Comentario sobre Deuteronómio 34:1

מערבת מואב אל הר נבו [AND MOSES WENT UP] FROM THE PLAINS OF MOAB TO MOUNT NEBO — There were several levels leading from the plain to the summit, but Moses covered them in one step (Sotah 13b).

AND THE ETERNAL SHOWED HIM [MOSES] ALL THE LAND — all the Land of Israel beyond the Jordan [westward] — and then the verse states that He showed him even Gilead, as far as Dan. Now Moses was in the territory of Reuben, and half the hill-country of Gilead, and the cities thereof²⁸⁹Above, 3:12. belonged to the children of Reuben,²⁸⁹Above, 3:12. and the other half belonged to Menasheh.²⁹⁰Joshua 13:31. Therefore the verse before us must mean that [G-d showed Moses the whole Land] “from Gilead²⁹¹The verse cannot mean that G-d showed him the land of Gilead, because that is precisely where Moses was. Instead the word eth — eth Gilead — must mean “from” the Gilead onward. as far as Dan.” Or it may be that there was [a place called] Gilead in the Lebanon in the Land of Israel, as it is written, thou art Gilead unto Me, the head of Lebanon.²⁹²Jeremiah 22:6. The verse mentions as far as Dan which is at the extremity of the border of the Land of Israel, as it is written, Go now to and fro through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba.²⁹³II Samuel 24:2. It mentions the land of Ephraim and Menasheh²⁹⁴Verse 2. which were in the northern part of the Land of Israel, and the land of Judah was to the south, as it is written, Judah shall abide in his border on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their border on the north,²⁹⁵Joshua 18:5. for Judah took all the south of the Land of Israel from the Jordan to the sea, and Dan took the north-west. It mentions Naphtali²⁹⁴Verse 2. who was on the east, near Judah,²⁹⁶Ibid., 19:34 [in speaking of the border of Naphtali]: and it reached… to Judah at the Jordan toward the sunrise. but it does not mention Asher and Issachar, for they were among Ephraim and Menasheh, as it is written [about the borders of Ephraim and Menasheh], and they reached to Asher on the north, and to Issachar on the east.²⁹⁷Joshua 17:10. It did not mention Simeon, for their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Judah,²⁹⁸Ibid., 19:1. nor that of Benjamin whose border of their lot went out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph,²⁹⁹Ibid., 18:11. already mentioned near them. It states as far as the western sea²⁹⁴Verse 2. which alludes to Zebulun who dwelt at the shore of the sea,³⁰⁰Genesis 49:13. or it may be that [Zebulun] is included [in the statement that G-d showed him] the south, and the plain³⁰¹Verse 3. [since the territory of Zebulun was in the plain at the sea]. It mentions the valley of Jericho³⁰¹Verse 3. because it is a deep valley, not visible from the top of the mountain [where Moses stood], but G-d showed it to him miraculously. In general then He showed him the entire inheritance of Israel, as it is written, This is the Land which I swore etc.³⁰²Verse 4. Our Rabbis in the Sifre³⁰³Sifre, Brachah 357. have elucidated about these places mentioned in Scripture.
Now, the reason for this sight which He showed him was because the Land of Israel is full of all good things,³⁰⁴Above, 6:11. and is the beauty of all lands.³⁰⁵Ezekiel 20:6. And since the great love with which Moses our teacher loved Israel was manifest to Him, He made him rejoice by beholding the abundant goodness with his eyes.³⁰⁶Ecclesiastes 5:10.

ויראהו ה׳ את כל הארץ; G'd showed him the entire country. The Torah may mean that G'd enhanced Moses' natural eyesight so as to enable him to see the whole land in all its details. This could be achieved by one of two means. 1) To provide Moses with additional eyesight by enabling him to utilise the original light G'd created on the first day of creation which He withdrew from man as a result of Adam's sin. According to Chagigah 2, Adam had been able to see from one end of the earth to the other by means of that light. 2) Or, G'd brought the land closer to Moses so that he could see it in detail with his normal eyesight.