אֵ֠לֶּה הַֽחֻקִּ֣ים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֮ וְהַתּוֹרֹת֒ אֲשֶׁר֙ נָתַ֣ן יְהוָ֔ה בֵּינ֕וֹ וּבֵ֖ין בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל בְּהַ֥ר סִינַ֖י בְּיַד־מֹשֶֽׁה׃ (פ)
Telles sont les ordonnances, les institutions et les doctrines que l’Éternel fit intervenir entre lui et les enfants d’Israël, au mont Sinaï, par l’organe de Moïse.
Ramban
AND THE ETERNAL SPOKE UNTO MOSES IN MOUNT SINAI. “What has the subject of the Sabbatical year [stated here in this section] to do with that of Mount Sinai? Were not all the commandments declared on Sinai? [It is to teach us that] just as [this law of] the Sabbatical year was ordained on Sinai with its general rules, its specific prescripts and its minute details, so also were all [the commandments] ordained on Sinai with their general rules, and their specific prescripts and their minute details. Thus it is taught [here] in the Torath Kohanin. It appears to me1I.e. Rashi. Having quoted the text of the Torath Kohanim, Rashi now proceeds to explain the basis of the analogy of this text of the Beraitha between our section and all other commandments. To follow Rashi’s answer it is important to recall that in the final year of Israel’s stay in the wilderness, when they were encamped in the plains of Moab (Numbers 22:1), Moses, in the last days of his life, restated the commandments of G-d, his words being contained in the Book of Deuteronomy. However, since not all the commandments were restated there by Moses, our verse serves as a basis for the interpretation of the Torath Kohanim, as will be explained by Rashi. Ramban will differ with this whole approach, since the text of the Torath Kohanim makes no reference at all to Moses’ restatement of the laws in the plains of Moab. See at end of Note 10. that the following is the interpretation thereof: Since we do not find the law of the resting of the soil [in the Sabbatical year] repeated in the plains of Moab [when Moses restated the law, as contained in the Book of Deuteronomy], we must deduce that all the general rules and specific prescripts [of the Sabbatical year, including those of the resting of the soil] were declared on Sinai. [Why then was it necessary for Scripture to state here in Mount Sinai, since it is self-understood that this entire law was promulgated on Sinai, since the law of the resting of the soil is not mentioned in the Book of Deuteronomy? We must say that the reason] Scripture mentioned [the phrase in Mount Sinai] here is in order to teach that every communication [i.e., commandment] that was spoken to Moses on Sinai, was given at Sinai together with its general rules and minute details, and they were [merely] repeated and taught again in the plains of Moab.” Thus far is the language of Rashi.
But this does not appear to me to be correct at all. For there are many commandments like the Sabbatical year which were not repeated in the plains of Moab, and [all] we know about their general rules and specific prescripts is that they were promulgated either on Sinai or in the Tent of Meeting [but not specifically on Sinai, as Rashi said]!2In other words, we can be certain that those commandments which were not mentioned in the plains of Moab [and are recorded in other parts of the Torah], were declared at some preceding time, but we cannot be sure whether they were said with the commandments given at Sinai, or only later on, after the building of the Tabernacle from which G-d communicated to Moses. On what basis, then, does Rashi say that they were all given on Sinai? Moreover, how do we know that the other commandments which were repeated in the plains of Moab are to be likened to the Sabbatical year [which was not repeated? Perhaps this analogy applies only to those commandments which were not repeated in the plains of Moab, like the Sabbatical year; but how do we know that the analogy applies also to those that were repeated by Moses in the plains of Moab, as contained in the Book of Deuteronomy? And how do we know that in the case of those commandments that were repeated by Moses], that only the general rules were declared on Sinai but the specific prescripts were given in the plains of Moab! And indeed it would be more logical to say so, that those commandments which were repeated by Moses, were restated for the sake of explaining their specific prescripts, since on Sinai only their general rules had been declared!
But the interpretation of the above Beraitha is clear: The general rules of the Sabbatical year were declared on Sinai, as it is written in the section of ‘V’eileh Hamishpatim’ (And these are the ordinances):3Exodus 21:1. Since these ordinances were declared before the Tabernacle was erected, they must perforce have been given on Sinai. And on the seventh year thou shalt let it [i.e., the Land] rest and lie fallow, that the poor of thy people may eat etc.4Ibid., 23:11. These are the laws of the Sabbatical year in a general way. Here He went back [to this subject] and said that in Mount Sinai all its specific prescripts were also given, since all of them are mentioned in this section. And at the end of this subject it is written, These are the commandments, which the Eternal commanded Moses for the children of Israel in Mount Sinai,5Leviticus 27:34. in order to liken all the commandments to the Sabbatical year [previously] mentioned, [teaching] that all of them, likewise, were stated in general terms and with their particular details — that is, all were declared on Sinai. And thus it is taught there in the Torath Kohanim:6Torath Kohanim, end of Seder Bechukothai. “These are the commandments.5Leviticus 27:34. Henceforth no prophet may promulgate any new thing.7This is a major teaching in Judaism, that the prophets who came after Moses only served to exhort Israel to obey the laws given by Moses, but no new Divine commandments were added. Which the Eternal commanded Moses.5Leviticus 27:34. The messenger was [found] deserving before Him Who sent him [since he was the most perfect of all human beings].8Malbim to Torath Kohanim ibid. Moses for the children of Israel. It was the merit of Israel that caused [the Divine Glory to rest upon Moses].9“And that the Torah be given through Moses. For if Israel had not accepted the Torah, the Divine Glory would not have communicated with Moses, because where there is no flock there is no shepherd, and if there is a flock there must be a shepherd” (Rabad in his commentary to Torath Kohanim, ibid.). In Mount Sinai,5Leviticus 27:34. [this teaches] that all commandments originated at Sinai.” Thus far is the text in the Torath Kohanim. But the reason [that the laws were repeated] in the plains of Moab was only for the purpose of explaining the Torah to the children [of those who had left Egypt, who were born in the wilderness after the Giving of the Torah at Sinai]. This appears to me to be the interpretation [of the Beraitha of the Torath Kohanim mentioned] and “it is well and nicely said.”10The Hebrew expression kaftor vaferach literally means “a knop and a flower.” The term is borrowed from the design of the candelabrum (see Exodus 25:33), and here means “a thing of truth, and beautifully stated.” The usage of this expression is found in Bereshith Rabbah 91:12. It has been suggested that since the candelabrum in the Tabernacle represented the light of wisdom, the knops and flowers in the candelabrum symbolized truth beautifully expressed. Hence the expression kaftor vaferach as applied to a dictum of truth well formulated. — In essence, Ramban’s understanding of the Beraitha mentioned by Rashi is as follows: “Why is the expression in Mount Sinai mentioned here? It cannot be to teach us that the general principles of the Sabbatical year were given on Sinai, for all commandments were declared on Sinai in general terms, the Sabbatical year being merely one of them, as expressly stated in Exodus 23:11. Hence the expression here in Mount Sinai must be to teach that all its specific prescripts were also given on Mount Sinai, and from this you may deduce that the verse at the end of the Book of Leviticus, which states, These are the commandments which the Eternal commanded Moses … in Mount Sinai intends to teach us that the specific prescripts of all the laws were also declared on Sinai. — Ramban’s interpretation is thus not based at all on Moses’ restatement of the laws in the plains of Moab, as is that of Rashi, but instead is founded upon the verses in Exodus 23:11, and at the end of Leviticus, as explained.
Now the reason why this section [of the laws of the Sabbatical year] was written here, Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained to be as follows: This is the covenant which was written in the section of ‘V’eileh Hamishpatim’ (And these are the ordinances),11Exodus 24:4-7: And Moses wrote all the words of the Eternal … And he took the Book of the Covenant. and when the people accepted it upon themselves [by saying] we will do, and obey,12Ibid., Verse 7. then the covenant was made,13Ibid., Verse 8. and [Moses] told them this whole section [containing the laws of the Sabbatical year]. Scripture mentioned it in this place in order to put in proximity all the conditions [He laid down for Israel’s inheriting] the Land; for just as He said with reference to forbidden sexual relations that on account of them the Land will vomit them out,14Above, 18:28. so He said in the section of ‘Im Bechukothai’ (If ye walk in My statutes)15Further, 26:3. with regard to [not keeping the laws of] the Sabbaths of the Land,16Ibid., Verse 34. and therefore it was necessary that He mention [here] first [what are the laws of] the Sabbatical years.
In my opinion this section is written here in its proper order, for the expression in Mount Sinai means when Moses went up there to receive the second Tablets [and does not refer, as Ibn Ezra interprets it, to the time immediately after the Giving of the Torah, even before Moses went up the mountain to receive the first Tablets of the Law], and the explanation of the matter is as follows: At the beginning of the first forty days of the first Tablets, Moses wrote in the Book of the Covenant all the words of the Eternal17Exodus 24:4. and all the ordinances stated there [in that section],18Ibid., Chapters 21-23. and he sprinkled the blood of the covenant upon the people.13Ibid., Verse 8. But when the people sinned with the [golden] calf and the Tablets were broken, that was equivalent to a breaking of the covenant with the Holy One, blessed be He. Therefore when the Holy One, blessed be He, became reconciled to Moses by giving him the second Tablets, He commanded him concerning a new covenant, as it is said, Behold, I make a covenant;19Ibid., 34:10. and He repeated there the stringent commandments that had been said in the section of ‘V’eileh Hamishpatim’ (And these are the ordinances)20Ibid., 21:1. at the first covenant, and He [now] stated, Write thou these words, for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.21Ibid., 34:27. Now the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to make this second covenant with them with greater stringency, and that it should be upon them by means of oaths and curses, and that it should cover, like the first one, all the original commandments and all the ordinances, as it is said of the first covenant, And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Eternal, and all the ordinances.22Ibid., 24:3. Therefore Scripture states here at the end of the exhortations, These are the statutes and ordinances and laws, which the Eternal made between Him and the children of Israel, in Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses,23Further, 26:46. this being an allusion to all the commandments and ordinances which had been said at the first covenant, in the section of ‘V’eileh Hamishpatim’ (And these are the ordinances),20Ibid., 21:1. for they were all embodied in this [second] covenant.
Now in the Book of the first Covenant, the law of the Sabbatical year was stated in a general way as I have mentioned, as it is said, And on the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie fallow etc.,4Ibid., 23:11. and now in this second convenant it was said with its specific prescripts, its minute details, and its penalties. At the time of the first covenant, during the first forty days [after the Giving of the Torah, when Moses went up to the mountain], Moses was commanded concerning the building of the Tabernacle; and when the Holy One, blessed be He, became reconciled to him and commanded him to make a second covenant for them, Moses came down [from the mountain] and he gave them in commandment all that the Eternal had spoken with him in Mount Sinai,24Exodus 34:32. including the making of the Tabernacle. Then Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel, and said unto them as at first, These are the words which the Eternal hath commanded that ye should do them,25Ibid., 35:1. when making the Tabernacle. Now they accepted the charge joyfully, and departed from his presence at once, and they all came back and brought the donations, and made the Tabernacle and completed its construction. And as soon as it was set up, He immediately called unto Moses, and the Eternal spoke unto him out of the Tent of Meeting,26Above, 1:1. and He commanded him regarding the offerings and the whole Torath Kohanim [“law of the priests,” i.e., the Book of Leviticus], and Moses immediately commanded them all to Aaron and his sons and to all the children of Israel. When he had finished, he said to them: “G-d further commanded me in Mount Sinai to explain to you [the laws of] the Sabbatical year and of the Jubilee, and to make a new covenant with you concerning all the commandments and ordinances, by means of adjuration and oath.” It was not necessary now [for Moses] to slaughter offerings and sprinkle half of the blood upon the people and half upon the altar, as he had done at the first covenant,27Exodus 24:5-6. because now they were [again] accepting upon themselves the original covenant, with these oaths and adjurations. This is the sense of the expression, which the Eternal made between Him and the children of Israel in Mount Sinai,23Further, 26:46. for it was He Who made with them this [second] covenant, having forgiven them on the basis of these conditions [i.e., the oaths and adjurations mentioned further on in Chapter 26], as I have explained at the end of [Seder] Ki Thisa.28Ibid., 34:27; 31. See Vol. II, pp. 591-2, 594. Similarly, the covenant at the plains of Moab29Deuteronomy 28:69. 29:9-13. was made likewise, by means of the people accepting upon themselves the Torah with those oaths and adjurations [mentioned in Deuteronomy Chapter 28], this being the covenant, as it is said, These are the words of the covenant which the Eternal commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.30Ibid., 28:69. Ramban’s point is thus to stress that all subsequent covenants mentioned after the one made at Sinai are merely re-affirmations of the original covenant. The Rabbis of blessed memory have spoken the truth in saying31Torath Kohanim, Bechukothai 8:9. that among the conditions on which the Land [was given by G-d to Israel] are [those of observing the laws of] the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee, as He will mention in the exhortations,32Further, 26:34; 43. and they are clearly expressed in this second covenant [as referring to the commandments in this section].
But this does not appear to me to be correct at all. For there are many commandments like the Sabbatical year which were not repeated in the plains of Moab, and [all] we know about their general rules and specific prescripts is that they were promulgated either on Sinai or in the Tent of Meeting [but not specifically on Sinai, as Rashi said]!2In other words, we can be certain that those commandments which were not mentioned in the plains of Moab [and are recorded in other parts of the Torah], were declared at some preceding time, but we cannot be sure whether they were said with the commandments given at Sinai, or only later on, after the building of the Tabernacle from which G-d communicated to Moses. On what basis, then, does Rashi say that they were all given on Sinai? Moreover, how do we know that the other commandments which were repeated in the plains of Moab are to be likened to the Sabbatical year [which was not repeated? Perhaps this analogy applies only to those commandments which were not repeated in the plains of Moab, like the Sabbatical year; but how do we know that the analogy applies also to those that were repeated by Moses in the plains of Moab, as contained in the Book of Deuteronomy? And how do we know that in the case of those commandments that were repeated by Moses], that only the general rules were declared on Sinai but the specific prescripts were given in the plains of Moab! And indeed it would be more logical to say so, that those commandments which were repeated by Moses, were restated for the sake of explaining their specific prescripts, since on Sinai only their general rules had been declared!
But the interpretation of the above Beraitha is clear: The general rules of the Sabbatical year were declared on Sinai, as it is written in the section of ‘V’eileh Hamishpatim’ (And these are the ordinances):3Exodus 21:1. Since these ordinances were declared before the Tabernacle was erected, they must perforce have been given on Sinai. And on the seventh year thou shalt let it [i.e., the Land] rest and lie fallow, that the poor of thy people may eat etc.4Ibid., 23:11. These are the laws of the Sabbatical year in a general way. Here He went back [to this subject] and said that in Mount Sinai all its specific prescripts were also given, since all of them are mentioned in this section. And at the end of this subject it is written, These are the commandments, which the Eternal commanded Moses for the children of Israel in Mount Sinai,5Leviticus 27:34. in order to liken all the commandments to the Sabbatical year [previously] mentioned, [teaching] that all of them, likewise, were stated in general terms and with their particular details — that is, all were declared on Sinai. And thus it is taught there in the Torath Kohanim:6Torath Kohanim, end of Seder Bechukothai. “These are the commandments.5Leviticus 27:34. Henceforth no prophet may promulgate any new thing.7This is a major teaching in Judaism, that the prophets who came after Moses only served to exhort Israel to obey the laws given by Moses, but no new Divine commandments were added. Which the Eternal commanded Moses.5Leviticus 27:34. The messenger was [found] deserving before Him Who sent him [since he was the most perfect of all human beings].8Malbim to Torath Kohanim ibid. Moses for the children of Israel. It was the merit of Israel that caused [the Divine Glory to rest upon Moses].9“And that the Torah be given through Moses. For if Israel had not accepted the Torah, the Divine Glory would not have communicated with Moses, because where there is no flock there is no shepherd, and if there is a flock there must be a shepherd” (Rabad in his commentary to Torath Kohanim, ibid.). In Mount Sinai,5Leviticus 27:34. [this teaches] that all commandments originated at Sinai.” Thus far is the text in the Torath Kohanim. But the reason [that the laws were repeated] in the plains of Moab was only for the purpose of explaining the Torah to the children [of those who had left Egypt, who were born in the wilderness after the Giving of the Torah at Sinai]. This appears to me to be the interpretation [of the Beraitha of the Torath Kohanim mentioned] and “it is well and nicely said.”10The Hebrew expression kaftor vaferach literally means “a knop and a flower.” The term is borrowed from the design of the candelabrum (see Exodus 25:33), and here means “a thing of truth, and beautifully stated.” The usage of this expression is found in Bereshith Rabbah 91:12. It has been suggested that since the candelabrum in the Tabernacle represented the light of wisdom, the knops and flowers in the candelabrum symbolized truth beautifully expressed. Hence the expression kaftor vaferach as applied to a dictum of truth well formulated. — In essence, Ramban’s understanding of the Beraitha mentioned by Rashi is as follows: “Why is the expression in Mount Sinai mentioned here? It cannot be to teach us that the general principles of the Sabbatical year were given on Sinai, for all commandments were declared on Sinai in general terms, the Sabbatical year being merely one of them, as expressly stated in Exodus 23:11. Hence the expression here in Mount Sinai must be to teach that all its specific prescripts were also given on Mount Sinai, and from this you may deduce that the verse at the end of the Book of Leviticus, which states, These are the commandments which the Eternal commanded Moses … in Mount Sinai intends to teach us that the specific prescripts of all the laws were also declared on Sinai. — Ramban’s interpretation is thus not based at all on Moses’ restatement of the laws in the plains of Moab, as is that of Rashi, but instead is founded upon the verses in Exodus 23:11, and at the end of Leviticus, as explained.
Now the reason why this section [of the laws of the Sabbatical year] was written here, Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained to be as follows: This is the covenant which was written in the section of ‘V’eileh Hamishpatim’ (And these are the ordinances),11Exodus 24:4-7: And Moses wrote all the words of the Eternal … And he took the Book of the Covenant. and when the people accepted it upon themselves [by saying] we will do, and obey,12Ibid., Verse 7. then the covenant was made,13Ibid., Verse 8. and [Moses] told them this whole section [containing the laws of the Sabbatical year]. Scripture mentioned it in this place in order to put in proximity all the conditions [He laid down for Israel’s inheriting] the Land; for just as He said with reference to forbidden sexual relations that on account of them the Land will vomit them out,14Above, 18:28. so He said in the section of ‘Im Bechukothai’ (If ye walk in My statutes)15Further, 26:3. with regard to [not keeping the laws of] the Sabbaths of the Land,16Ibid., Verse 34. and therefore it was necessary that He mention [here] first [what are the laws of] the Sabbatical years.
In my opinion this section is written here in its proper order, for the expression in Mount Sinai means when Moses went up there to receive the second Tablets [and does not refer, as Ibn Ezra interprets it, to the time immediately after the Giving of the Torah, even before Moses went up the mountain to receive the first Tablets of the Law], and the explanation of the matter is as follows: At the beginning of the first forty days of the first Tablets, Moses wrote in the Book of the Covenant all the words of the Eternal17Exodus 24:4. and all the ordinances stated there [in that section],18Ibid., Chapters 21-23. and he sprinkled the blood of the covenant upon the people.13Ibid., Verse 8. But when the people sinned with the [golden] calf and the Tablets were broken, that was equivalent to a breaking of the covenant with the Holy One, blessed be He. Therefore when the Holy One, blessed be He, became reconciled to Moses by giving him the second Tablets, He commanded him concerning a new covenant, as it is said, Behold, I make a covenant;19Ibid., 34:10. and He repeated there the stringent commandments that had been said in the section of ‘V’eileh Hamishpatim’ (And these are the ordinances)20Ibid., 21:1. at the first covenant, and He [now] stated, Write thou these words, for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.21Ibid., 34:27. Now the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to make this second covenant with them with greater stringency, and that it should be upon them by means of oaths and curses, and that it should cover, like the first one, all the original commandments and all the ordinances, as it is said of the first covenant, And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Eternal, and all the ordinances.22Ibid., 24:3. Therefore Scripture states here at the end of the exhortations, These are the statutes and ordinances and laws, which the Eternal made between Him and the children of Israel, in Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses,23Further, 26:46. this being an allusion to all the commandments and ordinances which had been said at the first covenant, in the section of ‘V’eileh Hamishpatim’ (And these are the ordinances),20Ibid., 21:1. for they were all embodied in this [second] covenant.
Now in the Book of the first Covenant, the law of the Sabbatical year was stated in a general way as I have mentioned, as it is said, And on the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie fallow etc.,4Ibid., 23:11. and now in this second convenant it was said with its specific prescripts, its minute details, and its penalties. At the time of the first covenant, during the first forty days [after the Giving of the Torah, when Moses went up to the mountain], Moses was commanded concerning the building of the Tabernacle; and when the Holy One, blessed be He, became reconciled to him and commanded him to make a second covenant for them, Moses came down [from the mountain] and he gave them in commandment all that the Eternal had spoken with him in Mount Sinai,24Exodus 34:32. including the making of the Tabernacle. Then Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel, and said unto them as at first, These are the words which the Eternal hath commanded that ye should do them,25Ibid., 35:1. when making the Tabernacle. Now they accepted the charge joyfully, and departed from his presence at once, and they all came back and brought the donations, and made the Tabernacle and completed its construction. And as soon as it was set up, He immediately called unto Moses, and the Eternal spoke unto him out of the Tent of Meeting,26Above, 1:1. and He commanded him regarding the offerings and the whole Torath Kohanim [“law of the priests,” i.e., the Book of Leviticus], and Moses immediately commanded them all to Aaron and his sons and to all the children of Israel. When he had finished, he said to them: “G-d further commanded me in Mount Sinai to explain to you [the laws of] the Sabbatical year and of the Jubilee, and to make a new covenant with you concerning all the commandments and ordinances, by means of adjuration and oath.” It was not necessary now [for Moses] to slaughter offerings and sprinkle half of the blood upon the people and half upon the altar, as he had done at the first covenant,27Exodus 24:5-6. because now they were [again] accepting upon themselves the original covenant, with these oaths and adjurations. This is the sense of the expression, which the Eternal made between Him and the children of Israel in Mount Sinai,23Further, 26:46. for it was He Who made with them this [second] covenant, having forgiven them on the basis of these conditions [i.e., the oaths and adjurations mentioned further on in Chapter 26], as I have explained at the end of [Seder] Ki Thisa.28Ibid., 34:27; 31. See Vol. II, pp. 591-2, 594. Similarly, the covenant at the plains of Moab29Deuteronomy 28:69. 29:9-13. was made likewise, by means of the people accepting upon themselves the Torah with those oaths and adjurations [mentioned in Deuteronomy Chapter 28], this being the covenant, as it is said, These are the words of the covenant which the Eternal commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.30Ibid., 28:69. Ramban’s point is thus to stress that all subsequent covenants mentioned after the one made at Sinai are merely re-affirmations of the original covenant. The Rabbis of blessed memory have spoken the truth in saying31Torath Kohanim, Bechukothai 8:9. that among the conditions on which the Land [was given by G-d to Israel] are [those of observing the laws of] the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee, as He will mention in the exhortations,32Further, 26:34; 43. and they are clearly expressed in this second covenant [as referring to the commandments in this section].
Siftei Chakhamim
About Korach. Even though the Torah often writes ביד משה (lit. ‘in the hand of Moshe’ but normally meaning ‘through Moshe’) as in Parshas Beha'aloscha where it writes “according to the word of Hashem in the hand of Moshe” (Bamidbar 9:23, 10:13) and similarly in Parshas Bechukosai (Vayikra 26:46) and Parshas Pinchos (Bamidbar 27:23). Nevertheless, Rashi is answering a question: What is the meaning of “in the hand of Moshe”? For one cannot answer that Hashem said through Moshe to Korach that he would be punished if he disputed the kehunah, since we do not find this in the Torah. Furthermore why would He have commanded Korach any more than the rest of Yisroel? The phrase “to him” certainly refers to Korach, according to the Midrash which says, “This alludes that those who enter a dispute,” a reference to Korach who disputed. Rather one must say that “in the hand of Moshe” comes for one to expound an “allusion that those who dispute…” meaning that it is written “in the hand of Moshe” and there (Shemos 4:6) it is written “Please place your hand in your chest.” Just as there the Torah refers to tzora’as, so too here, those who enter a dispute will be stricken with tzora’as.
Ramban
APH ANI E’ESEH ZOTH LACHEM’ (ALSO I WILL DO THIS UNTO YOU). By way of the Truth, the meaning [of this verse is] as if it were inverted: ‘aph ani zoth e’eseh lachem’ [meaning: “also ani — the term for the Divine attribute called zoth, which signifies judgment — will do unto you”]. This is why He always mentions in this section the word ani (I): then will ‘ani’ (I) also walk;99Verse 24. And ‘ani’ (I) also will smite you;99Verse 24. and ‘ani’ (I) also will chastise you;100Verse 28. and ‘ani (I) will bring the Land into desolation;101Verse 32. ‘ani’ (I) also will walk contrary unto them.102Verse 41. And in the Midrash of Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah [we find it interpreted]:103Sefer Habahir, 66. See Vol. I, p. 24, Note 42. “It will not suffice for Me [merely] to pronounce judgment [and have it executed by a messenger], but even I also will chastise [you], etc.”
The principle [of this section] is that it is the Holy One, blessed be He, Who makes this covenant, and this is the meaning of the expressions: seven for your sins;104Verses: 18, 24, 28. See my Hebrew commentary p. 187. seven according to your sins.105Verse 21. And the oaths are [thus] the oaths of the covenant, for the expressions are from the mouth of the Almighty, [speaking] in the language of the first person: ‘I’ will do;106In Verse 16 before us. and ‘I’ will chastise;100Verse 28. and ‘I’ will smite.99Verse 24. Therefore Scripture states [concerning this covenant], which the Eternal made between Him and the children of Israel,107Further, Verse 46. for He by His Great Name made this covenant. But in the Book of Deuteronomy [Scripture] states, If thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Eternal thy G-d, to observe to do all His commandments,108Deuteronomy 28:15. and it continually mentions there an expression of cursing, thus it starts them [the words of the covenant] with: cursed shalt thou be,109Ibid., Verse 16. since the blessing is absent from them, and it further states, the Eternal will make.110Ibid., Verse 24. It is this which is the [intention of the] saying of our Rabbis:111Megillah 31 b. “The imprecations of the Book of Leviticus were [prounounced] in plural terms [if ‘ye’ will not hearken … if ‘ye’ shall reject …], and Moses, in saying them, said them from the mouth of the Almighty [stating: “Thus did the Holy One blessed be He, say unto me, ‘If ye will not hearken unto Me’ “], but those [imprecations mentioned] in the Book of Deuteronomy were [pronounced] in the singular [if ‘thou’ wilt not hearken … which I command ‘thee'…] and Moses in saying them said them [as though they came] from his own mouth, for the Almighty made Moses a messenger between Him and between all Israel.”
Know and understand that these oaths [stated in this section] allude to the first exile [i.e., the Babylonian exile following the destruction of the First Temple], for it is with reference to the First Temple that all the words of this covenant, concerning the exile and the redemption therefrom, apply. For thus you will see in the exhortations [here] that He stated, And if ye shall reject My statutes, and if your soul abhor Mine ordinances,112Verse 15. and He further stated, that ye void My covenant,112Verse 15. mentioning among them [the rejected statutes]: the high places [on which they offered forbidden sacrifices], sun-images, and idols,113Verse 30. and it was [in the times of the First Temple] that they worshipped idols and did all evil things. It is in connection with this that He said, And I will bring your Sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors,114Verse 31. thus warning them that He will remove from them His Sanctuary and the acceptance of the offerings which were favorable to Him in that Sanctuary, and the punishments which were to follow upon them were: the sword,115Verse 25. wild beasts,116Verse 22. pestilence,115Verse 25. famine,117Verse 26. and finally exile.118Verse 33. And all these things occurred then [at the destruction of the First Temple], as is clearly stated in the Book of Jeremiah. Of that [first] exile He stated, Then shall the Land be paid her Sabbaths;119Verse 34. As long as it lieth desolate it shall have a rest; even the rest which it had not [in your Sabbath],120Verse 35. because the years of the [Babylonian] exile were [as many] as the years in which they failed to observe [the laws of] the Sabbatical years.121See Rashi in Verse 35, who explains how the seventy years of the Babylonian exile correspond exactly to the seventy Sabbatical and Jubilee years that Israel failed to observe in the Land. So also does Scripture state concerning that exile, [that it was] To fulfill the word of the Eternal by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the Land had been paid her Sabbaths; for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years.122II Chronicles 36:21. Thus He warned them and thus it happened to them. If so, it is clear that Scripture speaks here of that [first] exile.
If you examine further the subject of the redemption from it [the Babylonian exile, you see], that He only assures [Israel] that He will remember the covenant of the fathers,123Verse 42. and of the remembrance of the Land,123Verse 42. but not that He will forgive their iniquity and their sin and that He will once again love them as of old, nor that He will gather together those of them who are dispersed. For such indeed happened when they came up from Babylon, for only [the tribes of] Judah and Benjamin returned together with a small group of Levites who were with them, and some124See Ramban’s Sefer Hage’ulah (Kithvei Haramban, Vol. I, pp. 272-4) for a full discussion of this important matter — that in the return from Babylon there were small groups from the other tribes besides Judah and Benjamin, but the main bulk of them remained in their places, and hence the words of the prophets announcing their complete return, not having been fulfilled during the Second Temple, will yet assuredly come to transpire in the future. This is the deeper significance of Ramban’s expression here: “and some of the other tribes …” — “some” but not all, and therefore the words of G-d as spoken by His prophets will still be fulfilled in the future when the ge’ulah shleimah (the perfect redemption) will take place, as the return from Babylon did not represent that final and complete redemption. It is obvious that this constitutes a major principle in our faith of Israel’s future and destiny. Ramban will touch upon this theme of the perfect redemption further on in the text. See also further, Note 154. of the [other] tribes that had been exiled to Babylon, and they returned in poverty, and in servitude to the kings of Persia.125See Ezra 9:9. Nor does He state that they will return to Him in complete repentance, but only that they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers,126Verse 40. and we find that the people of the Second Temple did so, as Daniel confessed: We have sinned, we have dealt iniquitously, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, and have turned aside from Thy commandments etc.127Daniel 9:5. O Eternal, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers.128Ibid., Verse 8. Thus they confessed also the sins of their fathers. The same applies to the following verses. And it is further written, because of our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Thy people are a reproach.129Ibid., Verse 16. And so did Nehemiah confess.130Nehemiah 1:6-7. And Ezra said, Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept Thy law.131Ibid., 9:34. It should be noted that Scripture there ascribes the actual confession to the Levites, and Ezra’s name is not directly mentioned. However, the implication in Chapter 8 Verse 13 is clearly that it was at Ezra’s instigation that they kept the Festival of Tabernacles and the subsequent confession following it (see ibid., 9:1). Besides, Ezra being a priest (ibid., 8:2) he was automatically of the tribe of Levi and was thus included among the Levites who recited the confession. Thus they all deduced from the Torah that they should confess their iniquity and [also] the iniquity of their fathers. All these [matters] are clear indications that this covenant does indeed allude to the first exile and the redemption therefrom.
However the covenant in the Book of Deuteronomy132Deuteronomy 28:1-69. alludes to this our [present] exile, and to the redemption by which we will be redeemed from it. Thus we observe first that there [in the second covenant] neither the end nor the duration [of the exile] are alluded to, and that He did not assure us of redemption [i.e., promising that it would take place at a certain future time as was the case with the Babylonian captivity, whose end was foretold as a definite event in our section here in Leviticus as explained above], but He made it dependent upon [our] repentance. Neither did He mention among the sins [for which they would be exiled that] they would make any Asherim and sun-images, or that they would worship any idols whatsoever. Rather, He said, But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Eternal thy G-d, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes,108Deuteronomy 28:15. thus stating that because they will transgress some of His commandments, and will not keep and observe all of them,133I.e., they will “transgress” some of the negative commandments and “not keep and observe” the positive commandments. they would be punished. Such indeed was the case during the Second Temple, just as the Rabbis have said:134Yoma 9 b. “Why was the First Temple destroyed? Because of idolatry, immorality and bloodshed. But the Second Temple, of which we know that they [the people of that period], were engaged in the study of Torah and the practice of loving kindness, why was it destroyed? It was because of the causeless enmity which was among them.” Neither does He mention there [in the covenant in the Book of Deuteronomy] the Sanctuary, or “the pleasing odor” [of the offerings], as He mentioned here,135Verse 31. because the [Heavenly] fire did not come down and consume the offerings [that were brought] in the Second Temple, as the Rabbis testified there in Tractate Yoma.136Yoma 21 b. Thus, as it were, there never was a “pleasing odor” in the days of the Second Temple which could be removed at its destruction. And He further states there among the imprecations, The Eternal will bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as the vulture swoops down,137Deuteronomy 28:49. alluding to the coming upon them of the Romans, who were very far from them. Thus He states there, a nation that thou hast not known;138Ibid., Verse 36. a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand,137Deuteronomy 28:49. because of their great distance from our Land. Such is not the case concerning the words of this covenant [before us], for [it speaks of the time when] they were exiled to Babylon and Assyria, which are near to [our] Land, and they always warred with them;139Therefore, the verse in Deuteronomy 28:49 [The Eternal will bring a nation … from the end of the earth …] could not apply to the period of the First Temple, as their warring enemies were nearby. The case was far different during the Second Temple when the Romans came from far-off Italy. and the stock of Israel comes from there, and they [the Jews] knew their language, as it is said, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Aramean language, for we understand it.140II Kings 18:26. Similarly, the verse stating [there in the Book of Deuteronomy], And the Eternal shall scatter thee among all peoples, from the one end of the earth unto the other141Deuteronomy 28:64. is [a reference to] our exile today, in which we are scattered from one end of the world to the other. Again He stated [there], And the Eternal shall bring thee back into Egypt in ships,142Ibid., Verse 68. and this happened in our [present] exile, when Titus filled the ships with them [captives], as it is written in the books of the Romans.143Reference is to the book of Josippon, Chapter 95. See Vol. I, p. 604, Note 249. Similarly, that which Scripture says there, Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people and thy eyes shall see;144Deuteronomy 28:32. Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, and they shall not be thine, for they shall go into captivity145Ibid., Verse 41. Ramban’s illuminating comment on these verses (see following text) brings to light the ruthless cruelty of the Romans at the destruction of the Second Temple, when they deported all the young and only “the fathers [i.e. the old] remained in the Land.” — these are not references to the [Babylonian] exile, when both fathers and sons were exiled, but [refer] to that captivity of the sons alone [following the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans], when the fathers remained in the Land. Such is not stated in the first covenant, because the exile [which it speaks of] was a complete one [for both fathers and sons], but it is mentioned in the second covenant, because the Romans ruled in our Land and took the sons and daughters at their will. Similarly, [the verse stating], Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemy whom the Eternal shall send against thee in hunger, and in thirst146Ibid., Verse 48. is a reference to our servitude when we were subject to the Romans in our Land, and their officers ruled over us, pressing upon us a heavy yoke and taking away our people and our wealth, as is known in the [history] books. Another proof [that the covenant in the Book of Deuteronomy refers to the exile after the destruction of the Second Temple] is that He said, The Eternal will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers,147Ibid., Verse 36. for King Agrippa148This was Agrippa II, a loyal servant of Rome. He was the last king of Judea. During the siege of Jerusalem he was with Titus, and following the fall of the city he took part in arranging the Roman triumphal celebrations in Caesarea! He was the opposite of his father King Agrippa I, who in his genuine attachment to the Jewish people and religion won the love of all classes of the people. went to Rome at the end of the [period of the] Second Temple, and on account of his going there the Temple was destroyed.149Ramban here is referring to Josippon Chapter 65, where it is narrated that “King Agrippa went to Nero, emperor of Rome, and told him all these things [concerning the Jewish uprising against Rome], whereupon Nero sent against the Jews the Roman general etc.” This was the beginning of the war which culminated in the fall of Jerusalem. Now Scripture does not state: “the king who will rule over thee,” but it says, thy king whom ‘thou shalt set’. Thus He, blessed be He, is hinting to us that he [that ruler] was not fit to be king, since he was forbidden to be king over Israel according to the law of the Torah [as he was a descendant of King Herod, the son of Antipater the Idumean, and Scripture states, thou mayest not put a foreigner over thee, who is not thy brother],150Deuteronomy 17:15. but they “set up” him and his fathers as kings over them against the law, as is mentioned in Tractate Sotah.151Sotah 41 b.
Now all the hints such as these clearly indicate that the meaning of this matter is this our [present] exile, and the redemption [mentioned] in this second covenant, which will be a complete redemption, superior to all [preceding ones]. Thus He said, And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse etc.;152Deuteronomy 30:1. and He promised, And He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers,153Ibid., Verse 5. this being a promise to all the tribes of Israel, not [merely] to one-sixth154I.e., the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which constitute one-sixth of the twelve tribes. Ramban is thus stating that the redemption from the Babylonian exile was not a complete redemption, since the return consisted mainly of two tribes [with small groups of the other tribes, see above Note 124]. But the Divine promise stated in Deuteronomy 30:5 [as mentioned here in the text] refers to all tribes of Israel. Hence the coming redemption will be more complete than all preceding ones. of the people; and there He promised [also] that He would cut down and destroy those who caused our exile, as it is said, And the Eternal thy G-d will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, that persecuted thee,155Ibid., Verse 7. the expressions, thine enemies and those that hate thee alluding to the two nations156A reference to the two dominant religions in Ramban’s times — that of Edom and Ishmael — which persecuted the Jews [and still continue to do so] in countless ways. See my Hebrew commentary p. 190. that continually persecute us. Now these words [And He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers153Ibid., Verse 5.] assure us of the coming redemption with a more perfect assurance than all the visions of Daniel.
Similarly, that which He stated here, and your enemies that shall dwell therein shall be desolate in it157Further, Verse 32. constitutes a good tiding, proclaiming that during all our exiles, our Land will not accept our enemies. This also is a great proof and assurance to us, for in the whole inhabited part of the world one cannot find such a good and large Land158Exodus 3:8. which was always lived in and yet is as ruined as it is [today],159When these words were written — sometime after the middle of the thirteenth century — the Land of Israel had just experienced the Mongolian invasion (of 1259-60), which following upon the constant wars of the Crusaders, left the country in total ruin. for since the time that we left it, it has not accepted any nation or people, and they all try to settle it, but to no avail.160A clear reference to the many nations that have tried — and failed — to cultivate the Land of Israel since the Jews were driven from it by the Romans. This indubitable historical fact is, as Ramban correctly points out, “a great proof” that the Land belongs to Israel. Witness also the miraculous response of the Land since the recent return of the Jews to its borders.
Now the first covenant mentioned in this section the Holy One, blessed be He, made, for His Great Name was indeed with us in the First Temple, and the second covenant in the section of V’hayah Ki Thavo161Deuteronomy 26:1. — The covenant referred to is ibid., 28:1-68. expressed by the mouth of Moses, alludes to the removal of his Divine Presence entirely, since in the Second Temple only the Glory of His Name was present, as it is said, and I will take pleasure in it [i.e., the Second Temple] ‘v’ikavdah’ (and I will be glorified).162Haggai 1:8. The additional letter hei163The word v’ikavdah is in this instance actually written without the hei at the end. Ramban however is referring to the fact that according to the Masorah it is to be read as if it had the letter at the end. Hence his language: “the ‘additional’ hei” … alludes to the second hei in the Great Name [i.e., the Tetragrammaton — which refers to the Glory of His Name].164Abusaula. — Thus the verse establishes that in the Second Temple there was the Glory of His Name. Haggai was one of the prophets who lived at the time of the building of the Second Temple. The Rabbis have also already interpreted this verse by means of another exposition,136Yoma 21 b. Thus, as it were, there never was a “pleasing odor” in the days of the Second Temple which could be removed at its destruction. [that the missing hei in the word v’ikavdah, whose numerical value is five], alludes to the five things which the Second Temple lacked etc.165“They are: the ark with the cover and the cherubim, the Divine fire on the altar, the Divine Presence, the Holy Spirit, and the Urim and Thummim” (ibid.). For Urim and Thummim see Ramban on Exodus 28:30 (Vol. II, pp. 480-4).
The principle [of this section] is that it is the Holy One, blessed be He, Who makes this covenant, and this is the meaning of the expressions: seven for your sins;104Verses: 18, 24, 28. See my Hebrew commentary p. 187. seven according to your sins.105Verse 21. And the oaths are [thus] the oaths of the covenant, for the expressions are from the mouth of the Almighty, [speaking] in the language of the first person: ‘I’ will do;106In Verse 16 before us. and ‘I’ will chastise;100Verse 28. and ‘I’ will smite.99Verse 24. Therefore Scripture states [concerning this covenant], which the Eternal made between Him and the children of Israel,107Further, Verse 46. for He by His Great Name made this covenant. But in the Book of Deuteronomy [Scripture] states, If thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Eternal thy G-d, to observe to do all His commandments,108Deuteronomy 28:15. and it continually mentions there an expression of cursing, thus it starts them [the words of the covenant] with: cursed shalt thou be,109Ibid., Verse 16. since the blessing is absent from them, and it further states, the Eternal will make.110Ibid., Verse 24. It is this which is the [intention of the] saying of our Rabbis:111Megillah 31 b. “The imprecations of the Book of Leviticus were [prounounced] in plural terms [if ‘ye’ will not hearken … if ‘ye’ shall reject …], and Moses, in saying them, said them from the mouth of the Almighty [stating: “Thus did the Holy One blessed be He, say unto me, ‘If ye will not hearken unto Me’ “], but those [imprecations mentioned] in the Book of Deuteronomy were [pronounced] in the singular [if ‘thou’ wilt not hearken … which I command ‘thee'…] and Moses in saying them said them [as though they came] from his own mouth, for the Almighty made Moses a messenger between Him and between all Israel.”
Know and understand that these oaths [stated in this section] allude to the first exile [i.e., the Babylonian exile following the destruction of the First Temple], for it is with reference to the First Temple that all the words of this covenant, concerning the exile and the redemption therefrom, apply. For thus you will see in the exhortations [here] that He stated, And if ye shall reject My statutes, and if your soul abhor Mine ordinances,112Verse 15. and He further stated, that ye void My covenant,112Verse 15. mentioning among them [the rejected statutes]: the high places [on which they offered forbidden sacrifices], sun-images, and idols,113Verse 30. and it was [in the times of the First Temple] that they worshipped idols and did all evil things. It is in connection with this that He said, And I will bring your Sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors,114Verse 31. thus warning them that He will remove from them His Sanctuary and the acceptance of the offerings which were favorable to Him in that Sanctuary, and the punishments which were to follow upon them were: the sword,115Verse 25. wild beasts,116Verse 22. pestilence,115Verse 25. famine,117Verse 26. and finally exile.118Verse 33. And all these things occurred then [at the destruction of the First Temple], as is clearly stated in the Book of Jeremiah. Of that [first] exile He stated, Then shall the Land be paid her Sabbaths;119Verse 34. As long as it lieth desolate it shall have a rest; even the rest which it had not [in your Sabbath],120Verse 35. because the years of the [Babylonian] exile were [as many] as the years in which they failed to observe [the laws of] the Sabbatical years.121See Rashi in Verse 35, who explains how the seventy years of the Babylonian exile correspond exactly to the seventy Sabbatical and Jubilee years that Israel failed to observe in the Land. So also does Scripture state concerning that exile, [that it was] To fulfill the word of the Eternal by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the Land had been paid her Sabbaths; for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years.122II Chronicles 36:21. Thus He warned them and thus it happened to them. If so, it is clear that Scripture speaks here of that [first] exile.
If you examine further the subject of the redemption from it [the Babylonian exile, you see], that He only assures [Israel] that He will remember the covenant of the fathers,123Verse 42. and of the remembrance of the Land,123Verse 42. but not that He will forgive their iniquity and their sin and that He will once again love them as of old, nor that He will gather together those of them who are dispersed. For such indeed happened when they came up from Babylon, for only [the tribes of] Judah and Benjamin returned together with a small group of Levites who were with them, and some124See Ramban’s Sefer Hage’ulah (Kithvei Haramban, Vol. I, pp. 272-4) for a full discussion of this important matter — that in the return from Babylon there were small groups from the other tribes besides Judah and Benjamin, but the main bulk of them remained in their places, and hence the words of the prophets announcing their complete return, not having been fulfilled during the Second Temple, will yet assuredly come to transpire in the future. This is the deeper significance of Ramban’s expression here: “and some of the other tribes …” — “some” but not all, and therefore the words of G-d as spoken by His prophets will still be fulfilled in the future when the ge’ulah shleimah (the perfect redemption) will take place, as the return from Babylon did not represent that final and complete redemption. It is obvious that this constitutes a major principle in our faith of Israel’s future and destiny. Ramban will touch upon this theme of the perfect redemption further on in the text. See also further, Note 154. of the [other] tribes that had been exiled to Babylon, and they returned in poverty, and in servitude to the kings of Persia.125See Ezra 9:9. Nor does He state that they will return to Him in complete repentance, but only that they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers,126Verse 40. and we find that the people of the Second Temple did so, as Daniel confessed: We have sinned, we have dealt iniquitously, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, and have turned aside from Thy commandments etc.127Daniel 9:5. O Eternal, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers.128Ibid., Verse 8. Thus they confessed also the sins of their fathers. The same applies to the following verses. And it is further written, because of our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Thy people are a reproach.129Ibid., Verse 16. And so did Nehemiah confess.130Nehemiah 1:6-7. And Ezra said, Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept Thy law.131Ibid., 9:34. It should be noted that Scripture there ascribes the actual confession to the Levites, and Ezra’s name is not directly mentioned. However, the implication in Chapter 8 Verse 13 is clearly that it was at Ezra’s instigation that they kept the Festival of Tabernacles and the subsequent confession following it (see ibid., 9:1). Besides, Ezra being a priest (ibid., 8:2) he was automatically of the tribe of Levi and was thus included among the Levites who recited the confession. Thus they all deduced from the Torah that they should confess their iniquity and [also] the iniquity of their fathers. All these [matters] are clear indications that this covenant does indeed allude to the first exile and the redemption therefrom.
However the covenant in the Book of Deuteronomy132Deuteronomy 28:1-69. alludes to this our [present] exile, and to the redemption by which we will be redeemed from it. Thus we observe first that there [in the second covenant] neither the end nor the duration [of the exile] are alluded to, and that He did not assure us of redemption [i.e., promising that it would take place at a certain future time as was the case with the Babylonian captivity, whose end was foretold as a definite event in our section here in Leviticus as explained above], but He made it dependent upon [our] repentance. Neither did He mention among the sins [for which they would be exiled that] they would make any Asherim and sun-images, or that they would worship any idols whatsoever. Rather, He said, But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Eternal thy G-d, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes,108Deuteronomy 28:15. thus stating that because they will transgress some of His commandments, and will not keep and observe all of them,133I.e., they will “transgress” some of the negative commandments and “not keep and observe” the positive commandments. they would be punished. Such indeed was the case during the Second Temple, just as the Rabbis have said:134Yoma 9 b. “Why was the First Temple destroyed? Because of idolatry, immorality and bloodshed. But the Second Temple, of which we know that they [the people of that period], were engaged in the study of Torah and the practice of loving kindness, why was it destroyed? It was because of the causeless enmity which was among them.” Neither does He mention there [in the covenant in the Book of Deuteronomy] the Sanctuary, or “the pleasing odor” [of the offerings], as He mentioned here,135Verse 31. because the [Heavenly] fire did not come down and consume the offerings [that were brought] in the Second Temple, as the Rabbis testified there in Tractate Yoma.136Yoma 21 b. Thus, as it were, there never was a “pleasing odor” in the days of the Second Temple which could be removed at its destruction. And He further states there among the imprecations, The Eternal will bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as the vulture swoops down,137Deuteronomy 28:49. alluding to the coming upon them of the Romans, who were very far from them. Thus He states there, a nation that thou hast not known;138Ibid., Verse 36. a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand,137Deuteronomy 28:49. because of their great distance from our Land. Such is not the case concerning the words of this covenant [before us], for [it speaks of the time when] they were exiled to Babylon and Assyria, which are near to [our] Land, and they always warred with them;139Therefore, the verse in Deuteronomy 28:49 [The Eternal will bring a nation … from the end of the earth …] could not apply to the period of the First Temple, as their warring enemies were nearby. The case was far different during the Second Temple when the Romans came from far-off Italy. and the stock of Israel comes from there, and they [the Jews] knew their language, as it is said, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Aramean language, for we understand it.140II Kings 18:26. Similarly, the verse stating [there in the Book of Deuteronomy], And the Eternal shall scatter thee among all peoples, from the one end of the earth unto the other141Deuteronomy 28:64. is [a reference to] our exile today, in which we are scattered from one end of the world to the other. Again He stated [there], And the Eternal shall bring thee back into Egypt in ships,142Ibid., Verse 68. and this happened in our [present] exile, when Titus filled the ships with them [captives], as it is written in the books of the Romans.143Reference is to the book of Josippon, Chapter 95. See Vol. I, p. 604, Note 249. Similarly, that which Scripture says there, Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people and thy eyes shall see;144Deuteronomy 28:32. Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, and they shall not be thine, for they shall go into captivity145Ibid., Verse 41. Ramban’s illuminating comment on these verses (see following text) brings to light the ruthless cruelty of the Romans at the destruction of the Second Temple, when they deported all the young and only “the fathers [i.e. the old] remained in the Land.” — these are not references to the [Babylonian] exile, when both fathers and sons were exiled, but [refer] to that captivity of the sons alone [following the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans], when the fathers remained in the Land. Such is not stated in the first covenant, because the exile [which it speaks of] was a complete one [for both fathers and sons], but it is mentioned in the second covenant, because the Romans ruled in our Land and took the sons and daughters at their will. Similarly, [the verse stating], Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemy whom the Eternal shall send against thee in hunger, and in thirst146Ibid., Verse 48. is a reference to our servitude when we were subject to the Romans in our Land, and their officers ruled over us, pressing upon us a heavy yoke and taking away our people and our wealth, as is known in the [history] books. Another proof [that the covenant in the Book of Deuteronomy refers to the exile after the destruction of the Second Temple] is that He said, The Eternal will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers,147Ibid., Verse 36. for King Agrippa148This was Agrippa II, a loyal servant of Rome. He was the last king of Judea. During the siege of Jerusalem he was with Titus, and following the fall of the city he took part in arranging the Roman triumphal celebrations in Caesarea! He was the opposite of his father King Agrippa I, who in his genuine attachment to the Jewish people and religion won the love of all classes of the people. went to Rome at the end of the [period of the] Second Temple, and on account of his going there the Temple was destroyed.149Ramban here is referring to Josippon Chapter 65, where it is narrated that “King Agrippa went to Nero, emperor of Rome, and told him all these things [concerning the Jewish uprising against Rome], whereupon Nero sent against the Jews the Roman general etc.” This was the beginning of the war which culminated in the fall of Jerusalem. Now Scripture does not state: “the king who will rule over thee,” but it says, thy king whom ‘thou shalt set’. Thus He, blessed be He, is hinting to us that he [that ruler] was not fit to be king, since he was forbidden to be king over Israel according to the law of the Torah [as he was a descendant of King Herod, the son of Antipater the Idumean, and Scripture states, thou mayest not put a foreigner over thee, who is not thy brother],150Deuteronomy 17:15. but they “set up” him and his fathers as kings over them against the law, as is mentioned in Tractate Sotah.151Sotah 41 b.
Now all the hints such as these clearly indicate that the meaning of this matter is this our [present] exile, and the redemption [mentioned] in this second covenant, which will be a complete redemption, superior to all [preceding ones]. Thus He said, And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse etc.;152Deuteronomy 30:1. and He promised, And He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers,153Ibid., Verse 5. this being a promise to all the tribes of Israel, not [merely] to one-sixth154I.e., the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which constitute one-sixth of the twelve tribes. Ramban is thus stating that the redemption from the Babylonian exile was not a complete redemption, since the return consisted mainly of two tribes [with small groups of the other tribes, see above Note 124]. But the Divine promise stated in Deuteronomy 30:5 [as mentioned here in the text] refers to all tribes of Israel. Hence the coming redemption will be more complete than all preceding ones. of the people; and there He promised [also] that He would cut down and destroy those who caused our exile, as it is said, And the Eternal thy G-d will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, that persecuted thee,155Ibid., Verse 7. the expressions, thine enemies and those that hate thee alluding to the two nations156A reference to the two dominant religions in Ramban’s times — that of Edom and Ishmael — which persecuted the Jews [and still continue to do so] in countless ways. See my Hebrew commentary p. 190. that continually persecute us. Now these words [And He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers153Ibid., Verse 5.] assure us of the coming redemption with a more perfect assurance than all the visions of Daniel.
Similarly, that which He stated here, and your enemies that shall dwell therein shall be desolate in it157Further, Verse 32. constitutes a good tiding, proclaiming that during all our exiles, our Land will not accept our enemies. This also is a great proof and assurance to us, for in the whole inhabited part of the world one cannot find such a good and large Land158Exodus 3:8. which was always lived in and yet is as ruined as it is [today],159When these words were written — sometime after the middle of the thirteenth century — the Land of Israel had just experienced the Mongolian invasion (of 1259-60), which following upon the constant wars of the Crusaders, left the country in total ruin. for since the time that we left it, it has not accepted any nation or people, and they all try to settle it, but to no avail.160A clear reference to the many nations that have tried — and failed — to cultivate the Land of Israel since the Jews were driven from it by the Romans. This indubitable historical fact is, as Ramban correctly points out, “a great proof” that the Land belongs to Israel. Witness also the miraculous response of the Land since the recent return of the Jews to its borders.
Now the first covenant mentioned in this section the Holy One, blessed be He, made, for His Great Name was indeed with us in the First Temple, and the second covenant in the section of V’hayah Ki Thavo161Deuteronomy 26:1. — The covenant referred to is ibid., 28:1-68. expressed by the mouth of Moses, alludes to the removal of his Divine Presence entirely, since in the Second Temple only the Glory of His Name was present, as it is said, and I will take pleasure in it [i.e., the Second Temple] ‘v’ikavdah’ (and I will be glorified).162Haggai 1:8. The additional letter hei163The word v’ikavdah is in this instance actually written without the hei at the end. Ramban however is referring to the fact that according to the Masorah it is to be read as if it had the letter at the end. Hence his language: “the ‘additional’ hei” … alludes to the second hei in the Great Name [i.e., the Tetragrammaton — which refers to the Glory of His Name].164Abusaula. — Thus the verse establishes that in the Second Temple there was the Glory of His Name. Haggai was one of the prophets who lived at the time of the building of the Second Temple. The Rabbis have also already interpreted this verse by means of another exposition,136Yoma 21 b. Thus, as it were, there never was a “pleasing odor” in the days of the Second Temple which could be removed at its destruction. [that the missing hei in the word v’ikavdah, whose numerical value is five], alludes to the five things which the Second Temple lacked etc.165“They are: the ark with the cover and the cherubim, the Divine fire on the altar, the Divine Presence, the Holy Spirit, and the Urim and Thummim” (ibid.). For Urim and Thummim see Ramban on Exodus 28:30 (Vol. II, pp. 480-4).