לֹֽא־יָבֹ֧א עַמּוֹנִ֛י וּמוֹאָבִ֖י בִּקְהַ֣ל יְהוָ֑ה גַּ֚ם דּ֣וֹר עֲשִׂירִ֔י לֹא־יָבֹ֥א לָהֶ֛ם בִּקְהַ֥ל יְהוָ֖ה עַד־עוֹלָֽם׃
<span class="x" onmousemove="Show('perush','Este es el <b>53er Precepto Negativo</b> enumerado por el Rambam en el Prefacio a Mishné Torá, su “Compendio de la Ley Hebrea” para todo el Pueblo de Israel.',event);" onmouseout="Close();">No entrará Ammonita ni Moabita</span> en la congregación del Señor; ni aun en la décima generación entrará en la congregación de SEÑOR para siempre:
Kedushat Levi
Numbers 22,3. “Moab was greatly afraid of the people because they were so numerous; Moab greatly dreaded the Children of Israel.”
Judging by the fact that the Torah distinguishes the feelings of the Moabites vis a vis העם, the “people,” and subsequently vis a vis the בני ישראל, “the Children of Israel”, we are entitled to assume that the term העם refers to the fellow travelers, the mixed multitude that had attached themselves to the Israelites at the time of the Exodus. (Compare Sh’mot Rabbah 42,6)
According to the Zohar, the fear of the Moabites was due to their having noticed that wherever the Israelites encamped (40th year near the Jordan river) many gentiles would join them and convert to Judaism, so that the word העם, here does not refer to the mixed multitude that had joined the Israelites already at the Exodus. [I have not found this Zohar, Ed.] Balak or his people were afraid that if the Israelites were to encamp near them, many Moabites would convert to Judaism and join them. [The legislation that Moabites were not allowed to convert (Deuteronomy 23,4) had not yet been made public. Ed.] The next line describing the mental state of the Moabites as being one of dread of the Israelites, explains that whereas normally, Balak could not have cared less, here the fact that the Moabites were in such dread of the Israelites caused him to fear wholesale defection among his people to the Israelites as a real possibility. Balak was a great anti-Semite.
Judging by the fact that the Torah distinguishes the feelings of the Moabites vis a vis העם, the “people,” and subsequently vis a vis the בני ישראל, “the Children of Israel”, we are entitled to assume that the term העם refers to the fellow travelers, the mixed multitude that had attached themselves to the Israelites at the time of the Exodus. (Compare Sh’mot Rabbah 42,6)
According to the Zohar, the fear of the Moabites was due to their having noticed that wherever the Israelites encamped (40th year near the Jordan river) many gentiles would join them and convert to Judaism, so that the word העם, here does not refer to the mixed multitude that had joined the Israelites already at the Exodus. [I have not found this Zohar, Ed.] Balak or his people were afraid that if the Israelites were to encamp near them, many Moabites would convert to Judaism and join them. [The legislation that Moabites were not allowed to convert (Deuteronomy 23,4) had not yet been made public. Ed.] The next line describing the mental state of the Moabites as being one of dread of the Israelites, explains that whereas normally, Balak could not have cared less, here the fact that the Moabites were in such dread of the Israelites caused him to fear wholesale defection among his people to the Israelites as a real possibility. Balak was a great anti-Semite.
Kedushat Levi
Deuteronomy 23,4. “No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted to the congregation of the Lord……because they did not meet you with food and water on your journey after you left Egypt.”
We know that G’d has described the Jewish people to Pharaoh as “My first born son”. (Exodus 4,22) What this really means is that the Jewish people are the conduit through which G’d channels His largesse to the world. Ammon and Moav denied the principle that the major objective of channeling largesse to mankind was for the glory of Israel, who would be perceived as the most important single link in that chain, indirectly benefiting all of mankind. By describing the Ammonites and the Moabites as not offering “bread and water” to the Jewish people, the Torah hints that they did not recognize the existence of the Jewish people as something beneficial for all of mankind.
We know that G’d has described the Jewish people to Pharaoh as “My first born son”. (Exodus 4,22) What this really means is that the Jewish people are the conduit through which G’d channels His largesse to the world. Ammon and Moav denied the principle that the major objective of channeling largesse to mankind was for the glory of Israel, who would be perceived as the most important single link in that chain, indirectly benefiting all of mankind. By describing the Ammonites and the Moabites as not offering “bread and water” to the Jewish people, the Torah hints that they did not recognize the existence of the Jewish people as something beneficial for all of mankind.