Commentaire de citation sur Le Deutéronome 11:30

How were the blessings and curses [pronounced]?
When Israel crossed the Jordan and came to Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal which are by Samaria, in the vicinity of Shechem which is near the terebinths of Moreh, as it is said, “Are they not the other side of the Jordan, [beyond the west road that is in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the Arabah near Gilgal, by the terebinths of Moreh] (Deut. 11:30), and elsewhere it says, “And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem unto the terebinth of Moreh” (Genesis 12:6) just as the terebinth of Moreh mentioned in this latter verse is Shechem, so the terebinth of Moreh mentioned in the former verse is Shechem. This section identifies the location of Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal. Deut. 12:30 says that they are near the “terebinths of Moreh” and in Genesis 12:6 the “terebinths of Moreh” are identified as Shechem (currently an Arab city called Nablus, after the Greek Neapolis). Since the rabbis new where Shechem was but not where the “terebinths of Moreh” were, the identification with Shechem was crucial to identify the location of the two mountains.

ויעבר אברם בארץ עד מקום שכם, “Avram traversed the country (traveling in a southerly direction) as far as the site of the town of Shechem.” The location is mentioned to tell us that he offered a prayer there concerning the sons of Yaakov, who he foresaw, would encounter many problems associated with that location and who would engage in a war there in order to free their sister Dinah who had been captured and raped. This in spite of the fact that when he had described himself as ערירי, unable to sire offspring, G’d had assured him that he would not only have children but that he would found a great nation. He was concerned that perhaps due to a sin on his part, this promise would be long delayed in being fulfilled. Nachmanides writes that all the journeys of Avraham which are recorded here, as well as those of Yitzchok and Yaakov after him, are recorded to serve as illustrations of the principle מעשה אבות סימן לבנים, that the affairs of the patriarchs foreshadow experiences which occurred in the lives of their offspring during the history of the Jews as a people. The decrees announced by the prophets (the “wakeful ones,” according to Daniel 4,14) were based on their interpreting events in the lives of the patriarchs as foreshadowing the fate of their children and children’s children. When the prophets engaged in what appear to be merely symbolic actions [such as Jeremiah 51,63-64 giving instructions to Baruch, his disciple, to tie a stone to the book of Jeremiah after he has finished reading it, and to throw it into the river Euphrates and to say at that moment: “thus shall Babylon sink and never rise again, because of the disaster that I will bring upon it.”] Baruch was instructed to perform this act so as to make G’d’s decree more than just a potential judgment on the Babylonians. By performing a tangible, visible act, the decree was transformed from something merely potential to something actual, though the time for realization had not yet been determined. In a similar manner, all the stories related in detail about the patriarchs serve as the catalyst for eventual repetition in the lives of the Jewish people. We find a similar example in the days of Elisha (Kings II 13,15) who instructed King Joash to get a bow and arrows and to shoot out the window. Having shot an arrow, Elisha proclaimed this gesture to have been a symbol of victory for the people of Israel. He then instructed the king to pick up the arrows he had shot. The King complied. He was then instructed to strike the ground. The King struck the ground three times and stopped. (without having been told to stop) Elisha was very angry at the King and told him that if only he had continued another five or six times, he would have annihilated Aram. As it were, he would defeat the armies of Aram only three times. [Elisha was already sick at the time, close to death, and therefore especially frustrated by the King’s action. Ed.] The Bible does not tell us stories like this merely to embellish the study of our history. These symbolic actions are extremely important in helping certain decrees of G’d which were in the realm of the potential only, to become translated into reality. G’d provided the patriarchs with opportunities to perform such symbolic gestures, which in the course of Jewish history would prove to have been the trigger setting in motion important historic developments. This is the meaning of מעשה אבות סימן לבנים. The Torah stated והכנעני אז בארץ, that “the Canaanite was then in control of the land of Canaan,” a banal statement, for why else would the land be described as the land of the Canaanites? There is a far deeper meaning to this statement. Among other meanings, the Torah is on record that Jews had already moved around unopposed in the land of Canaan at a time when the time was not yet ripe for this people to be expelled from that land on account of what the Torah described as עון האמורי, “the sin of the Emorite.” (Genesis 15,16) It is also possible that the reason why the Torah saw fit to write the line והכנעני אז בארץ, is to explain why it took Avraham such a long time before he built the first altar dedicated to monotheism. He had been afraid, as the land was owned by the Canaanite and he could not expect that they would take kindly to a stranger publicly challenging their religious convictions. It was only after G’d had appeared to him and given him assurances that he was no longer afraid to do what he had in mind to do already previously. The promise that his children in due course would inherit this land, a promise given in verse 7, encouraged him to become an evangelist on behalf of his G’d. Elon (Moreh) (verse 6) is none other than Shechem. (Nablus in our time) The addition of the word מורה appears in connection with this location which is also defined as being opposite Gilgal and Mount Gerizim elsewhere. (compare Deut. 11,30) The meaning of the words ה-אל הנראה אליו, appears to imply that G’d instructed Avraham to build the altar at that location The word מורה, from הוראה, ”instruction,” was appended to the name of the place Elon to remind us that Avraham had received Divine instructions there. The very word אליו “directly to him,” is indicative of the fact that this revelation was of a more advanced nature than any previous communication by G’d to Avraham. There are some commentators who feel that the words והכנעני אז בארץ, were meant to stress the loving kindness of G’d towards Avraham in that He protected Avraham every step of the way in spite of the fact that the land was owned by a hostile nation [which had already succeeded in driving the Semites out of most of that land. Ed.] Avraham traversed this land with substantial herds, as if the whole land belonged to him. He was not challenged and not molested.

AND ABRAM PASSED THROUGH THE LAND. I will tell you a principle by which you will understand all the coming portions of Scripture concerning Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is indeed a great matter which our Rabbis mentioned briefly, saying:³³Tanchuma Lech Lecha, 9. “Whatever has happened to the patriarchs is a sign to the children.” It is for this reason that the verses narrate at great length the account of the journeys of the patriarchs, the digging of the wells, and other events. Now someone may consider them unnecessary and of no useful purpose, but in truth they all serve as a lesson for the future: when an event happens to any one of the three patriarchs, that which is decreed to happen to his children can be understood.
Concerning all decisions of “the guardians [angels],”³⁴Daniel 4:14. know that when they proceed from a potential decree to a symbolic act, the decree will in any case be effected. It is for this reason that the prophets often perform some act in conjunction with the prophecies, just as Jeremiah commanded Baruch his disciple, And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, and thou shalt say: Thus shall Babylon sink.³⁵Jeremiah 51:63-64. Likewise is the matter of Elisha when he put his arm on the bow [held by Joash, King of Israel]: And Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The Eternal’s arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory against Aram.³⁶II Kings 13:17. And it is further stated there, And the man of G-d was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldst have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Aram till thou hadst consumed it whereas now thou shalt smite Aram but thrice.³⁷Ibid., Verse 19. It is for this reason that the Holy One, blessed be He, caused Abraham to take possession of the Land and symbolically did to him all that was destined to happen in the future to his children. Understand this principle. Now, with the help of G-d, I will begin to explain in detail the subject matter of the verses.
And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem. This is the city of Shechem for such was the name of this place,³⁸Ramban differs with Ibn Ezra’s comment that the name Shechem was non-existent in the days of Abraham but is used here because Moses called it by the name by which it was known in his time. and Shechem the son of Hamor³⁹Genesis 34:2. was called by the name of his city. Now Rashi wrote, “He entered it unto the place of Shechem in order to pray on behalf of Jacob’s sons when they would come grieved from the field.”⁴⁰Ibid., 34:7. In our text of Rashi: “when they would come to fight against Shechem.” This is correct. And I add that Abraham took possession of this place at the very beginning, even before the land was given to him.⁴¹As told later in Verse 7. His taking possession of Shechem is stated in the preceding Verse 6. It was thus hinted to him that his children would first conquer this place⁴²Reference is to the capturing of the city by the sons of Jacob. See further, 34:25. before they would merit it and before the guilt of the dwellers of the land was full⁴³Further, 15:16. to warrant their exile therefrom. It is for this reason that the verse here states, And the Canaanite was then in the land.⁴⁴He took possession of this place even though the Canaanite was yet in the land. (Tur.) And when the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him the land by His Word, Abraham journeyed from there and pitched his tent between Beth-el and Ai for this was the place that Joshua captured first.⁴⁵In battle. (Joshua 8:1-24.) The capture of Jericho earlier was effected by a miracle.
It is possible that Scripture mentions, And the Canaanite was then in the land, to teach us concerning the substance of this chapter, i.e., to state that Abram came into the land of Canaan, but G-d did not show him the land He had promised him. He passed to the place of Shechem while the Canaanite, that bitter and impetuous nation,⁴⁶Habakkuk 1:6. was yet in the land, and Abram feared him. Therefore he did not build an altar to G-d. But when he came to the vicinity of Shechem at the oak of Moreh, G-d appeared to him and gave him the land, and as a result his fear departed from him for he was already assured in the land that I will show thee, and then he built an altar to G-d in order to worship Him openly.
Now eilon Moreh (the oak of Moreh) is in the vicinity of Shechem and is also called eilonei Moreh, as it is written over against Gilgal, beside ‘eilonei Moreh.’⁴⁷Deuteronomy 11:30. There in Shechem, near the Jordan, are Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, where the Israelites arrived at the beginning of their entrance into the land.⁴⁸Sotah 36 a: “On the day Israel crossed the Jordan, they came to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal.” Eilonei Mamre,⁴⁹“The oaks of Mamre.” (Genesis, 18:1.) however, is a place in the land of Hebron,⁵⁰As is clearly stated: Mamre… the city of Arba which is Hebron. (Ibid., 35:27.) far from the Jordan.
Know that wherever Scripture states, eilonei Mamre, the name Mamre is on account of an Amorite by that name to whom the place belonged, just as it says, And he dwelt at the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshkol and brother of Aner,⁵¹Ibid., 14:13. and wherever it says, eilon moreh or eilonei moreh,⁵²Deuteronomy 11:30. the places were so called on account of a man by the name of Moreh, but he was a Canaanite from the land of the Canaanites, who abide in the plains.⁵³Ibid. The end of this verse reads: beside the oaks of Moreh. From this Ramban derives the fact that Moreh was a Canaanite, unlike Mamre who was an Amorite. When Scripture mentions Mamre alone, it means the name of a city, just as it is said: And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, the city of Arba, which is Hebron;⁵⁴Genesis 35:27. Before Mamre which is Hebron.⁵⁵Ibid., 23:19. The man to whom the oaks belonged was called after the name of the city. A similar case is that of Shechem the son of Hamor, who was called Shechem after the name of the city Shechem.
In Bereshith Rabbah⁵⁶42:14. it is said, “In the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah, Mamre is the name of a place, and in the opinion of Rabbi Nechemyah, it is the name of a person.”

He and all that he possesses. [This should be understood] according to the law explained below— he and his livestock [are put to death] by stoning.⁸See below v. 25. The zakeif accent, appearing over the word, בָּאֵשׁ indicates that the word בָּאֵשׁ (with fire) is separated from the word אוֹתוֹ, (he). We find other verses in which the accent divides the verse, such as, ‘אַחַרֵי דֶרֶך מְבוֹא הַשֶׁמֶשׁ’⁹Devorim 11:30. See Rashi and Sifsei Chachomim there. (Far past the Jordan, the direction in which the sun sets). The word אַחַרֵי is separated from the word דֶרֶך by virtue of the [pashta] accent. Thus the interpretation of our verse is: He who is convicted [by the Ark] because of his taking of the condemned, shall be burned with fire, [which means] that which is fit to be burned [shall be burned], as is explained below.¹⁰V. 25.