Tafsiran Ulangan 31:21: Tze'enah Ure'enah, Rashi, Chizkuni & Ramban

“Since it will never be lost from the mouth of their offspring, for I know what plan they are devising” [31:21].⁷The entire text from here to note 13 is one commentary. I was not able to find an author and it may well be by the author of the Ze’enah U-Re’enah. The Holy One said: the warning that is written in the Torah to Israel, that they should study Torah, will not be forgotten. The Holy One also said: the evil inclination of Israel is evil. It incites them to commit sins. Therefore, remember to repent, particularly now it is time to repent. The one who has regret for sins; he must mention the sin with his mouth. He needs to bring no other sacrifices, as the Talmud says in, [tractate Yoma] chapter eight. Rabbi Isaac said: the Holy One and His attributes are unlike those of people. When one person becomes angry with another, there is a question if he will be able to be reconciled with him. He does not know if he can reconcile with money or with words. However, with the Holy One, he will certainly be reconciled with words, as the verse says, “take words with you” [Hosea, 14:3].⁸B. Yoma, 86b. This means, take good words with you to repent. The Talmud says in the first chapter of tractate Sotah. Judah confessed that he had slept with Tamar, his daughter-in-law. Thus, he was worthy of the world to come.⁹B. Sotah, 7b. Reuben also repented for throwing out Bilhah’s bed. When Rachel died, Jacob took Rachel’s bed and placed it in Bilhah’s room. Reuben went and took the bed and threw it out and said: you are a servant, how do you want to inherit Rachel’s bed, which was important? Jacob was angry and therefore Reuben repented and the Holy One forgave him, so that he had a share in the world to come.¹⁰B. Shabbat, 55b. The person must explicitly state the sins that he has committed against the people, so that the people know about the sin, expecting that the people should see that he has repented. However, if it is a sin against God alone that the people do not know about, he must quietly say before God. Rabbi Yannai said: there were two good leaders for Israel, Moses and David. Moses, who said before God that they should write down his sins, so that people will know what sins he had committed, as the verse says, “because you did not trust me” [Numbers, 20:12]. Because you did not believe in me, therefore you must die. David said that they should not write his sins.¹¹B. Yoma, 86b. How are Moses and David similar? A parable. Two women sinned. One of them engaged in illicit sexual relations and the other one ate figs that were forbidden to be eaten. Both of them were punished for their sins. Both of them were punished for their sins. The woman who ate the figs called out. I ask you: let them announce my sin so that people should not think that I have committed a great sin, like my colleague. They hung a fig on that woman and called out that she had eaten figs during a time when it was forbidden. Therefore, we recite [the prayer] for the sin [Al Het] on Yom Kippur, since all the sins are written in for the sin. Therefore, it is good that the woman who does not understand Hebrew, should be careful to recite the for the sin [Al Het] in Yiddish, expecting that when she will come to the sin that she committed that year, she will take it to heart that she did this and will cry and plead with God that He should forgive her. She will never again do it. However, when she does not understand, she will forget what she had done and would not plead about it, since the person must be sad in his heart for the sin that he did. His repentance is better than many tears, as the verse says, “God, you will not despise a contrite and crushed heart” [Psalms, 51:19]. This means, a broken heart and sadness do not embarrass God. When someone has committed a sin with his eye, that he saw what he should not see, he should cry and be sad and shed tears, since the tears and crying greatly help repentance. Our sages said: since the destruction of the Temple, the gates of prayer have been closed in heaven, but in any event the gate where the tears enter heaven are open in heaven. Just as when the body is sick, he searches for a remedy so that the illness should go away. He must also do this when the soul is sick, he must search for its remedies. When his soul is sick and desires to have much money, then he must become accustomed to giving charity and must not be stingy in giving charity. Through this, the desire for money will be removed. He should think that much good and evil comes from the money. When his soul is accustomed to pursue arrogance and haughtiness, then he must accustom himself to be humble. He should walk stooped and must think about death and how the worms will eat him in the grave. He must pursue this for a long time and through this he will become accustomed to restore this trait.

The book Rokeach writes that there are four kinds of repentance.¹²Eleazar of Worms, Sefer Rokeach, Hilkhot Teshuvah. One is called the repentance of offering. This means, we he committed a sin with a married woman, and he encounters the same woman again, and he again desires her, and there is a place where he can again have a liaison with her, and he compels his evil inclination [not to sin], this is called the repentance of offering. The second form of repentance is called the repentance of the fence. This means, he makes himself a fence to the sin. He does not look at any woman and does not look at her clothes, or when the women dance. It is evident that he should not dance with them. The sin cannot be bigger; Gehenna is too small for him. The third form of repentance is called proportionate repentance. This means, the pleasure that he had from the sin, so too he must torment himself. He must fast and should not eat meat and not drink wine, except for festivals. He should not bathe himself, except for festivals. He should not go to banquets and should give himself lashes. He should not lie on a pillow, except on festivals and on the Sabbath. The fourth form of repentance is the repentance of the biblical text. This means, the one who slept with a married woman must suffer great anguish that should be as severe as death. He should sit in the cold on the ice, or in the water, or in the snow, for an hour every day. In the summer he should sit amidst flies, or mice, or bees. He should be further warned that he should not speak with women. He should repent for the sin every day, because he made that woman forbidden to her husband. He must suffer great pains, since he had persuaded a married woman. Thus, this woman is forbidden to her husband. However, when he slept with a married woman by force, that woman is not forbidden to her husband. Then he does not need more than to allow himself to receive lashes and must fast for forty days, and must lie on the ground. He should not bathe and should not attend celebrations. He must recite the confession three times with tears and mourning. If he slept with a woman who was not married, he should think that she was a menstruant because she had not immersed herself for him. He must lie on the ground and must allow himself to receive lashes every day and must fast for forty days and must confess the sin every day three times and should also not go to any celebrations. If he slept with a gentile woman, he must fast, receive lashes, eat no meat and drink no wine, and not bathe for forty days. If he stole something from his friend and had regret, he must return it to him or his heirs and should confess. He should abstain in the future from the money of strangers and should give much charity. He should ask forgiveness from the one he had stolen from, etc. The person should confess to repent and overcome his evil inclination. Therefore, the verse in the portion said, “for I know his plans” [31:21]. This means, I know well the thoughts of the person. When the troubles will come upon the person, the song will testify that I have warned him. From here our sages learn that in the end when the Messiah will come, the commandments of the Torah will be ended, since when the evil inclination will be abrogated, then the Torah will also be abrogated, but Purim will never be abrogated even when the Messiah will come.¹³The commentary to Deuteronomy, 31:21, ends here.

“Since it will never be lost from the mouth of their offspring, for I know their plans” [31:21]. The Torah would not be forgotten. Therefore, when the evil inclination is with them, but when the evil inclination will disappear in the days of the Messiah, then no Torah will be needed. This means that the resurrection of the dead will occur long after the Messiah, since the Messiah will come first before the resurrection of the dead. Therefore, one should repent. One should know that the Holy One has warned us that we should be pious. Then the Holy One will send us the Messiah.¹⁴Bahya, Deuteronomy, 31:21.

וענתה השירה הזאת לפניו לעד [AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS …] THAT THIS SONG SHALL TESTIFY that in it I had warned them concerning all the things that had befallen them.