Midrasch zu Dewarim 3:25

(Deut. 26:16:) “This day the Lord your God is commanding you to perform.” This text is related (to Ps. 95:6), “Come, let us bow down and bend, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker!” But is not bending included in bowing down; and bowing down in bowing? So what does the instruction mean by “let us bow down and bend and kneel down?” Moses simply foresaw that the Temple was going to be destroyed and that the firstfruits were going to cease. He arose and arranged for Israel to pray three times on every day, because prayer is more pleasing to the Holy One, blessed be He, than all of the good works and all of the sacrifices. It is so written (Ps. 141:2), “Take my prayer as an offering of incense, my upraised hands as an evening sacrifice.” And when it was decreed for Moses not to enter the land in spite of all of his good works, he began to pray, and he said (in Deut. 3:25), “Please let me cross over and see [the good land].” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (in vss. 26-27), “Enough from you; do not ever speak unto Me on this matter again. Go up to the top of Pisgah.” It is therefore stated (in 26:16), “[This day] the Lord your God is commanding you to perform….”¹I.e., to obey the command to go up to the top of Pisgah. Although the midrash understands the performance in reference to this one command, the simple understanding of the biblical text is that it is speaking about performing statutes and ordinances. What is written above the matter (in vs. 15)? “Look down from Your holy dwelling, [from the heavens and bless Your people].” R. Abbahu said in the name of R. Jose bar Hanina, “How spoiled and how great a pretext are given to those who perform the commandments [for doing so]: If someone has business with the empire, there are times when he gives some money, until they have him reach the king. When he does reach the king, he has doubts whether he will fulfill his request or not. The Holy One, blessed be He, however, is not like that. Rather when one goes down into his field [and] sees a [grape] cluster that has ripened early, a fig that has ripened early, a pomegranate that has ripened early, he puts it in a basket, goes to Jerusalem and enters and stands in the [Temple] courtyard; he [then] asks mercy for himself, for Israel, and for the land of Israel. Thus it is stated (in Deut. 26:15), ‘Look down from your holy dwelling, [from the heavens and bless your people].’ And not only that, but he would say, “I am not moving from here until You perform my requirements this day,’ as it is written next to it (in vs. 16), ‘This day the Lord your God is commanding you to perform.’” Resh Laqish said, “A heavenly voice (bat qol) comes forth and says, ‘You shall do it again on this day in the coming year.’ [He is] like one who gives fresh fruit to his friend, and [the friend] says to him, ‘Would that you would do this again, and give me some next year.’” R. Hiya bar Abba said, “How spoiled are those who perform the commandments in front of the Holy One, blessed be He. As the Holy One blessed be He, enacts a decree and the righteous ones annul it. As it is stated (Eccl. 8:4), ‘Inasmuch as a king’s command is authoritative, and who can say to him, “What are you doing.”’ Who is it [that can say it]? (Eccl. 8:5:) ‘One who obeys commandments will not know a bad thing,’ he can object to the Holy One, blessed be He.” And so with David, he said (II Sam. 23:3), “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke about me, ‘He that rules over men must be righteous, ruling in the fear of God.”¹See Moed Katan 16b, where this verse is explained as saying that the righteous one rules over God. [(Deut. 26:16:) “This day the Lord your God is commanding you to perform…].” What is the meaning of this day? Had the Holy One, blessed be He, not given a command to Israel until now? And was not this the fortieth year (since they left Egypt), as stated (in Deut. 1:3), “And it came to pass in the fortieth year….” Then what is the meaning of the words, “this day?” Simply that Moses spoke to Israel as follows, “On each and every day, let the Torah be dear to you, as if you had received it this day from Mount Sinai.” Moreover, it is written in another place (i.e., in Deut. 4:9), “make them known to your children….” Then it is written (in vs. 10), “The day that you stood before the Lord [your God at Horeb].” (Deut. 26:16, cont.:) “These statutes,” these are the midrashic commentaries; “and these ordinances,” these are the court decisions. Another interpretation (of Deut. 26:16), “these statutes and these ordinances: [They are meant] to include light and heavy [commandments], inferences from analogy, and fine points of scribal exegesis. (Deut. 26:16, cont.:) “So you are to be diligent in doing them.” R. Johanan said, “When anyone performs a single commandment truthfully, Scripture ascribes it to him as if it had been given [to him] from Mount Sinai, as stated (Deut. 26:16), ‘So you are to be diligent in doing.’” Then what is the meaning of (in Lev. 25:18), “and you shall do (which can also be read as, make) them?” Rather, anyone that observes the Torah and does it truthfully, it as if he arranged it and gave it from Mount Sinai. And R. Johanan also said, “Anyone who does [what is written in] the Torah truthfully, Scripture ascribes it to him as if he had made himself; as stated (in Deut. 4:14), ‘At that time the Lord commanded me to impart [to you laws and rules to make you do].’ It does not say, ‘to do them,’ but “to make you, do them.’ From here [we learn] that Scripture ascribes it to him as if he made and created himself.” (Deut. 26:16, cont.:) “With all your heart.” Behold Scripture warns Israel and says to them, “When you pray to the Holy One, blessed be He, you shall not have two hearts, one in the presence of the Holy One, blessed be He, and one for something else.”²See Ben Sira 1:28 (25).

(Deut. 26:1:) AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS THAT WHEN YOU COME INTO THE LAND, <….> (vs. 16:) THIS DAY THE LORD YOUR GOD IS COMMANDING YOU TO PERFORM….¹In the midrash the parashah actually begins with vs. 16, but the additional verse at the beginning adapts the parashah to the traditional yearly cycle of readings. Note also that verse 16 is translated to fit the context of the midrash. This text is related (to Ps. 95:6): COME, LET US BOW DOWN AND WORSHIP, LET US KNEEL <BEFORE THE LORD OUR MAKER>! Now what does the instruction mean by LET US BOW DOWN AND WORSHIP?²Tanh., Deut. 7:1. Moses simply foresaw that the Temple was going to be destroyed and that the firstfruits were going to cease. He arose and arranged for Israel to pray three times on every day, because prayer is more pleasing to the Holy One than a hundred good works. When it was decreed for him not to enter the land, he began to pray, and he said (in Deut. 3:25): PLEASE LET ME CROSS OVER AND SEE <THE GOOD LAND>. The Holy One said to him (in vss. 26–27:): ENOUGH FROM YOU! DO NOT EVER SPEAK UNTO ME ON THIS MATTER AGAIN. GO UP TO THE TOP OF PISGAH. It is therefore stated (in 26:16): <THIS DAY> THE LORD YOUR GOD IS COMMANDING YOU TO PERFORM….³I.e., to obey the command to go up to the top of Pisgah. Although the midrash understands the performance in reference to this one command, the biblical text is speaking about performing statutes and ordinances.

(Deut. 3:23:) “I besought the Lord.” This text is related (to Job 9:22), “It is all one; therefore, I say, ‘He destroys the innocent and the wicked.’” Moses said, “Master of the world, everything is equal before you. There is one determination for the righteous and for the wicked.” Similarly also Solomon says (in Eccl. 9:2), “Since everything [happens] to everyone, the same lot [falls] to the righteous and to the wicked, [to the good, to the clean and to the unclean, to the one who sacrifices and to the one who does not sacrifice; as it is with the good, so it is with the sinner; the one who takes an oath is like one who fears an oath].” (Eccl. 9:2:) “To the righteous” refers to Noah.¹Lev. R. 20:1; Eccl. R. 9:2:1; PRK 26:1; cf. Tanh., Lev. 6:1; above, Lev. 6:1. R. Phinehas [said] in the name of R. Johanan, [who spoke] in the name of R. Eliezer the son of R. Jose the Galilean, “When Noah came out of the ark, the lion bit him and maimed him so that he became unfit to offer sacrifice; so his son Shem offered sacrifice in his place.” (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) “And to the wicked” refers to Pharaoh Necho. When he wanted to sit on Solomon's throne [and] did not know its mechanism,²Gk.: manganon. a lion which was on the throne³I Kings 10:19-20 = II Chron. 9:18-19. bit him and maimed him. The former died with a limp, and the latter died with a limp. (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) “To the good” refers to Moses, as stated (in Exod. 2:2), “And when she saw that he was good,” in that he was born circumcised.⁴Sot. 12a; Exod. R. 1:20. (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) “To the clean” refers to Aaron, who would cleanse the sins of Israel. (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) “And to the unclean,” refers to the spies. The one group (i.e., the spies) uttered slander against the land of Israel, while the other (i.e., Moses and Aaron) uttered praise for the land of Israel; [still] the former did not enter [the land], nor did the latter enter it. (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) “To the one who sacrifices” refers to Josiah, as stated (in II Chron. 35:7), “Then Josiah donated to the lay people a flock of lambs and kids, all for Passover sacrifices.” (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) “And to the one who does not sacrifice” refers to Ahab, who abolished the sacrifices from upon the altar, since this is what is written (in II Chron. 18:2), “where Ahab slaughtered sheep and cattle for him (i.e., for Jehoshaphat).” “For him” he slaughtered, but for sacrifices he did not slaughter. [Nevertheless] the former died by arrows, as written (in II Chron. 35:23), “Then the archers shot King Josiah,”⁵Cf. yQid. 1:7 (61a); Ta‘an 23b; MQ 28b; Sanh. 48b. and the latter died by arrows, as written (in I Kings 22:34 = II Chron. 18:33), “But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel….” (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) “As it is for the good refers to David, of whom it is stated (in I Sam. 16:12), “And they sent and they brought him, and he was ruddy with beautiful eyes and a good appearance.” (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) “So it is with the sinner” refers to Nebuchadnezzar, of whom it is written (in Dan. 4:24), “atone for your sinning through righteousness.” The former built the Temple and reigned forty years. The latter destroyed the Temple and reigned forty years. (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) “The one who takes an oath (without keeping it)” refers to Zedekiah, of whom it is written (in II Chron. 36:13), “And he also rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar who had made him take an oath by God.” What was his rebellion?⁶Ned. 65a. Zedekiah discovered Nebuchadnezzar as he was eating a live rabbit. Nebuchadnezzar said to Zedekiah, “Swear to me that you will not reveal it.” He swore to him. In the end he was inwardly sorry, and he had his oath absolved. When the other kings heard [what Nebuchadnezzar did], they disparaged him. [Moreover] they were saying against him, “Be aware of who is ruling the earth, one who eats live rabbit!” When Nebuchadnezzar heard [what they were saying], he sent to have the Sanhedrin⁷Gk.: Synedrion. and Zedekiah come to him. He said to them, “Have you seen what Zedekiah has done to me; did he not swear to me?” [Zedekiah] said to him, “I had my oath absolved.” He (Nebuchadnezzar) said to the Sanhedrin, “Can an oath be absolved?” They said to him, “One absolves [an oath, if there is] danger to one's life.” He said to them, “When?” They said to him, “On the same day.” He said to them, “In the presence of him [to whom the oath was sworn] or not in his presence?” They said to him, “In his presence.” He said to them, “And what was the reason you did not say [so] to Zedekiah?” Immediately (in the words of Lam. 2:10), “The elders of the Daughters of Zion sit on the ground in silence.” R. Isaac said, “[This teaches that] they removed the pillows and cushions from beneath them.” (Eccl. 9:2, cont.:) “Like one who fears an oath.” This refers to Samson, [as stated (in Jud. 15:12),] “then Samson said to them, ‘Swear to me that you yourselves will not attack me.’” From here [we know] that he feared an oath. [The former died with his eyes gouged out, and the latter died with his eyes gouged out.] The former died with his eyes gouged out according to what is stated (in II Kings 25:7 = Jer. 39:7 = Jer. 52:11), “then he put out Zedekiah's eyes.” This was one of seven who were like the first Adam [in one feature.⁸Cf. Sot. 10a. In the case of] Zedekiah [it was] because of his eyes. So they thrust iron lances⁹Gk.: logchai. into his eyes, but his eyes were not put out until they slaughtered his children before his eyes, and then they put out his eyes. It is so stated (II Kings 25:7), “And they slaughtered the children of Zedekiah before his eyes and then he put out Zedekiah's eyes.” Samson also [died with his eyes gouged out, as stated (in Jud. 16:21), “] “So the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes.” Another interpretation (of Eccl. 9:2), “Since everything [happens] to everyone.” Moses said in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, everything is the same for You; You destroy (according to Job 9:22) ‘the innocent and the wicked.’ The spies provoked You with anger by slandering the land, as stated (in Numbers 13:32), ‘And they put out slander against the land,’ while I have served your children forty years in the wilderness. [Yet] the same lot is [in store] for me as for them.” A parable: To what is the matter comparable? To a king who wanted to take a wife. He sent emissaries¹⁰Shulahin. The word represents the Hebrew concept behind the Greek and Latin words translated “apostles” and denotes people having the ancient equivalent of a power of attorney. to see whether she was beautiful or not. They went to see her. [Then] they came [back] and said to him, “We have seen her and there is no one more desolate and ugly than she.” When her sponsor heard, he said, “My Lord, there is no one in the world more beautiful than she.” He came to marry her. The father of the young woman said to the king's emissaries, “I swear by the life of the king that not one of you shall come to [the wedding feast], seeing that you humiliated her before the king.” When the sponsor came to enter, he said to him, “You also may not come in.” The sponsor said to him, “I did not see her and [yet] I told the king that there was no one more beautiful than she, while those said, ‘There is no one more ugly than she.’ And now allow me [to enter] and I shall see whether [she is] like my report or like their report.” Similarly Moses said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “My master, the spies uttered slander, [in describing the land (in Numb. 13:32) as] ‘a land that eats up its inhabitants.’ I, however, have not seen it, but I have praised it before Your children (in Deut. 8:7), ‘For the Lord your God is bringing you unto a good land.’ And now I shall see whether [it is] like my report or like their report.” Thus it is stated (in Deut. 3:25), “Please let me cross over and see the good land […].” He said to him (in Deut. 3:27), “For you shall not cross over [this Jordan].” Moshe said to him, “If so, everything is the same for You. You destroy (in accordance with Job 9:22) ‘the innocent and the wicked.’”