신명기 4:5 해설: Ramban, Ibn Ezra, Kli Yakar & Tur HaArokh

BEHOLD, I HAVE TAUGHT YOU. The meaning thereof is: “Behold, I teach you today,” just as he said, which I command you this day,³⁹Further 11:13. and which I set before you this day.⁴⁰Thus, although Verse 8 here uses the past tense, it should be interpreted as if it used the present tense. Or the meaning of the expression I have taught you may be that since he mentioned that ye should do so in the midst of the Land whither ye go in to possess it⁴¹In Verse 5 before us. he is then saying: “Behold, at the time when you come into the Land, that I had already taught you statutes and ordinances, even as the Eternal my G-d commanded me.”⁴¹In Verse 5 before us.
Now Moses spoke first of a matter which is basic to all positive and negative commandments [namely, idolatry, which as mentioned above, is “the root of all” the commandments],⁴²So explained in the Tur. The reference is to Moses’ words, above in Verse 3: Your eyes have seen what the Eternal did because of Baal-peor etc. and now he admonished them concerning “the statutes,” which are His decrees, and “the ordinances,” which are the laws, for these need greater reinforcement because the reason for the statutes is hidden from us and also because it is by mishpat (justice) — [ordinances] — that they will establish the Land.⁴³See Proverbs 29:4. And then he states that ye should do so in the midst of the Land⁴¹In Verse 5 before us. in order to admonish concerning all [commandments], for there are many statutes and ordinances which do not apply outside of the Land; or perhaps it suggests that the primary duty [of the fulfillment] of the commandments is in the Land, as I have hinted concerning the secret of [the sanctity of] the Land.⁴⁴See Leviticus 18:25; also further, 11:18. He states further that in the statutes and ordinances there are great benefits that bring honor from men to those who observe them. Even their enemies will praise them for [observing the commandments].⁴⁵See Verse 6. Moreover, a great, incomparable benefit is that G-d would be near to them whensoever they call upon Him.⁴⁶Verse 7. The nations also will contemplate this and know that the statutes were ordained in wisdom and understanding so as to bring the people near to G-d, and they will fear them [i.e., the Israelites], this being the purport of what he said, For what great nation is there that hath G-d so nigh unto them?⁴⁶Verse 7. Additionally, the statutes and ordinances are righteous in themselves,⁴⁷See Verse 8. fair and good for the welfare of society and countries.

I taught you Moshe has already said “…which I teach you” [: 1]; but here he adds as God commanded me. The commandments are His commandments, which you are to perform in the land He gives you for an inheritance. Moreover, you shall have glory among the nations through the commandments. Any thinking person can apprehend the purpose of the commandments, and understand why they were given.

“See, I have taught you etc.” In the Talmudic tractate Nedarim (37), our Sages of blessed memory interpreted: “Just as I [teach] for free, so too should you [teach] for free.” They derived this from what is written: as the Lord my God commanded me — what does this teach us? Would it enter your mind that Moses would command on his own? Rather, he said: Just as the Lord my God commanded me to teach for free, so too I have taught you for free, and from me you shall see and so shall you do — to teach for free. For the concept of mutual responsibility, that all of Israel are responsible for one another, necessitates this matter, as when one individual sins, many will bear his iniquity. And this matter is alluded to in what is written See — speaking to an individual, and afterward it says I have taught you [etchem] — to many. This is to say that if one person sins, judgment will be between us. And in this way, it will be explained, God willing, later in the verse See, I set before you (Deuteronomy 11:26).