Kommentar zu Dewarim 10:17

Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be patient in [the administration of] justice, raise many disciples and make a fence round the Torah.

ואדני האדנים [FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS …] LORD OF LORDS (i.e. He is Lord over those who are lords, kings, governors, etc.) — so that no lord is able to deliver you from His hand.

Once you removed this “foreskin,” you will recognize that כי ה' אלוקיכם הוא אלוקי האלוקים, the eternal One Who will outlast anything as He is not made of any physical raw material so that He can outlast even materials that are not composites of other elements. [It is an axiom among philosophers of the author’s time that amalgams, phenomena which combine within them several elements, are by definition not durable, as just as these elements had to be fused to bring the final product into existence, this process will reverse itself in due cause, something we know as “dying.” Ed.]

אלוקי האלוקים ואדוני האדנים, "The G'd of gods and the Lord of lords, etc." The first statement means that He is the G'd of the angels who are often described as אלהים, such as in Job 1,6 ויבאו בני האלוהים. The expression אדני האדנים refers to terrestrial rulers. Compare Genesis 42,30 דבר האיש אדני הארק אתנו קשות, "the man who is the ruler of the land spoke harshly to us." The reason Moses also had to mention terrestrial rulers is so that we should not think that these rulers are free to do as they please; Moses reminds us that G'd exerts some pressure on those rulers. This is what Solomon meant in Proverbs 21,1: "the heart of the king is in G'd's hand, He directs it to whatever direction He desires."

אשר לא ישא פנים, “Who does not show favour,” to any of the other deities and their followers to protect them more than others.

כי ה' אלו-היכם הוא אלו-הי האלו-הים, “for Hashem your G’d He is the supreme G’d;” superior to the angels; (Nachmanides)
ואדוני האדנים, “and the Master of masters;” a reference to the planets which have been appointed to run nature.
ה-אל, “the Creator,”
הגדול, "Who is great in the attribute חסד”
הגבור “and in the attribute גבורה, Justice”
והנורא “and awe-inspiring,” in the way He practices the attribute רחמים, Mercy.
The three attributes Moses referred to here are perceived as the אבות, the “patriarchs” of the attributes, the others being relatively junior to them seeing they are derivatives, תולדות. It is these three principal attributes which are meant when the sages speak about the מרכבה, the carriers of G’d’s glory. I have already explained on Exodus 33,6 that Moses meant to include all the thirteen attributes G’d had acquainted him with at the time when he now summarizes them as גדול, גבור, נורא.

No lord is capable, etc. Otherwise it should say, “For Adonoy is God and Lord.” Furthermore, since He is God over all gods, then certainly He is Lord over all lords. Rather, [“Lord over lords” means that no lord], etc.

V. 17. כי ד׳ וגו׳. Dies sind Gedanken der יראה. Denn Gott, der eurem Geschicke und eurem Tatenleben als אלקיכם so nahe getreten, Er ist אלקי וגו׳, alle Naturmächte sind Seiner Macht, alle Menschenherrschaften Seiner Herrschaft untertan. Er ist האל, Er ists, von dem jede Kraft und jede Bewegung ausgeht; הגדול, dessen Wesensgröße alle anderen Vorstellungen von geistigen und sittlichen Schaffensgrößen bis zur Unvergleichbarkeit überragt, er ist "der Große" absolut; הגבור, Er hat die Macht und übt die Macht in Beherrschung seiner Welt; und Er ist הנורא, es ist Ihm nicht gleichgültig, wie seine Menschen auf Erden leben, was sie denken und tun und lassen; die Menschen haben bei allen ihrem Denken und Wollen und Vollbringen Seinen Willen mit in Rechnung zu ziehen und Ihn in seiner Macht und in seiner Größe und vor allem als den zu fürchten, in dessen Willenshauch jede Kraft und jede Regung wurzelt, sobald sie ihr Wollen und Vollbringen Seinem Willen und Waltungszwecke entgegen zu richten wagen; אשר לא ישא פנים ולא יקח שחד, der in dem Menschen nur den Menschen achtet und für menschenwürdige sittliche Rechtschaffenheit kein Surrogat weder in sozialer Stellung und Herkunft, noch in geistigen Vorzügen und Talenten erblickt, der bei den Anforderungen seines Sittengesetzes keine Rücksicht auf soziale Stellung nimmt und sich nicht durch geistige Genialität und Leistung bestechen lässt.

לא ישא פנים HE WILL NOT REGARD PERSONS, if you cast off His yoke,

ואדוני האדונים, the supreme leader; the “leaders” referred to are the celestial bodies, especially those that even to the naked eye appear as performing a recognisable orbit. The “leaders” are the ones perceived as guiding and dictating the respective orbits of these celestial bodies. They are performing like different parts of a clockwork, so that when each performs its assigned function, the whole, i.e. the clock, becomes a reliable instrument telling time. [my metaphor. Ed.]

ולא יקח שוחד, “and Who will not accept a bribe.” Even when He is confronted by a totally righteous person, who did commit a single sin, and who wishes to atone for it by foregoing his claim to a reward for a merit he has to his credit, (trading off performance of a commandment against violation of a commandment) He will not overlook the sin committed by not exacting retribution where it is deserved. The proper manner to explain the words אשר לא ישא פנים, is that Hashem is not going to show favoritism to the powerful people on earth in their litigation against the less powerful. Neither will He accept bribes by the wealthy in their quarrels with the poor. But, He will punish the guilty according to their deserts. Verse 18 spells out that G’d will especially see to it that the underprivileged will not become victims of perverted justice. 10.18. לתת להם לחם ושמלה, “to give them bread and clothing.” G’d will provide the basic necessities of life for those who have no one else to look after them.

אשר לא ישא פנים, “Who does not show favour,” to the perfectly righteous, by overlooking a minor infraction.

If you cast off His yoke. “Exercising favoritism,” generally means either to acquit one who is guilty, or to forgo his punishment. So too, “accepting a bribe” [is for either of these two reasons]. “Acquitting the guilty,” cannot be attributed to Hashem, but, “forgoing punishment,” can be. Perforce, “exercises favoritism” means, “forgo punishment.” Rashi says that if you cast off His yoke then He will not exercise favoritism, meaning He will not forgo your punishment. Similarly, “Nor accepts bribes, etc.,” means for the sake of forgoing your punishment, as is usual for those who accepts bribes. The verse mentions both because punishment is sometimes forgone because of favoritism, and sometimes because of bribery. Re”m writes: I do not know how monetary gifts [i.e., bribes] can be associated to Hashem. Why does Rashi not explain, “Nor accepts a bribe — of a mitzvah in exchange for a sin. I.e., He does not forgo punishment for a person’s sin in exchange for a mitzvah that he did. Rather He gives reward for the mitzvah [that he did] and punishment for his sin.” Re”m leaves this question unresolved.

ולא יקח שֹחד NOR WILL HE TAKE A BRIBE, that one should appease Him by money.

הא-ל הגדול, the like of whom in greatness is not found among any creatures claiming greatness.

ולא יקח שוחד, “and Who will nor accept a bribe, “i.e. offsetting one sin against 1000 merits so that the person concerned is left with 999 net merits and does not get punished for the one sin he committed. G’d will punish the individual for his one sin and leave the reward for the 1000 mitzvot fully intact.

הגבור, the One Who, single-handedly, ensures the continued existence of everything, as per Nechemyah 9,6 ואתה מחיה את כולם, “and You keep all of them alive.”

והנורא, supervising His creatures’ activities in order to mete out reward and punishment. Seeing that this is so, it behooves us to be in constant awe of Him.

אשר לא ישא פנים, does not treat a deviant with leniency just because his father was righteous. This is so in spite of the fact that He confers benefits on the descendants of a righteous father for many generations to his descendants.

ולא יקח שוחד, He does not offset a merit against a demerit, a sin; or in the words of our sages: “a good deed performed does not extinguish the sin committed.” (Nachmanides Moses tells the people all this so that they should not reassure themselves that they can wipe the slate clean by performing good deeds after having committed sins and thus escape the retribution they deserve for the sins committed. The only way the slate can be wiped clean is by genuine repentance.