신명기 12:2의 주석

אבד תאבדון YE SHALL UTTERLY DESTROY — Destroy and again destroy! (i.e. utterly destroy). From here we learn that he who eradicates an object of idol-worship must thoroughly uproot it (i.e. remove every trace of it) (Sifrei Devarim 60:1).

אבד תאבדון את כל המקמזת, "You shall utterly destroy all the sites, etc." We can understand this verse in conjunction with the Mishnah 7 chapter 3 in tractate Avodah Zarah. We are taught there: "there are three categories of houses; 1) a house which was constructed in order to serve as a place of worship. Such a house is (totally) forbidden. 2) A house which originally was not used or intended for such worship but has been redecorated in order to serve as a house of worship. 3) The Gentile made an addition to the existing house which was intended and used as a residence. In the latter two instances the Jew has to demolish all the new decorations or additions and he may have use of the rest of such a house." The Talmud elaborates on this Mishnah saying that if someone prostrates himself in front of any house (indicating he worships it) he has thereby made it completely forbidden to every Jew. From this we deduce that even if someone had only joined together individual stones and attached them to the ground they are still considered as if they were separate and the house is not forbidden until it was used for the purpose for which it has been designated! The Talmud queries why this should be so seeing the Mishnah had forbidden such a house even if the entire house had been built for an idolatrous purpose before anyone had prostrated himself! The Talmud answers that the Mishnah taught us the law that even if the house had only been built for a purpose for which it had not yet been used it is already totally forbidden. Thus far the Talmud on the subject. Maimonides accepts this ruling in his treatise Hilchot Avodah Zarah chapter 8. This ruling is reflected in what our verse says: "all the sites where the Canaanites used to serve idols." The meaning is that it is irrelevant if the place had originally been built for the purpose or not. If idolatrous practices had been performed there the Israelites must destroy it even if only an addition to such a house had been used for idolatry.

אשר עבדו שם הגויים, where the former inhabitants worshipped their deities.

אבד תאבדון, “you must surely destroy, etc.” The repetition of the verb אבד prompted our sages in Avodah Zarah 45 to say that when destroying idols, etc., one must do more than let the remains lie around, but must scatter them in the wind or drown them in the Dead Sea or a similar place.

Destroy, then destroy afterward, etc. Rashi is answering the question: Why is it written אבד תאבדון, which is repetitive? Even though the Torah uses common speech, it should have said אבד תאבדו. Yet it is written תאבדון [i.e., an extra letter nun] in order to be expounded. This is not in accordance with Re”m’s explanation.

V. 2. אבד וגו׳. Die erste Aufgabe ist: Säuberung des Landes von allen Spuren des Polytheismus. Das Land soll Boden des einzig Einen und seines Gesetzes werden: es darf keine Erinnerung an eine gegensätzliche Welt- und Lebensanschauung tragen. אבד תאבדון, bis auf die letzte Spur vertilgen, מכאן לעוקר ע׳׳ז שצריך לשרש אחריה (Aboda Sara 45 b).

אבד תאבדון את כל המקומות, “you are to utterly destroy all the sites, etc.; ”the Torah here speaks of vessels used in the worship of idols, [not the earth itself on which the idol stands. Ed.] Besides, it is impossible to forbid the surface of the earth for use, as if so, the idolaters would be able to turn all habitable surfaces on the globe into forbidden areas. (B’chor shor)

את כל המקמות אשר עבדו שם וגו׳ [YE SHALL UTTERLY DESTROY] ALL THE PLACES (according to Rashi: FROM ALL THE PLACES) WHEREIN [THE NATIONS …] SERVED — And what shall ye destroy from them? Their gods which are upon the mountains (Avodah Zarah 45a).

What must you obliterate from them?, etc. Rashi is answering the question: Why is it written, “You must obliterate all the places where the nations worshipped”? But whatever is connected to the earth [and certainly the earth itself] cannot become an idol (Avoda Zara 45a). Rather, “All the places,” means, “From the places. And what must you obliterate from them? Their gods, etc.” I.e., the words “their gods” are connected to, “You must obliterate,” and not to, “where the nations worshipped.” It is as if the verse says, “You must obliterate their gods on the mountains where the nations worshipped.” This is what Rashi means by saying, “What must you obliterate from them?” [“All the places,” taken literally, would include places that are impossible to destroy. But now that “all” is interpreted as “from,”] and it excludes any place that is impossible to destroy, such as worship of the celestial bodies.

אשר אתם יורשים אתם, "which you are about to inherit." These words are best understood by reference to Hilchot Avodah Zarah 7,1 by Maimonides. He writes: "in the land of Israel it is one of the positive commandments to pursue (seek out) all places where idolatry is practiced until we have succeeded in eliminating it, whereas in the diaspora or in the countries adjacent to the land of Israel we need to destroy such places only as and when we come across them." Maimonides quotes our verse as proof that only in the land of Israel must we seek out such places. The operative clause is clearly: "which you are about to inherit." Once something is ours, the law applies universally.

את כל המקמות. Wir haben schon oben zu Kap. 7, 25 und 7, 5 angemerkt, dass כל שאין בו תפיסת ידי אדם, dass das, was "nicht von Menschen gehandhabt worden", was מחובר, mit der Erde verbunden, der nicht von Menschen gehandhabten Natur angehört, nicht durch ע׳׳ז, durch polytheistischen Missbrauch אסור wird. Solche Dinge gehen ja in den Menschenbesitz nicht auf, reichen vielmehr über jede Menschenangehörigkeit hinaus und können daher durch keinen Menschen den איסור-Charakter erhalten. Es fällt dieser Kanon eng mit dem andern zusammen, dass אין אדם אוסר דבר שאינו שלו, dass kein Mensch einem seinem Eigentumsrecht fremden Gegenstand den איסור-Charakter erteilen könne. Berge, Quellen, nicht zum ע׳׳ז Zweck gepflanzte Bäume, werden daher, selbst wenn ihnen götzentümlicher Kult erwiesen worden, nicht אסור, obgleich der ihnen erwiesene Kult strafbares ע׳׳ז-Verbrechen ist. העכ׳׳ום העובדים את ההרים ואת הגבעות הן מותרין ועובדיהן בסייף (Aboda Sara 46 a). Hat aber ein Mensch an ihnen zum ע׳׳ז-Zweck eine Veränderung hervorgebracht, so werden auch sie אע"׳פי שאמרו המשתחוה .אסור לקרקע עולם לא אסרה חפר בה בורות שיחין ומערות אסרה daselbst 54 b), ähnlich wie) dies ja selbst für דבר שאינו שלו (Chulin 40 a) ausgesprochen ist, אע"׳פי שאמרו המשתחוה לבהמת חברו לא אסרה עשה בה מעשה אסרה (siehe jedoch הל ע׳׳ז ,רמבם und 1 ,8 ראב׳ד daselbst).

את אלהיהם על ההרים, “their deities on the mountains;” our sages explain that they had not turned the mountains themselves into deities. (Sifri )

The reason Moses repeats the word אבד may be understood in conjunction with the statement in Avodah Zarah 43 that in order to cancel or revoke the idolatrous character of an object two conditions have to be met. The object has to be ground into small pieces and scattered into the wind or into the sea. If only one of these conditions has been met, one did not fulfil one's obligation. This is alluded to when Moses said the word אבד twice.

Dieser Satz wird Aboda Sara 45 a an dem Ausspruch unserer Stelle gelehrt: אבד תאבדון וגו׳ אשר עבדו וגו׳ אלהיהם על ההרים אלהיהם על ההרים ולא ההרים אלהיהם על הגבעות ולא הגבעות אלהיהם. Es ist hier Vernichtung des auf den Bergen und auf den Hügeln vorhandenen Götterunwesens, nicht aber Vernichtung der Berge und di>er Hügel geboten, wenn etwa diese selbst abgötterisch verehrt worden, geschweige dass sie nicht der Vernichtung verfallen, wenn sie nur, wie unser Text sagt, die Örtlichkeit sind, wo Abgötterei getrieben worden. Wenn gleichwohl es in unserem Texte heißt: אבד תאבדון את כל המקמות אשר עבדו שם הגוים וגו׳ את אלהיהם על ההרים וגו׳, dass die "i>Stellen" vernichtet werden sollen, wo die Völker auf den Bergen ihren Göttern gedient haben, so wird dies (daselbst 51 b) von כלים שנשתמשו בהן לע׳׳ז, von Opfergerätschaften verstanden, die zum Götterkult gedient und auf den Bergen und Anhöhen die Stellen kennzeichnen, wo der Götterdienst gepflegt worden. Selbst wenn solche Opferutensilien und Götterdienstzubehör an diesen מקומות על ההרים ein- und aufgemauert waren, behalten sie noch den mobilen תלוש-Charakter und erliegen dem איסורVerbot und אבוד-Gebot; denn in Beziehung auf ע׳׳ז gilt der Satz, dass תלוש ולבסוף חברו כתלוש דמי (Chulin 16 a). Und ebenso, wie ריט׳׳בא zu ע׳׳ז (daselbst) bemerkt, würden auch die Opferstellen, wenn sie durch Menschenarbeit zum Opferkult hergerichtet worden, nach der oben mitgeteilten Halacha חפר בה וגו׳ אסרה, ebenso unter den איסור=כלים begriffen sein. אבד תאבדון את כל המקמות וגו spricht daher nicht von den Bergen, sondern von den auf den Bergen durch Kultzubehör oder Herrichtung als Opferstellen gekennzeichneten Plätzen. Vergl. zu Kap. 7, 25:

את אלהיהם, “this word has the letter ו missing after the letter ל.” In this way it is a continuation of the line: “upon which the gentile nations had served their idols.” The paragraph is a commandment to remove and destroy all idols everywhere the Canaanites had worshipped such socalled deities.

את אלוהיהם על ההרים, "their gods on the mountains, etc." Seeing that Moses had said that the various places we mentioned are all forbidden because they have served as places where idolatry has been practiced, Moses had to tell the people that there are sites where idolatry was practiced which have not thereby become subject to destruction. One such example are the mountains. In Avodah Zarah 45 the sages read the words אלוהיהם על ההרים, as a contrast to ההרים אלוהיהם. This means that legally speaking the mountains cannot be declared as deities. If the idolators declare a certain mountain as a deity such a declaration is invalid and does not affect the status of such a mountain in Jewish law. [One reason advanced for this concept is that mountains are an integral part of the universe, cannot be owned by individuals. We have a rule that an individual cannot legally preclude another from using something which does not personally belong to the person who wishes to deny its use to another. Ed.] In Avodah Zarah 51 the Talmud determines that when a certain verse appears superfluous in its own context it may be applied exegetically to another context. If, for instance, the verse was not needed in connection with the subject of what is ritually impure as a result of buildings connected to the ground which hve been used for idolatry, it may be used in connection with whether certain vessels are ritually impure or not if they have been used for idolatrous purposes. The underlying concept there is that we do not need a special verse to tell us that if something was a separate body and was attached to some building which served idolatrous purpose that it becomes ritually impure and cannot be purified.

לענין כלים שנשתמשו ׳למחובר יש סתירה בין תוספו׳ חולין מ׳ א׳ ד׳׳ה הא דאמר להר ובין תוספות ע׳׳ו נ׳׳ב א ד׳׳ה תנהו ענין לכלים לתוספו׳ דע׳׳ו פי׳ לכלים שנשתמשו בהן לע"א הכתוב מדבר כלומר ׳שנשתמשו להרים אלהיהם דהיינו מחובר ואם כן כלים שנשתמשו למחובר אסורים ולתוספות דחולין אדרבא מוכח משם דכלים שנשתמשו למחובר מותרים ובכלים שנשתמשו בהן לע"א הכתוב מדבר רצונו לומר שנשתמשו לאלהיהם על ההרים ולא להרים אלהיהם ופירוש זה נראה יותר מסוגית הגמרא ע׳׳ש ודוק.

We may also understand the words את אלוהיהם by paying attention to its peculiar position in the verse. It is placed between mention of the worshipers and mention of the objects worshiped. The normal syntax of the verse should have been: עבדו שם הגוים את אלוהיהם אשר אתם יורשים אתם, "where the Gentiles worshiped their deities… which you are about to inherit." The reason the Torah departed from its normal syntax may be understood in light of Avodah Zarah 44 where Rav Hunna poses a question about two contradictory verses in Scripture. We read in Chronicles I 14,12 that David burned the idols the Philistines left behind. In Samuel II 5,21 David and his men are reported to have "carried these idols." The Talmud answers that there is no contradiction. In the description in Samuel the prophet refers to what David did after the arrival of Ittai Hagitti, whereas in the description in Chronicles Ezra reported about what was done before the arrival of Ittai Hagitti. [a loyal non-Jewish battalion commander of David, compare Samuel II 15,19-22. Ed.] We are told in Samuel II 12,30 that David took the crown of the king of the Ammonites (after Yoav defeated him) and put it on his own head. How could he do this seeing it had served idolatrous purposes? Rav Nachman answered that Ittai Hagitti had first annulled whatever idolatrous character the crown possessed. From this episode it appears that it is possible even to inherit (make use of) the idol itself! This is possible only when the former adherents of such an idol have themselves deprived it of their original function. Only in such cases may the Israelites subsequently derive benefit from erstwhile idols. This is what Moses had in mind when he wrote אשר יורשים אתם את אלוהיהם, "whom you inherit when their idols are present." Moses alluded to a situation similar to that when Ittai Hagitti annulled the idol's significance as an idol.

על ההרים וגו׳. Hohe Berge sind die pyhsikalischen "Mütter" des Erdenlebens. Sie trinken und sammeln die atmosphärischen Niederschläge und führen sie den zu befruchtenden Niederungen zu. Sie sind ebenso die Anzieher der Elektrizität aus den Wolken. Vielleicht ist auch die Wurzel הרר mit הרה verwandt, wie שסם und שסה, דמם und קצץ ,דמה und קצה usw. und haben Berge ihren Namen von dem Lebenempfängnis, das sie der Erde vermitteln. In den Hügeln senken sich die Höhen zur Bewirtschaftung des Menschen nieder, und mit den Hügeln beginnt der irdische Menschenboden.

A moral/ethical approach to our verse sees in it a promise that even the unseen, mystical power of the idolatrous images, will be totally destroyed when the Israelites make every effort to destroy every visible evidence of idolatry in the land of Israel. This is why the Torah emphasises כל המקומות אשר עבדו שם, "all the places where they worshiped." This is a reference to the throne of Satan. Israel's effort will be crowned by success and G'd will become enthroned as the sole ruler over the entire globe.

עץ רענן. Für רען findet sich eine Analogie in dem rabbinischen רהן, welches ein eventuell zu bleibendem Eigentum Übergeben bedeutet. עץ רענן .הרהינו אצלו wäre demnach ein Baum, dem voraussätzlich sein Pflanzenschmuck bleibt, ein immer grünender Baum. Dem polytheistischen Götterkult waren somit Stellen, wo die Naturkraft in ihrer besonderen Mächtigleit in die Erscheinung tritt, die für seine Götterverehrung willkommensten Plätze.