Kommentar zu Dewarim 32:29

יבינו לאחריתם THEY WOULD CONSIDER THEIR LATTER END — i.e. they would set their heart to comprehend the ultimate reason for the misfortune of the Israelites,

לו חכמו ישכילו זאת, how the Israelites could have fallen into their hands, something that is completely unnatural, could only have been due as punishment for their sins.

לו חכמו, if these gentile nations had possessed any real intelligence they would have said: איכה ירדוף אחד, how was it ever possible that a single one of us could successfully pursue אלף, a thousand Jews, something they used to be able to do to us. This could only be accounted for by the fact that their G’d, צורם, had sold them out. This was the result of their offending Him by their sins. The word צור as simile for G’d has already occurred in verse 4 of this chapter.

לו חכמו, “Had they only displayed some elementary wisdom, etc.” If the nation who hosted the Israelites and who did believe that the misfortunes of the Jewish people had been due to G’d, [either to His weakness or to His anger Ed.] had only possessed a minimum of common sense, they would have realized that what happened to G’d’s people had nothing to do with their power, but was due solely to the retribution G’d exacted from this people for their disloyalty to Him. They would have realized that at the time when one of them was able to put to flight a thousand times their number, this too had been possible only by the strength given to His people by their Creator and Protector. Now that they had abandoned His Torah, their G’d had reacted by abandoning them.

לו חכמו, “if only they had displayed wisdom (the Jewish people).
ישכילו זאת, “they would have appreciated with their intelligence that G’d had orchestrated all these afflictions as retaliation for their iniquities.” Furthermore, if they would have used their intelligence they would have realized that at the time when one of the enemy put a thousand of the Israelites to flight this too had only been possible through G’d’s doing. Unless their “Rock” had sold them out and had delivered them into the hands of the pagans this could never have happened.

V. 29. לו חכמו. Wären sie für Weisheit empfänglich, sie würden ihren begreifenden Verstand auf das unter ihren Augen und durch ihre Vermittlung vollzogene Gottesgericht über Israel richten und daraus den Schluss auf das ziehen, was ihnen selber bevorstehen werde.

לו חכמו ישכילו זאת, “if they were wise they would understand this, i.e. they would understand that if such a disaster could have befallen a great nation like the Jewish people, one of which at one time could pursue a thousand of its enemies, how much worse would befall a relatively small nation like that which had hosted them while they were in exile.

לו חכמו, “if they (the Israelites) had been wise;” ישכילו זאת, “they would understand this;” Moses will elaborate on what the “this” is.

יבינו לאחריהם, if they would only examine history they would soon realise what is in store for them for their sins if this is what has befallen Israel for its sins.

At the ending punishment of Yisroel. Meaning, not their own ending [but Yisroel’s]. The phrase “How can one pursue, etc.” is Rashi’s proof [to explain] that it refers to the ending punishment of Yisroel. “How could one pursue a thousand” is an explanation of the word “this” and the words “their ending” [mentioned in the preceding verse].

יבינו לאחריתם, “they would understand that what has happened to them lately had been the natural result of their disloyalty to the covenant they had entered into with Hashem. What should have made them realise all this?