Chasidut su Deuteronomio 9:78
Likutei Halakhot
And therefore, when we are waking from sleep, we must wash our hands with water. Water represents knowledge, as in, "the earth will be filled with knowledge as the waters cover the sea bed". Isaiah 11:9. We must evoke the waters of knowledge to evoke order and banish impurity, which is attached to disorder, which has become attached to the hands. The entire power of the forces of evil is only from disorder, when a person is not receiving perfect sustenance from order. This is represented by the darkness of night, by sleep, when the body, which corresponds to night, remains without sustenance from the intellect, which corresponds to day. During this time, the forces of evil are sustained from there, from disorder, become attached specifically to the hands. This is because the above rectification of binding and bridging disorder into order is represented by the Yud, which corresponds to the Kaf, which represents the hands, as in, 'you formed me backward and forward and placed your hand upon me', as brought on the verse "Open your hand". The entire world compared to G-d is in the category of disorder. G-d is exalted beyond all spiritual worlds, and all the worlds are in disorder before Him, since all the worlds are guided by Malchut as explained in the lesson as mentioned above, and the Malchut corresponds to disorder, and said above. This corresponds to "the world was created in the month of Tishri". Rosh Hashanah 27b. Tishri represents tav-shin-resh-kuf, disorder, Malchut. The world was created mainly so that we come to know G-d Zohar II 42B, so that we acquire perfect knowledge, which is knowing G-d. That is the true essence of knowledge, and only that is considered knowledge, as written, "you shall know today and restore to your heart that G-d is the Lord". Deuteronomy 4:39. The main purpose of creation was to bring disorder into order, to elevate all worlds to their root, so that disorder, representing the totality of all worlds, will become brought into order, which is knowledge, specifically the knowledge of G-d. That is the main purpose and what will remain at the very end. Everything else will become nullified into it. But how does one achieve this, binding and elevating all worlds corresponding to disorder, to the roots, into order, which is wisdom and knowledge? This is only possible in this world of action, by means of observing the practical commandments of the Torah. The Torah, as a whole, is held in the hands, which are the tools of action, as in "today to do them". Deuteronomy 7:11. This is alluded in "the two tablets of the covenant are in my two hands". Deuteronomy 9:15. Torah, represented by the two tablets of the covenant, is held within the two hands, which represent the tools of action, for the hands place all things where they are needed. This is true regarding the world as a whole: by means of the hands, the tools of action corresponding to the totality of the Torah, we take all the worlds, corresponding to disorder, elevating them and bringing them to G-d, so that they are absorbed within their root in order. This is why the Zohar tells of Rabbi Eliezer who lifted his two hands as he was about to die and said "woe that two Torahs are about to disappear from the world". Zohar I 99a. The two hands represent the totality of the Torah, represented by the written Torah and the oral Torah, which is why holiness is evoked mainly through the sanctity of the hands. This is represented by the washing of the hands in the morning. When we sleep, the life sustenance disappears and the forces of evil that are attached to disorder become attached specifically to the hands, for they are always seeking to be nourished from holiness. And since holiness – bringing all worlds to the root, bringing disorder into order - is by means of the hands, the main attachment of the forces of evil that always seek division and to separate disorder from order is specifically to the hands, the main site of sanctity. The hands are the main tools by means of which we are able to bind and elevate disorder into order, and therefore, they are also the main place where the forces of evil are attached. That is why we must wash our hands with water immediately upon awakening, to evoke the waters of knowledge and evoke order, so that the forces of evil attached to disorder will be banished. This is what our Sages said, "the evil spirit that rests on the hands as a princess and is particular not to leave unless the hands are washed properly". Shabbat 109a. This force of evil is rightly called a princess, for it is attached to a blemish of the Malchut caused by separating Malchut and saying 'I shall rule', which causes everything to be disordered, which is the source of judgments and evil forces. That is why it is called a princess.
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Kedushat Levi
(Compare Shabbat 87) In the event, G’d agreed with Moses, i.e. approved of his initiative after the event. One of the three things was that he added an additional day for the people to prepare themselves mentally, (spiritually) for the Revelation and the receiving of the Torah. The second was that he smashed the first set of the Tablets containing the Ten Commandments. He applied logic when doing this, reasoning that if a Jew who has not been circumcised is forbidden to partake of the Passover due to his status, and this is only one commandment, how much less do they deserve the entire Torah, having just been guilty of idolatry? This logic is flawed, as in the case of the Passover, the Torah forbids participation in a ritual which provides the participant with pleasure, i.e. the eating of the lamb, something not applicable to most other commandments of the Torah. We have a general rule that the commandments of the Torah have not been given to us for whatever physical pleasure performance of it would yield.
Tossaphot on that folio query how the sages could describe this decision of Moses as being made by himself when he had used the Torah as the yardstick by which he had arrived at this decision? They answer that since Moses’ logic in that instance was flawed, the decision must be viewed as his and not as inspired by his study of the Torah. The third example of Moses making a high-handed decision without consulting G’d is his separation from his wife, the subject for which Miriam criticized him in Numbers 12,1-2. On that occasion also, according to the Talmud, he used logic, a valid tool of interpreting the Torah, saying that if the people who heard G’d speak for only a few minutes had to separate from their wives for three days prior to that, he, to whom G’d spoke almost on a daily basis, [prior to the sin of the spies, Ed.] surely had to separate from his wife permanently.
Concerning that logic the Talmud points out that seeing that G’d had told Moses to send the Israelites home to their wives, whereas at the same time He commanded him to remain at the site of the revelation, surely in light of this Moses’ decision could not be construed as being arrived at on his own? Here too, the Talmud says that whereas Moses considered his logic as unassailable and therefore based on the Torah, in fact his logic can be challenged.
Moses was in a category by himself, having stated that during 40 days in the celestial regions (on top of Mt. Sinai) he had neither eaten bread nor had drunk water. (Deut. 9,9) His nourishment had consisted of the זיו השכינה, “enjoying the splendour of the Divine Presence.” Due to his extreme humility, Moses presumed that the entire Jewish nation was entitled to a similar experience, i.e. the ability to satisfy the body’s requirements through infusions of spirituality from a celestial source. This is what he built his logic (קל וחומר) on when drawing conclusions from the three day period of the abstaining from marital intercourse during the preparations for the Revelation at Mount Sinai, as well as from the laws concerning who may partake of the Passover. He reasoned that the Torah most certainly did not address nitwits, but a people on the highest spiritual level, else how could they be able to hear G’d speak to them directly on that occasion. He considered it as certain that at that time everything the people did was only for the loftiest motives, i.e. לשם שמים, why else would they keep their distance from their spouses? He erred by comparing the whole people to himself, so that the logic which formed the premise of his decision was flawed. In other words, his decisions were not based on correct interpretations of precedents in the Torah, so that the sages in the Talmud were correct in describing his three decisions as “homegrown.”
Tossaphot on that folio query how the sages could describe this decision of Moses as being made by himself when he had used the Torah as the yardstick by which he had arrived at this decision? They answer that since Moses’ logic in that instance was flawed, the decision must be viewed as his and not as inspired by his study of the Torah. The third example of Moses making a high-handed decision without consulting G’d is his separation from his wife, the subject for which Miriam criticized him in Numbers 12,1-2. On that occasion also, according to the Talmud, he used logic, a valid tool of interpreting the Torah, saying that if the people who heard G’d speak for only a few minutes had to separate from their wives for three days prior to that, he, to whom G’d spoke almost on a daily basis, [prior to the sin of the spies, Ed.] surely had to separate from his wife permanently.
Concerning that logic the Talmud points out that seeing that G’d had told Moses to send the Israelites home to their wives, whereas at the same time He commanded him to remain at the site of the revelation, surely in light of this Moses’ decision could not be construed as being arrived at on his own? Here too, the Talmud says that whereas Moses considered his logic as unassailable and therefore based on the Torah, in fact his logic can be challenged.
Moses was in a category by himself, having stated that during 40 days in the celestial regions (on top of Mt. Sinai) he had neither eaten bread nor had drunk water. (Deut. 9,9) His nourishment had consisted of the זיו השכינה, “enjoying the splendour of the Divine Presence.” Due to his extreme humility, Moses presumed that the entire Jewish nation was entitled to a similar experience, i.e. the ability to satisfy the body’s requirements through infusions of spirituality from a celestial source. This is what he built his logic (קל וחומר) on when drawing conclusions from the three day period of the abstaining from marital intercourse during the preparations for the Revelation at Mount Sinai, as well as from the laws concerning who may partake of the Passover. He reasoned that the Torah most certainly did not address nitwits, but a people on the highest spiritual level, else how could they be able to hear G’d speak to them directly on that occasion. He considered it as certain that at that time everything the people did was only for the loftiest motives, i.e. לשם שמים, why else would they keep their distance from their spouses? He erred by comparing the whole people to himself, so that the logic which formed the premise of his decision was flawed. In other words, his decisions were not based on correct interpretations of precedents in the Torah, so that the sages in the Talmud were correct in describing his three decisions as “homegrown.”
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Kedushat Levi
Deuteronomy 9,21. “and (the object of) your sin that you fashioned, the golden calf, and in Taveyrah, and at Massah, and when Hashem sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, etc, .you have repeatedly been defiant toward the Lord. When I lay prostrate before the Lord, etc.; etc,”
It appears difficult to understand why Moses who had begun in verse 18 to describe his prostrating himself before the Lord after the sin of the golden calf, after reciting numerous other sins of the Jewish people, once more continues with recounting his pleas for his people while prostrate before G’d in verse 25.
I believe that in order to understand Moses better, we must revert to the text of the Torah in Exodus 32,7 where G’d tells Moses to descend from the Mountain because the people had made themselves a golden calf as a symbol of G’d. At that time G’d had told Moses not to intervene by pleading for the people in order that He could proceed with annihilating them. (Exodus 32,10) At that time Moses had ignored G’d’s “suggestion,” and had immediately begun pleading for the survival of the Jewish people, the Torah’s report commencing with the words: ויחל משה וגו', “Moses implored, etc.”
Nachmanides on this verse points out that seeing that Moses had pleaded immediately when G’d had told him to leave Him alone “at that moment,” i.e. ועתה הניחה לי, G’d responded by “forgiving” the people, i.e. (32,14). Seeing that G’d had “forgiven,” why did Moses spend 40 days on the Mountain after having destroyed the evidence of the sin in order to obtain G’d’s forgiveness, as he tells us in this paragraph when he refers to a second stay on Mount Sinai during which time he neither ate bread nor drank water for 40 consecutive days? (9,18) Moses attributes that stay to his fear that G’d was still angry at the people!
Nachmanides on this verse points out that seeing that Moses had pleaded immediately when G’d had told him to leave Him alone “at that moment,” i.e. ועתה הניחה לי, G’d responded by “forgiving” the people, i.e. (32,14). Seeing that G’d had “forgiven,” why did Moses spend 40 days on the Mountain after having destroyed the evidence of the sin in order to obtain G’d’s forgiveness, as he tells us in this paragraph when he refers to a second stay on Mount Sinai during which time he neither ate bread nor drank water for 40 consecutive days? (9,18) Moses attributes that stay to his fear that G’d was still angry at the people!
It appears difficult to understand why Moses who had begun in verse 18 to describe his prostrating himself before the Lord after the sin of the golden calf, after reciting numerous other sins of the Jewish people, once more continues with recounting his pleas for his people while prostrate before G’d in verse 25.
I believe that in order to understand Moses better, we must revert to the text of the Torah in Exodus 32,7 where G’d tells Moses to descend from the Mountain because the people had made themselves a golden calf as a symbol of G’d. At that time G’d had told Moses not to intervene by pleading for the people in order that He could proceed with annihilating them. (Exodus 32,10) At that time Moses had ignored G’d’s “suggestion,” and had immediately begun pleading for the survival of the Jewish people, the Torah’s report commencing with the words: ויחל משה וגו', “Moses implored, etc.”
Nachmanides on this verse points out that seeing that Moses had pleaded immediately when G’d had told him to leave Him alone “at that moment,” i.e. ועתה הניחה לי, G’d responded by “forgiving” the people, i.e. (32,14). Seeing that G’d had “forgiven,” why did Moses spend 40 days on the Mountain after having destroyed the evidence of the sin in order to obtain G’d’s forgiveness, as he tells us in this paragraph when he refers to a second stay on Mount Sinai during which time he neither ate bread nor drank water for 40 consecutive days? (9,18) Moses attributes that stay to his fear that G’d was still angry at the people!
Nachmanides on this verse points out that seeing that Moses had pleaded immediately when G’d had told him to leave Him alone “at that moment,” i.e. ועתה הניחה לי, G’d responded by “forgiving” the people, i.e. (32,14). Seeing that G’d had “forgiven,” why did Moses spend 40 days on the Mountain after having destroyed the evidence of the sin in order to obtain G’d’s forgiveness, as he tells us in this paragraph when he refers to a second stay on Mount Sinai during which time he neither ate bread nor drank water for 40 consecutive days? (9,18) Moses attributes that stay to his fear that G’d was still angry at the people!
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Kedushat Levi
Numbers 11,28. he said: “my lord Moses lock them up!” To this Moses responded by saying: (11,29), “I wish that the entire people of G’d would be filled with prophetic insights!”,
Whereas we know that the righteous are able to bring about a cancellation of Divine decrees that would negatively affect our people, this rule holds true only as long as the decrees in question have not been written down by the prophet who had announced them. Once the decree has been committed to writing, it is beyond the ability of the righteous to bring about its reversal.
If this is so, surely we must ask ourselves how it is possible to cancel the prophecies about the disasters that will befall us during the period described in the Talmud as the חבלי משיח, “the birth pangs of the messianic age?” If you would question why in light of this the prophets committed these decrees to writing in the first place, the answer is that unless they had been written down people would deny that such prophecies had existed and would claim that had they known of them they surely would have taken them to heart and would have done teshuvah, repentance. Not only that, but people would have claimed that the fact that these dire prophecies did not come true was not due to repentance, but that they were the words of false prophets in the first place.
Maimonides in the sefer Hamadda as well as in hilchot melachim (chapter 12,2) writes that what the prophets wrote does not describe the period immediately preceding the coming of the messiah; from this it follows that we cannot pray for cancellation of decrees of which we have no knowledge. When the messiah will come he will also explain to us writings of the prophets which we were unable to understand until then.
Even if it were true that the prophets’ writings did describe the period preceding the coming of the messiah, seeing that when the messiah comes all of the Jewish people will possess intimate knowledge of G’d, just as did the prophets of old, as we know from Joel 3,1ונבאו בניכם ובנותיכם זקניכם חלומות יחלמו בחוריכם חזיונות יראו, “your sons and daughters will prophesy, and your elders will dream dreams, and your youngsters will experience visions.” At that time, when all the Jewish people are on the level of prophets, no one will accuse the prophets of having prophesied falsely, so that there is no need to record their visions in writing. They will then realize that the righteous that lived shortly before the advent of the messiah had been able to cancel these decrees so that their non occurrence is no proof of their having been falsehoods.
When Joshua told Moses to lock up Eldod and Meydod for having prophesied his death and Joshua’s becoming his successor, this prophecy could no longer have been cancelled as it has been recorded in the Torah. [actually it was not spelled out. Ed.] Moses, by saying that he wished that all the Jews could prophesy already meant, that if that were the case the prophecy of Eldod and Meydod could become void then without their being called false prophets. The righteous of his time would then be able to override that decree although it had been recorded in writing. In other words, even when prophets have been told of certain decrees G’d has issued Himself, it is within the power of the righteous to bring about an annulment. This is the meaning of Devarim Rabbah 3,11 stating when explaining the meaning of Deuteronomy 9,1 when Moses commences to describe Israel as crossing the Jordan with the words: אתה עובר היום את הירדן וגו', “you are about to cross the river Jordan today, etc,” that Moses implied that he himself was not allowed to cross the Jordan, but that he hoped that the intercession of the righteous on his behalf might result in G’d revoking His decree concerning this. To his dismay, the people did not understand the hint Moses gave them in that verse. He had hoped that although he had told them that he was about to die (on the east bank of the Jordan) they would pray for a remission of G’d’s decree. Moses, according to that Midrash was clearly not afraid that if as a result of Israel’s prayers he would be allowed to cross the Jordan, that they would consider him a false prophet, seeing he had told them himself that he would not.
Whereas we know that the righteous are able to bring about a cancellation of Divine decrees that would negatively affect our people, this rule holds true only as long as the decrees in question have not been written down by the prophet who had announced them. Once the decree has been committed to writing, it is beyond the ability of the righteous to bring about its reversal.
If this is so, surely we must ask ourselves how it is possible to cancel the prophecies about the disasters that will befall us during the period described in the Talmud as the חבלי משיח, “the birth pangs of the messianic age?” If you would question why in light of this the prophets committed these decrees to writing in the first place, the answer is that unless they had been written down people would deny that such prophecies had existed and would claim that had they known of them they surely would have taken them to heart and would have done teshuvah, repentance. Not only that, but people would have claimed that the fact that these dire prophecies did not come true was not due to repentance, but that they were the words of false prophets in the first place.
Maimonides in the sefer Hamadda as well as in hilchot melachim (chapter 12,2) writes that what the prophets wrote does not describe the period immediately preceding the coming of the messiah; from this it follows that we cannot pray for cancellation of decrees of which we have no knowledge. When the messiah will come he will also explain to us writings of the prophets which we were unable to understand until then.
Even if it were true that the prophets’ writings did describe the period preceding the coming of the messiah, seeing that when the messiah comes all of the Jewish people will possess intimate knowledge of G’d, just as did the prophets of old, as we know from Joel 3,1ונבאו בניכם ובנותיכם זקניכם חלומות יחלמו בחוריכם חזיונות יראו, “your sons and daughters will prophesy, and your elders will dream dreams, and your youngsters will experience visions.” At that time, when all the Jewish people are on the level of prophets, no one will accuse the prophets of having prophesied falsely, so that there is no need to record their visions in writing. They will then realize that the righteous that lived shortly before the advent of the messiah had been able to cancel these decrees so that their non occurrence is no proof of their having been falsehoods.
When Joshua told Moses to lock up Eldod and Meydod for having prophesied his death and Joshua’s becoming his successor, this prophecy could no longer have been cancelled as it has been recorded in the Torah. [actually it was not spelled out. Ed.] Moses, by saying that he wished that all the Jews could prophesy already meant, that if that were the case the prophecy of Eldod and Meydod could become void then without their being called false prophets. The righteous of his time would then be able to override that decree although it had been recorded in writing. In other words, even when prophets have been told of certain decrees G’d has issued Himself, it is within the power of the righteous to bring about an annulment. This is the meaning of Devarim Rabbah 3,11 stating when explaining the meaning of Deuteronomy 9,1 when Moses commences to describe Israel as crossing the Jordan with the words: אתה עובר היום את הירדן וגו', “you are about to cross the river Jordan today, etc,” that Moses implied that he himself was not allowed to cross the Jordan, but that he hoped that the intercession of the righteous on his behalf might result in G’d revoking His decree concerning this. To his dismay, the people did not understand the hint Moses gave them in that verse. He had hoped that although he had told them that he was about to die (on the east bank of the Jordan) they would pray for a remission of G’d’s decree. Moses, according to that Midrash was clearly not afraid that if as a result of Israel’s prayers he would be allowed to cross the Jordan, that they would consider him a false prophet, seeing he had told them himself that he would not.
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Kedushat Levi
Deuteronomy 9,15. “I turned around and descended from the Mountain, etc.;……….. “I placed the tablets inside the ark which I had constructed as G’d had commanded me.” (Deteronomy 10,5)
Seeing that the entire Book of Deuteronomy consists of words of rebuke by Moses to the people or commandments he relays that G’d had told him to teach the people, why, all of a sudden, does Moses relate something that does not fit either of the other two criteria?
[The following, a concept that first occurs in the sefer yetzirah the oldest Kabbalistic text, is based on the need to define everything that G’d has created in terms known as עולם, שנה, נפש, loosely translated as “space, location,” “time, year,” “spiritual dimension.” Ed.]
The Torah prescribes that a number of occurrences must be “remembered” at regular intervals. This includes the Exodus from Egypt, an event notable for where it took place, i.e. Egypt. The Sabbath must be remembered (in the Kiddush) primarily as symbolizing the dimension of “Time.” The attack and eventual defeat of Amalek must be remembered primarily as symbolic of the struggle between opposing worlds of the Spirit. In order for the Book of Deuteronomy to represent all these three elements of G’d’s creation, the fact that the Essence of the written Torah, the Tablets with the Ten Commandments had to be hidden, instead of revealed, is symbolized by Moses having been commanded to “hide” this spiritual heritage in the Holy Ark. Had the Jewish people not been guilty of the sin of the golden calf, the Tablets with the Commandments would have remained on display. [I have taken the liberty to present this in an abbreviated version so as not to confuse the reader. Ed.]
Seeing that the entire Book of Deuteronomy consists of words of rebuke by Moses to the people or commandments he relays that G’d had told him to teach the people, why, all of a sudden, does Moses relate something that does not fit either of the other two criteria?
[The following, a concept that first occurs in the sefer yetzirah the oldest Kabbalistic text, is based on the need to define everything that G’d has created in terms known as עולם, שנה, נפש, loosely translated as “space, location,” “time, year,” “spiritual dimension.” Ed.]
The Torah prescribes that a number of occurrences must be “remembered” at regular intervals. This includes the Exodus from Egypt, an event notable for where it took place, i.e. Egypt. The Sabbath must be remembered (in the Kiddush) primarily as symbolizing the dimension of “Time.” The attack and eventual defeat of Amalek must be remembered primarily as symbolic of the struggle between opposing worlds of the Spirit. In order for the Book of Deuteronomy to represent all these three elements of G’d’s creation, the fact that the Essence of the written Torah, the Tablets with the Ten Commandments had to be hidden, instead of revealed, is symbolized by Moses having been commanded to “hide” this spiritual heritage in the Holy Ark. Had the Jewish people not been guilty of the sin of the golden calf, the Tablets with the Commandments would have remained on display. [I have taken the liberty to present this in an abbreviated version so as not to confuse the reader. Ed.]
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Mei HaShiloach
In the Book of Numbers, it is hinted that no living being will be exculpated before Him, that even precious souls, "there is no righteous in the land who does good and does not sin" (Ecclesiastes 7:20), as in this portion it is written "consuming at the edge [katze] of the camp"(Numbers 11:1)—the elite [ketzinim] of the camp (see Sifri Numbers 85), and in parashat Shelah is written the sin of the scouts "all of the men being heads of the Children of Israel,"(Numbers 13:3) who were "mistaken hearted... and not knowing the ways [of God]" (Psalms 95:10), and so, in the section of the gatherer [of sticks of Shabbat], and in parashat Korach, "who was clever... and his eyes misled him” (Bamidbar Rabba 18:8, Midrash Tanhuma Korach 5, Rashi on Numbers 16:7), and in prashat Hukat is written “the waters of conflict” (Numbers 20:13) about Moses and Aaron, and in parashat Balak about Zimri ben Salu [who was killed for improper relations with a Midianite woman] that he was a chieftain (see Numbers 25:14). This hints to what was said “Remember, do not forget how you angered God your God in the wilderness”(Deuteronomy 9:7) because ‘wilderness’ indicates the destruction and the desolation that is in every individual, as how there were worlds that were destroyed before the world of building (see Kohellet Rabba 3:11:1, Zohar 3 292b:2). And this hints to the strength of humans over the demonic and wild forces within them that want to mislead them in youthful sins, and thus also in all lofty matters, are found deriving from the force of the wilderness, as the wilderness indicates the whole world, because before the creation of the form of humanity the whole world was a wilderness, because settlement [the alternative to wilderness] is only from people, and anything before the complete finishing of the formation of humanity is called wilderness.
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Kedushat Levi
Genesis 21,1. “Hashem took note of Sarah as He had promised, and He did for Sarah as He had said.” Bereshit Rabbah 53,4 understands this verse as reflecting the truth of what the psalmist said in psalms 119,89 לעולם ה', דברך נצב בשמים, “The Lord exists forever; Your word stands firm in heaven.” The author of the Midrash queries, rhetorically, if David meant that G’d’s word does not stand firm on earth? He explains that what the psalmist had in mind was that the promise G’d made to Avraham He had made in heaven, i.e. when the angel announced that Yitzchok’s birth would occur at a time prearranged in heaven. (In Genesis 15,5, long before the angel announced Yitzchok’s impending birth, G’d had take Avram outside his tent and had make him look at the heaven telling him that he would father children and that the would be as numerous as the stars in the heaven.) For our sages in B’rachot 7 the verse is understood to make the point that even when G’d makes a conditional promise, He will keep it. The Talmud there uses as its proof Deuteronomy 9,14 where G’d had suggested that He would trade the Jewish people who had made the golden calf for a new Jewish people founded by Moses.
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