Commentaire de citation sur Isaïe 45:2

I WILL EXECUTE JUDGMENTS: I AM THE ETERNAL. “I Myself and not by means of the¹⁸⁹“The messenger.” In our text of Rashi: “a messenger.” Ramban’s version will be explained further on in the text. messenger.” Thus the language of Rashi. But the Midrash of the Sages is not so. Instead, the Midrash reads:¹⁹⁰Mentioned in the Hagadah recited on the night of Passover. “And I will go through the land of Egypt — I, and not an angel. And I will smite all the firstborn — I, and not a seraph. And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments — I, and not the messenger. I am the Eternal — I am He, and no other.” The purport of the Midrash is as follows: Since this chapter contains the words of Moses to Israel,¹⁹¹As indicated in Verse 3 above: Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying…. it would have been proper for the verse here to say, “And the Eternal will go through the land of Egypt and He will smite all the firstborn,” [instead of saying, And I will go through]. It is for this reason that the Rabbis interpreted the expression, and I will go through the land of Egypt, as meaning “I Myself” and not a messenger sent by Him in plagues, as in the days of David¹⁹²II Samuel 24:16. and Sennacherib.¹⁹³II Kings 19:35. “And I will smite all the firstborn — I, and not a seraph,” means that the striking of the plague will be done by the Holy One, blessed be He, and not like a king who wreaks vengeance on his enemies through his executioners, their counterparts on high being the seraphim from whom the fire comes forth consuming His enemies, as in the case of Elijah and the captain of the fifty.¹⁹⁴Ibid., 1:10. “And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments, and not by means of the messenger” sent by Him, blessed be He, for whatever is to be done upon the earth. This is the great angel, who on account of it is called Mattatron, the meaning of the word being “the guide of the road.” Thus the Rabbis have said in the Sifre:¹⁹⁵Sifre, Ha’azinu, 338. “The Holy One, blessed be He, was the mattatron (guide) for Moses, and He showed him the entire Land of Israel.” And in the [Midrash] Yelamdeinu¹⁹⁶Literally: “May [our master] teach us.” This was a Midrash which contained homilies that opened with the expression yelamdeinu rabbeinu (may our master teach us) i.e., about some matter of Halachic (legal) content. The Rabbi answered the question briefly and then turned to elaborate on the moral and ethical aspects connected therewith. This Midrash is now practically lost except for some sections found in the Tanchuma. The particular Midrash Ramban mentions here is found in the Aruch, under the root mattator. we find: “And Balak heard that Balaam came¹⁹⁷Numbers 22:36. for Balaam sent his mattatron before him.” And it is furthermore written there:¹⁹⁸This Midrash too is found in the Aruch, under the root mattator, which mentions it in the name of the Yelamdeinu. “Behold, I have begun to deliver up Sihon and his land before thee.¹⁹⁹Deuteronomy 2:31. Do not let it worry you. I am your mattatron. And be not surprised at this for I am even to be the mattatron before an uncircumcised person, i.e., before Cyrus [king of Persia], as it is said, I will go before thee.²⁰⁰Isaiah 45:2. Before a woman — Deborah and Barak — I will lead on the way, as it is said, Is not the Eternal gone out before thee.”²⁰¹Judges 4:14. [We find this word mattatron] also in many other places. I have also heard that in the Greek language, a messenger is called mattator. And [finally] the Rabbis interpreted [in the Midrash mentioned at the beginning of this discussion]: “I am the Eternal — I am He, and no other,” meaning that He is one, and there is no other god beside Him to protest against His act. This is the purport of this Midrash.

IRON AND BRASS SHALL BE THY BARS. Asher was at the end of the Land of Israel, as it is written with reference to his inheritance, and it reached to Carmel westward,²⁶⁷Joshua 19:26. and it is further stated, and its goings out were at the sea.²⁶⁸Ibid., Verse 29. And again it is said, Asher drove not out the inhabitants of Acco,²⁶⁹Judges 1:31. which is located on the Great Sea [i.e., the Mediterranean], as the Rabbis have said:²⁷⁰Yerushalmi Shekalim VI, 2. See also Bereshith Rabbah 23:11. “At first [the ocean] advanced till Acco, and the second time till Japho.” And if so, Asher’s land was like the bars of the Land of Israel. Therefore, Moses said, Iron and brass shall be thy bars, that he will have [so to speak] doors of brass²⁷¹Isaiah 45:2. and iron bars, and the entire Land will be locked with them. This is an intimation that G-d will protect the whole Land from the enemy and the avenger.²⁷²Psalms 8:3. Or perhaps the verse states that strangers will not come to plunder the oil, for it will be transported from his land to the whole world in merchant ships.

And now that I have made all this known to you; and after giving thanks to God for the mercy He has bestowed upon me (Psalms 117:2) by enlightening me and imparting it all to me; and after praying that He may guide me in the paths of righteousness (Psalms 23:3) and teach me His ways for His Name's sake. (Isaiah 2:3) I will now set off ahead of you and make the crooked places straight (Isaiah 45:2), I will bring you treasures from the darkness, and the hidden riches of secret places (Isaiah 45:3). May the Lord accomplish His purpose for me, forsaking not the work of my hands (Psalms 138:8). Open my eyes, that I might perceive the wonders of Your Torah. (Psalms 119:18).