Commento su Deuteronomio 7:15

AND THE ETERNAL WILL TAKE AWAY FROM THEE ALL SICKNESS — ordinary ailments which occur in the world. He further mentioned all the evil diseases of Egypt to assure the people that He will inflict them on all who hate thee. Or it may be that he is intimating that by observing the ordinances, they will be saved from them [these evil diseases], but if they do not observe them, they [the diseases] will come upon them just as they did come upon the Egyptians, as is stated in the chastisement: And He will bring back upon thee all the diseases of Egypt etc.³⁴Ibid., 28:60. I have already explained this in the section And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go.³⁵Exodus 15:26 (Vol. II, pp. 212-213). Now he mentioned as the first among the ordinances, the duty to demolish and destroy the idol-worshippers.³⁶Verse 16. Therefore he said, ‘v’achalta’ [literally: “and thou shalt eat”] all the peoples,³⁶Verse 16. meaning that you should destroy them, similar to what is said, for they are bread for us;³⁷Numbers 14:9. for ‘achal’ (he hath devoured) Jacob;³⁸Psalms 79:7. ‘va’achaluhu’ (yea, they have devoured him) and consumed him,³⁹Jeremiah 10:25. and so also many similar expressions. He states thine eye shall not pity them³⁶Verse 16. as I have mentioned,⁴⁰Above in Verse 12. for, through [undue] pity of the judges all law will be destroyed.

כל חולי, any manner of illness including those that are the result of climactic conditions.

והסיר ה' ממך כל חולי, “Hashem will remove every sickness from you.” This refers to sicknesses that are part and parcel of everyday life. Moses adds:

V. 15. מדוי. Während חלי den physiologischen Vorgang des Krankheitszustandes, als ein Gestörtsein der Entwicklung (siehe Bereschit Kap. 46, 1) bezeichnet, ist דוי mehr Bezeichnung des Krankheitsgefühles, das Leiden. Daher häusig mit לב verbunden. Die Lautverwandtschaft von דוה mit טוה spinnen, lässt eine Gedankenverwandtschaft mit חבל vermuten, das ja auch Seil und Schmerz, Krampf bedeutet. Sollte sich pathologisch Schmerz als ein Sondern und zu heterogener Einheit Zusammendrängen sonst dem Gesamtorganismus sich einfügender organischer Teilstoffe, gleichsam ein Zusammenspinnen und Zusammendrehen innerhalb des Organismus, darstellen lassen und so דוי und חבל nur Gradverschiedenheiten eines Vorganges bezeichnens??

All illness and all the harmful disease. Illness refers to one who falls sick in bed, even though no specific part of his body hurts him. Disease refers to pain in a certain part of the body, while the rest of the body is healthy.

הרעים, the ones which are contagious.

וכל מדוי מצרים “as well as all the bad maladies specifically prevalent in Egypt.” Probably, what are meant are different kinds of intestinal maladies, cancer of the colon, etc. Moses singles out these diseases with which the Israelites were familiar from their stay in Egypt, to assure them that G’d will cure them even from such diseases as part of the reward for observing the משפטים. He would instead afflict our enemies with such diseases. It is also possible that Moses hints here that if once afflicted with these diseases the meticulous observance of the social laws would cause G’d to heal the afflicted person, whereas non observance of these laws may bring in its wake such afflictions. When singling out specific commandments representing the social laws, משפטים, Moses singles out first (8,19) and foremost the eradication of every person guilty of practicing any kind of idolatry.

אשר ידעת, that the Egyptians were smitten with at the Sea of Reeds.

לא ישימם בך ונתנם בכל שונאך, even though these diseases will strike your enemies they will not infect you, as described in Psalms 91,7 “thousands may fall by your side….but the source of the death will not reach you.”