Comentario citado sobre Deuteronómio 29:17

וידבר אלוקים....וארא אל אברהם, “G’d said….I have appeared to Avraham, etc.” Rashi explains that instead of writing הודעתי, “I have made known,” the Torah wrote a passive mode לא נודעתי, “I have not become well known.” This means that G’d’s attribute of Hashem had not become properly known, familiar, to the patriarchs. Seeing that this attribute reveals more of G’d’s essence than such attributes as shaddai, or elokim, the element of G’d’s fulfilling commitments He made of a long term nature, such as the promise to Avraham that his descendants would survive 400 years of exile and enslavement and proceed to the land of Canaan and take it over as their ancestral homeland, this attribute would from now on become better known. G’d implies that seeing that the time frame after which the redemption was supposed to occur had not yet been completed, the fact that this attribute of G’d had not yet been appreciated was not a reflection of G’d having withheld important information. Rashi also quotes an alternate commentary which suggests that the people should have inquired after this attribute of G’d, [why He had failed to keep His promises, the ones made to the patriarchs, Ed.] and that G’d now explains the reason why He had not yet seen fit to do so. Rashi rejects such a commentary saying that the time for G’d fulfilling His promises had not arrived yet, so that such a complaint would have been inappropriate. The problem with such interpretations is that already during the very first revelation of G’d to Avraham at the covenant between the pieces (Genesis chapter 15), the Torah clearly states that “the word of Hashem came to Avram,” In other words, G’d introduced Himself to Avram not as shaddai or as elokim, but by His name Hashem.” He had added further that His claim on Avraham’s obedience was based on His having saved him from the furnace Nimrod had thrown him into in Ur Casdim. Rashi’s rejecting לא נודעתי as meaning “I have not made known,” is based on this appearance of G’d precisely as the attribute of Mercy, an essential attribute, as Avraham had not had a claim to being saved at the time, seeing he had voluntarily submitted to that test of his faith. [my words based on Rabbi Yitzchok Arama. Ed.] The question is why did G’d have to tell Moses: “I am Hashem,” seeing that He had been known as such to the patriarchs. I believe that the answer is simple. G’d tells Moses that although He had been known in His capacity as Hashem to the patriarchs, [compare how Avraham describes Mount Moriah after the binding of Yitzchok, as compared to the opening lines of that chapter (Genesis 22) Ed.] He had not appeared in that guise to the Jewish people as yet. The problem was that the people had not enquired as to the difference between these various attributes of G’d, i.e. when He would prefer to relate to them under one heading (attribute), and when He would prefer to relate to them under a different heading (attribute). Knowing all this, we can better understand Moses’ question to G’d in 3,13 “which of Your attributes (name) shall I say to them is the one which will orchestrate the redemption?” According to the interpretation of לא נודעתי להם, “I have not been known to them,” Moses’ question at that time should have been: “when they ask me what shall I tell them?” Rashi’s explanation that the entire paragraph contains a criticism of Moses who had questioned G’d’s handling of the situation since He had appointed him as leader, was to contrast his behaviour with that of the patriarchs who, even when faced with what appeared G’d’s inexplicable behaviour, had not questioned this. [I find all this somewhat strange. Avraham, when having to come to terms with G’d’s treatment of others, such as the people of Sodom had questioned G’d’s judgment, though he had never questioned it when it concerned his own fate. Moses too, questions why his people are suffering more; he does not question his own image being tarnished. Ed.] At any rate, we must not mistakenly understand G’d as saying that He had not been known as possessing the attribute of Hashem, but as explaining that only now had the time come to guide the fate of the Jewish people under that heading. Ibn Ezra writes that the letter ב in the word בא-ל, suggests that it applies also to an additional factor, i.e. meaning ”with.” [as in “and in addition to”, i.e. ובשמי ה', “and with My additional name, etc.” Ed.] Accordingly, we are to understand the line וארא אל אברהם ואל יצחק ואל יעקב בא-ל שדי ובשמי ה' לא נודעתי להם, “My task in appearing to the patriarchs as the attribute shaddai, i.e. the attribute which governs My power to control nature, the sun, moon, etc., was different from My task at this time when I have to demonstrate My power on earth, a domain basically assigned to man. [some of these words are my own, though I trust they reflect that of the author quoted. Ed.] The patriarchs had been taught that their experience when G’d saved them from famine, from the sword during war, etc., that these were phenomena not related to their specific good deeds, but to G’d exercising His השגחה, benevolent providence, as part of the השגחה כללית, supervision of the universe as a whole. [When directing phenomena devoid of free will such as nature, G’d employs a different attribute from that which He has to employ when facing opposing forces equipped with a free will, such as man. Ed.] During His guidance of the universe at the time of the patriarchs, He did not confront man’s free will. The blessings and curses promised in the Torah are not addressed to the conduct of individuals but to the conduct of mankind as a whole or the Jewish people as a whole, [although G’d warns individuals not to use the people as a whole as an umbrella to hide their individual misdeeds (Deuteronomy 29,17-20) Ed.] The real reward in this life for observing the Torah’s commandments is something known only to G’d, the lawgiver, it is in the nature of a נס נסתר, “a hidden miracle,” i.e. when it does occur no one can pinpoint it as something unnatural. [the concept is familiar from the string of “natural” coincidences and their timing which combine to make up the Purim story. Ed.] These apparent coincidences are actually part of the process of reward and punishment, except that they are not recognized by us as such at the time. The reason why the sages tell us that astronomical influences, i.e. mazzal, do not govern the lives of the Israelites is that the same G’d Who runs nature, also interferes in an invisible manner in what astrologers believed was a forecast of their fates in the stars. This does not mean that astrology is “for the birds,” on the contrary, it means that the Creator can manipulate the events forecast by astrology in a manner which changes their impact on the individuals whom He chooses to be so impacted. Such intervention enabled Rivkah to become pregnant and have children, and it resulted in the Jewish people surviving a bloody encounter forecast by the stars, by the blood in question becoming the blood of the mass circumcision performed by Joshua, instead of becoming the loss of their lifeblood. Moses had actually posed two questions to G’d. 1) Why did you send me on this mission at all? 2) Why have you so far failed to save the Jewish people from their misery? Concerning his second question G’d answered him: “now you are going to see why I sent you. You will witness what I am about to do to Pharaoh.” Concerning Moses’ first question G’d said: “I am Hashem.” G’d told him that He had used the patriarchs to demonstrate His stature as shaddai, the G’d controlling events from the heavenly throne, whereas now He would employ Moses to demonstrate how He organized events on earth, by Moses being as it were “His hand and His outstretched arm.” It is your task to make My attribute of Hashem familiar both to the Israelites and to the Egyptians, i.e. the rest of mankind.

The meaning of out of the house of bondage is that they stayed in Egypt in a house of bondage as captives of Pharaoh.²⁶⁴This accords with the interpretation of the Mechilta here: “Out of the house of bondage. They were slaves to kings.” And as Rashi puts it, “from the house of Pharaoh where ye were slaves to him.” He said this to them [in order to indicate] that they are obligated [to accept] this Great, Glorious and Fearful Name²⁵⁹Deuteronomy 28:58. as their G-d, and to worship Him, because He redeemed them from Egyptian bondage. It is similar in meaning to the verse, They are My servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt.²⁶⁵Leviticus 25:55. I have also already alluded to above²⁶⁶Above, 19:20. by way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], to the reason why the two sacred Names — [the Tetragrammaton and Elokim] — are mentioned here.
This commandment, in the words of our Rabbis,²⁶⁷Berachoth 13b. is called the obligation “to take upon oneself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven,” for these words, [i.e., the Eternal your G-d], which I have mentioned, indicate a King addressing His people. Thus the Rabbis have said in the Mechilta:²⁶⁸Mechilta on Verse 3 here. “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.²⁶⁹Verse 3. Why is this said?²⁷⁰Since it says, I am the Eternal thy God, etc., it already means, “I, am not another.” Why then does He state again, Thou shalt not have other gods before Me? Because it says, I am the Eternal thy G-d. This can be illustrated by a parable: A king invaded a country, and his attendants said to him, ‘Issue decrees to us.’²⁷¹“Us.” In the Mechilta: “them,” i.e., the people. He, however, refused, saying: ‘No! When you have accepted my sovereignty, I will issue decrees to you, for if you do not accept my sovereignty, how will you carry out my decrees?’ Similarly, G-d said to Israel: ‘I am the Eternal thy G-d, thou shalt have no other gods. I am He Whose sovereignty you have accepted in Egypt.’ And when they said to Him: ‘Yes,’ [He continued]: ‘Now, just as you have accepted My sovereignty, so you must also accept My decrees.’” That is to say, “Since you have accepted upon yourselves and have admitted that I am the Eternal, and that I am your G-d from the [time that you were yet in the] land of Egypt, then accept all My commandments.”
Now all the [Ten] Commandments are expressed in the singular — the Eternal thy G-d, Who brought ‘thee’ out — and not, as He began to say, [before the Giving of the Torah]: ‘Ye’ have seen;²⁷²Above, 19:4. if ‘ye’ will hearken.²⁷³Ibid., Verse 5. This is because His intent is to warn that each individual is subject to punishment for [transgression of] the commandments, since He addresses Himself to each one individually, commanding him that he should not think that He will judge according to the majority and that the individual will be saved with them. This intent was explained to the people by Moses at the end of the Torah, in the section of Atem Nitzavim.²⁷⁴Deuteronomy 29:17-19. See Ramban there on Verse 17.

קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה' אלו-היכם, “You shall be holy for I am holy, Hashem, your G’d.” According to the plain meaning of the text the word קדוש, means isolating oneself, being apart. This is an exhortation to the entire Jewish people to be chaste, to practices noble character traits and to impress one’s children with the importance of these virtues. Children then will look up to their parents as if the parents truly were G’d’s representatives on earth. In turn they will testify thereby that the Creator Himself is their supreme authority, the original “patriarch” who has called this world into existence. In order to make this point, our paragraph immediately commences by telling us that we must revere mother and father and observe G’d’s Sabbaths. (verse 3). The linkage of these two commandments is that the Sabbath is testimony to the fact that G’d created the universe (Exodus 20,11).
The reason the Torah writes the commandment to revere mother and father, letting the mother precede the father in importance (as opposed to a similar commandment in the decalogue where the Torah writes: “honour your father and your mother”), is that it is natural for children to love the mother more than the father and to fear the authority of the father more than that of the mother. The Torah wants to ensure that we do not make such distinctions in our relationship with our respective father and mother. If both parents were to agree that the child is to violate the Sabbath, the Torah adds immediately: “and you shall observe My Sabbath days,” meaning that this commandment overrides even a joint command by father and mother to the contrary. The addition of the words: “I am the Lord your G’d” at the end of verse three means that G’d is the supreme authority for both the child and his parents and thus has overriding authority when there is a conflict involving the loyalties of the child. Both the parents and the child are obligated to carry out His instructions.
The Torah appends the commandment not to serve any other deities nor to make molten images for oneself to make the point that even if one recognises the Lord as the supreme authority but denies that He created the world out of no pre-existing raw material one is considered an heretic, guilty of idolatry.
One must not turn to idols as this implies that one considers that they are a substantive force. The words אל תפנו, “do not turn,” are not so much an instruction not to face the idols but that in one’s heart one must not believe that there is anything to them and to what they purport to represent. We must consider idols as something devoid of any theological meaning, totally powerless to exert influence of any kind on anybody. The use of the root פנה here is similar in meaning to Deut. 29,17: “whose heart turns away today from the Lord, etc.,” or Deut. 30,17 “if you will turn away and not listen.”
The Torah adds that “you must not construct molten images for yourselves,” i.e. even though you are aware that such images are totally meaningless in theological terms, have no power or value. The reason the Torah appends the words: “I am the Lord your G’d,” means that ‘I can be trusted to pay you your reward, i.e. Hashem, (attribute of Mercy) but eloheychem, (attribute of Justice) in the event you do something for which you will deserve punishment.’

Gall and bitter plants. As in, “gall and bitter fruit.”⁴Devarim 29:17. The Midrash Aggadah [states] that רֹאשׁ, refers to Nevuchadnetzar in the exile of Yehoyachin; and תְלָאָה [refers to] Nevuzaradan, who completed the blow in the days of Tzidkiyahu, and he wearied me.⁵According to this Midrash, תלאה is an expression similar to Shemos 18:8, where it means travail, hardship. (Sifsei Chachomim)

fruitful Heb. פֹּרִיָה, like (Deut. 29:17): “that bears (פּוֹרָה) gall,” [a word meaning:] produces fruit.

For though he flourish among the marshes Heb. כִּי הוּא בֵּין אַחִים יַפְרִיא. Jonathan renders: For they are called sons, but they increased corrupt deeds. אַחִים An expression of an evil thing. Comp. (Ezekiel 21:20) “Woe! (אָח) It is made for a blade.” Also (ibid. 6:11) “And say, ‘Woe!’ (אָח) to all the... abominations.” יַפְרִיא An expression similar to (Deut. 29:17) פֹּרֶה רֹאשׁ וְלַעֲנָה, that hears (פֹּרַה) hemlock and wormwood.” But I say that אַחִים is an expression similar to (Gen. 41:2) “And they grazed in the marsh (בָּאָחוּ).”

For though he flourish among the marshes Heb. יַפְרִיא. Blossoms and grows in the marsh. Among the marshes, among those growing in the marshes, which always flourish. And, since He compares him to a marsh, He says: An east wind shall come... and his spring shall dry up. Another explanation: For he decreased among the brothers, i.e., Jeroboam. He was a son who decreased the brotherhood [other versions: the heritage] of Israel. Through him, they were divided into two kingdoms. Decreased יַפְרִיע. An expression similar to (Gen. 16:12) “One who decreases men (פֶּרֶא אָדָם) .”