Chasidut for Deuteronomy 4:5
רְאֵ֣ה ׀ לִמַּ֣דְתִּי אֶתְכֶ֗ם חֻקִּים֙ וּמִשְׁפָּטִ֔ים כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוַּ֖נִי יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֑י לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת כֵּ֔ן בְּקֶ֣רֶב הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתֶּ֛ם בָּאִ֥ים שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃
Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the midst of the land whither ye go in to possess it.
Kedushat Levi
Deuteronomy 4,5. “See, I have taught you statutes and civil laws as the Lord my G’d commanded me, for you to do once you are in the midst of the land.”
This verse is best understood on the basis of what we have explained on Exodus 12,28: ויעשו בני ישראל כאשר צוה ה' את משה, “the Israelites did in accordance with what G’d had commanded Moses.” [At the time, we would have expected the Torah to write that the Israelites did as Moses had commanded them, as they had not heard G’d’s command to Moses. Ed.]
We abide by the rule that G’d told Moses the details of the commandments in order for him to relay these to the people, i.e. the meaning of the word: לאמור, “to say.” [We must always remember, however, not to equate the person who learns something through his own efforts to someone who learns it from his Rabbi. It is better to have learned it from one’s Rabbi. Ed.] (Ketuvot 111). The Israelites, upon hearing Moses’ instructions in the name of the Lord, did not generally understand the value of these commandments. It was only after they performed them personally that their meaning dawned upon them. At that time their perceptive powers were enhanced so that they could be described as having “heard” the commandments from Moses as clearly as Moses had heard it from G’d Himself. This is the deeper meaning of the verse in Exodus 2,28 which reports the Israelites carrying out the commandments. From that moment on, it was as if they had heard the commandments from G’d’s mouth. In the event that some reader might understand that the insights gained by the Israelites came from Moses performing them rather than by their performing them, the Torah in our verse adds the word לעשות, “to do,” i.e. they had not been performed yet.
This verse is best understood on the basis of what we have explained on Exodus 12,28: ויעשו בני ישראל כאשר צוה ה' את משה, “the Israelites did in accordance with what G’d had commanded Moses.” [At the time, we would have expected the Torah to write that the Israelites did as Moses had commanded them, as they had not heard G’d’s command to Moses. Ed.]
We abide by the rule that G’d told Moses the details of the commandments in order for him to relay these to the people, i.e. the meaning of the word: לאמור, “to say.” [We must always remember, however, not to equate the person who learns something through his own efforts to someone who learns it from his Rabbi. It is better to have learned it from one’s Rabbi. Ed.] (Ketuvot 111). The Israelites, upon hearing Moses’ instructions in the name of the Lord, did not generally understand the value of these commandments. It was only after they performed them personally that their meaning dawned upon them. At that time their perceptive powers were enhanced so that they could be described as having “heard” the commandments from Moses as clearly as Moses had heard it from G’d Himself. This is the deeper meaning of the verse in Exodus 2,28 which reports the Israelites carrying out the commandments. From that moment on, it was as if they had heard the commandments from G’d’s mouth. In the event that some reader might understand that the insights gained by the Israelites came from Moses performing them rather than by their performing them, the Torah in our verse adds the word לעשות, “to do,” i.e. they had not been performed yet.
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