Commento su Deuteronomio 33:29

אשריך ישראל HAPPY ART THOU, O ISRAEL — After he had recited unto them all these blessings in detail, he said to them. “Why should I detail everything to you? Everything is yours.

אשריך ישראל, at that time true אישור, happiness, will become manifest in our world, This is the loftiest level of collective satisfaction a nation can attain.

אשריך ישראל…עם נושע בשם, "Fortunate are you, O Israel; …a nation delivered by the Lord." Whereas any wars the other nations are engaged in are fought by their protective angels, and each nation is afraid that the protective angel of its adversary may prevail unless G'd smites that angel, this does does not apply in the case of Israel whose "protective angel" is G'd Himself. -Compare Exodus 14,30 where the Torah describes the Israelites seeing the protective angel of Egypt dead, as explained by Shemot Rabbah 21,5. Israel is fortunate not to have to depend on intermediaries. This enables the Jewish people to be free from fear.

אשריך ישראל מי כמוך, “Hail to you, Israel;” this verse is an explicit promise to the Jewish people concerning life in the hereafter. Seeing that in the previous verse Moses had discussed the destination(s) of the body i.e. what is good for the body, such as the blessings bestowed on earth, abundant crops, conditions of secure tenure of the land, such as a land with ample supplies of grain and wine, a land benefiting from the beneficial dews descending from the skies, and even the promise that should the people ever be exiled, no conquering nation would ever feel at home in their land, now Moses addresses his attention to matters of benefit to the soul.
We know about this already from Bileam’s blessing in Numbers 23,9: “they are a nation which dwells in solitary splendor,” הן עם לבדד ישכון; Moses now takes up this theme when he refers to Israel being בדד. (verse 28) He is at pains to point out that the rosy future of the Jewish people comprises more than a secure and worry-free existence in Eretz Yisrael, accompanied by an abundance of material blessings. This is why he introduces the subject by describing a unique feature of the Jewish people, i.e. “hail to you Israel, who is like you?” He means that whereas all the other nations, at best, can look forward to a worry-free life of plenty on terrestrial earth, Israel will experience an additional dimension of life in the celestial spheres. This is the meaning of the words עם נושע בה' תשועת עולמים, “a nation delivered by Hashem Who extends His deliverance into 2 worlds” [עולמים, pl. Ed.]. A true deliverance must include life in the world to come, or it is by definition not a true deliverance. [One may understand the words “true deliverance” as a deliverance from the initial curse that came on upon mankind, i.e. death, when Adam ate from the tree of knowledge. Every “true” deliverance should free one from that. Ed.]
After having told the people that there would indeed be a reward for keeping the Torah in the world to come, Moses proceeds to offer the Jewish people proof of this in the form of a miracle. He tells the people that G’d Himself would be their shield, that they would be able to boast about G’d being their “sword,” מגן עזרך. This promise includes the attribute of Justice, even. The word מגן, shield, is an allusion to the attribute of Justice, seeing a shield is generally worn on the left, and the attribute of Justice is perceived as on the left side of the diagram of the emanations. David also speaks of G’d being Israel’s shield in Psalms 18,36, when he said: ותתן לי מגן ישעך, “You gave me the shield of Your protection.” He elaborates further in Psalms 84,12, saying: כי שמש ומגן ה' אלו-הים, “for the Lord is both sun and shield.” In that verse David refers to the tetragrammaton, Hashem, as “sun,” and to the attribute of Justice, אלו-הים, as “shield.” Moses reassures the people that constant military success on earth against all their enemies is proof that they have a future in the very regions from which this success emanates, is orchestrated on their behalf by G’d.
You may consider it a rule that all the various promises to the people of Israel as a whole, such as at the beginning of the portion Bechukotai, do not concern them themselves merely with the promise of reward in this finite world of ours. They are all similes for the kind of reward awaiting us in celestial regions after the death of our bodies. The success promised by the Torah in our terrestrial world is only to be viewed as proof of the far greater reward in store for us (if we keep the commandments) in a far better world than the terrestrial globe on which we have been born. It is most appropriate that the King of Israel, Moses, on the day when he himself readied himself for entry into that better world, tells his charges that he blessed them in this fashion, that all of them could look forward to that kind of a future.

Your salvation is in Hashem, etc. Rashi says your salvation instead of a people saved, because the verse should have said a people saved by Hashem. Therefore he emended this by writing your salvation is in Hashem, meaning that your salvation is dependent upon Him. However, the explanation your salvation would be unconnected to anything preceding it or following it, therefore he adds the word who.

V. 29. שריך ישראלn (siehe Bereschit zu Kap. 30, 13). In Israel findet das einzige Prinzip Verwirklichung, dem ein ewiges Fortschreiten gewiss ist; es ist die menschengesellschaftliche Gestaltung auf Erden, welcher Gott, der Gott aller Zukunft, das Heilesdasein gewährleistet, Er steht ihr schirmend gegen alles Gefährdende bei, und Er ists, der ihr das Schwert ihrer Hoheit verleiht, d. h. Er verleiht ihr die nationale Hoheit unter den Nationen, die bei allen anderen vom "Schwerte" getragen ist.

ואשר חרב גאותך, “and that is the sword of your excellence.” Your voluntary isolation, -as opposed to being ghettoized,-is proof of your maturity as G–d’s people. It elevates you above all other nations.

ויכחשו אויביך לך, “and when your enemies will try to deceive you, etc.;” your enemies will sometimes pretend to be your friends in order to lull you into a sense of security.

אשריך … מי כמוך HAPPY ART THOU … WHO IS LIKE UNTO THEE! Thy help is in God (נושע בה׳), Who is מגן עזרך THE SHIELD OF THY HELP and חרב גאותך THE SWORD OF THY EXCELLENCY;

מי כמוך, so that there will not be another nation that can compare to you. Compare Maleachi 3,12 ואשרו אתכם כל הגויים, “and all the nations will account you happy, etc.”

Another meaning of the words נושע בשם is that it may refer to the king of the Israelites enjoying G'd's deliverance when in difficulties. When discussing Deut. 30,3 we pointed out that since the Torah does not speak about G'd "bringing back" the exiles but about G'd "returning" (Megillah 29), this means that the Jews are in the enviable position of G'd descending into exile with them as it were, so that He returns with them to the Holy Land when the time is ripe. ואשר הוא חרב גאותיך. These words may mean: "and Who is the sword drawn against those who feel superior to you." Nobody enjoys a mightier sword than that of G'd who fights on Israel's behalf.

ויכחשו איביך לך, es kommt die Zeit, wo das von dir hochgehaltene Prinzip so siegreich hoch hervorleuchtet, dass alle deine Gegner ihre gegensätzliche Vergangenheit verleugnen und du die Höhen aller menschlichen Bestrebungen besteigst, die sie alle auf anderem Wege vergebens zu erzielen gesucht. —

ויכחשו איביך לך AND THY ENEMIES SHALL DENY THEMSELVES AS SUCH UNTO THEE, e.g., the Gibeonites who said, (Joshua 9:9) “Thy servants have come from a far land, etc.”

'עם נושע בה, in those days your salvation will not be due to your having prevailed in war, in a dangerous conflict, but G’d will do all the fighting on your behalf if there is any need for it.

ואתה על במותימו תדרך AND THOU SHALT TREAD UPON THEIR HIGH PLACES, just as it is said, (Joshua 10:24) “Put your feet upon the necks of these kings” (cf. Onkelos).

מגן עזרך, the One Who had proven to be your shield in exile so that you had not perished. Compare Psalms 124,2-8 “had it not been for Hashem Who had helped us…….the waters would have swept us away and drowned us…our help was due only to the name of Hashem.”

ואשר חרב גאותך, “and He will again be the sword of your pride.” This sword will triumph over the nations when these will wage war against us. Compare Isaiah 66,16: ובחרבו את כל בשר, “with His sword against all flesh.”

ויכחשו אויביך לך, the same ones who had previously belittled You, even despised You, will have to deny their previous attitude when they decide to honour You. Compare Isaiah 60,14 “all those who used to torment you shall prostrate themselves at the soles of your feet.”

ואתה על במותימו תדרוך, even their kings will humble themselves before you. Compare Isaiah 49,23 והיו מלכים אומניך וגו', ”Kings will become your children’s babysitters.”