신명기 7:27의 주석

ונשל This is an expression denoting casting away, and throwing to a distance, and similar is, (Deuteronomy 19:5) “and the iron flies off" (ונשל).

ונשל, he threw. If one uproots, or separates anything its position where it was firmly attached is described in such terms. Compare Deuteronomy 28,40 כי ישל זיתיך, “for your olives will drop off.” Compare also Deut. 19,5 ונשל הברזל מן העץ, “the iron (axe) will fall off the handle.”

Kap. 7. V. 1. כי יביאך .וגו׳. Der Schlussabsatz des vorigen Kapitels hatte die Aufgabe zum Inhalte, auf Grund der geschichtlichen Erfahrung unserer Vergangenheit, unseren Kindern die Verpflichtung zur treuen Erfüllung des göttlichen Gesetzes als Lebensaufgabe jeder Gegenwart und Zukunft zu vererben. Allein diese Vererbung des göttlichen Gesetzes, die Heranziehung und Bildung unserer Kinder für unsere ewige Lebensaufgabe ist von vornherein vereitelt, wenn sie unter nichtjüdischem Einfluss geboren und erzogen werden, wenn nichtjüdischer Mutterschoß sie empfangen, nichtjüdische Vaterknie sie gewiegt, nichtjüdische Vater- oder Mutterlehre und Beispiel ihren Geist und ihren Charakter bilden, wenn unsere Ehen und unser Familienleben von nichtjüdischen Elementen durchdrungen werden. Dieser Gefährdung unserer Bestimmung an der Wurzel unserer ganzen Zukunft sollen die folgenden Sätze begegnen.

נשל .ונשל spezifischer Ausdruck für das vorzeitige Fruchtabwerfen der Bäume. כי ישל זיתך (Kap. 28, 40). Das Land, das bis jetzt die Völker getragen hat, versagt ihnen, da sie nach Gottes Urteil dessen unwürdig geworden, ferner seinen Boden. Sie sind schon, wenn du einziehst, vom Boden abgeworfen, und du bist nur der Sturmwind, der den Boden von den Abgefallenen zu säubern hat, um einer würdigeren reinen Pflanzung Raum zu schaffen. Dieser Gedanke liegt in ונשל־מפניך. Die Einsetzung Israels in das Land der kananitischen Bevölkerung als "Pflanzung" ist eine den heiligen Schriften geläufige Vorstellung (vergl. Schmot 15, 17; Ps.80, 9 u. 10 u. s).

Deuteronomy 7:12: The word 'eikev' appears earlier in the Torah: "because [eikev] Avraham listened to My voice...". We find that 'eikav' means 'because', and that's why Avraham was blessed. 'Eikev' also means 'heel,' which is attributed to tsaddikim since they're the level of heel--they don't consider themselves anything at all [heel is a symbol of humility]. This is what King David meant "...forever to the last": [he meant that] "I [King David] am always at the level of a heel because what I am and what is my life" [as in, he is humble like a heel]. This is also the level of Avraham Avinu since "I [Avraham] am dust and ashes"-- he didn't consider himself to be important. G-d praises Avraham due to his humility, "because [eikev] Avraham listened to My voice...". Even though Avraham considered himself to be a "heel", he guarded the mitzvot and chukot. We also find the same sentiment with R Yochanan ben Zaki. He praised his five students. Why only 5 [of all his thousands of students]? Why he did he count his praise? These 5 pupils always considered themselves as mere students--they didn't consider themselves as important at all. They were like a student who needs his teacher all the time. That's why he had to list their praise-- they were unaware it. So that's why Hashem praised Abraham: he was a level of heel. This is the meaning of verse [from the beginning]: "if you will listen"-- if you will be at the level of a heel and listen to Hashem-- He will give you brachot. This is the meaning of the Jewish people's utterance "I'm black and beautiful" (Shir HaShirim): I am beautiful _because_ I am black [to paraphrase: "I'm aware of my position and that makes me beautiful"].

ולא תחנם means, THOU SHALT NOT ASCRIBE GRACE (חן) TO THEM: it is forbidden to a person to say “How beautiful is this heathen”. Another explanation: thou shalt not grant them a חניה, an encampment (a settlement) in the land (Avodah Zarah 20a).

ולא תחנם, “and you are not to show them any favor.” The word תחנם has been explained in many different ways. It may mean חן, grace, charm; it may mean חנינה, compassion, pardon. Clearly, the plain meaning is from חנינה, compassion, reprieve, and tells us that we must not indulge our feelings of compassion vis-a-vis these people. It is as if the Torah had written לא תחון אותם, “do not be charmed by them”. According to the Talmud in Avodah Zarah 20 it is forbidden to even comment on the aesthetic beauty of artifacts designed in honor of idols. One must not even admire the physical features of a handsome Gentile or a beautiful Gentile woman. The Talmud suggests that this is part of the word לא תחנם when we read the letter ח as if it had the vowel chirik underneath it. They also understand the expression as meaning that we must not grant these people חניה “parking,” i.e. temporary residence status and that it is forbidden to sell any land to Gentiles in the land of Israel. The Torah spelled out the reason when it said “so that they will not lead you into sin.” You must also not give them any gift, including land, the letters in the word תחנם being read with the vowel pattern patach, sheva, patach, i.e. tachnam. In fact, the word lends itself to still further permutations by changing the vowel pattern. Basically, the sages demonstrate the power of the written Torah, which, because it does not have vowels or other signs such as commas and period signs, is capable of being interpreted in so many different ways. Changing the vowel pattern can give a single word many different meanings. Having appreciated this you will understand even better the power inherent in the names of G’d which lend themselves to so many permutations, i.e. different emphasis of the basic concept of Hashem. I have elaborated on this already in my comments on Numbers 11,15.

Do not hold them in esteem, etc. This interpretation is problematic, for it should say תחנן with the letter nun, which is the term for esteem. Alternatively, it should say תחונם, spelled with a vov. Therefore Rashi says, “Another interpretation: Do not give them an encampment.” In other words: Even if you do not make a treaty, but think to [let them live with you and] tax them. Therefore it says not to give them any settlement at all in the Land. The second explanation is problematic, for then the verse should only state not to give them any settlement in the Land (לא תחנם), and all the more so [we would know that] it is forbidden to make a treaty with them. Therefore the first explanation is also needed.

ולא תתחתן בם, “and you must not intermarry with them.” This means even after conversion of the other partner to Judaism. (Compare Yevamot 76, according to which the term התחתנות would be inappropriate for people who had not converted, and with whom marriage in the legal sense does not exist for Jews.) Seeing the Canaanites were guilty of more sins than any of the other nations, the Torah applied stricter yardsticks to them than to our marrying proselytes from other nations.

VV. 3 u. 4. ולא תתחתן בם. Jebamoth 76 a wird als Halacha gelehrt, dass hiermit hinsichtlich der kanaanitischen Bevölkerung, selbst unter Umständen, unter welchen mit anderen Völkern חתון, eine eheliche Verbindung statthaft wäre, d. h. nachdem sie durch גרות in das Judentum eingetreten sind, die Ehe verboten ist. חתון, eine eheliche Verbindung findet mit Nichtjuden ja überhaupt erst nach deren Übertritt statt. בהיותן נכרים לית להו חתנות, zwischen Juden und Nichtjuden kennt das jüdische Gesetz kein eheliches Verhältnis, אין קדושין תופסין (Kiduschin 68 b), und das hier auf die kanaanitische Bevölkerung zu beziehende Verbot ולא תתחתן בם kann daher nur eine Ehe mit diesen, selbst nach deren Übertritt untersagen, denn erst נתגיירו אית להו חתנות, da erst dann ja überhaupt von חתון eines Juden mit ihnen die Rede sein kann. Für die kanaanitische Bevölkerung begründet גרות daher keine חתון-Fähigkeit und bleibt hinsichtlich ihrer das für alle בגיותן geltende Verbot bestehen: בתך לא תתן לבנו ובתו לא תקח לבנך, nicht nur sollst du deine Tochter nicht einem Sohne des Nichtjudentums geben, wo du von vornherein dein Kind und deine Enkel dem Judentum entfremdest und einer nichtjüdischen Zukunft hingibst, sondern auch seine Tochter sollst du nicht für deinen Sohn nehmen, sollst nicht meinen, die Macht deines Einflusses und das Beispiel deines Familienlebens werde die Nichtjüdin in jüdischen Geist und jüdische Sitte hineinleben; nicht meinen, es können dir aus nichtjüdischem Schoße jüdische Enkel geboren und erzogen werden; denn nicht nur werden von einer nichtjüdischen Mutter keine Kinder dem Judentume geboren, sondern deinen eigenen, von dir und seiner jüdischen Mutter erzeugten Sohn wird er, sein Schwiegervater, aus der jüdischen Gesetzestreue zu sich und seiner nichtjüdischen Lebens- und Anschauungsweise hinüber bringen, כי יסיר את בנך מאחרי, und jene wie diese, deine mit einem Nichtjuden verheiratete Tochter und dein mit einer Nichtjüdin verheirateter Sohn, ועבדו אלהים אחרים werden dem nichtjüdischen Götterwesen verfallen. Implizite ist dann auch in der Fassung unseres Textes zugleich der gesetzliche Kanon beachtet, dass ולדה כמותה, dass, wo dem Vater oder der Mutter überhaupt die Qualifikation zur Eingehung einer jüdischen Ehe fehlt, אין קדושין תופסין, da das Kind, dem physischen Kausalitätsprinzipe folgend, den Charakter der Mutter trägt, somit das von einem ישראל mit einer נכרית erzeugte Kind dem Nichtjudentum, das von einem נכרי mit einer ישראלית erzeugte Kind dem Judentume angehört, בנך הבא מישראלית קרוי בנך ואין בנך הבא מן הנכרית קרוי בנך אלא בנה ein Kanon, der in der Mischna (daselbst 66 b) also gefasst ist: וכל מי שאין לה לא עליו ולא על אחרים קדושין הולד כמותה ואיזה זה ולד שפחה ונכרית. Darum spricht der Text nur von der Gefahr des Abfalls deines mit der Nichtjüdin verheirateten Sohnes, nicht aber deines Sohnes und deiner Enkel, deiner Nachkommen überhaupt, כי יסיר את בנך, nicht את זרעך; denn die von ihm mit der Nichtjüdin erzeugten Kinder gehören schon mit der Geburt dem Judentum nicht an. Wir sind in dieser Darstellung der Auffassung des ר׳׳ת gefolgt. — רש׳׳י hat eine andere Auffassung, nach welcher כי יסיר sich auf die erste Eventualität, את בתך לא תתן לבנו, bezieht (siehe daselbst).

לא תתחתן בם, “do not intermarry with them.” The nations referred to are the ones mentioned in Kings I 11,2.

Wie tief die geschlechtliche Verirrung mit Nichtjüdinnen die ganze Zukunft des Judentums untergräbt, ist in dem Peorabfall, seinen Ursachen und Folgen (Bamidbar 25. 1 — 13) für alle Zeiten warnend niedergelegt. Spricht doch Maleachi (2, 11 u. 12) über solche Verirrungen geradezu כרת aus: בגדה יהודה ותועבה נעשתה בישראל ובירושלם כי חלל יהודה קדש ה׳ אשר אהב ובעל בת אל נכר יכרת ד׳ לאיש אשר יעשנה ער ועונה מאהלי יעקב ומגיש מנחה לד׳ צבאות und Esra 9 u. 10 sah den geistigen Untergang seines Volkes vor Augen, weil לא נבדלו חעם מעמי הארצות כי נשאו מבנתיהם להם ולבניהם, und die höheren Schichten der jüdischen Gesellschaft waren in dieser Verirrung vorangegangen, ויד השרים והסגנים היתה במעל הזה ראשונה, so dass nur durch Aussonderung der Frauen samt den von ihnen geborenen Kindern Israels Zukunft wieder ein reiner Nationalkörper gerettet werden konnte: להוציא כל נשים והנולד מהם ׳וכתורה יעשה וגו.

Dieser für jedes jüdische Gewissen schon hinlänglich drückenden Schwere der Versündigung sah man sich zu den Zeiten der Makkabäer noch veranlasst, auch die Kognition des menschlichen Gerichtes hinzuzufügen, ב׳׳ד של חשמונאים גזרו ישראל הבא על הכותית חייב משום נשגן (Aboda Sara 36 b; siehe חידושי ר׳׳ן zu Sanhedrin 82 a. — Vergl. Sanhedrin 82 b: והוא בועל את הכותית וכו׳. — Siehe שאילת יעבץ ס׳ קסו. Anm. zur 2. Aufl.).

והרה וגו׳ בכם והשמידך וגו׳: wenn diese Versündigungen von der nationalen Vielheit begangen werden, so trifft der göttliche Unwille die Sünder in ihrer Besonderheit, die Folgen aber treffen den Gesamtverein der Nation in dem Untergange ihres staatlichen Bestehens.

כי יסיר את בנך מאחרי FOR HE WILL TURN AWAY THY SON FROM FOLLOWING ME — i.e., the son of the heathen when he marries thy daughter, will turn away thy son (grandson) whom thy daughter will bear unto him from following Me. This teaches us, that thy daughter's son who is born of a heathen is termed thy son, but thy son’s son, who is born of a heathen woman, is not termed thy son, but her son, for, you see, in regard to the statement: “his daughter thou shalt not take [to thy son]" it does not add “For she will turn away thy son (grandson) from following Me" (Yevamot 23a).

כי יסיר את בנך מאחרי, “for he will lead your son astray from following Me.” The Torah does not say that the mother, i.e. the daughter-in-law of such a marriage will lead your son astray. but it speaks about the next generation, i.e. the grandson from your daughter married to the Gentile. The grandson from a Gentile daughter-in-law could not be referred to as “your son,“ as, seeing his mother is not Jewish, he is not either (compare Kidushin 68). The syntax of the verses makes clear that the Torah considers the mother pivotal in determining who is Jewish. The plain meaning of the verse then is: ”if the son of a Gentile marries your daughter he will lead your grandson born from your daughter astray” (religiously speaking, even though technically your grandson is Jewish). Her husband will train his son to engage in idolatry.

Who is born of a gentile, is considered your son, etc. Rashi is answering the question: The verse, “For he will turn your son,” seems to be giving a reason for the previous verse. But for what is it giving a reason? It cannot refer to the beginning of the verse, “Do not give your daughter to his son,” for then it should say, “For he will turn your daughter, etc.” And it cannot refer to the end of the verse, which is the simple understanding: “Nor take his daughter for your son,” and this is why it is written, “will turn your son.” This cannot be true, for it is written, “For he will turn, etc,” but it should say in the feminine form, “For she will turn.” Rather, if the son of the gentile, etc. In other words: For he will turn him away from Me, but your son’s son born of a gentile woman is not considered your son. For this reason the Torah is not concerned with him, because he is already turned away.

כי יסיר, “for he will turn away;” this is the son of a Canaanite marrying a Jewish girl, mentioned in verse three. The father of such a child will bring him up as a heathen, although legally, he is a Jew, his mother being Jewish. In the case of the child being a daughter, this will be even more so, as living as a heathen is so much easier for the children who do not have to observe all the commandments of the Jewish religion. (B’chor shor)

מזבחתיהם — a מזבח is something built up of several stones,

כי אם כה תעשו להם, “rather, this is what you shall do to them, etc.” תגדעון, the root גדע is used whenever something long is being cut down or felled; compare Psalms 75,11 וכל קרני רשעים אגדע, “and I will cut down all the horns of the wicked.”

V. 5. כי אם כה וגו׳ (siehe zu Schmot 34, 13). Euren Kindern, auf welche ihr eure Gottesbeziehungen und eure Verpflichtungen zu seinem Gesetze auf Grund eurer geschichtlichen Erfahrungen zu vererben habt (Kap. 6, 20 — 25) und die ihr nur für diese Bestimmung in jüdischen Ehen erzeugen könnt (Verse 3 u. 4), ihnen habt ihr einen von allen heidnischen Erinnerungen, von Altären, Denkmälern, Hainen, Bildern des Heidentums freien Boden zu übergeben (siehe auch zu Versen 25 u. 26).

ומצבתם — alludes to a single stone (cf. Rashi on Deuteronomy 12:3).

ואשירהם — Trees which they worship (Avodah Zarah 48a).

ופסליהם — These are images.

THE ETERNAL THY G-D HATH CHOSEN THEE TO BE HIS OWN TREASURE. For you have no chief, overseer, or ruler³³¹Proverbs 6:7. among all the angels on high, but you are the treasure of G-d under His power, and, therefore, you should not go astray to serve idols from among the gods of the peoples. I have already mentioned this many times.³³²Leviticus 18:25; also above, 4:15, etc. This is the sense of the verse, The Eternal did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people,³³³Verse 7. for it would have been proper that the King’s [chosen people should] be the most numerous, as it is written, In the multitude of people is the king’s glory,³³⁴Proverbs 14:28. and that He appoint captains of the host at the head of the rest of the people.³³⁵See further, 20:9. But you are the fewest [of all peoples] — nevertheless He craved you and chose you!

כי עם קדוש אתה, and it is not appropriate for you to desecrate your sanctity through women committed to alien deities, who will bear you children that are already genetically corrupted. It is this that the prophet Maleachi 2,11 had in mind when he spoke of כי חלל יהודה קדש ה' אשר אהב ובעל בת נכר,”for Yehudah profaned what is holy to the Lord, what He desires, by sleeping with daughters of alien gods.”

בך בחר ה' אלוקיך להיות לו לעם סגולה, “Hashem has chosen you to be for Him a nation a treasured people.” This status as a treasured people is evident by the fact that instead of appointing one of His angels to be your guardian angel, as He has done for all the other nations, He Himself acts as your guardian. This is why Moses continues and says

V. 6. כי עם קדוש אתה, denn du bist eine "heilige" Volksgesellschaft. Andere Nationen tragen das Ziel ihrer Bestimmung in sich, ihre nationale Selbsterhaltung ist ihres nationalen Vereines höchster Zweck. Die Bestimmung deines nationalen Vereines liegt aber außerhalb desselben, er gehört nicht sich selber an, er gehört Gott, und hat sich mit allen seinen Beziehungen, mit allen Seiten seines Einzel-, Familien- und Staatenlebens, den von Gott, seinem Eigener und Herrn, gewiesenen Zielen und Aufgaben "bereit" zu stellen, daher alles diesen Zielen Entgegenwirkende aus allen seinen Beziehungen fern zu halten. "Eine Gott, deinem Gott, angehörende, heilige Volksgesellschaft bist du".

בך בחר, as distinct from corrupt seed; our sages referred to this concept as “the benevolent presence of G’d is present (rests on) only families who are genetically offspring of families with good Jewish pedigrees.” (Kidushin 70)

׳בך בחר וגו׳ ist Erläuterung des vorangehenden כי עם קדוש usw. Der ganze Zweck deiner Erwählung war kein anderer, als in dir ein Volksleben unter dem ausschließlichen Einfluss Gottes, d. i. unter dem ausschließlichen Diktate seines Gesetzes sich gestalten zu lassen; du sollst einmal ein Volk darstellen, das in keiner seiner Beziehungen irgend einer anderen Potenz angehört, und sich ganz auf der Basis dieser ausschließlichen Gotteshörigkeit entwickelt. Das heißt ja: היות לו לעם סגלה (siehe Schmot 19. 5). — מכל העמים, entweder: aus allen Völkern, in Hinaufbeziehung zu בחר, oder: mehr als alle Völker; durch das, was Gott an euch getan, hat er ein größeres, ausschließenderes Recht an euch, als an allen anderen Völkern.

לא מרבכם NOT ON ACCOUNT OF YOUR BEING [MORE] NUMEROUS — This is to he understood according to its plain sense. But its Midrashic explanation (taking לא מרבכם in the sense of “not because you are great") is: Because you do not regard yourselves as great when I shower good, upon you, therefore חשק … בכם DID [THE LORD] DELIGHT IN YOU

לא מרבכם, not in order to be honoured by a multitude.

כי אתם המעט, "for you are the fewest, etc." The Torah could not content itself with writing "not because you were numerous, etc.," as that might have implied that though the Jewish people were not more numerous than other nations they were nonetheless equal to them in number.

לא מרובכם מכל העמים, intelligent people cannot conceal their surprise that Moses should have thought that the Israelites considered themselves as the most numerous nation so that Moses had to tell them that they were not.
Furthermore, not only does G’d make the point that quantity does not determine whom He loves or prefers by adding חשק ה' בכם, but the meaning of the verse is as follows: In verse one the Torah had spoken of the many nations which G’d will dispossess on account of the Jewish people, seven powerful nations. These people had been described both as more numerous and as more powerful than the Israelites in that same verse. It was therefore possible that the Israelites might consider themselves as more numerous than those people and as militarily more powerful so that they could conquer the land of Canaan due to their military prowess and numerical superiority. Moses disabuses them of such thinking by saying that G’d would not like them on account of their being numerous even if that were true. The fact is that they were less numerous than any of these seven tribes. But, there is an irrational reason for what G’d does, i.e. He loves the Jewish people. 2.) He has to make good on an oath sworn to the forefathers of the Jewish people concerning their future.

לא מרובכם, “(what motivated G’d was) not your being numerous, etc.” although it would have seemed appropriate that a great King, the King of the universe, should select a most numerous people as His special favorites. Throughout our history we have been taught (Proverbs 14,28) that ברב עם הדרת מלך, “where there is a multitude that is a king’s honour.” This would enable the King to appoint many generals to be in charge of different divisions of his armies. Although, in your case, you are not a numerous people, nonetheless Hashem chose you.

CHASHAK’ (HE TOOK DELIGHT). The meaning thereof is that He had “bound” Himself with you with a mighty bond that He will never be separated from you, similar in expression to ‘vachashukeihem’ (and their fillets — silver threads encircling the pillars of the Tabernacle) shall be of silver.³³⁶Exodus 27:10. And He has chosen you from among all peoples that you be His treasure and inheritance, for “being chosen” always implies selection from others. And he stated the reason, But because the Eternal loved you³³⁷Verse 8. He chose you, meaning, He saw you to be worthier than all peoples to be loved by Him and to be chosen for love. He mentioned for this no [other] reason except that you were chosen [because of His love for you], for he who is chosen to be loved, is known to be ready to suffer whatever comes upon him from his lover, and the Israelites are more qualified for that than any other people. As the Rabbis have said:³³⁸Beitzah 25 b. “Three [creatures] are of strong character, Israel among the nations etc.,” for Israel has stood by Him in all trials. [When challenged by the nations, Israel has stubbornly declared,] “Either [we remain loyal] Jews or [we will be] nailed to the stake.”³³⁹Shemoth Rabbah 42:9. And the purport of the word you [and He chose ‘you’] is “because of your fathers,” who became so worthy that He swore to them³⁴⁰Verse 8. in order that no sin should cause [His] promise [to them] to be nullified. Therefore He brought you out from the land of Egypt with a mighty hand. And He redeemed you³³⁷Verse 8. — this is an allusion that He smote them in your stead, similar to what is said, I have given Egypt as thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.³⁴¹Isaiah 43:3.

VV. 7 u. 8. לא מרבכם, nicht um eurer numerischen Größe willen hat Gott gerade euch für seine Zwecke erwählt, denn eben diese äußerlich imponierende Größe fehlt euch, כי מאהבת וגו׳, sondern das Motiv eurer Erwählung liegt in eurem Wesen und in Gottes Beziehungen zu euren Vätern. Euer Wesen fand er seiner Liebe würdig, er fand in eurem Wesen das geistig Sittliche, welches die Nähe Gottes zum Menschen bedingt, "er fand sich" — menschlich gesprochen — "zu euch hingezogen", und er hatte gleichzeitig den Eid zu lösen, den er euren Vätern — ebenfalls um ihrer geistig sittlichen Würdigkeit willen — geschworen hatte.

לא מרובכם, “not on account of your being so numerous, etc.;” Rash’bam understands this verse as linked to the first verse of the paragraph starting in chapter 6,10. He explains the sequence as follows: G–d does not like you because you are numerous, but He loves you, period. (Love is never motivated by logical considerations based on calculations). Furthermore, He is obligated to make good on the promise He made to your forefathers. If you were to argue then that if He loves us as a father loves his children, why should we burden ourselves with having to observe all His commandments? The answer is that His patience extends until one thousand generations in searching for one that merits His keeping the oath He has given to your forefathers. Whenever such a generation of descendants of these forefathers is prepared to observe the condition of His oath, namely to observe His commandments, all the promises He has made will become effective.

לא מרובכם מכל העמים, “not because you were more numerous than all the other nations;” the “other” nations referred to here are the seven Canaanite tribes that will be replaced by the Israelites shortly.

כי אתם המעט FOR YOU ARE LITTLE — you regard yourselves as small, as, e.g., Abraham did who said, (Genesis 18:27) “For I am dust and ashes", and as, e.g., Moses and Aaron did who said, (Exodus 16:7) “And we, what are we?". Not as Nebuchadnezzar who said, (Isaiah 14:14) “I will be like the Most High", and Sennacherib who said, (Isaiah 36:20) “Who are they among all the gods of these countries [that have delivered their countries out of my hand?]", and Hiram who said, (Er. 28:2), “I am a god, I sit in the seat of God" (Chullin 89a).

חשק, “desired;” the meaning of this word in this connection is that He established a permanent inseparable bond with you. We find this root in the same context in Exodus 38,12 and 38,18 וחשוקיהם כסף, where it describes how the silver bands connected the lace hangings of the Tabernacle to the pillars supporting them.

כי אתם המעט מכולם, “rather because you are the least numerous;” but it is because He loves you.

כי אתם המעט — Here you have the word כי used in the sense of “because".

ויבחר בהם, “He chose them;” He chose you out of all the nations that He had at disposal. The word בחר always means that the one doing the choosing had the option to select his choice from a number of candidates. The reason why He chose the Jewish people was out of a feeling of love for them. G’d had seen that this nation was worthy of His love more than all the other nations. Moses does not spell out a special virtue of the Jewish people that made them worthy of this extraordinary love of Hashem. When someone has been chosen as another person’s especially beloved, he must henceforth endure with equanimity anything that results from the fact that he is so beloved. Israel qualified as being especially beloved by G’d because they were a tough nation, a nation capable of enduring a great deal when being tested by their lover, Hashem. He took a liking to you on account of your forefathers the three patriarchs whom G’d had subjected to so many trials all of which they had endured uncomplainingly so that He eventually swore an oath to them promising to give them the Holy Land. He swore the oath in order that His promise previously not reinforced by an oath, should not become null and void on account of sins that the offspring of these patriarchs might become guilty of. As a result of this oath, G’d took this nation out of Egypt amongst all the miracles that were needed to accomplish this.

ויפדך, He liberated you, redeemed you;” an allusion to how G’d smote the Egyptians on account of the Israelites; (compare Isaiah 43,3 נתתי כפרך מצרים, “I have given (away) Egypt as a ransom in exchange for you.”)

כי מאהבת — Here, however, you have the word כי used in the sense of “but": NOT ON ACCOUNT THAT YE WERE MORE NUMEROUS … DID GOD DELIGHT IN YOU … BUT ON ACCOUNT OF THE LORD'S LOVE TO YOU.

כי מאהבת ה' אתכם, seeing that you are the seed of someone who loved Him and who was more familiar with His name than any member of any of the other nations.

On account of His keeping the oath. This prefix mem is not in place of the word מן (from), which is usual in most instances. Rather it should be interpreted as, “because.”

ומשמרו את השבועה means, on account of His keeping the oath.

לאלף דור TO A THOUSAND GENERATIONS — But elsewhere (5:10) it states: to thousands of generations! The explanation is: Here where it is connected with (refers to) "those who keep His commandments" it states that God's grace is extended to a thousand generations; but there where it is associated with "those who love Him" it states that it is extended to thousands of generations (Sotah 31a);

KNOW THEREFORE from the [circumstances of the] departure from Egypt THAT THE ETERNAL THY G-D, HE IS G-D Who created heaven and earth, as I have explained.³⁴²Above, 6:26. And know furthermore from this that He is THE FAITHFUL G-D Whose word shall not return void,³⁴³See Isaiah 55:11. and WHO KEEPETH THE COVENANT AND MERCY WITH THEM THAT LOVE HIM, AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, who fear His Name, TO A THOUSAND GENERATIONS of their seed, just as He kept for you the covenant of your fathers. And know further that He repayeth them that hate Him³⁴⁴Verse 10. the recompense of their wickedness to the face of each one of them to destroy them, just as He destroyed the Egyptians and did not delay [in bringing punishment] to them. Now this attribute that he mentioned is true forever. Thus although there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his evil-doing,³⁴⁵Ecclesiastes 7:15. it happens to him only because of this above-mentioned attribute that He is the Keeper of Mercy, and he [the wicked] has done some good which must be recompensed. If so, there are among the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He, but two ways [of dealing with people]: He repays good for good, and evil for evil.
It is possible that those that hate Him [mentioned here as destined to be destroyed without delay] are those confirmed sinners who deny His existence and have no merit at all. As the Rabbis have said:³⁴⁶Koheleth Rabbah 7:32. “Rabbi Yashiyah said: Because of three things the Holy One, blessed be He, is long-suffering to the wicked in this world: they may repent, or they have observed commandments for which the Holy One, blessed be He, repays them their recompense in this world, or perhaps righteous people will descend from them. For so we find that He was long-suffering with Ahaz,³⁴⁷A wicked king of Judah (II Kings 16:1-5). and Hezekiah came from him; so also to Amon,³⁴⁸Ibid., 21:19-22. and Josiah came from him; and so also to Shimei,³⁴⁹The son of Gera, the Benjamite who cursed David (I Kings 28). and Mordecai came from him.”³⁵⁰Esther 2:5. Thus all these [three above categories] are not included in [the term] those that hate Him. Now there is a secret in the expression ‘el panav’ (to his face) [And He repayeth ‘them’ that hate Him ‘el panav’ — “to his face”]³⁵¹The point is that since the verse begins with the plural [‘those’ that hate Him], why does it change to the singular [to ‘his’ face, to destroy ‘him’]? Ramban alludes to the secret of the transmigration of the soul, so that at some future generation the recompense is still to “the face” of the sinner after he has been rewarded for the good he has done (Abusaula). as applying to a wicked man who has a good [i.e., a happy and prosperous] life.³⁵²Berachoth 7 a. And then he returns to say, Thou shalt therefore keep the commandment etc.,³⁵³Verse 11. meaning: “therefore keep the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances so that you should not be among those who hate Him, who are destroyed, but instead you should be of those that love Him and keep His commandments³⁵⁴Verse 9. who are remembered for good and for life.”
Eikev

הא-ל הנאמן, Who is constant, not subject to change.

ולשומרי מצותיו לאלף דור, "and to those who observe His commandments for a thousand generations." Our sages in Sotah 31 say that those who perform the commandments out of fear will be favourably remembered for one thousand generations whereas those who perform the commandments out of love will be favourably remembered for two thousand generations. This is parallel to what is written in the second of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20,6). I do not believe that the word אלפים in Exodus 20,6 means merely twice one thousand; it may mean as many as 100,000. The reason that the Torah was not more specific is because love cannot be measured so precisely, some people love G'd more than others. As a result, G'd requites some people's love for longer periods than others. What the Torah did postulate was that he who serves G'd out of love, even if his love is minimal, deserves twice as much consideration as he who serves G'd out of fear though out of the most refined kind of reverence.

וידעת כי ה' אלוקיך הוא האלוקים, in the event that you might says: “seeing that G’d has to keep His oath to our patriarchs, why do we have to bother to keep His commandments, seeing that he has to give us this land under any circumstances? Moses answers such a theoretical question before it is even mouthed by telling the people that G’d does not have to let them have the land as an heritage, Although, He has sworn to give the land to Avraham’s and Yaakov’s descendants, He would not violate His oath if this generation of Jews were not to take possession of this land forthwith. It is one of G’d’s attributes that He sometimes lets a long time elapse before carrying out anything He has said which was not tied to a date. Just as He remembers loving kindness performed by His creatures for 1000 generations, so, not lapsing any reward due to the descendants of a deserving ancestor, so He may decide that you are the generation which will be the beneficiary of the promise and oath mentioned. Moses promises that the people whom he addresses will indeed become these beneficiaries with the proviso that they keep G’d’s commandments.

וידעת, “You must know;” the Exodus from Egypt surely taught you that the Lord your G’d is the true G’d, the One who created heaven and earth; this also taught us that this G’d is faithful and keeps His promises, including the various covenants which He entered into with your forefathers. You should know that just as this G’d keeps His promises so He will also exact retribution from those who deserve it. Each one of His enemies will be dealt with individually according to the severity of his sins. While it is true that sometimes we observe that G’d’s patience with a wicked person is extremely long, He will eventually, in His own good time, deal with such people, just as He dealt with the Egyptians. The reason that such retribution sometimes appears as long overdue, is that G’d also practices His virtue of rewarding everyone for his good deeds, and such wicked people as experience all this patience by G’d must have had good deeds to their credit for which they had not yet received a reward. Moses now reverts to

וידעת כי ה’ אלו-היך הוא האלו-הים ה-אל הנאמן, “and you know that the Lord your G’d He is the true G’d.” The word “you know” refers to the knowledge the people acquired at the Exodus that the Lord is the G’d who had created heaven and earth; further more you will know that He is a true G’d seeing that on that occasion He kept His promise and will continue to so seeing He has the power to do so. Whereas in our verse Moses speaks of one thousand generations hence, in a different context the Torah speaks of G’d remembering things two thousand generations hence. Our sages in Sotah 31 do not see a contradiction in this but say simply that when G’d is served out of fear He will remember this for 1,000 generations and there will be positive fallout. When someone serves Hashem out of love the fallout will continue for 2,000 generations. In each instance, the number of generations that G’d reacts to who either hate Him or love him is mentioned next to the words לשונאיו or לאוהביו respectively. This teaches that the verse is not to be understood only collectively, but that G’d deals with each person on his merits (Nachmanides).

But below it states: “For thousands of generations,” etc. In other words: Those who keep His commandments out of fear [are rewarded] for a thousand generations, and those who do so out of love [are rewarded] for two thousand generations. Even though it is also written here, “those who love Him,” before, “those who keep His commandments,” One may say: “Those who love Him” is connected to the previous phrase, “Who keeps the covenant and the kindliness.” And, “Those who keep,” is connected to the phrase written afterwards. Likewise above (5:10) it is written, “two thousand,” and it is also written, “for those who guard.” There also, the answer is similar: “For those who love,” is connected to the phrase preceding it, which is, “For two thousand.” And “For those who keep,” [are rewarded] for a thousand generations.

V. 9. וידעת וגו׳: aus der Erfahrung deiner Erlösung weißt du, dass Gott, der sich in deiner Geschichte als dein Gott gezeigt hat, überhaupt der Gott ist, den alle Völker, sei es unter welchem Namen, als "Gott" erkennen oder ahnen. Und du weißt ferner, dass Er die einzige Gottesmacht ist, welcher der Mensch vertrauen kann usw. האלהים ist das allgemeine Gottbewusstsein, האל הנאמן usw. das spezifisch jüdische Gottbewusstsein. Hoheit und Macht sind die Gottesattribute im allgemeinen Menschenbewusstsein. Treue, Liebe und Gerechtigkeit in Bundesfreundschaft mit dem Menschen bildet das Besondere des jüdischen Wissens von Gott. Vor seiner Macht beugen sich die Himmel und die Erde; dass Er aber wie Freund dem Freunde in Bundesnähe dem Menschen nahe ist, das hat Israel aus seiner Geschichte erfahren (vergl. Ps.112 3 — 9).

וידעת כי ה' אלוקין־, “for you know that He is the Lord your G-d;” this is a continuation of the two previous verses. The reason why you are so certain that Hashem is the Lord your G-d is because you are aware of what He has done for your ancestors commencing with Avraham. He has faithfully kept all the promises He has given them. (B’chor shor)

לאהביו are those who do the commandments out of love.

שומר הברית ומשלם לשונאיו, the meaning of the words רשע וטוב לו, [a favourite argument of the heretics who point to the afflictions suffered by the pious and the good life enjoyed by the pious in this life. Ed.] can be understood on two levels: 1) the “good” the wicked appear to enjoy in this life is due to merits accumulated by their forefathers who had not been recompensed for these as yet by G’d. A prominent example of this is the enjoyable life lived by Ishmael who benefited by Avraham’s merits. G’d Himself referred to this in Genesis 21,13 when He said כי זרעך הוא, “because he is your seed. 2) The wicked person himself has accumulated some merits; seeing that on balance he does not qualify for life in the hereafter, G’d has to compensate him while he is on earth. This He does by letting him enjoy the transient joys available in this life to the extent his merits entitle him to.

נאמן, ein passiver Begriff: dem Vertrauen zu schenken ist, ׳שומר הברית וגו, wie ihr erfahren, dass er den den Vätern zugesicherten ברית noch nach Jahrhunderten erfüllt und die Verdienste der Väter noch an euch gelohnt.

לאלף דור, “for up to a thousand generations.” Why did these words have to be added? Having told you that G-d loves you, you might think that you do not have to bother to keep all the commandments of His Torah, seeing that G-d is obligated to keep His oath to our forefathers, regardless. G-d is willing to wait with keeping His promises for as long as a thousand generations, if in the interval no generation had proved worthy of what He had promised to the forefathers.

ולשמרי מצותיו are those who do them out of fear.

שומר הברית, “He keeps His covenant;” the word שומר here means: “waiting in anticipation,” as it did in Genesis 37,11 where Yaakov was described as awaiting fulfillment of Joseph’s dream with the words: ואביו שמר את הדבר, “and his father remained in expectation of what would happen.”

ומשלם לשנאיו אל פניו AND HE REPAYETH THEM THAT HATE HIM TO THEIR FACE [IN ORDER TO MAKE THEM PERISH] — i.e. during their lifetime (cf. Rashi on Genesis 11:28 s. v. על פני) he repayeth them their good recompense, in order to banish them from the future world (cf. Onkelos).

ומשלם לשונאיו, "and He repays them that hate Him." Why is the first half of this verse written in the plural, i.e "those who hate Him," whereas the individual who is the victim of this repayment is described in the singular? Perhaps the meaning is that unless G'd foresees that not only the individual who hates Him has sinned but also his children and children's children will continue to sin, He would forego repayment, (retribution), awaiting the penitence of the sinner's children. If, however, G'd foresees that the sinner begets only other sinners, He has no incentive to delay repaying such a sinner. This conforms to the principle ברא מזכה אבא, that "a son may confer a merit on his father."

ומשלם לשונאיו. retribution for its sins.

אל פניו “to his face.” to each one of them, individually. להאבידו, “to destroy him.” Just as He destroyed the Egyptians and not a single Israelite. This attribute is a demonstration of the absolute truth with which G’d operates in this world. Although it may take a long time before the wicked person gets his deserts seeing G’d has a lot of patience during which time the wicked continues his evil, the reason he appears to get away with it is that G’d may still owe him a reward for good deeds he has done without having been rewarded as yet.

During his lifetime He rewards him for his good deeds, etc. Otherwise, this verse is self-contradictory: First it says that He rewards even His enemies for their good deeds, but afterwards it is written, “to destroy him.”

V. 10. ומשלם וגו׳ scheint eine neue Belehrung über die Weisen der göttlichen Waltung zu sein, die nicht aus den bereits gemachten Erfahrungen zu schöpfen war, wenn man nicht vielleicht annehmen könnte, dass auch dieses den ׳שונאי ה zuteil werdende Verfahren aus Pharaos Glück und Untergang erkannt werden konnte. ׳ומשלם וגו, er lohnt auch das Gute, das sie üben, denen die ihn hassen, und zwar אל פניו: jedem in sein Angesicht, entweder: vor seinem Angesicht, er erhält selbst den Lohn des von ihm geübten Guten zum Genusse, nicht so wie der ׳אוהב ה, dem Gott נוצר חסד לאלפים ist, der den hieniedigen Lohn des von ihm geübten Guten in dem seinen Kindern und Enkeln damit gegründeten Heile empfängt (siehe Schmot 34, 7); oder: in die Richtung seines Angesichtes, d. h. seinen Anschauungen und Bestrebungen gemäß. Sein selbstsüchtiger Sinn weiß nur das als Belohnung zu schätzen, was ihm selbst zum Genusse wird (Erubin 22 a). להאבידו, parallel zu dem לאלף דור der ׳אוהבי ה dürfte das להאבידו auch von dem Verschwinden seiner Nachkommenschaft aus der Reihe der hieniedigen Existenzen zu verstehen sein, wie כרת und speziell ערירי. Der Gute hat schon eine hieniedige Unsterblichkeit durch sein Fortleben in seinen Nachkommen, die, wie die sittlichen Anlagen zum Guten, so auch den Lohn seiner Tugenden von ihm erben. Des Bösen Nachkommenschaft erlischt nach dem dritten und vierten Geschlecht, wenn diese in seinen Wegen fortwandeln (Schmot 20, 5). Den Lohn des Guten, das der Böse übt, empfängt er in dem irdischen Glücke, das ihm selber blüht, um ihn sodann aus der Reihe der Geschlechter der Zukunft schwinden zu lassen. — So ילמדנו zu יד :עקב ליד לא ינקה רע אמר הקב׳׳ה לישראל לא תעשו את התורה על מנת לקבל שכרה מיד כל מי שעושה כך נקרא רע ואינו מתנקה שלא הניח לבניו כלום שאלו בקש אברהם שכרן של מצות מיד היאך היה משה אומר זכור לאברהם וגו׳ אבל אם עושה רשע מצוה מיד ליד אני נותן לו שכרו שנאמר ומשלם לשונאיו בעה׳׳ו ואין בידו לע׳׳ה מהו לא יאחר ׳לשונאו אינו נותן שכר לשונאו ממה יש לאחריו אלא ממה שלפניו וכו׳.

ומשלם לשונאיו אל פניו, “but He will make a reckoning with those who hate Him to their face,” i.e. He will make a reckoning immediately and not wait one thousand generations for their descendants to become penitents. But as soon as such people become penitents, they will become the beneficiaries of My promises to their forefathers. Therefore, as Moses said in Deuteronomy 7,12: והיה עקב תשמעון וגו', “it will come to pass as an immediate result of your listening to My voice that all My promises will be showered upon you.”

ומשלם לשונאיו אל פניו, “and He repays them that hate Him to his face.” He punishes such people for their sins during their lifetime.

אל פניו, during their lifetime, not that of their children or children’s children. לא יאחר, either in his lifetime, or latest to the fourth generation. This is the plain meaning of the text. This is virtuous act, as Rashi says, that by letting the sinner die for sins (prematurely) it preserves his afterlife if the guilty party had repented his errors. G’d does not enact retribution for sins committed more that four generations ago. On the other hand, reward is paid even many generations later than merely four generations after the good deed had been performed. Even if the intervening generations had been sinful, this does not cancel out a reward G’d had not paid for the good deeds of the ancestor. If, eventually, a righteous person emerges from a sinful family, such a righteous person will become the beneficiary of merits accumulate by his ancestor who G’d had not yet repaid for this.

Others (Ibn Ezra) explain the wording here differently, saying that the word אל פניו means “personally, without intermediary,” similar to Samuel II 17,11.

The verse concludes with the singular, i.e. ישלם לו, "He will repay him," as the Torah speaks about individual sinners and the word לשונאיו was the exception. The Torah adds לא יאחר, "He will not delay." This means that if G'd deals with only a single שונא, person who hates Him, one whose children will not relate to G'd with hatred, then He will devise a means of punishing that person in this life immediately so as to prevent him from incriminating himself further if he were to commit still more sins while being allowed to live. By punishing such a person promptly either by death or afflictions, G'd demonstrates His love as He has hopes that the son of the sinner will confer merits on him through his exemplary conduct on earth.

Diese Andeutungen über die göttlichen Waltungsweisen geben eine Lösung des alten Waltungsrätsels צדיק ורע לו רשע וטוב לו an die Hand, und lassen zugleich den stets sich veredelnden sittlichen Fortschritt der Geschlechter erkennen, indem das unverbesserlich Schlechte ausstirbt und die Zukunft immer mehr und mehr nur in dem sittlich Guten fortlebt, bis endlich ׳ועמך כולם צדיקים וגו (Jes.60, 21). Übereinstimmend knüpft sich denn auch an den folgenden Satz: ושמרת וגו׳ אשר אנכי מצוך היום לעשותם Aboda Sara 4 b der Satz: היום לעשותם ולא היום ליטול שכרן, oder wie Kiduschin 39 b diese Lehre lautet: שכר מצוה בהאי עלמא ליכא, diese Welt ist eine Welt der Pflichttat, nicht eine Welt des Pflichtlohnes. —

אל פניו ישלם לו, “He pays him in his lifetime,” instead of waiting to punish his children if they continue in their father’s way. If they do not do so, (continue to sin) they will not be burdened with the sins of their fathers. This is spelled out clearly in Ezekiel 18,17: והוא לא ימות בעדן אביו, “but he will not die on account of the sin of his father.”

The meaning of the words אל פניו, "to his face," is to be understood in connection with Jerusalem Talmud Avodah Zarah chapter 3 that shortly before their deaths G'd lets the righteous experience a foretaste of what is in store for them after death in order that they should die happily. The reverse is true of the wicked. G'd shows them a foretaste of what is in store for them so as to make their deaths a painful experience for them (compare Esther Rabbah on Esther 1,12 that Queen Vashti refused the king's command). The Torah adds: "He will not delay repaying him who hates Him to his face." This refers to punishment in this life; before the face of the sinner is brought to burial G'd will show him what is in store for him. He will not wait until the sinner gets to Gehinom.

היום לעשותם [WHICH I COMMANDED THEE] TO-DAY TO DO THEM — to do them to-day, but only in the time to come — in the future world — to receive the reward for them (Eruvin 22a).

ושמרת, as I have explained on verse 9; G’d describes here the reason for otherwise perplexing sounding statements.

ושמרת את המצוה, “You shall observe the commandment, etc;” In order that you will not belong to the group of people classified as those who hate Him and who will perish, it is incumbent upon you to keep the commandments, all types of them, Belong to the group of people described as those who love Him, the ones who receive favourable mention! Ibn Ezra writes that the reason why Moses at this point repeated the previous call to observe the commandments, is to compare G’d’s keeping His promises to the patriarchs by redeeming their offspring; hence you should keep your part of the bargain by keeping His commandments.

אשר אנכי מצוך היום לעשותם, “which I command you this day to perform.” Our sages in Eiruvin 22 use the superfluous word “this day,” to teach that whereas performance of the commandments is incumbent upon us “this day,” G’d does not promise that the reward will also be paid immediately, i.e. “this day.” Basically, our terrestrial world is perceived a the עולם העשיה, the world of “action,” as opposed to being the period in which one enjoys the reward for one’s actions. Solomon already alluded to this when he said in Kohelet 9,10: “for there is no action, no reasoning, no learning no wisdom in Sheol, where you are going.” His message is that it is too late to rectify after death what one has failed to rectify while alive. Once one has died one has forfeited all one’s former potential. This is why one has to perform all the good one can while on this earth and capable of exercising one’s faculties. This is what Solomon had said in the first half of the verse we just quoted, where we read: “whatever it is in your power to do, do with all your might.”
Our sages in Avodah Zarah 3 have paraphrased this thought when they said that he who labors on the Sabbath eve will have what to eat on the Sabbath, When will the one who did not trouble himself on Sabbath eve have food to eat on the Sabbath? All these considerations commit each one of us to spend as much effort to perform a so-called מצוה קלה, an easy commandment, or one that appears capable of fulfilling with little effort as that which requires great efforts on our part. We do not know which mitzvah will be rewarded more greatly. G’d did not take us into His confidence [else nobody would perform the מצות קלות.] Our sages in Avot 2,1 spelled this out quite clearly. We must not commit the error of applying our yardsticks to G’d’s thinking and deciding what in His view deserves a great deal of reward and what does not. In referring to the inadequacy of our intellect, Solomon writes in Proverbs 5,6: “she does not chart a path of life, her ways are unstable; you do not know them.” We must not overestimate the reliability of the conclusions we draw about what is good and bad by second-guessing G’d. David had a similar message in Psalms 119,14 and 16: by emphasizing the positive, i.e. the delight of accepting G’d’s law, His teaching in preference to all riches available on this earth.

And tomorrow in the World to Come, etc. Rashi is explaining that the word, “today,” is connected to the word [following], “to fulfill,” not to the preceding [phrase], “I am commanding you,” for the commandment was not given today.

ושמרתם את המצוה, “You shall therefore keep the commandment;” your observing His commandments will be appropriate as a repayment for G-d keeping His promises to the forefathers.”

והיה עקב תשמעון AND THE CONSEQUENCE WILL BE, IF YE HEARKEN (The Hebrew text may be taken to signify if you will hear the heel, עקב) — If, even the lighter commands which a person usually treads on with his heels (i.e. which a person is inclined to treat lightly), ye will hearken to,

AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS ‘EIKEV’ YE HEARKEN. Eikev means “because.” So also, ‘eikev’ (because) that Abraham hearkened to My voice.¹Genesis 26:5. And Rashi wrote: “If you will hearken even to the lighter commandments which a person usually treads upon with his ‘heels’ [i.e., those commandments which a person is inclined to treat lightly] then G-d will keep His promise to you.”²Rashi thus explains eikev as meaning “heel, footprint.” — The term “lighter commandments” thus means “lighter” in the sense that people regard them lightly because they think that the reward for their observance is of minor significance, and therefore, “they tread upon them with their heels,” so to say. But, as Scripture continues, these people are mistaken, since the reward for even these commandments is boundless. Now Scripture mentions the ordinances [And it shall come to pass ‘eikev’ ye hearken to these ‘ordinances’]³In other words, according to Rashi, that the verse is speaking of the “lighter commandments,” the question arises why are the ordinances mentioned here? It must be that the sense of the verse is as follows: “If you will hearken to those commandments which a person is inclined to treat lightly, such as the ordinances about monetary matters — then etc.” Thus, the reason ordinances are singled out more than statutes and testimonies is that Scripture wants to teach us that we should not hold them in disdain despite the fact that they deal merely with monetary matters. perhaps because he admonishes them not to be disdainful of the lightly-esteemed ordinances such as the laws pertaining to monetary matters.
And the commentators⁴Ibn Ezra and R’dak. have said that the meaning of the word eikev is that “in the end” there will be reward. Similarly, in keeping them [the ordinances of G-d] ‘eikev rav’ (there is [in the end] great reward).⁵Psalms 19:12. The verse here is thus stating: “and the end [the ultimate consequence] of your hearkening to the ordinances and your observing them is that G-d shall keep the covenant and the mercy, and He will love thee. ”⁶Verse 13. This is correct, for in the Sacred Language the beginning of anything is called rosh [literally: “head”], as it is said, ‘rosh’ (the beginning of) Thy word is truth.⁷Psalms 119:160. So also is the leader of the generation called “the head of the people,” and the best of spices is called rosh.⁸Exodus 30:23. Take also unto thee ‘b’samim rosh’ (‘the chief’ spices). Similarly, the conclusion of any matter is called akeiv (heel) as the Sacred Language adopts these figurative expressions from the human body; and thus “the head” is the beginning while “the heel” is the conclusion and end of the body. Scripture also speaks of the head and the tail⁹Further, 28:13: And the Eternal shall make thee the head and not the tail. [with reference to people], figuratively using the body of the animal.
And Onkelos rendered the word eikev as chalaf (“in exchange for”), like ‘cheilef’ (in return for) your service.¹⁰Numbers 18:31. Onkelos thus made it an expression of “roundabout” [the end result of a series of events], derived from the verse, and ‘he’akov (the crooked) shall be made straight¹¹Isaiah 40:4. — I.e., the return of the exiles to Jerusalem will be unimpeded. — that is, the circuitous road which goes roundabout [will become a straight, level path]. So also ‘akubah’ of blood¹²Hosea 6:8. means “it is surrounded and encircled” [with blood]. The verse here is thus stating [according to Onkelos]: “and it shall come to pass that the effect caused by your hearkening to the ordinances and your performing them will be that G-d will keep His covenant with you.” He has explained it well. A similar expression is ‘biglal’ (for the sake of) this thing¹³Further, 15:10. which means “on account of,” from the word ‘v’gal’lu’ (and they roll) the stone.¹⁴Genesis 29:8. Similarly it is my opinion that every expression of akeivah is a term denoting “circle” or “circuit.” Thus: ‘akov haleiv’ (the heart is deceitful);¹⁵Jeremiah 17:9. ‘vaya’akveini’ (and he hath gotten the better of me) these two times;¹⁶Genesis 27:36. but Jehu did it ‘b’akbah’ (in subtlety)¹⁷II Kings 10:19. — all these being expressions of “rolling” and “circling.” Therefore they called Jacob “Jeshurun”¹⁸Further, 33:5. See also above, 2:10 (towards the end). [from the root yashar (straight and upright)] because the opposite of “the deceitful one” is he who is “upright” [as indicated by the name “Jeshurun”]. Similarly, the end-part of the foot, called akeiv — as it is said, and his hand seizing ‘ba’akeiv (the heel) of Esau¹⁹Genesis 25:26. — is so called because of its roundness, just as the [Sacred] Language calls the middle part [palm and sole] of the hand and foot kapoth,²⁰Ibid., 4:11: And I gave the cup into ‘kaph’ (the hand of) Pharaoh. Ezekiel 1:7: ‘v’kaph’ (and the sole) of their feet. because of their being shaped like golden kapoth (spoons). This usage [of the term akeiv] is common in the [Sacred] Language, just as the Rabbis have said in the Sifre:²¹Sifre, V’zoth Habrachah 343. “At His right hand was a fiery law unto them.²²Further, 33:2. When the word came forth from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, it would go by way of the right hand of the Holy One to the left of Israel, v’okeiv (and it encircled) the camp of Israel twelve miles by twelve miles.” So also is the expression:²³Baba Kamma 113a. “they come upon him ba’akifin,” meaning “with circuitous and subtle arguments,” like the word akeivin as these two letters [the veth and the fei] were considered by the Sages to be interchangeable, as I have already explained.²⁴Leviticus 19:20. See also Exodus 15:10 — Vol. II, p. 198.
He mentioned these ordinances²⁵According to Rashi who explained that the word eikev suggests “the lighter commandments” [as explained above] we understand why the verse singles out only these ordinances [and not the statutes etc.] because the ordinances, applying as they do to monetary matters, are often treated lightly by people; hence the need by Scripture to warn against it. But according to the interpretation of Onkelos and Ramban that eikev means “in return for,” and the verse refers to the reward for observing the commandments, the question arises why did Scripture single out only the ordinances? Ramban proceeds to answer this question: “He mentioned these ordinances in order etc.” in order to warn exceedingly concerning the ordinances [i.e., judgments], for it is impossible that of a large nation, everyone be heedful of all commandments so as not to transgress any of them, and it is only through the judgments [of the court] that they establish [the firm authority of] the Torah, just as it says of them, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.²⁶Further, 21:21. Moreover, many people will have pity [and refrain from] stoning a man or burning him after the transgression had been committed, as it is said, Thine eye shall not pity him.²⁷Ibid., 19:13. Then also they might fear the mighty ones as well as those who lead astray, as it is said, ye shall not be afraid of the face of any man, for the judgment is G-d’s,²⁸Above, 1:17. and in the case of the false prophet it says, thou shalt not be afraid of him.²⁹Further, 18:22. He mentioned all these in the case of an inciter [to worship idols] saying, thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shalt thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him,³⁰Ibid., 13:9. warning nor hearken unto him³⁰Ibid., 13:9. because of his misleading [you], neither shalt thine eye pity him³⁰Ibid., 13:9. because of the pity that compassionate people show towards the condemned, and neither shalt thou conceal him³⁰Ibid., 13:9. by remaining silent [and not presenting testimony against him] because of his might and fear of members of his family.

והיה עקב תשמעון, "It will be because you hearken, etc." Why did the Torah have to write the word והיה? If the word refers to G'd keeping His covenant with us, i.e. ושמר …את הברית, it would have sufficed for the Torah to write עקב תשמעון without the word והיה as introduction. Another problem is the use of the word עקב instead of simply אם "if." In a simliar situation in Leviticus 26,3 the Torah wrote אם בחוקותי תלכו, "if you walk in My statutes." Tanchuma on our verse writes that the word עקב heel, is an allusion to the kind of commandments people ignore, i.e. step on with their heels because they consider them as inconsequential. This is a purely homiletical comment, of course.

ושמר ה' אלוקיך לך, G’d keeps His covenant, i.e. the assurances He gave to the patriarchs concerning their descendants, with any generation which is fit, loyal and deserving. If the descendants do not keep His commandments then the covenant is valid for subsequent generations which do observe the terms of the covenant.

והיה עקב תשמעון, Moses explains that the reason why the King, i.e. G’d, commands them to observe all these commandments is in order to be able to fulfill the promises made to their forefathers regarding them. The people were meant to observe these commandments out of a feeling of love for G’d, not because they did so in order to earn a reward. [If I understand the author correctly, the wordsואת החסד in the phrase את הברית והחסד, are to establish reciprocity of G’d’s loving care for the patriarchs, the parties to the covenant, and their descendants’ feeling of love on their part towards the Creator. Ed.]

והיה עקב תשמעון, “it shall be the result of your listening, etc.” Rashi understands the unusual word עקב, “heel,” as a reference to the sort of thing one steps on without giving it a second thought. If we relate to those commandments of Hashem that in our superficial way of evaluating things we consider as insignificant, irrelevant, by observing even such commandments by Hashem meticulously, Moses tells us that we will qualify for extraordinary success in our daily activities on the farm, etc. If we accept this approach by Rashi as correct, the Torah here speaks of two distinctly separate matters. The משפטים judgments, surely do not fall into the category of things the average man belittles, considers irrelevant. Moses must be understood as saying that in order to qualify for all the blessings that follow immediately, it is not enough to meticulously observe the seemingly immaterial command-ments, but we must meticulously observe the laws governing inter-personal relationships, laws that form the fabric of society, of civilization We must not even belittle those when the amount at stake seems trifling. Nachmanides suggests that possibly Rashi had in mind the משפטים that deal with matters and amounts that appear trifling, and that many judges would feel inclined not to waste their time on. Moses warns not to develop a cavalier attitude towards such “trifling” matters. Other commentators understand the word עקב as something that is the result of what preceded it, its outcome. We find that word in such a context in Psalms 19,12 בשמרם עקב רב, “by observing them there is much reward.” The meaning of our verse then would be: “it will be, as a result of your observing My commandments, etc., especially the ones governing human relationships, that Hashem on His part will fulfill the promises inherent in the covenant He made with you.” The beginning of something, in classical Hebrew, is usually referred to as בראש, “at the head,” i.e. the Torah employs body parts to illustrate beginnings; it is therefore not strange that it employs another body part, the heel, as something describing the end, the conclusion. Onkelos translates the word עקב as חלף, “in exchange for.” The word appears in that context in Numbers 18,21 and 18,31 where it describes the various gifts set aside for the priests as being an exchange for the Temple service performed by them on behalf of the people at large. He understands the concept of reward as a “balancing of the scales”, reverting to “zero” by wiping out an indebtedness. It is like Isaiah 40,4 והיה העקוב למישור, “that which had been bent will be straightened out again.” The meaning of our verse then would be: “in compensation for your observing My social commandments on account of My maintaining the terms of My covenant, I will indeed respond generously.” The reason Moses stressed the social laws especially is that many of the other commandments are not applicable in many peoples’ daily lives. He who is not a farmer does not have to observe the dozens of laws that address the farmer. Women are altogether not obliged to observe positive commandments linked to a specific time frame. The social laws apply to one and all at all times hence Moses uses them as an example. Overall, Torah observance by the people is measured against the background of how the social laws are observed. Furthermore, seeing that even the bringing to justice of someone guilty of certain sins against his fellow man does not reverse the situation created by the sin, and therefore many people tend to have compassion with the perpetrator when he was not an intentional criminal, Moses has to stress that the element of deterring a potential sinner overrides such considerations, as we hear again and again וכל העם ישמעו ויראו ולא יזידון עוד, “and the whole people shall hear and see and not sin again.” (Deut 17,13, et al) When discussing the person who tries to lure others into sin, especially idolatry, Moses reinforces this exhortation by warning the people not to advance excuses for the sinner, not to cover up for him, and not to do anything that would make it difficult to convict the culprit. Family members of guilty persons are especially warned not to allow their family ties, or their fear of a violent family member to override their duty to society at large.

If, even the lesser commandments, etc. Rashi is answering the question: Why is it written עקב, which means “because of,” and implies they will definitely heed these laws, as we find regarding Avraham. There it is written (Bereishis 26:5), “Because (עקב) you have heeded My voice etc,” and Avraham definitely listened to His voice and wished to slaughter his son. If so, here also it implies they will definitely listen. But it says (Megillah 25a), “Everything is in the hands of Heaven except for the fear of Heaven.” Therefore Rashi explains that עקב means [“heel,” referring to] the lesser commandments (i.e., those commandments that people do not regard as being worth much reward). Therefore Rashi also says, “If, even the lesser commandments,” meaning, it is not definite. Additionally, because משפטים here refers to all the commandments and not just to monetary matters — since monetary matters are not mentioned here — then how can the verse say האלה (these)? Therefore, Rashi changes [the meaning of] the word משפטים [usually referring to monetary laws] to מצות [commandments, in general]. (Re”m). Another explanation is that Rashi is answering the question: The verse should say, “If you will heed the commandments,” as it is written in Parshas Ki Savo (below 28:1), “If you will heed,” and (ibid v. 15), “If you will not heed.” Therefore it is written עקב, to imply “the lesser commandments etc.”

V. 12. והיה עקב. Während im Vorhergehenden ausgeführt ist, dass im Einzelleben dem wahrhaft Guten der Lohn seiner Guttaten nicht im eigenen hieniedigen Dasein reift, werden hier die segensreichen Wirkungen gezeichnet, die der Gesamtheit aus einem pflichtgetreuen Gesamtleben als Folge dieser Pflichterfüllung, nicht als anzustrebender Lohn, hervorgehen werden. Alle Gebote des göttlichen Gesetzes, die חקים ,מצות ,עדות und משפטים, werden daher hier unter den einen Begriff: משפטים zusammengefasst, sie sind in tiefem Grunde nichts als "Rechtssätze", mit welchen den verschiedensten Verhältnissen und Beziehungen des leiblichen und geistigen Einzeln- und Gesamtlebens das ihnen nach dem Massstabe des צדק, des göttlichen Weltzustandsideals Gebührende gezollt wird. Als solche, als schuldige Rechtspflicht, die keinen Dank und keinen Lohn zu beanspruchen hat, sollen sie erfüllt werden. Sie sind alle aber so tief der Natur und der Bestimmung der Dinge und Menschen entsprechend und sie stehen in einem solchen Einklang unter einander, dass aus ihrer treuen Gesamterfüllung der segensreichste Zustand eines nationalen Daseins auf Erden hervorgeht.

והיה עקב תשמעון, “it will be as a consequence of your hearkening, etc.” Rashi comments on why Moses used the word עקב, “heel,” here when he could have used numerous other words meaning: “as a result of.” He says that Moses refers here to the kind of commandments which the average person tramples underfoot with his heel, is hardly conscious of, for the observance of which meticulously the Torah promises great reward, even though it takes no effort to fulfill theses commandments. This is also what David had in mind in Psalms 49,6 when he said: למה אירא רע בימי עון עקבי יסובני, “why should I be afraid of trouble in days to come –seeing that I have fulfilled the most difficult commandments?-He answers rhetorically, “I have reason to be afraid of being punished for trespassing the commandments that are so easy to fulfill as it is to put one heel behind another.” Our sages in Ethics of the Fathers chapter 2 mishnah 1, warn us to be as meticulous to fulfill the commandments which are easy to fulfill as we are with fulfilling the commandments which are difficult and expensive to fulfill. Something along the same line has been written in Proverbs 5,6 where Solomon warns: ארח חיים פן תפלס נעו מעגלותיה לא תדע “she (the immoral woman who is the subject here) does not chart a path of life; her ways are unstable; you do not know them.” Solomon warns us not to apply our yardsticks to different commandments and taking credit for the ones we performed with a great deal of effort, while neglecting to fulfill the ones we considered as unimportant. We have no way of knowing how G–d values the performance of different commandments, so that we do not know what rewards are in store for their performance. This can be illustrated best by a parable. A king had an orchard; he brought workmen to that orchard to plant trees and did not tell them how much he would pay each for each tree that they planted. If he had told them beforehand which planting would be paid for most, he would find at the end that only half the orchard had been planted with trees, as the workers would, of course, all plant the trees for which they would be paid the most. According to Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, G–d revealed the reward of only two of all the commandments; one is the commandment which is the easiest to fulfill, the other is the commandment which is the hardest to fulfill. Honouring father and mother is the easiest commandment to fulfill, it can be fulfilled several times daily without special effort. The other is the sending away of the mother bird when one plans to take the chicks it had hatched or was about to hatch. Both of these commandments are rewarded with same reward, long life of the person who fulfills them. The reason is that G–d wanted to show the world that there are commandments which we think must carry a great reward, and others which precisely because they are so easy to fulfill, and the opportunity to fulfill them is ever present, so that we might have thought that they cannot carry much of a reward. [The author continues with further elaborations, which I have omitted as the point has been made sufficiently. Ed.]

והיה עקב משמעון, “it shall come to pass as a result of your hearkening, etc;” Moses tells the people that on account of their observing the laws of the Torah the blessings following will be bestowed upon them collectively. On the other hand, if you do not observe His commandments He will not fulfill the terms of His covenant until the following generation.

ושמר ה׳ וגו׳ THEN THE LORD [THY GOD] WILL KEEP FOR THEE His promise (Midrash Tanchuma, Eikev 1).

את המשפטים, for the earth’s continued existence is linked to performance of justice by its inhabitants. (Proverbs 29,4)

He will keep His promise to you. Rashi is answering the question: Scripture writes ושמר, which implies that Hashem will fulfill His oath. But, why should He not fulfill His oath? Therefore, Rashi explains: He will keep His promise to you. Additionally, Rashi says the word ישמור (He will keep) instead of ושמר. This shows that the prefix vav does not mean “and,” rather, the vav reverses the past tense to the future tense.

I think we must explain the word in terms of the statement in Bereshit Rabbah 42,3 that whenever the Bible uses the term והיה it implies that something pleasant is being discussed. Moses was telling the Israelites that it does not behoove a person to rejoice unless he feels secure in the knowledge that he has fulfilled all his obligations vis-a-vis G'd. As long as a person is conscious of failing to perform either certain positive or negative commandments he must not deport himself in a joyful manner. This is what Kohelet had in mind when he said (Kohelet 2,2: ולשמחה מה זה עשה", "and of joy, what does this accomplish?" Moses tells us "as a result of your hearkening to these statutes etc." you will become joyful. There are other instances when the word עקב is used in a similar vein by our sages such as in Sotah 49 where the Mishnah says that at the end (עכבתא) of the period preceding the arrival of the Messiah disrespectful behaviour will become the norm. The period immediately preceding the arrival of the Messiah is referred to as עקב. Similarly, once people have reached the level where they fulfill all of G'd's commandments they qualify for a life full of joy. The author of Chovot Halevavot phrases this thought as follows in the fourth chapter of his treatise dealing with Perishut. "Any person deserving of the title Parush is sad on the inside but exudes joy on the outside." The reason he does not feel this joy is that it does not behoove a person who will eventually appear before his Maker for judgment feeling full of shame and embarassment to be prematurely joyful in this life. If this applies to people deserving of the appellation פרוש, ascetic, pious, then an ordinary mortal who may be guilty of death for sins committed must most certainly not feel joyful. If we use these examples of the use of the word עקב we must understand it as a level when the Israelites have hearkened to every last one of all the commandments.

Diese von dem Betreffenden nicht angestrebte, sich gleichsam von selbst ergebende Folge heißt: עקב, ja eigentlich: Ferse. Es ist das, was dem Gehorsam nachfolgt, nicht was er im Auge hat. Daher knüpfen die Weisen an diesen Ausdruck die eingehendsten Belehrungen über die Gesinnung, in welcher das göttliche Gesetz von uns Erfüllung zu erwarten hat. אורח חיים פן תפלם שלא תהא נושא ונותן במצותיה של תורה אי זו שכרה מרובה ועושה אותה למה נעו מעגלותיה ולא תדע מטולטלין הן שבילי התורה, dass wir nicht etwa die einzelnen Gebote auf die Wagschale unserer Überlegungen legen möchten, um zu erwägen, welcher Gebote wohl ein größerer Lohn harren möge, damit wir diesen unsere vorzügliche Beachtung zuwenden wollten. Die Wege des Gesetzes bilden sich immer erweiterndere, in einander sich verlierend übergehende Kreise. Wir können die Folgen der Erfüllung eines Gebotes nicht übersehen. Sie greifen in einander ein, und an das kleinste, uns geringfügig erscheinende Gebot knüpfen sich die weitreichendsten Folgen. Darum sollen unterschiedslos alle Gebote von uns mit gleicher gewissenhafter Treue erfüllt werden, alle uns in gleicher Geltung stehen, alle nur aus Pflichtgefühl zur Erfüllung kommen, und uns überhaupt nicht ein Gedanke von zu erwartendem größeren oder geringeren Lohn leiten. — Die sprachliche Tatsache ferner, dass עקב das nicht mit Bewusstsein Angestrebte, das außer Beachtung Bleibende andeutet, gibt den Belehrungen der Weisen Veranlassung, dies, aus dem Bereich der Wirkungen des Gesetzes in das Bereich des Gesetzesinhalts übertragen, zugleich die Mahnung sagen zu lassen: והיה עקב תשמעון וגו׳, gerade dem unsere gesetzerfüllende Aufmerksamkeit zuzuwenden, was, je nach den wechselnden Zeiterscheinungen, als vermeintlich geringfügiger bei Seite gelassen zu werden pflegt, nach ihrem Ausdruck: מצות שאדם דש בעקבן, über die man als minderbedeutend hinüberschreitet und sie mit der Ferse hinterwärts tritt. Eine solche willkürliche Scheidung der Gesetze in vermeintlich wichtige und minder wichtige, namentlich eine solche Scheidung der sogenannten מצות שבין אדם לחברו und שבין אדם למקום war von je das Verhängnisvollste für uns. Der endliche Untergang unseres ersten Staatenglücks wird der Hintansetzung zunächst der מצות שבין אדם למקום, der unseres zweiten Staatenglückes der Hintansetzung der מצות שבין אדם לחברו zugeschrieben, eine heilvolle Zukunft erblüht uns nur, wenn wir das göttliche Gesetz ganz fassen und es unterschiedslos zur Erfüllung bringen. Nur als תורת ד׳ תמימה ist sie משיבת נפש. —

ושמרתם, and study them, (according to Sifri)

Moreover, a person does not experience a feeling of joy until he has completed the "hearkening," i.e. performance of the commandment in question. He cannot be certain that he has done everything correctly. This is similar to what we have been told in Job 15,14-15: "How can a human being feel righteous if G'd does not even believe that His angels are righteous?"

תשמעון את ist nicht gehorchen, sondern hören, in den Geist aufnehmen. Es sind die drei Stadien gezeichnet, die zur Gesetzeserfüllung gehören: עשיה ,שמירה ,שמיעה, Lernen, gewissenhaftes Bewahren, Erfüllen; es ist das Übergehen des Gesetzes in Geist, Gesinnung und Tat.

ועשיתם אותם, as a result of studying them you will perform them in accordance with halachah.

Another lesson to be learned from this verse is that Torah must be studied in a joyful frame of mind. This is why a mourner is not allowed to study Torah (compare Yoreh Deyah 384).

ושמר ה' אלוקיך לך את הברית, the one He swore, when He said (Genesis 17,7) “I will give My covenant between Me and you, and between your descendants after you for all generations as an eternal covenant, to be your G’d and that of your descendants after you.” Being our G’d means that He will supervise our fates not by means of some intermediary, such as the fates which are supervised by appointees of G’d, including horoscopes, and angels assigned to each nation. Besides, anything which is done by G’d personally, without His having recourse to an intermediary, is something that endures forever. Compare Kohelet 3,14 כי כל אשר יעשה האלוקים הוא אשר יהיה לעולם,”anything which G’d does Himself is something that will endure forever.” By contrast, transient phenomena, [such as extinct species, for instance, Ed.] are proof of the fact that they were the products of intermediaries of G’d. [G’d had commanded the waters to produce the living creatures of the waters, and He had commanded the earth to produce vegetation and the mammals, etc. Water and the earth are both intermediaries. Ed.]

Our verse also contains an allusion to Psalms 19,9: "The precepts of G'd are just, rejoicing the heart." Accordingly, we have to read the verse as if it said: "you will be joyful as a result of hearkening to G'd's commandments." The joy may even be the reward, עקב, of your Torah-study. This may be an aspect of what we are told in Avot 4,2 that performing one commandment results in that person performing more commandments. This next מצוה may be the joy one experiences.

ואת החסד, as He had said in Genesis 17,8 when He promised the land of Canaan to Avraham’s descendants. Such acts are acts of loving kindness and have nothing to do with the reward awaiting us as compensation for performing the commandments in the world to come. (based on the statement in Kidushin 39 that reward, in the sense of compensation, for commandments performed is not something that is due while we are on earth.)

The Zohar volume three page 213 says there is no joy before G'd equal to the joy G'd experiences at the time Israel studies Torah. The Torah uses the word והיה without being specific to show that this joy will be of a very general nature, it will embrace the whole earth all because you hearken to the Lord's commandments. The word עקב also is a hint that a Torah-observant Jew is humble, the word עקב, "heel," reminding him of the need for humility. Once he approaches Torah in such a spirit, תשמעון, "you will hear," i.e. understand the deeper meaning of the Torah and its commandments.

It is possible that the suffix ן in the word תשמעון is an allusion to the "50 gates of insights." If so, the message is that if one is able to acquire the virtue called humility one will be able to listen to and to understand the words of the Torah. Having reached that stage one will also be able to ושמרתם to "keep" the commandments (in the sense of not committing violations) seeing one has understood them. Torah study and observance of the negative commandments is a protective shield against sin and leads to performance of the positive commandments.

ושמר ה׳ אלקיך לך את הברית, "and the Lord your G'd will keep for you the covenant, etc." The use of the inverted ו in order to change a past tense into a future tense here needs analysis. We would have expected the Torah to write והיה עקב תשמעון ישמור השם. "As a result of your hearkening…G'd will keep His covenant, etc." In view of my explanation that either the word עקב or the word תשמעון is the focus of this verse it makes perfect sense for the Torah to write ושמר the letter ו being a conjunctive ו as well as a ו ההיפוך. The Torah gives us the choice of either interpretation.

לך את הברית, "to you the covenant, etc." This sounds peculiar. It appears to mean that only after Israel has observed the spirit and the letter of all the commandments will G'd keep His covenant with us. This appears to contradict what the Torah wrote in Deut. 9,5: "Not for your righteousness, etc. are you about to take possession of their lands but because of their wickedness, etc., and in order that G'd can keep the word which He swore to your forefathers, etc." This establishes clearly that G'd would keep His covenant even if the Israelites did not prove to be righteous! In fact the verses following with their blessings will be the litmus test if G'd only let you dispossess the Canaanite nations because of His oath to the forefathers, or because of your own merit. In the former case your tenure will be shortlived; in the event you entered because you keep G'd's commandments you will experience all the blessings listed beginning with verse 13.

We may also explain this verse by analysing the promise G'd had made to Abraham. In Genesis 15, 14-16 G'd made two promises. 1) To take the Jewish people out of their bondage with great riches and that the fourth generation of the Emorites counting from Abraham's time [or the generation who left for exile. Ed.] would return to the land of Canaan. 2) to give to the Israelites possession of the land from the river of Egypt as far as the river Euphratus, i.e. the lands of 10 Canaanite tribes (verse 18). At this point (9,5) the Torah says that G'd would keep the first of the promises made to Abraham even if the Israelites were not deserving because the Emorites had forfeited the land and G'd had made a promise to Abraham. He would give the Israelites a homeland which would suffice for them. In the event you find that they did not have sufficient land as the tribes of Joseph complained in Joshua 17,14 that they were far too numerous for the amount of land allocated to them. This was because the second promise to Abraham that the land of Israel would extend to the river Euphratus had not been fulfilled. Moses promises in our verse that if the Israelites were to fulfil all the commandments they could count on G'd to also keep the second part of His covenant with Abraham forthwith, i.e. their territory would extend from the river of Egypt to the river Euphratus.

It is also possible to understand Moses' words as referring to the seven Canaanite tribes (instead of to all ten), whereas concerning the lands of the remaining three tribes he said ואת החסד, meaning that the gift of the land of these additional three tribes was to be considered as a great act of kindness. An intelligent reader will observe that the lands of these three nations Edom, Ammon, and Moav comprise most of the civilised world. Yuma 10 claims that the kingdom of Edom (Rome) covers most of the known parts of the globe. No wonder that Moses refers to possession of so much land as an outstanding act of kindness. This is quite true as in all these years of our history we have not yet experienced fulfilment of this act of kindness. In the meantime we are still waiting for G'd to give us the additional part of our inheritance.

There is still another way of looking at our verse. The words עקב תשמעון are an assurance by Moses to the people that in order to dispossess the Canaanites and to inherit their land they did not need to rely on the oath G'd had sworn to Abraham. All they had to do was to keep G'd's commandments. G'd would then keep the covenant on account of the merits the people had acquired. If you possess personal merit such merit is far superior to the merit of the ancestors working on your behalf. Moses makes a point of saying לך את הברית, "to you the covenant;" he did not content himself with saying merely: ושמר לך ה׳ את הברית". The difference in the position of the word לך is crucial to the understanding of our verse. Moses wanted the word לך to appear next to the word הברית. By saying ושמר, Moses indicated that if possession of the land of Canaan would be due to Israel's own merit G'd would keep His covenant for all times. We can be sure that this is true seeing that Abraham himself became the recipient of all these promises not because of the merit of his fathers but because of his own merit. If Israel were to be as deserving as their patriarch, why would they receive less of an inheritance than that promised to their fore-father? On the contrary, they had accumulated additional merits when they accepted the Torah at the revelation at Mount Sinai! They would observe the commandments as an act of obedience to G'd, a greater merit than merely doing so voluntarily. To sum up, the merits of the sons were greater than those of the fathers.

שגר אלפיך means the offspring of thy oxen which the female casts out (שגר) from its womb.

VA’AHEIVCHA’ (AND HE WILL LOVE THEE). The meaning thereof is that when you will observe the ordinances [i.e., the judgments] out of a love for G-d, He will love you as well. It is possible that va’aheivcha is transitive, meaning that He will cause you to be beloved by the families of those judged [to punishment] and you will not be hated because of [what you have done to] them. And He will bless thee,³¹In Verse 13 before us. that there shall no evil befall thee³²Psalms 91:10. because of the judgment [you have rendered]. And He will multiply thee,³¹In Verse 13 before us. that you will not be diminished because of the death of the transgressors, even if many are slain such as the people of an apostate city.³³Further, 13:13-19.

ואהבך, He loved you, in the sense that you are “children,” reflecting His image; our sages (Avot 3,10) paraphrased this when they said: “Israel is beloved of the Lord,” as we know from the fact that He refers to them as בנים,”children of the Lord.” By performing the commandments the eternal nature of the covenant will be reinforced so that it is perfect.

ואהבך, “He will love you;” Nachmanides writes that what Moses means is that if the Jewish people will perform the social commandments from feelings of love for Hashem, He, in turn, will love them. It is possible that the word ואהבך could be meant transitively, i.e. that G’d will make the Jewish people beloved in the eyes of the families whose members have become the “victims” of the application of these social laws. They will not hate the judges who convicted members of their families.

Which the female casts out from her womb. I.e., the offspring are called שגר, related to the term “cast out.” And והבקרים אלפים is related to, “Our cattle (אלופנו) are laden (Tehillim 144:14).”

V. 13. ואהבך וגו׳, die erste Folge treuer Gesetzeserfüllung ist ואהבך, dass Gott in dir einen treuen Diener erblickt, dessen Wille ganz in den seinen aufgeht, und dich daher liebt, wie nur ein Herr einen treuen Diener liebt; sodann וברכך: da durch dich das, und nur das gefördert wird, was seinem Willen gemäss ist, und in deinem Gedeihen Seine Sache auf Erden gedeiht, so spendet er dir Gedeihen; והרבך: und sieht in deiner Vermehrung, in deinem Weiterblühen in immer wachsenden Geschlechtern, in welchen sich dein Geist und deine Gesinnung und deine treue Lebenstat vervielfältigt wiederholt, nur eine Ausbreitung Seines Reiches auf Erden. In diesem Reichtum immer wachsender, reiner geistiger sittlicher Seelenzahl liegt die höchste Blüte des durch die Erfüllung des Gesetzes sich begründenden Gottesstaats, und ihm parallel geht die immer wachsende Blüte des Bodenreichtums, wie im folgenden geschildert wird. וברך ׳פרי בטנך וגו ist nur Ausführung des והרבך und der dadurch bedingten, jeder Bevölkerungszahl genügenden Blüte des Landes. — שגר (siehe Bereschit S. 497). עשתרות, ein Wort zweifelhafter Bedeutung. Chulin 84 b wird es als von der Wurzel עשר gebildet in der Bedeutung von Reichtum aufgefasst.

ועשתרות צאנך AND THE BREEDS OF THY FLOCK — Menachem ben Seruk explains this expression to be parallel to אבירי בשן, which means: "the strong rams of Bashan” (Psalms 22:13), i.e. the choicest of the sheep, similar to (Genesis 14:5), “Ashteroth (עשתרות) Karnaim", where also it is an expression for “strength" (so that עשתרות denotes “the strong ones"). Onkelos. however, translates it: “and the flocks of thy sheep". Our Rabbis said: Why is their name called עשתרות? Because they enrich (עשר) their owner (through the sale of their wool, etc.) (cf. Chullin 84b).

וברכך, with material wealth, measurable in terms of money. This blessing improves the quality of the transient life on earth. By means of this blessing He insures your ability to enjoy the loving kindness of living in the land of Israel successfully, happily.

והרבך, ”He will multiply you;” your numbers will not decrease through the loss of the sinners who have been put to death by the judicial process as demanded by the משפטים, the social laws of the Torah. A prime example would be the mass executions if there ever were to be a עיר הנדחת, a city the majority of whose inhabitants had turned to idolatry. (Deut. 13,3-19)

The strong bulls of Bashan means the choicest of the flock, etc. I.e., Bashan is the name of a place. And there they have the choicest of the flock, i.e., healthy and strong. Therefore the flocks are called עשתרת, which is an expression of strength.

Similar to עשתרת קרנים which expresses strength, etc. Even though קרנים is not written here, but since we find elsewhere in Scripture that עשתרת [ — written with קרנים — clearly] is an expression of strength. [Therefore] every instance where it is written עשתרות it is explained as “strength,” even though קרנים is not written.

Our Sages said: “Why are they called עשתרות, etc. Our Sages do not disagree with Menachem’s explanation, for they also hold that עשתרות expresses strength. Otherwise, our Sages will be contradicting themselves. For in Parshas Ki Savo (below 28:4), regarding עשתרות צאנך Rashi explains: “As Onkelos translates. And our Sages said, ‘Why are they called עשתרות? Because they enrich their owners and strengthen them, like these עשתרות which are mighty cliffs.’” This indicates that our Sages also hold that עשתרות is an expression of strength, just as Menachem. Rather, they disagree on this point: Menachem explains that עשתרות refers to the [condition of the] flocks, but our Sages explain that it refers to [the condition of] their owners. Re”m explains similarly below (ibid).

עקר means, a man who cannot procreate.

ברוך תהיה מכל העמים, "You will be more blessed than all the nations." This can either mean that there will not be a nation which is greater in stature than the Jewish nation, or it could mean: ברוך תהיה, "you will enjoy certain blessings over and beyond those enjoyed by other nations;" what are these blessings? "There will be none amongst you that are barren genetically." Beyond that, "if there is someone amongst you who has become barren through sickness, G'd will remove this sickness from you, etc." It will thus become common knowledge that you have been blessed by the Lord your G'd.

עקר, with two vowels kametz. Other examples of such constructions are חכם as opposed to אשה חכמה, (Samuel II 14,2) or שפל as opposed to ושפלה איננה in Leviticus 13,21. I have found that all the texts published in Spain follow this vowel pattern. [remember that our author was Ashkenazi. Ed.]

ברוך תהיה מכל העמים, “You will be blessed more than any other nations.” The word יותר “more than,“ is implied here though it does not appear in the text. It is a construction similar to Deut. 28,1: ונתנך ה’ אלו-היך עליון על כל גויי הארץ, “and the Lord will make you supreme above all the nations of the earth.” Alternatively, the words מכל העמים can be understood as מפי כל העמים, i.e. you will be blessed by all the nations. They will all acknowledge your superiority.

V. 14. ׳ברוך וגו: der Nachsatz ׳לא יהיה בך וגו beweist, dass unter diesem, das unter dem Regime des göttlichen Gesetzes lebende Volk vor allen Völkern auszeichnenden Segen der Bevölkerungsreichtum verstanden ist. Das göttliche Wort kennt nichts Kostbareres als eine Menschenseele, und die Seelenzahl ist ihm der Gradmesser eines wahrhaften nationalen Glückes (vergl. das zu Bamidbar Kap. 38, 9 f. Bemerkte).

The words והסיר ה׳ ממך כל חולי, may also be understood in conjunction with Ketuvot 30 "everything is in the hands of heaven with the exception of the common cold." Inasmuch as the common cold is not a sickness decreed upon man as some form of retribution, G'd promises to remove it from Jews who suffer from it. Concerning other maladies which are in the nature of afflictions sent by G'd, the Torah promises that we will not fall victim to them at all if we keep G'd's commandments.

Our verse also alerts us that one way of becoming aware of G'd's kindness is the fact that He cures Israel of sickness and disease. We should not presume that if we are free from disease this is due to the fact that at certain times it is natural to be in good health, that there simply are no infectious diseases around at such times. To teach us that this is not so the Torah writes that G'd will not put upon us any of the diseases which were rampant in Egypt and of which we were aware. In other words, these diseases occurred in Egypt all the time. If the Israelites are not subject to these diseases this is proof of G'd's special providence; it is not coincidence or a natural phenomenon.

In addition, G'd assures us that even when He afflicts our enemies with these infectious diseases we will not catch these infections.

AND THE ETERNAL WILL TAKE AWAY FROM THEE ALL SICKNESS — ordinary ailments which occur in the world. He further mentioned all the evil diseases of Egypt to assure the people that He will inflict them on all who hate thee. Or it may be that he is intimating that by observing the ordinances, they will be saved from them [these evil diseases], but if they do not observe them, they [the diseases] will come upon them just as they did come upon the Egyptians, as is stated in the chastisement: And He will bring back upon thee all the diseases of Egypt etc.³⁴Ibid., 28:60. I have already explained this in the section And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go.³⁵Exodus 15:26 (Vol. II, pp. 212-213). Now he mentioned as the first among the ordinances, the duty to demolish and destroy the idol-worshippers.³⁶Verse 16. Therefore he said, ‘v’achalta’ [literally: “and thou shalt eat”] all the peoples,³⁶Verse 16. meaning that you should destroy them, similar to what is said, for they are bread for us;³⁷Numbers 14:9. for ‘achal’ (he hath devoured) Jacob;³⁸Psalms 79:7. ‘va’achaluhu’ (yea, they have devoured him) and consumed him,³⁹Jeremiah 10:25. and so also many similar expressions. He states thine eye shall not pity them³⁶Verse 16. as I have mentioned,⁴⁰Above in Verse 12. for, through [undue] pity of the judges all law will be destroyed.

כל חולי, any manner of illness including those that are the result of climactic conditions.

והסיר ה' ממך כל חולי, “Hashem will remove every sickness from you.” This refers to sicknesses that are part and parcel of everyday life. Moses adds:

V. 15. מדוי. Während חלי den physiologischen Vorgang des Krankheitszustandes, als ein Gestörtsein der Entwicklung (siehe Bereschit Kap. 46, 1) bezeichnet, ist דוי mehr Bezeichnung des Krankheitsgefühles, das Leiden. Daher häusig mit לב verbunden. Die Lautverwandtschaft von דוה mit טוה spinnen, lässt eine Gedankenverwandtschaft mit חבל vermuten, das ja auch Seil und Schmerz, Krampf bedeutet. Sollte sich pathologisch Schmerz als ein Sondern und zu heterogener Einheit Zusammendrängen sonst dem Gesamtorganismus sich einfügender organischer Teilstoffe, gleichsam ein Zusammenspinnen und Zusammendrehen innerhalb des Organismus, darstellen lassen und so דוי und חבל nur Gradverschiedenheiten eines Vorganges bezeichnens??

All illness and all the harmful disease. Illness refers to one who falls sick in bed, even though no specific part of his body hurts him. Disease refers to pain in a certain part of the body, while the rest of the body is healthy.

הרעים, the ones which are contagious.

וכל מדוי מצרים “as well as all the bad maladies specifically prevalent in Egypt.” Probably, what are meant are different kinds of intestinal maladies, cancer of the colon, etc. Moses singles out these diseases with which the Israelites were familiar from their stay in Egypt, to assure them that G’d will cure them even from such diseases as part of the reward for observing the משפטים. He would instead afflict our enemies with such diseases. It is also possible that Moses hints here that if once afflicted with these diseases the meticulous observance of the social laws would cause G’d to heal the afflicted person, whereas non observance of these laws may bring in its wake such afflictions. When singling out specific commandments representing the social laws, משפטים, Moses singles out first (8,19) and foremost the eradication of every person guilty of practicing any kind of idolatry.

אשר ידעת, that the Egyptians were smitten with at the Sea of Reeds.

לא ישימם בך ונתנם בכל שונאך, even though these diseases will strike your enemies they will not infect you, as described in Psalms 91,7 “thousands may fall by your side….but the source of the death will not reach you.”

לא תחוס עיניך עליהם ולא תעבוד את אלוהיהם. By not ignoring idolatry in your country by people remaining there you will ensure that no Israelites will worship such deities. If you will turn a blind eye to their practices they will undoubtedly lead you into sin.

ואכלת את כל העמים, "You shall consume all these nations, etc." This is a positive commandment. Moses continues that this commandment applies to the nations whom G'd delivers into our hands (the seven Canaanite tribes). There is a clear implication that if the Israelites were to be tardy in carrying out this commandment this would be tantamount to despising a divine gift.

ואכלת את כל העמים, “you will consume all the nations.” When you will utterly destroy them the result will be as if you had eaten them as one eats bread. This is in line with what Calev had said when he came back from the spying mission 38 years earlier when he told his compatriots that the Canaanites “are our bread” (Numbers 14,9).

V. 16. ואכלת כל העמים. Vergl. Wajikra 26, 28; Jirmija 10, 25; 30, 16; 50, 17 u.f. wo אכל als Vernichtung einer Bevölkerung, insbesondere durch das Kriegsschwert, vorkommt. Ist ja auch אכל geradezu Prädikat von חרב, wie Dewarim Kap. 32. 42 u.f. Ohnehin hängt ja auch der Begriff Krieg, לחם, mit dem Begriffe Speise eng zusammen, und אכל wäre in diesem Zusammenhange vielleicht nicht sowohl ein objektiver Vernichtungskrieg, sondern die Vernichtung der Bevölkerung zum Selbsterhaltungszweck. —

כי מוקש הוא לך, although you relate to them by protecting their freedom of worship, they will turn out to be a stumbling block for you by seducing you to join them in their religious rites.

אשר ה’ אלו-היך נותן לך, “which the Lord your G’d is about to give to you.” Our sages in Baba Kama 113 state that this was true only at the time when the Canaanites were being delivered into the hands of the Israelites during the years of conquest. Nowadays, stealing from or robbing Gentiles is certainly prohibited. In fact, the Talmud there describes stealing from Gentiles as a greater sin than stealing from Israelites as it involves the desecration of the name of the Lord. The Jewish people are to be models of morality. If we steal we drag G’d’s Torah into disrepute. (See also the author's comment on Lev. 25,50).

לא תחוס עינך, "do not display pity, etc." This is what Solomon taught us in Proverbs 12,10: "showing compassion to the wicked is cruelty." Contrary to the common belief that the display of pity is a virtue, the Torah teaches that this is not only not necessarily so, but it can even be a negative virtue. Perhaps the Torah had to warn us about this seeing that G'd blesses Israel with an abundance of children. We have also been taught in Sanhedrin 36 that fathers are apt to show more pity than men who have no children and that as a result men who have no children cannot be appointed to the Supreme Court as they lack a measure of that virtue. To make certain that pity would not be shown to the people whom G'd wants to destroy the Torah had to legislate this in our verse.

לא תחוס עינך עליהם. Die wiederholten Warnungen, an der kanaanitischen Bevölkerung keine Schonung zu üben, dürften konstatieren, wie sehr ein solches schonungsloses Vorgehen sonst weder der Sinnesart noch der Bestimmung des jüdischen Volkes gemäß ist, das vielmehr zur Schonung alles Lebendigen geneigt ist und geneigt bleiben soll, und in diesem schonungslosen Vorgehen gegen die kanaanitische Bevölkerung nur eine von Gott ausdrücklich gebotene und von den Verhältnissen geheischte Ausnahme zu erblicken hat. —

Our verse continues: "and so that you will not serve their deities" (if you allow these people to survive in your country) to warn you that as a result of your misplaced pity you will "shoot yourself in the leg," as their idols will be a snare unto you, eventually leading to your destruction instead of their death. Your pity will be counter-productive.

כי מוקש הוא לך kann sich nicht auf ׳ולא תעבר וגו beziehen. Der Abfall zum Götzentum ist ja an sich die höchste, am meisten zu fürchtende Verderbnis. Vielmehr erscheint ולא תעבד als Paranthese und ׳כי מוקש וגו bezieht sich auf ׳לא תחוס וגו: übe an ihnen keine Schonung, damit du nicht ihren Göttern dienst; denn es, die Schonung, die du üben würdest, würde dir zur Falle, die Schonung brächte dich zum Abfall (vergl. Schmot 23, 33 u. 34, 12). Der positivste Ausdruck הוא לך, nicht יהיה לך, dürfte eben, wie es sich ja auch in Wahrheit ergab, diese Schonung als dasjenige Moment bezeichnen, an welchem sicher Israels Glück scheitern werde.

כי תאמר בלבבך — You must admit that the word כי here denotes “perhaps": perhaps thou wilt say in thy heart, “Because they are many, I shall be unable to dispossess them". Do not speak thus, לא תירא מהם THOU SHALT NOT BE AFRAID OF THEM. — For it is not possible to explain it in one of the three other meanings of כי so that the words לא תירא מהם will then appropriately fit in with it.

כי תאמר...איכה אוכל להורישם, לא תירא מהם, for you will say that they outnumber you. Do not say this in a manner which will inspire fear in you, but reflect on the fact that this would be an argument only if the Lord your G’d had not already demonstrated that with His help you can overcome. זכור תזכור את אשר עשה ה' אלוקיך לפרעה וכל מצרים, they outnumbered you by a far greater margin than the Canaanites and they were stronger than the Canaanites.

And it is impossible to explain [the word כי] according to any other meanings of, etc. In other words, the word כי cannot mean, “because,” or, “rather,” for these terms cannot begin an idea. The word כי also cannot mean, “if,” for it is not possible to say, “If you will say [i.e., think] this, then do not think it.” For if you have already thought it, it is not possible to say that you should not think it. Furthermore, [if the word כי means “if”] then the verse would imply: If you think… then do not fear them. But if you do not think… then fear them. But this is not correct. Rashi explains in this manner in Gittin (90a).

המסות means, THE TRIALS (cf. Rashi on 4:34).

This refers to the pestilence. As it is written (Shmos 9:3), “Behold the hand of Adonoy is directed at your livestock, etc.”

V. 19. המסות וגו׳, es hat dir Gott von allen Seiten seiner Waltung bereits gleichsam Proben abgelegt (מסות), Erkenntnismittel seiner Wesenheit und Allmacht (אתות), Belehrung und Besserung bezweckende Schickungen (מופתים), wie er das, was er sein nennt, sich nicht entreißen lässt (יד חזקה), und wie seine Macht über alle Menschenmacht hinausreicht (כן יעשה .(זרוע נטויה, ganz in derselben Weise, wie bei deinem Auszuge aus Mizrajim, wird sich Gott dir bei deinem Einzuge in Kanaan erweisen.

והאתת AND THE SIGNS, for example (Exodus 4:3) “and it became a serpent”, and (Exodus 4:9) “It became blood on the dry land”. ...

This is a reference to the sword of the plague of (the Egyptian) first born. As it is written, “And his [the angel’s] sword was drawn in his extended arm upon Yerushalayim (Divrei Hayomim I 21:16).” Some explain this verse simply — that it refers to the sword Hashem had used to smite the first born. Others explain that the first born smote their fathers. For the first born knew they would be smitten because of the Jewish People, so they told their fathers to expel them from Egypt. Their fathers did not listen, so they [fought against their fathers and] killed thousands of them. And this is stated in the verse, “Who smote Egypt through their first born (Tehillim 136:10).” (Kolbo and Avudrohom).

והמפתים AND THE WONDERS, viz., the wondrous plagues.

והיה החזקה AND THE STRONG HAND — this refers to the pestilence (Sifrei Bamidbar 115:1; cf. the Passover Haggadah).

והזרע הנטיה AND THE OUTSTRETCHED ARM, this refers to the sword for the smiting of the firstborn (Exodus 4:23).

הצרעה — a species of flying insect which injected poison into them, and castrated them and blinded their eyes wherever they hid themselves (Sotah 36a).

הצרעה, “the hornet;” according to some interpretations this is a type of disease similar to tzoraat, afflicting the body. (Ibn Ezra)

V. 21. לא תערץ (siehe Kap. 1, 29).

פן תרבה עליך חית השדה LEST THE BEASTS OF THE FIELD INCREASE UPON THEE — But is it not a fact that if people perform the will of the Omnipresent they will not have to fear the beasts, as it is said, (Job 5:23) “And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee”?! But it states this because it was manifest before Him that they would in future sin.

THOU MAYEST NOT BE ABLE TO CONSUME THEM SPEEDILY. He is assuring them that G-d will destroy them all and send the hornet among them to destroy they that are left and they that hide themselves,⁴¹Verse 20. and thus they will all [ultimately] perish. He states, however, that He will not completely destroy them in war in one day, nor will He drive them out of the Land in one year, lest the Land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multiply against thee.⁴²Exodus 23:29. And He assured them further that those [of the peoples] that are left, will not be the majority, but that G-d shall confound them with a great confusion⁴³Verse 23. and most of them will be destroyed by the hand of Israel. And so he said, He will destroy them, and He will bring them down before thee; so shalt thou drive them out, and make them to perish quickly,⁴⁴Further, 9:3. [meaning] that you will destroy most of them quickly, but they will not be completely vanquished until thou be increased, and inherit the Land.⁴⁵Exodus 23:30.

But is it not true that if they do the will of the Omnipresent, etc. Above in Parshas Mishpatim (Shmos 23:29) I explained why Rashi did not say this reason.

לא מוכל כלומם מהר, “you will not be able to destroy them quickly;” the word תוכל is not to be understood as an inability on your part. It will not be in your interest to do so, as you would create a vacuum of not enough people in the land, that would encourage invasion by free roaming beasts.

והמם AND HE WILL CONFOUND THEM — This word is vowelled entirely (both syllables) with Kametz, because the last ם is not part of the root, and it is equivalent to וְהָם, “And he will confuse”, אותם “them”. But in (Isaiah 28:28) וְהָמַם גלגל עגלתו the verb המם consists entirely of root letters, therefore half of it (one syllable) has Kametz and half of it Patach, just like any other verb of three consonants.

והמם מהומה גדולה, the construction of והמם, i.e. the vowel pattern of two successive letters מ and the two vowels kametz in succession is clearly parallel to וסבב בית אל in Samuel I 7,16 with the two letters ב, or as in Lamentations 5,18 שמם from שממה. The meaning of the phrase is that G’d made these people hear such powerful and earsplitting noise during the battle that this contributed greatly to their destruction. If we were to assume that the second letter מ is a pronoun ending meaning אותם, “them,” the vowel pattern should have been vehamaman. Seeing that the root of the word is המה as in יהמה לבי (Jeremiah 48,36) “my heart moans, etc.”, the Torah wrote vehamam, i.e. “He made them moan.” We find a line with similar meaning in Isaiah 48,5 עצבי עשם, “my carved images were the cause of this,” the word עשם being derived from the root עשה, or Genesis 29,10 כאשר ראה יעקב something which is referred to later in Genesis 32,3 as כאשר ראם, “when he saw them.” The root המה determines the construction here.
If you were to say that the final letter ם was a sign of the pronoun “them,” as in the examples from Isaiah and Lamentations we have quoted, this is impossible, as the expression המיון, which implies something that is part of the human body, as in Isaiah 16,11 and Jeremiah 48,36, or in Psalms 46,4 יהמו יחמרו מימיו, “its waters rage and foam;” i.e. this is self-generated, not the result of action by outsiders. If the word were in the transitive mode, hiphil, the vowel pattern would have had to be vehimah, just as in the root כלה, for instance, the vowel pattern if it appeared in the transitive mode, hiphil, the vowel pattern would have to be kilah. Or it would have to be כלם, kilam as the case would be if the final letter ם were used as the pronoun ending for “them,” as in Lamentations 2,22 or 4,11. When used transitively, the root שנה meaning changing, exchanging, such as clothes, would be שנא, shina, in the plain past tense, as in Kings II 25,29, or וישניה, vayehshaneha, in the past tense introduced by the letter ו changing a future mode to a past mode, as in Esther 2,9.

והמם מהומה גדולה, “He will confound them with great confusion;” Moses reassures the people that although the Canaanites will not be wiped out overnight, G’d will utterly confuse them so that none of them will pose a threat. They will survive only long enough for the Israelites to have sufficient children and grandchildren to replace their numbers and not allow part of the land to become desolate because there are not enough of them to work the land. There will remain only small pockets of Canaanites throughout the land during that period.

ונתן מלכיהם בידך, "He will deliver their kings into your hand, etc." You will capture them alive. We have proof of this in Joshua 10,26.

ונתן מלכיהם בידך והאבדת את שמם, for allowing any of these Canaanites to survive would become an ongoing source of irritation for you, as demonstrated by the young Haddad, sole survivor of the people of Edom, who became a lifelong source of irritation (militarily) for such a powerful king as Solomon. (Kings I 11,14 and onwards)

ונתן מלכיהם בידך והאבדת את שמם, “He will deliver their kings into your hand and you will cause their reputation to perish.” The few Canaanites remaining in the land during that time will not amount to anything, politically or militarily. Anyone who tries to make a stand against you will fail.

AND HE SHALL DELIVER THEIR KINGS INTO THY HAND, AND THOU SHALT CAUSE THEIR NAME TO PERISH — until they shall have no name abroad⁴⁶Job 18:17. No outside nation will therefore come to their help. — and the Israelites will destroy all who stand up to oppose them. This is similar to what is stated in the Book of Joshua, For it was of the Eternal to harden their hearts, to come against Israel in battle, that they might be utterly destroyed,⁴⁷Joshua 11:20. and not a king was left to them [the Canaanites] in the Land as all their kings fell [in battle].
And Rashi wrote: “Lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.⁴⁸In Verse 22. But is it not true that when they do His will [as the section begins: And it shall come to pass, because ye hearken to these ordinances etc.] they will have no fear of the beasts, as it is said, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee?⁴⁹Job 5:23. But [this assurance is stated because] it was manifest before Him that they were destined to sin.” These are the words of our Rabbis.⁵⁰Sifre, Eikev 50, with many changes. Now, even though this section is stated as a promise [and any reference to future sin apparently contradicts the principle of man’s freedom of choice], I have already mentioned⁵¹Above, 4:25. that, in the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses our teacher both assures and warns. He alludes to the fact that their merits will not be sufficient to destroy all the people at once and for Him to cause evil beasts to cease out of the Land⁵²Leviticus 26:6. as promised to them in the section If ye walk in My statutes.⁵³Ibid., Verse 3. Instead it will be as he said [here] that they will, in the first stage [of the conquest], destroy most of them together with their kings, and, afterwards, they that are left will be destroyed.

THOU SHALT NOT COVET THE SILVER OR THE GOLD ON THEM. The verse omits the word asher (which), [and the meaning is]: thou shalt not covet the silver or the gold which is on them, these being the ornaments of the idols. Thus he first commanded to burn the idol itself, this [being expressed in the statement] The graven images of their gods shall ye burn,⁵⁴In Verse 25 before us. and then he also prohibited the ornaments that are upon them. He further warned, And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thy house, lest thou be a doomed thing like it⁵⁵Verse 26. in order to prohibit benefit derived from any aspect of idol-worship — the idol itself, its appurtenances, its offerings, and its ornaments.

פן תוקש בו, for sometimes, especially if you are successful with the investment of silver and gold deriving from idolatrous sources, you will attribute this to the goodwill of their idols, which in turn will become a trap for you (theologically speaking).

פסילי אלוהיהם תשרפו באש, “You are to burn their hewn or cast idolatrous images by fire.” Moses tells the people that although he had told them that G’d will conduct the war against the Canaanites [by means of various poisonous insects (verse 20) Ed.] just as He had done against the Egyptians at the sea of Reeds, He will not destroy their deities as He had done at the time when the Israelites had come out of Egypt. This is a chore that the Israelites themselves will have to perform.

פסילי אלוהיהם תשרפון באש, לא תחמוד כסף וזהב עליהם ולקחת לך, “the images of their gods you shall burn by fire. Do not covet the silver or gold on those idols and do not take it for yourself!” The sages in Avodah Zarah 52 read this verse as follows: “if the silver and gold was meant i.e. cast for the idol, do not covet it, if, however it was (once) part of the idol itself (seeing the idol has been destroyed or neutralized, ולקחת לך you may take it for yourself.” This is because the word פסל may have one of two meanings. One meaning is that it is a molten or carved image, the idol itself; the other meaning of the word is related to פסולת, reject, that which is left over, no longer fit for its original purpose. This is why our verse may also refer to a situation where the rejects, the leftovers of an idol after it has been destroyed is permitted for further use, whereas the idol itself is, of course, totally forbidden for any use.

V. 25. פסילי וגו׳ ist der positive Gegensatz zu der allerersten Grundwahrheit aller Wahrheiten, auf welchen die Erleuchtung und Gesittung der Menschheit beruhen. Ein in Verehrung stehendes Götterbild hat daher keine berechtigte Existenz im jüdischen Besitzkreise. Es muss vernichtet werden, sobald es jüdisches Eigentum geworden. Jedoch nur, wenn es bis dahin פסיל אלהיהם gewesen, in Verehrung gestanden, את שנוהג בו תוספתא ע׳׳ו פו׳( משום אלוה); hat aber vorher bereits ein polytheistischer Nichtjude durch einen Zerstörungsakt, oder durch eine der Vernichtung preisgebende Handlung den Götterverehrungscharakter aufgehoben, so ist damit auch der איסור beseitigt. Aboda Sara 52 a wird dieser Satz an dem Ausdruck פסילי אלהיהם (nicht פסילהם ohne weiteres) also gelehrt: פסלו לאלוה לא תחמוד פסלו מאלוה ולקחת לך, ein zum Gott bildender Meisselschlag verbietet dir den Besitz des Gebildes, ein ע׳׳א של עכום zerstörender Meisselschlag gestattet ihn dir. Daher in der Mischnah (daselbst b) die Sätze: עכו׳׳ם מבטל ע׳׳א שלו ושל חברו וישראל אין מבטל ע׳׳א של עכו׳׳ם. Die ע׳׳א eines Juden אין לה בטילה עולמית (daselbst 53 a). An dem Ausdruck פסילי אלהיהם wird (daselbst 52 a) noch ferner gelehrt, dass ע׳׳ו של נכרי אסורה מיד, ein zur Gottesverehrung gestaltetes Bild eines Heiden ist sofort אסור, sobald es פסיל אלוה geworden, selbst bevor ihm noch Verehrung erwiesen worden, ושל ישראל אין אסורה עד שתיעבד (siehe Kap. 27, 15). Es sind aber nur solche polytheistisch verehrten Objekte der Vernichtung verfallen שיש בהן תפיסת יד׳ אדם, die als mobiles Menschenwerk zu betrachten sind, und ebenso auch nicht Tiere, שאין בהן תפיסת יד׳ אדם die noch als reine Naturprodukte dastehen. Bäume, שלא נטען מתחלה לע׳׳ז, die man nicht von vornherein zum ע׳׳ו-Zwecke gepflanzt hat, verlieren durch die Wurzelung im Boden den mobilen תפיסת יד׳ אדם-Charakter und werden durch nachherige Gottesverehrung nur im Nachwuchs אסור. Von solchen heißt es oben V. 5: איזה אילן שגידועו אסור ועיקרו שרי הוי אומר אילן ואשריהם תגדעון שנטעו ולבסוף עבד. Ein Baum aber, der von vornherein zum ע׳׳ז-Zwecke gepflanzt worden, ist אסור, und ist, dies die אשרה, von welcher es Kap. 12, 3 heißt: ואשריהם תשרפון באש (Aboda Sara 48 a). Ein Haus hingegen behält in dieser Beziehung auch nach dem Bau den תפיסת יד׳ אדם-Charakter, המשתחוה לבית שלו אסור, und gilt hierfür der Kanon: תלוש ולבסוף חברו כתלוש דמי (daselbst 47 b und Chulin 16 a; — vergl. zu Wajikra 11, 37).

תשרפון באש, “you are to burn them by fire.” When the Israelites, after seeing the golden calf, addressed it with the words: “these are your deities (pl) Israel!” all types of idolatries were included in that declaration, and there is a rule that the only way an idolatry practiced by a Jew can be nullified is by destroying the idol by burning it. (Compare Talmud tractate Menachot folio 53) The only other way is to reduce it to dust and throw the dust to the winds.

Obgleich es hier heißt: ׳פסילי וגו׳ תשרפון וגו und sonst der Kanon gilt: כל הנשרפין אפרן מותר וכל הנקברין אפרן אסור, dass die Asche derjenigen איסורי הנאה, die vorschriftsmässig verbrannt werden müssen, wie כלאי כרם ,ערלה usw. nachdem מצות שרפה geschehen, מותר ist, wo aber שרפה nicht Vorschrift ist, der איסור vielmehr durch קבורה außer Benutzungsbereich zu bringen ist, auch die Asche אסור bleibt, so ist אפר ע׳׳ז dennoch אסור in Folge des Ausspruchs: ולא ידבק בידך מאומה מן החרם Kap. 13, 18 (Temura 33 b f.; siehe daselbst).

פן מוקש בו, “lest you be ensnared by it.” Sometimes one hesitates to destroy such images completely as one does not wish to destroy the value of the gold or silver that was part of it. Moses warns that by harbouring any part of it you are inviting disaster to befall your home and family.

לא תחמד כסף וזהב עליהם: also nicht nur ע׳׳ז selbst, sondern auch Dinge, die sich an ihnen oder bei ihnen befinden, sind אסור בהנאה. Es werden in dieser Beziehung drei Kategorien unterschieden: נוי, was zum Schmuck oder Verherrlichung der ע׳׳ז dient; משמשי ע׳׳ז, was zu ihrem Kult gebraucht wird; תקרובת, was ihr als Opfer dargebracht worden, und zwar letzteres, wenn entweder die Gegenstände oder die Art der Opferung כעין פנים, den קרבנות, oder den עבודות des Gottesheiligtums ähnlich sind (Aboda Sara 50 u. 51). נוי ותשמישי ע׳׳ז haben ebenso wie ע׳׳ז selbst ביטול, ja ein an einer ע׳׳ז von einem נכרי vorgenommener ביטול-Akt schließt von selbst auch den ביטול für seine משמשים- und seine נוי-Objekte (ב׳׳י zu טור י׳׳ד 139) ein (Aboda Sara 50 a u. 52 b).

פן תוקש בו. Wir haben bereits zu Wajikra 19, 6 bemerkt, wie wir der ganzen Vorstellung der heidnischen Götterexistenzen in unserem Gedankenbereich keinen Raum gewähren sollen. Fern aus unserem Besitz- und Gedankenkreise soll daher alles bleiben, was nur in Beziehung zum heidnischen Götterkult steht. Wir sollen uns nicht der Gefahr aussetzen, dadurch die Reinheit unseres Gottesbewusstseins und unserer Beziehungen zu Gott, dem einzig Einen, getrübt werden zu lassen. כי תועבת ד׳ א׳ הוא, denn die durch ein in Verehrung stehendes Götterbild, durch die ihm von Menschen gewährte Verherrlichung, durch seine Opfergaben und Ministranzgeräte vergegenwärtigte heidnische Verirrung steht in einem solchen Gegensatz zu der geistig sittlichen Höhe, für welche Gott, der einzig Eine, der dich aus dieser Verirrung zuerst herausgegriffen, alle Menschen vermöge ihrer Bestimmung berufen, dass alles von dieser Verirrung Zeugende im höchsten Grade dem Willen deines Gottes zuwider ist.

תתעבנו כי חרם הוא, you must treat that silver and gold as if it were an abomination;

ולא תביא תועבה אל ביתך, “and do not bring any abomination into your house.” Our sages derive from this verse indirectly that it is forbidden to rent out one’s house to a pagan as a residence seeing the pagan will introduce various idols into your house. The technical reason why the Jew renting the house to a pagan is transgressing the law is that renting does not confer title of the ground the property is on to the person who has rented the house. Seeing the ground remains the property of the Jew he is held liable (rabbinically) when the pagan practices idolatry in that house (based on Meiri in Avodah Zarah 21). However, we find that some halachic authorities take a more lenient view; these include the Jerusalem Talmud as well as Rabbeinu Chananel, hence our practice of renting houses to Gentiles. Nachmanides takes a more stringent view stating that a responsible person will refrain from renting his house to Gentiles not only in the countries under Catholic rule but also in those under Moslem rule.

V. 26. ׳ולא תביא וגו: dein Haus, der Kreis deines Menschentums, soll frei bleiben von jeder solcher heidnischen Spur. Es ist הרם, es ist dem Vernichtungsbann verfallen, והיית חרם כמהו und welche Seite deines Seins und Wollens du in Beziehung zu ihm setzen oder aus ihm hervorgehen lassen möchtest, würde selbst in tausendster Vermittlung alle Existenzberechtigung einbüßen und dem gleichen Vernichtungsbanne verfallen. כל שאתה מהיה ממנו הרי הוא כמוה, alles, dessen Dasein du dir durch es vermittelst, wird ihm gleich. ע׳׳ז ist תופס דמיו, und nach רמב׳׳ם sind selbst חליפי חליפין אסורים (Aboda Sara 54 b. — Siehe zu Wajikra 25, 5).

שקץ תשקצנו, “you are to treat it as if it were an abomination (regardless of its market value). The reference is to residual gold and silver of such deities even after they have been dismantled.

כי חרם הוא, not only would you not benefit by their silver and gold, but neither by their other possessions. It is out of bounds for you, it would bring harm to your other properties, the ones you acquired legally, with the approval of the Torah.

שקץ תשקצנו , “you shall surely abominate it.” The verse teaches that we must relate to idolatry with a very negative and disdainful attitude and when for some reason speaking about it always make plain how we detest it. We are not to refer to houses of pagan worship by the names they are usually referred to but by some name which belittles them, downgrades them. (Sanhedrin 63). We have a principle that unbecoming speech is forbidden unless such epithets are reserved for idolatry and places where such idolatry is practiced (compare Isaiah 46,1 where the prophet ridicules pagan deities in insulting language: “Bel is bowed, Nebo is cowering.”) The author quotes more such examples from the Talmud where pagan sites are referred to in a derogatory manner.

Wie deinem Gotte, so soll auch deinem geistigen und sittlichen Wesen .שקץ וגו׳ alles der ע׳׳ז, also der höchsten Verneinung alles dessen Angehörige, worauf dein geistig sittliches Menschentum beruht, im allerhöchsten Grade entgegenstehen und in diesem Gefühle von dir fern gewiesen werden, כי "חרס" הוא, eigentlich ja "netzgefangen" und ein "Fangnetz" (siehe Wajikra 27, 28), es ist ausgeschlossen aus dem ganzen Existenzbereiche des wahren Menschentums und zieht, was sich mit ihm vermählt, mit hinüber in den Kreis der Existenzverneinung. —