Commento su Deuteronomio 1:6

רב לכם שבת — Explain this according to its plain sense: YE HAVE DWELT LONG ENOUGH [IN THIS MOUNT]. — But there is an Agadic explanation: He has given you much distinction and reward for your having dwelt in this mount: you made the Tabernacle, the candlestick and the other sacred articles, you received the Torah, you appointed a Sanhedrin for yourselves, captains over thousands and captains over hundreds (cf. Sifrei Devarim 5:2).

THE ETERNAL OUR G-D SPOKE UNTO US IN HOREB, SAYING. In my opinion Horeb was the name of a place near Mount Sinai⁵⁶See Vol. II, pp. 239, 253. where Israel dwelled in the year [of the exodus]. The wilderness was large and therein was the mountain which G-d hath desired;⁵⁷Psalms 68:17. its name was Sinai and it is for this reason that the entire wilderness is called the wilderness of Sinai,⁵⁸Exodus 19:1. as it were, “the wilderness of Mount Sinai.” Thus Scripture states, and they came to the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped opposite the mount,⁵⁹Ibid., Verse 2. meaning that they encamped in the wilderness in a place called Horeb, this being opposite the mountain. It is possible that both the mountain and the wilderness were called “Sinai” because many sneh (thorn-bush) trees were there, and near that mountain was a locality or an inhabited city called Horeb, and there they stopped. And the verse which states, and he [Moses] came to the mountain of G-d, unto Horeb⁶⁰Ibid., 3:1. [which might indicate that the name of the mountain itself was really Horeb or, perhaps, that the mountain was in the region called Horeb], means that he came to Horeb where the mountain of G-d was. Now the sneh (thorn-bush) [out of the midst of which the angel appeared to Moses] was on that mountain. Moses [at that moment] was in Horeb, the place before it, nearby, where the camp of Israel stood for [close to] a year [after the exodus]. Therefore Moses said, I will turn aside now and see [this great sight, why is the bush not consumed],⁶¹Ibid., Verse 3. meaning that he will turn aside from Horeb [and walk] up to the mountain. At times Scripture calls the mountain itself [Horeb], as it is said, And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments from Mount Horeb,⁶²Ibid., 33:6. that is to say “from the mountain which was in the area of Horeb, in its vicinity or before it.” Or it may be that Horeb was the name of the entire region and the mountain was within it. Similarly, Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances,⁶³Malachi 3:22. alludes to all that he was commanded on the mountain, and in the Tent of Meeting which was there in Horeb.
Now I have seen a Midrash in Yelamdeinu Rabbeinu:⁶⁴Literally: “May our master teach us.” See Vol. II, p. 131, Note 196, for description of this Midrash. “Yea, thou knewest not⁶⁵Isaiah 48:8. The verse reads: Yea, thou heardest not; yea thou knewest not; yea, from of old … — at Sinai; yea, thou heardest not — at Horeb; yea, from of old thine ear was not opened — in the plains of Moab.” The Midrash thus intimates that Horeb is the place where the Tent of Meeting was, [thus confirming the view that Sinai and Horeb are different places]. However, Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra states⁶⁶Choreb in Hebrew means “desolation,” or “dryness.” — This interpretation is found in Ibn Ezra’s commentary to Exodus 3:1-2. that Horeb is Mount Sinai, for, because of its desolation and dryness, the sneh (thorn-bush) grows there, so the mountain is known by two names [Horeb and Sinai], both being similar in meaning [“Horeb” referring to its desolate nature, and “Sinai” indicating the thorn-bushes that are products of the dryness].

בחורב לאמור, “at Mount Chorev, saying;” Nachmanides writes that Chorev is not a mountain but a region adjoining Mount Sinai where the Israelites were encamped during that year. [In light of Exodus 33,6, where Chorev is clearly described as a mountain, this is somewhat difficult to follow. Ed.] Nachmanides is aware of the difficulty and suggests several alternatives, basing himself on the fact that Sinai is both referred to by the Torah on some occasions as a mountain, and on other occasions as a region in the desert. [I suppose it is reasonable to say that the sheep which had lost its way and which Moses followed only to be confronted by a burning bush, did not climb a mountain. (compare Exodus 3,1) Ed.] Possibly, in the words of Nachmanides- Moses’ hesitation before investigating that spectacle was based on the very fact that the bush was burning on the mountain whereas he was standing at the bottom at that time. Ibn Ezra simply understands the word חורב as an alternate name for Mount Sinai, explaining that the bush was burning on account of the extreme dryness in that region. The people of Israel used either name for that mountain, interchangeably.

ה' אלו-הינו דבר אלינו, “the Lord our G’d spoke to us, etc.” You have to remember that throughout this Book Moses always refers to G’d with both attributes, i.e. Hashem and Elokim. I have already mentioned this at the end of verse 1.
בחורב, at Mount Chorev. This is the same as Mount Sinai.

According to its plain meaning. I.e., the word רב means “an extended time period.”

V. 6. בחרב, die ganze Gegend um den Sinai heißt Horeb. So: ויבא אל הר האלקים חרבה (Schmot 3, 1), רב לכם שבת בהר הזה. Vergl. ויפגשהו בהר האלקים (Schmot 4, 27). Es begreift übrigens הר nicht nur den Berg im engeren Sinne, sondern die ganze Terrainerhebung, von welcher der Berg die höchste Gipfelung bildet, woher ja auch הר überhaupt: Hochland, im Gegensatz zu שפלה Niederung, Tiefland (V. 7). בהר הזה heißt daher ganz füglich: in der Umgebung dieses Berges, in dieser Berggegend. — ׳רב לכם וגו: der Zweck, zu welchem ihr auf eurem Zuge aus Ägypten in das verheißene Land zuerst an diesen Berg geführt worden und dort weilen solltet (Schmot 3, 12), ist bereits genügend erreicht. Es ist euch hier das Gesetz geworden, mit dessen Hinnahme, Aufnahme und Annahme ihr in den "Dienst Gottes" getreten seid, und ihr habt euch hinlänglich mit dem Gesetze vertraut gemacht und ihm das Gesetzesheiligtum in eurer Mitte errichtet, so dass euch nichts mehr fehlt, um nunmehr in das Land zu ziehen, das keine andere Bestimmung hat, als Boden der Verwirklichung dieses Gesetzes zu werden.

דבר אלינו בחרב, “which He spoke to us at Chorev.” He commenced with words of encouragement (Compare Aruch hashalem under the entry בדח.

But there is an Aggadic interpretation, etc. For according to its plain meaning, there is a difficulty: The verse should have said “די לכם שבת (Enough of your living).” Why does it use the term רב (lit. a lot)? Therefore, Rashi explains: But there is an Aggadic interpretation.