Commento su Deuteronomio 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.

FOR I KNOW THEIR INCLINATION WHICH THEY HAVE SHOWN THIS DAY. The meaning thereof is like the expression, for now I know that thou art a G-d-fearing man,⁴⁰Genesis 22:12. which is knowledge become actualized, for knowledge of the future is knowledge in potential.⁴¹See Ramban ibid., (Vol. I, p. 279). Now, if Israel had not sinned in the wilderness and the recognition of his temperament had not been actualized, it would have been inappropriate for him to testify against them in the Song, saying that it is known to Him that you will sin and therefore I call [heaven and earth] to witness that many evils and troubles³³Verse 17. like such and such will come upon you. Instead it would have been proper that He give them the Torah with unspecified foreknowledge: If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the Land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword.⁴²Isaiah 1:19-20. But now, that their bad temperament and their straying heart⁴³Ezekiel 6:9. had become known to them as well, He told them all that would occur to them. This is similar to what is said, Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew etc., therefore I have declared to thee from of old; before it came to pass I announced it to thee.⁴⁴Isaiah 48:4-5.

כי ידעתי את יצרו אשר הוא עושה היום, for I, G’d, know its nature, its character; they do not look forward to taking over the land of the Canaanites in order to serve Me, as I wanted them to and hoped they would do. (compare Psalms 105,44-45 “He gave them the lands of nations; they inherited the wealth of peoples; in order to observe His statutes and His teachings, and observe His laws.”) Instead they look forward to gratify their own cravings as a result of which their excess wealth will be the cause of their decline and corruption, as per 32,15 “Yeshurun waxed fate and kicked, etc.”

כי ידעתי את יצרו, “for I am familiar with its basic inclination;” even if I did not possess knowledge of future events, I could draw valid conclusions of how they would behave, based on the past performance of this people.

והיה כי תמצאן אתו רעות רבות וצרות וענתה השירה הזאת לפניו לעד; “it will be when many evils and distresses come upon it, then this song shall speak up before it as a witness.” This is a reference to the song at the beginning of Parshat Haazinu. There the Torah speaks in detail about the ones who have been cast out.

That I have warned them, in it, etc. And you have no excuse to say that if we had known of all these bad punishments we would not have transgressed Hashem’s commandments. For then they will read this song which has written in it explicitly the warning that He warned them of all these bad things [if they transgress Hashem’s commandments].

וענתה השירה הזאת, “and this song shall testify before them as a witness;” we must imagine this as if the “song” will reply to those who say “why have all these disasters befallen us?”

כי לא תשכח מפי זרעו FOR IT SHALL NOT BE FORGOTTEN OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF THEIR SEED — This is an assurance to Israel that the Torah in which this song is contained will never be entirely forgotten by their descendants (Shabbat 138b).

This is a guarantee to Yisroel, etc. He means to say that our eyes see that the hearts are diminishing [from Torah knowledge], so why is it written, For it shall never be forgotten, etc.?

לפניו, “in response to this;”

כי לא תשכח מפי זרעו, “it shall not be forgotten from the mouth of their offspring;” although there are many chastisements, eventually this will end in words of comfort.