Commentaire de citation sur Le Deutéronome 11:17

האזינו השמים, to repay Israel in the event they sin deliberately, as mentioned in Deuteronomy 11,17 where G’d had threatened to withhold the rain, i.e. the blessings that originate in heaven.

האזינו השמים HEAR YE HEAVENS that I warn Israel, and be ye witnesses to this matter; for so I have told them that ye will be witnesses (cf. Rashi on Deuteronomy 31:28). Similar is the meaning of ותשמע הארץ (i.e. the verb has the force of an imperative: AND LET THE EARTH HEAR). And why did He call heaven and earth as witnesses against them? Moses thought: “I am a being of flesh and blood (mortal); tomorrow I shall be dead. If the Israelites will once say, ‘We have never accepted the covenant’, who can come and refute them?” Therefore he called heaven and earth as witnesses against them — witnesses that endure forever (Sifrei Devarim 306:15). And a further reason was that if they should act worthily, the witnesses might come and give them their reward: the vine might yield its fruit, the ground give its increase, the heaven bestow its dew; while if they should act sinfully, the hand of the witnesses might first be against them (Rashi uses a phrase similar to that used of human witnesses; cf. e.g. Deuteronomy 13:10): “and He will restrain the heaven, that there be no rain, and the earth will not give its increase; and you shall perish quickly” (Deuteronomy 11:17) — through the attacks of other nations (Tanchuma 5:10:1).

As Adonoy lives. Why was this placed here? For Eliyahu and Achov went to console Chieil in his mourning. Achov said to Eliyahu, “Is it possible that the student’s curse was fulfilled while Moshe our teacher’s curse was not fulfilled, as it is stated, “And you turn away and serve other gods, and bow down to them, Adonoy’s wrath will be aroused against you, and He will restrain the skies [and there will be no rain].”¹Devarim 11:17,18. Now, all Yisroel are worshiping idols, yet, the rains are not being withheld. Immediately, Eliyahu said, etc.²Maseches Sanhedrin 113a. ³Eliyahu intended that by withholding the rain and dew, some or all of the people would repent from their idol worship.—Radak

let no man rule against You Let not our enemies - man - have human strength to rule (עִמְּךָ) with You, i.e., against You, to be victorious, so that they should not say, “We have defeated their God.” Another explanation from the Rabbi: Let not the weak one (אֱנוֹשׁ) be held back (יַעְצר), for we are weak, deprived of strength, keeping us back (עוֹצְרֵי יָד) from defeating them. And an example is (Deut. 11:17): “and He will hold back (וְעָצַר) the heaven”; (Gen. 20:18): “For the Lord had held back (וְעָצר עָצַר),” and like (Jud. 13:16): “If you take me in (תַּעְצְרֵנִי).”