that the decree was final.

ואתחנן, “I pleaded;” Nachmanides writes that when Moses mentioned the conquest of the lands of Sichon and Og, (3,21) adding the words ואת יהושע צויתי וגו', “and I commanded Joshua” (in preparation for his becoming his successor) it was because he wanted to stress that he himself was not going to cross the Jordan. He now added the reason why he felt sure about this, namely that he had already pleaded with Hashem to allow him to at least cross that river, but his plea had not been accepted. It was therefore his duty to pray to Hashem to give Joshua the strength without which no one could successfully lead the Jewish people.

The word חנון everywhere signifies, etc. Otherwise, it should have said ואתפלל (I prayed).

V. 23. חנן .אתחנן (siehe Bereschit 6, 8). חנן: gewähren, חן Gewährungswürdigkeit, חַנֵן nur Prov. 26, 25 Gewährung suchen. התחנן entweder: sich (lat.) Gewährung suchen, oder (accus.) sich gewährungswürdig zu machen suchen. Die Konstruktion mit אל spricht für das letzte. Es ist eine reflexive Einwirkung auf das eigene Innere, es in Beziehung zu Gott seines gewährenden Wohlwollens würdig zu machen. So wird auch Berachoth 30 b aus dem Begriffe התחנן die Aufgabe für den zum Gebete Schreitenden gefasst, sich also vorher in seinem Innern zu sammeln, כדי שתתחונן דעתו עליו, dass sein Sinn die entsprechende Stimmung gewinne. בעת ההיא (siehe Bamidbar 27, 12).

'ואתחנן אל ה, “I pleaded with the Lord. The holy tongue knows of seven different names, each referring to a different category of prayer. They are as follows: תפלה, תחינה, נפילה, פגיעה, רנה, צעקה, זעקה. Of all the types of prayer at the disposal of Moses, why did he choose only one category, i.e. תחינה? When Moses had asked G–d to reveal more of His attributes, especially His method of dealing with sinners, in Exodus 33,13, after answering Moses in part, He had concluded with: וחנותי את אשר אחון, (verse 19 there) He made it clear to Moses that whenever and howsoever He forgives a sinner or reduces the punishment for which that sinner is in line, it is a gift a תחינה. It is not something that the recipient had a claim to. Moses wanted G'd to know that though he pleads, he is aware that even if G–d responds favourably to his plea, he will never forget that this would be an outright gift rather than something he had been entitled to. Letting him cross the Jordan would be an outright gift. (Compare Tanchuma, section three on our parshah). Another reason for Moses’ choice of the word: ואתחנן, is that the numerical value of the letters in that word וחנותי we quoted from Exodus 33,19, is the same as that of ואתחנן.

ואתחנן, “I pleaded;” the root חנן when used in the reflexive conjugation occurs in this sense also in Genesis 42,21 when Joseph is described as pleading with his brothers. According to Rashi, who considers the root of the word to be חנם, the final letter ן at the end, should really have been a final ם.

בעת ההוא [I IMPLORED GRACE OF GOD] AT THAT TIME — After I had subdued the land of Sihon and Og I thought that perhaps the vow that I should not enter the land was annulled, since this was part of the land of Canaan (cf. Sifrei Devarim 26:8 and Rashi on Numbers 27:12).

The answer to this question is that when it says that the righteous can claim based on their good deeds it does not refer to those good deeds that they have already performed, but to those good deeds that they will do in the future. For it is understood that no righteous person wants to claim any physical benefit, except in order to be able to fulfill another mitzva… If so, Moshe could have based his request on those good deeds that he would do in the future if Hashem would grant him his request. This is something real.

23:2 וָאֶתְחַנַן -- I Prayed. The gematria of this word equals שִׁירָה (song). Moses recited songs before HaShem, so that He would accept his prayers. The phrase הי אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, HaShem your God (vs22) is juxtaposed with וָאֶתְחַנַן to indicate (Moses meant) שִׁוִיתִי הי לְנֶגְדִי תָמִיד, I have set HaShem before me constantly (Tehillim 16:8).

בעת ההיא, “at that time;” at the time when the decree that he himself would not cross the Jordan had become final and irrevocable. He had not made mention of his plea on the day it had been rejected. Rashi explains the words בעת ההיא as the period during which the armies of Sichon and Og were crushed and their lands conquered. When G’d had not accepted his prayer, Moses tried once more, including the request to appoint a suitable successor for himself. This was the prayer that he alludes to here, i.e. a prayer that had been well received by Hashem. In other words, only the opening words of our paragraph ואתחנן אל ה' are a reference to his plea on his own behalf. The only reason he made a public reference to his personal plea at all was to let the people know that he valued the merit of being allowed to set foot in that land so highly that he even had asked to revoke the decree that denied him entry, even as a private. He hinted that his not being allowed to enter that land was (at least partially) the people’s fault.

Because [the Almighty] had said to him, etc. Rashi is saying: How did Moshe know to ask the Almighty even for an underserved gift, one that is not dependent upon good deeds? On this question Rashi explains, “I will be gracious, etc.”

According to the sages in the Sifri even the word לאמור is part of Moses' plea. Moses challenged G'd to tell him if He was prepared to let him enter the Holy Land. I believe that all these comments are merely homiletics. The words בעת ההיא refer to the time when G'd had sworn that except for Joshua and Calev no one who had been over 20 at the time of the Exodus would see the land of Israel. Moses had referred to that date in 1,37 when he had mentioned that G'd had been angry at him also, saying that he too would not get to the Holy Land. At that time Moses had pleaded to cancel His decree and to release Himself from the oath as alluded to by the words: "You have begun to show your servant Your greatness, etc." Our sages interpreted these words as a reference to an invalidation of an oath, as I shall discuss shortly. The reason Moses inserted this paragraph at this point was so that the people should not suspect him of having pleaded only on his own behalf and that he was not concerned with G'd cancelling the decree He had sworn concerning the entire generation. By saying בעת ההיא, Moses indicated that he prayed before the decree had begun to be executed.

לאמר TO SAY (i.e. that God should say) — This is one of the three occasions where Moses spoke before the Omnipresent: I will not let You go until You tell me whether You will fulfill my request or not (Sifrei Devarim 26:9; cf. Rashi on Numbers 12:13).

ואתחנן אל ה' בעת ההיא לאמור, “I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying:” the words בעת ההיא, “at that time,” refer to the aftermath of the defeat of Sichon and Og, whose lands were given to the Israelites. At that time Moses had dared hope that maybe the decree that he would not be allowed to enter the Holy Land had been canceled. This verse is a continuation of verse 21 when the Torah mentioned ”these two kings.”

There is another explanation: This is one of the ten terms. According to the first explanation there is a difficulty: Why is it not written ואתחנם (I asked for a free gift). Therefore Rashi says, “There is another explanation, etc.” But according to the second explanation there is a difficulty: Why does it not say ויחל (implored) as above (Shmos 32:11).

Even though we do not find in Moses' opening words that he prayed also on behalf of his people, his intention had been to pray on behalf of the people as soon as G'd had hearkened to his own prayer concerning himself. This would be relatively simple as we have a principle that once part of a vow has been cancelled, the entire vow is no longer valid (Nedarim 66). The word לאמור in our verse indicates that Moses was concerned not only with himself but also with additional words he was going to say. He thought he acted wisely as he assumed that it would be easier to obtain a cancellation of the part of the decree which referred to him personally not entering the Holy Land. After all, he, personally, had not committed a sin involving lack of faith as had his peers. All of Moses' words demonstrate that he considered G'd as having acted righteously.

By which prayer is described, as is stated in Sifrei. The following [are the ten terms: 1.שועה. 2.צעקה. 3.נאקה (three types of crying out). 4.רנה (song). 5.פצור (press). 6.קריאה (call). 7.נפול (fall). 8.פלל (plead). 9.פגיעה (approach). 10.תחנה (supplicate).

Moses' entreaty also demonstrated four conditions which are necessary in order for one's prayer to be accepted. 1) One needs to pray in a manner similar to a poor man who knocks on a door in order to obtain some alms or some food as a hand-out, as we have been taught in Proverbs 18,23: "the poor man speaks beseechingly." 2) The prayer must be addressed to the source of Mercy, i.e. G'd Himself in His capacity as the attribute of Mercy. 3) It must be offered at a time when prayers are accepted, as we know from Psalms 69,14: "May my prayer to you come at a favourable moment, etc." 4) The prayer must be specific, incapable of being interpreted wrongly. This point is illustrated by Esther Rabbah at the beginning of chapter 7 item 24. [The Midrash discusses the meaning of the words in Esther 3,14: "that the people should be ready for this date," without specifying what precisely they should expect to happen on that day. The point is made that predictions made by Gentile prophets are obscure, liable to be misunderstood, whereas predictions made by Jewish prophets are clear and unambiguous. Ed.] The example quoted concerns a Jewish traveller who tired of the long trek he had to walk and whose ankle gave out. He said: "I wish I had a donkey." Shortly thereafter a Roman whose ass had just given birth to a young donkey passed him and told him to take it and to carry it. The traveller acknowledged that his prayer had been heard but that he had not expressed his prayer appropriately. He had failed to specify for what purpose he had requested the donkey. Thus far the Midrash. The word ואתחנן is the appropriate terminology when one beseeches G'd. By using this word Moses had complied with the first of the four conditions needed for a successful prayer. When he added אל השם, he complied with the second condition, i.e. he addressed his prayer to the attribute of Mercy. When he said בעת ההיא, he indicated that he had waited for the appropriate moment to offer up his prayer, i.e. a moment when G'd was known to be in a favourable frame of mind. Who would know better when such a time occurred than Moses? Perhaps this had been at the moment when G'd had said החל רש, "begin to possess and inherit his land" (Deut. 2,31). This would be in line with the view of our sages who said that Moses offered this prayer after the Israelites had defeated Sichon and Og and conquered their lands. By having waited for the appropriate time Moses had complied with the third of the four conditions for successful prayer we have listed earlier. Moses complied with the fourth condition for successful prayer when he said לאמור, i.e. he was precise in the formulation of his prayer, making it impossible to misunderstand. I have pointed out repeatedly that the word לאמור is often used to indicate that whatever immediately precedes it does not necessarily describe the exact words being used. Some of our commentators such as the author of the Yalkut Shimoni hold that the words בעת ההיא, "at that time," refer to Numbers 20,12 when G'd had told Moses and Aaron: "you (both) will not bring this community to the land I have given to them." On the other hand, Midrash Rabbah claims that the time Moses offered this prayer was on the occasion of Numbers 27,18 when G'd had told Moses to appoint Joshua as his successor. It is possible that Moses prayed a similar prayer on each of the occasions mentioned.

After I had captured, etc. Rashi has the following difficulty: Above it is written (Devarim 3:21), “And Yehoshua I commanded at that time, etc.” which means at the time of capturing Sichon and Og. And, “I pleaded to Adonoy,” refers to that verse [therefore the phrase here, “at that time,” is apparently not necessary]. Rashi answers: After ... I imagined that the vow had been partially cancelled. Therefore, [at that time] I thought to pray in order to enter the land, etc. (Re”m).

I imagined that the vow had been cancelled. You might ask: Since the vow had been cancelled, why then did Moshe need to pray? The answer is that Moshe thought the following: Before the land of Sichon and Og were conquered, it did not occur to me to pray because the Almighty had made a decree along with a vow, and therefore prayer would not help. But after conquering the land, and Bnei Gad, Bnei Reuvein, and half the tribe of Menashe inherited it, I thought that perhaps the vow had been cancelled — for a vow which is partially cancelled becomes totally void. If so, then the Almighty’s decree is without a vow and thus prayer will help.

This is one of the three occasions, etc. Re”m writes that Rashi is difficult to understand. For Sifrei lists five places, and Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria mentions four occasions where Moshe said, etc., and they are all listed explicitly. If so, Rashi’s words do not match either opinion. But it seems to me [the answer is]: Rashi’s commentary, “This is one of the three occasions, etc.,” means that Moshe prayed for these things and requested for the Almighty to fulfill his request and to make known to him if his request will be fulfilled. Such as regarding Miriam (Bamidbar 12:13) where Moshe requested she should be healed from tzara’as. Also regarding (Ibid. 27:15), “Almighty, appoint etc.,” where Moshe requested that his sons inherit his position of leadership — as Rashi explains there. And also here, Moshe is praying to cross the Yardein. But the other two occasions quoted in Sifrei are different. “Moshe spoke before Adonoy saying, etc. (Shmos 6:12),” where Moshe requested to know if You would redeem them, etc. And also, when “Moshe cried out to Adonoy saying ‘What shall I do to this people,’, etc. (Ibid. 17:4),” where Moshe requested to know if he would fall into their hands, etc. These two occasions were only a request to be informed, but not a request and prayer for the Almighty to fulfill what he is asking for. This answer can be found here in Rashi’s words, if you read the text carefully.

אדני אלהים O LORD, GOD — O Thou Who art. merciful (ה׳) in judgment (אלהים) (cf. Sifrei Devarim 26:10).

G-D THE ETERNAL — “merciful in judgment.” This is Rashi’s language. Now, the Rabbi did not consider that the first Divine Name is spelled with the letters Aleph Dalet and the second Name is spelled with the letters Yod Hei [i.e., the Tetragrammaton].⁸The gist of Ramban’s comment is as follows: The Divine Name which begins with the letters Aleph Dalet represents the attribute of justice; the Name beginning with the letters Yod Hei signifies the attribute of mercy. Since of the two Divine Names mentioned here in the verse, the first one is with Aleph Dalet and the second one with Yod Hei, Rashi should have interpreted them to mean, “Lord of judgment in the attribute of mercy,” instead of writing, “merciful in judgment,” implying that the first Name signifies mercy and the second one judgment. See further in Vol. II, p. 67. In this regard [i.e., the Tetragrammaton], the Rabbis have said:⁹Bereshith Rabbah 73:2. “Wherever Scripture states ‘the Eternal’ [i.e., the Tetragrammaton] it signifies the attribute of mercy, and [wherever it mentions] ‘G-d’ (Elokim) it indicates the attribute of judgment.”¹⁰And here, since it is the second of the two Divine Names that indicates the attribute of mercy, why then did Rashi put it first, writing “merciful in judgment?” Rather, the Divine Names written here mean: “Lord¹¹Since the Hebrew here is not Elokim but Ado noy (Lord), Ramban writes: “Lord etc.” in the attribute of mercy.” And so the Rabbis have said in [Midrash] Yelamdeinu:¹²On the term Yelamdeinu, see Vol. II, p. 131, Note 196. This Midrash is also found in Devarim Rabbah 2:8. — Now the text clearly indicates that Moses prayed that the judgment be mitigated with mercy, thus substantiating Ramban’s interpretation that the expression of the two Divine Names here means, “Lord of judgment in the attribute of mercy.” “Moses said to G-d: ‘Master of the worlds! If it is justly requested by me [that You grant my supplication] give it to me, and if it is not justly requested by me, have mercy on me,’ just as Abraham said, O Lord Eternal, what wilt Thou give me etc.”¹³Genesis 15:2. This is interpreted by the above Midrash as follows. “Said Rabbi Levi: Abraham said, ‘O Master of the universe. If it is justly requested by me that I have children, give them to me. And if it is not justly requested by me, then grant them to me in mercy.’ And similarly did Moses say etc.” Thus the parallel is drawn by the Midrash between Moses’ prayer here and that of Abraham. Now in the case of Abraham also etc. (see text). Also in the case of Abraham, the Divine Names are written in this order: the first one with Aleph Dalet, and the second with Yod Hei. And the purport of the section [before us] will be understood [by the fact that the Divine Names are written in this particular order]. For Moses stated va’ethchanan (and I besought) and he did not say va’ethpaleil (and I prayed), since he spoke in “supplication” [to the Glorious Name],¹⁴Ricanti. saying: “O Lord in Whom is the mercy, Thou hast begun to show Thy servant. Such was the beginning of my prophecy that You showed me Your glory — as it is written [at Moses’ first vision of G-d’s glory], And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon G-d¹⁵Exodus 3:6. — together with the greatness and the power,¹⁶I Chronicles 29:11. Here understood as Cabalistic references to the Divine Emanations. They are also referred to here in our verse: Thy greatness and Thy great hand. and I learned to know what deity is there in heaven or on earth from whom could come forth like Thy great works and Thy mighty prowess?” From here you will further understand the matter concerning which the Glorious Name was angry with Moses.¹⁷See Ramban to Numbers 20:4 (Vol. IV, pp. 217-219). See also further 4:21. However, the language of the Sifre is as follows:¹⁸Sifre, Vaethchanan 26. The text substantiates Ramban’s interpretation, that the first Divine Name mentioned here in the verse represents judgment, while the second one signifies mercy. Ramban introduces the text with the word aval (“however,” or “but”) as if to say: “while the text of the Midrash Yelamdeinu (mentioned above) is not so lucid on this problem — although this is surely its meaning — ‘however’ the text in the Sifre clearly states it to be so.” “Wherever Scripture mentions ‘the Eternal’ it signifies the attribute of mercy, as it is said, The Eternal, G-d, gracious and merciful,¹⁹Exodus 34:6. [and wherever it mentions] G-d (Elokim) it indicates the attribute of judgment, as it is said, before ‘ha’elohim’ (the judges) shall come the word of both. ”²⁰Ibid., 22:8. And the intent [of the Sifre] is to explain that the second [Divine] Name mentioned here indicates the attribute of mercy, this being the Proper Divine Name, while all other Names signify the attribute of judgment, like Elokim which is also a term for judges, and certainly the Name Aleph Dalet which is an expression of lordship.
Thus Moses completed the words of reproof with this episode in which he informed the people that their fathers caused themselves evil, and also caused him [Moses] to suffer punishment preventing them from going over into the Land. They, the children, however, will go over and inherit it, if they will not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation.²¹Psalms 78:8. Therefore he now began to warn them about the principles of the commandments that they should not add to them, neither diminish from them.

א־דני אלוקים אתה החילות להראות, "O Lord G'd, You have begun to show, etc." This (א־ד־נ־י) form of address may be understood as similar to Samuel I 3,18 where the High Priest Eli after being told by his pupil Samuel that G'd said that He would exact retribution from the house of Eli, reacted by saying: "My Master (א־ד־נ־י) will do whatever seems good in His eyes." Eli meant that when a master loses a servant such a loss is keenly felt by him; as a result, The Master would not agree to lose the servant unless He had good reason. When Moses used the word א־ד־נ־י in this instance he meant to say that his own success and wellbeing was a matter for his master (G'd) to evaluate.

החלות, as mentioned earlier in 2,25 היום הזה אחל תת פחדך, “from this day on I begin to place the fear of you, etc.” The letter ח in the word החלות is the reason why the letter ה preceding it has the vowel patach underneath it. Similar vowel patterns are observed when the letter ה precedes the letter ע, as in Isaiah 41,25 העיירתי מצפון, “I have roused him from the north.” We have the same pattern in Deuteronomy 30,19 when Moses says העידותי בכם היום, “I call as witness against you this day, etc.” Isaiah 9,3 is another example of this anomaly. When the letter following the letter ה does not belong to the group known as אחה"ע we would generally find a chataf patach under the letter ה.

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.

Hashem, Elokim. These two names control the world. The four letter name gives existence to everything, including all the forces of nature. The name Hashem controls those forces, like a master who does what he wishes with his property. Moshe asked that he should be permitted to enter the land of Israel through whichever attribute is appropriate. If he does not merit to enter with the attribute of splendor, which is personified by Moshe in the desert, let it be through the laws of nature, as he began in the fortieth year… This is the power of prayer, to mention the specific name appropriate to that which is being asked for.

Merciful in judgement. Rashi is answering the question: Hashem’s four-letter Name [Tetragrammaton] signifies His attribute of mercy, but the Name “Adonoy” signifies His attribute of justice [so how do we explain the two terms when they appear together]?. Therefore Rashi explains, “Merciful in judgement.” In other words, He judges with mercy, and not with harsh justice. An alternative approach is: Rashi is explaining why Hashem’s four-letter name here is vocalized as “Elohim,” with a chataf-segol, cholam, and chirik, and not in the usual manner? Therefore Rashi says, “Adonoy Elohim,” even though it is written as “Adonoy.” In other words, it is [primarily] the four-letter Name, but according to its vocalization it is as if “Elohim” were written. So Rashi explains: Even though the four-letter Name is Hashem’s attribute of mercy, it is vocalized as “Elohim” to signify that He is merciful in judgment. And the first Name of Adonoy that appears in the verse, Moshe only intended as an introductory remark, “My Master.” According to the first explanation, Rashi must have said, “Elohim,” because that is how the four-letter name is read. Although above in Parshas Lech Lecha it is written, “Adonoy Elohim what will you give me (Bereishis 15:2),” and Rashi offers no explanation. The answer is: The verse in Bereishis means to say: Whether out of justice, or whether out of mercy, I request for You to give me children because You had said to me, “Go for yourself from your homeland ... and I will make you into a great nation (Ibid. 12:1).” But here it is difficult to understand why it needs to say the Name Adonoy, which signifies Hashem’s attribute of justice.

V. 24. אדני: der du mich deines Dienstes gewürdigt, mich Werkzeug und Vollbringer deines Willens auf Erden hast sein lassen. Es ist der Name, der vor allem im Munde der Propheten und Gottesmänner wiederkehrt, ihre Beziehung zu Gott zu bezeichnen. יְהֶוִֺה: der als אלקים sich aussprechende שם הוי׳׳ה ist die als "Recht" sich offenbarende "Liebe". אדני spricht das völlige Bereitsein für alles, was Gott will, aus, die völlige Hingebung an den Gotteswillen; יְהֶוִֺה die völlige Überzeugung, dass auch richtend und versagend Gott nur die Liebe ist. Mit beidem spricht Mosche von vornherein es aus, wie er sich ohne Murren bescheiden werde, wenn Gottes Ratschluss ihm auch seinen letzten heißesten Wunsch zu versagen für recht befinden werde. Daher vielleicht auch das לאמר im vorigen Verse. Es ist ihm Bedürfnis, den Wunsch auszusprechen und ihn der göttlichen Erwägung zu unterstellen.

ה' אלוקים, the first name of G-d here is a reference to the attribute aleph dalet, not to the tetragram, (an attribute that can be used normally only by the High priest in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement). The second attribute used by Moses here is the tetragram. (Nachmanides)

אתה החלות להראות את עבדך THOU DIDST BEGIN TO SHOW THY SERVANT an opening to stand and offer prayer, although the decree has been enacted; he said to Him: I learned to do so from Thee, for Thou didst say to me, (Exodus 32:10; cf. Rashi thereon) "And now, leave Me alone”. Was I, then, holding Thee? But Thou didst say this to open the door and to show that it depended upon me to pray for them. Just so do I think to act now (Sifrei Devarim 27:2).

Your greatness. This is the greatness of nature.

An opportunity to stand and pray, etc. Otherwise, it should say, “You have shown Your servant etc.” As [the significance of, “You have begun to show,”] Rashi explains further on.

He also used the 4-lettered name of G'd with the vowels of the attribute of Justice, i.e. אלוקים. Rashi comments as follows: רחום בדין, (the word א־דני means) "the One who is merciful even while dispensing judgment." I have seen that Nachmanides criticises Rashi claiming that he overlooked the fact that the first word א־ד־נ־י is written with the letters א־ד, whereas the second name of G'd is spelled with the letter י־ה, and that our sages have said that whenever this combination of letters in the name of G'd occurs it refers to the attribute of Mercy. Thus far Nachmanides. [According to Rabbi Chavell, Nachmanides meant that only the combination of the letters י־ה describe the attribute of Mercy. Ed.] I believe that Rashi did not refer to the word א־ד־נ־י at all when he made his comment. Rather, he referred to the fact that although the vowels in the Ineffable Name Moses used here are the ones used for the attribute of Justice, i.e. elokim, the fact remains that even when G'd dispenses justice there is always an element of mercy present. This is the reason for the strange vowelling in this instance. Sifri also understands the word in this sense when the author commented: "הויה always means mercy, whereas אלוקים always means justice." Sifri clearly refers to the relative spelling (i.e. consonants) and reading (i.e. vowels) meaning different attributes.

אתה החלות, alles, was du mich bis jetzt hast erfahren lassen, ist nur der Anfang einer Einsicht in deine Größe und Allmacht. גדלך (siehe Bamidbar 14. 17). Gottes Größe ist die schöpferisch gestaltende, die Menschheit zu Seinem Ziele erziehende Kraft, ידך החזקה .)ספרי פנחס( גדלך זו מדת טובך: die alle widerstrebende Gewalten niederwerfende Macht. ׳אשר .אשר וגו gehört zu אשר כמעשיך וכגבורתך מי אל :כמעשיך וגו׳ אשר יעשה. Wir können einen solchen Relativsatz nicht fragend wiedergeben, sondern nur positiv verneinend: wie dessen Schöpfungen und Allmacht keine Macht im Himmel und auf Erden zu üben vermag. כמעשיך entspricht ידך החזקה :ובגבורתך ,גדלך.

אתה החלות להראות, “You have begun to show;” Moses refers to the conquest of the lands of Sichon and Og by the army of the Israelites, a feat which would have been unthinkable without G-d’s active intervention. Since he had been permitted to witness this, he pleaded to also be permitted to witness the conquest of the lands occupied by the other five Canaanite tribes.

את גדלך [TO SHOW] THY GREATNESS — This means Thy attribute of goodness. Similarly it states, (Numbers 14:17, 18) "And now, I beseech Thee, let the strength of my Lord be great, [according as thou hast spoken, saying: The Lord is long-suffering and of much mercy, etc."].

And Your powerful hand. This controls nature. This is by way of analogy. Just as one who holds a turbine which is turned by water power, or fire, has the ability to stop the turbine. This is the meaning of “hand.” This is the miraculous power which holds the spheres of nature which turn with strength.

And now please magnify the Might. Afterwards it is written, “Adonoy said, ‘I have forgiven you as you said.’” In other words: Your attribute of goodness is that you forgive those who transgress Your will.

The reason Moses employed a name for G'd which incorporates both attributes becomes clear when you refer to my explanation of the word לאמור at the end of the last verse. I explained that as soon as Moses' own prayer had been accepted he meant to pray on behalf of the whole generation. Moses felt that the degree against himself could be voided merely by an appeal to the attribute of Justice, whereas in order to void the decree against the people of the Exodus it required the application of G'd's attribute of Mercy. Tanchuma illustrated this with a parable. [the version of this parable in my edition of the Tanchuma is substantially different, but I am quoting the version the author describes. Ed.] A king who wanted to marry a certain lady dispatched messengers to examine the lady in question and to present her with his marriage proposal. The messengers went and came back with the report that they could not have found an uglier person than the lady in question. One of the patrons of the bride-to-be heard about this negative report and told the king that there was not a more beautiful lady in the whole kingdom than the one the king wanted to marry. The father of the bride told the King's messengers that on no account would he allow them to be present at the wedding as they had shamed the bride. When the patron who had sung the praises of the bride wanted to take part in the wedding celebrations the father would not allow him to enter either. The patron remonstrated saying to the father of the bride: "I have praised her although I have never met her, and I told the king that she is the fairest in the land." Moses used a similar argument when he pleaded with G'd. He considered it unfair that he who had been instrumental in promoting the wedding between Israel and G'd and the land of Israel should not be allowed to attend the wedding, the consummation of the deal. Moses' argument was that even if G'd applied the yardstick used by the attribute of Justice, he should be allowed to enter the Holy Land. This is the reason he mentioned the attribute of Justice. He alluded to the element of mercy by punctuating the Ineffable Name in this unusual manner as this related to his prayer for the people as a whole as I explained on the word לאמור. He made a point of using the name for the attribute of Justice as he has been quoted as only praying for himself. [The Torah does not record vowels, only consonants. The reader has to supply the vowels himself. Ed.] He used the indirect reference to the attribute of Mercy, as his prayer for the people as a whole remained potential rather than actual as long as his prayer on his own behalf had not been accepted.

כמעשיך, “as Your (other) works;” all of which demonstrate Your superior wisdom.

ואת ידך AND THY [STRONG] HAND — This refers to Thy right hand which is extended to all who enter the world (all human beings) [to receive them in penitence] (Sifrei Bamidbar 134:5).

That can perform Your deeds. This refers to the laws of nature, which are written many times in the account of creation using the language of “performing.”

Which is extended to all who enter the world. It is extended to accept whoever repents. This is also part of Moshe’s prayer.

It is also possible that Moses had to allude to the attribute of Mercy in G'd's name precisely because he demanded to be heard as a matter of justice rather than merely as a matter of mercy. Who is so righteous that he can demand to be judged by the pure attribute of Justice? We have it on the authority of Psalms 143,2 "for before You no creature is in the right."

וכגבורתך, ”and Your superior abilities.”

החזקה [THY] STRONG [HAND] — I speak of it as Thy strong hand, because by showing mercy Thou forcibly (בחזקה) subduest the attribute of strict justice (Sifrei Bamidbar 134:5).

And Your acts of power. This is Hashem’s ability to grasp with great power the spheres of nature and to change them, as we have said.

You subdue with [Your] compassion, etc. This is also part of Moshe’s prayer. But it does not mean the same as, “For by [My] strong hand he will let them go (Shmos 6:1),” for how does this relate to Moshe’s prayer?

אתה החלות, "You have begun, etc." The Sifri offers three possible meanings for the word החלות 1) The word is derived from התחלה, beginning. 2) It is an expression for prayer similar to Maleachi 1,9 ועתה חלו נא פני קל, "and now implore the favour of the Lord!" 3) it means to release, i.e. to release from a vow, etc. Moses said to G'd: "You have released me from my vow" when You said to me in Exodus 3,10 "take My people out of Egypt." At the time I told You that I had already sworn an oath to my father-in-law Yitro that I would not leave him as we know from Exodus 2,21: "Moses agreed to dwell with the man, etc." The word ויאל is used when one swears an oath. Moses argued that if G'd had seen fit to release him from that oath, He could release Himself from His own oath not to let him enter the Holy Land. Another meaning of the word is "opening." Moses said "You have provided an opening for me to implore You by prayer when You said to me in Deut. 9,32: 'let Me be so that I can destroy them, etc.' Did Moses then restrain G'd? The meaning is that G'd had opened a door for Moses by these words encouraging him to pray." We are therefore entitled to understand the word as meaning "prayer." Another explanation sees in the opening for prayer a reference to the time Moses granted the lands of Sichon and Og to the tribes of Reuven and Gad. He had provided an opening for possible cancellation of that vow. This latter explanation [that the word החלות means an opening to cancel a vow. Ed.] seems somewhat strange. What proof could Moses bring from the time G'd had released him from his vow to remain with Yitro? Moses' vow on that occasion had been easy to cancel as he had a ready answer saying that had he known at the time that G'd would call upon him to lead the Jewish people to freedom he would never have made such a vow. What possible opening was there for G'd to rescind His own oath seeing that when G'd swears an oath all future possibilities are known to Him and He could never plead insufficient knowledge of the future as a reason to cancel His vows!

אשר מי אל וגו׳ FOR WHAT GOD IS THERE [… WHO CAN DO ACCORDING TO THY WORKS] — Thou art unlike a mortal king who has counsellors and assessors who would prevent him when he wishes to show kindness and to forgo, what is due to him: Thou, however, — there is none who can prevent Thee if Thou pardonest me and dost annul Thy decree (Sifrei Devarim 27:6). But according to its plain sense it means: "Thou hast begun to show Thy servant the war with Sihon and Og, as it is written, (Deuteronomy 2:31) “Behold I have begun to give [Sihon and his land] before thee"; let me behold also the war with the thirty-one kings of Canaan.

You are unlike a king of flesh and blood. This is also part of Moshe’s prayer. But it does not mean that there is none like You, as in, “For there is no power like You, etc. (Tehillim 81:8).” For how does this relate to Moshe’s prayer?

Who has advisors and critics, etc. The term סנקנתדרין means “critics.”

This problem may be solved when we review what Maimonides wrote in chapter six of his treatise Hilchot Shevuot. He writes: "If someone swore an oath and did not regret it, and is intent on keeping his oath, the court has to examine if keeping his oath would prevent this person from fulfilling some positive commandment or from maintaining peaceful relations with his peers. If keeping the oath were to result in either of these results, the court has to engage in negotiations with that person until it convinces him that had he been fully aware of these consequences he would not have sworn the oath in question. After that they will release him from the obligation which the oath entails." This teaches us that even if no "opening" existed for the court to cancel the vow, one uses one's intelligence to create such an "opening." This is what Moses had in mind when he said: "You have provided an opening already when You prevailed upon me to be released from my vow though I had not expressed any desire to be released from it." The proof that Moses did not ask to be released from his vow is found in Exodus 3,10 where G'd commences a campaign of seven days trying to convince Moses to accept His mission. Moses now argued that G'd could apply this procedure to His own oath not to let him enter the Holy Land even if there had not been a prima facie opening for releasing Himself from His oath. Moses, after all, was desirous of fulfilling the positive commandment of living in the Holy Land, as evidenced by his words: "let me cross so that I can see the good land, etc."

Should you argue that the situation is totally dissimilar to the one discussed by Maimonides, and it was not G'd who would perform a commandment as a result of releasing Himself from His oath but Moses, the answer is that the reason Moses described himself as את עבדך, "with Your (G'd's) servant," was to hint that it was a well known fact that whatever belongs to the servant belongs to the Master, i.e. G'd would share equally in Moses' performing the commandment of living in the Holy Land.

But according to its simplistic sense [it means]; You have begun to show your servant, etc. Also according to its simplistic sense it is part of Moshe’s prayer. In other words: Since You have begun to show me the two wars with Sichon and with Og, show me also the wars with the thirty-one kings.

אעברה נא LET ME PASS OVER, I PRAY THEE — The term נא is a term of request (it does not here signify "now").

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)

אעברה נא, "please let me cross, etc." Why did Moses say נא? Besides, why did he say: "so that I will see?" Is seeing the land not a natural result of crossing the Jordan? Perhaps Moses wanted to rebut reasons which had prevented him from entering the Holy Land. Our sages say that there had been two such reasons. 1) The time for Joshua to reign had arrived, and the rule of one monarch must not overlap with the rule of a second monarch by as much as a hair's breadth (Berachot 48). 2) G'd foresaw that the Israelites would sin in the future and He would have to pour out His wrath at them. He therefore preferred to use the Holy Temple as the object on which to pour out His wrath rather than on the people themselves. We have dicussed this in connection with Psalms 79 where Assaph appears to write a hymn in honour of the destruction of the Holy Temple (my translation page 1766). We explained that if Moses had crossed the Jordan the Temple he would have built would have stood forever, and whenever the Israelites would sin G'd would have to vent His wrath on them rather than on the Temple. Compare my commentary on Deut. 1,37.

The word נא is a term denoting a request. I.e., pertaining to the word נא appearing here. But [where it appears] elsewhere in the Torah it means, “now.”

V. 25. אעברה נא. Weit alle die Größe und Allmacht, von welchen du mir bereits eine Ahnung hast aufgehen lassen, überragt an Bedeutung das Land, welches ja das Ziel aller deiner bisherigen mir kund gewordenen Waltungen in sich trägt, und von welchem aus du גדלך וידך החזקה, die Erziehung und Überwindung des Menschengeschlechtes zur Begründung deines Reiches auf Erden zu vollbringen gedenkest. Ein Anblick dieses Landes wird mir einen weiteren Einblick in die Größe und Macht deiner Waltungszukunft eröffnen. את הארץ הטובה, wie es so ganz seiner großen Bestimmung entspricht. ׳ההר הטוב וגו ist Apposition zu הארץ הטובה. Mosche schauender Geist faßt die Bedeutsamkeit des Landes topisch in die Bezeichnung zusammen: ההר הטוב הזה ההר הטוב .והלבנון ist der Tempelberg, der ׳הר ד, der ׳הר בית ד (Jes.2, 2 u. 3), von welchem, als der Stätte des göttlichen Gesetzesheiligtums, das von Mosche den Händen und Geistern anvertraute Gottesgesetz zuerst die Erleuchtung und Heiligung des jüdischen Volkes, und sodann einst der Gesamtmenschheit vollbringen soll, והלבנון, und welchem sich das ganze übrige Land von Süd nach Nord hinaufsteigend als Libanonterrasse anfügt. Die Moriahöhe, der Zionsberg, die letzte Berghöhe des Libanons im Süden, wird als die Wurzel des Libanons begriffen, zu ihr steigt man vom Gipfel des Libanons im Norden nieder, sie heißt daher ירכתי לבנון ,ירכתי צפון (Ps.48, 3 und Kön. II. 19, 23): das Richtungsziel des Nordens, das Richtungsziel des Libanons (siehe Schmot 26, 22; Ps.128, 3 und Jirmija 22, 6: ראש הלבנון, Haupt — der Bedeutung nach — oder Anfang des Libanons). In sinnig lehrender Deutung fasst daher der Midrasch der Weisen die schneeige Weiße, auf welche der Name לבנון hinweist, in der sittlichen Bedeutung des Weißen als Farbe der Läuterung und der Reinheit auf, und spricht mit Hinblick auf das jesaianische: והלבנון זו בית ,אם יהיו חטאיכם כשנים כשלג ילבינו (ספרי) המקדש also, dass in dieser Anschauung der ganze Libanon seinen Namen von der "Läuterungsstätte" trägt, die auf seiner letzten südlichen Erderhebung ihre Begründung fand.

אעברה נא ואראה את הארץ הטובה, “please let me cross and see first hand the good land;” the question asked by most commentators is if Moses really only wanted to cross the Jordan for the mundane purpose of enjoying the fruit that grew in the Holy Land. It appears unbelievable to them that this could be the correct interpretation of this verse. They therefore conclude that the meaning of Moses’ plea was that he wished to be able to fulfill the many commandments of the Torah that can be fulfilled only while the person doing so is on the soil of the Holy Land.

ההר הטוב הזה THAT GOODLY MOUNTAIN, i.e. Jerusalem (that was situated on hills) (Sifrei Bamidbar 134:5).

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.

A reference to Jerusalem. As it is written, “Jerusalem is surrounded by mountains (Tehillim 125:2).”

This is why Moses referred to these two scenarios with his words. Concerning the fact that the time of his reign must not overlap with the time assigned to Joshua, he said "let me cross," i.e. he did not ask to cross in his capacity as the leader but was content to cross as a simple citizen; he did not expect to be given any special honour. Concerning the eventuality of the Temple becoming the excuse for G'd venting His wrath on the people in any future sinfulness by the people, he said: ואראה, "in order that I may see the land," i.e. he had no aspirations to build the Temple. Moses was thus careful to forestall any argument against granting his wish. As to his using the expression נא, this means that he was ready to abdicate his position as king immediately.

והלבנון, “and the Lebanon.” The word: הלבנון here is a simile for the permanent Temple. (Ibn Ezra) Seeing that Solomon used the cedar wood of that region to line the inner walls of the Temple that he built, this interpretation is not as far fetched as it might appear to some.

והלבנן AND LEBANON — this is a term for the Temple (Siphre).

A reference to the Bais HaMikdosh. Why is the Bais HaMikdosh called, “Levanon”? Because it whitens (m’labein i.e., cleanses) a person of his sins.

It is also possible that Moses pleaded for the Israelites to cross the Jordan river immediately before the end of the day so that he could cross at a time when his crossing would not interfere with the period G'd had ordained for Joshua's reign. If you accept my interpretation that the words בעת ההיא referred to the time immediately after G'd decreed that the generation of the spies would not enter the Holy Land, there would not have been any problem with the time, as that event took place 38 years prior to the period when Moses addressed the people here. From Moses' words it is easy to surmise that he prayed on behalf of the whole people seeing that G'd had only decreed that they would die in the desert. He had not decreed that they would die prematurely, i.e. before reaching the age of 60 which would have meant that they died by the karet penalty. If Moses were to enter the Holy Land at that time (38 years ago) it would be understood that the people would enter with him as G'd had not decreed that they had to die prior to age 60.

There is another way of explaining Moses' choice of words based on Bamidbar Rabbah 19,13 that the redeemer for the people of the generation of the Exodus would be Moses himself. [The Midrash quotes G'd as saying that if the generation Moses had led out of Egypt would die in the desert whereas Moses would lead the younger generation into the Holy Land this would be construed as a sign that there was no hope for the present generation ever to enter the Holy Land. Ed.] There is suppport for this in a statement in the Zohar volume 2 page 120 that this is already alluded to in Kohelet 1,9: מה שהיה הוא שיהיה, "whatever has been, is what will be." Moses knew of this as G'd had revealed to him that it would be part of his role in the future to cross the river Jordan to the Holy Land. In view of this knowledge he merely begged to fulfil his role now instead of in the distant future. The words אעברה נא therefore mean: "let me cross now (we are speaking about 38 years ago)."

The words אעברה נא may also be part of Moses' answer to something we have learned in Midrash Rabbah that the reason that Moses had to die outside the boundaries of the Holy Land was to enable him to lead his generation to their hereafter, as we have already explained. Moses used the term אעברה, i.e. a temporay crossing rather than a permanent crossing of the Jordan indicating he was quite willing to die and be buried on the East Bank after having first crossed the Jordan, so as to be able to play his appointed role of helping the people of his generation to attain their share in the hereafter. [Our author is vague, speaking of עולם הבא; I believe he may have referred to the time of the resurrection. Ed.]

Yet another meaning of the term אעברה may be connected to the statement in Ketuvot 111 that any person who has had the good fortune to walk four cubits inside of ארץ ישראל has thereby assured himself of a share in the hereafter. Moses wanted to assure himself of that by crossing the Jordan even temporarily.

אשר בעבו הירדן, "which is on the far side of the Jordan, etc." Although at first glance these words appear totally superfluous, Moses had to spell this out as there is a good land in the celestial regions known as the "good land," a land which David referred to in Psalms 116,9 as "the land of life" when he asked G'd to let him walk therein. Moses also had to spell out the words: "this good mountain, the Lebanon" in accordance with what we learned in Sotah 14 where the Talmud says that Moses referred to his desire to perform the commandments which can be performed only inside the boundaries of ארץ ישראל. This is why he enumerated the various locations where it would be possible for him to perform these various commandments he had in mind.

In addition he was astute enough to word his request in such a way that G'd would not be able to say to him that he could accomplish all that he had spoken of by merely looking at the land, albeit with an enhanced power of vision. What he wanted to accomplish in the places he had named he could not accomplish merely with his eyes.

ויתעבר ה׳ This means, GOD WAS FILLED WITH WRATH (Sifrei Bamidbar 135).

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.

ויתעבר ה׳ בי למענכם, "But G'd became angry with me because of you, etc." Moses repeated himself by first citing G'd as becoming angry with him and then saying G'd would not listen to him. He interrupted himself by adding the words "on your account;" we would have expected him to say: "G'd became angry at me and would not listen to me." Besides, seeing Moses had already said in 1,37 that "G'd became angry at me on your account," we must try and understand what he meant to add here. I have explained earlier that the words "on your account" in 1,37 were an allusion to Moses' intention to offer a prayer on behalf of the whole people בעת ההיא, at that time, in addition to the plea he made on his own behalf. At this point Moses said ויתעבר ה׳ בי למענכם, meaning that as far as the prayer on Israel's behalf was concerned G'd remained angry; as far as the prayer on his own behalf was concerned, G'd did not listen to him. He did not use the term עברה, "anger," concerning G'd's reaction to the prayer on his own behalf as what he had asked for himself was not based on G'd having been angry at him for something he had done.

He was filled with wrath. The term ויתעבר is related to the term עברה (wrath).

V. 26. התעבר .ויתעבר וגו׳ eigentlich: sich aus der Grenze seiner Innerlichkeit, aus sich selbst hinaussetzen, mit seiner ganzen Persönlichkeit hervortreten gegen jemanden, d. i. sich mit ganzer Entschiedenheit gegen jemanden äußern: da wendete sich Gott zürnend wider mich. למענכם: weit überwiegend, ja, wie wir glauben, ausschließlich bezeichnet למען nicht den Grund, die Veranlassung, sondern den Zweck. Wir haben zu Bamidbar 21. 12 die hohe Bedeutsamkeit anzudeuten gewagt, die der Tod Mosches und Aharons in der Wüste in dem transjordanischen Lande neben den Gräbern des hingestorbenen Geschlechtes für die ganze Beglaubigung seiner Sendung inmitten seines Volkes für alle Zukunft haben dürfte, und mag sehr wohl dieses למענכם an diesen hohen nationalen Zweck denken. רב לך: du hast das deinige getan. Deiner Wirksamkeit auf Erden hast du genügt, die dir beschiedene Einsicht in die Größe und Macht meiner Waltungen hast du erreicht.

רב לך, these words introduce G–d’s reply to Moses’ plea which had been based on G–d having released Moses from a vow given to his father-in-law Yitro not to circumcise one of his sons. (as explained by Rashi according to Yalkut Shimoni on our portion item 814.) [Since the author of the Midrash lived at least 100 years after Rashi’s death he could not have quoted him. Ed.] G–d reminded Moses that no one could cancel his own vows. He had been able to do this for Moses, as He was his superior. Since He, G–d, had no superior to do this for him, He could not comply with that request. Yet another way of understanding the words רב לך , with which G–d tells Moses to desist from continuing with his plea: G–d quotes words which Moses had used when denying Korach his request to be elevated to the priesthood.
רב לך אל תוסף דבר. [I am summarising Moses’ plea and G–d’s reply. In order to appreciate what follows the reader is advised to read chapter 40 in Job. Ed.] Moses quotes G–d, Who had described him as closer to Him than any previous human being and had made a covenant with him. He hints that G–d is reneging on that covenant if he has to die before crossing the Jordan. G–d replies that mortality has been decreed on every human being, dating back to the time when Adam had sinned, and that He therefore cannot violate that decree by making an exception for him. His time had come to die, and it was therefore futile for him to implore G–d further.

ויתעבר ה' בי למענכם, “but the Lord was angry at me for your sakes;” G-d had said to Moses: “if you cross the Jordan into the Holy Land, people will say that the decree against the generation which had come out of Egypt to die in the desert was because they had forfeited their claim on an afterlife. If I now allow you to enter the Holy Land in response to your prayer, they will say that Moses was not concerned with anyone but himself. Therefore you will be buried where they are buried, and both you and they will rise at the time of the resurrection and live in the Holy Land.” This is the meaning of: ויתא ראשי עם in Deuteronomy 33,21: “they (the tribe of Gad) positioned himself at the head of the fighting men of the people”, i.e. as the pioneers. Moses, by agreeing to be buried in the fields of Moab displayed his total identification with the fate of his people.

למענכם ON ACCOUNT OF YOU — You caused this for me (that God was wroth with me); similarly it states, (Psalms 106:32) “And they provoked Him at the waters of Meriba, and He did evil to Moses on their account".

Enough for you! Hashem said to Moshe that he would receive more importance and honor by not continuing to speak, for it is already decided that he would not enter the land. Moshe will not receive greater honor by continuing to pray, because people will begin to say of him that he is stubborn and refuses to accept it when he does not receive what he wants.

You caused this [to happen] to me, etc. I.e., Because I had said to you, “Listen you rebellious ones (Bamidbar 20:10),” on account of this sin Hashem decreed that I shall not enter the Land. Rashi quotes a proof: Similarly is states, “...and Moshe suffered harm because of them (Tehillim 106:32).” For that verse means the same as here: “Because of them,” means that Moshe suffered because they caused him harm. The word למענכם (lit., because of you) does not mean, “Because He is doing as you wish and you do not wish for me to enter the Land,” as in, “Because of you (למענכם) I was sent to Babylon (Yeshayah 43:14).”

Another meaning of this verse could be as follows: "G'd was angry at me, i.e. insisting that I die before crossing the Jordan, למענכם, "for your sake," i.e. so that I will eventually become your redeemer. We have to understand the word ויתעבר in the sense that the prophet Tzefaniah used it in Tzefaniah 1,15 where the יום עברה is a reference to the day on which the people who are the victim of this "anger" will die. When Moses added: "G'd did not listen to me," he meant that G'd was not willing for him to cross the Jordan even temporarily, even on condition that he would return to the East Bank and be buried there.

רב לך, “it is enough for you;” the fact that you merited to experience the conquest of the lands of Sichon and Og.“As far as your request to cross the Jordan is concerned, do not continue to belabour this subject with Me. As far as your request to see the land with your own eyes, is concerned, I am willing to grant that wish of yours.”

רב לך LET IT SUFFICE THEE (i.e. pray no more), so that people should not say, “How harsh is the Master, and how obstinate and importunate is the disciple" (Sotah 13b). Another explanation of רב לך (lit., there is much for you) — more than this is reserved for you; much is the goodness that is stored up for thee (Sifrei Bamidbar 135).

So that people should not say “How harsh is the Master,”, etc. The term רב לך means, “master,” as if Hashem were saying: “Since I am your Master and you are my disciple, you must listen to your Master, and you may not stubbornly oppose Me so that, etc.”

ויאמר ה׳ אלי רב לך, אל תוסף, G'd said to me: "enough for you, do not continue, etc." Why did G'd say to Moses both: "enough for you, and "do not continue, etc.?" G'd answered both parts of Moses' request. Concerning the part of Moses' prayer in which he asked to personally be allowed to cross the Jordan, G'd said: רב לך, "enough for you." G'd meant that He did not accept that Moses only wanted to cross the Jordan in order to fulfil certain commandments there. Moses had already fulfilled so many commandments that he did not need the additional merit which would accrue to him from fulfilling מצות התלויות בארץ, the kind of commandments which require one to be in the land of Israel in order to fulfil them. G'd would give him such a great reward that he would not miss out on anything by not having attained this particular merit. Concerning the prayer Moses offered on behalf of the people, G'd silenced him by saying that he should not continue to harp on that subject.

Another explanation of רב לך, Much more than this, etc. The first reason is problematic, for the verse should say רב אני (I am your Master). Therefore, Rashi suggests, “Another explanation, etc.” But the second reason by itself is also problematic, for the verse should say רב טוב לך (great is the goodness) [that is hidden away for you]. Therefore, the first reason is also needed.

Alternatively, G'd implied that all the people who would fulfil the commandments which could only be fulfilled in the land of Israel would share the merit they acquired with Moses because he had been the one who had instructed them to observe these commandments. This is the mystical dimension of the words רב לך, "it was due to you their teacher that they will attain the merit which accrues from fulfilling all these commandments." G'd implied: "seeing that you have a share in all the מצות performed by your pupils, there is no need for you to belabour the subject, i.e. אל תוסף דבר, you will also have a share in those מצות."

Great is the goodness that is hidden away for you. I.e., the goodness that is hidden away for you in the World to Come is greater than [the goodness] you would have from entering the Land.

The words רב לך may also be G'd's answer to Moses' offer to immediately resign his position so as not to conflict with the period during which Joshua was to reign. G'd answered that Moses could not do this as the position allocated to him was a lifetime position. He had to remain king as long as he was alive. Crossing the Jordan as a private citizen was out of the question. He could not transfer his status to Joshua during his lifetime. The words אל תוסף דבר are essential then.

Furthermore, it is possible to understand the words רב לך as applying to the subject at hand, whereas the words אל תוסף דבר belong to the next subject, i.e. עלה ראש הפסגה, "ascend the top of the hill, etc." Seeing that G'd had accepted half of Moses' prayer, i.e. to let him see the land, He told him not to speak about it anymore but to go to the top of the summit from where he would be able to see the land in all its details. G'd was afraid that Moses would persist that He should also grant the other half of his prayer. The very fact that G'd had granted part of his prayer might encourage Moses to persist. This is why He had to tell him to ascend instead of continuing to plead. The words בדבר הזה mean that this subject is closed. G'd reinforced this by saying: "for you will not cross this Jordan."

וראה בעיניך [LIFT UP THINE EYES …] AND SEE IT WITH THINE EYES — Thou didst request of Me, (v. 25) “Let me see the good land”; I will let thee see the whole of it (not the good territory alone), as it is said, (Deuteronomy 34:1) “And the Lord showed him all the land״ (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 135).

וראה בעיניך, "and behold it with your eyes." The word בעיניך is necessary especially after G'd had told Moses שא עיניך "raise up your eyes!" G'd meant to tell Moses that whatever he had hoped to accomplish by walking in the land, He, G'd would enable him to accomplish by means of his eyes alone. There was no need for him to traverse the land in order to become familiar with it.

I will show you all of it, etc. Rashi is explaining how the Almighty is answering Moshe’s request to cross the Yardein. For how does, “Go up to the peak of the Pisgah ... see with your own eyes, etc,” relate to Moshe’s question? Rashi explains: You asked of Me to see [only] the good mountain and the Levanon, which refers to Yerusholayim and the Beis Hamikdosh — the best of all the Land. But I will show you all of it, which is more than you had requested.

עלה על ראש הפסגה, “ascend to the top of the summit;” if you were to ask who it is that will cross the Jordan with these people, command Joshua to do so. [The reader must appreciate that when Moses tells the people here that he had pleaded with G-d, his plea had been made immediately after he had been told that he would not be allowed to cross the Jordan, after he had struck the rock. (verse 28) 'עלה ראש הפסגה וגו, this is what G-d had told Moses already in the portion of Pinchas, Numbers 27,12 when He had said to him: עלה אל הר העברים, “ascend to the top of Mount Avarim.”

Moreover, we know that there are techniques by means of which distant objects can be brought closer to one's eyes, such as telescopes and binoculars. G'd told Moses that he would see the Holy Land with his very own physical eyes, and not through a median of any sort.

כי לא תעבור את הירדן הזה, “for you are not going to cross this Jordan.” G’d meant that even Moses’ remains would not cross the river Jordan (Sifri Pinchas 135). This is what Moses had in mind when he said in 4,22: “I am going to die in this land, I will not cross the Jordan.” Seeing that if he were dead he could not cross the Jordan, the last part of the verse means that even his bones would not be put to rest in Eretz Yisrael. If Moses had not previously been informed of this decree, surely he would have commanded Joshua and Eliezer to bring his remains for burial in the Holy Land. Or, he could have commanded the entire Jewish people to see to it that he would be buried in Eretz Yisrael, just as Joseph had done, and just as he must have done seeing he had carried Joseph’s coffin with him all these 40 years in the desert.
Yaakov, the last of the patriarchs, one of the supports of the מרכבה, was afforded burial of his entire body in Eretz Yisrael. Joseph only had his bones buried there. Moses, who surpassed both Yaakov and Joseph in his relationship with G’d, did not merit to have any part of his body interred on holy soil. It was G’d’s wish that none of Moses’ body be interred in Eretz Yisrael as a form of respect for the entire generation of Jews who had died in the desert and whose remains had also not been interred in Eretz Yisrael. Also, it was a consolation for all the many hundreds of generations of Jews throughout the Diaspora who died and were buried in exile. The souls of all these people are in G’d’s care pending the resurrection, at which time not only Moses but the vast majority of them will also be resurrected.

וצו את יהושע AND GIVE JOSHUA CHARGE regarding the cumbrance, the burdens and strifes that he will have to bear (cf. Deuteronomy 1:12).

וצו את יהושע, "and command Joshua, etc." What precisely was Moses to command Joshua? Yalkut Shimoni item 823 quoting Sifri on Pinchas claims that Moses was to command Joshua not to be taken in by the Gibeonites. Another opinion cited claims that Moses warned Joshua concerning possible strife amongst the people. There is no hint in the text of this and unless it is based on tradition we do not have to accept this explanation. I believe that the plain meaning of the verse may be understood in light of Samuel I 13,14: ויצוהו ה׳ לנגיד על עמו, "the Lord appointed him as ruler over His people." The word means "he appointed." Please refer to what I have written on Exodus 6,13 ויצום אל בני ישראל. Moses simply told Joshua to exert authority over Israel already while he was still alive. He personally would support him in this before the eyes of the whole nation.

Regarding the troubles, the burdens, etc. As the verse says (above 1:12), “Your troublesomeness, your burdensomeness, and your contentiousness.” For if וצו (command) is referring to אמצהו וחזקהו (embolden him and encourage him), then וחזקהו would not be preceded by a vov (and), which implies that besides the command given to Yehoshua, you are also to encourage him and embolden him. We see from this that the command is one matter, and “encourage him and embolden him,” is a separate matter.

V. 28. וצו .וצו וגו׳: Nimm ihn in Pflicht, trage ihm die Verpflichtungen seines Amtes auf (siehe Bamidbar 27, 19). וחזקהו: mache ihn fest, dass er sich durch nichts von der Bahn seiner Pflicht ablenken lasse, ואמצהו: und mache ihn stark zur Überwindung aller Schwierigkeiten und Hindernisse.

וחזקהו ואמצהו AND STRENGTHEN HIM AND MAKE HIM FIRM through thy words, so that he may not become faint-hearted, saying, “Just as my master was punished on account of them, so eventually will I be punished on account of them and not enter the land. I promise him “that he shall pass over [before this people] and he shall cause [them] to inherit [the land]”” (cf. Sifrei Devarim 29:9).

With your words so that he will not become faint- hearted, etc. I.e., not with your actions, for you are not able to encourage him and embolden him except with words. In other words, I assure him that he will cross over. For afterwards Rashi says: “He will cross over, etc.” We see from this that the encouraging and emboldening is with speech.

כי הוא יעבר (this may mean: if he passes) — If he will pass before them, they will possess the land, and if not, they will not possess it. So, indeed, you find that when he sent some of the people against Ai and he remained in the camp, “the men of Ai smote of them [thirtysix men]” (Joshua 7:5). And when he fell on his face, He said to him, קם לך: the verb is written קם (without ו, so that it may be read קָם) i.e. “It is thou who standest in thy place and sendest My children to war, who hast brought about this defeat. Why is it that thou fallest on thy face? Did I not thus tell thy master, Moses: If he will pass, they will pass on, but if not, they will not pass on? (Sifrei Devarim 29:9).

If he will cross at the head [of this people] they will possess [the land], but if not, etc. Rashi is answering the question: The verse only needed to say ינחיל (and he will apportion), etc. Rather the [extra] word והוא (and he) is intended to teach us that only when he will cross, then they will possess, but if not, etc.

And when he fell on his face, he [Hashem] said to him, etc. I.e., when the Israelites were being killed in the war against Ai, Yehoshua fell [in supplication] before Hashem.

It [the word קם] is written [without the vov], etc. In other words: [The defeat was] because you remained in your place and did not go with them.

ונשב בגיא וגו׳ SO WE ABODE IN THE VALLEY [OVER AGAINST BETH PEOR], — and ye associated yourselves with idol-worship, yet, however, ועתה ישראל שמע אל החקים NOW, O ISRAEL, HEARKEN TO THE STATUTES and everything will be forgiven thee. But I — I was not privileged that it was forgiven me (Sifrei Devarim 30:2).

ונשב בגיא, "we abode in the valley, etc." What did Moses want to tell us with this verse? How is it connected to either the previous verse or to the one following? Rashi, quoting Sifri, says that Moses reminded the people that they had become attached to the idol Baal Pe-or and that he exhorted them that all would be forgiven provided they would from now on hearken to G'd's statutes as per 4,1. If we accept this, we still have not explained the word ונשב as the verse only wishes to remind us of the sin of בעל פעור. Even the words מול בית פעור, opposite the temple of the פעור does not appear to make sense. If Moses referred to what had happpened there he should have used the language used by the Torah in Numbers 25,3 ויצמד ישראל לבעל פעור.

ונשב בגיא, until now when we find ourselves facing the Beyt Peor in the Arvot Moav. What you have seen happen there should serve as a lesson to you; the details are described in 4,3-4.

ונשב בגיא מול בית פעור, “We stayed on in the valley across from Bet-Peor.” We had already been encamped there, as this was the ראש הפסגה Moses had mentioned in verse 27; seeing this was where the people had committed idolatry and adultery. Moses warns them once again concerning the sin of idolatry in the following paragraph.

And you attached yourselves to idolatry, etc. Rashi is saying: The preceding verse was dealing with the Almighty’s response to Moshe, that he shall not enter the Land. [So now,] Moshe says to the Jewish People, “We lived in the valley,” meaning that you attached yourselves to idolatry and sinned by worshipping it. Nevertheless they are told, “And now Yisroel, etc.” I.e., despite this, you will enter the Land, but I, etc. [Rashi explains in this way,] even though “And now, etc.,” is a separate paragraph. There are other verses that are understood in the same way, such as, “And it was after the plague. And Adonoy said to Moshe, etc. (Bamidbar 26:1).” You might ask: Why does Moshe mention this sin more than any other that they committed in the wilderness? The answer is: Moshe mentions the sin of facing Beis Peor to say that even though they sinned, the Almighty will forgive them through Moshe’s burial [being there]. For this is the reason that Moshe is buried outside the Land, as it is written in Parshas Vezos Habracha (below 34:6), “He buried him in the valley, in the land of Moav facing Beis Peor.” And Rashi explains there that Moshe was buried facing Beis Peor, outside the Land, to atone for their sin of idolatry that they committed in Beis Peor (attributed to the Maharitz).

V. 29. ׳ונשב וגו. Offenbar ist diese Bitte und dieser Auftrag identisch mit dem Bamidbar 27, 12 f. gegebenen Bericht. Wir erfahren hier, dass dem dortigen ויאמר ד׳ die versagte Bitte vorangegangen war. Wenn aber Mosche hier noch besonders an die Örtlichkeit erinnert, wo er diese Bitte um Gewährung des Mithinüberziehens in das Land gewagt, so dürfte damit auch noch das besondere Motiv angedeutet sein, das in der Tiefe seiner Seele diesen Wunsch erzeugt. Es war Beth Peor gegenüber, die Gegend, welche Zeuge der letzten Verirrung, der sittlichen Schwäche seines Volkes gewesen, das so leicht der Verführung erlag, und tief mochte die Bekümmernis in Mosche Gemüt gewohnt haben, wie sein Volk die sittliche Probe bestehen werde, in noch engerer Berührung mit der entarteten Bevölkerung des Landes, und wie sehr es seines Beistandes, seines mahnenden und warnenden Wortes bedürfen — und entbehren werde.

ונשב בגיא, “we settled down in the valley.” Moses refers to Numbers 25,1, 'וישב ישראל בשיטים ויחל העם לזנות וגו, Israel settled down at Shittim, and the people began to indulge in harlotry, etc.” At that time, 24000 of them fell victim to a plague as a result of their misconduct. As a result of this we are still stuck here.

I believe that what Moses meant was that with this verse he concluded the subject with which he had commenced when he said: "I pleaded with G'd" in 3,23. He concluded by saying that his prayer did not help, that instead of both he and the people crossing the Jordan at once, they remained encamped opposite the temple of Pe-or. The expression ישב always means a stay of indeterminate length [the author says: עד עולם, i.e. forever. I do not know the source for this although the Talmud in Megillah 21 states that the word means "a delay." The proof offered there is based on Deut. 1,46 which was certainly not "forever" but for a period of 19 years according to most commentators. Ed.] The reason Moses described the location as being "in the valley" is that the land of Israel is situated at a higher level than all other countries, as we know from Numbers 13,17 "ascend here from the South." Moses added that the place was opposite the temple of Pe-or as he hinted at the place where he would be buried (Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 45). We are told there that when this idol and accuser of Israel looks at Moses' grave he is scared to raise his voice against Israel (as Moses had fought him successfully on numerous occasions).