אֶת־יְהוָ֥ה הֶאֱמַ֖רְתָּ הַיּ֑וֹם לִהְיוֹת֩ לְךָ֨ לֵֽאלֹהִ֜ים וְלָלֶ֣כֶת בִּדְרָכָ֗יו וְלִשְׁמֹ֨ר חֻקָּ֧יו וּמִצְוֺתָ֛יו וּמִשְׁפָּטָ֖יו וְלִשְׁמֹ֥עַ בְּקֹלֽוֹ׃
A SEÑOR has ensalzado hoy para que te sea por Dios, y para andar en sus caminos, y para guardar sus estatutos y sus mandamientos y sus derechos, y para oir su voz:
Ramban
AND UNTO MOSES HE SAID: ‘COME UP UNTO THE ETERNAL etc.’ “This section was told to Moses before the giving of the Ten Commandments, on the fourth day of Sivan.” This is Rashi’s language. “And the Eternal said unto Moses: ‘Come up to Me into the mountain, and be there’465Verse 12 (further in this section). — this was said to Moses after the Giving of the Torah.” These too are Rashi’s words. But if so, the sections of the Torah are not in chronological order, nor even in their ordinary sense! Moreover, it is written here, And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Eternal, and all the ordinances,466Verse 3. which are these ordinances written above, concerning which He said, And these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them.467Above, 21:1. For it is not correct to interpret the expression: and all the ordinances,466Verse 3. to mean [as Rashi wrote], the ordinances which “the sons of Noah”468See Vol. I, p. 417, Notes 147-8. were commanded, or the laws which were given to the Israelites in Marah469See above, 15:25. which they had already heard and knew, and besides, the word vayesapeir (and he told)466Verse 3. always indicates new things which one tells!
But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra has already grasped this subject correctly, in explaining the verses to be in their proper order, when he commented:470On the preceding Verse (23:33). “Up to here is the Book of the Covenant.” On the basis of this statement it can be seen that all the sections of the Torah are in methodical arrangement. For after the Giving of the Torah immediately on the same day G-d said to Moses, Thus shall you tell the children of Israel: Ye yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven,471Above, 20:19. and He began to warn them again against idolatry, by saying, Ye shall not make with Me etc.,472Ibid., Verse 20. and He continued to command him, Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them,467Above, 21:1. and all the commandments following that, and finally He finished with the admonition against the worship of idols which they find in the Land, and against making a covenant with their worshippers. He then said to Moses, “After you have commanded them this, come up unto the Eternal, thou and Aaron.” The section mentions that Moses did according to the command of G-d, and came to the camp and told the people all the words of the Eternal466Verse 3. as He had commanded him, Thus shall you tell the children of Israel: Ye yourselves have seen etc.;471Above, 20:19. and all the ordinances,466Verse 3. as He had commanded him, Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them.467Above, 21:1. The people received everything with joy and said, All that the Eternal hath spoken will we do,473Above 19:8. See though my Hebrew commentary, p. 447, where it is pointed out that since this verse relates to an event before the Revelation and Ramban is now discussing the events after the Revelation, we must perforce understand his use of that verse, in a stylistic manner, namely, that the people joyfully accepted upon themselves the duty of observing all of G-d’s commandments. meaning that all these things which G-d has told you we will do, for we believe in your words; just as he narrated in the Book of Deuteronomy [that the people said to him], and thou shalt speak unto us all that the Eternal our G-d may speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it,474Deuteronomy 5:24. and then Moses wrote them down. Thus on that day he wrote down in a book all that he had been commanded — the statutes, the ordinances, and the laws — and he rose up early in the morning475Verse 4. of the following day to make a covenant with them concerning all this. He built the altar and offered the sacrifices,475Verse 4. and put half of the blood upon the altar of G-d, and half of it he put in basins476Verse 6. [in order to sprinkle upon the people],477As explained further in Ramban, (also in Rashi). For the reason of exact division into two equal parts see further in the text of Ramban and also in Note 479. and he took the book which he had written the day before and read it in their hearing,478Verse 7. and they accepted upon themselves to make the covenant with Him, saying. All that the Eternal hath spoken will we do, and hearken478Verse 7. to you and to whatever you will command in His Name. Then he sprinkled upon them half of the blood [which he had put in the basins], for this is the sign of a covenant, when two things479By putting half of the blood upon the altar of G-d and the other half upon the people, Moses indicated that “the two [parties to the covenant] come into equal parts.” See Deuteronomy 26:17-18, and also Vayikra Rabbah 6:5, where the equal division of the blood is explained as signifying that G-d swore to Israel never to exchange it for another nation, and Israel swore eternal fidelity to G-d. come in equal parts. Now after he finished what he did with them, he had to fulfill the word of G-d which He told him, Come up… thou and Aaron, etc. and it is with reference to this that it is said, Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu etc.480Verse 9. He completed that which he had been commanded,481I.e., And Moses alone shall come near unto the Eternal (Verse 2). by coming near alone unto the Eternal. It is with reference to this that it is said, And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud etc.482Further, Verse 18. Thus the act of the covenant took place on the day after the Giving of the Torah, and on that day was the ascent, when Moses went up into the mountain and he stayed from then on for forty days. It is with reference to this that Scripture explains, and on the seventh day He called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud,483Ibid., Verse 16. [i.e., the seventh day of the month Sivan, which was the day after the Giving of the Torah], and it is said, And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud.482Further, Verse 18. All this is correctly and clearly explained.
Now I have seen in the Mechilta484Mechilta above, 19:10. That the Rabbis differed on this matter. Some say485This is the opinion of Rabbi Yishmael. that the making of the covenant took place before the Giving of the Torah — on the fifth day of Sivan — and Moses said to them: “Now you are bound, held and tied; tomorrow come and accept upon yourselves all the commandments.” But Rabbi Yosei the son of Rabbi Yehudah says: “All these acts were done on one and the same day,” that is to say all these acts were performed on the same day, namely the day after the Torah was given — all that Moses told the people and the writing of the Book of the Covenant — all as we have explained. And to this one [i.e., Rabbi Yosei the son of Rabbi Yehudah] we listen, since he has spoken according to the accepted opinion.486See Peah 4:1 for origin of this expression [“to this one we listen etc.”].
But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra has already grasped this subject correctly, in explaining the verses to be in their proper order, when he commented:470On the preceding Verse (23:33). “Up to here is the Book of the Covenant.” On the basis of this statement it can be seen that all the sections of the Torah are in methodical arrangement. For after the Giving of the Torah immediately on the same day G-d said to Moses, Thus shall you tell the children of Israel: Ye yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven,471Above, 20:19. and He began to warn them again against idolatry, by saying, Ye shall not make with Me etc.,472Ibid., Verse 20. and He continued to command him, Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them,467Above, 21:1. and all the commandments following that, and finally He finished with the admonition against the worship of idols which they find in the Land, and against making a covenant with their worshippers. He then said to Moses, “After you have commanded them this, come up unto the Eternal, thou and Aaron.” The section mentions that Moses did according to the command of G-d, and came to the camp and told the people all the words of the Eternal466Verse 3. as He had commanded him, Thus shall you tell the children of Israel: Ye yourselves have seen etc.;471Above, 20:19. and all the ordinances,466Verse 3. as He had commanded him, Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them.467Above, 21:1. The people received everything with joy and said, All that the Eternal hath spoken will we do,473Above 19:8. See though my Hebrew commentary, p. 447, where it is pointed out that since this verse relates to an event before the Revelation and Ramban is now discussing the events after the Revelation, we must perforce understand his use of that verse, in a stylistic manner, namely, that the people joyfully accepted upon themselves the duty of observing all of G-d’s commandments. meaning that all these things which G-d has told you we will do, for we believe in your words; just as he narrated in the Book of Deuteronomy [that the people said to him], and thou shalt speak unto us all that the Eternal our G-d may speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it,474Deuteronomy 5:24. and then Moses wrote them down. Thus on that day he wrote down in a book all that he had been commanded — the statutes, the ordinances, and the laws — and he rose up early in the morning475Verse 4. of the following day to make a covenant with them concerning all this. He built the altar and offered the sacrifices,475Verse 4. and put half of the blood upon the altar of G-d, and half of it he put in basins476Verse 6. [in order to sprinkle upon the people],477As explained further in Ramban, (also in Rashi). For the reason of exact division into two equal parts see further in the text of Ramban and also in Note 479. and he took the book which he had written the day before and read it in their hearing,478Verse 7. and they accepted upon themselves to make the covenant with Him, saying. All that the Eternal hath spoken will we do, and hearken478Verse 7. to you and to whatever you will command in His Name. Then he sprinkled upon them half of the blood [which he had put in the basins], for this is the sign of a covenant, when two things479By putting half of the blood upon the altar of G-d and the other half upon the people, Moses indicated that “the two [parties to the covenant] come into equal parts.” See Deuteronomy 26:17-18, and also Vayikra Rabbah 6:5, where the equal division of the blood is explained as signifying that G-d swore to Israel never to exchange it for another nation, and Israel swore eternal fidelity to G-d. come in equal parts. Now after he finished what he did with them, he had to fulfill the word of G-d which He told him, Come up… thou and Aaron, etc. and it is with reference to this that it is said, Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu etc.480Verse 9. He completed that which he had been commanded,481I.e., And Moses alone shall come near unto the Eternal (Verse 2). by coming near alone unto the Eternal. It is with reference to this that it is said, And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud etc.482Further, Verse 18. Thus the act of the covenant took place on the day after the Giving of the Torah, and on that day was the ascent, when Moses went up into the mountain and he stayed from then on for forty days. It is with reference to this that Scripture explains, and on the seventh day He called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud,483Ibid., Verse 16. [i.e., the seventh day of the month Sivan, which was the day after the Giving of the Torah], and it is said, And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud.482Further, Verse 18. All this is correctly and clearly explained.
Now I have seen in the Mechilta484Mechilta above, 19:10. That the Rabbis differed on this matter. Some say485This is the opinion of Rabbi Yishmael. that the making of the covenant took place before the Giving of the Torah — on the fifth day of Sivan — and Moses said to them: “Now you are bound, held and tied; tomorrow come and accept upon yourselves all the commandments.” But Rabbi Yosei the son of Rabbi Yehudah says: “All these acts were done on one and the same day,” that is to say all these acts were performed on the same day, namely the day after the Torah was given — all that Moses told the people and the writing of the Book of the Covenant — all as we have explained. And to this one [i.e., Rabbi Yosei the son of Rabbi Yehudah] we listen, since he has spoken according to the accepted opinion.486See Peah 4:1 for origin of this expression [“to this one we listen etc.”].
Or HaChaim
דברו אל בני ישראל ואמרתם, "speak to the children of Israel and say to them, etc." This entire verse appears redundant in view of verse 1 before it. Perhaps we may understand it in light of Torat Kohanim which explained that whereas the Israelites confer ritual impurity when they suffer from the involuntary seminal emissions called זיבה, the Gentiles do not confer such ritual impurity if they come into contact with Jews or touch their belongings, etc. The Torah therefore employed the expression דברו to indicate the relative severity of this legislation. Expressions such as דבר always indicate some degree of harshness when compared to the expression אמור. A Jew suffering from this disease transmits ritual impurity to anything he sits on or lies on, even. The Torah continued with the softer ואמרתם to console the Israelites that the fact that they transmit ritual impurity is a compliment for them as it shows that prior to that disease they were in a state of ritual purity, a status never enjoyed by Gentiles. The word אמר is used as indicating spiritual superiority in Deut. 26,17 where G'd described the mutual bond between G'd and Israel in those terms. The considerations we have just outlined form the mystical dimension of the statement in Shabbat 13 that a שוטה, a person of unsound mind, does not suffer afflictions. The meaning is that he does not realise that he is discriminated against by suffering what others do not suffer.
Or HaChaim
Let us now examine the answer G'd gave to Aaron according to the Midrash. G'd wanted Aaron to know that the task of taking the candlestick apart daily when he would clean the lamps and then reassemble them constituted a daily inaugural. In effect, Aaron put the candlestick together every single day. Every time he would light the candlestick would be like inaugurating the candlestick anew. According to the Midrash G'd told Aaron that he would light and clean the lamps evenings and mornings whereas in actual fact we find that he lit the lamps only in the evenings. We are told in Tamid 6,9 that the נר מערבי the lamp in the middle shaft of the candlestick, had to burn both night and day, i.e. it was cleaned only in the evening and immediately relit. [This is not actually spelled out there. Ed]. Torat Kohanim on Leviticus 24,2 comments as follows: "The words להעלות נר refer to the lighting of the נר תמיד, the eternal flame, the lamp which is to keep burning around the clock. In the event that it became extinguished, Aaron would clean it and rekindle it at once using the fire from the copper altar." Thus far Torat Kohanim. This means that the נר מערבי burned around the clock. At any rate, we see that Aaron inaugurated the candlestick daily whereas the princes performed only a single inauguration of the altar. The expression דבר introduced the commandment which was the necessary introduction to any commandment G'd conveyed to the people or to a specific person. The expression ואמרת describes that Moses should talk so softly when instructing Aaron that he would put his mind at ease concerning the inauguration service of the altar he had not been a part of. Moses did this by pointing out that Aaron's privileges were far greater than those of the princes. We could also interpret the word ואמרת as similar to the word והאמרת in Deut. 26,17, where it implies the spiritually elevated status of the people addressed.
Rashi
boast Heb. יתאמרו. They praise themselves, as (Deut. 26:17f.): “you praised (האמרת),” and “praised you (האמירך).”
Rashi
boast Heb. יתאמרו. They praise themselves, as (Deut. 26:17f.): “you praised (האמרת),” and “praised you (האמירך).”