Commento su Deuteronomio 33:38

וזאת הברכה … לפני מותו AND THIS IS THE BLESSING [WHEREWITH MOSES … BLESSED THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] BEFORE HIS DEATH — i.e., quite near to his death. “For” said he, “if not now, when?” (Sifrei Devarim 342:7).

AND THIS IS THE BLESSING WHEREWITH MOSES THE MAN OF G-D BLESSED THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL BEFORE HIS DEATH. It states the man of G-d in order to indicate that his blessing will be fulfilled because he was the man of G-d, and the prayer of the upright is His delight.¹Proverbs 15:8. Now Scripture calls Moses our teacher the man of G-d, and so also the rest of the prophets,²The Sifre, Brachah 342, lists eighteen prophets of whom Scripture speaks as ‘men of G-d.’ Elijah,³I Kings 17:18. and others,⁴Those not identified by name. Thus: And there came a man of G-d to Eli (I Samuel 2:27), and other similar cases. but it does not state “the man of the Eternal;” instead it says Moses the ‘servant’ of the Eternal.⁵Joshua 1:1. Moses is the servant of the Eternal Who has created everything, and Moses’ conception of Him was like that of a servant who is afraid to behold his master. Moses was also the man of G-d, since all his deeds and words came by command of the Almighty (Ma’or V’shamesh). The reason is known to every student learned in [the mystic lore of] the Torah. So also by way of the Truth, [the expression ‘v’zoth habrachah’ (and this is the blessing) means that] “v’zoth is the blessing” [as explained further on], for From the Eternal has ‘zoth’ (this) come.⁶Psalms 118:23. — “By way of the Truth,” another name for the teachings of the Cabala, thus begins a new thought of Ramban. First he intimated that the reason for Scripture stating the man of G-d and not “the man of the Eternal” is known to every student of the mysteries of the Torah. And now he begins to explain, on the basis of the Cabala, the unique expression of v’zoth habrachah. Similarly it is said in the case of Jacob, ‘v’zoth’ (and ‘this’ is) what their father [Jacob] spoke unto them.⁷Genesis 49:28. It was this blessing that David meant when he said, ‘Zoth’ (this) came to pass unto me, because I have kept Thy precepts,⁸Psalms 119:56. alluding to Zion the city of David, for there the Eternal commanded the blessing, even life forever.⁹Ibid., 133:3. The student learned in the mysteries of the Cabala will understand. Our Rabbis meant this secret in their interpretation in Bereshith Rabbah:¹⁰Bereshith Rabbah 100:13. “‘v’zoth’ (and this is) what their father spoke unto them.⁷Genesis 49:28. A man like me is destined to bless you, and, from the very place where I [Jacob] concluded — from there will he begin. At the moment Moses our teacher rose to bless them, he began with ‘v’zoth habrachah’ (and this is the blessing) — from the very place where their father concluded. This then is the meaning of the expression ‘v’zoth’ what their father spoke unto them⁷Genesis 49:28. [their father Jacob told them that the next blessing they receive would be from a man who will begin with v’zoth — v’zoth habrachah]. He [i.e., the patriarch Jacob] said to them: When will these blessings reach you? From the time you accept the Torah, in which is written, ‘V’zoth’ (And this is) the Law etc. ”¹¹Above 4:44. For this word zoth alludes to the blessing which is the Torah, and this is the covenant, as it is written ‘Zoth’ (this is) My covenant.¹²Genesis 17:10. I have already mentioned this.¹³Ibid., 2:20 (Vol. I, p. 79); Exodus 25:3 (Vol. II, pp. 437-438).

וזאת הברכה, and this is the blessing, etc. We need to explain the conjunctive letter ו at the beginning of this verse. Moreover, we need to examine the need for the entire verse. If the Torah meant to inform us as to who was the person who bestowed this blessing and who it was bestowed upon, surely we would have known this without the benefit of this verse. All the Torah had to do was to commence with the word ויאמר in verse two and I would have known all this. If, on the other hand, the Torah wanted to inform us that Moses bestowed these blessings immediately prior to his death, this too had become clear from what the Torah had written in the previous paragraph. Besides, why was it important to record precisely when Moses bestowed these blessings?

וזאת הברכה, the Torah picks up the narrative interrupted in 31,30-32,1 by Moses’ parting poem/song.

וזאת הברכה אשר ברך משה, after G’d had shown him the whole Land of Israel before he died, in order that he should be able to pronounce a blessing both over the land and over the people who were going to live in it. Both Moses‘ plea to see the land by crossing the river Jordan (Deut. 3,25) אעברה נא ואראה, and G’d’s purpose in granting him this part of his prayer (Numbers 27,12) were intended for this purpose, i.e. for him to bless the people after viewing the Land of Israel would inspire him to do so. Here we have the text of this blessing.

וזאת הברכה אשר ברך משה איש האלוקים, “And this is the blessing which Moses the man of G’d bestowed, etc.” His blessing endures until this day. The reason why the blessing is introduced with the word וזאת [the ו which suggests that it is a continuation, Ed.] is that Moses carried on where Yaakov’s blessings had left off. We are told in the Midrash that when Yaakov was on his deathbed he told his children that in due course there would arise another, similar to him, who would give his blessing to the tribes and who would continue where he, their father would leave off. This is why Moses made a point of recording that he viewed his own blessing as a continuation of the blessing bestowed upon them by the patriarch Yaakov.

Close to his death, etc. Because if you do not explain that before his death means close to his death, we would not know when [Moshe spoke]. Therefore Rashi writes, For if not now when,” because it was before his death and close to his death. Alternatively, his proof is because it is written before his death, as it is obvious that he did not bless them after his death. However, if the verse had not written before his death, I might have thought he blessed them a long time before his death. Therefore it is written before his death to teach us that it was close to his death (Sifri cited by Re”m)

Kap. 33. V. 1. איש האלקי׳ .וזאת הברכה, der Mann Gottes, der Mann, der in einer nahen Beziehung zu Gott gestanden, den Gott als seinen Diener und Boten gebraucht hatte. In der תורה kommt diese Bezeichnung von Mosche nur hier vor. Wenn, wie wir glauben, dieser Segen von Mosche nicht wie der übrige Inhalt der תורה als Gottes Wort, sondern als zunächst seinem eigenen Innern entstammend gesprochen war, so dürfte sich diese einzig hier gegebene Bezeichnung ׳איש האלהי wohl dahin begreifen lassen. Bei allem Bisherigen war Mosche Gottes Organ und bedurfte es daher einer solchen näheren Charakterisierung nicht. Aber eben, weil dieser Segen nicht Gottes, sondern Mosche Ausspruch war, sagt diese Bezeichnung der Persönlichkeit, die hier gesprochen, dass denn doch diesen Aussprüchen ein unvergleichlich höherer Wert beizumessen sei, als wenn in ihnen nur die Rede eines gewöhnlichen Menschen vorläge. Es war doch משה איש האלהים, der hier den Segen gesprochen, doch der Mann, den Gott einer so nahen Beziehung zu sich gewürdigt hatte, und wenn diese ברכה auch vielleicht nicht בדרך נבואה gesprochen worden, so war sie doch jedenfalls vom רוח הקדש getragen. Vergleiche Ps. 90 תפלה למשה איש האלקים.

'וזאת הברכה אשר ברך משה וגו, “and this is the blessing which Moses bestowed, etc.;” Rabbi Joseph Kara wrote that the reason that Moses added as his title the words: איש האלוקים, “the man of G–d,” was to tell the people that G–d had instructed him to pronounce these blessings.

וזאת הברכה, “and this was the blessing, etc.” the letter ו at the beginning of the word וזאת, indicates that the paragraph following is a continuation of what we have read immediately before. Whereas up to now Moses had admonished the people, he now switched to blessing them.

The portion begins with the words וזאת הברכה, “this is the blessing,” to indicate that Moses had finished with the admonitions to which he had devoted so much space. Before ascending the mountain where he was to die, he wanted to deliver his blessings to each of the tribes, not unlike Yaakov who had done so shortly before his death. Whereas the chapter before this is known as the שירה, song/poem, this chapter is known as the ברכה, blessing.

It appears therefore that the Torah's purpose was to accord praise to Moses, the man of G'd. Although he had been instructed by G'd in the previous paragraph to ascend Mount Ha-Avarim, Har Nevo, in order to die there, he did not harbour any negative thoughts in his heart concerning this although his premature death had been due in part to the Israelites' rebellious behaviour at the time when he struck the rock. Ordinary people would not feel inclined to bless those who have caused them to die. Not so Moses. The Torah therefore records that Moses not only did not harbour any hatred but even went out of his way to bless these people. This is also the reason why the word זאת was prefaced by the letter ו, to alert us to the fact that immediately before proceeding to bless the people G'd had told Moses to ascend the mountain in order to die.

לפני מותו, “before his death;” our sages explain that at the time when the angel of death came in order to take away his soul, Moses took him prisoner (temporarily) and proceeded to bless the tribes each one in order before releasing him. (Compare Devarim Rabbah, 11,5) [In my version of the Midrash, Moses simply sent the angel back to where he came from. Ed.]

The Torah adds the words: "before his death," in order to further underline this characteristic of Moses, i.e. that he blessed the people even at this hour though he was painfully aware of the people's share in his death. The letter ו also testifies to the fact that the blessings Moses pronounced were unreserved; he did not hold back part because he had misgivings about his impending death.

Another message that the Torah may wish to convey by writing וזאת הברכה, "and this is the blessing," is to draw our attention to the patriarchs who had blessed their children. Abraham had blessed Isaac, Isaac had blessed his children, and Jacob had blessed his children when on his deathbed, assembling them all around him. The Torah goes on record that Moses' blessing the people is to be understood as adding an additional dimension to the blessings the tribes had received at the time from their father Jacob. Sifri has explained this in connection with Deut. 1,11: "may the G'd of your fathers add more blessings, etc."

The fact that the Torah here emphasises הברכה, with the definitive article, is a hint that this blessing was superior even to the blessings bestowed by Jacob at the time. The Torah goes on to outline in which respect this blessing by Moses was superior.

1) The words אשר ברך משה, "which Moses blessed," is a clear reference to the superiority of Moses as an individual. I have explained this in connection with Numbers 12,7 where G'd extolled Moses' virtues to his brother Aaron and to his sister Miriam.

A kabbalistic approach: The words: “and this is the blessing,” are a reference to the תרומה, the gift, the Torah, and the covenant, all of which have been introduced with the word זאת on different occasions. (compare Exodus 25,3; Deuteronomy 33,1; Isaiah 59,21). This is why Moses commenced his blessings at the point where our patriarch Yaakov had left off. I already elaborated on this in connection with Genesis 49,28.

2) The words איש האלוקים, "the man of G'd." Tanchuma explains this expression going as far as to consider it parallel to Elimelech who was described as איש נעמי, "the husband of Naomi" in Ruth 1,3. What the Torah means is that when Moses would decree something (without consulting with G'd) G'd would honour what Moses had decreed. We plan to explain this phenomenon still further.

3) The words את בני ישראל, "the children of Israel," are an indication that all the Israelites were a vessel deserving to be blessed at that time, a condition that had not existed previously. We have explained on several occasions that the presence of G'd does not come to rest on fewer than 600,000 Jews as only this number is able to comprise the combined degree of sanctity which assures Israel of being suitable carriers of the שכינה. The reason that the Torah added the word את and did not content itself with writing בני ישראל, may have been in order to allude to a hidden dimension, something which does not manifest itself openly. It may be a veiled reference to the fact that even when the Israelites are in exile, some part of G'd's presence never completely deserts them. This concept is based on Psalms 91,15: "I will be with him in distress." [Moses was the author of this Psalm. Ed.] Moses, who may be viewed as "Israel's best Man" in the mystical relationship between G'd and Israel, bestows this additional aspect of blessing on his people.

4) The words לפני מותו, "before his death," may indicate that although Moses possessed outstanding spiritual powers throughout his life, these powers were enhanced at this time when he was close to his death. This may also be a further meaning of the introductory word וזאת, i.e. in addition to all the spiritual powers Moses was endowed with, at this time he possessed even greater spiritual resources.

Another meaning of the word וזאת may be gleaned from the comments of the Yalkut Shimoni who says that Moses did not rate the description "man of G'd" until he blessed the Jewish people. The meaning of the word then is that in spite of all the feats performed by Moses in his 120 years he only qualified for the title איש האלוקים when he blessed the people at this time.

איש האלוקים, the man of G'd. This may be an outstanding compliment to Moses. Whereas we are told in Erchin 17 in the name of Rabbi Eliezer the great, that if G'd were to go to arbitration with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that none of them could prevail, [seeing all had to depend on G'd employing His attribute of Mercy, Ed.] Moses alone was able to be judged on the basis of the attribute of Justice, i.e. האלוקים. This is also what David had in mind when he said in Psalms 143,2: "and do not enter into judgment with Your servant for before You no living creature is in the right." He meant that even a צדיק, [play on the word יצדק in that verse, Ed.] can survive when the attribute of Justice is applied to him. The Torah tells us here that Moses was the only צדיק who did not fit the description by David. He was a "man" who could be evaluated and not be found wanting even when measured by the yardstick of the attribute of Justice.

Another meaning of this expression may be that Moses trained himself to acquire the virtue of reverence for G'd. He was not blessed with this virtue by birth, it was not one of the genetic gifts he enjoyed. We may understand this better with the help of a statement in the Talmud comparing the respective virtues of King Saul and King David. Rav Hunna (Yuma 22) states that "whereas Saul committed one grievous error which spelled his doom (as a king and dynasty), David committed two errors without paying for it by losing his kingdom and his dynasty." The reason why G'd applied a stricter yardstick when judging Saul's behaviour was that Saul was of a natural disposition which made it easy for him to revere G'd and be obedient. David, on the other hand, had no such genetic advantage and found it much more difficult to discipline himself. This is why he was introduced to us in the Book of Samuel I 16,11 as אדמוני, i.e. similar to Edom, to Esau, in temperament. Had Saul possessed David's temperament he would have become ten times as guilty of disobeying G'd as David was. The Torah testifies here that Moses' attaining of the title איש האלוקים represented a supreme effort by Moses seeing that he was an independent spirit by nature.

The words איש האלוקים convey yet another meaning. It is a description of someone unique. There never has been nor will there ever be again a human being to whom the description איש האלוקים can be applied in the way the Torah applied it to Moses. This is why the term is coupled with the words את בני ישראל. The Torah means that Moses achieved his status only due to what he had done on behalf of the Jewish people and what he suffered at the hands of Jewish people. Seeing that no other leader endured what Moses endured and came out on top as did Moses, the description which fits Moses would not fit anybody elese.

ויאמר ה' מסיני בא AND HE SAID, THE LORD CAME FROM SINAI — First he began with praise of the Omnipresent, and only afterwards did he begin with what concerned Israel; but in the praise of God with which he began there is also mention of Israel’s merit. All this was by way of intercession, as though to say, “These are worthy that blessing should rest upon them” (Sifrei Devarim 343:1).

THE ETERNAL CAME FROM SINAI. Moses states that the Eternal came to Israel from Sinai, for it was from there that He caused His Divine Glory to dwell among them and never departed from them again. The purport thereof is as follows: The Glory came down upon Mount Sinai, as it is said, And the Eternal came down upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mount; and the Eternal called Moses etc.,¹⁴Exodus 19:20. and there it [the Glory] remained all the days that Moses ascended and descended the mountain, as it is said, And the appearance of the Glory of the Eternal was like devouring fire on the top of the mount etc.¹⁵Ibid., 24:17. And when the last [i.e., the second] Tablets were given to him [Moses], the Glory rested in the tent of meeting [Moses’ own tent], as it is stated, And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud descended, and stood at the door of the tent, and He spoke with Moses,¹⁶Ibid., 33:9. and it is further written, And the Eternal spoke unto Moses face to face etc.¹⁷Ibid., Verse 11. This continued from the Day of Atonement until the first day of Nisan when the Tabernacle was permanently set up. See Vol. II, pp. 574-576. When the Tabernacle was set up, the Glory rested therein, as it is said, Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Glory of the Eternal filled the Tabernacle,¹⁸Exodus 40:34. and all communications to Moses came from there during all the years in the wilderness.

ויאמר , before he commenced with his blessing in verse 25 with the words ברזל ונחושת מנעלך, he pronounced a list of prayers addressed not to the people but to G’d, in order to prepare the ground for his blessings when he intoned it to become effective. Words of blessing are invariably addressed to the recipient of the blessing directly. When G’d instructed the priests to bless the Jewish people, part of that instruction was: אמור להם, “say to them!” (Numbers 6,23) All Moses’ words from verse 25 on are couched in this traditional mode of phrasing a blessing.

ויאמר, ה׳ מסיני בא, He said: "Hashem came from Sinai, etc." Our sages in the Sifri understand this to mean that G'd came towards the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, וזרח משעיר למו, and that on the way towards the Jewish people He first offered the Torah to the descendants of Esau (who lived in Se-ir). The words הופיע מהר פארן would mean that G'd also offered the Torah to the Ishmaelites whose abode was in the desert of Paran. The difficulty with this exegesis is why would the Torah mention the Ishmaelites last when, geographically speaking, G'd would have first encountered the Ishmaelites, seeing He is described as coming from Sinai? Furthermore, we need to know why the Torah employs three different verbs for describing G'd's arrival, i.e. בא, זרח, הופיע? Why did the Torah not simply lump all this together by writing: "He came from Sinai, Se-ir and Paran?" Besides, why did the Torah first mention the place when referring to Sinai, whereas it describes G'd's "shining" or "appearing" before mentioning where this took place, i.e. Se-ir or Paran respectively?

ה' מסיני בא, and there He manifested Himself to the Children of Israel and gave them His Torah.

ה' מסיני בא, “Hashem came from Sinai, etc. “ Nachmanides writes that this is in accordance with how our sages portrayed G’d as having offered the Torah to the various nations of the earth, and the nations refusing to accept it, each for reasons of their own. Moses refers specifically to the descendants of Avraham including the descendants of Esau, who had two of the patriarchs in common with the Jewish people. Seeing that they were not willing to accept the Torah, His glory descended onto Mount Sinai to offer it to the Jewish people. It is possible to explain the words מסיני בא, “He came from Sinai,” as simply meaning that this was not the last stop on G’d’s journey inviting other nations to accept the Torah, but His first stop-on earth, so to speak, -the first time that G’d allowed His Presence to reside on earth again permanently since Adam had sinned in the garden of Eden. G’d’s Presence remained in that region during all the time that Moses spent on the Mountain, on and off. Once Moses had received the second set of Tablets, this Presence of Hashem, the שכינה, resided temporarily over Moses’ own tent until the inauguration of the Tabernacle. Ever since that occasion, G’d’s communications with Moses all emanated from the Tabernacle, i.e. from the lid of the Holy Ark between the cherubs.

He began with the praise of Hashem, etc. Rashi is answering the question: What relationship is there between the praise of Hashem and the blessings of the tribes? Thus he explains, He began, etc.

V. 2. מסיני בא .ויאמר וגו׳, nicht לסיני בא, sondern מסיני: vom Sinai trat Gott in Israels Mitte ein (הופיע ,זרח ,בא .(מכילתא פ׳׳תרו, oder vielmehr הופיע, בא ,זרח sind fortschreitende Stufen einer Lichterscheinung. הופיע ist das erste Heraustreten aus dem Dunkel, eine das kommende Licht ankündigende Helle. יפע (verwandt mit יפח hauchen) entspricht dem Anbrechen des Tages. זרח ist der Strahlenwurf (verwandt mit זרע, ausstreuen), die Morgenröte; das Licht ist noch fern, seine Strahlen dringen jedoch bereits zu uns. Mit בא steht das Licht in unserem Zenith. קומי אורי בי בא אורך וגו׳ (Jes.60, 1 — 3). Das ganze Bild sagt dort, wenn über Israel die Sonne Gottes leuchtet, ist dies Morgenröte für die übrigen Völker.) שעיר ist עשו, ישמעאל :פארן (Bereschit 21, 21). Es dürfte hier gesagt sein: die abrahamitische Verheißung hätte sich auch an Ismael und Esaw erfüllen können; allein schon als sich von Ismael Paran und noch mehr als später sich von Esaw Seir gestaltete, wies deren Charakteristik darauf hin, dass die Verwirklichung der Gottesverheißung noch auf ein anderes, späteres Geschlecht zu warten hätte, das sich nun endlich in Israel dem Einzuge der Gottesherrlichkeit auf Erden mit Empfang der תורה darbot. Das למו ist auch auf הופיע zu beziehen. Mit Ismael kündigte sich für Israel der Tag an, mit Esaw leuchtete nach ihm hin das Morgenrot, mit מתן תורה am Sinai trat das Gotteslicht in Israels Mittagslinie ein. Ähnlich ספרי z. St. הלך אצל בני עשו ואמר להם מקבלים אתם את התורה usw. (siehe daselbst). —ואתה מרבבות וגו׳. Eine Einsicht in die verschiedenen Stellen, in welchen אתה vorkommt, scheint zu ergeben, dass dasselbe vorzugsweise nicht sowohl ein örtliches Hinkommen, das Hinkommen zu einem Orte, sondern das Hinkommen zu einer Person und zwar insbesondere ein erwartetes Hinkommen ausdrückt. רבבות קדש sind die Myriaden im Dienste Gottes stehender Geister, zu deren Charakter קדש, die unwandelbare Bereitschaft für das im Dienste Gottes zu betätigende Gute gehört, deren Natur die Möglichkeit zu fehlen versagt ist, die, wie es Ezechiel 1, 9 heißt, לא יסבו בלכתן, nie abweichen in ihrem Wandel, für die somit ebenfalls ein Gesetz nicht berechnet ist, das geistig-leiblichen, zum freien Gottesgehorsam berufenen, und daher mit der Abirrungsfähigkeit begabten Wesen das Regime ihres Lebens bringen soll. Nicht שעיר und פארן und auch nicht רבבות קדש waren für dies Gesetz geeignet.

ה' מסיני בא, “The Lord had come from Sinai;” some commentators understand this phrase as meaning: “the Lord, Whose glorious presence, shechinah, emanates fro Sinai, etc;” we find an example of such a construction in Psalms 134,3: יברכך ה׳ מסיני, “may the Lord Whose glorious presence emanates from Sinai, bless you;”

מסיני בא [THE LORD] CAME FROM SINAI — He went forth towards them when they were about to take their stand at the foot of the Mount, — as a bridegroom goes forth to welcome his bride, as it is said, (Exodus 19:17) “And Moses brought the people forth to meet God”: this teaches us that He (God) was Himself going forth facing them (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 19:17:1 and Rashi on the verse quoted).

'ה, this is an exclamation mode.

וזרח, its light shone

וזרח משעיר למו, “after having shone forth from Seir in its direction.” After the people had started journeying from Mount Sinai in the direction of the land of Canaan, the cloud symbolizing His Presence hovered over the desert of Paran from where Moses dispatched the spies. After that debacle, the Presence of Hashem went into voluntary exile until in the fortieth year when the people had reached the borders with Edom it re-appeared as is indicated by Deut. 2,7 כי ה' אלוקיך ברכך בכל מעשה ידך וגו', “for the Lord your G’d has blessed you in all your undertakings, etc.” From that point on the Shechinah did not again depart from the encampment of the Jewish people. When G’d had appeared to them coming from Se-ir, He was as a shining light for them and the period of mourning that had commenced after the episode of the spies had come to an end. This being the case, the time had come when they could hope to defeat Sichon and Og in battle, though they were warned not to attack or harass the Moabites and Edomites.

[He] also mentions the merit of the Israelites, etc. Otherwise, why not begin with the praise that He created the world or other praises of Hashem?

We may best understand this when considering why the Torah had not been given to Jacob who, after all, had raised twelve sons all of whom were loyal to the Abrahamitic tradition. Midrash Hagadol on Genesis 32,2 says that the Shechinah does not come to rest on an assembly of fewer than 600,000 (Jews or angels). Giving the Torah to the Jewish people required the presence of 600,000 as the Torah reports that G'd descended on Mount Sinai for the occasion (Exodus 19,20).

AND HE SHONE FORTH FROM SEIR UNTO THEM. For after they journeyed from Sinai the cloud abode in the wilderness of Paran,¹⁹Numbers 10:12. and from there Moses sent the spies, as it is said, And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran.²⁰Ibid., 13:3. As a result of the spies’ report, the people were banished,²¹Yerushalmi Taanith III, 4. The term “banished” suggests a form of censure and excommunication, when the Divine utterance was not communicated to Moses. and there was no Divine communication to Moses until they came to Seir,²²Deuteronomy 2:1-2. at the border of the children of Esau, at the end of the forty years, as it is said there, For the Eternal thy G-d hath blessed thee in all the work of thy hand; He hath known thy walking through this great wilderness; these forty years the Eternal thy G-d hath been with thee.²³Ibid., Verse 7. Now, at the time, when they arrived at Seir, the Eternal was again to them an everlasting light and the days of their mourning were ended,²⁴Isaiah 60:20. and He commanded them to be heedful of Ammon and Moab [not to take their lands]. At that time He said that they should begin to possess their land²⁵Above, 2:31. the land of Sihon and Og, the two great Amorite kings.

אש דת ,מימינו אשדת למן, diese beiden als ein Wort geschriebenen Worte bilden einen Begriff. דת kommt nur hier als Begriffsbezeichnung der תורה vor. Es ist gleichsam der kosmische Begriff der תורה, Bezeichnung dessen, was die תורה im Welthaushalte Gottes bedeutet. אש ist die in allen physischen Wesen Bewegung, Veränderung und Leben gestaltende Kraft, das אש שחורה, das dunkle, unsichtbare Feuer, wie es die Weisen (דברים רבה עקב) nennen, durch welches sich die ewigen, von Gott gegebenen Weltgesetze in allen seinen Geschöpfen vollziehen. Dieses in allen Geschöpfen, ihnen unbewusst, von ihrem Willen unabhängig, durch das höchste Bewusstsein und den höchsten Willen, durch Gott gesetzte und gewollte, und durch die Allmacht seines Willens sich vollziehende Gesetz, sollte für das zur sittlichen Freiheit berufene Geschöpf, sollte für den Menschen nicht in ihm, ohne sein bewusstes Wollen sich vollziehen, sollte an ihn zur freien Aufnahme in Geist und Willen herantreten, und das ist die תורה. Sie ist nichts, als das an den Menschen ausgesprochene, in allen übrigen Geschöpfen sich aussprechende Gottesgesetz; durch seine Erfüllung nimmt erst der Mensch bewusstvoll und frei die Stelle ein, welche alle übrigen Wesen bewusstlos und unfrei erfüllen, es ist das "Gesetz gewordene Feuer". Und מימינו, es ist Gottes helfende und stützende Heilesrechte (siehe Schmot 1, 5 u. 6), die ihnen dieses Gesetz reichte. Ratlos, halt- und hilflos ist der Mensch ohne dies sein innerstes Wesen und seine Bestimmung ihm deutende, und damit ihn des Beistandes seines und seiner Welt Schöpfers und Meisters versichernde Gesetz. Es kommt seinem innersten Bedürfnis entgegen (Ps. 19, 8).

וזרח משעיר למו, “and He shone forth from Seir, to them;” the sunrise is witnessed each morning from the East of the land of Israel, the sun breaking forth from behind the mountains of Seir. It appears as if lightning suddenly illuminated the earth. [According to our author, these mountains are situated to the east of Mount Sinai. On our maps this is not quite so, as these mountains are more northern than easterly from Mount Sinai. Ed. ] הופיע מהר פארן, “He manifested Himself from the mountain of Paran. [This mountain is also assumed to be situated to the east of Mount Sinai. Ed.] The concept of G-d making His appearance from an easterly direction of the universe is seen as a tribute to the people of Israel, meaning that the Lord came forward toward them. According to Rashi on Numbers 34,3, on the words: ממדבר צין, where he elaborates in an unusually lengthy manner on the geography of that region, this is to be understood as a sign of His fondness of the people.

וזרח משעיר למו AND HE SHONE FORTH FROM SEIR UNTO THEM (the Israelites), because He first addressed Himself to the sons of Esau (the inhabitants of Seir) that they should accept the Law, but they refused,

מסיני בא וזרח וגו' אש דת למו. Moses recalls the Israelites’ merit in order that his prayer on their behalf be accepted. He therefore tells G’d, that at the time when He came from Sinai and became manifest in a number of locations to Israel, the word קדש in the expression מרבבות קודש does not refer only to the myriads of angels but to the totality of Torah, and that the experience of holiness by Israel at the time emanated from the “right” side of this emanation, i.e. the people experienced what is known in kabbalistic parlance as אספקלריאה מאירה, “a clear undistorted vision.”

from Se-ir and Paran. How was that possible? שאתה מרבבות קודש, from all the four sides (exposures) of Mount Sinai the light accompanied the angels on the way from Se-ir and Paran until it arrived at Sinai. From the right side of Mount Sinai G’d gave the Torah to the Jewish people out of the fire, for He had been speaking to the people out of the fire. We have been told this explicitly in Deut. 4,33 השמע עם קול אלוקים מדבר מתוך האש כאשר שמעת אתה ויחי?, “for has any nation ever heard the sound of G’d’s voice speak to it out of the fire as you heard it and has survived such an experience? We also find this confirmed in Psalms 68,18 רכב אלוקים רבותים אלפי שנאן ה' בם סיני בקודש, “G’d’s chariots are myriads upon myriads, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them as in Sinai in holiness.” The same thought is repeated in his own words by Chabakuk 3,3 when he said: אלו-ה מתימן יבוא וקדוש מהר פארן סלה כסה שמים הודו ותהלתו מלאה הארץ, “G’d is coming from Teyman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His majesty covers the skies, His splendour fills the earth, is a brilliant light.” In the victory song of Devorah (Judges 5,4) we also find a reference to this great happening; she wrote: ה' בצאתך משעיר בצעדך משדה אדום, ”O Lord when You came forth from Se-ir, advanced from the country of Edom; etc.”

הופיע מהר פארן, “He had appeared from Mount Paran.” This was where G’d became the people’s guiding light once they entered the great and forbidding desert; G’d looked out for all their needs. The expression הופיע is analogous to Job 10,3 על עצת רשעים הופעת, “that You should shine on the counsel of the wicked?”

He went out to meet them, etc. Rashi is answering the question: Why it written from Sinai? It should have said to Sinai. Therefore, he explains, He went out to meet them, etc. The explanation being that He was already at Sinai, and when Yisroel came, He went out from Sinai to meet them as it says, And Moshe brought the people toward (לקראת) [the Divine Presence of] Hashem, [leading them] out of the camp.” And the expression לקראתם (to meet them) is appropriate only when one is coming to meet the other.

How do we reconcile this statement with the opinion offered in Avot 3 that even if two people discuss words of Torah the Shechinah is present? Knowledgeable scholars explain that the first statement refers to the total presence of the Shechinah, whereas the statements we find in Avot regarding the presence of G'd when 10 or even fewer Jews engage in Torah is a reference to a portion of the Shechinah. This "portion" of the Shechinah suffices to inspire the people studying Torah to gain greater insights. The degree of insights afforded such people studying Torah varies with the number of people involved in such study. The fewer the number, the smaller the input due to the Shechinah.

HE BEAMED FROM MOUNT PARAN — He regarded them and placed their needs in the light of His countenance emanating from Mount Paran. The sense thereof is as follows: The beginning of their entry into the great wilderness was from Paran, as it is said, And the children of Israel set forward by their stages out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud abode in the wilderness of Paran.¹⁹Numbers 10:12. Then G-d shone forth upon them to see what they needed in the great and dreadful wilderness.²⁶Ibid., 8:15. This expression is similar to, and Thou didst shine forth upon the counsel of the wicked,²⁷Job 10:3. meaning that You have observed and seen with Your great light all their secret thoughts.

דות die Wurzel von דת, kommt nur noch rabbinisch in der Bedeutung דות, einer nicht in der Erde gegrabenen, sondern oberirdisch gebauten Zisterne vor. Dieser Begriff einer oberirdisch, somit in der Ebene, im Bereich der Menschenhantierungen veranstalteten Sammlung des ihm vom Himmel gespendeten, für sein physisches Leben notwendigsten Elementes spricht sich, wie uns scheint, von selbst in zutreffendstem Maße zugleich als Bezeichnung der Sammlung der von Gott für die Fassung des Menschen gegebenen Weisungen für sein sittliches Leben aus. Übertragen finden wir dann später דת im Buche Esther auch als Bezeichnung einer von menschlicher Herrschaft erlassenen Weisung.

מימינו אש דת למו, “at His right hand was a fiery law unto them.” That the right side is one which symbolises fondness we know from Song of Songs 2,6: וימינו תחבקני, “and His right hand embraces me.”

הופיע מהר פארן HE APPEARED FROM MOUNT PARAN, because He went there and addressed Himself to the sons of Ishmael (who dwelt in Paran, see Genesis 21:21) that they should accept it and they also refused (Sifrei Devarim 343:6; Avodah Zarah 2b),

הופיע מהר פארן, He shone forth from Mount Paran.

ואתה מרבבות קודש מימינו אש דת למו, “He approached with some of His myriads of holy (angels) flanked on His right by His fiery Torah.” Although He was preceded when approaching them by tens of thousands of angels, when it came to presenting the Torah, He did so personally, with His right hand.

To them. Rashi is explaining why the verse does not say to whom He appeared. Therefore he explains to them, i.e., to Yisroel. But regarding [He] radiated forth from Se’ir, he does not have to explain because there it is written to them (למו),” referring to Yisroel mentioned above.

When the Torah mentions here that G'd came from Sinai, this is a reference to the totality of the Shechinah. It arrived to welcome the people of Israel. On the other hand, when G'd approached the tribe of Esau and Ishmael respectively, He employed only a small portion of the Shechinah. One such portion appeared to Se-ir, the other to the Ishmaelites in Paran. What the Torah describes here is the return of these two "portions" of the Shechinah which had "offered" the Torah to the nations mentioned. This is why mentioning Sinai first is perfectly in order as the bulk of the Shechinah had never departed from the encampment of the Jewish people at Sinai. The very words זרח and הופיע are only descriptions of the insignificant parts of the Shechinah which appeared to these nations. We find a similar expression in Makkot 23 where the Talmud describes the appearance of Holy Spirit in the hall of the academy with the words הופיע רוח הקודש בבית דינו של שמואל. The Edomites (descendants of Esau) enjoyed a relatively greater portion of the Shechinah on that occasion than the Ishmaelites as their biological relationship to the Jewish people is closer than that of the Ishmaelites.

AND HE CAME ‘MEIRIVEVOTH KODESH’ (FROM THE HOLY MYRIADS), AT HIS RIGHT HAND WAS A FIERY LAW UNTO THEM. He is stating that the Glory came to Israel from the countless holy ones of the Most High who descended upon the mountain with Him, similar to what is stated, The chariots of G-d are myriads, even thousands upon thousands; the Eternal is among them, as in Sinai, in holiness.²⁸Psalms 68:18. At His right hand was a fiery law unto them, meaning: the fiery law came to them from His glorious right hand²⁹Isaiah 63:12: He caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses. not from the hand of the aforementioned angels, but from the right hand of G-d, Himself and His Glory. And it is possible that meirivevoth kodesh means “from the abundance of His holiness,” for holy, holy, holy is the Eternal of hosts³⁰Isaiah 6:3. with all terms of holiness.

Lautverwandt ist דות mit דוד, der Bezeichnung einer zum väterlichen Beistand berufenen Verwandtschaft, dem Vaterbruder (siehe Wajikra 25, 49) und begegnen wir auch hier der parallelen Bedeutung דוד: Behälter. Vielleicht ist damit auch die Wurzel דדד in דד, die Mutterbrust, verwandt.

אשדת, spelled in the text as a single word, but read as if it had been written: אש דת.

ואתה AND HE CAME therefore to Israel,

אש דת למו, “the fiery Torah toward them.” Hashem displayed for the people heavenly fire and let them hear heavenly voices, similar to when Moses had described this spectacle in Deut. 4,36 ועל הארץ הראך את אשו הגדולה, “and, while you remained on earth, He showed you His great Fire.”

To the Israelites. Rashi is answering why it does not say to whom He came? Thus he needs to explain, To the Israelites.

We have now explained all the nuances in our verse including the fact that Sinai is mentioned at the outset as the source from which the Shechinah travelled to these other nations. The purpose of the whole verse is to demonstrate the spirituallly high level of the Jewish people at the time which made it possible for Moses to bestow such far-ranging blessings upon them both collectively and according to their respective tribes. Moses acted no differently from Isaac when he prepared himself to bless Jacob and asked him to approach his father so that he could kiss him (Genesis 27,26). Extolling Israel's superiority put them in a suitable frame of mind to receive the blessing just as being kissed by his father put Jacob in the right frame of mind to receive the blessing.

And the meaning of ‘eish dath lamo’ (a fiery law unto them) is like dath eish (a law given with fire), just as he said, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire.³¹Above, 5:21. Or its meaning may be like “fire ‘and’ the law to them,” the verse mentioning that He showed them the fire from on high and He made them hear the law. This is similar to what is stated, and upon earth He made thee to see His great fire; and thou didst hear His words out of the midst of the fire.³²Ibid., 4:36. And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the verse also states that the fire, which is the law, is at His right hand, because the attribute of justice is comprised also of mercy.
And in the opinion of our Rabbis³³Abodah Zarah 2b. the sense of the verse is that from Sinai He came to give the Torah to Israel, for it was from there that He appeared to them. And He shone forth from Seir to them, that is, to Israel, for He had appeared to the children of Esau to give them the Torah, and, when the children of Esau refused to accept it, He shone His countenance upon Israel and He gave it to them with His right hand and His arm, and the light of His countenance, because He was favorable unto them.³⁴Psalms 44:4. And He beamed and showed them His radiance and the beauty of His Presence from Mount Paran when the children of Ishmael refused the Torah. Thus Moses mentions that the merit of Israel was great when the rest of the nations did not wish to accept the Torah. Now he mentioned all the seed of Abraham — that not one of them desired the Torah except for Israel, but He also appeared to all nations to give it to them and they did not desire it, according to what has been transmitted [to us] in the tradition of our Rabbis.³³Abodah Zarah 2b.

מרבבת קדש — i.e. and with Him were a part of the myriads of the holy angels, and not all of them and not even the majority of them: not as is the way of a human being who displays all the splendour of his riches and magnificence on his marriage day (Sifrei Devarim 343:11).

Part of the myriads of sacred angels, etc. Rashi is explaining that the מם of מרבבות means part of and not from. His proof is that we do not find anywhere a place called רבבות. Perforce the מם here means part of, and this is easy to understand. Re”m explains that if the מם here means from, it would mean that Hashem left the myriads of sacred angels and came by Himself. If Rashi had not added the words with Him, the verse would be saying that part of the myriads sacred angels came, and this is not understandable [because why did they not all come], unless one adds the words with him. Rashi adds the words מלאכי (angels) before the word קודש (sacred), because the word sacred is [an adjective] that applies to something [a noun], such as in the verse (Shemos 22:30), אנשי קודש (men of holiness). And here [the noun is] the angels. Until here are his words.

You will do well to read what I have written on Genesis 48,8 where Jacob asked Joseph who the two lads were whom he had brought to be blessed. Moses' display of love for the Jewish people is part of his many outstanding characteristics.

אשדת (lit., “fire, Law”, or “fire of Law”) — i.e. the Law which had been written before Him from olden times in black fire upon white fire (Midrash Tanchuma, Bereshit 1). The meaning of the verse is: He gave to them (למו) upon the Tablets the writing of His right hand (cf. Talmud Yerushalmi Shekalim 9:1). Another explanation of אש דת: Understand this as the Targum has it: a law which was given them from the midst of the fire (cf. Exodus 19:18).

In black flame on white flame. As people commonly write with ink on paper. The verse has to rearranged according to this explanation as if it is written, from His right [hand] to them—the flaming Torah law. And the explanation of the verse is as follows, From the writing of His right hand He gave them a law, which is the Torah that is written in black fire on white fire. (Re”m)

ואתה מרבבות קדש, and arrived with the myriads of holy ones. According to Rashi who quotes Sifri, the letter מ preceding the word רבבות means that G'd was accompanied only by some of the myriads of holy beings, or at least the Torah describes it in this fashion to demonstrate the "humility" of G'd. According to this view the word ואתה means "He brought." This is certainly not the plain meaning of this word. On the other hand, if we understand the word ואתה to mean "He came," there is no proof that G'd was accompanied by even some of His holy hosts. Perhaps those commentators thought that there was no need to mention that G'd was accompanied by merely some of His myriads of holy hosts and that therefore He was accompanied by all of them. What the Torah does tell us then is that though G'd was accompanied by all these myriads of holy hosts He did not leave them in a terrestrial domain.

Another interpretation, — אש דת as rendered by Targum [Onkelos], etc. [Rashi gives two interpretations] because according to the first interpretation one has to rearrange the [words in the] verse; therefore he gives another interpretation, etc. But according to the other interpretation one can ask that it should have said מאש דת, meaning from the fire, i.e., from white fire [as according to this interpretation there is no need to have both black and white fire]. Therefore he also needs the first interpretation.

If we ignore the conventional explanations we may view what is written here as a reflection of the spiritual level of the Jewish people. The Torah tells us that G'd left behind Him in the Celestial Regions the myriads of holy hosts and instead came to take up residence amongst the Jewish people here on earth. The word ואתה means that G'd arrived for a permanent visit with the Jewish people, making them His people and His inheritance. The Zohar on Terumah item 140 describes the anguish experienced by these heavenly hosts when they became aware that G'd had moved His abode to the "lower" terrestrial regions.

מימינו אש דת למו, from His right hand He presented the fiery Torah to them. This is the reason why G'd chose to take up residence on earth and departed from the myriads of holy beings in the Celestial Regions. We find something analogous in Shemot Rabbah 33,1 explaining Exodus 25,2 as a parable describing a king who had an only daughter who stipulated to his son-in-law to be that there must always be room in his house for him. G'd considered the Torah His only daughter and when He gave it to Israel He stipulated that there be a place for Him also amongst the Israelites. The Torah explains that the reason G'd left His abode in the Celestial Regions was that He had given His "right hand," i.e. the Torah, to the Jewish people and He could not bear being separated from the Torah.

The reason the Torah describes the Torah as אש דת instead of as דת אש is in order for the word אש, "fire" or "fiery" to appear next to the word מימינו, "on His right." The Torah emphasises that when G'd gave the Torah to the Jewish people He did so with His right hand as well as with His left hand. The word אש symbolises G'd's left hand, as it stands for the emanation גבורה. This is the mystical dimension of the statement in Devarim Rabbah 3,12 that the Torah (parchment) was white fire inscribed with black fire. It is also the deeper meaning of Avot 6,1 that studying the Torah provides תושיה, wisdom, through the emanation of גבורה and עז וממשלה, strength and authority derived from the emanation חסד.

אף חבב עמים YEA, HE LOVED THE PEOPLES — Also He loved the tribes with exceeding love. — Each individual tribe may be termed עם (or גוי), “a people”, for, you see, Benjamin alone was yet to be born when the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jacob, (Genesis 25:11, see Rashi thereon) “A nation and a congregation of nations shall be of you."

APH CHOVEIV AMIM.’ Commentators have explained³⁵It is so explained by Rashi and Ibn Ezra. that the word choveiv is of the Aramaic language [as Onkelos rendered and ye shall be Mine ‘segulah’]:³⁶Exodus 19:5. “and you shall be chavivin (beloved) before Me.” The verse [here] is thus stating: “Yea, He loves Israel which consists of many peoples” [i.e., tribes], similar to what is stated, after thee, Benjamin, among thy peoples.³⁷Judges 5:14. And all His holy ones³⁸In Verse 3 before us. of Israel, namely, the Levites, are in Thy hand,³⁸In Verse 3 before us. for You have brought them near You to encamp around the ark.³⁹Numbers 3:23, and 29, 35, 38.
It appears to me that the word choveiv is from the same root as by hiding ‘b’chubi’ (in my bosom) mine iniquity,⁴⁰Job 31:33. related to the expressions: into an inner chamber ‘l’heichavei’ (to hide thyself);⁴¹II Chronicles 18:24. and there is ‘chevyon’ (the hiding of) His power.⁴²Habakkuk 3:4. He is thus stating [here]: “You are also hiding and protecting with Your hand the peoples — all the holy ones of Israel.” The above-mentioned [phrase] suggests that all the congregation are holy, every one of them,⁴³Numbers 16:3. and G-d protects them with His hand, similar in meaning to the verse, And I have put My words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of My hand,⁴⁴Isaiah 51:16. and like the expression, Thou art my hiding place and my shield.⁴⁵Psalms 119:114. Similarly, and they take counsel against Thy hidden ones.⁴⁶Ibid., 83:4. This alludes to what he said, inasmuch as Thou Eternal art seen face to face, and Thy cloud standeth over them.⁴⁷Numbers 14:14. And similarly he said in the Song [of Ha’azinu], He compassed him about, He cared for him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.⁴⁸Above, 32:10.

אף חובב עמים, he says to G’d that: “I am aware that You are fond of other peoples also, as when You said that the Jewish people are the most precious מכל העמים, from among all the nations, You meant that the species of mankind is something precious to G’d, as our sages said in Avot 3,18 חביב אדם שנברא בצלם, the species of man is especially dear to G’d among all of His creatures, seeing that only man has been created in the image of G’d.” [i.e. there are other nations to which Your relate with fondness. Ed.] כל קדושיו בידיך, You have said that You are holding all Your holy possessions (the Torah) in Your hand [people hold their most precious possessions in their hand, do not entrust them to a briefcase, for instance, which they may deposit somewhere and forget to pick up. Ed.] When You told us in Exodus 19,5 that we are to You an especially precious nation, a kingdom of Priests, You also singled us out as being Your children, (same paragraph in Avot), as well as in Deuteronomy 14,1 “You are children to the Lord your G’d.”

He also [af] cherished the nations. This has the same numerical value as “converts” (geirim). For all the converts who would convert in the future also stood at Sinai… And it uses the term “af” [which can also mean “anger”] because it refers to those who struggle and afflict themselves for the sake of the Torah.

אף חבב עמים, Also a lover of people, etc. Our sages in Baba Batra 8 understand these words to mean that although on occasion G'd displayed fondness for the other nations when He exiled the Jewish people amongst them, כל קדושיו בידיך והם, the Jews who study Torah continue to enjoy special privileges such as exemption from certain taxes even while they are in exile. It appears that our verse provides the rationale for what is written in the previous verse, namely that G'd came to both Se-ir and Paran. He did so in order to subject them to His anger on the day of judgment when these nations would excuse their conduct by saying that they had never been given a chance to receive the Torah and had not been informed of its contents so that they could have lived by its precepts. The entire verse needs to be understood as follows: "G'd had also displayed His love for the other nations when He offered them the Torah at the time he gave it to the Israelites."

אף חובב עמים, also members of the gentile nations, such as the mixed multitude whom Moses had accepted as converts at the time of the Exodus, and who had done so in order to receive the Torah, G’d became fond of and accepted them so that they too were included in the camp which His shechinah, benevolent presence, rested over the people. We have more direct confirmation of this in Psalms 68,4. “but the righteous shall rejoice, etc.”

אף חובב עמים, “You were indeed fond of the various tribes;” Moses describes G’d’s fondness as extending to each tribe separately as if it ranked as a whole nation. We find another example of a tribe being treated or referred to as a whole nation in Judges 5,14: בנימין בעממיך, “Benjamin amongst Your peoples.”

He cherished the tribes, etc. Rashi is explaining what the word also refers to, since the word also is inapplicable unless something similar precedes it. Therefore he explains, Also, with (this) surpassing love, etc. Meaning that it was already mentioned before His love for Yisroel and how He went from Sinai to meet them. Similarly, with this too there was surpassing love, etc.

V. 3. חובב .אף חבב עמים (siehe zu Bamidbar 10, 29) Präsenzform von חוב, verpflichtet, schuldig sein, wie נוצץ ,לוצץ von נוץ ,לוץ, und zwar in aktiver Bedeutung: verpflichten, zur Pflicht führen. Oder חובב ist Infinitivform des Piels wie כונן. Auch indem du die übrigen Völker zur Pflicht führen willst, nimmst du alle seine Heiligen in die Hand, d. h. sind dir dazu alle Heiligen Israels das Werkzeug. Nicht nur Israel, der ganzen übrigen Menschheit kommt der belehrende und sittigende Einfluss aller derer zugute, die in Israel sich in pflichttreuer Erfüllung dieses Gesetzes heiligen. Stillschweigend leuchten sie der Gesamtmenschheit als Beispiel der Verwirklichung heiliger Menschenbestimmung. Und wenn es oben heißt, dass selbst שעיר und פארן, diese Israel verwandt nahen Völker, noch nicht für die Entgegennahme des Gesetzes reif waren, so geschah doch die sinaitische Gesetzoffenbarung an Israel im Gesamtinteresse der Menschheit. Mit Israel und durch Israel wird die einstige Sammlung aller Menschen zur Gottespflicht angebahnt. והם, die Völker, תכו, Plural von תכה, verstärkte Form von דכה gebeugt sein. Sie werden zur Erkenntnis ihrer Ohnmacht לרגלך, durch deinen Schritt, durch den Gang deiner Waltung gebracht (wie לרגלי Bereschit 31, 30). ישא, es aber, Israel, trägt deine dich aussprechenden Worte. Durch die von Gott geleiteten Ereignisse der Geschichte, "durch die Gottesgänge" in den Ereignissen, werden die Völker zur Erkenntnis ihrer Ohnmacht geführt. Allein erst durch das Gotteswort, das Israel durch die Zeiten trägt, lernen sie den kennen, dessen Obermacht sie in den Gängen der Geschichte ahnen, lernen sie, vor wem sie sich zu beugen und wie sie Ihm ihre Huldigung zu betätigen haben. Nur durch das Gesetz, dessen Träger Israel am Sinai geworden, erhalten und erreichen die Belehrungen der Völker durch die Geschichte ihren Zweck. מדברתיך, wie וישמע את הקול מדבר אליו, sich aussprechen (Bamidbar 7, 89).

אף חובב עמים, “Lover, indeed of the peoples;” (the twelve tribes of Israel are termed “peoples). We know that the Israelites were viewed as “special” by G-d when He said to us in Exodus 19,5: והייתם לי סגולה, “you will be for Me a treasure;” Why is this so? It is because all of His holy beings are under His direct supervision. How does this work in practice? “והם תוכו לרגליו, “they are sitting between His feet;” Compare Exodus 19,17: ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר, “they had taken up their positions at the base of the Mountain.” (Sinai). An alternate interpretation: even at times when G-d is fond of the gentile nations and delivers the sinful Israelites into their hands, they still remain under His direct supervision, (though they may not be aware of it.)

כל קדשיו בידך ALL HIS SAINTS ARE IN THY HAND — the souls of the righteous are stored up with Him, just as it is said, (I Samuel 25:29) “And the soul of my lord shall be bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God" (Sifrei Devarim 344:7).

והם תכו לרגלך, whereas they, the other nations, are lying broken at Your feet. (compare Proverbs 29,13 for a similar use of this expression where it refers to offering prayer to G’d with a broken heart)

כל קרושיו בידך, “all its holy ones were in Your hand.” This is a reference to all the members of the tribe of Levi whom You G’d brought especially close to You, in allowing them to encamp around the Tabernacle and within easy range of the Holy Ark. Nachmanides writes that the word חובב is derived from the same root as חבי in Job 31,33 לטמון בחבי עוני, “to bury my guilt in a well hidden place.” The expression מחבא means a “hiding place.” The Holy Ark is the place on earth within which G’d’s Power is hidden. Allegorically speaking, Moses acknowledges that G’d also provided the Jewish nation with a hidden reservoir of spiritual fortitude. The entire Jewish nation is holy, and G’d “hides” them within His hand, as a gesture of His protection.

They were worthy of this. The explanation of תכו is similar to תוך (within) except it is a verb, meaning that they entered at the bottom of Mount Sinai which is compared to His feet. Rashi says They are worthy of this in order to connect the statement for they were gathered at Your feet with the statement all their sacred ones are in Your keeping. It is as if the verse said, And why did these souls merit to be secreted beneath the Throne, etc. more than other people? Because they were gathered into, etc.

The words כל קדושיו may best be understood in line with Yalkut Shimoni at the end of Parshat Kedoshim item 626, on Leviticus 20,26: "and I have separated you from the other nations to be Mine." If the Torah had written: "I have separated the other nations from you," this would have meant that we do not accept proselytes. Seeing that the Torah uses the reverse order and writes: "I have separated you from the nations," this means that when Gentiles wish to convert to Judaism they are able to do so. [this is the thrust of the comment; our author has enlarged on it. Ed.] The words קדשיו בידיך mean that G'd reserves the right to allow those who wish to sanctify themselves by embracing the Torah to do so.

AND THEY ‘TUKU.’ This is like ‘huku’ (and they were smitten)⁴⁹The tav in the word tuku replaces the letter hei [huku], and as explained further on: “‘they were smitten’ and endured all hardships because they followed You wherever You took them.” Rashi explains that the word tuku is derived from the word toch (middle) — “and they placed themselves in the middle.” According to this interpretation the tav cannot be in place of a hei. [at Thy feet], as Scripture says ‘tirgalti l’Ephraim’ (I taught Ephraim to walk)⁵⁰Hosea 11:3. in place of hirgalti.⁵¹Here, too, the tav replaces a hei. Similarly the feminine hei is exchanged for a thav in the following expressions: I will not give ‘sh’nath’ (sleep) to mine eyes;⁵²Psalms 132:4. The word sh’nath is in place of sheinah (sleep). The letter thav thus replaces a hei. a sinner doeth evil ‘m’ath’ (a hundred times),⁵³Ecclesiastes 8:12. The word m’ath is in place of meiah (a hundred). and there are many such examples. He is thus stating that “‘they were smitten’ with every plague in the wilderness by following You wherever You went; they cared not for hunger, thirst, the affliction of serpents and scorpions. They only followed Thy feet and ran after You.” This is similar to what is stated, I remember for thee the affection of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, thy going after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.⁵⁴Jeremiah 2:2.

והם, “and they are;” Israel, תוכו לרגלך; after all when the gentiles persecute them it is only because they are G-d’s people, having entered into a covenant with Him to observe His commandments.לרגלך, this expression, presuming that G-d has physical dimensions, is also used in Genesis 30,30 where even the pagan Lavan acknowledges the existence and personal providence of Yaakov by his G-d when he enriched Lavan in order that the latter treat Yaakov fairly. This is why Yaakov could say to him there: ‘ויברך ה׳ אותך לרגלי, “He has blessed you at my foot.”Another interpretation of the words: והם תוכו לרגלך, “in the Holy Temple.” The Temple is perceived as G-d’s footstool on earth. His presence manifests itself in and around the Temple. This is where most Israelites are found three times a year at least.

והם תכו לרגלך AND THEY SAT AT THY FOOT — And they are deserving of this, because they betook themselves right into the middle within the underpart of the mountain unto Thy foot at Sinai.

לרגלך, at the footstool of Your throne at Sinai.

והם תכו לרגליך, “for they had sat down at Your feet.” Ibn Ezra writes that there is no other instance in the Bible in which the word תכו or a derivative of it occurs [not in our editions of his commentary. Ed.]. According to him, some people consider the word as related to תוך, “within, in the midst of,” in which case the Israelites are perceived as walking within the protective umbrella of G’d’s feet. Others say that the letter ת in תכו instead of the letter ה, indicates that Moses refers to these people who have been the victims of every conceivable affliction during the forty years in the desert. They endured it all in order to follow G’d wherever He led them.

והם תכו ברגלך, ”and they planted themselves at Your feet.” They always feel drawn to the site of the Holy Ark which symbolises Your Presence, which they perceive as הדום רגלך, “the footstool for Your feet.” The word תכו is the same as הכו, the letter ת being a substitute for the letter ה. This letter is used interchangeably in a similar manner in Kohelet 8,,12 where the words עושה רע מאת should normally have been עושה רע מאה, “doing evil one hundred times.” Or in Psalms 132,4 we find the words אם אתן שנת לעיני “if I will allow my eyes to sleep,” when we would have expected the psalmist to write אם אתן שנה לעיני. [The author quotes more such examples. Ed.] We sometimes find the ת replacing the letter ה, whereas on other occasions the letter ה replaces the letter ת. In the phrase (verse 11) commencing with ישימו קטורה, “they shall prepare incense,” etc., the letter ה, I believe, is also a substitute for the letter ת in the word קטורת, incense. I believe this is a rule in grammar, seeing that the letter ה normally symbolizes the feminine gender, such as in אמרה, שמרה, קראה,, as well as in all the other verbs; the letter ת seeing that it is the final and last letter in the aleph bet, also symbolizes something feminine, passive. This is the reason it was made the last letter. The letter ה at the end of the third person of the verb is also reminiscent of the last letter of the tetragrammaton. The letter ת is used in many forms of the verb in the third person feminine future. In other words, the function of the letter ת and the letter ה frequently overlap, so that we need not be surprised to see them used as alternate spelling for each other.

The מ"ם here relates to the root, etc. Rash is answering: Why do we need the “מם if the explanation [of מדברותיך] is Your Torah”?

Another approach to our verses may be this. The meaning of the words אף חובב is that there remains one single fondness for the Jewish people vis-a-vis the other nations, namely that those who study Torah, the "holy ones," enjoy some privileges as I have explained. The word והם, "and they," refers to the Jewish people who are the principal subject of the verse. We are told that the Jewish people are able to maintain their sanctity or improve it because תכו לרגלך, "they planted themselves at Your feet." This is an allusion to the statement in Shabbat 146 that as a result of the revelation at Sinai the Israelites were completely cleansed of any residual pollutant dating back to the sin in Gan Eden. They achieved this status because they planted themselves at G'd's feet, i.e. embraced the Torah wholeheartedly. This enabled them to be addressed by G'd directly. Our sages in Shabbat 86 go so far as to say that at that time their souls left them (based on Song of Songs 5,6: "my soul left me when He spoke"). It was this experience which removed their pollutant. This remained an advantage of the natural born Israelites over their proselyte counterparts (compare Zohar volume three page 14).

YISA MIDABROTHECHA.’ The word yisa is similar to: Thou shall not ‘thisa’ (take) the Name of the Eternal thy G-d in vain;⁵⁵Exodus 20:7. and nor ‘esa’ do I take their names upon my lips;⁵⁶Psalms 16:4. ‘yisa’ (he shall swear) in that day, saying.⁵⁷Isaiah 3:7. And the word midabrothecha is like the expression ‘umidbareich’ (and thy mouth) is comely.⁵⁸Song of Songs 4:3. He thus states [in the verse before us] that Israel will take Your words upon his lips and meditate upon them always.”

ישא מדברותיך, “receiving part of Your words.” This was a reference to the first two of the Ten Commandments during the revelation at Mount Sinai which the whole people heard directly from the mouth of G-d before having asked Moses to become their interpreter. (Deuteronomy, 5,21-26)

— The word תכו expresses the idea of “they were acted upon” (a passive) — “they placed themselves right in the middle (תוך) between Thy feet”.

ישא מרברותיך, “bearing Your utterances.” Israel has the words of Torah (i.e. G’d) constantly on its lips, similar to an ox that bears its yoke.

Here too, “Your self-spoken” — that which You had spoken, etc. You cannot say that the “מם here is a prefix and means of, because if so it would imply that they did not accept the entire Torah upon themselves, when in reality they accepted all the 613 commandments. The difference between מתדבר and מדבר is as follows: מדבר implies that Hashem is speaking directly to a person, but this is not respectful toward the Above, that He speaks directly to man, just as a person speaking to his friend. However, מתדבר means to speak to oneself and someone else is listening. This is what Rashi explains, That which You had spoken, etc. The [first] יוד of ישא מדברותיך [converts the verb] to the future tense from the past tense [which, grammatically speaking would be correct] because at the time that Moshe blessed Yisroel, they had already received the entire Torah. Rashi says the yoke of Your Torah because the expression of burden is not applicable to speech. Therefore Rashi adds the word yoke, because the expression of burden is applicable to a yoke.

ישא מדברותיך, accepting Your pronouncements. The word means "authority" in this instance. We find a similar meaning for דבר in Psalms 47,4: "He subjects peoples to us." The meaning is that only natural born Jews have true authority over other Jews; proselytes or their (immediate?) descendants may not become kings. Our sages in Kidushin 76 have derived this ruling from Deut. 17,15: "from amongst your brothers." This restrictive clause applies not only to kings who must be natural born Jews but also to judges and princes. The Talmud Sotah 41 relates that when King Agrippas read these words in the Torah his eyes started watering with tears as he was not a natural born Jew. The meaning of the words ישא מדברותיך here is that only a natural born Jew may arrogate to himself a position of authority over fellow Jews. The reason that the word ישא is in the singular is an allusion to Sanhedrin 8 that the Jewish people will have only a single authority, there will be no power-sharing.

ישא מדברתיך EVERYONE RECEIVED THY WORDS — they bore upon themselves the yoke of the Law (Sifrei Devarim 344:3).

Another interpretation: “Even when the nations were cherished, etc.” even during the time when the Gentile nations were cherished, etc. According to this interpretation, the word אף [now translated as even] does not refer to what precedes it. This interpretation is more correct because the first interpretation does not explain well why it says אף חובב (He also cherished) here. According to the other interpretation you might ask that how can the Torah write an expression of cherishment regarding idolaters. Even if He shows them a beaming countenance, this is only because He wants to deliver Yisroel into their hands, but no cherishment is involved. Therefore the first interpretation is also needed.

An additional meaning of the word ישא מדברותיך could be that it provides the rationale for תכו לרגליך. We have been told in Shabbat 88 that the acceptance of the Torah by the Jewish people was not exactly voluntary but that G'd threatened to bury them under the Mountain if they would not accept the Torah. On the other hand, the acceptance of the Torah during the period of Esther and Mordechai was entirely voluntary as a result of Haman's decree against the Jews being cancelled. I have explained the reluctance of the Jews to accept the Torah in my commentary on Exodus 19,5. It did not extend to acceptance of the biblical commandments but only to the rabbinic decrees. At any rate, the words תכו לרגליך are a reference to the threat of death at the Mountain if they would not accept the rabbinic ordinances. The people accepted the biblical parts of the Torah wholeheartedly and voluntarily. They did so in order to be spiritually uplifted by it, i.e. ישא מדברותיך. When the Torah wrote in Exodus 24,7 that the Jewish people said unanimously: "we will do all that G'd has said and we will hear it," the word "all" refers to the rabbinic ordinances.

מדברתיך. The מ in it (in this word) has a close affinity to a root letter (i.e., it is an integral part of the noun and is not a prefix), as in (Numbers 7:89) “And he heard the voice uttering itself (מִדַּבֵּר) unto him”, and (Ezekiel 2:2) “And I heard Him that uttered Himself (מִדַּבֵּר) unto me”, which is the same as מִתְדַּבֵּר (see Rashi on Numbers 7:89). So, too, this word מדברתיך denotes: that which Thou didst speak unto Thyself to make it audible to me that I might tell them; tes pourparlers in old French, [English = thy utterances]. — Onkelos, however, translated it in the sense that they travelled in accordance with Thy words (only at Thy command), so that the מ in it is a servile letter (a prefix) used in the sense of מן. — Another explanation of this verse: אף חבב עמים, YEA, HE LOVED THE PEOPLES — even at the time of Thy love for the nations of the world — when You did show unto the nations a smiling (friendly) countenance and did deliver Israel into their power, even then כל קדשיו בידך ALL HIS SAINTS WERE IN THY HAND — all their righteous and pious people clung to You and did not depart from You and You did guard them (Bava Batra 8a),

The word מדברותיך may also be understood as referring to the people giving guidance to the Jewish people, the ones who introduce certain new ordinances if circumstances seem to call for this. When the Jews during the time of Mordechai observed how successful the latter had been in his looking after Jewish interests, the people voluntarily embraced all such rabbinic ordinances.

והם תכו לרגלך and they betook themselves right into the midst of, and gathered beneath Thy shadow,

Still another meaning of the words ישא מדברותיך may be based on the Midrash Rabbah (Song of Songs 1,2) explaining the words ישקני מנשיקות פיהו, "may He kiss me with the kisses of His mouth." According to this Midrash every single word which G'd spoke He communicated to every single Israelite asking if the Israelite in question was prepared to accept the law in question. The Israelite would answer in the affirmative. In response G'd would kiss him and place a crown on his head. This is why the Torah adds… והם תכו ישא מדברותיך. The reason that the Torah writes מדברותיך instead of the usual דברותיך is because the words themselves "spoke" to the Israelites asking them if they were prepared to accept them.

ישא מדברתיך they gladly accepted Thy decrees and Thy laws. And these were their words:

The reason the word ישא is in the future tense instead of in the past tense, is because after the episode with the golden calf the Israelites were deprived of the crowns we have mentioned (Exodus 33,5), whereas Moses received them (Shabbat 88). This is based on a concept developed in Chagigah 15 that two places are reserved for each person, one in purgatory and one in Paradise. The one who forfeits his place in Paradise leaves it for his colleague who is more deserving, and the same is true for those who vacate their place in purgatory. This is the mystical dimension of Exodus 33,8 that "the people looked after Moses." Our sages in Sanhedrin 110 explain this to mean that each Israelite suspected Moses of committing adultery with his wife. This is not to be understood literally, of course, but it means that the Torah which was considered as betrothed to the Jewish people had become Moses' exclusive bride seeing he had taken over the parts that the people had previously been entitled to. By the Torah writing ישא in the future tense we receive the assurance that the removal of the crowns of the Israelites after the episode with the golden calf is reversible and that the time will come when they will once more merit and receive these crowns. Our sages (a glossary in the prayer-book edited by the Ari Zal) state that these crowns return to the heads of the Israelites on every Sabbath and that on the Sabbath Moses retains only his own crown. This is the reason that we say in the Sabbath morning prayer that Moses rejoices in his (personal) share, i.e. even though on that day he retains only this single crown.

Our verse may also be a veiled reference to the statement in Makkot 24 that the Israelites heard the first two of the Ten Commandments from G'd Himself whereas Moses was the intermediary for the balance of the commandments. On the other hand, the Mechilta on Parshat Yitro claims that all of the Ten Commandments were spoken by G'd in a single utterance. We explained this apparent contradiction by referring to the tradition that the souls of the Jewish people left them during the revelation. This occurred after they had heard the first two of these commandments. The words תכו לרגליך are a reference to this overpowering effect of G'd speaking to the people as a result of which their souls left them. This is further supported by the words ישא מדברותיך, i.e. that G'd "uplifted their souls" after they heard part of His words. They heard the balance of the Ten Commandments from the mouth of Moses after their souls had been restored to them. This is the reason why we read in the next verse תורה צוה לנו משה, "Moses commanded us the Torah," instead of "G'd commanded us the Torah." A close look at the word תורה reveals that its numerical value equals 611, i.e. an allusion to the number of commandments the Jewish people heard from the mouth of Moses. When you add the two words ישא מדברותיך you get the total of 613 commandments.

The words in our verse may also reflect something we have been told in Megillah 29 that the Presence of G'd accompanied the Israelites into exile. In this connection, the Talmud relates that the angels wanted to expel Rabbi Sheshet from the synagogue on account of the presence there of the Shechinah. Thereupon Rabbi Sheshet asked G'd: "if there is a person who has been subjected to insults and another who has not, which of the two deserves to be expelled?" As a result of this appeal G'd instructed the angels not to bother Rabbi Sheshet. This is the meaning of והם תכו לרגליך, "they have already been humbled at Your feet," i.e. the very fact that the Jews have been exiled is enough of a putdown for them so that if they use this fact as an argument ישא מדברותיך, He will uplift them when they are confronted by the angels i.e. "Your spokesmen."

Still another allusion which may be contained in our verse is based on Berachot 5 that G'd gave the Israelites three good gifts all of which they acquired only by means of suffering afflictions first. They are: the Torah, the land of Israel, and the hereafter. The Talmud in Berachot 63 also states (based on Proverbs 30,32: "if you have exalted yourself through acting arrogantly, etc.") that if a person is prepared to suffer disgrace for the sake of Torah he will eventually be elevated to a high position. This is the meaning of the sequence תכו לרגליך, ישא מדברותיך. "You will eventually be elevated as your disgrace was due to your humbling yourself for the sake of Torah." Torah confers high office on a person as we know from Proverbs 8,15: "kings reign through me."

Still another message contained in our verse is based on Rosh Hashanah 21 based on Psalms 8,6: "You have made him only a little less than divine." This means that G'd endowed Moses with 49 of a possible 50 "gateways to insight" when the latter was on Mount Sinai. The 50th gateway is reserved for G'd Himself. I have explained this concept in connection with Isaiah 11,9: "for the earth will be full of knowledge of the Lord." The prophet means that at that stage of the development of mankind G'd will hand over even the 50th gateway of insight to man, something He had not even done for Moses. This will be part of the Messiah revealing himself. In accordance with this concept the words תכו לרגליך refer to the Torah insights which had already been revealed, whereas the words ישא מדברותיך are a reference to the final degree of insight which so far had been withheld by G'd.

תורה THE LAW which צוה לנו משה MOSES COMMANDED US, מורשה is AN INHERITANCE to THE CONGREGATION OF JACOB: we have taken it and we will not abandon it.

MOSES COMMANDED US A LAW. The meaning thereof is that Israel will always “take” [receive His words] and say “Moses commanded us a Law and this will be an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob, for all the children of Jacob shall possess it forever and observe it, for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed.”⁵⁹Above, 31:21. And our Rabbis interpreted⁶⁰Tanchuma, Vayakheil 8. that he did not say “an inheritance of the house of Jacob” or “the seed of Jacob” — he stated of the congregation of Jacob in order to suggest that many [strangers] would join them and the Torah will always be an inheritance of Jacob and of all who congregate to him, these being the strangers that join themselves to the Eternal, to minister unto Him,⁶¹Isaiah 56:6. and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob,⁶²Ibid., 14:1. and they will all be called “His congregation.”

ישא מדברותיך, a reference to when the people said to G’d at the revelation at Mount Sinai that He should make Moses His intermediary, elevate him to communicate G’d’s words, conveying His words to them, as they were afraid they would i.e. if they had to listen to G’d’s voice directly any longer. (This is the meaning of Moses hearing the voice of the Lord speaking to him (only) in Numbers7,8 The word מדברותיך in this verse refers to the Torah, which was attributed to Moses, on account of the people preferring to hear its words from Moses’ mouth. This is why the Torah describes the people as saying תורה צוה לנו משה, “Moses has commanded the Torah to us,” instead of “G’d has commanded the Torah to us.” (verse 5)

תורה צוה לנו משה. Moses commanded the Torah to us. Seing that Moses is speaking, why did he not write: "I commanded the Torah to them? Perhaps we have to view this verse as a continuation of the previous verse as follows: "He will uplift the people of Israel due to their cleaving to His words of Torah which Moses had commanded them." Similarly, the meaning is that all the people of Israel will raise their collective voice jointly protesting that since Moses had commanded them the Torah and they had accepted it they deserved some consideration even in exile, etc.

The heritage of the congregation of Yaakov. Like a heritage, which one receives without personal effort. Similarly, the merit of the Torah in which the Torah scholars toil, is a heritage to the congregation of Yaakov, who are the masses of the Jewish people. For the true in depth study is impossible unless one is without any financial worries, and in this way those who support it receive their reward.

מורשה קהלת יעקב, “the heritage of the congregation of Yaakov.” Our sages pointed out that Moses did not describe Israel here as “the descendants of Yaakov,” or as “the house of Yaakov,” but as “the congregation of Yaakov.” The implication is that when proselytes join the Jewish nation, i.e. they congregate around us, that they too will be so much part of our nation that Torah is their heritage as much as it is ours. Alternately, the reference is to “resident strangers,” who have not converted but who desire to live near us even if in a state of semi-servitude.

V. 4. תורה צוה וגו׳. "Die Lehre hat uns Mosche geboten", so lautet das Nationalbekenntnis, das sich von Geschlecht zu Geschlecht in Israel vererben soll. Diese Lehre ist מורשה, ist das eigentliche Erbgut, nicht das Land und was es bietet, die Lehre ist das jüdische Nationalerbe, Land und Macht sind nur die bedingten Folgen dieses Gutes. קהלת יעקב ist Vokativ. Und bedeutsam ist hier יעקב und יעקב .קהלה Israels Name nach seiner materiellen Winzigkeit und dazu: קהלה, nicht קהל. Nur hier dies eine Mal heißt die jüdische Gesamtheit קהלה, sonst immer in ihrer Selbstständigkeit קהלה .קהל ישראל ist der schwächere, abhängige Begriff von קהל, entweder die Gesamtheit in Schwächezuständen, oder jede einzelne Zweiggemeinde der großen Gesamtheit. Nicht einzelnen, der Gesamtheit hat Gott sein Gesetz zur Vererbung übergeben; denn nur die Gesamtheit ist ewig und nur die Gesamtheit hat Mittel für alles, אין צבור מת ואין צבור עני. Und nicht nur für die Zeiten der Blüte und nicht nur der großen Gesamtheit im ganzen war die תורה übergeben. Auch als יעקב ist sie durchzutragen und zu verwirklichen, und jede kleinste Zweiggemeinschaft, jede "Kehilla" hat für die Vererbung und Verwirklichung der תורה in ihrem Kreise einzustehen.

תורה צוה לנו משה, “Moses commanded the Torah to us;” whereas G-d had commanded them the first two commandments, Moses commanded them the remaining 611 commandments. (This is why the numerical value of the letters in the word תורה total 611) In spite of the extraordinary spiritual high level the whole people had attained at that time, i.e. they were able to “see” thunder not just hear it, they could not listen to the voice of the Lord any longer and had feared they would die.

מורשה קהלת יעקב, when something has not been acquired directly but is inherited, i.e. handed over from another owner, it is described in terms of ירושה, an inheritance. Had the Jewish people not requested to hear the words of the Torah from Moses instead of from G’d Himself, Torah would not now be described as מורשה.

The words צוה לנו may be understood as describing the authority which Torah exercises over the people of Israel which even includes the king who rules only by dint of the Torah and who is obligated to personally write two copies of the Torah (Deut. 17,18). This is also one facet of the verse we quoted from Proverbs 8,15 that the "kings rule through Me."

'תורה צוה לנו משה וגו, this verse appears in a truncated mode and should by rights read: תורה צוה לנו משה להיותה מורשה לנו קהלת יעקב, ”Moses commanded us this Torah in order for it to become a heritage to the congregation of Yaakov.”

ויהי AND HE WAS — i.e. the Holy One, blessed be He, was

AND THERE WAS A KING IN JESHURUN. This alludes to the aforementioned Name [in Verse 2: ‘The Eternal’ came from Sinai], Who was King over Israel when they were upright and all the heads of the people and all tribes of Israel were gathered together. Now this verse, too, is connected [with the above theme — the Revelation at Sinai], and the sense thereof is that Israel will always say: “The Torah which Moses commanded us will forever be an inheritance to the entire congregation of Jacob. We shall never alter it or change it.” And they will further say that “G-d became King over Israel when our leaders, our elders, our judges and all tribes of Israel gathered, for we all, together, accepted His reign upon ourselves for all generations, and we are obligated to keep His Law and [acknowledge] His Kingdom forever.” This commandment is the precept of I am the Eternal thy G-d,⁶³Exodus 20:2 (see Vol. II, p. 286). and it constitutes “the acknowledgment of the Kingdom of Heaven,”⁶⁴Berachoth 13b. as I have explained there.⁶³Exodus 20:2 (see Vol. II, p. 286). Thus he mentioned the Torah in general, and the Kingdom of Heaven in partizcular, for whoever acknowledges the Kingdom of Heaven denies the idols and acknowledges the entire Torah.⁶⁵Mechilta, Bachodesh 6. The people thus intimated that they and their leaders accepted [the commandment to acknowledge] the Kingdom of Heaven [directly] from the mouth of the Almighty⁶⁶This is a reference to the statement of the Rabbis that Israel heard the first two commandments directly from the Almighty (Makkoth 24). and saw that He is King of Israel and his Redeemer. They accepted the Torah from the mouth of Moses for they took upon them, and upon their seed⁶⁷Esther 9:27. to believe in him and to do whatever he commands in behalf of the King, just as they said [to Moses], and thou shalt speak unto us all that the Eternal our G-d may speak unto thee, and we will hear it, and do it.⁶⁸Above, 5:24.
This interpretation of the verse is clear and well founded. It accords with the rendering of the Rabbis in the Gemara of Tractate Rosh Hashanah:⁶⁹Rosh Hashanah 32b. The text refers to the law that, as part of the Additional Service of the New Year, ten verses from Scripture are recited on each of these three topics: The Sovereignty of G-d, Remembrances, and Shofar. Now, each unit of ten verses is composed of three verses from the Pentateuch, three from the Prophets, three from the Writings, with one concluding verse from the Pentateuch. On these four verses from the Pentateuch concerning the Sovereignty of G-d the Rabbis in the Gemara asked: “But only three verses referring to Sovereignty etc.” “But only three verses referring to Sovereignty [of G-d] are found [in the Five Books of Moses]! The Eternal shall reign for ever and ever;⁷⁰Exodus 15:18. The Eternal his G-d is with him, and the ‘t’ruah’ (shouting) for the King is among them;⁷¹Numbers 23:21. And there was a King in Jeshurun.”⁷²“And we need four verses referring to [G-d’s] Sovereignty [in order to complete the ten-verse unit]!” Ramban does not cite the Talmud’s answer because he cited the passage merely to prove that “the King” in this verse refers to G-d, the King on high. The Gemara’s answer is that the verse Hear, O Israel: The Eternal our G-d, the Eternal is One (above 6:4) is also a statement of Sovereignty even though the word “King” is not mentioned. In our Additional Service on the New Year this is indeed the verse we cite as the concluding expression of G-d’s Sovereignty. We have also been taught so in the Sifre:⁷³Sifre, Brachah 347. “When the elders [of Israel] sit in council on earth, His Great Name is praised on high, as it is said, And there was a King in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together. The term ‘gathering’ applies only to the elders, as it is said, Gather unto Me seventy men of the elders of Israel.⁷⁴Numbers 11:16. All the tribes of Israel together — when there is but one brotherhood [then there is a King in Israel] but not when they become numerous factions. And so it is also said, It is He that buildeth His upper chambers in the heaven, [and hath founded His band upon the earth].⁷⁵Amos 9:6. “When does He build His upper chambers in heaven? At the time when His band is founded upon the earth” (Rabbeinu Bachya). In other words, when there is unity in Israel then G-d’s Kingdom becomes firmly established. And in the Midrash Rabbah⁷⁶Bamidmar Rabbah 15:14. they also stated, ‘His throne is firmly set, as it were, on high, when Israel is formed into a single association; therefore it is stated, It is He that buildeth His upper chambers in the heaven, and hath founded His band upon the earth.’⁷⁵Amos 9:6. “When does He build His upper chambers in heaven? At the time when His band is founded upon the earth” (Rabbeinu Bachya). In other words, when there is unity in Israel then G-d’s Kingdom becomes firmly established. And there was a King in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, etc.” This also accords with the manner in which I have explained, for the Rabbis interpreted: there was a King over them because they were gathered and all of them together took His Kingdom upon themselves, and so shall it be an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. “The King” [mentioned in the verse] is thus the Holy One, blessed be He, and so it is our custom to recite [this verse: And there was a King in Jeshurun etc.] in the New Year’s [Additional] Prayers composed by Rav⁷⁷Yerushalmi Rosh Hashanah I,30. — Rav, see above, p. 39, Note 246. [as one of the verses of His Sovereignty].
However, in some Agadoth [homilies] they explain the term “king” with reference to Moses. Thus they say:⁷⁸Shemoth Rabbah 48:8. Vayikra Rabbah 32:2. “Moses was king, for it is said, And there was a king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered.” And if so, Scripture is stating: “Moses commanded us a Law⁷⁹Verse 4. that it be an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob,⁷⁹Verse 4. and he was king over us and all our tribes together, and it behooves us to obey his words and his commandments for he was a great and wise king over us.” Scripture also tells in honor of the emissary [Moses] that he was great and trustworthy. The correct and true interpretation is what we have explained [above]. Thus he mentions that G-d dwells in Israel, and that they — all their tribes together — accepted His Torah and His reign upon themselves and upon their seed for [all] their generations. If so, they are worthy of blessing.

ויהי בישורון מלך, since that occasion G’d became “King” in Israel among all those who study Torah more than superficially.

ויהי בישרון מלך, He became king in Yeshurun. This verse means that in order for a king to become legally crowned in Israel he must be approved by a popular assembly including the heads of the people. This rule is spelled out in a Tossephta Sanhedrin 83 that only the Supreme Court of 71 judges is authorised to appoint a king. Moses referred to this rule when he mentioned the "heads of the people." When he added יחד שבטי ישראל, he referred to a national assembly of the people approving of such a choice.

ויהי בישורון מלך, “He became King over Yeshurun;, etc.” Nachmanides writes that the word ישורון is an allusion to the holy name of Hashem Who was indeed King in Israel as long as the Jewish people were loyal to Him and His Torah. The verse is a continuation of the previous verse and describes when all the leaders of the people gathered themselves and the whole nation. The Israelites, when they accepted the Torah, meant that it was everyone’s Torah, not a Book aimed at the elite of the people only. As such it is aptly termed a “national heritage, מורשה.” It will never be exchanged, even in the sense of being “updated.” Acceptance of עול מלכות שמים, “the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, by definition means that it is forever, not subject to change. Moses has to reiterate all this, seeing that the people, at their own request, had received all the laws except for the first two of the Ten Commandments from Moses whom they had appointed to be their trusted intermediary. Some commentators say that the subject of ויהי בישורון מלך is not G’d, but Moses; He had been accepted and hailed as such at the assembly of all the people including the elders who had heard the Torah explained by Moses directly, having heard it from his own mouth. Moses had commanded that henceforth this Torah was to be considered as a national heritage of all the people forever more. Seeing that Moses was so outstanding and illustrious, it was appropriate that the Torah he had brought to the people should be embraced with the greatest respect. A third view holds that the words ויהי בישורון מלך refer to the Torah, i.e. that the Torah should rule over Israel like a king, enjoy the same respect and awe. “Yeshurun”, in all these interpretations, is a complimentary term for the people of Israel.

The yoke of His sovereignty rests always upon them. Rashi is answering the question: Is the Holy One’s sovereignty only over Yisroel? His sovereignty is over everything! Rashi therefore explains “the yoke of His sovereignty, etc.” that although He is certainly king over the nations, however they do not accept upon themselves His sovereignty like Yisroel does. The explanation [of Rashi’s statement is]: Because Yisroel is always subservient before Him to fulfill all the commandments that He decreed on them.

V. 5. ויהי בישרון מלך. Die תורה, das Gesetz ward in Jeschurun König. Es allein ist das Herrschende, Gebietende und Regierende in Israel, stand ja selbst der spätere König unter ihm und sollte nur sein erster mustergültiger Untertan sein. Durch die Herrschaft der תורה soll Israel ישורון werden, dem Ideal seiner sittlichen Bestimmung entsprechend, daher: בישרון. Obgleich auf תורה sich beziehend, hat ויהי das Geschlecht des Prädikats מלך erhalten und ist das Maskulinum bei dem erzählenden היה ohnehin gebräuchlich, ויהי ברבת ד׳ (Bereschit 39, 5), כי יהיה נערה בתולה (Dewarim 22, 23) und sonst.

ויהי בישורון מלך בהתאסף ראשי עם, “and there was a king in Jeshurun when the heads of the people were gathered.” When the Jewish people are truly united and relate to one another as true brothers, then G–d is truly King over them. When they quarrel among themselves then G–d cannot truly be seen as being their King.

ויהי, “he became,” i.e. Moses; בישורון מלך בהתאסף ראשי עם, “King in Yeshurun, when the leaders of the people assembled.” This was recorded in Deuteronomy 4,10: באמור ה' אלי הקהל את העם ואשמיעם את דברי, when the Lord said to me: “assemble the people so that I can let them hear My words.”It is up to us to keep the Torah which He commanded us, and after having accepted it, it became a source of blessing for us.

בישרון מלך KING IN JESHURUN — constantly was the yoke of His sovereignty upon them at all times.

בהתאסף ראשי עם, at the time of the giving of the Torah, when, according to Deut. 5,19, all the elders and leaders of the people are described as approaching Moses, telling him (verse 20) that G’d had shown them His glory,

At every gathering. “Of the counting” — the counting of their gathering, etc. I.e., they deserve a blessing. Rashi explains, how does the word ראש relates to counting? Therefore he explains that ראשי means the same as in “When you take count (ראש).” The verse is saying: Whenever they gather for a counting it is in Your honor and [at such times too] they accept the yoke of Your sovereignty upon themselves.

Another meaning of this verse is connected to Proverbs 8,6: "I speak of lofty things," a reference to Torah's rule. The words: "when the heads of the people assemble," mean that when the people request that a king be appointed such a king may be appointed in addition to the Torah. This is precisely what happened during the lifetime of the prophet Samuel. We read in Samuel I 8,5 that all the elders of the people assembled, approached Samuel and said to him: "seeing that you have aged and your sons do not follow in your footsteps, please appoint over us a king to judge us like all the other nations." Unless such a situation exists the Torah is supposed to be the only authority ruling over Israel. This is part of what Samuel replied (Samuel I 8,12) "and the Lord your G'd is your king." The king he referred to was the Torah.

בהתאסף וגו׳, indem zur תורה sich die Häupter des Volkes sammelten, fanden darin Israels Stämme ihre Vereinigung. Das Gesetz bildet das einzige wirkliche Einheitsband der jüdischen Stämme. Indem alle Volkesleitung sich dem Gesetze anschließt und unterordnet, wird die Vereinigung des Volkes mit dem Gesetze zugleich das Einigungsband unter einander, und in diesem Anteil aller an dem höchsten Nationalgute erhält zugleich ein jeder seine völlig gleichwertige Stellung in der Nation.

בהתאסף When there gathered the head (בהתאסף ראשי), i.e., the total number (the whole) of their assembly.

יחד שבטי ישראל, G’d had thus become King over all the tribes of Israel at one and the same time as they all accepted His status as being their supreme authority. The words which the people used to express this acceptance were:ואת תדבר אלינו את כל אשר ידבר ה' אלוקינו אליך ושמענו ועשינו, “and you say to us all that the Lord our G’d will say to you, and we will hear it and do it.” (Deut.5,24)

These are worthy of my blessing. [Thus] this [verse] is connected to what comes afterwards, as if it said, Because of this, may Reuvein live, etc. [According to this interpretation], There was a king in Yeshurun is connected to what precedes it, The Torah which Moshe commanded us, etc. [As Rashi writes], We have embraced it, and we shall not forsake it, etc.,” and the Holy One, the yoke of His sovereignty rests always upon them.

Perhaps Moses alluded to this when he employed the word ויהי which always signifies something regrettable. We are told that Samuel was deeply grieved by the people's request for a king and that G'd had to tell him that this request reflected a rejection of Him as king even more than a rejection of the prophet as their leader (Samuel I 8,7). Moses prophesied concerning this situation when he used the word ויהי at the beginning of our verse.

ראשי — The word ראשי has the same meaning as (Exodus 30:12) “When you take the count (רֹאשׁ) of the children of Israel”. Consequently they are worthy that I should bless them (and so I shall now begin the blessing: May Reuben live, etc.). — Another explanation of בהתאסף: When they assemble together in one band and there is peace between them, only then is He their King, but not when there is dissension among them (Sifrei Devarim 346:1).

Another interpretation: “When they gathered, etc.” [According to this interpretation], the statement There was a king in Yeshurun is connected with at the gathering, etc., [and is not a continuation of the previous verse]. And this is more correct. But according to the alternative interpretation you might ask why the verse mentions the word ראשי [now translated as heads]. Therefore he also gives the first interpretation.

Our verse also hints that the kingdom of Israel will endure only if the heads of the people assemble together (keep the peace amongst themselves) not if the leaders of the people are split. If the leaders are split, the tribes themselves will not be able to maintain their unity. A look at Jewish history shows that as long as the people were united under David and Solomon the king and the nation were extremely successful, whereas as soon as a split developed the fortunes of the Jewish people took a turn for the worse.

יחי ראובן LET REUBEN LIVE, in this world,

LET REUBEN LIVE. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented that “he began with Reuben because he was the firstborn. He did not mention Simeon because of the sin of [Baal] Peor, because the worshippers were Simeonites, the proof being their numbers,⁸⁰In the first census the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300 (Numbers 2:13). In the second census [after the Peor affair] they numbered 22,200 (ibid., 26:14), a decrease of 37,100 people. In the opinion of Ibn Ezra the decrease would be accounted for by the 24,000 people that died in the plague because of the Peor affair (ibid., 25:9) thus indicating that the idol-worshippers were exclusive of that tribe. On this point, Ramban will comment that even assuming that all 24,000 who died in the plague were from the tribe of Simeon, there are still 13,100 people unaccounted for, a discrepancy that cannot be explained by Ibn Ezra’s theory. and their prince, too, being killed [in the affair].” In my opinion, the numbers are no proof because over thirteen thousand are still unaccounted for, aside from those who died in the plague.⁸⁰In the first census the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300 (Numbers 2:13). In the second census [after the Peor affair] they numbered 22,200 (ibid., 26:14), a decrease of 37,100 people. In the opinion of Ibn Ezra the decrease would be accounted for by the 24,000 people that died in the plague because of the Peor affair (ibid., 25:9) thus indicating that the idol-worshippers were exclusive of that tribe. On this point, Ramban will comment that even assuming that all 24,000 who died in the plague were from the tribe of Simeon, there are still 13,100 people unaccounted for, a discrepancy that cannot be explained by Ibn Ezra’s theory. In addition, other tribes as well diminished in population, for the sons of Gad lost five thousand,⁸¹In the first census the Gadites numbered 46,500 (Numbers 2:15), and in the second census they were 40,500 (ibid., 26:18) — a decrease of 5,150. — And so perhaps we should assume that these deaths resulted from the plague because of Peor. and the sons of Ephraim, eight thousand!⁸²In the first census the tribe of Ephraim numbered 40,500 (Numbers 2:19), and in the second census they were 32,500 (ibid., 26:37) — a decrease of 8000. Moreover, from the verse which states, And Israel attached himself unto Baal-peor,⁸³Numbers 25:3. and it is said again, Take all the chiefs of the people⁸⁴Ibid., Verse 4. it would appear that there were some among them from all the tribes, and that all their judges passed sentence on them. And similarly He said, so that I consumed not the children of Israel in My jealousy.⁸⁵Ibid., Verse 11. Now do not rejoin against me from the affair of Achan where He said, Israel hath sinned⁸⁶Joshua 7:11. In this part of the verse the specific sin is not mentioned yet. It is stated at the end of that verse: Yea, they have even taken of the devoted thing. — For the significance thereof see Ramban further. [although it was but a single individual who sinned; similarly we can say that it was the tribe of Simeon alone that sinned in the affair of Peor yet Scripture describes it as if the entire nation sinned. This rejoinder is not valid, for] there, [the details of] the sin had not yet been revealed, so He mentioned Israel generally [but in the case of Peor the facts of the sin were clearly given and still He spoke of all Israel, which shows that people from all the tribes were among the worshippers of Peor]. Similarly, the identity of the victim [i.e., Zimri, a leader of the Simeonites] is no proof [that only his tribe sinned, as Ibn Ezra argues], for he [Zimri, the son of Salu] was only a prince of a fathers’ house⁸⁷Numbers 25:14. of that tribe, not the prince of the [entire] tribe. Those who assembled against G-d in the congregation of Korach were greater and more honorable people than he [Zimri], for they were princes of the congregation,⁸⁸Ibid., 16:2. yet all their tribes did not follow them! Additionally, the psalm [that relates the sins of the wilderness] mentions Dathan and Abiram and their affair by name, saying, The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram;⁸⁹Psalms 106:17. The verse indicates that, despite the fact that princes of the congregation were in the company of Korach, the general population did not follow them, for the psalm specifies the participants in the strife. and it [the same psalm] mentions They attached themselves also unto Baal-peor⁹⁰Ibid., Verse 28. together with Moreover, they scorned the desirable Land⁹¹Ibid., Verse 24. which applies to the general population!⁹²Thus it is clear that the worshippers of Baal-peor came from all the tribes, just as those who scorned the desirable Land came from among the entire people. This contradicts Ibn Ezra’s view that only the tribe of Simeon was involved in the affair of Peor. Forbid it also that Moses should refrain from blessing the tribe of Simeon, [when it is said] that a tribe be not blotted out from Israel!⁹³Judges 21:17. For all those who had joined Baal-peor had already died, as it is said, for all the men that followed Baal-peor, the Eternal thy G-d hath destroyed from the midst of thee,⁹⁴Above, 4:3. and it is written of those who survived, But ye that did cleave unto the Eternal your G-d are alive every one of you this day.⁹⁵Ibid., Verse 4. And why should he not bless them? They all made the [golden] calf and sinned in the affair of the spies, yet they were forgiven, and he blessed them!
Now, I have seen in Midrash Rabbah the following text:⁹⁶Bamidbar Rabbah 21:9. “Six families were eliminated because of the immorality caused by Balaam’s advice [that Israel could be corrupted through seduction], and so Scripture listed one family less of Simeon⁹⁷Genesis 46:10 lists six sons of Simeon, while in the second census only five are given (Numbers 26:12-13). and five less of Benjamin.”⁹⁸Genesis 46:21 lists ten sons of Benjamin, while in the second census only five are given (Numbers 26:38-39). Thus, according to the opinion of the Rabbis [the tribe of] Benjamin had a greater part in the sin than did the tribe of Simeon — yet Benjamin is included in the blessing!⁹⁹Further, Verse 12.
In my opinion, the correct interpretation is that Scripture considers the tribes of Israel as only twelve. So it stated in Jacob’s blessing, All these are the twelve tribes of Israel.¹⁰⁰Genesis 49:28. Now Jacob mentioned his twelve sons and considered Joseph to be one tribe¹⁰¹Ibid., Verses 22-26. [instead of enumerating Ephraim and Menasheh separately as is sometimes done]. Moses saw fit to consider Joseph as two tribes, as he said, And they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Menasheh.¹⁰²Further, Verse 17. This was for two reasons: one, since the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded and made them two tribes regarding the dedication of the altar,¹⁰³Numbers 7:48 and 54. the flags¹⁰⁴Ibid., 2:18-21. [designating the tribal encampments in the wilderness], and the inheritance of the Land,¹⁰⁵Ibid., 34:23-24. he [Moses] had to count them as two [separate tribes] for their blessing. Secondly, he referred to Joshua, who would make them possess the Land, and he was from Ephraim, the younger son [of Joseph], therefore Moses had to mention his brother [Menasheh] who was older than him. Now, he also wanted to bless [the tribe of] Levi, for, through his blessing, all Israel would be blessed, in that his offerings shall be acceptable before G-d on their behalf. Hence it was necessary to omit one of the tribes, for nowhere [in Scripture] are they enumerated except as twelve, corresponding to the twelve constellations in the firmament,¹⁰⁶Bamidbar Rabbah 14:29. the twelve months of the year, and the twelve “border diagonals”¹⁰⁷Sefer Habahir, 95. — This is a Cabbalistic term for the twelve mystic powers emanating from various combinations of the letters of the Great Divine Name. See my Hebrew commentary p. 495. concerning which the Rabbis have said in the Midrash¹⁰⁶Bamidbar Rabbah 14:29. that they are the everlasting arms.¹⁰⁸Further, Verse 27. As the Sages mentioned in Tractate Berachoth:¹⁰⁹Berachoth 32b. “The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the prophet,¹¹⁰I.e., Isaiah. In our text of the Gemara: “The Holy One, blessed be He, said ‘to her': My daughter …” Go and tell the congregation of Israel: My daughter, I have created twelve constellations in the firmament to correspond to the twelve tribes.” Similarly, at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal where Scripture counts Levi,¹¹¹See above, 27:12. Joseph is not mentioned as two tribes¹¹¹See above, 27:12. [because, there Simeon¹¹¹See above, 27:12. is mentioned]. Likewise you will see in the distributions of Ezekiel that he counts Joseph as two tribes¹¹²See Ezekiel 48:4-5. with reference to the apportioning of the Land and did not mention Levi. On the other hand, in enumerating the city exits [of Jerusalem] he mentioned, the gate of Levi, one¹¹³Ibid., Verse 31. and did not list the tribe of Joseph as two tribes; instead he said, the gate of Joseph, one,¹¹⁴Ibid., Verse 32. since the tribes are always counted as only twelve. I have already mentioned this in the section Vayikach Korach.¹¹⁵Numbers 17:12 (see Vol. IV, pp. 189-190). Accordingly, Simeon was left out [of Moses’ blessings] since his tribe was not large and it was not the intention of the blessing of Jacob, their father, that they become numerous. Instead he divided them in Jacob and scattered them in Israel,¹¹⁶See Genesis 49:7. and to that extent they, too, were blessed through the blessing of the rest of the tribes among whom they were.
Now the order of this blessing [of Moses] was by [dictate of] Ruach Hakodesh (the Holy Spirit) according to their inheritance. He began with Reuben for he occupied his inheritance first;¹¹⁷Joshua 13:15. and, also, for he was the firstborn,¹¹⁸I Chronicles 5:1. and Moses prayed for him that his name not be blotted out because of his sin; therefore, in his blessing, he accorded him the right of the firstborn.¹¹⁹Above, 21:17. Then he mentioned Judah for he was the first to inherit within the Land [proper]¹²⁰Reuben’s possession was beyond the Jordan eastward. and of him came he that is the prince,¹²¹I Chronicles 5:2. Reference is to David. and he was the first to advance to war [against the Canaanites],¹²²Judges 1:2. concerning which Moses blessed him [saying, his hands shall contend for him, and Thou shalt be a help against his adversaries].¹²³Verse 7. Thus Judah’s blessing embraces all Israel. Then Moses blessed Levi — who dwelled with the children of Judah in Jerusalem, and there their offerings should be acceptable. Afterwards he blessed Benjamin because their inheritance was with the children of Judah, and, [because] the city of Jerusalem and the Sanctuary were between the children of Judah and the children of Benjamin, and the Levites abode with both of them. Then he blessed the children of Joseph for such was their inheritance, as it is said, And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families; and the border of their lot went out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.¹²⁴Joshua 18:11. Afterwards he continued to bless the children of the mistresses,¹²⁵I.e., Leah and Rachel, who were the heads of their households. Here, though, it refers only to Leah, since Rachel’s children — Benjamin and Joseph — were already blessed. and mentioned Zebulun before Issachar¹²⁶See further, Verse 18. as Jacob had done.¹²⁷See Genesis 49:13-14. So, too, [in the division of the Land] the third lot fell to the children of Zebulun¹²⁸See Joshua 19:10 (Zebulun). Ibid., Verse 17 (Issachar). and the fourth lot to the children of Issachar.¹²⁸See Joshua 19:10 (Zebulun). Ibid., Verse 17 (Issachar). Then he blessed the children of the handmaids¹²⁹Bilhah and Zilpah. — Dan, Naphtali, and Asher — in order of their birth,¹³⁰The order of their birth was: Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher (Genesis 30:6-13). Here, the order is: Gad (Verse 20-21), Dan, Naphtali, Asher (Verses 22-24). Ramban will proceed to explain why Gad is first. and they were also [encamped] under the same standard.¹³¹Numbers 2:25-30. He mentioned Gad [born after Naphtali] before all the children of the handmaids, because he occupied his inheritance earlier with Reuben,¹³²See Joshua 13:23-24. the first of all, and he was [encamped under] Reuben’s standard.¹³³Numbers 2:10-14.
Let Reuben live, and not die. “The meaning thereof is that his tribe shall live and never die.¹³⁴In other words, this is to be understood as a prayer rather than a blessing. — It is so clearly stated in our text of Ibn Ezra. Ramban also mentioned above, “and Moses prayed for him etc.” And let his men be a number. This is like the verse, And I have not learned wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One I have¹³⁵Proverbs 30:3. [where the word not from the first part of the verse, applies to the second part as well – ‘and the knowledge of the Holy One I have not.’ Here, too, the word not from the expression and ‘not’ die applies to the second part, thus meaning] ‘and let his men not be a number,’ that they may not become few, for whatever can be counted, is few. So also, and I am few in number.”¹³⁶Genesis 34:30. This is the language of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra.
It is more correct to explain: “Let Reuben live in Israel; and not die, that his tribe at no time should be cut off, and that his numbers always be among the count of the children of Israel.” He prayed for him that his name not be cut off from Israel because of the anger with which his father was wroth with him when he defiled his couch.¹³⁷Ibid., 49:4. This is similar to what is stated there, and Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve;¹³⁸Ibid., 35:22. Scripture made it be known that he was not excluded from that number on account of his sin. Rashi also explained it this way. And the meaning of his men [and let ‘his men’ be numbered among the men of Israel] is that all his men should deserve this [to be included in the ranks of Israel], and not even part of their tribe be cut off because of his [Reuben’s] sin. Perhaps the expression his men refers to the heads of the four families [of the tribe of Reuben — Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi],¹³⁹Exodus 6:14. and the meaning of the word mispar (number) is like b’mispar [with the prefix beth meaning “in the number,” the verse stating: “and let his men be ‘in’ the number” of the children of Israel]. Similarly, to play the harlot ‘beith’ [literally: “the house of”] her father¹⁴⁰Above, 22:21. [means b’veith — “in the house of” her father]; they shall wash ‘mayim’¹⁴¹Exodus 30:20. [literally: “water,” means b’mayim — “with water”]. There are many similar cases. Or it may be that the meaning thereof is that in the census of Israel his men be counted first as is the right of the firstborn, for number one is the unit from which all numbers originate.¹⁴²See Ibn Ezra to Exodus 3:1.
Onkelos rendered it: “And his children will receive their inheritance among their numbers.” He meant what we have explained, saying that Reuben will live and not be cut off [from Israel] and his men will be counted among their numbers forever. His tribe will not be blotted out from Israel but they will not be counted on account of their large numbers as forming two tribes. Thus he deprived him of the birthright [that awards the firstborn with a double share], but he assured him of being forever one tribe.
And some commentators¹⁴³I have found this interpretation in Chizkuni: “Let Reuben live, and not die when he will pass over the Jordan armed before the children of Israel. And his men be a number — in the same number that they will pass over there [into the land of Canaan] may they return, without a single one lacking.” explain that this blessing refers to the conquest of the Land, the verse stating that the Reubenites will live when crossing [the Jordan] armed for war before the children of Israel. And the purport thereof is that they will prevail, and not be defeated, similar in meaning to the expression, and by thy sword shalt thou live.¹⁴⁴Genesis 27:40. And let him not die, that none of them should die in battle, and his men be a number that they should return to their homes in their [original] number, there lacking not one man of them.¹⁴⁵Numbers 31:49. Similarly, in the blessing of Gad¹⁴⁶Further, Verse 20. his companion [under the same standard]¹⁴⁷Numbers 2:10-14. Moses mentioned this subject. This interpretation is likely [to be true]. But the first one appears to me to be more correct, for Moses’ blessing corresponds to the manner and thought that Jacob mentioned.
And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the expression Let [Reuben] live and not die is associated with visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children¹⁴⁸Exodus 20:5 (see Vol. II, p. 300, and Notes 361-362). and there I alluded to its secret.¹⁴⁸Exodus 20:5 (see Vol. II, p. 300, and Notes 361-362). Moses’ blessing helped Reuben gain atonement for the affair of Bilhah, that he not be cut off and be denied [the World to Come] for it, forever. However, He visited upon him, along with the rest of the tribes [the sin of] the sale of Joseph, according to the narrative in Pirkei Heichaloth.¹⁴⁹“Chapters of the Palaces.” — Heichaloth Rabboth, 6. A reference to this work is also found in Ramban’s Introduction to the Commentary on the Torah (see Vol. I, p. 10, Note 22). This is a mystic Midrash describing the process of ascending to heaven and of the palaces therein leading up to the Holy Throne. The principal narrator in this account is Rabbi Yishmael, one of the martyrs who was executed during the religious persecutions of Hadrian. The Midrash mentions the executions on account of the tradition that the ten martyrs suffered their fate in order to atone for the sale of Joseph by ten of his brothers.

יחי ראובן , even though the tribe of Reuven had chosen to live in a ritually unclean country (East bank of the Jordan), a region which is not really part of the “Holy Land,” as per Joshua 25,19 “although the land of your heritage is an unclean land, etc.,” and as a result of this they are not really entitled to eternal life in the hereafter, Moses prays that his (Reuven’s) heart may live on forever,

יחי ראובן ואל ימות, "May Reuven live and not die, etc." According to Sifri on our verse the words "may Reuven live" mean that Moses prayed that Reuven should have a share in the hereafter. Perhaps what is meant is that the leaders of that tribe who died during the uprising of Korach should have a share in the hereafter. [seeing that a prayer for someone who had died hundreds of years ago would seem futile and even sinful. Ed.] According to Bamidbar Rabbah 18, the 250 men who died offering incense were all heads of the courts, most of them from the tribe of Reuven. Seeing that one could have assumed that the community of rebels including Korach would not have a share in the hereafter, Moses prayed that Reuven, i.e. the tribe, should live. Granted that only 250 of their number had been guilty of joining the uprising, the fact that these 250 men represented the elite of the tribe could have brought disaster on the whole tribe and jeopardised their share in the hereafter.

יחי ראובן, “May Reuven live, etc.” Nachmanides, quoting Ibn Ezra, writes that the reason that Moses commenced the blessings with Reuven was because he was Yaakov’s biological firstborn, and that the reason why Moses did not include Shimon in the list of tribes whom he blessed was because that tribe had been so guilty in the sin at Baal Peor. In fact, most of the people that sinned there were from the tribe of Shimon, something that can be proved by comparing the tremendous reduction in the number of men over 20 during the second census compared to that in the first census. The reason was that the sinners died during the plague before Pinchas had stabbed Zimri and Cosbi to death. Nachmanides adds that in his view this is not conclusive proof of anything, as even after deducting the 24000 men who had died during that plague, and assuming even that all of them had belonged to the tribe of Shimon there are still 13000 missing men from Shimon unaccounted for. (at the first census there had been 59,300 men of the required ages from the tribe of Shimon, whereas after the sin of Baal Pe’or there were only Moreover, we observe that there was substantial shrinkage in the number of men of recruiting age among some of the other tribes also, The tribe of Gad numbered 45,500 such men during the first count, whereas now it had only The number of men counted from the tribe of Ephrayim during the second count was also 5000 fewer than when they had been counted during the first census. Besides, when the Torah reports (Numbers 25,3) that Israel became attached to Baal Pe’or and that G’d told Moses “to take (gather) the leaders of the nation and hang them before Hashem, etc.,” it is clear from this verse that members of all tribes had been involved in sinning at Baal Pe’or. The fact that Zimri was the one whom Pinchas killed is no proof, as he was only the head of a בית אב, and not the prince of the tribe. The tribe of Shimon had a number of heads of families with that title. Moreover the rebels from the tribe of Reuven, Datan and Aviram, who went into the bowels of the earth with Korach were of higher rank in their tribe than Zimri was in his, and Moses did not deny the tribe of Reuven a blessing on that account. It is quite inconceivable that Moses would deny a whole tribe a blessing on account of a sin committed by one of their leading members. The Torah (Moses’ words) expressly stated that all the people who had not sinned on the occasion of the debacle of Baal Pe’or were included in the complimentואתם הדבקים בה' אלוקיכם חיים כולכם היום, “all of you who have cleaved to the Lord your G’d are alive as of this day.” In other words, Moses faced only righteous people at the time when he set out to bless the nation. The correct interpretation of why Moses did not bless the tribe of Shimon specifically has to do with the long-standing tradition that the Jewish people comprise no more than 12 tribes. At the time when Yaakov had blessed his children, he had given one blessing to Joseph, although part of the whole procedure had been the vision that both of Joseph’s sons would develop into two separate tribes. This left Moses with the problem of which tribe to delete from his blessings, seeing that including the “super” tribe Levi, there were now in effect 13 tribes. The division of the tribe of Joseph into two tribes did not occur as a mere wish of Yaakov, or as its interpretation by Moses on his own. At the inauguration of the Tabernacle and when establishing the groupings around the Tabernacle by the various tribes, Ephrayim and Menashe, by Divine decree, had clearly been treated as separate tribes. Furthermore, there was a need to mention Joshua who would be Moses’ successor and who would lead the people to the Divinely ordained heritage in the Land of Canaan, and he was a member of the tribe of Ephrayim. Seeing that Ephrayim was the junior of the two sons of Joseph, it would have been inconceivable for Moses to ignore the senior son (tribe) Menashe by not blessing that tribe separately. Moses, clearly, wanted to bless the tribe of Levi, the tribe whose members henceforth would dispense blessings to all of the people. The people’s various sacrificial offerings would have been meaningless unless the Priests, members of the tribe of Levi had blessed them. Moses could not avoid deleting one tribe from his blessing as the number 12 was not arbitrary but was symbolical of the 12 signs of the zodiac, the twelve months of the year, etc. According to the Midrash these twelve constellations in the sky known as the zodiacal constellations, are considered the arms of the universe, G’d’s instruments in supervising nature at work. When the people were blessed at Mount Gerizim and Mount Eyval, the tribe of Shimon most certainly took part in that procedure (Deut.) On that occasion the tribe of Levi was not mentioned, as its members did not share in the distribution of ancestral land. Yaakov, on his deathbed had indicated that he wished both the tribe of Shimon and that of Levi to be separated from one another in order to forestall the kind of violence plotted against the city of Shechem by these two brothers to ever occur again. (Compare Genesis 49,7) The entire portion of וזאת הברכה had, of course, been said by Moses while he was inspired with the Holy Spirit, and the reason why Reuven had been listed first was because he was the first of the tribes to receive his ancestral heritage (on the east bank of the Jordan). An additional reason was the fact that he was chronologically the most senior of the tribes, the founding father having been Yaakov’s oldest son, the firstborn. Moses prayed for the tribe’s continued well being, wishing that its name not be extinguished on account of the sin of their founding father involving an indiscretion with Bilhah, his father’s steady mate after the death of Rachel. To underscore this point, Moses referred to the fact that Reuven was the firstborn, something that everybody had been well aware of. He blessed Yehudah next, as this tribe would be the first tribe to receive its heritage in the land, and he would lead the nation in its war against the Canaanites. The blessing given by Moses to Yehudah was meant to include all of the Jewish people. Moses blessed the tribe of Levi next, as the Levites who largely lived in Jerusalem, would be territorial neighbours to Yehudah. They would ensure that the sacrificial offerings of the Jewish people, both communally and individually, would enjoy a welcome reception by Hashem. Binyamin was next in line for Moses’ blessing, as the holy Temple would stand on its territory. After having blessed Binyamin, Moses blessed the tribes named after Joseph’s two sons, as they were next in conquering and settling the land of Israel. Next Moses blessed the remaining tribes that had as their founding father sons of Yaakov principal wife Leah. He followed the pattern used by Yaakov when he had blessed those sons. This left the tribes whose founding fathers were the maidservants of Leah and Rachel, respectively. History shows that the lots allocating lands to the various tribes also confirmed the order in which Moses had blessed these tribes. Gad was mentioned first, as he with Reuven was the first to receive his share on the east bank of the Jordan. He was also part of the flag commanded by the army headed by Reuven.

יחי ראובן, “may Reuven live!” According to the plain meaning of the text this is a prayer that Reuven should enjoy long life and not die prior to the time set at the time of his birth seeing it is impossible that he should live forever. [The “he” refers to the tribe. Ed.]

In this world. Meaning, that he should not die from a death incurred by excision.

V. 6. יחי ראובן וגו׳. Nach der פרשה-Abteilung gehört dieser Satz zu den vorhergehenden, die ganz eigentlich in ihm einen Abschluss finden. Reuben ist — Simon ausgenommen, der gar nicht erwähnt wird — der einzige Stamm, von dem weder eine materielle, noch geistige oder sittliche Eigentümlichkeit zum Ausspruch kommt, während die übrigen Stämme nach Land, Macht, Stellung, sozialer oder geistig sittlicher Wirksamkeit charakterisiert werden. Nachdem daher Reuben bereits durch Jaakows letzte Verfügung der ihm sonst als Erstgeborenem gebührenden Führerschaft verlustig gegangen, scheint auch sein Stamm überhaupt sich durch keine materielle oder geistige Besonderheit ausgezeichnet zu haben. Es war aber eben gesagt, dass es ein Gut, und zwar das höchste, die תורה gebe, die das einzige wirkliche und wahrhaftige Nationalgut bilde, an welchem alle gleichen Anteil haben und in welchem alle Stämme ihre gleiche Würdigung finden. Darauf beruht es, dass auch ein Stamm ohne alle ihn auszeichnende materielle oder geistige Besonderheit, dass auch ein "Reuben" in ihm, in der treuen Wahrung und Wartung desselben, seine vollzuwürdigende Lebensentfaltung finden werde, nicht unterzugehen habe, und dass מתיו, seine bedeutungslosen, unedlen Angehörige jederzeit nur gezählt, nur in geringer Zahl zu sein brauchen. מתיו siehe Bereschit 5, 4-27.

יחי ראובן ואל ימות, “may Reuven live and not die.” When the tribe of Reuven will fulfill its promise and march as vanguard in front of the army conquering the land of Canaan, (together with the tribe of Gad and half the tribe of Menashe, as per Numbers 32,20-42) they will not suffer a single casualty during that campaign.

יחי ראובן ואל ימות, “may Reuven live and not die;” Moses refers to the period when the members of that tribe would be in the vanguard of crossing the Jordan and battling the Canaanites.

ואל ימת AND LET HIM NOT DIE, in the world to come (Sifrei Devarim 347:1) : that the incident of Bilhah be not remembered unto him (Sifrei Devarim 347:3).

ואל ימות ויהי מתיו מספר, may he not die out in this life on earth so that his numbers will become too insignificant. (Yaakov already described people who are few in numbers as being in danger of being wiped out, Genesis 34,30) Moses prays that the tribe of Yehudah be included in the blessing of Deut. 11,21 “so that you will enjoy many years on the earth, etc.”

יחי ראובן ואל ימות, “May Reuven live and not die, etc.” Ibn Ezra understands this to mean that Reuven (the tribe) should live indefinitely, never die out. It had been possible that the lifetime of a tribe might be no different from the lifetime of an individual human being.

In the World to Come. Meaning, that the righteous even in their death are called living.

It is also possible that Moses referred to Reuven, Jacob's son, personally. His continued share in the hereafter might have been endangered seeing that his most illustrious offspring had become guilty of the uprising against Moses. All of this is in accordance with the view expressed by one scholar in Sanhedrin 108 that the rebellious group of Korach did not forfeit their share in the hereafter.

ויהי מתיו מספר, “when counted afterwards they will not have diminished in number.” This comment refers to the previous promise of Moses that they will not suffer casualties by fulfilling their promise. In fact, they will continue to grow in numbers.

ויהי מתיו מספר, “let the number of his men of military age that had been counted not decline.” (Let them not suffer casualties)

ויהי מתיו מספר lit., AND LET HIS MEN BE A NUMBER — let him be counted amongst the number of his other brothers. This is exactly similar to the idea that is expressed in the text, (Genesis 35:22) “[And Reuben went] and lay with Bilhah [his father’s wife]” … “And the sons of Jacob were twelve”, which suggests that he was not excluded from the number of Jacob’s sons.

ויהי מתיו מספר, “and may its numbers never shrink into insignificance.” Seeing that all things that are subject to count are also subject to a decline in number, Moses prayed that Reuven should not experience such a reduction in numbers. Nachmanides writes that in his view a better explanation of the above words is that of Rashi, i.e. that Moses prayed that Reuven should live on as a tribe of Israel in this world and not disappear as an entity in the world to come, either. The sin of his founding father should not be visited upon him and his descendants even in the hereafter. When reflecting on Yaakov’s comments on Reuven on his deathbed, Moses realized that it contained a great deal of anger that had been suppressed for a long time. Moses prays to protect the tribe against any fallout from this also in the future, beyond life on earth. The word מתיו, “his population,” is used to include all members of the tribe against such fallout. The word מספר “number,” is to be understood as if the Torah had written: במספר, ”in number,” a construction similar to בית אביה, ”her father’s house,” where what is meant is בבית אביה, “in her father’s house.” (Compare Genesis 38,11) It is also possible that the words מתיו מספר refer to the people of Israel who are to always look upon the tribe of Reuven as one looks on a firstborn son. Some commentators understand this blessing as being directed at the days of the conquest of the land of Canaan, Moses blessing the soldiers of the tribe of Reuven who would be in the vanguard with the members of the tribe of Gad, as agreed when they received their allocation of land on the east bank. Moses included the soldiers of the tribe of Gad in his prayer, asking Hashem not to let either of these two tribes sustain casualties during that campaign. Whereas this interpretation has much to commend it, the first interpretation is most likely the correct one.

ויהי מתיו מספר, "even though he may be few in numbers." Moses prayed that the surviving members of the tribe be righteous seeing that their holy roots had been undermined due to their leaders having been guilty of taking part in Korach's uprising. The prayer concerning their numbers may be understood in accordance with Sanhedrin 26 where the Talmud discusses the prayer of King Chiskiyah that G'd should not be influenced by the attitude of Shevna his heretic scribe who commanded the support of the majority amongst the people of beleaguered Jerusalem at the time. At that time G'd replied to Chiskiyah not to worry because numbers are not relevant when He deals with the wicked. Similarly, Moses mentioned that though there may have been a substantial number of the tribe of Reuven who were not righteous, G'd should not judge the tribe by this numerically significant segment. This may be the meaning of Samuel II 23,3 that צדיק מושל יראת אלוקים, "a righteous person" (even when in the minority) rules' G'd.

וזאת ליהודה AND THIS IS FOR JUDAH — He mentioned Judah immediately after Reuben because both of them made confession of the wrong that was theirs, as it is said, (Job 15:18-15:19) “Because wise men have told their sins … unto them alone [the land was given] and no stranger passed amidst them”. Further our Rabbis explained that during the whole forty years that Israel was in the wilderness Judah's bones were moving about in his coffin because of the excommunication that he had invoked upon himself, as it is stated that he said "If I do not bring him unto thee … I shall be sinning against my father all days" (cf. Rashi thereon: “also in the world to come”). Moses said, “Who brought it about that Reuben confessed his sin?” Judah, etc. (Sotah 7b; Bava Kamma 92a).

AND THIS FOR JUDAH. “And for Judah he said likewise that he live and not die, and further added for him, hear, Eternal, the voice of Judah.” This is the opinion of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra. But this is not correct in accordance with our interpretation [above on the blessing of Reuben], for Judah was not involved in this [punishment of] extinction¹⁵⁰For the affair with Joseph, since it was Judah who saved his life (Genesis 37:26). [making it necessary for] Moses to pray for him, just as he did not mention this in the blessing of the remaining tribes. But the verse is to be understood in its plain meaning: “and this is the blessing for Judah.” And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], he singled out the attribute of zoth (this) for Judah because his is the conduct of war and from him shall be royalty forever,¹⁵¹See Vol. I, pp. 586-590. this being the help against his adversaries. This is the secret of the verse stating, To teach the sons of Judah the bow. Behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar,¹⁵²II Samuel 1:18. for this is the bow which is seen in the cloud concerning which it is said, ‘Zoth’ (this) is the token of the covenant.¹⁵³Genesis 9:17.

וזאת ליהודה, this is also what I request and pray for on behalf of the people residing in the tribal territory of Yehudah that includes the members of the tribe of Shimon who were an enclave within the tribal territory of Yehudah. Let them not die in the wars in which they will be involved. They all go out to war together.

שמע ה׳ קול יהודה, "Hearken, O Lord, to the voice of Yehudah." Seeing that Yehudah had sinned in his relationship with Tamar and had confessed his guilt (Genesis 38,26) when he said: "she is more righteous than I," Moses prayed that G'd should accept his confession. He mentioned this only in order to be able to continue with ואל עמו תביאנו. We have explained in our commentary on Genesis 49,9 (page 424) how the union of Yehudah and Tamar enabled Yehudah to qualify for the description אריה, a fully grown lion. Yehudah's spiritual ascent had been due to his being able to tear himself away from the prey, i.e. from the pools of souls that had been taken captive by the forces of Satan as a result of Adam's sin. In our verse Moses alludes to this when he refers to Yehudah's "hands having performed a mighty deed."

וזאת ליהודה, “and this to Yehudah, etc.” Ibn Ezra translates the word וזאת, as “and similarly he said to Yehudah, etc.” i.e. he too should live on indefinitely and not be diminished in numbers, adding that Hashem should respond to the prayers of Yehudah. [Presumably, Ibn Ezra felt that Yehudah’s role in the sale of Joseph and the deception of his father Yaakov also needed forgiveness still. Nachmanides disagrees with the interpretation of Ibn Ezra on this, seeing that Yehudah’s sin had not been of the type that the Torah would punish with the karet penalty [generally understood to include destruction of one’s soul, Ed.] if it had been committed deliberately and had not been repented properly. This is also, in his opinion, why Moses did not offer a special prayer on behalf of Yehudah, just as he did not do so on behalf of the other tribes whose founding fathers had been involved in the sale of Joseph and the deception of their father. He therefore understands the words וזאת ליהודה as the preamble to the blessing he would forthwith bestow on that tribe. He would receive the latter part of Reuven’s blessing also, as he, more than any other tribe needed G’d’s protection against suffering casualties, as this tribe was always leading in the wars Israel fought. He had a merit exceeding that of the other brothers, as it had been he who had saved Joseph from the brothers’ demand that he be killed immediately.

No stranger passed between them, etc. Meaning, that no stranger could compare to them. Alternatively, he juxtaposed the blessing of Yehudah to [the blessing of] Reuvein, and he did not bless Levi after blessing Reuvein.

V. 7. וזאת ליהודה. Derjenige Stamm, auf welchen die Hoheit, Macht und Volkesführung überging, deren Reuben verlustig geworden, war: Juda (siehe Bereschit 49, 8). Hier heißt es nun וזאת ליהודה: dasselbe, worin der der Führerschaft verlustig gewordene, macht- und glanzlose Stamm gleichwohl den Boden einer wohl zu würdigenden Lebensentfaltung finden kann, dasselbe bleibt im Grunde ebenso die einzige wirkliche und wahrhaftige Basis für den mit Hoheit und Macht umkleideten zur Führerschaft berufenen Stamm. Wie Reuben, hat auch Juda nur die תורה als Lebensquell und Basis auch für die Erfüllung des besonderen Segenswunsches, den Mosche für ihn hinzugefügt, indem er auf ihn inmitten der Ausübung seines Berufes hinschaut. Der Geist der תורה bewirkt es, dass die Macht in Israel nicht zum Eigenruhm, sondern zu Schutz und Verteidigung der Bruderstämme geübt wird. Juda zieht dahin, wo sein Volk seiner bedarf, nur zum Kampf für sein Volk gebraucht es die ihm verliehene Macht. Darum blickt es zu Gott auf, ehe es auszieht, und darum steht Gott ihm bei in seinen Kämpfen.

וזאת ליהודה, “”and this for Yehudah;” i.e. “and this is the blessing for Yehudah. Moses means that the blessing he had just given to Reuven will also apply to Yehudah. He prayed that they both be extraordinarily successful in that war. The reason he also singled out Yehudah for such a blessing was that that tribe usually was always at the head of the army. (Compare Judges 1,2) In that verse G–d had answered t]he people’s query who should lead them in war now that Joshua had died. Our sages in the Talmud, tractate Sotah folio 7 state that the bones of Yehudah were rattling in their coffin all the years that the Israelites wandered in the desert, the reason being that he had said to his father Yaakov before obtaining permission to take Binyamin to Egypt, that he would consider himself as having sinned unforgivably against him for all his life if he did not bring him back safe and sound. (Genesis 43,9). Even though it appears at first glance as if Binyamin had descended with the rest of Yaakov’s family (Genesis 46,21) when a wise man utters a curse, even a conditional one, it comes true at some time [Yaakov had cursed the anonymous person who had stolen Lavan’s t’raphim if he would be found, and although he never found that person Rachel died prematurely on account of that as she had stolen them. Ed.] (compare Talmud, tractate Makkot, folio 11) The Talmud there describes that at the time when David dug the hole known as shitin, under the site where the Temple would stand in the future, the subterranean waters started rising from the depths and threatened to flood the earth. At that point, when Achitofel did not rule on the subject though he had been openly invited to do so, David reasoned as follows before writing the holy name of G–d on a shard commanding the waters to stop rising. If in the case of a woman suspected of infidelity by her husband, the priest dissolves a parchment with the Holy Name of the Lord in order to help restore marital harmony, when the life of the whole of humanity is at stake, surely I am not only allowed but I have the duty to try and save mankind by that means. (Compare Numbers 5, 11-31) When Achitophel saw that his advice concerning the rebellion of Avshalom had not been followed, he went home and arranged his affairs, and hung himself. (see beginning of chapter 17). [Achitofel, according to tradition was the outstanding Torah scholar of his generation, and at one time David’s tutor. Ed.] The Talmud Makkot quoted before comes to the conclusion that Moses when wondering why the bones of Reuven did not rattle in their coffin whereas those of Yehudah, his brother did not, especially since it had been Yehudah’s public confession of having fathered Tamar’s children which had caused Reuven to also publicly confess that he had committed an indiscretion with Bilhah, and remains with a question, else he would not have commenced Yehudah’s blessing with the words he did. He did not bless Shimon, just as his father had also not given him a blessing on his deathbed, as in addition to the deceit and violence at Sh’chem, as the leader of that tribe, Zimri had added to his sin by sleeping provocatively with a Midianite princess, as reported in Numbers 25,6. Although Levi had been Shimon’s partner in the killing of the male population of Sh’chem, his descendants had rehabilitated themselves when, to a man, none of them participated in worshipping the golden calf. (Compare Exodus 32,26) Moses at least hinted at a blessing for Yehudah, according to the Talmud in Makkot there.

וזאת ליהודה, “and this for Yehudah;” he meant that his blessing that Reuven should not suffer casualties in battle, should also apply to the men of military age of the tribe of Yehudah;At this point Rashi said (based on the Talmud tractate Sotah folio 7) that Moses gave the credit for Reuven’s having done penitence to how Yehudah had demeaned himself publicly when admitting that his daughterinlaw had become pregnant by him. (Genesis 38,26) In Genesis 37,29, we read about Reuven being mortified when Joseph was no longer in the pit the brothers had thrown him into. Although he had not even been present when Joseph was sold, he held himself responsible for not staying around at that time. Yehudah, though admitting his paternity of his daughterinlaw’s Tamar’s babies did not do so until challenged. Until Yehudah admitted his guilt publicly, Reuven had done so only privately; (Genesis 37,29). After hearing of Yehudah’s confession, he too admitted his defiling his father’s couch openly.

שמע ה' קול יהודה HEAR, O LORD, THE VOICE OF JUDAH — Hear the prayer of Judah’s descendants, David and Solomon, and of Asa because of the Ethiopians, of Jehoshaphat because of the Ammonites and of Hezekiah because of Sannecherib (cf. Sifrei Devarim 348:8),

ויאמר שמע ה' קול יהודה, in addition to what Moses had said under the heading of וזאת ליהודה, that whenever this tribe would pray to G’d either during war or any other occasion

שמע ה' קול יהודה!, “Hearken O Hashem to the voice of Yehudah!” when he entreats you whenever he goes into battle, seeing he is at the head of the army.

Moshe said, “Who was responsible for Reuvein’s confession? Yehudah, etc.” According to this, Now this for Yehudah is an expression of surprise. [I.e., does Yehudah deserve that his bones roll in the coffin?!]. When Rashi explains, Who was responsible for Reuvein’s confession? he means, Who was responsible for Reuvein’s public confession? because Reuvein had confessed in private beforehand, as Rashi explained earlier in parshas Vayeishev (Bereishis 37:29), that [Reuvein] was occupied with his sack-cloth, etc., which was before the incident of Tamar and Yehudah. This indicates that Reuvein had already confessed. Perforce we must say that he was occupied with his sack-cloth, etc. in private. But after Yehudah had confessed, he was occupied with his sack-cloth even in public. So too answer Tosefos in Perek Hachovel (Bava Kamma 92a).

ועזר מצריו תהיה, "may she be a helper against his enemies." the word תהיה, refers to the eventual descendant of Yehudah, Ruth the Moabite, without whom even such illustrious people as Zerach and Peretz could not have guaranteed that he would become the founder of the dynasty culminating in King David and eventually the Messiah. The word עזר, is an allusion to the first female, Eve, who was described by the Torah (Genesis 2,18) as Adam's helper, עזר. Similarly, Yehudah's female descendant Ruth would perform this role in asssuring that he could attain his destiny. Compare also what I have written on Genesis 43,9 (page 347).

HEAR, ETERNAL, THE VOICE OF JUDAH. He prayed for him when he goes out to fight, for it was Judah who was first to go up to fight¹²²Judges 1:2. and of him came he that is the prince¹²¹I Chronicles 5:2. Reference is to David. to fight the enemies of Israel. And so also did Jacob say, thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies.¹⁵⁴Ibid., 49:8.

שמע ה׳ קול יהודה, “hear o Lord the voice of Yehudah!” Whenever Yehudah finds himself in difficulties and appeals to You for help on behalf of his people, grant his plea! He is singled out for this as he normally leads the rest of the tribes in warfare. (Compare Judges 1,2) The same applied to Reuven, as he had been the first tribe to cross the Jordan and face the enemy. Compare Joshua 6,7.) Shimon did not need to be mentioned separately as that tribe always made common cause with Yehudah as reported in the Book of Judges. [His territory was an enclave within the territory of Yehudah. Ed.] (Compare Judges 1,3) A different interpretation of Moses’s pleading: יחי ראובן, “may Reuven live!” Seeing that the founding father of the tribe of Reuven had committed a serious offense against his father Yaakov, and the commandment of honouring father and mother is accompanied by the promise that people doing so would enjoy long life, (Exodus 20,12) it could be inferred that people failing to do so would have their lives cut short, Moses blesses the tribe, emphasising that the descendants of Reuven should not be affected by something their founding father had done wrong.

ואל עמו תביאנו AND BRING HIM TO HIS PEOPLE in peace from battle;

ידיו רב לו ועזר מצריו תהיה, though his own hands strive for him (during battle), help him against his foes.” I pray that You, G’d, be his hands, although to all intents and purposes people watching him may credit his own prowess with his victory.” רב לו, an expression of avenging wrong done to him. עזר מצריו, when they are attacking him and he is on the defensive.

ואל עמו תביאנו,“and return him to his people;” to the encampment. This verse could also be understood as a general prayer to bring back all those who went out to battle in the enemy’s country, to return home safely, unharmed.

Another interpretation [of] “Hashem, hear the voice of Yehudah, etc.” [Rashi gives two interpretations] because according to the first interpretation, you might ask that it should have said Hashem, accept the voice of Yehudah, because if He [just] heard him but did not accept his prayer, what benefit would there be in listening? Therefore, he gives another interpretation so that the word שמע (listen) hints at Shimon’s name. And according to the alternative interpretation you might ask why Moshe hinted at Shimon’s blessing [specifically] in Yehudah’s blessing? And why did Shimon take a portion [specifically] within Yehudah’s inheritance? Therefore he also gives the first interpretation.

AND BRING HIM IN INTO HIS PEOPLE — that he should return [from the fighting] in peace. HIS HANDS SHALL ‘RAV’ FOR HIM. His hands shall “be sufficient” for him, so that he need no other help except for the help of G-d Who will answer him when he prays, all as written in the words of Onkelos.¹⁵⁵Onkelos’ rendition of the verse is as follows: “Accept, O G-d, the prayer of Judah when he goes out to war, and bring him to his people in peace. His hand will execute punishment upon his enemies, and be [O G-d] his help against his enemies.” This entire rendition accords with Ramban’s interpretation of the verse. So also is the opinion of the commentators.¹⁵⁶Rashi and Ibn Ezra.
In my opinion he [Moses] further alludes to Judah’s first war against the Canaanite concerning which G-d said, Judah shall go up¹²²Judges 1:2. first. And he states his hands shall ‘rav’ meaning that he will annex and conquer from his foes “many” lands, more than are due him as his inheritance. He intimates that Judah will give part of his inheritance to his brother Simeon, this being what is stated, Out of the allotment of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon, for the portion of Judah was too much for them; therefore the children of Simeon had inheritance in the midst of their inheritance.¹⁵⁷Joshua 19:9. Thus Moses mentioned Simeon by allusion together with Judah.

וזאת ליהודה, “the following is the blessing for Yehudah, as distinct from praise for its founding father. Its founding father had also caused his father grief due to Joseph’s having been sold at the time was due to his suggestion. (Genesis 37,27) Moses was not willing to mention the name of the tribe of Shimon as Moses held him responsible in his heart for being the one who had first suggested that Joseph be killed. (Compare Rashi’s commentary on Genesis 42,24)

ידיו רב לו LET HIS HANDS רב FOR HIM — let them successfully strive for him (רב) and avenge his wrongs,

ידיו רב לו, “may his hands suffice to fight on his behalf;” may he not have to rely on outside assistance other than the help of Hashem, alone. Some commentators, seeing in the word רב an analogy to ריב, “quarrel, strife,” understand the verse to mean that Moses wishes that Yehudah’s hands alone should prove equal to any strife he will be involved in. Still other commentators see an analogy to Psalms 18,15 וברקים רב, where the word is used to describe “stunning” blows, by means of lightning. Nachmanides writes that these words are an allusion to the first war against the Canaanites, and are an encouragement to Yehudah to not only worry about conquering his own allotted ancestral territory, but also that allotted to his brethren of the other tribes. In particular, it would be a hint to conquer land beyond that needed by himself, and to cede it to the members of the tribe of Shimon, who, as it turned out were going to be an enclave within the boundaries of the tribal lands of Yehudah. This is borne out by Joshua 19,9 where the members of the tribe of Shimon are described as receiving their share of the ancestral heritage as “within” that of the tribe of Yehudah.

ועזר מצריו תהיה AND BE THOU A HELP TO HIM FROM HIS ADVERSARIES — He here prayed for Jehoshaphat with regard to the battle at Ramoth Gilead, as it states, (II Chronicles 18:31) “And Jehoshaphat cried and the Lord helped him”. — Another explanation of שמע ה' קול יהודה HEAR, O LORD, THE VOICE OF JUDAH — Here in Judah’s blessings he alluded to Simeon (שמע) (i.e., Simeon’s blessing was included in that of Judah). And indeed, when they divided the land of Israel amongst the tribes, Simeon took his portion from amongst Judah’s lot, as it is said, (Joshua 19:9) “Out of the allotment of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon” (cf. Sifrei Devarim 348:5). {And why did he not assign to him (to Simeon) a separate blessing? Because he had something in his heart against him on account of what he had done at Shittim (Numbers 25:14). thus is it written in the Agada on the Psalms}.

וללוי אמר means AND OF LEVI HE SAID (not to Levi).

UL’LEIVI’ HE SAID - “and ‘of’ Levi¹⁵⁸Literally: ul’Levi means “and ‘to’ Levi.” But Rashi translates the prefix lamed here, as “of.” he said.” This is Rashi’s language, and it is also the opinion of the commentators.¹⁵⁹Ibn Ezra. It is like the expressions: say ‘li’ (of me):. he is my brother;¹⁶⁰Genesis 20:13. Here, too, the word li, literally: “to me,” is interpreted as “of me.” and the men of the place asked him ‘l’ishto’ (about his wife).¹⁶¹Ibid., 26:7. Here also, the word l’ishto, literally: “to his wife,” means “of his wife.” There are many such examples. In my opinion [the expression here is to be understood literally: “and ‘to’ Levi he said”] because Moses had mentioned the names of Reuben and Judah in his blessing [of them], saying, Let Reuben live,¹⁶²Above, Verse 6. the voice of Judah,¹⁶³Verse 7. but he did not mention the names of the other tribes in [the text of] their blessings. Therefore Scripture states, And to Levi he said, To Benjamin he said¹⁶⁴Further, Verse 17. [in order to make it clear to whom he was addressing his blessing]. This indicates that the tribes were facing him [Moses], and he called Levi and put his eyes upon him and said, thy Thummim and thy Urim.¹⁶⁵In Verse 8 before us. Similarly he blessed each tribe face to face.

תומיך ואוריך לאיש חסידך, Moses refers to G’d having given to Aaron who was the outstanding member of the tribe of Levi, the pious tribe, the urim and tumim lodged within his breastplate pouch. The Talmud Yuma 73, derives from the above that any priest who speaks with holy spirit is of the calibre that when he employs the urim and tumim to address enquiries to G’d, he will receive G’d’s answer to such enquiries. Hence the word “איש,” a man of lofty spiritual standing, as if to underscore that character trait.

וללוי אמר תמיך ואוריך לאיש חסידך, "And concerning Levi he said: "Let your Tummim and your Urim be with Your faithful one." This is a prayer that Levi should continue forever to be qualified to perform the respective duties of the Levites and the priests.

וללוי אמר, “and concerning Levi, Moses had said” Rashi understands the letter ו at the beginning of the word וללוי, as meaning על, i.e. “about.” Similar use of that letter in that sense is found in Genesis 26,7 וישאלו אנשי המקום לאשתו, “the people of that place enquired about his wife.” There are other examples of that kind of usage made of the letter ו in the Scriptures. Nachmanides writes that seeing Moses had addressed Reuven and Yehudah in his blessings by name both in the introduction and as an integral part of the blessing, he hastens to face each tribe separately when blessing them, so that they do not feel slighted. In other words, each time we find the introductory letter ו before the tribe’s name, this means that at that moment Moses had taken up position directly in front of the members of that tribe. After positioning himself opposite the members of the tribe of Levi, he commenced with the words תומיך ואריך וגו'.

Regarding Levi he said. Because the verse says [afterwards] Your tumim and Your urim which is certainly addressed to the Shechinah, as Rashi explains. Therefore perforce Moshe was speaking not to Levi, but regarding Levi.

V. 8. תמיך ואוריך .וללוי (siehe Schmot Kap. 28). Sonst werden immer אורים erst genannt, hier stehen bedeutungsvoll תמים, die Vergegenwärtigung der höchsten sittlichen Vollkommenheit, den אורים, der höchsten geistigen Erleuchtung voran. Soll doch hier der Stamm gezeichnet werden, der zu deren Trägern gewürdigt worden. Da ist es nicht die geistige, da ist es in erster Linie die sittliche Anforderung, mit welcher das bewährte Leben eines solchen Stammes nicht in Widerspruch hat stehen dürfen, ja es ist eben der sittliche Charakter, der ihn zum Träger der אורים und תמים befähigte. Wird doch auch sofort der Stamm nicht nach seinen geistigen, sondern nach seinen sittlichen Charaktermerkmalen geschildert:

וללוי אמר וגו׳, “and of Levi he said, etc.” Moses referred to the Levite (singular) who had been chosen to wear the breastplate with the Urim and Tumim, (the High Priest of the people) evidence that he was considered a pious individual, and whom G-d had put to a test repeatedly, although he had failed a test by the Lord at Massah/Merivah, he had nevertheless qualified to become so holy that he was not allowed to defile himself even if it had been to bury his father or mother. [The High Priest in any generation is not allowed to cause himself to become ritually defiled except when a corpse has no one else who could bury him without delay; Leviticus 21,11) Ed.],

תמיך ואוריך THY THUMMIM AND URIM — He is addressing God (not Levi).

אשר נסיתו במסה, Moses reminds G’d that in all the various tests (Numbers 14,22) that the Jewish people had subjected Him to, the tribe of Levi had never been a participant in such demonstrations of lack of faith. This was also why the decree which G’d imposed on the generation of the spies did not apply to them, and the Levites that were of age at that time did not die in the desert.

אשר נסיתו במסה, “whom You had tested at Massah.” According to Ibn Ezra the word במסה is not a reference to a location but to a test of faith when executing the fellow Israelites during the golden calf episode was not considered death without benefit of trial, i.e. murder, but an act of supreme faith, risking their lives on behalf of preserving the glory of the Holy Name of Hashem. The only sin the Levites were guilty of collectively also, was the one their leaders Moses and Aaron also became victims of, the confrontation after Miriam’s death when the people ganged up on Moses and Aaron demanding water to drink. (Numbers chapter 20); [note that whereas at the beginning of that chapter only העם, the common people, the mixed multitude according to some, is mentioned as being rebellious, near the end even the בני ישראל, the elite of the people, are described as having quarreled with Moses. Presumably, Ibn Ezra feels that the Levites were included, or the Torah would have credited them with being without guilt during that episode. Ed.] Nachmanides, approaching the verse from the peshat point of view, writes that the correct interpretation is that the word במסה refers to a location, i.e. the place previously known as Refidim, which was renamed on account of the unruly behaviour of the Israelites there, as detailed in Exodus Moses credits the Levites with already at that time not being part of the people who ganged up on him and adopting a threatening posture. [Perhaps the Levites’ “cool” when the people had no water is especially commendable seeing that the Levites were not subject to slave labour in Egypt; they had been the ones to benefit least by the redemption, and therefore suffered most by deprivation in the desert. Ed.] Moses therefore blesses them with the blessing that its loyalty and steadfastness should remain a characteristic of theirs throughout the ages. This is the meaning of the reference to תמיך ואוריך. “May the qualities displayed then ensure that you will always be men of piety.” The people’s sin, even then had not been that they had clamoured for drinking water; far from it. Their sin had been that they had accused Moses for being responsible for the absence of the Shechinah, which most certainly would not have allowed a situation such they found themselves in to arise had not their leaders fallen out of favour with Hashem The thought that they themselves could have been at fault did not even occur to them.

As Targum [Onkelos] renders. “You tested him at the waters of strife, and found him faithful.” Meaning, that through the quarrels at the waters of strife, you tested his heart and found him faithful. (Re”m)

אשר נסיתו במסה, "whom You have tested at Massah." Seeing that Jacob (Genesis 49,5) had expressed himself negatively concerning any union of Shimon and Levi, cursing their anger, Moses goes on record to say that in the meantime the Levites had proved at Massah that they (by themselves) did not display anger and transgress G'd's commands. Instead of having tested G'd's patience there (Exodus 17,7) where the people questioned G'd's ability to provide them with water) as had the other tribes, this tribe had stood the test of loyalty (and had not participated in that complaint). [There may be an allusion to this in that paragraph as at the beginning the Torah speaks about the whole community arriving at that place whereas when speaking about who complained the word "whole" is absent. Ed.]

WHOM THOU DIDST PROVE ‘B’MASSAH’ — “that You tested him by trial.¹⁶⁶The word massah is thus not a name of a place (Exodus 17:7), but “test, trial.” This is Ibn Ezra’s interpretation. Ramban will explain that the word is the name of a place. And the purport thereof is that Levi was scrupulous in whatever You tried him with, and no reproach could be found in him except [for the affair at] the waters of Meribah, for which You have already punished him [by depriving Moses and Aaron of the right to enter the Land]. He made the calf,¹⁶⁷In our version of Ibn Ezra the text reads: “This also strengthens my interpretation in the matter of the calf etc.” In other words had the calf been intended for true idol-worship, Moses would have added here the affair of the calf, too. however, [on the wrong assumption that it was] for the glory of G-d [and therefore, because it was a mistake rather than an intentional sin, Moses did not mention it here].” This is the language of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra. And in the Sifre it is stated:¹⁶⁸Sifre, Brachah 349. “Whom Thou didst prove ‘b’massah’ — You tested him many times and he was found perfect in all trials. With whom Thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah. Unfounded charges were turned against him [Aaron] at the waters of Meribah. If Moses said, Hear now, ye rebels¹⁶⁹Numbers 20:10. [for which he was punished], what did Aaron and Miriam do?”
In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, it seems to me that the correct interpretation is that b’massah simply refers to the place where the people tested G-d, in Rephidim [which was subsequently renamed Massah u’Meribah].¹⁷⁰Exodus 17:7. The verse [here] states: “Your Thummim and your Urim¹⁷¹See ibid., 28:30 (Vol. II, pp. 480-483). This is a reference to the High Priesthood, for it was the High Priest who wore the breastplate in which were the Urim and Thummim (ibid.). will forever be with your holy ones, with his seed after him, whom Thou didst prove at Massah when the children of Israel sinned and tested G-d concerning water.¹⁷²See ibid., 17:2. And he [the tribe of Levi] was not among the company of them that gathered themselves against the Eternal¹⁷³Numbers 27:3. because he believed in G-d and in His word that He will bring them forth water out of the rock of flint.¹⁷⁴Deuteronomy 8:15. On the second occasion You strove with him and punished him [by decreeing that Moses and Aaron would die in the wilderness] at the waters of ‘Meribah’ [i.e., ‘the quarrelling’] of Israel, for it was on account of their [Israel’s] striving that the punishment came and not that he [Aaron] trespassed against G-d — for he believed from the start, as well, that it is You who turned the rock into a pool of water, [the flint into a fountain of waters].¹⁷⁵Psalms 114:8. Surely [Aaron believed] this [second time at Kadesh] after already having seen it [at Rephidim].” Moses thus intimates that that sin was the fault of the people, for, because of their strife, Moses and Aaron thought that they were required to act the way they did, since the Divine Glory might have departed as an outcome of their punishment, this being what is stated, They angered Him also at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses because of them.¹⁷⁶Ibid., 106:32.
And the meaning of ‘t’riveihu’ (with whom Thou didst strive) is similar to the expression ‘rivah’ (strive), O Eternal, with them that strive with me,¹⁷⁷Ibid., 35:1. the verse here meaning: “You have paid him [i.e., Aaron] the consequence of the strife which the children of Israel strove with the Eternal.¹⁷⁸Numbers 20:13. It is possible that its meaning is as the Rabbi said in the Sifre [quoted above]¹⁶⁸Sifre, Brachah 349. that these are references to s’kufim, that is, unfounded charges. He alludes to the insignificance of the sin and the severity of the punishment, similar to, through them that are nigh unto Me I will be sanctified.¹⁷⁹Leviticus 10:3. Such also is the opinion of Onkelos who rendered the text here: “Whom You tested with trials and he was [found to be] perfect,” the trials being the strife of the children of Israel and their testing of the Eternal. However, since he was found perfect the first time [at Rephidim], surely he believed in the word of G-d on the second occasion. You tried his heart at the waters of Meribah — and foundest his heart faithful before Thee,¹⁸⁰Nehemiah 9:8. for “it is revealed and known before the throne of Thy Glory”¹⁸¹Berachoth 60b. that he [Aaron] believes in You and in Your word. But the punishment came upon him because of Israel, as I have explained on the verse, Also the Eternal was angry with me for your sakes.¹⁸²Above, 1:37.
Now Moses spoke first of the priests, for he said to the tribe of Levi that the Urim and Thummim¹⁷¹See ibid., 28:30 (Vol. II, pp. 480-483). This is a reference to the High Priesthood, for it was the High Priest who wore the breastplate in which were the Urim and Thummim (ibid.). will be to his holy one [the High Priest] from among them. Afterwards he said of the whole tribe that He tested them in the affair of the calf, in Egypt,¹⁸³“For they have observed Thy word (Verse 9) in Egypt” (Sifre, Brachah 350). and in the wilderness¹⁸⁴“And keep Thy covenant (Verse 9) in the wilderness. Another interpretation: For they have observed Thy word in Egypt. And keep Thy covenant in the affair of the spies” (Sifre, Brachah 350). — and, therefore, they shall teach His ordinances to Jacob.¹⁸⁵Verse 10. Such also is the opinion of Onkelos who rendered the verse:¹⁸⁵Verse 10. “These [men] are fit to teach your laws etc.” Or it may be that he speaks of them [the Levites] with reference to the future, as explained by Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra. The expression they shall teach Jacob Thine ordinances refers to all of the Levites, and they shall put incense¹⁸⁵Verse 10. relates to the priests of that tribe.

תמיך ואוריך לאיש חסידך, als איש חסירך gabst du ihm deine Urim und Tumim. Wie dies überhaupt das tief Unterscheidende des Judentums ist, dass in seinem Kreise die höchste Stufe geistiger Begabung und geistigen Berufes nicht einen Freibrief für das Sittliche gewährt, vielmehr die gleich hohe Bewährung in Achtung und Erfüllung des Sittengesetzes als unerlässliche Bedingung setzt. Darauf haben wir bereits wiederholt hinzuweisen Gelegenheit gehabt.

who was tested with tests, and you brought him strife at the waters of Merivah, and even so he said of his father and mother, “I did not see them.”

אשר נסיתו במסה WHOM THOU DIDST TRY WITH TRIALS — [Since this is said in praise of the Levites] we may gather from it that they did not murmur together with the other tribes.

תריבהו על מי מריבה, You have challenged them at the waters of strife, as a result of which You deprived the people of the two outstanding heads of the tribe of Levi.

תריבהו, “you have quarreled with Him at the waters of Merivah.” Compare Psalms 35,1 ריבה ה' את יריבי, “O G’d strive with my adversaries” (David speaking). It sounds as if Moses is hinting that G’d ought to punish those who had been responsible for his losing his temper at מי מריבה. He hints that the people had provoked him to lose his composure so that he had shouted at them: (Numbers 20,10) “listen you rebellious people!” Moses had first addressed the priests, as he had said to Levi, asking them to be loyal to the High Priest, wearer of the urim and tumim, the breastplate that had the ineffable Name in its pouch, assuring the High Priest constant communication with G’d if the situation warranted this. Afterwards, he addressed the whole tribe of Levi who had participated in the general uproar on that occasion.

You set a libel upon him to come with a spurious charge, etc. When Rashi writes to come with a spurious charge, this is the explanation of נסתקפת, You set a libel upon him. It [נסתקפת] is an expression of libel as Rashi explained above in parshas Mikeitz (Bereishis 43:18), on the verse That he may turn on us. See there.

׳לאיש חסידך וגו, es wird hier der Stamm als Einheit, als ein Individuum aufgefasst, und kommt daher auch das, was in seinen hervorragendsten Gliedern zu Tage getreten, אשר נסיתו וגו׳, der Charakteristik des ganzen Stammes zugute.

תריבהו וגו׳ THOU DIDST STRIVE WITH HIM [AT THE WATERS OF MERIBAH] — Understand this as the Targum has it: (“Thou didst put him to the test”). — Another explanation of תריבהו על מי מריבה: Thou didst seek an occasion against him to come with a pretext, for if Moses said, “Hear now, ye rebels”, what sin did Aaron and Miriam commit? (why were they not allowed to enter the land?) Sifrei Devarim 349:3).

If Moshe exclaimed, “Now listen, rebels.” And on account of this, death was decreed on him and that he could not enter the land. This [interpretation] too is praise of the tribe of Levi. Rashi needs the other interpretation because according to the first interpretation you might ask that Moshe was not found faithful as he erred due to anger, and he was angry when he should not have been. Therefore he gives “another interpretation, etc.” And according to the other interpretation you might ask, were Aharon and Miriam equal to the entire tribe of Levi that the verse should say of them You brought him to strife, etc., which the verse implies as referring to the whole tribe of Levi. Therefore he gives the first interpretation where the whole tribe of Levi was faithful except for Moshe who sinned.

חסידך, der sich als dein חסיד bewährt hat. חסיד bezeichnet ja die höchste Selbstlosigkeit im praktischen Leben, zu welcher, wie wir bereits (zu Kap. 23, 10) bemerkt, פרישות: die Fernhaltung von allem Schlechten und Gemeinen, die man gemeinhin bereits als חסירות begreift, nur eine Vorstufe bildet. חסיד ist ein Charakter, der sich vor allem im tätigen Leben für die Gesamtheit zu bewähren hat. So durfte David beten: שמרה נפשי כי חסיד אני Gott möge ihn schützen, denn er vertritt sein Recht und sein Interesse nie, er lebt in völliger Selbstvergessenheit nur für andere (vergl. Berachot 4 a). Dieser Charakter wird hier dem ganzen Stamme Levi vindiziert. אשר נסיתו וגו׳ תריבהו וגו׳. Welcher Ernst der sittlichen Anforderung an den Stamm innewohne, dessen Häuptern die Urim und Tumim, die Gottesaussprüche der höchsten Einsicht und der höchsten Sittlichkeit anvertraut worden, das hat sich für alle Zukunft hin in der Geschichte der Ersten desselben vorleuchtend gezeigt.

במסה kann wohl schwerlich auf die Örtlichkeit Massa und das dort Geschehene (Schmot 17 7) zurückblicken. Weder der Stamm, noch Mosche, insbesondere Aharon, an den ja hier als ersten Träger der Urim und Tumim gedacht wird, hatten dort besondere Prüfungen zu bestehen. Vielmehr scheint hier מסה Substantivum verbale von נסה zu sein. So auch הרבה נסיתו ונמצא שלם בכל נסיונות :ספרי, du hattest ihn in wiederholten Prüfungen erprobt gefunden. Und der Sinn wäre: Du hattest ihn bereits in so vielen Prüfungen erprobt gefunden und doch rechtetest du mit ihm beim Haderwasser (Bamidbar 20, 12), sahest ihm dies einzige Vergehen nicht nach, und um dieses eine Vergehen ging er der Hoffnung eines vierzigjährigen erprobten Wirkens verlustig. Mosche und Aharons Tod infolge von מי מריבה sind ein ernstes Mahnwort an alle künftigen Levitenhäupter.

לאיש חסידך, every High Priest from the tribe of Levi is given the title חסיד, ‘the devout one.’ The reason for this is that it is the function of the High Priest to draw down to his people the heavenly attribute of חסד, (loving kindness). This is why the priests bless the people in order to channel this attribute and its beneficial effects to as many of his people as possible. The blessing is pronounced by invoking the tetragrammaton, the holy name not allowed for others to pronounce. The blessing originates in the tenth emanation, and this is why the Torah prefaces the formula of the words of the blessing with the word כה which is the attribute of Justice, as we know from Exodus where Moses tells Pharaoh in the name of G’d הנה לא שמעת עד כה, “here you have not listened until כה,” i.e. from now on the attribute of Justice will be invoked against you (Exodus 7,16) [This announcement had been the prelude to the first of the Ten Plagues. Ed.] Moses followed this (verse 17) by telling Pharaoh בזאת תדע, “through the attribute זאת you will know, etc.,” i.e. clear proof that both כה and זאת are כנויים, [similes for the attribute of Justice, most commonly appearing as elo-him. Ed.] At any rate, Moses refers to the fact that the whole world is blessed by means of the Priest, hence Psalms 145,10 וחסידך יברכוכה, “and Your devout ones shall bless You.” Instead of reading this as one word, David may mean that the word is to be read as יברכו כה, “will bless the attribute of Justice.”

האמר לאביו ולאמו לא ראיתיו WHO SAID TO HIS FATHER AND TO HIS MOTHER, I HAVE NOT SEEN HIM — When they sinned in the matter of the golden calf and I said, “Who is on the Lord’s side, let him come to me” (Exodus 32:26), all the sons of Levi gathered themselves unto me, and I ordered them each to kill his mother’s father, he being an ordinary Israelite, or his brother on the mother’s side, or the son of his daughter whose husband was an ordinary Israelite, and thus did they do. — It is impossible to explain the term “his father” literally, and “his brothers” as being those on his father's side, and similarly to understand “his sons” literally, for really all these are Levites, and of the tribe of Levi no one sinned., as it is said, “[And there gathered unto me) all the tribe of Levi” (Sifrei Devarim 350:1, Yoma 66b).

האומר לאביו, during the episode of the golden calf,

האומר…יורו משפטיך ליעקב. "Who says ….they shall teach Your laws to Jacob." We may explain this verse best according to Baba Batra 60 where the Talmud relates that Rabbi Yannai had a tree the branches of which overhung the adjoining street causing inconvenience to the passers-by. He was called upon to expound the law in a similar situation and asked to be given until the morrow before presiding over this litigation. During the intervening night he gave instructions to cut down the branches of his tree which overhung the street so as not to be accused of being himself guilty of an offence which he was supposed to adjudicate. [The Talmud explains that originally Rabbi Yannai had thought that the shade provided by his tree for the passers-by outweighed any damage it could cause to the passers-by who failed to look where they were going. Ed.] The word האומר is an allusion to the kind of judge qualified to sit in judgment of others, i.e. only people who ensure that their own house is in order may judge others. In order to face one's parents and criticise them one must first be free from guilt himself.

האומר לאביו ולאמו לא ראיתיו, “who says of his father and his mother : ‘I have no regard for them.’” Moses speaks of the tribe of Levi as a whole here, just as at the time of the sin of the golden calf he had simply called out: “whoever is for Hashem, to me!” (Exodus 32,26) In response to that call all the members of the tribe of Levi responded with alacrity (same verse) Moses had then instructed them to execute all those who had actively worshipped the golden calf, and not to spare even family members if there were such who were guilty. Just as in that instance, although Moses mentioned ‘his son and brother,” this was not meant literally, so here too the words ‘his father and mother,” are not meant literally, as there never had been a father or mother of a Levite who had been guilty of that sin so that their son could have demonstrated that he was prepared even to kill father or mother in response to that call. If even a single Levite had been guilty of worshipping the golden calf, how could the Torah have testified that “the entire tribe of Levi assembled around Moses in response to his call?” The meaning of the words: “father, mother, brother, etc.,” in the verses mentioned referred to such relations who were not from the tribe of Levi. If a Levite had married a woman from the tribe of, say, Zevulun, and the son of that woman found his maternal grandfather worshipping the golden calf, then her son would have had the duty to execute his grandfather seeing he was not a Levite and was guilty of execution. In other words, Moses referred to a possible grandfather, calling him “father,” something not unusual in those days. [the Torah constantly calls the ancestors ‘your fathers’, not your grandfathers or your great-grandfathers.”

You must not have other Gods. Meaning that which You told them Yourself, because they heard I am Hashem, your God, and You must not have any other gods from Hashem’s mouth. [Rashi says this] because otherwise the verse should have said They observed your Torah.

V. 9. האמר וגו׳. Der Stamm Levi hatte bei seinem Auftreten gegen die zum Egel Abgefallenen sich von keiner Rücksicht für Verwandtschaften, wie nahe auch immer, zurückhalten lassen, der Aufforderung getreu: הרגו איש את אחיו ואיש את רעהו ואיש את קרובן (Schmot 32, 27) und daselbst V. 29 כי איש בבנו ובאחיו (siehe daselbst). Da es jedoch daselbst V. 26 heißt, dass ausnahmslos כל בני לוי sich zu Gesetzesrettern im Volke erhoben hatten, so können, wie ספרי z. St, bemerkt, die hier genannten Verwandten nur aus mütterlicher, einem nicht levitischen Stamme angehöriger Verwandtschaft gemeint sein. Bemerkenswert erscheint die Stufenfolge des Wahrnehmens: Sehen, Erkennen, Kennen, לא ידע ,לא הכיר ,לא ראיתיו. Vielleicht liegt der Wahl und der Verwendung dieser Ausdrücke die Feinheit zu Grunde: Bei Eltern hätte schon das bloße "Sehen" genügen können, um ihre für die Rettung des Nationalganzen erhobene Hand zu lähmen, bei Brüdern das "Erkennen", bei Kindern jedenfalls das volle Gefühl der Zugehörigkeit, wie dies in ידע liegt. Aber im Drange der Begeisterung für die Rettung des Ganzen übersahen sie unter den von ihrer Richterhand Getroffenen Eltern, ließen es bei Brüdern nicht bis zum Erkennen und bei Kindern nicht bis zum Wachwerden des vollen Gefühles kommen. Dass demnach die Erfüllung ihrer harten Aufgabe an Kindern leichter als an anderen Verwandten erscheint, dürfte sich daraus motivieren, dass Kinder schon ihrer natürlichen Stellung nach der Zucht und der Verantwortung Eltern gegenüber unterliegen.

כי שמרו אמרתיך, “for the Levites observed Your commandments not to defile the sanctity of the Tabernacle/Temple.” (Leviticus 21,12) None of the Levites committed the error of worshipping the golden calf, and they were prepared to execute family members whom they found doing so. (Sifri and Rashi)

כי שמרו אמרתך BECAUSE THEY KEPT THY WORD, viz., Thou shalt have no other gods,

ואת בניו לא ידע כי שמרו אמרתך, he showed no personal consideration for his closest family members when it involved carrying out G’d’s commandment. When speaking of the Levites’ children, Moses refers to their performing the rite of circumcision on their sons even in the desert, though many babies died through infections contracted after they had been circumcised, so that the other tribes did not perform this rite in the desert. Our sages in Yevamot 72 claim that the northerly wind did not blow during those 40 years [except at midnight according to some, Ed] and that without the therapeutic effect of the northerly wind the babies would have been at risk.

כי שמרו אמרתך, “for they have carefully observed Your words;” a reference to the second of the Ten Commandments: ‘you shall not have any other gods.’
ובריתך ינצורו, “and Your covenant they have preserved.” This is a reference to the covenant of circumcision. We have a tradition according to which the Israelites did not circumcise their male children while in the desert, whereas the tribe of Levi did perform this commandment also in the desert (Sifri Behaalotcha 67). Even though Moses speaks here of the tribe of Levi in general, there is also a specific allusion to the prophet Samuel (a Levite himself) concerning whom Moses said that he did not see his father or his mother seeing that as soon as he had been weaned, his mother took him to the Tabernacle and entrusted him to the High Priest Eli to raise and train in the service of the Lord. The words: “and he did not recognize his brothers nor knew his sons,” also apply to the prophet Samuel; the idea is that he sired children for the service of the Lord rather than in order for them to be his personal convenience [as many fathers considered their children then. Ed.]

For, of those born in the wilderness, etc. Rashi is answering the question: It is written (Yechezkel 16:6), And I saw you wallowing in your bloods, and the sages expound, Two bloods, the blood of Pesach [offering] and the blood of circumcision, which indicates that all of Yisroel were circumcised in Egypt and in the wilderness. If so, what is the meaning of [The Levi’im] kept your covenant? Rashi therefore explains that it is referring to those born in the wilderness. (Re”m). But regarding those who went out of Egypt, they were all circumcised. This is an explicit verse (Yehoshua 5:5), For all those who went out were circumcised, but all those who were born in the wilderness, on the road when they went out of Egypt, they did not circumcise. Therefore Rashi [specifically] mentions the wilderness.

Another message contained in this verse refers to the Torah's injunction in Deut. 16,18 that the judges should be from the respective tribes. Moses adds here that inasmuch as the tribe of Levi had demonstrated during the episode of the golden calf that they did not show favouritism even to their closest family members if the latter were guilty, that they could preside in judgment even over litigations involving members of other tribes. This is the meaning of יורו משפטיך ליעקב, i.e. they can judge any descendant of Jacob.

.כי שמרו וגו׳Wir haben schon zu V. 32, 2 angemerkt, dass אמירה den Ausspruch eines Gesetzes, als vielmehr eine Verheißung, eine Zusage bedeutet. Ebenso daselbst V. 10, dass נצר mehr ein pflegendes Überwachen und Sorgen für eine innere Entwicklung als ein Schützen vor äußerer Gefährdung bedeutet. Ohnehin kann כי שמרו אמרתך nicht füglich heißen: sie haben dein Gebot gehütet in dem Sinne, dass sie es selbst nicht übertreten haben. Denn in dieser Beziehung standen sie nicht allein, teilten vielmehr das Verdienst mit der großen Mehrzahl. Nur dreitausend im Volke hatten sich zur Anbetung des Götterkalbes hinreißen lassen. שמרו אמרתך kann vielmehr nur die Bedeutung des von ihnen an den Schuldigen vollzogenen Aktes aussprechen. Durch diesen Rächerakt ward אמרת ד׳ erhalten, ohne ihn wäre das ganze Volk der Vernichtung verfallen und damit die göttliche Verheißung an Abraham für die damalige Gegenwart wenigstens und für noch lange Zeit hinaus vereitelt gewesen. (Siehe Schmot 32, 10 und 14.)

ובריתך ינצורו, “and they kept Your covenant.” The covenant G-d made with the priests whose status became hereditary from father to son. (Numbers 25,13)

ובריתך ינצרו AND THEY GUARDED THY COVENANT viz., the covenant of circumcision (Sifrei Bamidbar 67 on בהעלתך); For the [ordinary] Israelites who were born in the desert did not circumcise their sons, whereas the Levites were [not only] circumcised themselves, [but they] also circumcised their sons.

ובריתך ינצורו, as our sages confirm in Yuma 66 that the members of the tribe of Levi never became guilty of worshipping idols. This distinction proved itself both in Egypt and in the desert.

ובריתך ינצרו. Wie sie damals mit Hintansetzung aller persönlichen Rücksichten sich als Retter der Volksbestimmung bewährt haben, so werden sie nun fortan die inneren Pfleger und Wärter des Gottesbundes sein.

יורו משפטיך THEY MAY TEACH THY JUDGMENTS (the emphasis is to be placed on “they”) — they alone are worthy of doing this (cf. Onkelos).

יורו משפטיך ליעקב, Moses prays to G’d that seeing that this tribe has proven so fit as a standard bearer of the Jewish nation, let them be the teachers of Torah. Compare Moed Katan 17 “if the Rabbi is comparable to an angel, let the people come and listen to his words of Torah.”

They will spread throughout the Jewish people to learn Torah. Yaakov also said, “I will spread them in Yisroel.”

יורו משפטיך ליעקב, “They shall teach Your social laws to Yaakov;” These words refer to the entire tribe of Levi. The priests, on their part will offer the incense on behalf of the entire nation.

They are worthy of this. Rashi is answering the question: When he is blessing the tribe of Levi here as [he blesses] the other tribes, why does he praise of the tribe of Levi before [bestowing] the blessing, more so than [he does with regards to] the blessings of the other tribes. Therefore he explains, They are worthy of this, etc., meaning that if he did not relate their praise beforehand, Yisroel would quarrel with Moshe for giving them the blessing, They shall teach your law, etc., since this was the best of all the blessings. They would say that Moshe gave them a good blessing because they were of his tribe. Therefore he related their praise beforehand, and afterwards he said, They are worthy of this blessing because of their great importance.

V. 10. יורו וגו׳. Diesen Beruf als Pfleger und Wärter des Gottesbundes haben sie durch Pflege der Gesetzeskenntnis als Gesetzeslehrer, und Pflege der Gesetzerfüllung durch ihren Dienst am Gesetzesheiligtum zu erfüllen. Der Inbegriff des Gesetzes ist hier als משפטים und תורה gefasst, der Inbegriff der Institution des Heiligtums als קטורה und כליל. משפטים im weiteren Sinne begreift alle die Gottesordnungen für unser Pflichtleben (vergl. Kap. 7, 12), תורה die Belehrungen zur Berichtigung und Veredlung unseres Geistes- und Gemütslebens. קטורת im Heiligtum ist der symbolische Ausdruck für das gänzliche Aufgehen unseres Geistes und Gemütslebens in göttliches Wohlgefallen (siehe Schmot 30, 137), כליל, das Ganzopfer, die Hingebung des ganzen Menschen der Tat, איברי עולה, an das אש דת, an das Feuer des göttlichen Gesetzes (siehe Wajikra 1, 9). Offenbar entspricht קטורה der כליל ,תורה den משפטים. In dem wirklichen Aufbau des Volkes gehen משפטים den תורות voran, wie נעשה dem נשמע. Die unerlässliche Grundlage aller sittlichen Vollendung des Volkes wie des Individuums ist die Unterstellung des Gebrauchs aller unserer inneren und äußeren Fähigkeiten und Mittel, die Unterstellung unseres ganzen inneren und äußeren Tatenlebens unter ׳משפטי ד, unter das Diktat des Gottesrechts. Ohne das Eingehen in den den ׳משפטי ד zu zollenden Gehorsam bleiben wir, wie auch immer unsere zeitliche Glückeslage sein möge: יעקב erst durch den Huldigungseid: כל הדברים אשר דבר ד׳ נעשה (Schmot 24, 3) sind wir ישראל geworden. Als ישראל aber, auf der Basis des eingegangenen Pflichtlebens, soll die geistige Erkenntnis und die Veredlung des Gemütes, sollen תורות unsere sittliche Erziehung vollenden, also, dass das, was משפטים von uns fordern, mit der Helle der Erkenntnis und mit der warmen Begeisterung der Gesinnung und Liebe zur Erfüllung komme. Daher: יורו משפטיך ליעקב und תורתך לישראל. In dem sittlichen Menschen- und Volksideale, wie es in den symbolischen Handlungen des Heiligtums zum Ausdruck gelangt, steht aber קטורה dem כליל voran. In dem Ideale, dessen Verwirklichung das Heiligtum dient, ist das Innere für die Wahrheit der Erkenntnis und den Adel der Gesinnung gewonnen, und aus ihnen fließt die Gesamthingebung des Menschen der Tat an das Pflichtleben vor Gott.

יורו משפטיך ליעקב, “They will teach Your ordinances to Yaakov;” seeing that they are impartial people not showing undue favours to anyone, they are qualified to teach and help enforce Your laws. (Compare Ezekiel 44,23: ואת עמי יורו,”and My people they will instruct.) It is also written in Deut: 17,9: ובאת אל הכהנים הלוים והגידו לך את דבר המשפט, “when you will come to the priests, who are members of the tribe of the Levites, and they will tell you matters concerning the ordinances.”An alternate interpretation: “they will teach you the laws of the Torah, since they do not have to earn their living from farming, etc., they have the time to study and teach all these laws.” The reason they did not receive any share of the land of Israel was to enable them to do just that.

וכליל — means burnt-offering (which was entirely (כליל) burnt on the altar) (Sifrei Devarim 351:3).

The olah. It is called by this name because it entirely consumed [on the altar] for the Above.

מחץ מתנים קמיו means, smite those who rise up against him with a smiting of the loins, similar to the idea that is expressed, (Psalms 69:24) “Make their loins continually to totter”. It was about those who contested the High priesthood that he spake thus. — Another explanation: He foresaw that Hasmon and his sons would in future war with the Greeks, and he therefore prayed for them, because they were few in number, viz., the twelve sons of Hasmon and Eleazar against several myriads of the enemy. On this account he prayed ברך ה׳ חילו ופעל ידיו תרצה BLESS, O LORD, HIS ARMY AND ACCEPT FAVOURABLY THE WORK OF HIS HANDS (cf. Genesis Rabbah 99:2; Midrash Tanchuma, Vayechi 14).

BLESS, ETERNAL, ‘CHEILO’ — that they be a great chayil (army). And the meaning thereof is that they should increase and not decrease when they enter the Holiness, similar in meaning to the verse, Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites.¹⁸⁶Numbers 4:18. It is similarly stated in the admonitions concerning [the Levites], and that they may not die.¹⁸⁷Ibid., Verse 19. And Onkelos rendered cheilo — “his possessions,” from the expression and all their flocks, and all ‘cheilam’ (their possessions).¹⁸⁸Ibid., 31:9. He means what our Rabbis have said concerning the incense — that it bestows a blessing [upon the priest that performs that service].¹⁸⁹Yoma 26a. The phrase [before us] is connected with the expression in [the preceding verse], they shall put incense before Thee,¹⁸⁵Verse 10. because, as a result of it, his possessions will be blessed, as we have been taught:¹⁸⁹Yoma 26a. “Fresh priests come and draw lots for the incense.”¹⁹⁰Four lots were drawn to determine the priests who would be privileged to minister in the Service of the Daily Whole-offering. Three of these lots were open to any priest whose family served that day. But prior to the lot for the burning of the incense the officer announced, “Fresh priests etc.,” i.e., those who had never yet performed the incense service were to come forward. The reason for this arrangement was to give as many priests as possible the opportunity to participate in the burning of the incense, because those who did so became wealthy. And in the Sifre it is stated:¹⁹¹Sifre, Brachah 352. “Bless, Eternal, ‘cheilo’ — his possessions. From here the Rabbis have deduced: Most priests are wealthy. In the name of Abba the Preacher the Rabbis have said: I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken¹⁹²Psalms 37:25. — this refers to the seed of Aaron.”

ברך ה' חילו, "please G’d bless their worldly activities," so that by making an easy livelihood they can devote themselves to instructing the people in your Torah.

ומשנאיו מן יקומון. "and let his enemies rise no more." The unusual construction מן יקומון may be a reference to the kingdom of the Greeks which would fall victim to the Hasmoneans (members of the tribe of Levi; compare Bamidbar Rabbah 14). Moses prayed that the Levites be able to maintain themselves even during the period when the Greeks (or other nations) would generally oppress the Jewish people. The plural משנאיו is a reference to a time when the Jews would be oppressed in their homeland and appear helpless. Even at such a time, מחץ מתנים, the Hasmoneans would smite their oppressors.

ברך ה' חילו, “Bless, O Hashem its resources, etc.” According to Nachmanides this is a plea by Moses to Hashem to grant the tribe of Levi plenty of human resources, seeing that in fulfilling their tasks they put their lives at risk if they make any of many possible mistakes which result in such people forfeiting their lives. Compare Numbers 4,18 “Do not let the tribe of the Kehatites be cut off from the rest of the tribe of Levi.” Onkelos translates חילו as “its material resources,” using Genesis 37,29 and Number 31,9 as his models. In both those verses the expression ואת כל חילם means: “all their physical possessions.” The verse is an appendix to ישימו קטורה באפך in the previous verse, which describes the material possession of man most closely related to a spiritual asset, i.e. the fragrance of the incense burned on the Altar.

ברך ה' חילו, “O Lord bless his resources;” this is a reference to the heave-offerings, tithes, firstborn male domesticated animals, and the first ripe fruit, which made up the livelihood of the priests and Levites. ופועל ידיו תרצה, “and the work of his hands shall find Your favour;” this refers to the sacrificial offerings, a portion of which was for consumption by the priests.

He foresaw that Chashmonai and his sons, etc. Because according to the first interpretation one might ask, why did he give the tribe of Levi this blessing? They did not go out to war like the other tribes, but sat in the sanctuary of the King. Therefore he gives “Another interpretation, etc.” And according to the second interpretation you might ask why Scripture says his adversaries, for they [i.e. the Greeks] were the enemies of all Yisroel because the purpose of their decrees was to make them transgress the commandments. Therefore Rashi also gives the first interpretation.

V. 11. חילו .ברך וגו׳ (siehe zu Schmot 18, 25). Segne seine geistige und sittliche Begabung. Die geistige und sittliche Kraft und Tüchtigkeit, die sein Beruf als Lehrer und Wahrer des Gesetzes im Volke erfordert. ופועל ידיו תרצה und dem Vollbringen seiner Hände im Heiligtume schenke das damit angestrebte ונרצה לו לכפר .רצון עליו (Dewarim 1, 4) und sonst.

ופועל ידיו תרצה, “and may the work of his hands be welcomed by You;” the “work” Moses speaks of are the sacrifices of the priests who are members of this tribe. The expression נרצה is especially appropriate for the expiation for sins most sacrifices are meant to achieve. If anyone who is not a member of that tribe, i.e. a priest, offers such sacrifices they will not achieve this.

‎ ומשנאיו מן יקומון (The first word is, like קמיו, the object of the verb מחץ) — i.e. smite those who rise up against him and those who hate him (משנאיו), that they shall have no recovery.

ופועל ידיו תרצה, may their Temple service find favour in Your eyes.

ופועל ידיו תרצה, “and may the work of his hands be received with goodwill.” A reference to the sacrificial offerings, generally, the incense being the most refined type.

מחץ מתנים קמיו, “smash the loins of his foes; as if the Torah had written: “smash his foes in the loins.” מן יקומון, “so that they cannot rise.” Prevent those that attempt to rise against them.

Shatter his adversaries and enemies. I.e., shatter also refers to his adversaries, otherwise, how is [the phrase] his adversaries connected to above?

מתנים .מחץ וגו׳ sind der Körperteil, dessen Umgürtung den zum selbständigen Vorgehen gerüsteten Mann kennzeichnet. Dem mit der Pflege des Gesetzes und des Heiligtums betrauten Stamme stehen nur geistige Mittel zu Gebote. Es kann jedoch nicht fehlen, dass die Lehre und Vertretung des göttlichen Gesetzes auch ihre offenen, tätigen Widersacher, קמיו, finde, so wie das im Heiligtum gepflegte sittliche Ideal seine, wenn auch stillen Feinde משנאיו (vergl. Bamidbar 10, 35). Daher die Bitte, Gott möge die Macht der קמים gegen sein Gesetz und dessen Lehrer und Vertreter brechen, so, dass משנאיו, die Hasser seines Sittlichkeitsideals nicht wagen קמים zu werden. Die Lehrer und Pfleger des Gesetzes und seines Heiligtums haben nur ernst und unbeirrt zu lehren und ihres Dienstes zu warten und Gott ihren Schutz und Beistand zu überlassen. — מן in מן יקומון bedeutet die Entfernung, das Zurückhalten von etwas. So: לא אצתי מרועה אחריך, ich habe mich nicht zurückgedrängt von Erfüllung der Aufgabe, ein Volksführer in deinem Sinne zu sein (Jirmija 17. 16).

מן יקומון, “from anyone rising up against the Israelites.”

מן יקומון. So that their enemies cannot rise against them with any chance of success. Moses referred to internal enemies, such as Korach and King Uzziah, both of whom challenged the exclusive and hereditary status of the Priests.

מחץ מתנים קמיו ומשנאיו מן יקומון, “smash the loins of his foes and his enemies so that they may not arise again.” Ibn Ezra understands the words מן יקומון as “preventing them from arising again.”

Peßachim 72 b und Kiduschin 66 b wird an dem Satze ברך ד׳ חילו ופועל ידיו einer aus einem כהנים die Halacha gelehrt, dass, wenn unter den ministrierenden תרצה ihm bis dahin unbekannt gewesenen gesetzlichen Mangel in der Abstammung als חלל (siehe zu Wajikra 21, 7) zum Dienste untauglich befunden wäre, doch die von ihm bis dahin in gutem Glauben vollzogenen עבודות ihre Gültigkeit nicht verlieren. היה עומד ומקריב ונודע שהוא בן גרושה או בן חלוצה כל הקרבנות כולן שהקריב ע׳׳ג המזבח ר׳ יהושע מכשיר מ׳׳ט דר׳ יהושע דבתיב ברך ד׳ חילו ופועל ידיו תרצה אפילו חולין שבו תרצה. Es ist möglich, dass in diesem Sinne חילו in der gewöhnlichen Bedeutung von חיל, Heer, Schar, zu nehmen wäre: Segne Gott seine Schar und nimm wohlgefällig auf, genehmige das Vollbringen seiner Hände. Es würde damit der ganze כהנים-Stamm als eine geschlossene Einheit, und jeder ministrierende einzelne als deren Delegierter zu begreifen sein, also dass ein unbewusst in gutem Glauben sich zu ihr Zählender und als solcher nicht nur zur עבודה sich berechtigt, sondern verpflichtet Haltender durch den Gesamtcharakter der Korporation gedeckt wird, so dass die von ihm vollzogenen Handlungen in ihrer Gesetzlichkeit verbleiben, selbst wenn sich hinterdrein ein seinen Ausschluss bewirkender Abstammungsmangel ergeben hat (vergl. die Wirkung des ציץ. Schmot 28, 38).

לבנימן אמר OF BENJAMIN HE SAID — Because the blessing given to Levi referred to the Temple service and that of Benjamin to the Temple being built in his territory he mentioned one after the other. He placed Joseph immediately after him (after Benjamin), for he too had a Sanctuary in his territory: the Tabernacle at Shiloh was erected in his territory, as it says, (Psalms 78:67) “And he rejected the Tabernacle of Joseph” (v. 60 speaks of God forsaking the Tabernacle of Shiloh, the two verses being parallel). Because the “Eternal House” (the Temple) was more endeared to God than the Tabernacle of Shiloh, therefore he mentions Benjamin before Joseph (although Joseph was the elder),

THE BELOVED OF THE ETERNAL SHALL DWELL IN SAFETY BY HIM. He called Benjamin the beloved of the Eternal, saying: “Benjamin, who is the beloved of G-d, will dwell in his land in safety relying on G-d and G-d will shelter him always and cause His Divine Presence to rest in his land.” And He dwelleth between his shoulders — this alludes to what the Rabbis have derived from this expression.¹⁹³When making plans for the building of the Sanctuary — which was to be in Benjamin’s territory — David felt that it should be built on the highest elevation of the Land. Then he and Samuel the prophet decided to built it on a lower point, for the verse before us says, and He dwelleth between his shoulders, and the shoulders are lower than the head. (Zebachim 54 b).
By the way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the verse states: the Beloved, the Eternal,¹⁹⁴The word yedid (beloved) does not refer to Benjamin, describing him as “the beloved of G-d.” Instead it is a descriptive noun referring to G-d — “G-d, the beloved” — as in the verse, Let me sing of my Beloved (Isaiah 5:1 — Ha’kthav V’hakabalah). will dwell over Benjamin, and this is the assurance to the Benjaminites that they may trust in the Eternal forever, for the Eternal is G-d, an everlasting Rock.¹⁹⁵Isaiah 26:4. And He will shelter and protect Benjamin all the day, and they shall not be ashamed at the time of trouble,¹⁹⁶Psalms 37:19. and between the shoulders of Benjamin He will dwell forever. It is from this verse that Solomon was called Yedidiah [i.e., the beloved of the Eternal], for the Eternal’s sake,¹⁹⁷II Samuel 12:27. and he built His lovely dwelling-place,¹⁹⁸See Psalms 84:2. just as he was called Shlomoh, also meaning to say that his nature was perfect (shleimah) in peace (shalom), and therefore it is spelled with the letter hei [at the end, in order to indicate that he is shleimah — “perfect”]. And the Rabbis said in the Midrash of Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah:¹⁹⁹Sefer Habahir, 65. See Vol. I, p. 24, Note 42. “The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him [Solomon]: Since your name is like the name of My Glory I will give you My daughter, for it is written, And the Eternal gave Solomon wisdom etc.²⁰⁰I Kings 5:26. But it did not become manifest [to others]. And where did it become manifest? Further on, [where it is said], for they saw that the wisdom of the Eternal was in him, to do justice,²⁰¹Ibid., 3:28. etc.”
It is correct to interpret that with his three references in this verse to the Divine Presence, Moses alludes to the three Sanctuaries. Of the First Sanctuary he says, He shall dwell in safety by him, similar to what is stated, and the Glory of the Eternal filled the House.²⁰²II Chronicles 7:1. Of the Second Sanctuary he says, He covereth him all the day, since the Divine Presence did not dwell there,²⁰³Yoma 21b. See Vol. III, p. 473, Note 165. but only sheltered and protected it. Or it may be that it [the Divine Presence] literally “hovered” over it, as is mentioned in Pirkei Heichaloth.²⁰⁴Heichaloth Rabboth, 29. See above, Note 149. [The third reference,] and He dwelleth between his shoulders alludes to the days of the Messiah, for at that time they shall call Jerusalem The throne of the Eternal.²⁰⁵Jeremiah 3:17. It is interpreted in the Sifre in this manner.²⁰⁶Sifre, Brachah 352.

'ידיד ה, as our sages interpret this compliment (Shabbat 55) that Binyamin died only because of the venom of the original serpent, which brought death for human beings into this world. He, personally, had not committed any deed which would have warranted his death otherwise.

לבנימין אמר, Concerning Benjamin, he said, etc. The word לבנימין was said by Moses, whereas the word אמר is the Torah speaking. If it were not so how could we understand these two words? The following verse in which we have וליוסף אמר, or ולזבולון אמר must also be understood in this way.

ידיד ה', “Hashem’s beloved;” Benjamin, G’d’s beloved, will dwell securely on his land.

לבנימין אמר, “to Binyamin he said:” according to the plain meaning of the text the preposition ל here must be understood as בעבור, “for the sake of, on behalf of;” Moses means that seeing Binyamin is a favourite of the Lord, He will make His residence (Temple) in the territory of that tribe. The tribe will dwell in security, trusting the Lord, the Lord His G’d dwelling between his shoulders.

Because Levi’s blessing was concerned with the sacrificial services, etc. Rashi is answering the question that if he was the youngest, why is his blessing given precedence?

V. 12. לבנימין וגו׳. Juda, der Träger der Macht, Levi der Pfleger der Gesetzeslehre und des Heiligtums, ihnen schließt sich Benjamin an, in dessen Gebiet das Heiligtum oder vielmehr der geheiligtste Teil des Heiligtums seine Stätte fand (siehe Wajikra 1, 5). Das Bedeutungsvolle, dass Altar, Hechal und Debir nicht auf dem Gebiete des mächtigen Königsstammes, sondern auf dem Gebiete Benjamins, des jüngsten und schwächsten aller Stämme sich befanden, haben wir dort entwickelt. ספרי z. St. weist noch auf die Vorgeschichte des Vaters dieses Stammes hin. Benjamin war der Einzige unter Jaakows Söhnen, der im heiligen Lande geboren worden, der nicht von dem Makel der an Joseph geübten Unbrüderlichkeit betroffen, und der Stütze und Pfleger des Vaters in seinem Greisenalter war, dessen Andenken somit von jedem gegenteiligen trübenden Anhauch frei, den Tugenden entsprach, deren Pflege die Stätte des Heiligtums geweiht war.

לבנימין אמר, “to Binyamin he had said: Binyamin is m entioned by Moses im mediately after the tribe of Levi, seeing that the major part of the Temple building was situated on its ancestral land, and the Levites and priests therefore were moving on that soil when they performed their priestly duties.

Regarding Binyomin. Moshe’s blessing to each tribe begins with the letter ‘vav’, meaning, “And.” Binyamin is the only tribe that does not have “and” because he was the only tribe that did not sin. Therefore. Let him live secure. That he will not have to roll through underground tunnels at the time of the resurrection. And certainly worms will not eat his corpse.

חפף עליו means, He covers him and protects him,

ישכון לבטח עליו, Moses prays that this tribe should not join the rebellion against the dynasty of the house of David and become part of the Northern Kingdom.

עליו, “over him;” guarding the habitat of Hashem in the Tabernacle or Temple. Hashem’s Presence, in turn will hover over him (Benjamin) in turn all of his days and allow His glory on his territory,

And because the Eternal Sanctuary is more cherished than Shiloh, etc. Rashi is answering the question: The verse should at least have given precedence to Yoseif because he too had the tabernacle of Shiloh in his territory! Therefore he explains, Because, etc.

ישכון לבטח עליו, "may he dwell safely alongside Him." Seeing that the Temple was in the territory of Benjamin it is natural that that tribe should enjoy the greatest feeling of security. After all, who would dare attack the king? [G'd who dwells in the Sanctuary. Ed.]

חפף .חפף וגו׳, die Wurzel von חֻפָה und חף Hafen, bedeutet ein schützendes und abschließendes Umgeben. חפה ist Ps.19, 6 und Joel 2, 16 der spezifische Name für den symbolisch abgegrenzten Raum, in welchen Braut und Bräutigam zum Vollzug ihrer Eheverbindung zusammentreten. Auf die Verbindung zwischen Gott und Israel übertragen, eine Übertragung, die in den Schriften des Gotteswortes so gewöhnlich ist, wäre חֻפָה ein sehr sprechender Ausdruck für die Räume des Heiligtums, in welchem in täglich sich wiederholenden bedeutungsvollen Handlungen die immer zu erneuende Verbindung Israels mit Gott zum Ausdruck gelangt. Von dieser Anschauung aus dürfte hier der Ausdruck חופף עליו zu fassen sein. So Sebachim 118 b: בג׳ מקומות שרתה שכינה ׳על ישראל ,בשילה ונוב וגבעון ובית עולמים ובכולן לא שרתה אלא בחלקו של בנימין שנא .חופף עליו כל היום כל חפיפות לא יהו אלא בחלקו של בנימין

'ידיד ה, “the beloved one of the Lord;” he is called the beloved one because ישכון לבטח עליו, “seeing that the protective Presence of the Lord which resides in the Temple is constantly manifest on his ancestral land.” The term: עליו, in the sense of “by Him,” is also found in Numbers 2,20, ועליו מנשה, where it describes the location of the tribe of Menashe as next to Ephrayim, both parts of the tribe of Joseph.

כל היום ALL THE DAY — i.e., forever. From the day that Jerusalem was chosen as the seat of the Temple, the Divine Glory has never dwelt at any other place.

ובין כתיפיו ישכון, “and he will feel at home between his shoulders.” An allusion to what our sages explained that during a competition as to who would be the first one into the Sea of Reeds, Binyamin did not wait for the argument to be settled but jumped in (Sotah 36) [first version of that argument. Folio 37 there has a different version. Ed.] Another allusion contained in this simile is that our verse contains references to all three Temples and the respective significance of each one. The statement about “dwelling securely,” would apply to the period of the first Temple, whereas the statement about “hovering all day long,” would refer to the period of the second Temple, a period during which the Jewish state was a vassal state, and many of the symbols of our close connection with the Shechinah were absent, the Tablets and the Holy Ark being some of these symbols. The description of “residing between its shoulders,” is an allusion to the third Temple, the one that will be built after the arrival of the Messiah.

Eternally — once Jerusalem was chosen, etc. [Rashi says this] to exclude that you do not explain this as referring to the World to Come. Rashi is answering the question: Jerusalem is destroyed, so how can it be forever?! He answers, Once Jerusalem was chosen, etc. meaning that the sanctity was [indeed only] temporary, and [will return only to Jerusalem] in the future. Also, the Shechinah did not rest elsewhere afterwards. This is not the case regarding Gilgal, Nov and Shiloh.

ובין כתפיו שכן wie Sebachim 54 b erläutert wird, nicht auf der höchsten Bergspitze בעין עיטם, wo die Etamquelle liegt, sondern etwas tiefer am Abhange, dem Ausdruck בין בתפיו, zwischen den Schultern, dem Verhältnis der Schulternhöhe zu der Kopfhöhe entsprechend.

חופף עליו כל היום, “G-d’s manifestation covers him (Binyamin) all day long;” it saves him from potential attackers.

ובין כתפיו שכן AND BETWEEN HIS SHOULDERS SHALL HE DWELL — On the highest spot of his (Benjamin’s) land was the Temple built (cf. Sifrei Devarim 352:9), except that it was twenty-three cubits lower than En Etam (Yoma 31a), and originally indeed David's intention was to build it there, as it is stated in the Treatise "on the slaughter of the holy sacrifices" (Zevachim 54b): People said him (David), Let us place it a little lower, because it states, "and between his shoulders (which are lower than the head) shall he dwell" – and you have no finer part of an ox than his shoulders.

At the pinnacle of his territory, etc. This is the meaning of shoulders, which are the highest of all the limbs. You might ask that if so, he should have built it at the top of the mountain which is even higher? Therefore Rashi explains, Except that it was, etc. below, etc. I.e., the place where the Beis Hamikdosh stood was twenty-three amos below Eitam spring. Therefore it is written between his shoulders and not on his head. You might ask how Rashi knows this. Therefore Rashi explains, It was there that David had intended to construct it. And why did he not do so? [But] they remarked, etc. This indicates that the Holy One did not want it built at the highest point of His land. Rashi [then] writes, why did He not want to build it at the highest point of His land but only between his shoulders? Because Nothing is pleasing, etc. (I found this in the name of Maharitz)

ובין כתפיו שכן, ”and He dwells between his shoulders.” The word כתף, “shoulder,” is used by Moses as a metaphor, similar to Numbers 34,11, where it describes the slopes leading to the sea of Galilee as “shoulder.” The reason why this tribe received such a complimentary title is that its founding father was the only son of Yaakov who had not been involved in the sale of their brother Joseph. This is why G-d’s Presence could feel so at home on its territory that the Temple was located on it.

מברכת ה' ארצו BLESSED OF THE LORD BE HIS LAND — It is a fact that there was in the inheritance of all the tribes no land so full of every good thing as Joseph's land (Sifrei Devarim 353:1).

MIMEGED’ OF HEAVEN. “Meged is an expression for dainty food and sweets. 14. ‘UMIMEGED’ OF THE FRUITS OF THE SUN — for Joseph’s land was exposed to the sun and it sweetened the fruit. ‘GERESH YERACHIM’ (THE YIELD OF THE MOONS). There are fruits which the moon ripens; they are cucumbers and melons. ‘Geresh yerachim’ — fruits which the earth ‘puts forth’ and produces ‘from month to month.’” This is Rashi’s language. And if so, with ‘pri m’gadim’²⁰⁷Song of Songs 4:13. will mean “with sweet fruits.” Thus Moses blessed Joseph that his land would benefit from the sweetness of heaven which will be from the dew, and that it would be blessed from the deep that couches under his land, becoming fountains and depths, springing forth in valleys and hills.²⁰⁸Above, 8:7.
It is possible that the fruits [themselves] are called m’gadim,²⁰⁹According to the first interpretation meged shamayim means “the sweetness of the heaven.” According to this second explanation, meged shamayim means “the fruits of the heaven.” Both express that the reference is to the dew of heaven. and he thus says that “Joseph’s land is blessed of the fruits of heaven, namely the dew” — since sweet fruits result from dew, therefore the fruit is called meged — “and his land shall also be blessed from the deep beneath.” Moses’ blessing is similar to that of Jacob who said, with blessing of heaven above, blessings of the deep that coucheth beneath.²¹⁰Genesis 49:25. And the meaning of geresh yerachim is the fruits which are given forth month by month, for all trees blossom and bud in their [respective] seasons that they might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit.²¹¹Ezekiel 17:8. This is the sense of the verse, it shall bring forth new fruit every month,²¹²Ibid., 47:12. meaning that in the particular months a certain fruit will become timely before [the fruits of] all other trees.

מבורכת ה' ארצו, Moses explains that the lands given to the tribe of Joseph are naturally fertile, blessed by G’d.

מברכת ה׳ ארצו, "blessed of the Lord be his land, etc." Perhaps there is an allusion here to the time when the tribe of Joseph would complain to Joshua that it did not have enough land to support its population (Joshua 17,14). Moses blessed their land especially, i.e. that it be enlarged according to circumstances. Another reason the tribe of Joseph merited this special blessing was the fact that Joseph their founder had provided sustenance for all the brothers in Egypt. He who provides sustenance is considered as if he were the father as we know from Psalms 77,16 where the Psalmist speaks of "the sons of Jacob and Joseph" as if Jacob had had no other sons. Sanhedrin 19 explains that this unusual phrase is due to Joseph having been the provider.

מבורכת ה' ארצו ממגד שמים מטל, “his (Joseph’s) land is especially blessed by the Lord, with the heavenly bounty of dew.” Moses refers to rain as מגד שמים (Ibn Ezra) reflecting a statement by the sages in Bereshit Rabbah 4,3 that the waters in the celestial regions were suspended (kept in place) only by a word of G’d. What are the “fruit” of these waters? The rain waters. This is also in line with what David said in Psalms 104,1: “You irrigate the mountains from Your lofts, from the ‘fruit’ of Your work the earth is sated.” The “heavens” are considered G’d’s “works.” We have another verse making a similar point in Psalms 8,4: “When I behold Your heavens, the “work” of Your fingers.” The psalmist calls the rain “the fruit of His works.” Similarly, here; Moses refers to this as מגד. By adding the word ומטל, Moses blesses Joseph with both dew and rainfall.

For none of the tribal territories, etc. Rashi is answering the question: Are the territories of the other tribes not blessed? Therefore he explains, For none, etc. I.e., the other territories were also blessed, but the territory of Yoseif was [blessed] more than all of them.

VV. 13 — 16. וליוסף וגו׳. Macht, Gesetzes- und Heiligtumsdienst, Heiligtumsstätte waren die besonderen Eigentümlichkeiten, welche die Stämme Juda, Levi, Benjamin auszeichneten. Die reichste Fülle des Bodensegens folgt als Auszeichnung des Stammes Josef. מגד, Wurzel von מגד dürfte vielleicht גדה sein, wie מרה von וממר ליולדתו ,מֶמֶר (Prov. 17, 25). גדה verwandt mit גדע ist aber die Wurzel von גדי, der vom Mutterkörper gelösten Frucht, das Tierjunge (siehe Schmot 23, 19). מגד dürfte daher überhaupt ein jedes Fruchterzeugnis bedeuten. מגד שמים ist der Tau. תבואות שמש sind die Ernten, welche die Sonne bringt, die Früchte, welche durch die Sonne gezeitigt werden, die vom Kreislauf der Sonne bedingt sind, somit die Früchte des Pflanzenreichs; מגד גרש ירחים dagegen sind wohl die Früchte, die an eine Zahl von Monaten gebunden sind, welche durch eine Zahl aufeinander folgender Monde gefördert werden; es sind dies die Leibesfrüchte der Tierwelt. ירחים (siehe Schmot 2, 2).

וליוסף אמר מבורכת ה' ארצו, “and of Joseph he said: “blessed by the Lord be his land;” When Adam, the first human being, had sinned by allowing himself to be seduced by his wife, the land on which he lived afterwards was cursed as a result, and his livelihood became one that required hard toil. Joseph, who had withstood the deduction by the wife of Potiphar, was rewarded (his tribe) in that the land his descendants dwelled on was especially blessed.

ממגד — this means dainties and sweet food.

ממגד שמים מטל, He now prays that in addition to this “natural” fertility, G’d should also endow Joseph’s portion with the attributes provided only by Divine assistance, such as regular dew from the skies so that it will not have to depend on rain, and on the underground springs, all of which will help to produce bountiful crops.

ומתהום רובצת תחת, “and from the deep waters crouching below.” This is a reference to the waters on terrestrial earth, i.e. Moses blessed Joseph in that both the waters from above and from below should be beneficial for his land. You may perceive the relationship between the upper waters and the lower waters as analogous to the relationship between light and darkness; hence the choice of the word תהום, by Moses, a word which meant “darkness” already in the second verse of the Torah. The reason the word טל was left to the end, was to place it next to the word תהום, seeing dew descends at night when it is dark.

As the waters of the deep rise. Meaning, they rise from below.

גרש. Die Scheidung der Leibesfrucht von dem Muttertier, mit welchem das Junge bis zur Reife so innig verbunden war, und die sich, sobald das Junge der Mutter nicht mehr bedarf, völlig fremd werden (vergl. שגר).

ומתהום [BLESSED OF THE LORD BE HIS LAND] BY THE DEEP — for the deep ascended and moistened it from below (תחת). — You will find that in the case of each tribe Moses' blessing corresponded in some way with Jacob's blessing (cf. for instance this verse with Joseph's blessing in Genesis 49:25).

You find that, with all the tribes, etc. Rashi wants to prove how he knows that his explanation of and the depth that lie below is correct? Perhaps it is speaking of something else that lies [in] the depth [and not the waters of the depth]? Therefore he explains, You find, etc. And there with Yaakov it is written (Bereishis 49:25), The blessings of heaven from above, blessings of the depths that lie below. And there its meaning is certainly that the depth itself rises up from below, similar to the dew that comes from above, and if so, here too it is so.

ארץ ומלאה ,גבעות עולם ,הררי קדם. Der Seherblick umfasst zuerst Josefs Land in einen Segenskreis. Die Himmel aus der Höhe und die Tiefe im Erdengrunde spenden die allererste Vorbedingung aller Fruchtentwicklung: die Feuchtigkeit. Innerhalb dieses vom Segen umschlossenen Kreises senkt sich der Blick aus der Höhe in die Niedere: Sonne, Mond, Berge, Hügel, Land, geben alle, was sie an Segen zu spenden haben. Berge ihre Waldungsgipfel, Hügel, die an ihren Abhängen reifenden Früchte, die Landesebenen ihre Ackerfülle. Alle diese materielle Fülle bedingt aber noch nicht den Segen, Segen wird dies alles nur dadurch, dass die Bewohner sich des Wohlgefallens dessen würdig zeigen, der Mosche gegenüber im Dornbusch Stätte nahm, dessen Gegenwart dieser ganzen Fülle nicht bedarf, der selbst im Dornbusch sich zeigt, wenn der rechte Mensch dort vorhanden ist, — diese reiche Fülle wird daher den Söhnen Josefs zuteil in der Voraussetzung, dass sie ihres Ahnes eingedenk und würdig bleiben, der mitten in Glanz und Reichtum bescheiden und menschlich sich erwies und selbst als Jüngling sich nicht vom Reiz der Sinnlichkeit bestricken ließ, der נזיר אחיו war (siehe Bereschit 49, 26). תבואתה mit verdoppeltem Optativzeichen, eigentlich zwei ה, wovon das eine wie gewöhnlich in ת verwandelt ist. So viel als: o, dass es kommen möge, eigentlich ja: heimkommen möge, dass in diesem von Gottes Wohlgefallen getragenen Segen seiner Nachkommen Josef der Lohn seiner sittlichen Größe reifen möge! Da dieser Wunsch von einer bleibenden sittlichen Vollkommenheit abhängig gemacht ist, deren Verwirklichung im Schoße der willensfreien Entwicklung der Söhne Josefs ruhte, so begreift sich das Bedingte dieses doppelten Optativs in Mosche Mund. Die spätere Geschichte des Stammes Efrajim zeigt zur Genüge, wie viel von diesem Wunsche — Wunsch geblieben. Das materiell gesegnete Efrajim riss 10/12 des Volkes mit in den Abfall hinein.

וממגד תבואת שמש AND BY THE PRECIOUS FRUITS BROUGHT FORTH BY THE SUN — for this land lay exposed to the sun and it therefore produced sweet fruit (Sifrei Devarim 353:3).

וממגד תבואת שמש, “and from the bounty of the sun’s crop.” It is well known that the sun is closely associated with the element fire. The closer we get to the sun or vice versa, the hotter it gets. The feeling of being cold is generally associated with the distance from the sun. The heat of the sun causes crops and fruit to ripen. The moon, by contrast, is associated with the element water. Proof is the fact that it exerts influence on the oceans (beaches) determining the tides. Absence of the moon in the sky, or gradual disappearance of it, results in the waters of the sea and some rivers receding. The power of both sun and moon to affect the ripening of crops on earth is called by Moses מגד. The verse tells us that the territory of Joseph will experience the beneficial effects on its harvests of both sun and moon. The moon is perceived as מגרשת הפירות, brings the fruit of the tree to separating. [I prefer Hirsch, who sees in the word ירחים an allusion to the number of months animals are pregnant, i.e. the fruit of the womb is produced after a certain number of “moons,” Ed.]

Another interpretation. “The monthly yield.” Rashi is answering the question: It should have said גרש ירח (moon’s ripening) in the singular form. Why does it say ירחים (moons’)? He [therefore] explains, Which the earth sheds, etc. i.e., each month produces once again and therefore it is written moons’ in the plural form.

וממגד גרש ירחים, “and from the precious things due to the moons.” The fruit of the trees emanate from the earth, and the trees start growing at the beginning of the month. On each new moon a different category of fruit tree commences the cycle of growing and subsequently ripening. Our author quotes four examples of this as an illustration.

גרש ירחים [AND BY] THE PRECIOUS THINGS PUT THINGS FORTH BY THE MOON — there are some fruits which the moon brings to maturity, these are cucumbers and melons (Sifrei Devarim 353:3). — Another explanation of גרש ירחים: this refers to fruits which the earth puts out and produces from month to month (cf. Onkelos).

ומראש הררי קדם AND BY THE FIRST THINGS OF THE HILLS OF קדם (taken in the sense of: the hills priority) — the meaning is: and it is blessed through the earliest ripening of the fruits, because its hills are earliest (קדם, "prior") to bring their fruits to maturity. – Another explanation: this tells us that their creation (the creation of the hills in the territory of Joseph) was prior (קדם) to that of all other hills (Sifrei Devarim 353:4).

ומראש הררי קדם, “and from the tops of ancient mountains.” Seeing that fruit growing in the mountains are perceived as superior to those growing in the valley, Moses blesses the fruit of the mountainous regions in the territory of Joseph. [According to the Talmud, the best fruit came from Ginosaur on the shores of Lake Kineret, certainly not a mountainous region but 200 meters below sea-level. Ed.]

Blessed, also, with the first-ripening fruits, etc. Rashi adds the word blessed to indicate that the phrase with the first, etc. is connected with blessed at the beginning of the verses. You might ask what prompted Rashi here to explain that the phrase with the first is connected with blessed at the beginning of the verses, more than the verse With the delight of the sun’s harvest, etc. which is also connected to the beginning of the verses? The answer is that if Rashi did not explain this I might have thought that this verse, With the first of the early mountains, etc. is a separate matter, and means that he should be blessed with the blessing of the Patriarchs who are called mountains and with the blessing of the Matriarchs who are called hills. Therefore he explains that with the first of the early mountains refers to the beginning of the verses that deals with the blessing of his Land. His proof that it refers to the beginning of the verses is because it is written afterwards, And from the sweetness of earth and its fullness, etc. that deals with the blessing of his Land; [this indicates that] all the verses are connected to the beginning of the verses.

ומראש הררי קדם; “and from the top of the ancient mountains.” This is an expression of praise, as for instance in Jeremiah 2,3: ראשית תבואתה, “the first fruit of its harvest, orAmos 6,6: וראשית שמנים, “with the choicest oils.” Moses refers to the choicest mountains that were created during the first six days of creation.

גבעות עולם [AND THROUGH THE PRECIOUS THINGS OF] THE EVERLASTING HILLS — i.e., of hills which everlastingly (עולם) produce fruit, and do not cease to do so through restraint of rain.

Another interpretation: This teaches that their creation preceded that of the other mountains. The importance and praise of this is that the Holy One’s supervision over His Land is more than that over the other lands. Since it had precedence at Creation, the Holy One’s supervision also has precedence there. Rashi gives another interpretation because according to the first interpretation you might ask why the verse writes early, being that everything is already included in the word first. Therefore he gives another interpretation. And according to the other interpretation on its own you might ask why this is a blessing. Even though it indicates the land’s importance and praise, as we explained, it is nevertheless not a blessing. Therefore he needs the first interpretation.

הררי קדם, the mountains of Ephrayim; the land allocated to the tribe of Joseph’s descendant Ephrayim, son of Joseph was especially mountainous. Compare Samuel I 1,1, צופים מהר אפרים, “from the district of Tzofim in the mountains of Ephrayim.

Hills which are always productive, etc. Meaning, they never fail from producing fruit, even with a lack of rain. It is as if the verse said, With the sweetness of the hills that is constant without pause,” otherwise, what is the relevance of hills to this verse?

ורצון שוכני סנה, “and the goodwill of Him that dwells in the bush. May it enjoy the good will of Him (G-d) that dwells in the (burning) bush.”

נזיר אחיו, (according to Rashi) ‘the one who had been separated from his brothers.” According to other commentators this ought to be translated as: “the prince among his brothers.” Use of the expression נזיר as meaning “prince” is found in Lamentations 4,7: זכו נזירה משלג, “her princes were purer than snow.” Joseph had clearly been at least a prince among his brothers.

ורצון שכני סנה — the last two words are the equivalent of שוכן סנה (the י being the suffix that that sometimes appears in participles, for the most part in poetry). The-meaning is: And may his land further be blessed through the favour (רצון) and satisfaction of the Holy One, blessed be He, who first revealed himself to me in the thorn-bush (סנה‎).

AND FOR THE PRECIOUS THINGS OF THE EARTH ‘U’MLO’OH’ (AND THE FULNESS THEREOF). This means: “for the precious things of the land of the plains and of which it is full,”²¹³Ibn Ezra thus explains the word u’mlo’oh (and the fulness thereof) as meaning u’mimlo’oh (and “of” the fulness thereof, or “and of which it is full”). for he mentioned the mountains and the hills previously²¹⁴Verse 15. and now he speaks of the valley²¹⁵I have found no reference in the verses concerning the valley. In the commentary of Ibn Ezra, whose opinion Ramban is now quoting, “the valley” is not mentioned either. and the plains, according to the words of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra. In my opinion, the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof is identical with the blessings of the breasts, and of the womb,²¹⁰Genesis 49:25. for all humans and all creeping things that are alive are called “the fulness of the earth.” Similarly, let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof;²¹⁶Psalms 96:11. Surely I will fill thee with men, as with the locust.²¹⁷Jeremiah 51:14. This blessing is thus like Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, and the fruit of thy cattle.²¹⁸Above, 28:4.

ורצון שכני סנה, may it enjoy the goodwill of the Lord Who first manifested Himself to me at the burning bush. It was on that occasion that G’d had first indicated that He was going to redeem the Israelites forthwith, in response to the groaning of the Jewish people as reported immediately before the Torah reports Moses’ encounter with G’d. (Exodus 2,23-24) In Psalms 91,15, Moses, the author of that psalm, refers to G’d responding to the outcry of the oppressed. תבאתה לראש יוסף, apart from the blessings the tribe of Joseph shares with all the other tribes, Moses prays that G’d will relate to this tribe without employing His usual intermediaries (such as angels).

ורצון שכני סנה, "and the goodwill of the One who allotted me a place at the burning bush." Moses refers to the time when he found favour in G'd's eyes who appointed him to release the Jewish people from their painful bondage. This is the reference to his having stood in front of the burning bush.

וממגד ארץ ומלואה, “from the bounty of the land and its fullness;” this refers to the produce grown in the coastal plains, seeing that the produce growing on mountains and on hills has already been mentioned. Nachmanides explains the words as referring to blessings of the breast and womb respectively, corresponding to Yaakov’s blessing in Genesis He claims that every living creature is called מלואה inasmuch as they help fill the earth. He quotes as proof Chronicles I 16,32 ירעם הים ומלואו, “let the sea and all that is in it thunder.”

This blessing on Yoseif’s head. Rashi adds the word blessing because without it, the verse does not indicate what will be visited upon Yoseif’s head. Therefore Rashi adds this blessing.

רצון means satisfaction and appeasement, and similar is the meaning wherever רצון occurs in scripture.

ולקדקוד נזיר אחיו, seeing that he was the most self-controlled of all his brothers, [my definition of Nazir, Ed.] (alternative translation, the crowned head in Egypt) and he conducted himself with unparalleled piety toward his brothers, Moses feels that Joseph’s descendants deserve the distinction he prays for.

ורצון שוכני סנה, “and by the favour of Him Who rested on the thorn bush.” This was when the Shechinah had his first encounter with Moses. This was also where he had spent many days (either receiving the Torah, or pleading for forgiveness for his people.) The thorn bush was at the bottom of Mount Sinai, or Mount Chorev as it is known also. Eventually, after the building of the Tabernacle, the Shechinah came to rest above the Holy Ark in that Tabernacle, i.e. over the encampment of the whole Jewish people.

תבאתה לראש יוסף ולקדקוד, "may these rest on the head of Joseph, etc." Moses speaks in respect of two outstanding virtues of Joseph. 1) Although he had been exiled to Egypt and had experienced many temptations and injustices he remained loyal to his father's upbringing. (Compare what Midrash Rabbah 1,7 writes on Exodus 1,5, i.e. "although Joseph was in Egypt.") Moses alluded to this when speaking of ראש יוסף. 2) The second virtue of Joseph deserving special mention is the fact that he repaid the evil his brothers had done to him by doing good for them. Tanchuma explains this on Genesis 37,17 נסעו מזה. In spite of the brothers having severed their connection with Joseph at that time, he provided for them as we know from Genesis 47,12.

URTZON’ (AND THE WILL OF) HIM THAT DWELT IN THE BUSH. This is connected with above [i.e., with the word umimeged at the beginning of this verse, where the prefix mem means “from.” Here, too, the word urtzon is equivalent to] u’mirtzon — “and from the Will of Him that dwelt in the bush.” Now the Glorious Name²¹⁹Ibid., Verse 58. is called “Him that dwelt in the bush” because it was there that He first appeared to Moses,²²⁰Exodus 3:2. and He dwelt many days on Mount Sinai which is a place of bushes²²¹See Ramban ibid., Verse 5 (Vol. II, p. 27). and from Sinai He came and dwelt in Israel. And the sense of the verse is that Joseph’s land be blessed from the Will of G-d, similar in meaning to these expressions: ‘ratzitha’ (Thou hast been favorable) unto Thy land;²²²Psalms 85:2. ‘v’ertzeh’ (and I will take pleasure) in it, and I will be glorified.²²³Haggai 1:8.

תבואתה LET IT COME — i.e. let this blessing come לראש יוסף ON JOSEPH'S HEAD.

תבואתה, “may it be present, etc.;” a reference to this blessing.

תבואתה לראש יוסף, “may it come to rest (the blessing) on the head of Joseph.” The word תבואתה is a strange word; it is composed of the two words באתה and תבא. Moses is trying to hint here that just as Joseph went into exile into Egypt long before the remainder of his brothers, so when the redemption will come he, (his tribe) will also enjoy that experience before the other tribes will. These are the 45 years discrepancy mentioned between the 1290 years and the 1335 years which Daniel speaks of in Daniel 12,11-12. There is a time lapse between the ingathering of the exiles referred to as נדחים, “outcasts,” and those referred to as נפוצים, “scattered.” (compare Deut. 30,2-3).

TAVOTHAH’ (SHE SHALL COME) UPON THE HEAD OF JOSEPH. The meaning of tavothah [in the feminine form] is that this brachah [“blessing” — a feminine noun] shall come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the head of him that is prince among the brethren. Or the meaning thereof may be: “Let the Will of Him that dwelt in the bush come upon the head of Joseph” [the feminine tavothah referring to the masculine ratzon]. Now, do not wonder that [the masculine ratzon] “will” is described with the feminine [tavothah — she shall come], for it [“will”], in the Aramaic language is indeed so [feminine, as it is said] ‘ure’uth’ (and the pleasure of) the king.²²⁴Ezra 5:17. Re’uth or re’utha, the Aramaic term for the Hebrew cheifetz (will), is feminine. See Jastrow, re’utha. And in the language of the Sages²²⁵I have not found this quote in Talmudic literature, but it appears in the writings of the early Rabbinic period. See “Sefer Hachinuch” (my edition, p. 508, line 5): “kol ‘cheftzath’ nafsho — all ‘the desire of his soul.” we find the expression “cheftzath (the desire) of his soul” [again a feminine usage].
And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the verse states that the Will²²⁶Thus the word urtzon which thus far has been understood as being in the construct form (“and the Will of”) is now interpreted as an independent noun: “and the Will,” and is in apposition with the phrase Him that dwelt in the bush. Ramban will later comment that it is common in the Scriptures to use the construct form of a noun where the independent form is meant. — that is, the Divine manifestation that dwelt in the bush — shall come upon the head of Joseph, for with Her he will raise up the head. It mentions the Will in the construct form [saying urtzon — “and the Will of”] in place of the independent form of the noun [i.e., v’ratzon — “and the Will”]. There are many such cases [in Scripture]. Or it may be that the word urtzon is in construct with the aforementioned Glorious Name [Blessed of ‘the Eternal’ is his land].²²⁷Verse 13. — Abusaula. Thus this verse means: “and the Will of the Eternal that dwelt in the bush shall come upon the head of Joseph.” This is like the blessing of Jacob who said From the G-d of thy father, Who shall help thee, and the Almighty, Who shall bless thee.²¹⁰Genesis 49:25.

נזיר אחיו means THE ONE WHO WAS SEPARATED FROM HIS BRETHREN through his being sold.

לראש יוסף, “upon Joseph’s head.” Moses expresses the wish that Hashem bestow this blessing on the tribe of Joseph. Alternately, the meaning is that “the goodwill of the One Whose residence is above the thorn bush should bestow His blessing on the tribe of Joseph.” The reason that Moses would be referring to G’d in the feminine mode (apparently, by saying תבוא instead of יבוא, is that this is the standard mode employed in Aramaic when referring to attributes of Hashem. [Compare Targum on Kohelet 5,7 where G’d is described in the feminine mode as רעותא ד'.] Some commentators say that when viewed from the perspective of the plain meaning of the text, the פשט, Moses means to say that although there is no need to express a special blessing for the parts of the land of Israel which is naturally bountiful, Moses wanted to bestow a similar blessing on the parts which normally do not yield nature’s bounty. The thorn bush represents such normally barren areas in any country.

בכור שורו THE FIRSTBORN OF HIS OX — There is a usage of the word בכור that denotes greatness and sovereignty, as it is said, (Psalms 89:28) “I will also make him a בכור” (i.e., a man of rank), and similarly (Exodus 4:22) “My son, my firstborn (בכורי) is Israel”. The text means: the king who will issue from him, and that is Joshua, whose strength will be mighty as that of an ox to subdue many kings,

B’CHOR’ (THE FIRSTLING) OF HIS BULLOCK, MAJESTY IS HIS. “B’chor (firstborn) is sometimes used to denote greatness and sovereignty, as it is said, I also will appoint him [David] first born.²²⁸Psalms 89:25. Similarly, Israel is My son, My first born.²²⁹Exodus 4:25. [Hence, this verse means:] The strength of the king who will come forth from him [Joseph] — namely, Joshua — will be as great as that of an ox to subdue many kings. And his horns are the horns of the wild-ox. The ox has great strength but its horns are not beautiful; the wild-ox, on the other hand, has beautiful horns but its strength is not great. Moses then ascribed to Joshua the strength of an ox and the beauty of the horns of the wild-ox. And they are the ten thousands of Ephraim — those who are gored are the myriads whom Joshua, a descendant of Ephraim, slew. And they are the thousands of Menasheh — the thousands whom Gideon [a descendant of Menasheh] slew of Midian, as it is said, Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor.²³⁰Judges 8:10. Many thousands are enumerated there.”²³¹The verse there reads: Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the host of the children of the east; for there fell a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword. All these — a total of 135,000 — were defeated by Gideon. Thus far the language of Rashi. But this interpretation leaves the verse in disorder. Since the expression his horns are the horns of the wild-ox is a description of the firstling of the bullock, namely Joshua, how could it be said that he [a descendant of Ephraim] gore with them [the horns] the thousands of Menasheh, the victims of Gideon [a descendant of Menasheh]? And the language of the Sifre is as follows:²³²Sifre, Brachah 353. “Since Scripture has not made clear to us how many Canaanites were slain by Joshua, it states Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor²³⁰Judges 8:10. — all one hundred and thirty-five thousand.²³¹The verse there reads: Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the host of the children of the east; for there fell a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword. All these — a total of 135,000 — were defeated by Gideon. Therefore it is stated, and they are the thousands of Menasheh. ” The intent of the Rabbis is to interpret that the phrase with them he shall gore the peoples all of them, even the ends of the earth is also an allusion to Joshua. The verse says that these ends of the earth which he [the tribe of Joseph] will gore, are the ten thousands that Ephraim — meaning Joshua — slew, and they are the [same] thousands slain afterwards by Menasheh. For Joshua slew them all [the nations], and of their descendants who arose after them Menasheh slew thousands from among them. Similarly it is taught there [in the Sifre]:²³²Sifre, Brachah 353. “With them he shall gore the peoples all of them. But what [nations] did Joshua capture? Did he not subdue only thirty-one kings? The verse teaches [us] that Joshua subdued kings and rulers that were from one end of the world to the other.²³³The statement of the Sifre can be understood on the basis of the saying of the Rabbis in Bereshith Rabbah 85:16: “Any king or ruler who had no [seat of] sovereignty in the Land of Israel would consider himself worthless” (see Vol. IV, p. 396, Note 87). Hence the expression that Joshua subdued “kings and rulers from one end of the world to the other.” All of them, even the ends of the earth. But which lands did Joshua capture? Did he not conquer only this small portion [of the earth]? Only [this is to teach us] that all the kings that he subdued were sovereigns and rulers” [rather than insignificant, powerless figures].
In line with the plain meaning of Scripture [the verse states]: Because Moses blessed Joseph with the increase of the field, he compared him [here] to an ox, for much increase is by the strength of the ox.²³⁴Proverbs 14:4. He further stated that Joseph will be the firstborn that will beget the beauty of majesty — this being an allusion to Joshua, the first of all the house of Joseph²³⁵II Samuel 19:21. — and that greatness and majesty will be his. His horns are the horns of the wild-ox — of the aforementioned ox — and with his horns, he shall gore the peoples all of them, even the ends of the earth. And he further states that his horns — which are two — are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Menasheh, the right horn [the stronger one] representing Ephraim and the left [the weaker one] representing Menasheh. Thus he mentioned in his blessing that they will become numerous, tribes consisting of myriads and thousands, similar to the expression, the myriads of thousands of Israel.²³⁶Numbers 10:36.

בכור שורו, although Yehudah is the leader of the tribes, just as the lion is the leader of the free roaming beasts, the ox ranks first among the domesticated pure animals, as we know from a comment by our sages in Chagigah 13 that the lion is the king among the predators whereas the ox is the king among the domesticated animals. This makes Joseph rank second among twelve tribes. Compare Hoseah 13,1 כדבר אפרים רתת נשא הוא בישראל, “when Ephrayim spoke piety in Israel he was exalted.” The prophet spoke of the earlier generations such as when Joshua was the leader, when Ephrayim was highly esteemed. in the eyes of G‘d as well as by the people.

בכר שורו הדר לו, "Like a firstling bull in his majesty, etc." Here Moses blessed two outstanding individuals who were descended from Joseph. Concerning his first born son Menashe, Moses said the words בכר שורו are a reference to Gideon. The reason he chose the simile of the bull is because of what the angel said to Gideon (Judges 6,28) "take the bull which belongs to your father, and take the second bull which is seven years old and destroy the altar of the Baal belonging to your father, etc. and offer ….it as a burnt offering." The הדר, "spiritual beauty," Moses speaks about is that Gideon needed only 300 men to defeat the Midianites, as all these men were of spiritually outstanding quality. Such success reflects favourably on the leader, hence הדר לו, it is a compliment for him.

בכור שורו הדר לו, “Like a firstling bull is his majesty;” Nachmanides, referring to the plain meaning of the verse, writes that seeing Moses had blessed the tribe of Joseph in terms of abundant crops, he had likened that tribe to an ox, the animal without whose work most crops would never see the light of day. He wishes that the firstborn of this tribe be majestic, an allusion to the position which Joshua, an illustrious member of the tribe of Joseph, would occupy among the people shortly, after Moses would die. He would henceforth be remembered as the most illustrious of Joseph’s descendants.

בכור sometimes denotes grandeur and regency, etc. So here too בכור means grandeur; and it means The king descended from him.

V. 17. בכור שורו, Josefs in dem Vorangehenden gezeichnete eigentliche Bestimmung ist eine friedliche Größe, deren Gesamtbild: Ackerbau ist, für welchen sich שור, nicht Löwe, wie für Juda Bereschit 49, 9 als bildlicher Ausdruck eignet. בכור שורו jedoch, der Erstgeborene dieses friedlicher Bestimmung angehörenden Stammes, d. h. der Erste, der von diesem Stamme in Israels fernerer geschichtlichen Zukunft hervortritt, erhält eine mit Hoheit umkleidete kriegerische Mission, ihm werden Völker bewältigende Reemshörner, zu solchen gestalten sich unter seiner Führung zunächst die Zehntausende und Tausende der Josefsstämme. Es ist dies offenbar Josua, welcher dem Stamme Efraim angehörte (Bamidbar 13, 7) und die Aufgabe der mit Vertreibung der Völker verbundenen Besitznahme des Landes erhalten hatte. אפסי ארץ bezeichnet wohl die Ferne, in die er die Völker treiben werde.

בכור שורו, “His firstling bullock;” Joshua was the first king chosen by G-d from the descendants of Joseph. This is why he is referred to by Moses here as בכור, “firstborn.” The reason why Moses compares a king to an ox is because the ox or bullock is the king amongst the domesticated four legged mammals. (Talmud tractate Chagigah folio 13.)

הדר לו HONOUR TO HIM — i.e., honour is given unto him, as it is said, (Numbers 27:20) “And thou shalt give of thy honour (הודך, a synonym of הדר) unto him” (Joshua).

הדר לו, even though he does not enjoy the official position of being Royalty, he is fit and deserving of such honours.

וקרני ראם קרניו, “his glory will be like the horns of the Re’em.” Moses refers to the horns in the plural, parallel to the term רבבות אפרים, the tens of thousands of Ephrayim, on the one hand, and the אלפי מנשה, “the thousands from Menashe” on the other. Ephrayim’s blessing recalls that Yaakov, at the time, had insisted on placing his right hand on Ephrayim, and his left hand, i.e. אלפי, on Menashe. Israel has been described elsewhere as consisting of רבבות אלפי, “tens of thousands of thousands,” (Numbers 10,36)

Who was as supremely powerful as the ox, etc. Rashi is explaining why the comparison to an ox.

וקרני ראם קרניו, "he has thorns like the horns of the wild-ox." This is a reference to Joshua, a descendant of Joseph's younger son Ephrayim. His reputation was world-wide, "his horn" comparable to the horn of the wild-ox.

והם רבבות אפרים, “and they (the horns) are tens of thousands of the warriors of Ephrayim.” Seeing that Joshua was from the tribe of Ephrayim, the soldiers of that tribe would be the first to rally around him when war broke out.

וקרני ראם קרניו AND HIS HORNS ARE THE HORNS OF A RE’EM — The ox — its strength is mighty but its horns are not beautiful, a Re’em, however — its horns are beautiful but its strength is not mighty: therefore it ascribes to Joshua the strength of an ox and the beauty of a Re’em’s horns (Sifrei Devarim 353:10).

בהם עמים ינגח יחדו, he, together with the tribe of Yehudah, proving Royalty will prevail over many nations by locking horns with them. Compare Isaiah 11,13-14 “then Ephrayim’s envy shall cease and Yehudah’s harassment shall end; Ephrayim shall not envy Yehudah, and Yehudah shall not harass Ephrayim. They shall pounce on the back of the Philistines to the west and together they shall topple peoples of the east.”

The ox is supremely powerful, but his horns are unattractive, etc. Rashi is answering the question: Why the verse does not also compare Yoseif to an ox regarding his horns? Why does it compare him regarding his horns to a re’em? This explains why the Rabbis explain, as cited by Rashi in parshas Balak (Bamidbar 23:22), that re’em [there] means loftiness or demons and not an actual re’em, because there it is describing the power and might of the Holy One, and the re’em is extremely weak.

בהם עמים ינגח, "with them he gores nations." When the kings of the Emorites heard that G'd was with Joshua they no longer had any fighting spirit and could not offer Joshua resistance.

והם אלפי מנשה, the Israelites had a great leader from the tribe of Menashe also, by the name of Gideon, who was known for fighting with far fewer soldiers, i.e.,אלפי מנשה, the thousands of Menashe. Yaakov when on his deathbed, had insisted on placing his right hand on Ephrayim, the younger of the two brothers. This is reflected in Moses’ blessing here.

אפסי ארץ [NATIONS] OF THE ENDS OF THE EARTH — The thirty-one kings whom Joshua conquered — is it possible that they were all of the land of Israel? But there was no king or ruler who did not acquire for himself a palace and territory in the land of Israel because it was so estimable to all of them (Sifrei Devarim 353:12), as it is said of Palestine, (Jeremiah 3:19) “An inheritance, the desire of hosts of nations” (see Rashi on this verse).

Is it possible that all of them were natives of Eretz Yisroel, etc.? This is a question of wonder. Since the land of Yisroel was only four hundred parsah by four hundred parsah, how then is it possible for thirty-one kings rule in the Land of Yisroel?!

The reason that Moses repeats that he speaks of both the myriads of Ephrayim and those of Menashe is because both blessings were meant for both these tribes. Although Moses mentioned Menashe first, the blessing extended to that tribe was of somewhat lesser range than that for Ephrayim. Moses followed the pattern of giving his blessings in an ascending order. When giving details of the blessings he mentioned Ephrayim first as he received the major blessing.

והם רבבות אפרים AND THEY ARE THE MYRIADS OF EPHRAIM — i.e., those who are gored are the myriads whom Joshua, who was descended from Ephraim, slew.

The territory coveted (צבי) by hordes of nations. And this is similar to the expression בצביונם (the form chosen for them) (Chullin 60a).

והם אלפי מנשה AND THEY ARE THE THOUSANDS OF MANASSEH — they are the thousands whom Gideon, who was descended from Manasseh, slew of Midian, as it is said, (Judges 8:10) “And Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor [and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left … for there had fallen a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword]”.

ולזבולן אמר AND OF ZEBULUN HE SAID — These five tribes whom he blessed last, Zebulun, Gad, Dan, Naphtali and Asher, it repeats their names in order to instil them with strength and power, because they were the weakest of all the tribes. They are the very same whom Joseph took to Pharaoh, as it is said, (Genesis 47:2, cf. Rashi thereon) “And of the least of his brothers he took five men [and placed them before Pharaoh]” — because these looked weak, so that he (Pharaoh) should not appoint them his war officers (Bava Kamma 92a).

REJOICE, ZEBULUN, IN THY GOING OUT — that is, when you journey in merchant-ships. He alludes to [what Jacob said of Zebulun that] he shall dwell at the shore of the sea.²³⁷Genesis 49:13. And you Issachar [rejoice] in thy tents, thus intimating that Issachar saw a resting-place that it was good, and his land that it was pleasant,²³⁸Ibid., Verse 15. in accord with Jacob’s blessing.

שמח זבלון בצאתך, "Rejoice, O Zevulun, on your journeys;" Although as a general rule we are not supposed to rejoice as per Kohelet 2,2 ולשמחה םה זה עושה, "and of joy, what does it accomplish?" Moses says here that Zevulun goes to sea joyfully even though he leaves the halls of Torah study in order to engage in commerce. The reason he is entitled to do this is that the proceeds of his commerce are intended to enable Issachar to devote himself to uninterrupted Torah study.

שמח זבולון בצאתך, to the sea to engage in trade.

With the following five tribes whom he blessed last, etc. Rashi is explaining why Zevulun’s name is repeated, unlike any other tribe previously mentioned.

VV. 18 u. 19. ולזבולן וגו׳. Schon Jaakow (Bereschit 49, 13 u. 14.) sieht Sebulun an Meeresgestaden den Schifffahrtsverkehr vermittelnd und Jissachar in heimischer ländlicher Muße der Geistespflege obliegend (siehe daselbst). Hier werden sie beide in einem Segen zusammengefasst, wie denn auch ihr Gebiet sich nachbarlich berührte. Die Gemeinsamkeit des Segens beruht aber auf einem brüdernachbarlichen Zusammenwirken und dem durch beide vermittelten geistig sittlichen Einfluss auf die im Weltverkehr mit ihnen in Berührung kommenden fremden Völker. Sebulun zieht in den durch das Meer vermittelten Handelsverkehr hinaus und fördert mit seinem Erworbenen den an seinem heimischen Herde der geistigen Erkenntnis pflegenden Bruderstamm, der wiederum ihm seine geistigen Errungenschaften zugute kommen lässt. Jissachar hat Anteil an dem Geist der Rechtschaffenheit und Geradheit, den Sebulun in seinem Handelsverkehre entfaltet und Sebulun an der behaglichen Wohlhabenheit, die in Jissachars Wohnungen dessen geistige Arbeiten umgibt (Bereschit 49, 14 u. 15). Beide zusammen aber vermitteln die erste Bekanntschaft der Völker mit dem jüdischen Geiste, dem jüdischen Leben, und der Quelle von beidem, dem Heiligtum des jüdischen Gesetzes. Sie sind die Veranlassung, dass die Fremden, welche im Verkehre mit ihnen jüdischen Geist und jüdisches Leben kennen und achten lernen, zum Berge des Gesetzesheiligtums hinauf gehen und dort in der Hingebung an den Einzig-Einen die Weihe eines Pflichtlebens in Gerechtigkeit empfangen (siehe ספרי z. St.). Und zwar זבחים ,זבחי צדק: vorzugsweise ja שלמים, die lebensfrohe Weihe eines Pflichtlebens vor Gott, die charakteristische jüdische Errungenschaft (siehe Wajikra 3, 1).

שמח זבולון בצאתך, ”Rejoice Zevulun when you are going out!” Zevulun would travel to Tzidon and Tzur in Lebanon as well as to more distant destinations. This is why Moses blessed them, wishing them success in their endeavours

שמח זבולון, “rejoice Zevulun;” he had complained about the portions of ancestral land he had drawn in the Talmud tractate Megillah, folio 6 as having received mountainous territory and sandy territory alongside the ocean, compared to Naftaly who had been given apparently fruitful earth in the mountainous regions, as had most other tribes. Deborah praised this tribe in her victory song in Judges 5,18 as literally having mocked death in the constant danger as a seafaring tribe. When Zevulun had seen Naftaly completely exposed, as the other tribes simply failed to respond to Deborah’s call to arms, he responded without hesitation. Foreseeing all this in a prophetic vision, Moses is trying to calm Zevulun for having received his share near the beaches of the ocean where they would be far less exposed than Naftaly; would he have preferred to have been exposed to the dangers Naftaly faced? It will be explained soon how Zevulun in fact benefited by his territory facing the ocean.

שמח זבולן בצאתך ויששכר באהליך REJOICE, ZEBULUN. IN THY GOING OUT, AND, ISSACHAR, IN THY TENTS — Zebulun and Issachar entered into a partnership: Zebulun dwelt at the harbour of ships and went out in ships to trade; he made profit and used to provide food for Issachar who sat at home and occupied themselves with the Torah. Consequently he mentioned Zebulun before Issachar (although the latter was the elder) because Issachar’s knowledge of Torah was due to Zebulun (Genesis Rabbah 99:9).

Zevulun and Yissachar entered into a partnership, etc. Rashi is explaining why Zevulun appears in the text before [the older] Yissachar.

Another meaning of these words is that when a man sets out on an undertaking he does not know if he will be successful. Moses is giving Zevulun an assurance that he will be successful; this is why he emphasizes that he may rejoice even at the outset of his journey. He may consider himself as a שליח מצוה, someone to whom the performance of a מצוה has been entrusted.

כי שפע ימים וגו׳ ist der Umstand, der ihre Berührung mit den Völkern begründet. שפע .שפע ימים יינקו, verwandt mit שבע usw. bezeichnet eine Fülle, Reichtum, Wohlstand. Es kommt ihnen die Fülle zugute, welche ihre Lage am Meere durch den Handelsverkehr bietet, oder sie werden zum Stapelplatz, zu welchem von allen Meeren die verschiedensten Güter zum Handelsaustausch zusammen strömen. ושפני טמוני חול, und sie haben auch auf ihrem Gestade eigentümliche Güter, die man nur bei ihnen findet und die daher bei ihnen aufgesucht werden. Als solche werden Megilla 6 a חלזון, טרית und זכוכית לבנה, die Purpurschnecke, eine besondere Art Tunfische und weißes Glas genannt, zu dessen Fabrizierung der dortige Ufersand ganz besonders geeignet war.

ויששכר באהליך, “(also wishing success) to Yissachar in your tents.” Yissachar’s ancestral land was suited for the pursuit of agriculture, and its members would sit in tents in their fields to protect their crops from thieves. Moses therefore prayed that they would also enjoy the fruits of their labour. Yaakov, in Genesis 49,14, had wished Reuven similar success and protection from people claiming their land as belonging to them.

בצאתך, “when you are setting out;” Moses blesses each tribe according to what he foresees will be its special needs. Zevulun as a seafarer, who derives his livelihood from maritime trade, will require a special blessing to keep his ships safe when they are on the high seas, so that his merchandise will not be lost at sea. Compare Yaakov’s blessing for him in Genesis 49,13, where reference is made to the beaches of the sea in connection with him. Moses blesses him in wishing him that instead of being fearful when setting out on each voyage, he should be joyful, confident of G-d’s help.

שמח זבולן בצאתך REJOICE, ZEBULUN, IN THY GOING FORTH — Be successful when thou goest out to trade,

באהליך, "in your tents." This is a simile for Issachar. The reason Moses uses this simile is twofold. 1) It denotes the fact that any dwelling in this world is to be considered only a temporary dwelling; our whole terrestrial existence is transient. 2) It describes that the Shechinah forms a "tent" over Zevulun and Issachar. Even though Zevulun is preoccupied with commerce and does not spend his time in the אהל של תורה, the tent of Torah, he qualifies for the presence of the Shechinah no less than Issachar his partner. David alludes to this when he said in Psalms 85,14: "Justice goes before him as he sets out on his way."

שפן auch ספן, verwandt mit צפן, heißt bedecken, bergen. טמן: verstecken, verbergen, daher מטמון ein geheimer Schatz. שפוני טמוני חול: was in den geheimen Schätzen des Sandes geborgen liegt.

ויששכר באהליך, whereas he blesses Yissochor by wishing him similar confidence seeing that his fertile soil may become the envy of his neighbours, so that he is forced to stand guard watching against potential robbers. Moses wishes him success in this. Yaakov had already hinted at this in his blessing for this son when he said in Genesis 49,14: רובץ בין המשפתים, “crouching among the sheepfolds.”

ויששכר AND ISSACHAR, be successful when you sit in your tents (באהליך) to study the Torah — to sit in the Sanhedrin and to intercalate the years and to fix the day of New Moon, as it is said, (I Chronicles 12:33) “And of the children of Issachar, men that had understanding of the times, … the heads of them were two hundred”: as the heads of the Sanhedrin they used to busy themselves with this (Genesis Rabbah 72:5), and in accordance with their fixing of the seasons and their calculation of intercalary years,

עמים THE PEOPLES of the tribes of Israel,

עמים הר יקראו, Issachar and Zevulun will call the nations of the earth to the “good mountain” with choice wares not to be found among those nations.

They shall assemble at Mount Moriah, etc. Meaning, at the pilgrimage festivals. You might ask: If so it should have said assemble and not invited. Therefore Rashi explains, Every assembly is through invitation, etc. Therefore, even though [the assembly] here is not by invitation, rather they came on their own, the verse still writes an expression of “invitation.” Re”m writes, My heart is dissatisfied with this [explanation] because יקראו should have been written with a kamatz under the קוף and the ריש with a tzeirei to make it reflexive. [Whereas according to the punctuation of our verse, יקראו means ‘they assemble them,’ wrongly implying that Yisachar and Zevulun assemble the people]. It seems to me that אסיפה here means inviting as we explained, and [the active conjugation means not that Yisachar and Zevulun assemble them, but that] they assemble on their own to fulfill Hashem’s commandment to come up on pilgrimage festivals. And because other assemblies are by invitation, Scripture here writes יקראו instead of יתאספו. And it is not reflexive and therefore it is not punctuated with reflexive punctuation. (So it seems to me). Re”m further writes, However, I do not know what relevance there is to mentioning the assembling of the tribes at Mount Moriah within the blessing of Yisachar and Zevulun?” In truth, I do not know why he does not know, because [apparently] Rashi himself was aware of this question and he writes, Based on their arrangement of the time [divisions] and of the leap year—‘Peoples,’ of the tribes of Yisroel, — ‘Shall assemble at the mountain,’ Mount Moriah, etc. Perhaps Re”m wrote what he wrote because he had a [different] erroneous text. This is easy to understand. (So it seems to me).

עמים הר יקראו, “being aware of the dangers of seafaring they would make frequent trips to Mount Zion to thank G–d for their success and ask Him for continued protection. Once they were there, they would present many voluntary offerings in the Temple. (Compare Talmud tractate Chulin, folio 13, based on Leviticus 22,18)

ושפני טמוני חול, “and the hidden treasures of the sand.” Sometimes when ships break up when at harbour and are buried deep in the sand; when the waters of the sea retreat, it is revealed that this sand which buried their ships had also hidden treasures which would have remained undiscovered if the ship had not broken up.

הר יקראו THEY CALL TO THE MOUNTAIN, i.e., they assembled at Mount Moriah on the Festivals; — it speaks of calling them there because every assembly was (took place) in general by means of a summons to it — and שם THERE יזבחו THEY SACRIFICED on the Festivals, זבחי צדק SACRIFICES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

שם יזבחו זבחי צדק, even the merchants of the gentile nations who had been offering sacrifices to “dead” deities all their lives, when they come to Jerusalem, the ”good mountain,” will offer sacrifices which qualify for the description “offerings of righteousness” (to the real G’d).

And there slaughter, during the festivals, righteous offerings. Rashi wants to show the connection between the verses. Therefore he adds a vav [and] to indicate that they will [all] slaughter righteous offerings on the festivals, even though they bring offerings there every day of the year. Therefore Rashi adds and in order to connect the phrases of the verse together.

כי שפע ימים יינקו, “for they will suck the abundance that the seas have to offer;” the seas will make them prosperous.

כי שפע ימים יינקו FOR OF ABUNDANCE OF THE SEAS SHALL THEY — Issachar and Zebulun — SUCK, and they will consequently have leisure to busy themselves with the study of the Torah.

כי שפע ימים יינקו, for Issachar and Zevulun draw from the riches of the sea among which are found such rare sources of colours as the chalazon worm from which techelet, blue wool is dyed. There one can also find a type of “white glass” or silicon on the beaches of the sea, much treasured for use in exotic goblets.

Affording them the opportunity, etc. Rashi explains, what blessing is there in this [unless they can study Torah]?

ושפוני טמוני חול, “and the treasures hidden in the sand.” This is a reference to ships which foundered and went to the bottom of the sea laden with treasures. Eventually, when the hull breaks up they are revealed. The treasures then become the property of the finders. According to the plain meaning of the text, we have to ask why Moses listed Zevulun here before Yissachar, seeing that Yissachar was the older of the brothers? The answer is provided by the Midrash, (B’reshit Rabbah 99,9) according to which Yissachar and Zevulun made an agreement according to which the merits acquired by the Torah study of the members of the tribe of Yissachar would be shared equally with the tribe of Zevulun, who would look after the members of the Torah studying members of the tribe of Yissachar financially.

ושפני טמוני חול means, covered things that are hidden in the sand — the Tarith (a kind of fish; Rashi in his comment on the Talmudical passage afterwards quoted states that it is the tuna fish), the Chalazon (from which purple dye was obtained) and while glass (all valuable articles of commerce) which come out of the sea and the sand. This was in the territory of Issachar and Zebulun, as it is stated in Treatise Megillah 6a: The Scriptural text (Judges 5:18) is to be explained as follows: “Zebulun was a people that cursed his soul even unto death” because that “Naphtali was on the high places of the field“, i.e., Zebulun complained about his territory, saying, To my brother (Naphtali) you have given fields and vineyards (while to me you have given hilly and mountainous land; to my brother you have given land while to me you have given seas and rivers! God replied. “All your brethren will be in need of you”, as it states, “And the treasures hidden in the sand”, which the Talmud goes on to explain are the marine creatures Rashi mentions above, deriving each of them from the words of the text, For they shall suck … of the concealed treasures of the sea).

טרית (tuna). טרית is a kind of fish named tunina.

ושפני has the meaning of “covering”, as it is said (1 Kings 6:9) “And he covered (ויספן) the house”; (Jeremiah 22:14) וספן בארז, which the Targum renders by: “And it was covered with panels of cedar”. — Another explanation of עמים הר יקראו THEY CALL THE PEOPLES TO THE MOUNTAIN — Through Zebulun’s trading, merchants of the world’s nations will come to his land, he living at the coast, and they will say, “Since we have taken so much trouble to reach here, let us go to Jerusalem and see what is the God of this people and what are His doings”. When they behold all Israel serving one God and eating one kind of food (only that which is permissible to them), they are astonished because as regards the other nations, the god of one is not as the god of another, and the food of one is not as the food of another, so that they will say, “There is no nation as worthy as this”, and they will therefore become proselytes to Judaism there, as it is said, “There shall they sacrifice sacrifices of righteousness” (Sifrei Devarim 354:5).

Zevulun, a people disdainful of their souls in seeking death, etc. It is talking about Zevulun there, who wished death for himself because Naftoli was on the loftiest ground. The Gemara asks on this [verse]: A people disdainful of their souls, that just because Naftoli was on the loftiest ground he should seek death for himself? The Gemara answers, Zevulun lamented, etc. and to me you only gave seas. The Holy One, Blessed Is He answered him, To you I gave the sea from where you can take tuna, etc.

כי שפע ימים יינקו FOR OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE SEAS SHALL THEY SUCK — “they” means Zebulun and Issachar; for the sea will give them wealth in abundance.

Translated by Targum as “lined with a cedar covering.” Meaning that it covers the beams with cedar.

Another interpretation. “Gentile nations shall assemble at the mountain, etc.” Because according to the first interpretation you might ask why it says There will they slaughter righteous offerings, are not all offerings slaughtered there? Also, what is [the meaning of] righteous offerings? Are not all offerings [wherever they are permitted] righteous offerings? Therefore he gives another interpretation, etc. And according to the other interpretation too, you might ask that it should have said explicitly [that they at least retract from idolatry], because before bringing offerings they need conversion, [retraction] from their idolatry! Therefore he also needs the first interpretation.

ברוך מרחיב גד BLESSED BE HE THAT ENLARGES GAD — this teaches us that Gad’s territory extended far eastward (Sifrei Devarim 355:2).

BLESSED BE HE THAT ENLARGETH GAD. “This teaches that Gad’s border was enlarged toward the east.” [Since his territory was east of the Jordan it could be extended towards the east.] This is Rashi’s language from the Sifre.²³⁹Sifre, Brachah 355. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented that because Moses likened Gad to a lion [he dwelleth as a lioness], he said, “Blessed be He Who enlarges Gad, Who gives him strength so that whoever [any enemy] sees him will flee him, and no one will trouble him.” The correct interpretation is that it refers to Gad’s inheritance, for the two tribes [Reuben and Gad] that took their inheritance on the east bank of the Jordan did not take it by the lot. Instead Moses gave them the entire kingdoms of Sihon and Og²⁴⁰Numbers 32:33. and their inheritance was broader as it wound about higher²⁴¹Ezekiel 41:7. than all the tribes. Moses did not mention this [blessing] in the case of Reuben, for his prayer was sufficient.¹⁶²Above, Verse 6. It is also possible that the children of Gad took more territory than the children of Reuben for they were mighty and therefore Moses gave them the entire [eastern] border. The cities which they built²⁴²Numbers 32:34-36. were also more numerous than those of Reuben.²⁴³Ibid., Verses 37-38. In addition, it was the Gadites who first requested that land [east of the Jordan as their inheritance] as I have explained there,²⁴⁴Ibid., Verse 2 (Vol. IV, pp. 370-371). and thus they were the cause of this expansion.

ברוך מרחיב גד, Who has given him a larger tract of land on the east bank of the Jordan than any other tribe received even in that part of the country. For while it is true that the lands of Sichon and Og were larger in the number of square meters accorded to the tribes on the west bank, the latter were of the category known as “flowing with milk and honey,” whereas the land on the east bank was primarily grazing land as opposed to “homesteading” land, i.e. farming land.

מרחיב גד, "the One who enlarges Gad." G'd had enlarged Gad's properties as we know from Numbers 32,1 where the Torah tells us that the tribe possessed large numbers of cattle and sheep. The reason they had so much cattle is also mentioned in Numbers 31,53 that the soldiers each plundered as much as they could. Seeing that the men of Gad were renowned as fighting men they garnered more for themselves than the other tribes. Moses' simile "like a lion who is at rest after he has brought the torn off limbs of his prey," accurately reflects what happened.

ברוך מרחיב גד, “Blessed, He, Who broadens the territory of Gad;” Ibn Ezra states that seeing that he had likened Gad to a lion, Moses pronounces a blessing on the One Who had equipped Gad with such an imposing stature; allegorically speaking, his territory is so wide, as no one dares hem him in, come too close to him. Nachmanides writes that the correct interpretation of our verse is that the word מרחיב refers to the territorial size of the ancestral heritage of Gad, which was larger than anyone else’s. The two and a half tribes who took their lands on the east bank of the Jordan had not been required to participate in the allocation by lot that took place under the supervision of Joshua. It is quite possible, that in light of the Gadites being natural born warriors, that they grabbed more land for themselves than did the members of the tribe of Reuven. Furthermore, the Gadites had been the very first to raise the subject of remaining on the east bank of the Jordan because the land was suited for grazing and they possessed such large herds after the war against Sichon. Large land allocation was therefore a factor high on the Gadites’ agenda.

The breadth of Gad’s border ranged eastward. Rashi is answering the question: Gad’s [western] border reached no further than the Jordan, if so what is the meaning, Blessed is the One who broadens Gad? Therefore Rashi explains that it broadened eastward and not westward.

V. 20. כרוך מרחיב גד .ולגד וגו׳. Es spricht sich hierin das Mosche wohltuende Gefühl aus, dass durch die Gestattung der Niederlassung Gads im transjordanischen Lande Mosche doch die Gunst zuteil wurde, in Umgebung seines Volkes zu ruhen. Ohne diese Verstattung hätte das Mosche herbe Verhängnis ihn sein Grab in der Einsamkeit der Wüste oder in der Mitte fremder Bevölkerung finden lassen. Daher ברוך מרחיב גד, gesegnet Gott, der Gad die von ihm gewünschte geräumige Niederlassung gewährte. כלביא שכן da hat sich nun Gad bereits wie ein Löwe zur Ruhe niedergelassen, וטרף זרוע אף קדקוד und hat bereits Arm und auch Scheitel, d. h. streitende Völker und ihre anführenden Häupter bewältigt. Gad hat nicht erst noch um seinen Besitz zu kämpfen, es hat bereits die früheren Bewohner seines Landes überwunden und ruht nun wie ein siegreicher Löwe in seinem Besitz. In seinem Lande — und daher auch um Mosche Grab — wird kein Krieg mehr wüten.

ברוך מרחיב גד, “blessed be he who enlarges the territory of the tribe of Gad.” Seeing that the ancestral land allotted to Gad was suitable for grazing rather than planting crops, this root is more appropriate for describing expansion. Compare also Hoseah 4,16: “עתה ירעם ה' ככבש בשמרחב, “now the Lord will graze him on the range like a sheep.”

מרחיב גד, “Who enlarges Gad; Moses blesses him to whom G-d had given a large territory, suitable for raising sheep and cattle.

כלביא שכן HE DWELLETH AS A LIONESS — Because he was near the border it therefore compares him to lions, for all who are near the border must be strong (that they may repulse attacks from neighbours) (Sifrei Devarim 355:3).

כלביא שכן, he deserves the extra acreage as he holds his own against enemies that surround him and he behaves like a brave courageous lion though badly outnumbered. Such a lion does not hesitate to devour what is around him.

Because he was near the border, etc. Re”m writes, I do not understand Rashi’s intent here. How does Rashi know that Gad is compared to a lion because he was close to the border? Perhaps he is compared to a lion because he was strong as a lion? The answer may be that only Gad is compared to a lion [here], but not Yehudah who is compared to a lion in Yaakov’s blessing. Therefore he has to explain, ‘For all those near the border must be supremely powerful.’ It seems to me that Rashi says this because shortly before he said that their names were repeated to strengthen and empower them because they were weak. In accordance to that he explains here Because he was close to the border, etc., since one cannot say the reason [he is compared to a lion] is that he was strong as a lion as he was one of the weak [tribes].

וטרף זרוע אף קדקד, “and he tears the arm, as well as the crown of the head.” Rabbi B’chor Shor explains this line when the attacker will strike the victim and he raises his hands in self defense, holding it in front of his face for protection, that attacker will strike him on the head instead. As a result the blow will even injure the shoulder of the victim

וטרף זרוע אף קדקוד, “to tear off arm and scalp;” seeing that the scalp is mentioned last, it is clear that he disabled his opponent first by disabling his arm which carries his weapon. He does so by taking aim at the sword raised against him. By doing so he succeeds in not only disabling his opponent’s arm but decapitating him at the same time with one stroke.

וטרף זרוע אף קדקד TEARING THE ARM WITH THE CROWN OF THE HEAD — Those whom they slew could be easily recognised, because they used to cut off the head together with the arm at one blow.

וירא ראשית לו AND HE SAW THE FIRST PART FOR HIMSELF — i.e. he saw good to take for himself territory in the land of Sihon and Og, the subjugation of which was the beginning (ראשית) of the conquest of the Land,

וירא ראשית לו, he was also entitled to this, although when the tribe of Gad chose lands formerly belonging to Sichon or Og, a land which was not part of the “Holy Land,” there had been additional motivation to that of having good grazing land for their flocks, namely that their part of the land would contain Moses’ burial place. This is the meaning of the reference to מחוקק, “the legislator” in our verse.

וירא ראשית לו. "He chose the first portion for himself." Moses means that actually the ראשית, i.e. the Torah, should have been his share as Moses the lawgiver was buried in his territory. Alternatively, Gad became custodian of a חלק, a small part of the lawgiver, i.e. Moses' earthly remains securely hidden. The reason why Moses was buried there, i.e. on the East Bank of the Jordan was ויתא ראשי עם, in order for the generation of the Exodus, the heads of the nation, to eventually be resurrected together with Moses in order to be allowed to cross the Jordan. The reason that generation is referred to as ראשי עם is that they were the generation whom G'd acquired as His people.

כי שם חלקת מחוקק ספון, “for it is there that the lawgiver’s plot is hidden.” Ibn Ezra understands the three words חלקת, מחוקק, ספון as if the Torah had written חלק ומחוקק וספון, that Gad had three reasons for choosing the portion he chose, 1) the land was very desirable, 2) the lawgiver, Moses, would be buried on that land, 3) there the Emorites had fancy houses with paneled walls.. He quotes Chagai 1,4 speaking of בבתיכם ספונים, “in your houses with the paneled walls and ceilings,” as another example of the use of the word ספון in that sense.

In the territory of Sichon and Og, which was foremost in the conquest, etc. Rashi adds the word conquest so that ראשית (foremost) [which serves as an adjective] is connected with the word after it, because there is no case where ראשית is not connected with the word after it. Rashi explains so explicitly at the beginning of parshas Bereishis (1:1).

V. 21. וירא וגו׳ כי וגו׳. Es kann dieses כי nicht füglich das Motiv für Gads Wahl seines transjordanischen Besitzes angeben. Dass Mosche sein Grab in dem ihm zufallenden Gebiete finden werde, war ja zur Zeit dieser Wahl noch nicht bekannt und lagen ja überhaupt dieser Wahl ganz andere Motive zu Grunde. Wir glauben vielmehr וירא ראשית לו, sage: er hat sich ein Erstes, den Anfang des künftigen jüdischen Landes ersehen. Er hat sich mit dieser Wahl nicht außer Zusammenhang mit dem nationalen Ganzen gesetzt. Gads Gebiet wird nicht Ausland sein. Es gehört mit zum heiligen Lande, zum Boden des Gottesgesetzes (שביעית IX, 2; Bamidbar 34, 2), sein Gebiet bildet das ראשית, den Anfang des jüdischen Landes, ׳כי שם וגו, denn auch der Gesetzgeber, auch Mosche hat dort sein Grab und damit seinen Anteil. Diese Grabesstätte des Gesetzgebers steht im Einklange mit der Bedeutung des Bodens als Gebiet des Gesetzes. ספון kann sich des Geschlechts halber nur auf מחוקק beziehen und ist den Akzenten zufolge nicht Attribut, sondern Apposition zu מחוקק. Mosche ward ספון: den Augen seines Volkes entrückt. Er starb, aber sein Grab blieb unbekannt (Kap. 34, 6).

וירא ראשית לו, “he chose a first part for himself;” (the tribe of Gad) he chose the first part of the available land of Canaan for himself.” This is a reference to the lands formerly owned by the kingdom of Sichon and the kingdom of Og, both on the east bank of the river Jordan.

וירא ראשית לו, “he chose a first part for himself.” Even though the Ammonites and Moabites dispute his territorial claims to its land, as is evident from Judges 11,13 and Yiftach rebutting their arguments. (Compare Rashi there) Another interpretation of this line: What is the meaning of the phrase: כי שם חלקת מחוקק צפון, “for in part of that land the grave of the Israelites’ lawgiver (Moses would be hidden)" Alternately, Reuven has been referred to as the lawgiver; in Judges 5,15, when Deborah describes him as such with the words: בפלגות ראובן גדולים חקקי לב, “among the clans of Reuven who were debating great decisions of the heart.” The Reuvenites had long been entrenched in these lands already, (at the time of Yiftach, 300 years after Moses had died). According to yet another interpretation the whole line speaks about both Reuven and Gad, the two tribes who had decided to settle on the east bank of the Jordan river. Since both of these tribes had proven outstandingly strong, Moses accords them recognition already in his parting words to the people.

כי שם חלקת BECAUSE THERE WAS THE PORTION — i.e., because he knew that there in his territory was the portion of the field where was the grave of the מחקק, THE LAWGIVER, viz., Moses,

ויתא ראשי עם, this was where the leaders of the people came together at the head of the nation in order to conquer the land.

צדקת ה' עשה, “he exacted G’d’s righteous justice.” The Midrash states that the words וירא ראשית לו mean that Gad took the lands of Sichon and Og, which represented the beginning, ראשית, of the Israelites’ conquest of the Canaanite nations. By doing so he did a צדקה, a righteous deed for the whole of the people of Israel, who learned from that tribe to build fortified cities. All the elderly and sick people of Israel stayed in those fortified cities during the seven years that the conquest of the land lasted.

For he knew that there, in his territory, was the plot [of the great scribe’s burial ground]. Rashi has to say this because the plain meaning of the verse implies that the great scribe’s is already buried there, and this is not so since Moshe was still alive at that time. Therefore he explains that he knew through tradition or prophecy. By adding the word burial Rashi also rectifies [a misunderstanding], as the verse implies that the great scribe had a portion in the land as it says, חלקת מחוקק ספון (lit. the great scribe’s plot), whereas Moshe did not have a portion or inheritance in the land. Therefore he explains, The plot of the great scribe’s burial ground. He adds the word field because חלקת (plot, but lit. portion) implies a portion of something and one needs to know of what is it a portion. Therefore Rashi adds the word field as in the verse (Ruth 4:3), The portion of the field that belonged to our brother.

Another meaning of the words וירא ראשית לו is that it is a reference to the initial inheritance this tribe took possession of in the lands formerly owned by Sichon and Og. The word לו means that it became his inheritance rightfully. It was not just a land grab. There was a need to confirm this in view of Ketuvot 111 that anyone who lived in the land of Israel or is buried there is assured of a portion of the hereafter. Moses had to confirm that as far as the land of Gad (and Reuven and half the tribe of Menashe) is concerned the same consideration applied. The words כי שם חלקת מחקק ספון mean that just as Moses who is buried in that land will be resurrected so will be the tribe of Gad, or vice versa, i.e. that Moses was not buried in exile.

ויתא ראשי עם וגו׳ sind Worte, die gleichsam als Grabschrift, die Mosche sich selber setzte, über der Gegend seiner Grabstätte, sein Andenken verewigend, schweben mögen. "Er war zur Führerschaft des Volkes gelangt und hatte als Gottes Gesandter alle die Wohltaten und die ernsten Verhängnisse zu vermitteln gehabt, welche Gott an Jisrael zu vollbringen beschlossen hatte." ראשי עם (vergl. Chron. I. 12, 18). ׳צדקת ד siehe Bereschit 15, 6.

כי שם חלקת מחוקק ספון, this needs to be translated as does Targum Onkelos, “he knew that the lawgiver, (Moses) would be buried on that portion of ancestral land.” This is why he chose this part of the territory of the east bank, although he also knew that Ammon and Moav both had claims on that piece of land. If he had worried about their claims being honoured in the future, he would not have chosen it as his share of the Holy Land.

ספון HIDDEN — i.e. that field was hidden and concealed from every creature, as it is said (Deuteronomy 34:6) “And no man knows his burial place” (Sifrei Devarim 355:6).

צדקת ה' עשה ומשפטיו עם ישראל, this was where the legislator, מחוקק, performed the righteous deeds of Hashem, by explaining to them G’d’s Torah in detail. This was also where the people of Israel were judged, and where Moses argued with the people about the application of the various social laws of the Torah. The term is found in Samuel I 12,7 where the prophet Samuel tells the people to line up so that he can not only judge the people but explain the righteousness of the laws of G’d, i.e. צדקות ה'.

That plot is concealed, hidden, etc. Rashi says this so that one should not say that the great scribe is hidden, but rather the place of his burial, i.e., the plot he is buried in, as it is written (below 34:6), No man knows his burial place. There are those who question, how is it possible to say that Moshe’s burial place is in Gad’s inheritance? Was not his burial at Mount Nevo, as it is written below (34:1), Moshe went up from the plains of Moav to Mount Nevo etc. and Mount Nevo was in the inheritance of Reuvein as it is written in parshas Matos (Bamidbar 32:37-38), The tribe of Reuvein built up Cheshbon, etc. [and] Nevo, etc. It seems to me that the plain of Nevo was large and the town was established in the plain, while the mountain was in the portion of Gad. And because the mountain and town originally belonged to one person, the mountain was called by the town’s name. Also, it was not all that far from the town and it was situated in the plain of the town. Therefore the mountain was named after the town.

צדקת ה׳ עשה. "carrying out G'd's justice." These words refer to Moses again. This is the explanation why Moses would merit to bring others with him at the time of the resurrection. He had performed acts of righteousness vis-a-vis G'd.

ויתא AND HE CAME — i.e. Gad came.

Another interpretation: “He came” — Moshe, etc. Because according to the first interpretation you might ask why it says [specifically] of Gad that he came at the head of the people, since Reuvein and the half tribe of Menashe also went before their brothers. Therefore he gives another interpretation. And according to the alternative interpretation you might ask why it mentions Moshe’s righteousness in the blessing of Gad. Therefore he gives the first interpretation.

An alternative explanation may be that Moses had done more than was required of him, i.e. צדק, as we have already mentioned in our commentary on Deut. 6,25 וצדקה תהיה לנו (pages 1815-16). ומשפטיו עשה עם ישראל. This means that Moses was constantly involved in defending the Israelites vis-a-vis G'd, usually succeeding to wrest a favourable verdict from Him, such as in the matter of the golden calf, the uprising of Korach, etc. The word עשה may be understood as "rectified, rehabilitated."

צדקת ה' עשה, “he fulfilled the promise he had made to G–d via Moses to be in the vanguard of the army battling for the land on the west bank of the Jordan.

ראשי עם AT THE HEAD OF THE PEOPLE — They (the men of Gad) marched before the armed men at the conquest of the Land, because they were mighty, and thus does it state that Joshua said to them, (Joshua 1:14) “Ye shall pass armed before your brethren, etc.”.

Still another meaning of our verse may be to understand the words צדקת ה׳ עשה as referring to how G'd dealt with Moses when He decreed that Moses be buried on the East Bank of the Jordan and did not let him complete his prayer in which Moses had asked to be allowed to remain with the main body of the Israelites. The words עם ישראל are a reference to incidents which caused Moses problems.

צדקת ה' עשה HE DID THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE LORD — because they proved true to their word and kept their promise to cross the Jordan and to remain there until they (the Israelites) had conquered it and divided it amongst the tribes. — Another explanation: ויתא AND HE — the Lawgiver, Moses — CAME ראשי עם AT THE HEAD OF THE PEOPLE, צדקת ה' עשה HE DID THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE LORD — This, too, is spoken of Moses (cf. Sifrei Devarim 355:9).

Alternatively, the words צדקת ה׳ עשה may refer to Gad who acted in a manner which G'd considered as righteous when this tribe undertook to join the main body of the Israelites and to remain with them until completion of the wars of conquest. If we were to consider the matter on a purely legal basis, i.e. their obligations vis-a-vis G'd, the tribe of Gad was not obligated to do this. They had received their inheritance in the place of their choosing as they had argued at the time in Numbers 32,5. If that had not been so G'd would never have consented for them to remain on that territory. As a result, the fact that they crossed the Jordan as the vanguard of the Israelite army was an act that was considered as righteousness for them. However, it was an act of righteousness only vis-a-vis G'd. Vis-a-vis their compatriots it was a sacred duty, not something for which they deserved a reward. The wording צדקת השם עשה is very appropriate then.

The wording ומשפטיו עם ישראל is equally appropriate as it stresses that what the people of Gad did with Israel was no more than what the law demanded of them. If they wanted to appear free from guilt both in the eyes of G'd and in the eyes of Israel they could not have done any less. Seeing that G'd was not in need of the bravery of the soldiers from the tribe of Gad, the Torah describes their fulfilling their duty as applying only to the Israelites.

דן גור אריה DAN IS A LION’S CUB — He, too, lived close to the border, and therefore it compares him to a lion (Sifrei Devarim 355:12).

גור אריה יזנק מן הבשן. Actually, lions do not grow up in Bashan, a land reserved for cattle, as we know from Psalms 22,13 אבירי בשן, “the mighty ones (bulls) of Bashan.” Lions, as predators do not lie in wait to jump on their prey there. They would only lie in wait in Bashan, a region considered safe from predators, if they planned to attack prey beyond the borders of Bashan. The tactics of the tribe of Dan are compared by Moses to the tactics of the lions. Dan will feel secure in his lair from which he will attack unsuspecting adversaries.

גור אריה, "a lion cub, etc." Perhaps the Torah referred to Samson who tore the lion with his bare hands as if it had been only a lamb (Judges 14,6). יזנק מן הבשן, "leaping forth from Bashan." This is a reference to the Holy Spirit with which Samson was endowed when he performed his deeds of valour. It made him appear as if he leapt out of the mountains of Bashan.

יזנק מן הבשן, “leaping forth from the Bashan.” Ibn Ezra points out that the word יזנק, i.e. the root זנק, does not occur any place else in the Bible. It describes that the might of the lion to which Dan is compared here is that he appears to leap forth suddenly from a lair or hiding place one has not been aware of, has not suspected.

The Yardein originated from his portion. I.e., from the portion of Don.

V. 22. זנק .ולדן אמר וגו׳ kommt in תנ׳׳ך nicht weiter vor. In der Mischna (Chulin 37 a) bezeichnet es: weithin hervorspringen. So dort von einem starken Blutstrahl. Im ספרי wird זינוק noch dahin näher erläutert, dass es einen aus einem Punkt hervorstürzenden und dann in zwei Richtungen sich teilenden Strahl bedeutet. So habe, nach Josua 19, 41-47, der Stamm Dan seinen Landesanteil im Südwest bis gegen Jaffa hin bekommen, sei aber von dort weithin nach Leschem im Nordosten gezogen, habe auch dies erobert und in Besitz genommen und ihm den Namen seines Stammvaters Dan gegeben. ויצא גבול בני דן מהם ויעלו בני דן וילחמו עם לשם וילכדו אותה וישבו בה ויקראו ללשם דן כשם דן אביהם. (Es gab auch schon zu Abrahams Zeiten (Bereschit 14, 14) im Nordosten ein Dan. Es ist nicht unmöglich, dass dies eben die Söhne Dan veranlasste, in dortiger Gegend einen Besitz zu gewinnen, dem sie ihren Namen geben konnten, damit in späteren Jahrhunderten nicht die Vermutung auftauchen könnte, sie hätten früher dort gewohnt und hätten ihren Besitz eingebüßt.) Das Bild גור אריה יזנק מן הבשן dürfte nun Dan als einen mit zwei nach verschiedenen Richtungen gespreizten Tatzen hervorspringenden Löwen bezeichnen, der im Sprunge zwei voneinander fern liegende Gegenstände erbeutet. Baschan ist eben eine Gebirgsgegend im Nordosten in der Nähe des von Dan eroberten Leschem. Dan nahm gleichzeitig im Nordost und Südwest Besitz.

דן גור אריה, “Dan is a lion’s whelp;” he is described as such as its troops were constantly standing guard along the borders, making sure no enemy forces would cross into the Israelites’ territory.

יזנק מן הבשן, “he leaps forth from the region of Bashan.” He (Dan) conquers in that region, although it is well known as the habitat of lions and other ferocious beasts.

יזנק מן הבשן HE SHALL LEAP FROM BASHAN — Understand this as the Targum has it: (“His land drinks of the rivers that flow from Bashan”) — for the Jordan issued from his territory (ירדן = ‎ירד דן, “It comes down from Dan”) — from the cave of Pameas that is identical with Leshem which is in the territory of Dan (cf. Bekhorot 55a), as it is said, (Joshua 19:47) “And they called Leshem, Dan”, but its spurting (זנוק) and gushing forth (the source of the river) was from Bashan. — Another explanation is: Just as a gush of water issues from one place and divides itself afterwards into two directions, similarly the tribe of Dan took a portion in two places: first they took in the northwest, Ekron and its adjoining parts, and this did not suffice them, so they came and fought against Leshem, which is Pameas. and is in the north-east, — because the Jordan issued from the cave of Pameas which is in the east of the land of Israel and goes from north to south and ends at the extremity of the Salt Sea which is in the east of Judah who took his territory in the southern part of the Land of Israel, as is set forth in the Book of Joshua, and that is the meaning of what is said, (Joshua 19:47) “And the border of the children of Dan went forth from them; for the children of Dan went up and fought against Leshem … [and possessed it and dwelt therein]”, i.e., their border went forth from all that direction in which they first took their inheritance (Sifrei Devarim 355:13).

From the cavern of Pamias, etc. “The cavern of Pamias” is the Talmud’s term. Scripture calls it Leshem.

יזנק מן הבשן, “these would try and jump the border from Bashan. The author describes tributaries of the Jordan as providing opportunities to enter the Israelite territory. Seeing that this area was extremely well irrigated it was tempting for enemies to try and get a foothold there. (Compare Genesis 13,10-11) where Lot is already described as coveting that area.

As it is said, “They called Leshem ‘Don.’” I.e., because it was his portion.

It bounds forth, flowing from Bashan. Meaning that the river that it is in the portion of Gad and goes past Pamias, [actually] comes forth from Bashan, which is the name of a location, and it is not in Don’s territory.

Another interpretation: Just as the bounding flow emanates from a single source, etc. Because according to the first interpretation you might ask that according to its plain meaning, the verse is speaking of the actual tribe of Don and not about the Jordan, since the verse makes no mention about the Jordan. Therefore he gives another interpretation, etc. And according to the other interpretation by itself you might also ask why it says bounding from the Bashan since he did not take a portion in Bashan? Therefore he also gives the first interpretation.

שבע רצון [NAPHTALI IS] SATISFIED WITH DESIRE — it means that his land was full of everything that its inhabitants could desire.

O NAPHTALI, SATISFIED WITH FAVOR. “[This means] that his land satisfied every desire of its inhabitants.” This is Rashi’s language. The correct interpretation is that it is connected with the Glorious Name [mentioned later in the verse: and full with the blessing of ‘the Eternal’], the verse stating that “Naphtali is satisfied and full of the Will of the Glorious Name and His blessing.” But in the Midrash of Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah²⁴⁵Sefer Habahir, 7 and 9. See Vol. I, p. 24, Note 42. the Rabbis commented on this verse: “Rabbi Amora said: What is the meaning of this verse, And full with the blessing of the Eternal; ‘yerashah’ (possess thou) the sea and the south? Thus said Moses: If you will walk in my statutes you will inherit the World to Come which is likened to the sea, as it is said, and broader than the sea,²⁴⁶Job 11:9. and this world which is likened to the south, as it is said, for that thou hast set me in the land of the ‘negev’²⁴⁷Joshua 15:19. [that is, a dry land], and is rendered by the Targum: ‘the southern land.’ And why is it written yerashah [‘possess thou’ — in the feminine], it should have said yerash [in the masculine]? Because even the Holy One, blessed be He, is included [in Naphtali’s inheritance], for the word yerashah consists of two words: resh Y-ah (possess G-d). To what may this be compared? To a king who had two treasures [i.e., the two worlds], and set one of them aside. At the end of many days he said to his son, ‘Take the contents of these two treasures.’ The son said, ‘Perhaps he will not give me the one he set aside.’ Thereupon the father said, to him, ‘Take everything.’ It is this which is written ‘yerashah’ (possess thou) the sea and the south — Y-ah resh. Everything is given you — if only you keep His ways!” They have further said:²⁴⁸Sefer Habahir, 3. “And full with the blessing of the Eternal; possess thou the sea and the south. The ‘sea’ is an allusion to the Torah alone, as it is said, and broader than the sea,”²⁴⁶Job 11:9. and [so they continue] the entire Midrash there. If so, the secret of the verse is as follows: “Naphtali is satisfied with the favor saturated by the blessing of the Eternal, which is ‘the sea’ combined in all [and comprised] of all.”²⁴⁹Reference is to the various attributes of G-d, as the subject is somewhat elucidated by Ramban in Genesis 24:1 (Vol. I, pp. 291-293). It is similar to what Scripture states, All the rivers run into the sea,²⁵⁰Ecclesiastes 1:7. this being “the house of the King.” This is like the parable of those who seek to see the king and ask, “Where is the house of the king?” Then [after finding the house] they ask, “Where is the king?” And even this world which is parched and dry of the favor [of G-d in comparison to the World to Come], Naphtali will inherit with Y-ah [as the word yerashah — resh Y-ah — indicates]. The student learned in the mysteries of the Cabala will understand.

נפתלי שבע רצון ומלא ברכת ה' ים ודרום ירשה, You, Naftali, have become the heir to the west and the east. You have enjoyed so much blessing from the Lord that there is no need for me to pray on behalf of your portion of the land to be blessed. Seeing that the fruits of Ginnosaur, the earliest ripening fruit of the land, grow within your boundaries there is no need for me to pray for such blessings to materialise. When you offer the first and finest of your products as bikkurim they will surely generate much goodwill for you from Hashem.

נפתלי שבע רצון, “Naftali is sated with favour;” Rash understands this phrase to mean that the territory allocated to Naftali would prove to be so well endowed that all its inhabitants would express their satisfaction with it. Nachmanides writes that the words שבע רצון, “well pleased,” refer to Hashem being well pleased with the lifestyle of this tribe and this would express itself visibly through the blessings He would shower upon that tribe.

נפתלי שבע רצון, Naftali, satiated with favour;” according to the plain meaning of the text the reference is to the favour of G’d with which this tribe will be satiated; it is somewhat similar in meaning to the words in verse 16 רצון שוכני סנה, “the goodwill of (the Lord) resident in the burning bush.” He will be full of G’d’s blessing and inherit land in the west and south.

He also took a measure of fully spread fishnet rope, etc. Meaning, he took a measure of fully rope to spread nets and traps. חרמים has the same meaning as מכמורות and is a repetition.

V. 23. ולנפתלי אמר וגו׳ Naftali — wohl im Gegensatz zu Dan und darum ohne Parschaabteilung ihm angeschlossen — ist שבע רצון, ist mit dem ihm gewordenen Gebiete voll befriedigt. So מלמד שהיה נפתלי שמח בחלקו :ספרי. In der Tat war sein — unmittelbar dem nordöstlichen Besitze Dans benachbartes — Gebiet מלא ׳ברכת ד. Es gehörte zu ihm ים כנרת der Genezaretsee, der selbst durch einen seltenen Fischreichtum ausgezeichnet und dessen Umgegend wegen ihres großen Reichtums an den herrlichsten Früchten, פירות גינוסר, berühmt war.

נפתלי שבע רצון, “Naftaly is sated with favour;” its territory produced fruit that ripened earlier than that of the other tribes. According to our author, fruit that ripens early in the season is more satisfying than fruit ripening later in the season. The psychology behind this is explained by the author as the farmer having had to anxiously wait full of desire until he could satisfy his longing.

שבע רצון, Naftaly is satisfied, aware of having been favoured;” the fruit of his orchards is not only of the highest quality, but also ripens ahead of those in other regions of the land. Whenever he tastes them he is gratefully conscious of his good fortune.

ים ודרום ירשה POSSESS THOU THE WEST (lit., the sea) AND THE SOUTH — The sea of Kinneret fell to his portion and he received on its south a ropes length of fishing-coast for spreading out his nets and meshes (Bava Kamma 81:2; cf. Sifrei Devarim 355:17).

A kabbalistic approach: Naftali will be satiated with the favour of G’d in His capacity as the attribute זאת, seeing that portion had commenced with the words וזאת הברכה. The words ים ודרום are an allusion to the world to come which is compared to ים and רחבת ים in Job 11,9. The present terrestrial world is compared to דרום, south, as we know from Joshua 15,19 (where Joshua gave such territory to the daughter of Calev, calling it (ארץ הנגב). This is also what is explained in the Sefer Habahir item 9, that the word ירשה is inappropriate as the word for שבט, tribe, is masculine and Moses should have said ירש, or רש. The addition of the letters י at the beginning and ה at the end are indicative of the blessing this territory enjoyed. We may therefore understand the verse as if Moses had written ים ודרום ויה רש, “he inherited west and south plus the blessing of the Lord.” Moses implied that he hoped that as a result of such blessing Naftali would be meticulous in observing G’d’s ways.

יְרָשָׁה ,ים ודרום ירשה wohl Inf. mit ה parag. העמק שאלה (Jes.7, 11) und zwar in aoristischer Bedeutung. Sein Gebiet liegt im Nordosten, allein durch die Trefflichkeit seiner nur in seinem Gebiete in solcher Vollendung sich findenden Früchte fällt ihm gleichsam auch der Westen und Süden zu, die er fortwährend an sich zieht. Es ist nicht unmöglich, dass diese friedliche Eroberung Naftalis in einer Gegenüberstellung zu der zuvor angedeuteten kriegerischen Dans sich befindet.

'ומלא ברכת ה, “and it is full of the Lord’s blessing.” Anyone visiting the territory of Naftaly during the growing season would bless the Lord when witnessing the produce approaching the harvesting season. Yaakov had already referred to this when he blessed his children in Genesis 49,21. Our sages in the Talmud, tractate B’rachot, folio 51, state that anyone who fills a cup to the brim in order to recite a benediction of thanksgiving (after a meal when saying grace) will inherit both worlds The authors of this saying, Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Yossi, who words it slightly differently, base themselves on our verse here, quoting: ומלא ברכת ה' ים ודרום ירשה, “possess you the sea and the south.” Some commentators interpret the word ים as referring to the west, i.e. the present material world, which is compared to night, whereas they understand the word דרום, as the region in the universe housing the sun during the periods between summer and winter. He who fills the cup of benediction to the brim will inherit both this world and the world to come which is compared to day.

'ומלא ברכת ה, “and filled with G-d’s blessing.” Whoever visits his part the land of Israel is amazed at how blessed this tribe is.

ירשה — This word it a form of the imperative, as is the verb in (Deuteronomy 1:21), “Go up and take possession (רַשׁ)”. The accent that is penultimate, on the ר, proves this. Just as in the case of the ordinary imperative forms of the verbs, סלח, ידע, לקח, שמע, when one adds a ה at the end the accent will be penultimate, viz., ,סלחה, ידעה, לקחה, שמעה, here also ירשה is an imperative form. In the Massora Magna we find it included in an alphabetical register of imperative forms the accent of which is on the penultima (next to the last syllable).

ברוך מבנים אשר LET ASHER BE BLESSED AMONG SONS (or, “on account of sons”) — I have found in the Sifrei Devarim 355:19 the following: You will find none of the tribes who was so blessed with children as Asher, but I do not know how this was so.

BLESSED ‘MIBANIM’ BE ASHER. If the letter mem [in the word mibanim] serves to signify greater status [meaning that Asher is singled out from among the tribes for greater blessing] as indicated by the mem in these expressions: blessed ‘minashim’ (from among all other women) shall Jael be;²⁵¹Judges 5:24. In other words, Jael shall be more blessed than other women. they [the ordinances of the Eternal] are to be desired ‘mizahav’ (more than gold), yea ‘umipaz rav’ (even more than much fine gold),²⁵²Psalms 19:11. and other similar expressions — then one may wonder: how could Moses diminish the rest of the tribes by saying that Asher be blessed more than all the sons of Jacob? Moreover [if such was his intent], his blessing was not fulfilled, for it did not come to pass. And Rashi wrote: “I have seen in the Sifre:²³⁹Sifre, Brachah 355. ‘You will find none of the tribes as blessed with children²⁵³“Of children.” In our text of Rashi: “with children.” as Asher.’ But I know not how this was so.” Now, our Rabbis meant to explain blessed ‘mibanim’ that Asher be blessed with the many children that he will beget, similar to the usage of the letter mem in the expression Blessed of the Eternal be his land, ‘mimeged’ (of the precious things) of heaven, ‘mital’ (of the dew).²⁵⁴Verse 13. Therefore, the Rabbis said that Moses blessed all the rest of the tribes with strength or with their inheritance, and Asher alone was blessed with children. And our textual version of the Sifre²³⁹Sifre, Brachah 355. reads: “You will find no one who was as blessed with children as Asher.” But how this blessing was fulfilled has not been explained. Perhaps it relates to what is written in [the Book of] Chronicles, All these were the children of Asher, heads of the fathers’ houses, choice and mighty men of valor, chief of the princes. And the number of them reckoned by genealogy for service in war was twenty and six thousand men.²⁵⁵I Chronicles 7:40. Such praise is not mentioned there about the rest of the tribes.
In line with the simple meaning of Scripture, Blessed ‘mibanim’ be Asher is similar to the blessing let him be the favored of his brethren,²⁵⁶In Verse 24 before us. the verse stating that Asher be blessed by all the sons of Jacob their father and be favored by all his brothers. The reason is that his land is rich and from there will come all royal dainties²⁵⁷Genesis 49:20. for all the tribes, and they will all constantly say, “May G-d bless this land which brings forth such fruits.” The letter mem in the word mibanim will be like the mem in: ‘mei’Hashem’ (‘from’ the Eternal) proceedeth the thing;²⁵⁸Ibid., 24:50. ‘mei’E-il’ (‘from’ the G-d of) thy father²⁵⁹Ibid., 49:25. [so that our verse means: “Blessed will be Asher ‘from’ the sons” of Jacob].
And Onkelos translated: “The blessing of Asher will be from the blessings of the sons” [of Jacob]. It appears that Onkelos meant to say that all of the tribes will come to Asher to buy oil, and Judah, and the Land of Israel, will be his merchants for wheat of Minnith, and balsam, and honey, and oil²⁶⁰Ezekiel 27:17. and all choice fruits of the land²⁶¹Genesis 43:11. all of which they will bring to sell him, and they will buy oil. Thus Asher will be blessed with all the delicacies available to all the tribes, this being the sense of the expression favored of his brethren,²⁵⁶In Verse 24 before us. for they will sell to him and buy from him what they desire. Then I found in Bereshith Rabbah:²⁶²Bereshith Rabbah 71:13. “And Leah said: ‘For my happiness! for daughters will call me happy,’ [and she called his name Asher].²⁶³Genesis 30:13. Rabbi Levi said: In all his days Asher never lodged in an inn.²⁶⁴Rabbi Levi is thus interpreting the word b’oshri as meaning “in my resting place,” i.e., in my home, from the Aramaic root sharah, meaning “resting.” Asher inherited palaces on the heights, [heights great in area] more than the land inherited by Judah. The sons of Asher: Imnah, and Ishvah and Beriah, and Serah their sister. [And the sons of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel,] who was the father of Birzaith.²⁶⁵I Chronicles 7:30-31. Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Simon said [with reference to the name Birzaith which contains the word zayith — olive] that the daughters of Asher were beautiful, and they were married to priests²⁶⁶In our version of Bereshith Rabbah Rabbi Levi says that they were married to priests; and Rabbi Simon says that they were married to kings, because the name Malchiel contains the word melech — king. Rashi here quotes both: “his daughters were married to High Priests and kings who were anointed with olive oil.” See Exodus 30:33 (Vol. II, pp. 531-533). who were anointed with olive oil etc.”

ברוך מבנים אשר, Asher will enjoy an exceptional blessing, not shared by the other tribes. It is in the nature of things that wealthy people attract the jealousy of those who are not so blessed with wealth. Asher will not be subject of jealousy, but, on the contrary, will be well liked by all the other tribes.

ברוך מבנים אשר. "Asher is the most blessed of the children." I have explained this statement in Numbers 7,72 where the prince of this tribe is mentioned (page 1381).

ברוך מבנים אשר, the Israelites blessed him as he waded in oil, (they benefited from his abundance of olive oil.)[It is not clear whether the comments by Rash’bam quoted on verses 18 and 24 are indeed attributable to him. Ed.]

ברוך מבנים אשר, “Asher is more blessed than any of the other tribes;” Nachmanides writes that if the letter מ in front of the word בנים is meant to introduce a comparative, i.e. “more than,” similar to the expression תבורך מנשים in Judges 5,24 where it means that Yael was more blessed than other women, we have a problem, as Moses would then have portrayed all the other tribes as at a disadvantage when compared to the blessings received by Asher. Surely, Moses did not mean to arouse the other tribes’ jealousy? Furthermore, and even more to the point, if that had been what Moses meant, history did not bear out what Moses promised or predicted. Rashi writes that he had seen a comment in the Sifri, according to which none of the other tribes had been blessed with children as abundantly as had the tribe of Asher. [It is strange that Nachmanides did apparently not know of that comment in the Sifri. Ed.] Nachmanides contents himself with considering that statement as unsupported by evidence of any kind. Nachmanides writes that our sages understood these words to mean that whereas all the other tribes’ blessings referred in some manner to the blessed nature of the piece of land they would inherit, in the case of Asher Moses emphasized the quality of the children that the tribe of Asher would be blessed with. The versions of the Sifri that were in circulation at Nachmanides’ time did not have the line quoted by Rashi. There is no record of the prediction made by Moses here being fulfilled. Perhaps Chronicles I 7,40 which commences with the words כל אלה בני אשר, having given details of descendants of Asher to the ninth generation, is some hint that the tribe developed exceedingly well. [Compare relative tables in the דעת מקרא edition of Chronicles by Mossad Harav Kook, and edited by Yehudah Kil. Ed.] The 26000 officers of varying rank listed in Chronicles as Asher’s contribution to the army is not matched by any of the other tribes. According to the plain meaning of the text, the פשט, Moses expresses a prayer that seeing that the land granted to the tribe of Asher is exceedingly productive, he hopes that the tribe will enjoy the blessing of G’d to ensure that they can benefit from this to the full extent possible, seeing that this land has a greater potential than that of the other tribes. The tribe should nonetheless be so well liked by the members of the other tribes, that instead of being jealous, they formulate a blessing when they bestow it, by using Asher as the model of someone being blessed by Hashem. Onkelos translates the phrase above as אשר יהי רעוא לאחוהי, “may he be well liked by his brothers, etc.” As a result of Asher’s popularity, the other tribes would make a point of buying their olive oil from that tribe’s ample supplies.

וטובל בשמן רגליו, “and he dips his foot in oil.” The choice of the word טבל was meant to indicate the abundance and even surfeit of oil (olive oil) in the part of the land allocated to Asher (Ibn Ezra). This is why Moses said: “his foot,” instead of saying: “his hand.” The simile is similar to the one we find in Genesis 49,11: “he washed his garments in wine.” At that time Yaakov mentioned “laundering” to indicate how abundant the wine in Yehudah’s territory would be if one could afford to use it as water is used in laundering. Both expressions do not have to be understood literally.

He found favor with his brothers with oil, etc. It was taught in a Beraisa: R’ Yehudah says, “אנפיקינון is oil of olives that had not reached a third [of their size]. And why do they anoint with it? Because it removes the hair and beautifies the skin (Pesachim 43a).

V. 24. ולאשר וגו׳. Es ist zweifelhaft, wie das מ in מבנים zu verstehen wäre, ob als Komparativ: gesegneter als Söhne, d. h. als die übrigen, oder vielmehr als manche der übrigen Söhne Israels, oder wie מברכת וגו׳ ממגד וגו׳: gesegnet durch Kinder, gesegnet an Kindern, oder endlich, wie wohl auch תברך מנשים יעל וגו׳ (Richter 5, 24): von Brüdern gesegnet. Da es in der Tat nicht אחים, sondern בנים heißt, so scheint die mittlere Auffassung dem Wortlaute gemäßer und wäre damit für den Stamm Ascher ein Segen an Kindern ausgesprochen, sei es an Zahl oder an Tüchtigkeit. Ebenso lässt das רצוי אחיו schwanken zwischen einem seinem und seiner Kinder Charakter sich zuwendenden Wohlwollen, das eine Verbindung mit ihnen anstrebt, oder einer durch die Vortrefflichkeit seines Bodens verursachten Verkehrsverbindung. Jedenfalls bezeugt das טובל בשמן רגלו die übergroße Fruchtbarkeit seines Bodens.

ברוך מבנים אשר, “Asher is blessed more than the other sons.” The reason for this is that all the other tribes also bless the tribe of Asher, as we know from the words יהי רצוי אחיו, “let him be favoured by his brethren.” (our verse) Moses goes on to explain the reason for this when he says: וטובל בשמן רגלו, “and let him dip his foot in oil.” His territory is so full of oil (from his olive groves) that it provides a surfeit for all the other tribes. Rabbi Eliyahu the priest, quoting his uncle, Rabbi Moshe, points out that tin the latest census the numbers for the tribe of Asher were 30% higher than in the previous census. Seeing that the total number of army aged males had practically not changed over 39 years, this is most remarkable, and the reason why Moses describes that tribe as more blessed than any of the others. (Compare Numbers 1,41 and Numbers 26,47)

ברך מבנים אשר, “Asher be blessed more than the other sons (of Yaakov).

יהי רצוי אחיו LET HIM BE ACCEPTED OF HIS BRETHREN — and this was so for he pleased (רצה) his brother-tribes with oil of unripe olives (used for anointing the body) and fine fruits, and they paid him (רצה) with grain. — Another explanation of יהי רצוי אחיו HE WILL BE ACCEPTABLE TO HIS BRETHREN — because his daughters were beautiful (and were much sought in marriage), and this is what is stated in Chronicles (1 Chronicles 7:31) [”The sons of Asher … Malchiel] who was the father of ברזית”, which is explained to mean: that his daughters were married to High Priests and Kings who were anointed with olive oil (זית) (Genesis Rabbah 71:10; cf. Rashi on this verse).

The reason is that he will sell the abundance of olive oil over which he disposes at low prices to his fellow tribes.

Another interpretation: “He shall be favored by his brothers,” since his daughters were beautiful, etc. Because according to the first interpretation you might ask why he was more favored to his brothers than his brothers were to him, since they found favor with him through produce [they supplied him with]. And according to the other interpretation you might ask that the verse should say, May Asher be blessed with daughters since his daughters were beautiful, or at least include the daughters with the sons and write, May Asher be blessed with sons and daughters. Therefore he also gives the first interpretation.

He receives these blessings from the other tribes, as proved from the end of this verse, where Moses concludes with יהי רצוי אחיו, “let him be the most favoured among his brothers.” What is the reason why all the other tribes bless Asher? He is able to bathe his feet in oil, i.e. this tribe enjoys an abundance of oil harvested from the olive trees on his territory. All its members can anoint themselves with this oil at minimal cost.

וטבל בשמן רגלו AND LET HIM DIP HIS FOOT IN OIL — it means that his land flowed with oil as a fountain: once it happened that the people of Laodicia were in need of oil; they appointed an agent (to purchase a large quantity and were able to do so only at a city of Asher; see Rashi on Genesis 49:20), as it is related in Menachot 85b.

“He was the father of Birzayis,”as his daughters were married, etc. You might ask that if so it should have said [his name was] Baszayis (daughter of olive)? The answer is that the children of his daughters were like his own children, because grandchildren are [considered] as one’s own children, and regarding them it says Birzayis (son of olive). (In the name of the Maharitz)

ברוך מבנים אשר, according to Rashi, the interpretation of this line is that there is no other tribe that has enjoyed being as fruitful, having so many children. (Rashi quotes Sifri as his source, adding that he does not know the reason for this.) If we consider the numbers of the tribes’ male children provided by the Torah, Menashe appears to have been equally blessed if not more so. The latter, of course was not a son but a grandson of Yaakov.

They appointed an emissary. Meaning an emissary, and he went and found much oil in his land.

יהי רצוי אחיו, according to tradition, when Reuven had defiled the couch of his father, it was Asher who told his other brothers about this. When hearing this, the brothers chided him for badmouthing their oldest brother. They ostracised him forthwith. Moses now revoked this ostracism. Seeing that when someone is ostracised this is introduced by the word: “be cursed,” Moses reversed this by now introducing his blessing of this tribe with an additional word of blessing, i.e. ברוך. When someone has been officially ostracised he is not allowed to engage in marital intercourse. He is also not allowed to anoint his skin with oil, nor to wear normal shoes; hence Moses refers to this tribe’s feet being shod with exceptionally string shoes, i.e. his shoes are as strong as iron. [According to Rabbi Chavell, this interpretation is found in Tossaphot. Ed.]

ברזל ונחשת מנעלך THY LOCKS SHALL BE IRON AND COPPER — He is now addressing all Israel: This prophecy was fulfilled because their mighty men used to dwell in the border cities and, as it were, locked it (the country) so that the enemy should not be able to invade it, as though it were closely shut by locks and bars of iron and copper. Another explanation of ברזל ונחשת מנעלך: your land is locked in (surrounded) by mountains from which iron and copper is hewn, and the country of Asher was the “lock” of the Land of Israel (Sifrei Devarim 355:25).

IRON AND BRASS SHALL BE THY BARS. Asher was at the end of the Land of Israel, as it is written with reference to his inheritance, and it reached to Carmel westward,²⁶⁷Joshua 19:26. and it is further stated, and its goings out were at the sea.²⁶⁸Ibid., Verse 29. And again it is said, Asher drove not out the inhabitants of Acco,²⁶⁹Judges 1:31. which is located on the Great Sea [i.e., the Mediterranean], as the Rabbis have said:²⁷⁰Yerushalmi Shekalim VI, 2. See also Bereshith Rabbah 23:11. “At first [the ocean] advanced till Acco, and the second time till Japho.” And if so, Asher’s land was like the bars of the Land of Israel. Therefore, Moses said, Iron and brass shall be thy bars, that he will have [so to speak] doors of brass²⁷¹Isaiah 45:2. and iron bars, and the entire Land will be locked with them. This is an intimation that G-d will protect the whole Land from the enemy and the avenger.²⁷²Psalms 8:3. Or perhaps the verse states that strangers will not come to plunder the oil, for it will be transported from his land to the whole world in merchant ships.

ברזל ונחושת מנעלך וכימיך דבאך, may your door bolts be iron and copper, and your security last all your days.אין כאל ישורון, after Moses had completed his prayer concerning the tribes, he began blessing Israel as a whole.You, who are also known as Yeshurun, wear this title due to the nature of your power, אל, being different from all the other nations in two vital aspects. 1) other nations will not covet your land or try to invade it as they are afraid, something that proved true during the entire reign of Joshua and while any of the elders who were his advisers remained alive. (compare Joshua 24,31). Moses describes the land during that period as if bolted securely with heavy metal bolts, i.e. ברזל ונחושת מנעלך. 2) Your kingdom will not experience constant ups and downs such as the kingdoms of other nations whose position in the world constantly changes. כימיך דבאך, your position among the nations will be constant. The reason why I am certain that my blessing will materialise is that אין כא-ל רוכב שמים וארץ, no one else has a G’d that rides the heavens and the earth. Moses develops a theological/philosophical concept that contradicts that of the nations of the world, even those who recognise a supreme G’d who has created the universe. In their estimation, such a G’d would not bother to constantly stoop down to earth to see what goes on there, i.e. “ride both the heavens and the earth.” These nations believe that such matters must be left to delegates, such as the constellations of the stars, horoscopes, etc.

ברזל ונחושת מנעליך, “your borders (those of all the tribes having borders other that the sea) be sealed tightly by iron and copper fences.” May Hashem always protect your borders from attack.

Another interpretation: Your locks are iron and copper, etc. Because according to the first interpretation you might ask what is the relevance of copper to locks, since people generally make locks only from iron. Also, the verse does not mention bolts. Therefore he gives another interpretation. And according to the other interpretation you might ask why it says this specifically about Asher, since other tribes also settled at the border and mountains surrounded their territory. Therefore the first interpretation is also needed. This is easy to understand.

V. 25. ברזל וגו׳. Alle bisherigen Segnungen sprechen von dem Gesegneten in der dritten Person. Die folgenden Segensaussprüche bis zum Schlusse sind offenbar von allgemeinem, die Gesamtheit Israels betreffendem Inhalt und sind an diese in der Anrede der zweiten Person gerichtet. Da nun diese Anrede bereits mit diesem V. 25 beginnt, so dürften überhaupt die Segnungen der einzelnen Stämme bereits mit V. 24 schließen und ein rascher Übergang zum allgemeinen mit diesem V. 25 eintreten. Wir haben oben zu V. 6 gesehen, wie auch der Übergang vom allgemeinen zu dem besonderen der Einzelstämme ohne Parschaabsatz geschieht. Ebenso geht hier das Segenswort Mosche ohne Absatz wieder von dem Besonderen zum Allgemeinen zurück. Durch diese äußere Form ist das alle betreffende Allgemeine (Verse 2-5 und 25-29), als der eigentliche, alle und alles gemeinsam umfassende Segen gekennzeichnet, innerhalb dessen nur einzelne, diesen allgemeinen Segen an hervorleuchtenden Eigentümlichkeiten einzelner Stämme bekundende Züge sich einreihen. Diese Besonderheiten, welche von V. 13 an sich vorzüglich auf die gesegnete Bodenbeschaffenheit beziehen, erhalten, wie wir glauben, noch in diesem V. 25 einige allgemein ergänzende Züge, mit welchen dann die Rede sich wieder rasch der Beendigung des Gesamtsegens zuwendet. Nachdem nämlich mit Juda, Levi und Benjamin der vornehmlichen Träger der Nationalmacht, der Nationalehre und des Nationalheiligtums gedacht war, sprechen die Segnungen der übrigen sieben Stämme den von Eigentümlichkeiten der Einzelgebiete getragenen Nationalwohlstand aus. Diesem gesegneten Bilde vom jüdischen Lande fügt der V. 25 noch ergänzend ein paar Worte vom Mineralreichtum und Klima bei und steigt die Rede dann mit V. 26 zu dem alles in einen Gesamtsegen wieder zusammenfassenden Schluss.

ברזל ונחושת, “iron and copper;” this is a metaphor for what are the sinews and bones for the body. They are for the body what the lock is on the door of the house.

דבאך, “your old age.” The expression is one of דאבה, “old age;” it is one of the words in which the sequence of two letters have been reversed, such as in כשבים and כשבים sheep, or שמלה and שלמה, both meaning: dress, or garment. Moses refers to the days of old age which often are days of anxiety and depression, i.e. דאבה. Moses blesses Asher in that even in his old age he would be full of vigour and enjoy the golden age. Compare a statement to this effect in the Talmud, tractate Chulin, folio 24.

וכימיך דבאך AND AS THY DAYS SO SHALL BE דבאך — i.e. and as the days that are thy best, — that is, the days of thy beginning, the days of thy youth, so shall be the days of thy old age, which דואבים, i.e. which flow away and decline (דבאך therefore means: the period of thy decline). Another explanation of וכימיך דבאך: as the number of thy days — all the days when thou didst perform the will of the Omnipresent, — shall be דבאך, thy flowing, i.e., referring to the fact that all countries will make gold and silver flow into the land of Israel, because it will be blessed with fruits, and all countries will take their supply of fruit from it and will, in payment, pour into it their silver and gold; askorant in old French: thus their silver and gold will come to an end, because they will pour it into your land (Sifrei Devarim 355:26).

וכימיך דבאיך, “may your old age be similar to your prime.” Nachmanides understands the word דבאך as being similar in meaning to זובאך, claiming that the letter ד and ז are very often used interchangeably, quoting one or two examples. The meaning of the line would be: “may the oil flowing from your olive presses be so bountiful that you can dip your feet in it, כימיך, as long as you live.” It is true that what commentators have pointed out in connection with Deut. 28,65, that the word דאבון, which means “mental depression,” is the opposite of the optimism that one possesses in one’s prime. i.e. ימיך. Moses’ prayer is that the Jewish nation, when its members experience old age, should not feel depressed by it, but should enjoy it no less than their prime.

Asher locked-in Eretz Yisroel. Rashi is answering the question: Why this is mentioned in the blessing of Asher more so than [in the blessings of] the other tribes, since it is a blessing that could [otherwise] apply to all the tribes?

AND AS THY DAYS ‘DAVECHA.’ Concerning this word [davecha] it seems to me that it is like zavecha [meaning: “so shall ‘thy flowing’ oil be” — as explained further on], for these letters [daleth and zayin] are regularly used interchangeably [in our language]. Thus it says, ‘madheivah’ (the exactress of gold) ceased²⁷³Isaiah 14:4. [written with a daleth] in place of mazheivah [written with a zayin, from the word zahav — gold]. The entire Aramaic language follows that rule [of daleth — zayin interchangeability] in every usage of [the Hebrew words] zevichah (slaughtering),²⁷⁴Thus the Hebrew word miz beiach (altar), written with the zayin, is translated in Aramaic as madbach, with a daleth (Exodus 20:21). and also in every usage of zechirah (remembrance),²⁷⁵The Hebrew vayizkor (and He remembered), is translated in Aramaic as udechir, (Genesis 8:1). and similarly, zahav (gold),²⁷⁶In Aramaic it is rendered dahava (Genesis 2:11). zakan (beard),²⁷⁷In Aramaic it is dikna (Leviticus 13:30). zanav (tail),²⁷⁸In Aramaic it is danba (Judges 14:4). ‘zrei’ (scatter) away,²⁷⁹Numbers 17:2. This is rendered in Targum Yonathan as badrei. and many others, [in each of which, Aramaic substitutes a daleth for the Hebrew zayin]. So also for [the Hebrew words] zavah (a woman suffering a flux), the female flow, or the male flux [all are rendered in Aramaic] davah. Their entire language constantly interchanges the zayin with the daleth in this way. Thus [the Hebrew] my days are ‘nizachu’ (extinct)²⁸⁰Job 17:1. is in place of [the Aramaic] nidachu. So also ‘zachalti’ (I feared) and was afraid²⁸¹Ibid., 32:6. is like dachalti. Scripture thus states here: “and as your days so shall zavecha be,” meaning “that your land will ‘flow’ with the aforementioned oil, and you will dip your foot in it all your days forever.”
What they²⁸²R’dak in the “Sefer Hasharashim,” under the word daba, in the name of his father the grammarian Joseph Kimchi. have interpreted is also possible — and it is correct — that the word davecha [spelled: daleth, beth aleph, kaph] is a reversed [and hence synonymous] form of da’avon (languishing) of soul²⁸³Above, 28:65. [spelled: daleth, aleph, beth, nun]. Scripture calls the days of old age da’avon (languishing) for they are the days of evil²⁸⁴Ecclesiastes 12:1. and pain; and it calls the days of youth his days²⁸⁵As stated in the verse before us: and as thy days etc. since they are his to rejoice in them and cheer his heart.²⁸⁶See Ecclesiastes 11:9. Thus the meaning of the verse is as follows: “and as the days of your youth so shall be the days of your old age,” this being an allusion to Asher’s security and honor while the earth remaineth.²⁸⁷Genesis 8:22. Now, I have seen in [the rendering of] the Targum Yerushalmi:²⁸⁸See Vol. I, p. 371, Note 128. “as the days of their youth, so shall their old age be.” This is as I have explained.

Werfen wir einen Blick auf die Karte von Palästina, so dürfte die Reihenfolge, in welcher die Stämme hier genannt sind, außer dem inneren Zusammenhang auch noch durch die räumliche Lage gegeben gewesen sein, in welcher Mosche von seinem Standpunkt aus bei Nebo das Land und damit die Gebiete der einzelnen Stämme überschaute. Er stand im Gebiete Reuben. Über das tote Meer hinübersehend, traf sein Blick Juda und Benjamin, denen sich im Geiste nach dem vornehmlichen Felde seiner Wirksamkeit Levi einfügte. Unmittelbar daran nahmen die eigentliche Mitte des Landes der Stamm Efrajim und der diesseitige Teil Menasches ein, woran sich wieder unmittelbar nordwärts Jissachar und Sebulun schlossen. Mit dem Übergang zu Juda und dem Fortschritt zu Efrajim und Menasche hatte die Umschau im jenseitigen Osten Gad, und ihm gerade gegenüber im diesseitigen Westen Dan zurückgelassen. Diese nachholend schließt sich durch die Dan׳sche Eroberung Naftali im Nordosten und ihm angrenzend Ascher im Nordwesten an. Ascher bildet die äußerste nordwestliche Spitze des Landes. Darüber hinaus trifft den Blick der Libanon, der noch mit dem Mineralreichtum in seinem Schoße den Segen des Landes schließt. Dies spricht der schauende Blick in ברזל ונחשת מנעלך aus. מנעלך, von נעל schließen, מנעול Verschluss, Türschloss, bezeichnet hier das Libanongebirge als den Verschluss, die natürliche feste Grenzwehr des Landes gen Norden, die zugleich zu dem bereits geschilderten Bodenreichtum der Vegetation auch noch einen Reichtum an Mineralien für den Bergbau bringt, und

וכימיך דבאך, “and as your days so shall be your strength.” Moses blesses Asher to be as agile and physically strong in old age as in its prime. The author quotes Rabbi Chanina saying in the Talmud, tractate Chulin, folio 24, that this Rabbi, at the age of 80, praised the Lord who had given him the strength to still tie his shoe laces while standing on one leg unsupported, (of course). He attributed this to how his mother, during his youth, had massaged oil into his bones and she had regularly bathed him in hot water.

Which [generally] flow downward, droop, and decline. Rashi is answering how days of old age are connected to [the word] דבאך.

כימיך דבאך. Die Wurzel דבא kommt nicht wieder vor. Die Lautverwandtschaft mit דוה: siech sein, דפה, wovon דופי: Makel, weist für דבא auf den Begriff eines Schwächezustandes hin. כימיך דבאך sagte daher, wie wir glauben: deinen Tagen entsprechend ist deine Kraftabnahme, d. h. in deinem Lande altern die Menschen nicht vor der Zeit. Ist diese Auffassung richtig, so würde damit die wohltätigste Beschaffenheit des Klimas bezeichnet sein, das der normalsten Entwicklung des Menschen günstig ist. Indem aber dann dieser letzte Zug im Segensbilde des Landes sich an den Anblick des Libanons knüpft, jenes Gebirges, welches hoch oben im Norden die schützende Nordgrenze, mit seinen südwärts auslaufenden Absenkungen aber ganz eigentlich das Gestaltungsgerippe des Landes bildet (siehe zu Kapitel 3, 25), so dürfte es nicht fern liegen, zu meinen, die klimatische Beschaffenheit des Landes sei in sehr wesentlichem Maße eben durch dies Libanongebirge gegeben, und knüpfte sich die Erwähnung des klimatischen Segens um so mehr an den Anblick des Libanons, der nicht nur ein natürliches Bollwerk mit Mineralreichtum in seinem Schoße bildet, sondern klimatische Gesundheit über das ganze Land hin verbreitet: ברזל ונחשת מנעלך וכימיך דבאך.

Another interpretation: According to your days, shall be your stream, etc. Because according to the first interpretation you might ask that it should have said, As your youth so may be your declining days. Therefore Rashi gives another interpretation. And according to the alternative interpretation alone you might ask that it should have said According to your deeds, shall be your stream. Therefore he also needs the first interpretation.

Which are beneficial to you — according to the number of your days, etc. Meaning, all the time that your days are called days, i.e., all the days you do Hashem’s will, so shall be your stream as all the countries shall stream, etc. But when you do not do Hashem’s will, your days are not called days, as the sages say (Berachos 18b), The wicked are called dead even during their lifetime.

אין כאל ישרון THERE IS NONE LIKE GOD, O JESHURUN — Know, O Israel, that there is none like God among all the gods of the peoples, and that their rock is not as your Rock.

אין כאל ישרון, "There is none like G'd, O, Yeshurun." There is no other G'd like the G'd of Yeshurun (Israel) who performs all these deeds on their behalf, i.e. who rides all over the heavens on behalf of Israel in order to assist them. The word בעזרך means "in order to help them," i.e. to fight on "your" behalf. Compare Exodus 14,14: "G'd will fight on your behalf." When G'd engages in warfare on behalf of Israel all the forces of heaven are His chariot.

ובגאותו שחקים מעונה, a reference to the presumed haughtiness of G’d, Who, just because of His lofty stature would only remain in the celestial spheres. This, i.e. the domain called שחקים, is a reference to the orbit of a constellation that occurs during the day when, because of it being light, no stars or other celestial objects are noticeable. The force of energy propelling this “constellation” is invisible just as the מעונת האריה, the hidden lair of the lion, which harbors within it unseen and unsuspected strength.

אין כא-ל ישורון, “There is none like G’d, Yeshurun;” The reason is that there is no other nation equal to the Jewish people, a people who are able to call upon G’d Who rides across heaven and earth to help them.

That none is comparable to Hashem, among all the Gentile deities and not like your Mighty Rock is their rock. Why does Rashi cite the words and not, etc. [seemingly] for no reason? One might say that he is answering the question: Why the verse does not say, אין כאלהי ישורון (there is none like the God of Yeshurun) as it says (Psalms 96:5), “כל אלהי העמים אלילים (for all the gods of the nations are things of nothingness).” Why does the verse say אין כאל? Regarding this he explains [that the verse means], For not like your [Mighty] Rock is their rock. And אל too is an expression of might as it says (Yechezkel 17:13), And he took away the mighty (אילי) of the land. Therefore it also says אין כאל, which is an expression of might.

V. 26. כאל .אין וגו׳: Dieser Bekundung Gottes, Gott, wie er da sich bekundet, gleicht nichts, nirgends bekundet sich Gott so wie dir, ישורן, wenn du "Jeschurun" bist, wenn du "abweichungslos" deiner Pflicht treu lebst. רכב שמים, nicht השמים: was von der außerirdischen Welt einen Einfluss auf dein Gedeihen üben kann, das lenkt Er in deinen Beistand, d. h.: indem Er dir beisteht, lenkt Er Außerirdisches zu diesem Ziele. שחקים ,ובגאותו שחקים, im Vergleich zu שמים, gehören schon zu dem irdischen Bereich, bilden sich ja auch von der Erde hinauf; daher: ובגאותו, in all seiner Erhabenheit, so hoch über allen Irdische hinaus Er erhaben ist, lenkt Er doch auch deinen irdischen Himmel in deinen Beistand,

אין כאל ישורון, “there is none like G–d, Yeshurun; now Moses addresses his words to the whole people of Israel, telling them to serve the Lord with all their heart. They are to fortify their reverence for the Lord. After all, there is no Power comparable to their Lord. There is no other source of help comparable to Him. He rules over all creatures be they in heaven or on earth.

רכב שמים — The meaning is: A RIDER UPON THE HEAVEN is the God who is your help, ובגאותו שחקים AND IN HIS MAJESTY he rides UPON THE SKIES.

He is the God, etc. The letter שין [i.e., the word Who] is missing as [it is missing] in (Shemos 18:20) את הדרך ילכו בה, The path [that] they must walk in. Because without this [Rashi’s interpretation] there would be no way to understand and, in His pride, the high heavens, which means, and in His pride He straddles the high heavens, since straddles at the beginning of the verse also refers to the high heavens at the end of the verse.

מענה אלהי קדם A DWELLING PLACE FOR THE ANCIENT GOD (This must be connected with the preceding): — The skies serve as a dwelling place for the ancient God, i.e. the God Who pre-existed (קדם) all gods, for He selected the skies as His residence and dwelling place, ומתחת AND BENEATH His dwelling place, all the mighty men (men of strong arm, זרוע) dwell.

אלוקי קדם, the true G’d ever since the beginning of all existence. Anything that is of more recent origin has been called into existence by this G’d.

מעונה אלוקי קדם, “that (the שחקים at the end of the last verse) is the abode of G’d since days immemorial.” Some commentators understand this phrase as meaning: “Your abode is that of the Immemorial G’d.”

The heavens are as the dwelling, etc. Since this verse is connected to the previous verse and means, In His pride He straddles the high heavens which are the dwelling of the eternal God. He is called the earliest God here to explain why he chose the high heavens as His dwelling place; because He preceded all the gods.

V. 27. מעונה (siehe Wajikra S. 421). Er, der von aller Urvergangenheit her Gott ist, trägt den verrinnenden Zeitmoment jeder Gegenwart, und er ist nicht nur ein Gott aus der Höhe, was מתחת aus der Tiefe herauf, זרעת עולם die "ewigen Arme" bildet, d. h. was von aller Vergangenheit her in alle Zukunft hin alles hienieden trägt, das ist Er. זרועות, nicht זרוע, die irdischen Dinge bedürfen der vielfältigsten Arme, die ihr Dasein tragen. Er, der somit der Gott aller Zeiten, aller Räume und aller Dinge in allen Zeiten und Räumen ist, Er hat in der Gegenwart das Land als den zu deiner Entwicklung bestimmten Raum dir angewiesen und darum die Entfernung der Bewohner aus dem Lande verhängt. השמד ist Infinitiv.

מעונה אלוקי קדם, “the ancient G–d is a source of refuge;” the heavens are G–d’s residence, He Who preceded everything and everyone else.

ומתחת זרועות עולם, “and underneath are the everlasting arms;” Asher is perceived riding on the globe which is seen as beneath the rider. The “arms” are seen as supporting the universe, carrying its weight. The One Who rules both the upper regions of the universe and its lower regions is seen as supporting Asher also.

זרעת עולם THE ARMS OF THE WORLD are men such as Sihon and Og and the kings of Canaan who were the strength and might of the world. Therefore, since they are beneath God’s dwelling place, in spite of themselves they must tremble and quake, and their power prove frail in His presence, for always the fear of the one above falls upon him below, so that He, being above, to Whom therefore belong strength and power, is thy help.

ומתחת זרועות עולם; beneath the heavens this G’d manifests Himself as the G’d of everlasting arms, (in the sense of extensions of His essence) mortal rulers whose power is of short duration, even the supposed basic elements, as well as what we call nature, the phenomena supplying nourishment for all he mortal forms of life on earth, including the ability to procreate.

Below His dwelling, [all the strong-armed reside]. Meaning that beneath Him all the strong-armed reside, such as Sichon and Og, etc. The verse says that they are beneath in order to describe their weakness. Even though they are the powerful ones of long ago, but because they dwell below, they quake before Him, because the exalted are always fearsome, etc. And because the Mighty One is your aid, He will banish all your enemies from your presence and say to you, Destroy them. (Re”m)

ומתחת זרועות עולם, “and underneath (as support) are the ever-lasting arms;” The G–d in heaven also supports the universe below that He has created. He is the ruler of both the “upper” regions and the “lower” regions in the universe.

ויגרש מפניך אויב, “He thrusts out the enemy from before you. They are specifically: Amalek, Sichon and Og.,ויאמר: השמד, and Who said: “destroy,” i.e. תמחה את זכר עמלק “wipe out the memory of Amalek” (Deut 25,19” (Deut 25) and לא תחיה כל נשמה “do not allow a single soul to survive” (in the land of Canaan).

ויגרש מפניך אויב AND HE DROVE OUT THE ENEMY FROM BEFORE YOU, ויאמר AND HE SAID to you השמד DESTROY them!

ויגרש מפניך אויב, He, this eternal G’d, expelled on your account the inhabitants that inhabited the land promised to your forefathers by Him. He had said to you: השמד!, “destroy!” For you certainly did not conquer this land by force of arms with your sword, so that you would be afraid of losing it after a time, when your strength would ebb, as does the strength of every conquering nation after a while. Seeing that it had not been you who had driven them out, you have no reason to fear a natural erosion of your power to hold on to this land. [Only the One Who has expelled them is in a position to expel you if you give Him reason to do so. Ed.]

And said to you, “Destroy!” them. Rashi adds the word to you after said to inform to whom this statement is said. He also adds the word them after the word destroy, to inform us that the word destroy refers to the enemy mentioned above, and it is as if it said, And said to you, ‘Destroy the enemy.’

ויגרש מפניך אויב, “He will expel every enemy from before you,”

מענה — Every word that requires ל at its beginning, [Scripture] places (may place) a ה at its end instead (Yevamot 13b).

ויאמר: השמד, “by simply ordering (His agent), in this case the Jewish people, by saying to them “destroy Amalek utterly,” as in Deuteronomy 25,19. The era when this order will be given a second time, [it had been given a first time to the first Jewish King Sha-ul, who had not completely carried it out, Ed.] will be only after the Jewish people are no longer under attack or even afraid of attack from the gentiles. One of the conditions for that time having arrived is spelled out by the prophet Bileam in Numbers 23,9 when he described the Jewish people as not feeling part of the “United Nations,” but as residing in solitary splendour, perfectly content in their role.

בטח בדד [THEREFORE ISRAEL DWELT] IN SAFETY, ALONE — This means, every individual dwelling “each under his vine and under his fig-treeבטח) ״; cf. 1 Kings 5:5 where the words Rashi quotes are preceded by לבטח), separated one from another (בדד, “alone”), because after the enemy was driven out, as stated in the preceding verse, they had no need to come together and to dwell in company on account of the enemy.

וישכון ישראל בטח, as we read in Joshua 11,23 והארץ שקטה ממלחמה, “the land was tranquil, rested from war.” בדד עין יעקב אל ארץ דגן ותירוש, insulated, secure is Yaakov’s tenure, He, the G’d of Yaakov, is the source of the land producing corn and wine. He is the Lord whom you seek out, who, after all said and done is עין ישראל, Israel’s fountain. This is manifest in the manner in which שמיו יערפו טל, His heavens will provide your land with ample and blissful dew. Moses’ blessing envisages the times of the Messiah when the heavens by dripping dew will make the land fruitful as it had been before Adam’s sin, as documented in Genesis 2,5-6 that when there was not yet a human being to till the soil, and G’d had not yet made it rain on to the earth, a vapour rose from the earth and irrigated it,” so that it could produce crops without the need for rain from above. Once the messianic age will dawn, conditions on earth will be similar to what they were before Adam had sinned, and, as a result, growing one’s food had been decreed to be something laborious, involving sweat. The Talmud Shabbat 30 foresees that at that time ready made cakes will materialise from the soil of the land of Israel.

וישכן ישראל בטח, Israel dwelled in safety; when does this situation occur? When they live in isolation. The statement introduced by the words וישכן, etc., is a continuation of the previous statement ויאמר השמד, that G'd had ordered the Israelites to wipe out the Canaanites. As a result of fulfilling this instruction Israel would be assured of dwelling safely in the Holy Land.

עין יעקב, “the well of Yaakov.” According to the plain meaning of the text “someone who had emerged from the ‘well’ of Yaakov” (Ibn Ezra). We find a similar expression pertaining to offspring of Yehudah in Isaiah 48,1, where the words וממי יהודה “and have issued forth from the waters of Yehudah,” also mean that the people the prophet refers to are descended from Yaakov through Yehudah.
The words אל ארץ דגן, “to a land of grain,” clearly must be understood as “in a land of grain, etc.” We have a similar use of the word אל in Kings I 8,35 where Solomon describes people praying at the Temple as ויתפללו אל המקום הזה, “and they will pray to this place.” Clearly, he did not mean that their prayers should be directed at the “place,” but, to G’d Who is perceived as being at that place.
If Moses speaks of the inheritance of the land in conjunction with Yaakov (instead of Avraham or Yitzchok), this is to preclude anyone thinking that other descendants of the two senior patriarchs had any claim to that land. This is also why we never find the expression עין אברהם or עין יצחק as it would have included other sons of Avraham, or Esau, a son of Yitzchok. We have pointed out repeatedly that the Jewish people have an exclusive claim to four gifts: prophecy, Torah, the land of Israel, and resurrection of the bodies after an interval.
The exclusivity of these gifts to the Jewish people can be attributed directly to quotes from Moses’ own lips. Concerning the gift of prophecy, he said in Deut. 18,15: “a prophet among you, one of your brethren, someone like me, etc.” He meant: “just as I am a direct descendant of Yaakov, so any future prophet will be a direct descendant of Yaakov.” This verse teaches that prophecy is not to be found except among the Jewish people.
If you were to counter that we do find Bileam as a prophet among the Gentile nations, the fact is that Bileam was not a prophet at all; he had the occasional communication from G’d, a communication described as מקרה, as we know from the Torah itself which described G’d ‘s communication to him as ויקר instead of as ויקרא, i.e. a happening which was of a totally irregular nature. Even on that occasion, G’d communicated with him only for the sake and honour of the Jewish people (compare author’s words on Numbers 23,16 and 24,4). Alternatively, the only reason Bileam was granted prophetic powers was to silence the Gentiles’ argument that if G’d had given them prophets they too would have risen to the same moral and ethical levels as had the Jewish people (Bamidbar Rabbah 20,1).
The exclusivity of the gift of the Torah to the Jewish people is proved by the verse (Deut. 33,4) “Moses has commanded the Torah to us, an hereditary gift for the community of Yaakov.”
The exclusivity of the gift of Eretz Yisrael to direct descendants of Yaakov is proved by our verse mentioning עין יעקב אל ארץ דגן ותירוש. History has proved that during the many centuries of the Jewish people being exiled from that land no other nation ever succeeded in making it a land flowing with milk and honey. This is why it was never settled successfully by another nation for any period of time.
The resurrection of the dead being something reserved for the Jewish people is attested to by the words in our verse אף שמיו יערפו טל, “even its heavens drip with dew.” The word שמיו, “its heavens,” refers to the expression עין יעקב at the beginning of the same verse, meaning that the dew which in the future will be the mechanism awakening the dead to rebirth comes from the part of heaven ערבות, in which the descendants of Yaakov ride in the interval. In other words, the Yeshurun described in verse 26 are the souls of the Jewish people after death awaiting the call to be resurrected. This part of heaven contains the dew which will reunite these souls with their bodies. Other nations do not share this privilege; their souls will not be reunited with their bodies. This is what Daniel 12,2 referred to when he spoke about many awakening from their slumber, the “many” being Jews. The word רבים, chosen by Daniel as the ones who will be resurrected is a word which has been used to describe Jews on other occasions in the Bible, such as in Esther 8,17 ורבים מעמי הארץ מתיהדים, which, according to Sifri Haazinu 306 (end of Deut. 32,2), refers to Jews becoming proper Jews again. According to Rabbi Simai there, Moses calls the heaven the domain of the soul, whereas he refers to the earth as the domain of the body. He calls on the dew to reunite the two. People who studied and practiced Torah on earth are as if “heavenly,” and the curse that they will die (permanently) as described by David in Psalms 82,7 does not apply to them. Obviously, the people he speaks of can only be the Jewish people.
We also find that Isaiah prophesied about the future of the Gentile nations saying that מתים בל יחיו, רפאים בל יקומו, “they are dead, they can never live; shades, they can never rise” (Isaiah 26,14), whereas in verse 19 of the same chapter he writes: ”your dead will live, let corpses arise! Awake and shout for joy, you who dwell in the dust, for your dew is like the dew on fresh growth, you make the land of shades come to life.” The meaning of the two verses is that a revival of the dead will occur only for the Jewish people. You should know that all of the Jewish people will be resurrected physically, however they will then experience a judgment which will determine their future. This is why Daniel 12,2 describes that some “will remain alive indefinitely whereas others will be consigned to everlasting abhorrence.” This is also what the psalmist Assaph referred to in (Psalms 73,20) בעיר צלמות תבזה, “when awake you despise death.” The word בעיר in that verse has its root in ער, awake, and is to be understood as בהעיר, “when in a state of wakefulness.” We encounter similar constructions, such as in Isaiah 23,11 where the word לשמיד is to be understood as if the prophet had written להשמיד, “to destroy.” Targum Yonathan renders the verse in Psalms 73,20 as “like the dream of a person who is awakened from a dream to face a day of judgment when I awaken them from their graves in anger to announce their permanent death.” We have also been taught in a Baraitha (Rosh Hashanah 16) that when the day of judgment arrives there will be three groups of people. One group comprises the totally righteous, one the totally wicked, irredeemable, and one group consists of the ones who fall in between the other two categories. The first group will be immediately inscribed and sealed in the Book of the righteous and their fate will be sealed so that they can immediately proceed to the hereafter. The second group will be consigned to hell immediately, in accordance with the verse from Daniel which we already quoted. This proves to you that even the totally wicked (Jews) will first be awakened before being consigned to their eventual destination. For the wicked this resurrection of their bodies will actually be a punishment rather than a reward seeing that they will be judged in Gehinom both body and soul in one of the seven levels of that domain.
Concerning the people who fall between the two extremes of being totally righteous and totally wicked, the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 17 says that they will express their pains during the punishments endured but, if their merits exceed their demerits, they will rise from the pain inflicted upon them and join their brethren in the hereafter reserved for the righteous. The ones whose demerits exceed their accumulated merits, however, will descend into Gehinom for a period of 12 months. At the end of that period their bodies will cease to exist and their souls will be burned, the remains being scattered beneath the soles of the feet of the righteous inhabiting these celestial regions. The fact that the Talmud describes their bodies as “ceasing,” proves that they had descended to Gehinom first both as bodies and souls.
In order to hint that the resurrection of the bodies is something reserved exclusively for the Jewish people, Moses mentioned “dew,” and immediately afterwards: “hail to you Israel.” Our sages in the Sifri 340, commenting on the words in 34,3 where the Torah describes the extent of the vision granted to Moses, עד הים האחרון, “as far as the western sea” in 34,3, add: that instead of reading these words as עד הים האחרון, we should read them as עד היום האחרון, “until the final day.”

Each and every individual, etc. Rashi is answering the question: Why do we need the word בדד, once it says בטח, securely? For Rashi explained above in parshas Ha’azinu (32:12) [on the verse, ה' בדד ינחנו], Hashem conducted them alone, in security. Thus בדד also connotes security. He answers that here בדד means each and every individual etc.

V. 28. וישכן וגו׳. Nur durch Gott, der ׳מענה וגו׳ ויגרש וגו, hat Israel seine Stätte auf Erden gefunden, בטה בדד, in Absonderung gesichert, unter Gottes Schutz vom Zusammenhang mit andern Volkesgestaltungen auf Erden gelöst, עין יעקב: tief bedeutsam heißt es nicht יעקב על עין ארץ דגן ותירוש, nicht: Jaakow an dem Quell eines reichgesegneten Landes, sondern: ׳עין יעקב אל ארץ וגו, wörtlich: Jaakows Quell zu einem Lande hin voll Korn und Most, d. h. nicht Jaakow blühet durch das Land, sondern das Land blüht durch Jaakow. Von Jaakow geht der Quell aus, durch welchen das Land zu einem korn- und mostreichen Lande wird. Die Blüte des Landes ruht nicht auf physischen Ursachen; das von Jaakow zu erwartende sittliche Verhalten, die sittliche Lösung seiner Aufgabe soll der Segensquell seines Landes werden, daher: אף שמיו יערפו טל. Unmöglich kann die in אף liegende Steigerung sich auf טל, Tau beziehen, dass etwa der Himmel ihm selbst reichlichen Tau spende. Tau ist ja der naturgemäßeste, fast nimmer fehlende Niederschlag aus der Atmosphäre, טל לא מיעצר, selbst in regenlosen Jahren, wie nach Elijahus Ankündigung, bleibt der Tau nicht aus (Taanit 3 a u. b); man kann daher nicht sagen: selbst Tau gewährt ihm der Himmel. Vielmehr liegt, wie wir glauben, der Nachdruck auf dem Suffixum שמיו, selbst Tau, diese sonst so regelmäßige, der Naturordnung angehörende Spende, gewähren ihm seine Himmel, d. h. gewährt ihm der Himmel, weil er über Jaakows Land sich wölbt, weil Jaakows sittliche Bestimmung und sittliches Verhalten den Segen verdient. Selbst im Tau macht sich Jaakows Wirken fühlbar! Ähnlich dürfte auch die sonst schwer erklärbare Steigerung (Richter 5, 4) גם עבים נטפו מים zu verstehen sein. Als Gott bei מתן תורה in die irdische Nähe trat, fühlte die ganze irdische Welt seine Nähe, und selbst der sonst den Wolken natürliche Tropfen bekundete seine Gegenwart. Dort allerdings dürfte vielleicht auch schon das Vorhandensein von Regenwolken an dem sonst wolkenlosen Wüstenhimmel das Ungewöhnliche bedeuten.

עין יעקב, “the fountain of Yaakov;” a metaphor for the descendants of Yaakov, as in Isaiah 48,1: וממי יהודה יצאו, “and who came forth from the waters of Yehudah.” (metaphor for “from the loins of”)

עין יעקב — The word עין has the same meaning here as in (Numbers 11:7) “And its appearance (עינו) was as the appearance (עין) of crystal” (i.e., the word עין is used as a term of comparison, “as”, ”like”). The meaning is: And Israel dwelt alone like the blessing with which Jacob blessed them (cf. Targum); not like the בדד which Jeremiah used, (Jeremiah 15:17), viz., “I sat alone (בדד) [because of thy hand, for thou hast filled me with Thy indignation]”, but like the assurance which Jacob gave them, (Genesis 48:20) “And God shall be with you, and bring you back to the land of your fathers” (cf. Sifrei Devarim 356:6).

As in, “Its likeness was similar to crystal, etc.” Whose meaning is, in the likeness of crystal and its appearance. Here too it means, in the likeness of Yaakov’s blessing.

The additional words עין יעקב, may mean that although Israel's eyes are directed at the promise of inheriting a land flowing with milk and honey, i.e. at material considerations, this will not lead to their rejecting G'd's Torah as long as they have eliminated all the former inhabitants of the land.

יערפו means THEY WILL DRIP.

Not like the isolation Yirmiyahu mentioned. Rashi is explaining why the verse needs to say that the blessing is in the likeness the blessing of Yaakov, which implies not in the likeness of another blessing. [Which is the other blessing?] He therefore explains, not in the likeness of the blessing of Yirmiyahu, etc.

אף שמיו יערפו טל ALSO HIS HEAVENS SHALL DRIP DEW — Also Isaac’s blessing will be added to Jacob’s blessing: “And God shall give thee of the dew of heaven, etc.” (Genesis 27:28) (cf. Sifrei Devarim 356:7).

Also, Yitzchak’s blessing, etc. Meaning, not only Yaakov’s blessing will be fulfilled regarding you, but also Yitzchak’s blessing. I.e., this blessing is like the blessing of Yaakov [that he gave to his sons], and also like the blessing of Yitzchak where it says (Bereishis 27:28), And may G-d give you of the dew of heaven. Therefore Yitzchak’s blessing is alluded to in the words shall drip dew.

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.”

That is that He commanded to offer a sacrifice on every Rosh Chodesh (first day of the month) in addition to the regular offering of every day. And that is His, may He be exalted and may His name be blessed, saying, "And on the beginnings of your months, etc." (Numbers 28:11). (See Parashat Pinchas; Mishneh Torah, Daily Offerings and Additional Offerings 7.)