신명기 5:32의 주석

ויקרא משה, Moses called, etc. It is conceivable that as a result of the conquest of the lands of Sichon and Og the Israelites were scattered over a large area at that time. This made it necessary for Moses to call them together. Alternatively, up until this point Moses had addressed only the men; now that he wanted to review the Ten Commandments he made sure that everybody would be present. At the original revelation the entire nation including children had also been present.

ויקרא משה אל כל ישראל, “Moses called all of Israel;” this refers to the children i.e. the generation which had not heard the Ten Commandments first-hand at Mount Sinai. This is why in verse three Moses makes the point that the covenant made between G’d and the people at the time did not only include the generation which was an eye-witness to the revelation but that it included all the subsequent generations of Jews throughout the ages.

Kap. 5. V. 1. Mit diesem fünften Kapitel beginnt der dritte Abschnitt der Vorreden, mit welchen Mosche die Wiederholung und Erläuterung des Gesetzes einleitete. Der erste Abschnitt, Kap, 1, 6 bis 3, 22, hat die Tendenz, dem Volke aus den selbsterlebten Erfahrungen die Überzeugung nahe zu bringen, dass auch zur Besitznahme des Landes Verharren in der Gottestreue die unerlässliche Vorbedingung bilde und dazu allein und ausreichend genüge. Der zweite Abschnitt, Kap. 3, 23 bis 4, 49, ist vorzüglich der richtigen Würdigung des Gesetzes, Israels und vor allem Gottes in der Wahrheit und Hoheit ihrer ganz eigenartigen Wesenheit gewidmet. Mit diesem fünften Kapitel beginnt der dritte Abschnitt, der mit den Aufforderungen zu den allgemeinen Grundgesinnungen der Gottesfurcht und Gottesliebe und des Gottvertrauens diejenigen Gebote verwebt, deren Erfüllungen das Volk in seiner nun bevorstehenden größeren Vereinzelung überall hin als stete Weckerinnen und Pflegerinnen dieser Gesinnungen begleiten sollen.

אל כל ישראל, “to all of Israel;” they were to all have part in the reading of the ten Commandments by Moses by witnessing it. Everyone who had been born after the revelation at Mount Sinai was to be present.

Es beginnt aber dieses nähere Eingehen in das Gesetz mit nochmaligem Hinblick auf das geschichtliche Ereignis der Offenbarung am Sinai. Oben Kap. 4, V. 10 f. und V. 33 f. war das Erlebnis nochmals vor die Seele geführt, um daran den vollen und reinen Inhalt unseres Gottbewusstseins zu lehren. Hier wird dasselbe als Grundlegung unserer Lebensaufgabe, und werden daher auch die עשרת הדברות als Grundzüge. der ganzen Gesetzgebung wiederholt.

ויקרא משה. Mosche Reden treten mit diesem Kapitel dem eigentlichen Zwecke, der Wiederholung und Erläuterung der Gesetze näher, daher dieser einleitende Aufruf: נשמע את hören, nicht gehorchen. חקים ומשפטים, die Normen für unser sittliches und soziales Verhalten, umfassen im weiteren Sinne das ganze Gesetz. דבר im Kal heißt zunächst die Darlegung eines Inhaltes (siehe zu Bamidbar 27, 7). את החקים ואת המשפטים אשר אנכי דבר באזניכם היום: die Gesetze und Rechtsnormen, die ich nach ihrem Inhalte heute für eure Auffassung und euer Verständnis vortrage. שמירה ,למוד und עשיה, das ist die Summe dessen, was das Gesetz von uns fordert: das Gehörte bis zum vollen Verständnis sich aneignen, gewissenhaft es präsent halten, und unter dem Diktat dieser Gewissenhaftigkeit ausführen. עשיה, die Ausführung, die Erfüllung, ist aber Ziel, ja Basis des Ganzen. Die bloße Theorie ohne praktische Erfüllung hat keinen Wert, ja sie wird nicht einmal die rechte Erkenntnis, sobald sie nur als theoretisches Spiel und nicht mit dem Ernst des Erfüllungsvorsatzes angestrebt wird. כל האומר אין לו אלא תורה אפילו תורה אין לו ,מאי טעמא אמר רב פפא אמר קרא ולמדתם אתם ושמרתם לעשתם כל שישנו בעשיה ישנו בלמידה כל שאינו בעשיה אינו בלמידה (Jebamot 109 b).

ה׳ אלוקינו כרת עמנו ברית בחרב, "The Lord our G'd concluded a covenant with us at Chorev." Moses did not spell out the nature of this covenant. Was it the covenant to keep the Torah as is written in Exodus 24,8: "here is the blood of the covenant which G'd concluded with you concerning all these matters?" Or was it the covenant mentioned in Exodus 34,10: "here I am concluding a covenant in the presence of your whole nation?" In that connection our sages explained that G'd undertook not to allow His presence to rest on the nations of the world. Logic suggests that this is the covenant Moses spoke about at this time, and that he hinted at this when he said: "the Lord G'd concluded a covenant with us." This implied that He would be our G'd exclusively and that He would not conclude a covenant with any other nation. What follows in our chapter is a repetition of this covenant. The whole paragraph then was intended as a compliment to Israel from G'd. Verse 3 would confirm all this.

V. 2. ה׳ אלהינו וגו׳. Einen Bund hat Gott mit uns zu Horeb geschlossen. Die Offenbarung war kein bloß theoretisches. Mitteilen, dessen Beachten und Erfüllen etwa einer späteren Erwägung anheim gegeben wäre. Die Offenbarung war ein Akt der Verpflichtung, war ein Akt der Inpflichtnahme und der Pflichtübernahme, die Offenbarung hat das unauflösliche Band zwischen Gott und uns geknüpft.

לא את אבתינו NOT WITH OUR FATHERS — i.e. not with them alone, כרת ה׳ וגו׳ DID THE LORD MAKE [THIS COVENANT], כי אתנו BUT WITH US etc.

היום כלנו חיים, this is why the covenant has to be mad with you who enter the Holy Land, so that you will arrange things in such a manner that future generations who were not present at the time this covenant was made will consider it binding for themselves and conduct themselves accordingly.

לא את אבותינו כרת ה׳ את הברית הזאת, "G'd did not conclude this covenant with our fathers, etc." Rashi adds the word לבד. He means that G'd concluded the covenant "not only with our fathers." This is problematical as there was no need for the Torah to write this seeing it had already referred to the covenant G'd concluded "with us" in verse 1. According to my explanantion that the covenant mentioned in verse one refers to the covenant in Exodus 34,10 that G'd would not allow His presence to rest on the Gentile nations, we can understand the sequence of these verses as follows: "G'd did not specifically conclude this covenant with our fathers as we do not find this spelled out anywhere. As a result the reference in verse one to G'd having concluded a covenant with us was not sufficient as the word עמנו, "with us," does not preclude G'd from concluding similar covenants with other nations. Moses therefore went on record in our verse that the covenant he is talking about is indeed an exclsuive covenant between G'd and Israel. The principal message of the verse is that the present generation was given an assurance which even their fathers had not been given.

כי אתנו אנחנו אלה פה היום כלנו, “but with us we who are here all of us alive today.” Moses‘ point is that “the covenant was concluded with us.” Seeing that there were some survivors from the time of the revelation at Mount Sinai, Moses added: “G’d spoke with you face to face, etc.” In verse 5 Moses recalls to the survivors of that time that at that time they (their elders) had asked him to be the go-between between themselves and G’d as they felt unable to endure the voice of G’d directly any longer.

[Not with our forefathers] alone did Adonoy make this, etc. Rashi is answering the question: The verse implies that Hashem gave the Ten Commandments exclusively to us, and not to our fathers who already died. But, many were alive when the Torah was given, in the year after leaving Egypt. This covenant was also made with them, though now they are not alive. Therefore, Rashi explains: Not with our forefathers alone did Adonoy make this covenant, etc., but also with us.

V. 3. לא את אבותינו וגו׳. Ein sehr großer Teil der noch Lebenden, alle diejenigen, welche beim Auszug aus Ägypten noch nicht das zwanzigste Jahr zurückgelegt hatten, hatten die Offenbarung am Sinai selbst erlebt, und die anderen waren dem großen Ereignis zeitlich so nahe geboren, dass das von ihren leiblichen Eltern Erlebte ihnen wie Selbsterlebtes gewiss sein konnte. Es ist daher das אבתינו wohl im weiteren Sinne: Voreltern, Vorfahren zu nehmen.

לא את אבותינו (לבדם) כרת את הברית כי אתנו אנחנו, “not only with our fathers (alone) did the Lord establish the covenant;” we find a similar formulation in Genesis 32,29 לבדם) לא יקרא שמך יעקב כי אם ישראל עמו), “your name will no longer be Yaakov, but the name Yisrael will henceforth be added to it.”We find a similar interpretation in the Midrash Tehillim on Psalms 8,3: מפי עוללים ויונקים יסדת עוז, “from the mouths of infants and sucklings You have founded strength.” This is interpreted to mean that even unborn children have received the Torah and are guarantors for this to their parents that they will observe the Torah in due course. The Midrash describes the unborn fetuses as having been given visions of G-d and having heard the Ten Commandments, and responded after each that they considered it as binding for them.

כלנו חיים, "all of us who are alive." How could Moses say this? All the people with whom G'd had made the original covenant were dead already as they had died in the desert? Besides, many of the people who faced Moses at this time had not even been born at the time G'd concluded the original covenant with the Jewish people! While one could answer that what Moses said applied only to part of the people, this would be a forced explanation. Besides, what news did Moses convey to people by telling them they were all alive? Did they not know this without having to be told?

ה׳ אלהינו כרת עמנו וגו׳ כי אתנו אנחנו וגו׳. In Beziehung zu dem von Gott erteilten Gesetze und der daraus erwachsenen Verpflichtung tritt Mosche ganz in die Masse des Volkes zurück. Er hat an der Erteilung des Gesetzes keinen größeren und an der Verpflichtung darauf keinen geringeren Anteil als irgend sonst einer aus dem Volke.

כי אתנו אנחנו, “but with us here” (He concluded the covenant). Even though there are quite a few amongst us here to day who have not stood at Mount Sinai, not having been born yet, the covenant applies to them and is binding on them. [The answer to the question of how an unborn person can be held accountable for violating a covenant he had not been a party to when it was concluded, is that in Jewish law one may accept obligations on behalf of people who are not present and aware of it, provided that these obligations are for the benefit of the party on whose behalf these obligations have been accepted. Becoming part of G-d’s people is perceived of being such a benefit. Ed.] The proof that this is so is that G-d has told us that He is meting out penalties for up to the fourth generation after the sinner committed his sin, whereas He allows even the descendent 1000 generations down the line to participate in the reward given to his forbear for good deeds performed. (Exodus 20,6)

Perhaps we may say that Moses emphasised that all of them who had heard the voice of G'd at the time of the revelation at Mount Sinai and who were alive at this time had survived that experience. This in spite of the fact that G'd had spoken to them out of fire, etc, i.e. that the experience had been extremely overpowering. The words כלנו חיים therefore must be understood as belonging to what follows in verse 4 rather than to what preceded it.

פנים בפנים FACE TO FACE — R. Berechia said: Thus did Moses, in effect, say: Do not think that I am misleading you with something which does not exist at all, as an agent does acting between the vendor and the purchaser; behold, the seller Himself is speaking to you (God who transmitted the Torah to you) (cf. Pesikta Rabbati 21: Pesachim Rabbah פ' י' הדברות קמייתא‎).

פנים בפנים, not in a nocturnal vision when you were asleep.

The seller himself, etc. This is the meaning of, “Face to face.”

V. 4. פנים בפנים scheint eine noch größere Unmittelbarkeit auszudrücken, als das gewöhnlichere אל פנים (Bereschit 32, 30; Schmot 33, 11 und Dewarim 34, 10). Das Angesicht ist nicht nur einander zugewandt, sondern es dringt in das andere ein, vermittelst des Angesichts verkehrt das Innere des einen mit dem Innern des andern. So auch עין בעי. Bamidbar 14, 14).

פנים בפנים דבר ה' עמכם, “The Lord spoke with you face to face;” Moses refers to the first two commandments that G-d addressed directly to all the people, before they asked Moses to become their gobetween as they found G-d’s voice too overpowering and were afraid of dying. (Compare verse 22)

לאמר SAYING — This is to be connected with (v. 4), דבר ה' עמכם בהר מתוך האש “[face to face] the Lord spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire”, — לאמר, אנכי וגו׳, saying. “I am the Lord, etc.", ואנכי עמד בין ה׳ וביניכם WHILST I STOOD BETWEEN THE LORD AND YOU.

I STOOD BETWEEN THE ETERNAL AND YOU AT THAT TIME, TO DECLARE UNTO YOU THE WORD OF THE ETERNAL. For Moses would go up to the mountain and hear the words of G-d and come down and tell them to the people, until G-d spoke with them face to face.¹²³Verse 4. This is an allusion to all that is mentioned in the section In the third month,¹²⁴Exodus 19:1. beginning with Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob¹²⁵Ibid., Verse 3. [and concluding with] And the Eternal said unto him, Go, get thee down.¹²⁶Ibid., Verse 24. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that this [occurrence referred to in the verse, I stood between the Eternal and you etc.,] happened after the Revelation at Mount Sinai, the purport of the verse being as follows: “He spoke with you face to face¹²³Verse 4. [at the giving of the Ten Commandments], and from that day on I stood between G-d and you.” But it is not correct.
It appears to me that the correct interpretation is that Moses is alluding to what we have explained there¹²⁷Ibid., 20:7 — Vol. II, pp. 305-306. that Israel understood from the mouth of the Almighty only the commandments I am the Eternal thy G-d etc.¹²⁸Ibid., Verse 2. and Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.¹²⁹Ibid., Verse 3. As for the rest of the commandments, it was Moses who declared to them what G-d said. This is the meaning [of the expression here], to declare unto you the word of the Eternal, for he explained to them each and every commandment. And the meaning of the expression (I stood) between the Eternal and you is that, at the time of the giving of the commandments, Moses was nearer than they to the place of the Divine Glory, for they had removed themselves far [from the mountain] as I have explained there.¹³⁰Ibid., Verse 15 — Vol. II, pp. 324-326. This is [the sense of the words] for ye were afraid because of the fire, and went not up into the Mount meaning that you did not approach it [even the part] that was permissible to you [to approach]. Therefore I stood between you and the place of the Glory — in the middle — because it was distant between you and Him, and from there I declared [the rest of] the commandments [to you].

אנכי עומד בין ה׳ וביניכם, "I was standing between the Lord and between you, etc." This verse means that for part of the Ten Commandments G'd spoke with the people face to face, whereas during part of the Ten Commandments He spoke to them through an intermediary. The reason G'd employed an intermediary for part of the Ten Commandments was not His unwillingness to speak to the people directly, but to their fear of dying.

לאמר, this refers to verse 4 in which Moses referred to the פנים אל פנים “face to face” encounter when G’d addressed the Jewish people directly at the revelation on Mount Sinai commencing the Decalogue with the words “I am the Lord your G’d, etc.”

לאמר, פני בפנים דבר ה' עמכם, the word עמכם, “with you,” is used in the sense of אליכם, “to you,” [seeing the Israelites did not respond to G’d with words of their own at that time. Ed.] לאמר אנכי, A explained on Exodus 20,1-2. If so, why did Moses have to stand in a position between that from which G’d’s voice emanated and the people? This was only to tell you the meaning of the words of G’d and to add to the degree of awe with which G’d’s words have to be related to. You yourselves were too sacred to hear G’d’s voice any further. [This is also the reason why you were afraid to ascend the mountain when you saw the fire. Ed.]

אנכי עומד בין ה' וביניכם בעת ההיא, “I was standing between Hashem and between you at that time;” Nachmanides explains this statement as a reference to Moses having ascended the Mountain in order to listen to G’d’s words, words he relayed to the people until the day when Hashem addressed the people personally. (Verse 6) The period covered by Moses began on the first day of Sivan as we read in Exodus Moses had been instructed to relay G’d’s words to the people commencing with the line כה תאמר לבית יעקב, “Thus you shall say to the House of Yaakov” in verse 3 of that chapter. G’d’s instructions continued until He said לך רד ועלית, in Ibn Ezra says that the passage we are reading here was said by Moses after the revelation at Mount Sinai, and that the meaning of the words is that after G’d had spoken to you “face to face,” and you had been unable to endure this and remain alive at the same time, G’d decided to use me as your interpreter as you yourselves had requested. Therefore, from then on I have been standing between you and between Hashem. Nachmanides does not accept this interpretation but prefers the interpretation of our sages, referring to his interpretation on Exodus 20,7 that the Israelites actually only heard and understood the first two of the Ten Commandments from G’d’s own mouth, and that they did not understand the other Commandments though their ears heard them. They had been under far too great an emotional impact. From the third Commandment onwards, Moses was already the interpreter. At any rate, at the time of the revelation, from the point of view of physical proximity, Moses had been asked by G’d to position himself so that he would be closer to the source of these words which appeared to issue forth from the Mountain, than the people who had remained at the foot of the Mountain.

אנכי עומד בין ה’ וביניכם, “I was standing between Hashem and between you.” According to Ibn Ezra this verse speaks about Moses being an intermediary between the Israelites and G’d ever since the revelation at Mount Sinai. However, the correct meaning is that described by Nachmanides, that Moses reverted to describe what happened during that revelation when Moses was speaking to the Israelites translating G’d’s words to them, i.e. making what they had heard intelligible to them. The Israelites had both heard and understood the first two of the Ten Commandments. They heard G’d’s voice saying the remainder but did not understand the words and their meanings. This is the meaning of להגיד לכם את דבר ה’, “to tell you the word of Hashem, i.e. the ones you did not understand.” You had become afraid of the fire and you had not ascended the mountain.

[The word לאמר (saying)] is connected with, “Adonoy spoke etc.” For how could it be that, “Saying,” is connected to the phrase that immediately precedes it, “and did not go up on the mountain saying”? For what did they have to say on the mountain? Rather, the verse interrupts between [the phrases], “from within the fire,” and, “saying.” This is to emphasize that I [Moshe] was the agent between Hashem and you, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up on the mountain.

V. 5. אנכי עמד וגו׳. Meine Stellung zwischen euch und Gott zur Zeit der Gesetzgebung war frei von jeder Spur eines Gesetzgebers, war lediglich die des Gesetzüberbringers. Gott, der Gesetzgeber, war euch gegenwärtig, und wie er unmittelbar an jeden von euch sein Wort richtete, so hörte auch jeder von euch sein an ihn gerichtetes Wort. Wenn ich bei diesem ganzen großen Ereignis und überhaupt בעת ההיא, während der ganzen übrigen Zeit der Gesetzgebung, eine nähere Stellung zu Gott, als ihr, einnahm, zwischen Gott und euch stand, um euch das Wort Gottes zu überbringen: so war dies, weil ihr nicht einmal zur Vernehmung der ersten zehn Fundamentalsätze, so weit es euch gestattet war, hinzutreten wagtet — ולא עליתם בהר לאמר, ihr wagtet nicht, näher den Berg hinanzugehen zum Ausspruch der עשרת הדברות (siehe Schmot 20. 15 — 18).

אנכי עומד בין ה' ובינכם, “I stood between the Lord and between you;” I did so in order to convey the other eight commandments to you.

SAYING. “This [word] refers to [the expression in the preceding verse], the Eternal spoke with you in the Mount out of the midst of the fire¹²³Verse 4. — saying: I am the Eternal thy G-d etc.” This is Rashi’s language. And Rabbi Abraham [ibn Ezra] said: “Pay no attention to the fact that the word saying is far [from the phrase it modifies in the preceding verse], for there are many such cases in Scripture, and the one who spoke [Moses] neither separated his words into verses nor sections.” It would be more correct to connect the word saying with [the preceding phrase in the same verse],¹³¹Ramban disagrees with Rashi and Ibn Ezra, who connect the word leimor (saying) with a phrase in the preceding Verse 4. Ramban holds that if the word leimor is to be interpreted as referring to a preceding phrase in the above text, we need not look for that phrase in the preceding verse, but find a preceding phrase in the same verse. Ramban will, however, continue that the word leimor requires no connection with any preceding verse or phrase. Instead it can be properly interpreted in the natural sequence of the verse as it is written. to declare unto you the word of the Eternal—saying: I am the Eternal thy G-d, similar to the expression, And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying¹³²Exodus 13:8. [in which case the word saying connects itself properly with the preceding and following phrases: saying — It is because of that which the Eternal did for me when I came forth out of Egypt].¹³²Exodus 13:8. But in my opinion there is no need at all [for either interpretation], for its meaning is as follows: “for ye were afraid because of the fire, and went not up into the Mount, saying, ‘We will not go up, for we are afraid because of the fire.’” He is thus mentioning that they told him so clearly, and not that he is saying so from his own assumption.

ולא עליתם בהר לאמור. "and you did not ascend the mountain, saying." This means that G'd forbade you to ascend the mountain because of His wanting to say: אנכי ה׳ אלוקיכם, "I am the Lord your G'd, etc."

לאמור, “to relay by word of mouth.” Rashi says that this refers to repeating the revelation at Mount Sinai, the words G’d had spoken to the people at that time. Nachmanides writes that there is no need for this commentary at all, but that the fact that at the time the people had been so terrified by the accompanying thunder and lightning that they were unable to even properly understand G’d’s words. This had made it necessary that Moses repeat to them what G’d had said on that occasion. Moses was now going to verbalise what the people had remembered only in their minds, i.e their unspoken desire to have him be the go between Hashem and themselves. Nachmanides continues that the part of the Torah known to us all as משנה תורה, “review of the Torah,” commences now with the restatement of the Ten Commandments. Moses did not introduce any changes into the first two of these Commandments, the ones that the people themselves had heard directly from the mouth of G’d. Moses also did not edit in the sense of “expand on” the third Commandment. He began explaining when he substituted the word שמור instead of זכור at the beginning of the fourth Commandment, that of Sabbath observance. He explained that aspect of the Sabbath legislation to them now, their already being familiar with the aspect known as זכור. He informed them that the שמור aspect had been revealed at the same time as the זכור aspect. He added the words:

ולא עליתם בהר לאמר, and you did not ascend the Mountain;” you did not have to ascend the Mountain during the revelation of the Ten Commandments, nor as I did for 40 days thereafter in order to receive the whole Torah. (Ibn Ezra)

VV. 6 —18. Wir haben diese Grundzüge des Gesetzes und der damit gegebenen jüdischen Lebenspflichtbestimmung bereits ausführlich zu Schmot 20, 1 — 14 betrachtet und haben dort auch zugleich die Erläuterungen erwogen, welche die Sätze vom שבת, von לא תענה ,כבוד אב ואם und לא תחמוד hier bei der Wiederholung derselben erhielten. Wir verweisen hierauf und fügen nur noch einiges nach.

על פני BEFORE ME — i.e. in any place where I am, and that is the entire world. Another explanation: so long as I exist (i.e. always) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 20:3:2). — The Ten Commandments — I have already explained them (Exodus 20:1-14).

על פני. I believe that G’d’s point is that even if you believe in Him absolutely and exclusively, you must not make any tangible symbol, anything that you would use as a charm, such as Bileam who did believe in G’d but used charms to help him establish communication with G’d, much as mediums use techniques involving bodily contact. Lavan even called such tangible symbols as his teraphim: “e-lohay,” (Genesis 31,30)

In any place where I am, etc. This explanation is problematic, for the verse should have said בפני (in My Presence). Therefore Rashi says, “Another explanation.” Yet the second explanation is problematic, for the verse should have said לעולם (forever). [According to the second explanation] it is possible to err, God forbid [and think that idolatry is only forbidden on Har Sinai where Hashem revealed Himself. Therefore Rashi also says the first explanation. See above in Parshas Yisro (Shmos 20:3), where I explained why Rashi gives two reasons here, yet above he only says one. Also see the Gur Aryeh.

The prohibition in Exodus 20,22 not to make “gods of silver or gold,” is not intended to suggest that Jews would consider such man made objects as being divine, but they are a form of establishing indirect rather than direct contact with G’d, contact without resorting to anything physical tangible. G’d made the same point repeatedly, such as in Exodus 22,19.

V. 8 heißt es nicht פסל וכל תמונה, sondern: פסל כל תמונה, und ist damit die Verwerflichkeit jeder Art von Gestaltung, deren Verbot ja durch den bevorstehenden Eintritt in die polytheistische Bevölkerung ganz besonders wichtig war und Haupttendenz aller bisherigen einleitenden Ermahnungen bildete, als erweiternde Apposition zu פסל noch prägnanter hervorgehoben. Dagegen heißt es V. 9 ועל שלשים statt: על שלשים. Erwägen wir, dass in dem Geschlechte, welches Mosche vor sich hatte, nicht nur Kinder, sondern bereits Enkel, somit das dritte Geschlecht der als "Sünder" heimgegangenen יוצאי מצרים vor ihm standen, so begreift sichs, wenn sein Denken und Fühlen ihn nicht bei בנים pausieren und שלשים als, neuen Gedanken erwägen lässt, sondern er durch das kopulative Waw Kinder und Enkel und Urenkel lieber als einen Gesamtbegriff der Nachkommenschaft bis auf einen gewissen Grad zusammenfasst. —

V. 10 מצותי ist כתיב מצותיו und קרי מצותי, und sagt dem nun in die normalen Zustände einer unsichtbaren Gottesleitung übergehenden Geschlechte: auch wenn dir Gott einst nicht mehr in seiner sichtbaren Leitung gegenübersteht und du Seiner nur wie eines Abwesenden denkst, soll Er dir in seinen Geboten gegenwärtig bleiben und sollst du seine Gebote, מצותיו, als die Gebote eines Gegenwärtigen, als מצותי erfüllen. —

ולשומרי מצותו, “and to those who observe His commandments. The word מצותו is read as if it had been spelled מצותיו, “His commandments” (pl.)

That is that He commanded us to study Torah and to teach it. And that is His saying, "And you shall teach them to your sons" (Deuteronomy 6:4). And it is written in the Sifrei (Sifrei Devarim 34:4), "'To your sons' - these are the students. For students are called, sons, as it is stated, (II Kings 2:3) 'And the sons of the prophets came forth.'" And there (Sifrei Devarim 34:1), it says, "'And you shall teach (shinantam, which is related here to the word, shen, tooth) them' - they shall be sharp in your mouth, so that if one questions you about something, you will not stammer to him, but tell him forthwith." And this command was already repeated several times - "and you shall teach them (and) [to] do them" (Deuteronomy 5:1); "in order that they shall learn" (Deuteronomy 31:12). And the command and the encouragement of this commandment has already been scattered throughout many places in the Talmud. And women are not obligated in it, from His saying, "And you shall teach them to your sons" (Deuteronomy 11:19) - His saying, "your sons," and not, "your daughters," as it is explained in the Gemara (Kiddushin 30a). (See Parashat Vaetchanan; Mishneh Torah, Torah Study 1.)

שמור OBSERVE [THE SABBATH DAY] — But in the former Ten Commandments (i.e. where they were first promulgated, in Exodus XX.), it states, “Remember [the Sabbath day]"! The explanation is: Both of them (זכור and שמור) were spoken in one utterance and as one word, and were heard in one hearing (i.e. were heard simultaneously) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 20:8:1).

לקדשו כאשר צוך, in the manner He had already issued commandments pertaining to Sabbath observance at Marah (Exodus 15,26)

שמור את יום השבת, "Observe the Sabbath day, etc." Rosh Hashanah 27 teaches that the formula שמור את יום השבת (in Exodus 20) and the formula שמור את יום השבת (here) were articulated simultaneously. According to this interpretation we can understand the words כאשר צוך in our verse as a reference to the word זכור in the first report of the Ten Commandments in the Book of Exodus. We find in the Mechilta on the parallel verse in Exodus that the word שמור was enunciated later. [The Mechilta there quotes other examples of laws which were articulated by G'd simultaneously, i.e. by His using two words to describe them, and which also had to be written separately due to our limited ability to reproduce words articulated simultaneously as such. Ed.] We must ask why the Torah did not write the words זכור and שמור sequentially in Exodus instead of waitng till here to write this word. Perhaps the Torah intentionally separated these words in order that we should not think that the latter expression refers to the time during which the זכור aspect of the Sabbath applies. We might have understood the two words to mean: "remember to observe the Sabbath (at a certain time)." By separating the apparance of these two words the Torah conveyed that it spoke about two separate commandments one of which applies at the beginning of the Sabbath, the other at its conclusion. It is even possible that G'd Himself only uttered the word זכור; however, intelligent people realised that this word implied both the meaning associated with the word זכור and the meaning associated with the word שמור.

שמור את יום השבת, I have already explained in Exodus 20 why this time the expression שמור is used instead of the expression זכור which the Torah used there.

כאשר צוך ה' אלוקיך, “as the Lord your G’d has commanded you “ Rashi understands these words to refer to the part of the Sabbath legislation given to the people at Marah, prior to the revelation at Mount Sinai, where they had also been taught about the red heifer and various items of civil law. Here he added:

Were pronounced simultaneously as one word, etc. When it previously states that when, “Remember,” was said, “Preserve,” was also said — for both were miraculously pronounced as one word, etc. And unlike the other commandments, Rashi explains this once again here and does not rely on his explanation above (Shmos 20:8). This is because it is written here, “As [Adonoy, your God,] commanded you,” which is the basis for the teaching that, “Remember,” and, “Preserve,” were pronounced as one word. Therefore Rashi repeated his explanation here, in its proper place.

And now he begins the review of the Torah. He told them the Ten Commandments, not changing and not explaining anything in [the first two commandments]: I am the Eternal etc.,¹³³Verse 6. and Thou shalt have no other gods before Me,¹³⁴Verse 7. for they heard them from the mouth of the Almighty.¹³⁵Makkoth 24a. So, too, [there are no changes or explanations] in the third commandment¹³⁶Verse 11: Thou shalt not take the name of the Eternal thy G-d in vain etc. because he already stated [here, as in the text of the third commandment in Exodus 20:7, Thou shalt not take] the Name of the Eternal thy G-d [etc.], as I have explained in the section Ye shall be holy.¹³⁷Leviticus 19:2. See Ramban there on Verse 12 — Vol. III, p. 287. Then he began to exposit to them, saying ‘Observe’ [the Sabbath-day]¹³⁸Verse 12 here. instead of ‘Remember’ [the Sabbath-day],¹³⁹Exodus 20:8. this being in line with the plain meaning of Scripture [i.e., that ‘Observe’ is the explanation of ‘Remember’]. And in the opinion of our Rabbis¹⁴⁰Shebuoth 20 b. See also Vol. II, pp. 306-310. “[Remember and Observe] both were spoken in one utterance.” He explained this to them [here] because they all know Remember, and he is thus informing them [now] that Observe was said with it. And so it is by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], that they were both spoken in one utterance seeing that the Voice was both in “remembering” and “observing,” for the Torah is an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure,¹⁴¹II Samuel 23:5. and he [i.e., Moses] heard from [the attribute of] Remember while they [i.e., the people, heard] from that of Observe.¹⁴²L’vush Ha’orah in his commentary to Ricanti quoting the language of Ramban. The student [learned in the mystic teachings of the Cabala] will know this from what we have hinted there.¹⁴³See Vol. II, pp. 308-309.
He explained [with reference to the commandment that we are to Observe the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy] as the Eternal thy G-d commanded thee¹³⁸Verse 12 here. — “before the Giving of the Torah, at Marah,¹⁴⁴This is Rashi’s language here in Verse 12. [for there it is said], there He made for them a statute and an ordinance.”¹⁴⁵Exodus 15:25. — This is Rashi’s language here in Verse 16 on the commandment of honoring father and mother. However, from Ramban’s following comments, it is clear that in his text of Rashi this part, too, of the quotation mentioned in the text was stated in Verse 12, in connection with the commandment on the Sabbath. This is the language of Rashi. But if so, the commandment to honor father and mother was also given at Marah [for in the commandment, to honor parents, too, it is stated as the Eternal thy G-d commanded thee],¹⁴⁶Verse 16. but the Rabbi [Rashi] mentioned there [in connection with the verse referring to Marah] only “the Sabbath, the Red Heifer, and the laws of justice” [as having been given at Marah, but not the honoring of parents].¹⁴⁷See Vol. II, pp. 208-209.
It appears to me by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], concerning this matter [of the Ten Commandments] as well as the whole Book of Deuteronomy that Moses was speaking as if from the mouth of the Almighty, as he said, And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto My commandments which I command you this day, to love the Eternal your G-d, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, that I will give rain for your Land in its season.¹⁴⁸Further, 11:13-14. Now Moses is not the one who giveth rain upon the earth,¹⁴⁹Job 5:10. nor the one who gives grass in the fields!¹⁵⁰See further, 11:15. Rather, the communication of the Torah was given with Remember,¹⁵¹This alludes to the fact that the first four books of the Torah were given in the Great Name [i.e., the Tetragrammaton] whereas Deuteronomy was presented as if spoken by the messenger of the Almighty (Abusaula). See my Hebrew commentary, p. 366; also Vol. II, pp. 282-284. and that of Deuteronomy with Observe.¹⁵¹This alludes to the fact that the first four books of the Torah were given in the Great Name [i.e., the Tetragrammaton] whereas Deuteronomy was presented as if spoken by the messenger of the Almighty (Abusaula). See my Hebrew commentary, p. 366; also Vol. II, pp. 282-284. Therefore, Moses everywhere in Deuteronomy mentions the Eternal thy G-d while in [the first four books of] the Torah he mentions only the Proper Name of G-d [i.e., the Tetragrammaton] except in the Ten Commandments as it is said, And G-d spoke etc.¹⁵²Exodus 20:1. Understand this.

Verse 12. —15. Den in das Selbstleben der Vereinzelung und in die der Natur und Gesellschaft Selbständigkeit abringende Tätigkeit Übertretenden war vor allem der Schabbat mit seiner שמירה-Seite, mit seinem vierundzwanzigstündigen Gott huldigenden Bekenntnisopfer der Werkeinstellung nahezulegen, auf dass er den nunmehr eigene יד und eigene זרוע, eigene "Kraft" und eigene "Macht" Fühlenden nicht abhanden komme, vielmehr den יד- und זרוע-Gerüsteten immer aufs neue das freudige Bekenntnis abgewinne, dass jedes Fünkchen Kraft und jeder Splitter Macht und alles, was die Kraft ihr Werk und die Macht ihr Eigentum nennt, Gottes ist, der mitten in dem "kraft- und machtgerüsteten" Ägypterstaat an ihnen, den "kraft- und machtberaubten" "Sklaven", "Seine Kraft und Seine Macht" gezeigt, und mit Seiner Kraft und Macht ihnen das verliehen, was sie nunmehr an Kraft und Macht ihr eigen nennen — und nun von ihnen dieses, Seiner Kraft und Seiner Macht huldigende Bekenntnis mit dem vierundzwanzigstündigen Sabbatopfer der שביתת מלאכה והוצאה der Einstellung werkschaffender Kraft und Sachen handhabender Macht erwartet (siehe Schmot 20, 11 und 35, 2). Darum ist hier auch der ganze Kraft- und Machtbereich der Menschenpersönlichkeit durch ׳ושורך והמורך וכל וגו noch vollständiger gezeichnet (siehe daselbst S. 209 f. und sind andererseits alle Glieder dieses Machtbereichs durch das Waw kopulativum — עב nicht עבדך — in völliger Gleichheit mit der sie alle tragenden und am Schabbat sich mit ihnen allen Gott zu Füßen legenden Persönlichkeit verbunden, und darum hier das למען ינוח עבדך ואמתך כמוך als besonders sichtbare Konsequenz der Gott huldigenden, Menschenherrschaft einstellenden Sabbatfeier hervorgehoben (vergl. Schmot S. 306 f.). —

שמור את יום השבת, “to observe the Sabbath day.” In the first version of the Ten Commandments the Torah wrote: זכור את יום השבת, “to remember the Sabbath day.” This was in order to remind the people of the Sabbath each week as they were not to go out looking for manna. Now, in the fortieth year, when the people had been familiar with the manna since the day they were born, it was more appropriate for Moses to underline the importance of the observance of the commandments related to Sabbath observance. Another interpretation for the difference in the terminology used on these two occasions for the law to keep the Sabbath day. The expression שמר also means “to remember.” It was used first by Yaakov when Joseph related the dream to him in which sun, moon and eleven stars bowed down to him (Genesis 37,11) The word שמר refers to long term remembering. Yaakov/Joseph had to wait for 22 years until they understood the meaning of that dream. זכור, on the other hand, refers to remembering for a short period of time. It is also possible that the expression זכור is addressed to people embarking on protracted voyages on the sea, where they may lose track of time, whereas the expression שמור is addressed to people living on dry land.

כאשר צוך [OBSERVE THE SABBATH DAY TO SANCTIFY IT] AS [THE LORD THY GOD] COMMANDED THEE before the giving of the Law, at Marah (Shabbat 87b).

כאשר צוך ה' אלוקיך, a reference to G’d having explained the rationale for Sabbath observance in the paragraph dealing with it both in Parshat Yitro (Exodus 20,10) as well as in Parshat Ki Tissa, and Parshat Vayakhel. The expression כאשר צוך used in connection with a positive commandment means that failure to observe it is simultaneously the violation of a negative commandment. We do not find individual negative commandments accompanied by a warning: “which the Lord your G’d has commanded you not to do.”

Before the giving of the Torah at Marah. The verse (above 4:45), “These are the statutes, etc.,” implies that the Ten Commandments here were said exactly the same as they were said above. If so, how could Moshe add here, “As Adonoy commanded you, etc.”? [Therefore, it cannot refer to the first Ten Commandments, but it must refer to Marah.]. Rashi explains likewise in Maseches Sanhedrin 56b: Moshe could not have said, “As Adonoy commanded you at Sinai” in the plains of Moav. For Moshe did not repeat the Mishnah Torah and warn about its commandments of his own accord. Rather, he repeated them just as he had received them. And whatever was written in the repetition of the Ten Commandments was written on the Tablets, and was heard at Sinai. See further in Tosefos (Maseches Shabbos 87b) where a difficulty is raised: Perhaps “As Adonoy commanded, etc.,” refers to the manna (Shmos 16:23) where Hashem also commanded them regarding Shabbos. The answer is: Regarding honoring one’s father and mother it is also written (v.16), “as Adonoy commanded, etc,” which cannot refer to the manna. For regarding the manna, Hashem did not command them about honoring one’s father and mother. Therefore, “as Adonoy commanded” mentioned regarding Shabbos also does not refer to the manna.

כאשר צון, “as He has commanded you.” Rashi comments that this commandment was first issued at Marah (Exodus 15,25.) When the first version of the Ten Commandments was read to the people, they were to remember that already at Marah they had received instructions about parts of the Sabbath legislation. In our paragraph, the people had to be reminded that actually the Sabbath legislation had preceded the revelation on Mount Sinai, and that the bulk of that legislation had been taught to the people already at Marah. We can find proof of this in the Haggadah shel Pessach, where the author, recounting 15 stages of gifts we had received from G-d, states specifically that if G-d had given us only the Sabbath, and never added the revelation at Mount Sinai, this too would have been ample reason to thank Him. According to the plain meaning of the words כאשר צוך is that G-d when He commanded us to observe the Sabbath by reminding us that we should emulate Him and rest on that day just as He had rested on that day. (Exodus 20 11) Still another interpretation: seeing that this expression also occurs in the fifth commandment, which follows immediately, and these two commandments comprise both negative and positive aspects, they are especially to be remembered for that feature. [This is according to the view that both the word זכור and the word שמור, mean: “to remember.” Ed.]

כאשר צוך ה’ אלו-היך, “as the Lord your G’d commanded you;” at the revelation at Mount Sinai at which time the Torah commenced with וידבר אלו-הים, to remind us that the Creator spoke those words.

He added here [in the commandment on the Sabbath] stating nor thine ox, nor thine ass¹⁵³Verse 14. to explain that He prohibits working the earth [on the Sabbath] even though it involves the livelihood of man, similar to what He said, in plowing time and in harvest shalt thou rest.¹⁵⁴Exodus 34:21. He stated here that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou; and thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt etc.,¹⁵⁵Verses 14-15. in order to explain that He commanded concerning the resting of the servant as well as yourself, because, since you were a servant and G-d gave you rest, so you too are to give rest to your servant.¹⁵⁶The primary concern of this law is thus not that the servant should have rest, but that we are to remember that we were servants and G-d made it possible for us to rest, and therefore we should give rest to our servants (Bachya). Thus we are prevented from becoming self-righteous as a result of “magnanimously” granting a day of rest to our servants. On the contrary, kindness to servants should be utilized as a reminder to us of our former humble position and of G-d’s kindness to us which we are to emulate to others. Thus the sense of the verses is as follows: “When your manservant and your maidservant will rest as well as you then you will remember that you were a servant etc.”

למעו ינוח עבדך ואמתך כמוך, from the positioning of the commandment that your beasts of burden have to refrain from performing work for you on the Sabbath, before mentioning your children and servants observing such Sabbath rest, it is clear that the reasons animals owned by you must rest o the Sabbath is for the sake of the men working them, not because animals per se are subject to the spiritual concepts governing the Sabbath and its laws. The need for one’s slaves to observe the Sabbath rest is, of course, part of the reminder that when you were slaves you did not enjoy such a day of rest. Hence, do not treat your slave in the hateful you were treated when you were in his shoes.

ושורך וחמורך, “as well as your oxen and your donkeys;” Moses explained that not only the immediate working of the soil that produces our livelihood is forbidden on the Sabbath, but that those who work the soil, the farmer’s agents, -if you will,- who help him produce a crop, must also rest on the Sabbath. In this context he added further

למען ינוח עבדך ואמתך כמוך, “so that your male servant as well as our female servant may enjoy rest just like you.” The Torah here gave a reason for the work-prohibition on the Sabbath by your servants, i.e. that the Sabbath was not legislated to give the slaves a rest, but the rest enjoyed by the slaves is merely a by-product of their owners’ rest. In other words, seeing that G’d has had pity on you and instead of your having to serve Him for 7 days a week (the curse of earning one’s livelihood in the sweat of our brow) we in turn should display the same kind of consideration for our own servants and not assign them tasks on the days when we rest.

In order that your male slave will rest. The resting on Shabbos is secondary. The primary focus is refraining from melacho, and the rest follows automatically. However for a male or female slave, the rest is of primary importance, for they are not commanded to refrain from melacho. Refraining allows one to study and investigate the nature of Hashem, and this is why Shabbos is referred to as, “Shabbos for Hashem, your God”.

למען ינוח עבדך ואמתך כמוך, “in order that your servant, and your servant-maid rest just like you.” A reason for all this is:

וזכרת כי עבד היית וגו׳ AND THOU SHALT REMEMBER THAT THOU WAST A SLAVE [IN THE LAND OF EGYPT … AND THE LORD BROUGHT THEE FORTH FROM THERE … THEREFORE HE COMMANDS THEE TO KEEP THE SABBATH DAY] — On that condition He freed you — that you should be a servant to Him and observe His commandments.

THEREFORE THE ETERNAL THY G-D COMMANDED THEE TO KEEP THE SABBATH-DAY. The meaning thereof is that He commanded you to do so [give rest to the servant] on the Sabbath-day. So did Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explain it.¹⁵⁷Thus, according to Ibn Ezra, the basic commandment to rest on the Sabbath is in remembrance of Creation as it is given in Exodus 20:11, while the giving of rest to our servants is in remembrance of the exodus as given in our verse. In this way Ibn Ezra resolves the difficulty as to why in the Ten Commandments in the Book of Exodus the reason for the Sabbath is given as remembrance of the Creation, while here the reason is given as the remembrance of the exodus. Ramban will refute this solution of Ibn Ezra, as explained in the text that follows. But it is not correct, for we say in the Kiddush [i.e., the proclamation of the sanctity] of the Sabbath,¹⁵⁸See Vol. II, pp. 313-315. “For this day is the first of the hallowed gatherings recalling our going forth from Egypt” just as we say that it “recalls the work of Creation!”¹⁵⁹In other words, the text of the Kiddush of the Sabbath-day equates both reasons — the remembrance of the Creation and the remembrance of the exodus — as applying to the Sabbath itself, rather than referring to two different things as Ibn Ezra differentiated between them (see Note 157 above). And the Rabbi [Moshe ben Maimon] stated in the Moreh Nebuchim¹⁶⁰Guide of the Perplexed II, 31. Ramban is following Al-Charizi’s translation, and not that of Ibn Tibbon. that “the ‘first statement’ [i.e., citing the Creation, as given in the Book of Exodus] expresses the honor and distinction of the day, just as He said, therefore the Eternal hath blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it,¹⁶¹Exodus 20:11. Thus the verse in Exodus indicates that the Sabbath-day was honored because it is symbolic of the Creation which was the handiwork of G-d alone. and hence He mentioned the reason for in six days etc.¹⁶¹Exodus 20:11. Thus the verse in Exodus indicates that the Sabbath-day was honored because it is symbolic of the Creation which was the handiwork of G-d alone. But here he warned us to observe the Sabbath because of our having been slaves, working all day against our will and never having rest, and he commanded us now to abstain from work and rest in order that we remember the kindnesses of G-d towards us in bringing us forth from slavery to rest. Thus the Sabbath in general has two reasons: that we believe in the creation of the world [i.e., that the world was created at some point in time out of absolute nought rather than being of infinite age], that the world has a G-d Who is the Creator, and that we remember further the great kindness that He did with us, that we are His servants, since He acquired us for Himself as servants.” This [statement of Rambam] is also not clear to me, for when we are resting and not doing work on the seventh day we are not provided with a remembrance of the exodus from Egypt, nor does anyone who sees us being idle from work have any knowledge of this [reason]. Rather, the Sabbath is like all the other commandments, but it contains a reminder of the Creation because of the fact that we rest on the day that G-d ceased from work thereon and rested.¹⁶²Ibid., 31:17. And it is more fitting to say that because the exodus from Egypt is evidence of the existence of an Eternal G-d, Who caused everything to come into existence through His will¹⁶³Thus excluding the theory that formation of the world is a result of some natural necessity. Instead we are to believe the universe is a result of G-d’s Will and design. and Who has supreme power, as I have explained in the first commandment¹⁶⁴Exodus 20:2. Vol. II, p. 285. — therefore he stated here: “If there ever arises a doubt in your heart concerning the Sabbath that evidences the creation of the world by the will and power of G-d, you should remember what your eyes saw at the exodus from Egypt which is, to you, the evidence [of His infinite power] and the remembrance [of His deeds].” Thus the Sabbath is a remembrance of the exodus from Egypt, and the exodus is a remembrance of the Sabbath, for on it [the Sabbath] they remember and say that it is G-d Who makes new signs and wonders in everything and does with everything according to His will since it is He Who created everything at the beginning of creation. This, then, is the sense of the expression, therefore the Eternal thy G-d commanded thee to keep the Sabbath-day. Now, he did not explain here that the reason for the rest [on the Sabbath] is that in six days the Eternal made heaven etc.,¹⁶¹Exodus 20:11. Thus the verse in Exodus indicates that the Sabbath-day was honored because it is symbolic of the Creation which was the handiwork of G-d alone. — since this has already been mentioned many times in the Torah. Instead, he said here briefly, and the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the Eternal thy G-d,¹⁵³Verse 14. meaning that He, blessed be, ceased from work thereon and rested¹⁶²Ibid., 31:17. and he explained to them that from the exodus from Egypt they will know that it was He Who spoke and the world came into existence, and He ceased from work thereon.
And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], we can further add to this [subject, by saying] that this commandment was given with [the expression] Observe [Observe the Sabbath-day to keep it holy], in order that we may fear the Glorious and Fearful Name,¹⁶⁵Further, 28:58. The verse there begins: If thou wilt not ‘observe’ … The term “observe” found in the commandment of the Sabbath is thus to be understood in the light of that verse which begins with the expression of “observe” and concludes with a reference to the “fear” of G-d, as the text proceeds to explain. and therefore he commands us to remember the mighty hand and the outstretched arm¹⁶⁶Further, 7:19. that we saw at the exodus from Egypt, and from it the fear [of G-d] is to come to us, as it is said, And Israel saw the great work which the Eternal did upon the Egyptians, and the people ‘feared’ the Eternal.¹⁶⁷Exodus 14:31. See Vol. II, p. 190: “By way of the Truth etc.” And therefore the Eternal thy G-d commanded thee to keep the Sabbath-day so that the congregation of Israel be the partner to the Sabbath, as is hinted in the words of our Rabbis.¹⁶⁸Bereshith Rabbah 11:9, see also Vol. I, p. 60. The student [learned in the mysteries of the Cabala] will understand.

וזכרת כי עבד היית, "remember that you used to be a slave, etc." These are Moses' words. Moses meant that the Sabbath legislation also contains an element which relates it to the Exodus. When someone rests and does not have to perform labour for someone else he will feel that it was G'd who enabled His people to rest up from all its problems and he will concentrate on gladly accepting the laws given by G'd who took the people out of that particular bondage. Pessachim 117 teaches that these words are the reason we have to mention the Exodus from Egypt in the benediction over the wine on the Sabbath.

וזכרת כי עבד היית, “so that you will remember that you yourself used to be a servant;” Moses explains that just as G’d when He took you out of Egypt relieved you of the need to work seven days a week, you in turn, are to give your workers a day of rest, the same day as yours. In light of this, the true meaning of the phrase, beginning with the word למען in our verse, is that when you allow your servant to rest on the Sabbath you will be reminded that you yourself did not have this privilege until Hashem took you out of Egypt. This is what prompted G’d to

וזכרת כי עבד היית במצרים, “you shall remember (on the Sabbath) that you used to be a slave in Egypt, etc.” just like the slaves that you own now.
ויוציאך ה’ אלו-היך, “and the Lord your G’d took you out;” with manifest miracles which attested that something like a rebirth of the universe had taken place, i.e. that it was your G’d who must have created the universe in the first place.
על כן, “this is why;” He commanded you to observe the Sabbath day as reminder that G’d created the universe and it did not precede Him as proven by His orchestrating the Exodus.

He freed you on the condition, etc. Because Hashem knows that it is difficult for them to abstain from work. We find this regarding Purim, that they accepted upon themselves a day of drinking and rejoicing, but not for [abstaining from] work (Maseches Megillah 5b). Therefore, he mentions to them that they were slaves. That is to say, when a master tells his slave to abstain from work, it is only right that the slave obeys him because the work [he does] is only for his master. Otherwise, why is slavery mentioned here? [Maharai].

וזכרת כי עבד היית, “you shall remember that you used to be a slave;” the reason why this has been written here, i.e. that your male and female servants also have to rest on the Sabbath, is that we ourselves were slaves and did not enjoy the luxury of resting on the Sabbath. We must not treat our slaves as we have been treated. In the first version of the Ten Commandments that were given on a joyous occasion, the Torah did not want to dampen our sense of joy by reminding us of our low status in Egypt. It therefore omitted mentioning that we used to be slaves. [Besides, 49 days after having escaped from Egypt, who would need a reminder of that? Ed.] It was sufficient to emphasise that it was G-d Who had taken us out of Egypt, and that we had not staged a revolt to bring this about. (Exodus 20,2) An alternate interpretation: if G-d redeemed us from slavery and intolerable conditions and gave us the Sabbath as a reminder, our own slaves are certainly to be granted no less by us.

צוך ה' אלוקיך לעשות את יום השבת, “the Lord your G’d commanded you to “make” the Sabbath day.” Ibn Ezra comments that the word תעשה means that G’d commanded that the day of rest had to be on the Sabbath, i.e the anniversary of the seventh day of creation. [It would not do to pick any day of the week to commemorate that we enjoy a day of rest because the Lord took us out of Egypt.] As to the fact that we commemorate this aspect by reciting the kiddush, Maimonides writes that in the first version of the Ten Commandments the Torah speaks of the special honour accorded to that day. The aspect of commemorating the Exodus on the Sabbath does not override the previously revealed aspect of commemorating the seven days of creation, on the last of which the Lord rested. This is why Moses refers to the previously revealed legislation of the Sabbath in which commemorating the seventh day of creation had been given as the primary reason. To sum up: there are two major reasons for the Sabbath rest. 1) To strengthen our faith in the Creator of the universe, who made constructive rest part of nature by demonstrating His own abstention from creative activity on that day. 2) The Lord’s special love for us, [not so for the other nations who labour under the curse to have to work for a living unceasingly, the legacy of Adam having ignored the command not to eat from the tree of knowledge. Ed.] Nachmanides does not seem too impressed by Maimonides’ approach, as he cannot see how resting on the Sabbath is conceptually related to the Exodus from Egypt any more than any of the other commandments that represent symbols of our history, especially the Exodus. On the other hand, he does agree that Sabbath observance most certainly is conceptually related to the whole work of creation performed by the Creator during the six days preceding the history of mankind. Nachmanides therefore would have Moses not add another dimension to the rationale of Sabbath observance, but to restate the aspect of G’d the invisible Creator having rested on the original Sabbath, to His people who more than any other people had experienced how He manifested Himself visually in their lives making this an additional point to reflect upon on every Sabbath when they would observe constructive rest. All the miracles performed by G’d in Egypt were, in a manner of speaking, a re-enactment of what our sages call חדוש העולם, a replay of the creative process, seeing that G’d proved Himself time and again to be able to make “nature” do His bidding when He wanted and where He wanted. Whereas the first time around there had been no witnesses who could report to us on what they had experienced, in Egypt there had been millions of such witnesses. [I have rephrased this slightly. Ed.]

You may ask why he [Moses] omitted the reason for the Sabbath that God said in the first instance of the Ten Commandments, "that in six days..." [and on the seventh day of creation God rested] (Exodus 20). This reason is the essential reason for this commandment, not the reason of the obligation [given in this verse]. Moses said this reason [based on] faith in the reason for the commandment. According to what our sages said and wrote elsewhere, the Exodus from Egypt illuminates faith in creation of the world. He [Moses] wrote saying "Remember...and God took you out...with a strong hand and an outstretched arm..." since there you will see that He is the Master of All and from there it will be evident to you the reason stated in the first instance of the Ten Commandments, "that in six days...".

כי עבד היית בארץ מצרים, “for you were a slave in the land of Egypt.” In this version of the Ten Commandments, G-d does not emphasise His being the Creator of the universe in six days, (Exodus 20,11) and this is why we mention this when we recite the blessing over wine when making kiddush, i.e. sanctifying the Sabbath. On other special occasions that do not symbolise the creation of the universe, we content ourselves with reminding ourselves of the making of the Jewish nation, i. e. זכר ליציאת מצרים, “a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt.”

על כן, “therefore,” G-d wishes us to remember that our status in Egypt was a deplorable one, we were lowly slaves.

כאשר צוך [HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER] AS THE LORD THY GOD HATH COMMANDED THEE — Also regarding honouring parents they received command at Marah, as it is said, (Exodus 15:25) “There He appointed for them a statute and a judgement” (cf. Rashi on that passage and Note p. 243) (Sanhedrin 56b).

ולמען ייטב לך, even in this life already. As our ages (said Peyah 1,1) that “there are commandments for the fulfillment of which one “eats” the dividends in this life whereas the principal is reserved for use in the world to come.” Honouring father and mother is one of those commandments.

כאשר צוך ה' אלוקיך, “as the Lord your G’d had commanded you.” You heard it from Hashem, directly; and Moses adds immediately:

He added an explanation in the commandment, Honor thy father and thy mother ‘as the Eternal thy G-d command thee’¹⁶⁹Verse 16. from the mouth of the Almighty, as I have explained,¹⁷⁰Above, Verse 5, at end. and therefore he added, and that it may go well with thee, just as it is said, Yea, the Eternal will give that which is good, and our land shall yield her produce.¹⁷¹Psalms 85:13.

Vers 16. Die Beifügung ולמען ייטב לך in כבד את אביך וגו׳ sagt jedem kommenden Geschlechte im Lande, dass sie das Heil jeder ihrer Gegenwart nur dem treuen und hingebungsvollen Zusammenhange mit der Vergangenheit verdanken, und jedem gegenwärtigen Geschlechte in Israel nur so viel Glück erblüht, als es mit ehrendem Gehorsam die Geschichts- und Gesetzesüberlieferung als ewig fortzutragendes Erbe aus den Händen der Eltern übernimmt (siehe zu Schmot 20. 12). —

ולמען ייטב לך, “and in order that it will go well with you;” in the first version of the commandment to honour our parents, this promise of a reward was absent. In other words, G-d promises an additional reward for honouring our parents. A careful reading of the first version of the Ten Commandments will reveal that the letter ט is the only letter of the Hebrew alphabet that did not appear in it. The second version therefore includes it, as that letter symbolises טוב goodness. Moses caught on to this and took it upon himself to make up for this deficiency by adding a line that included this letter.

ולמען ייטב לך, “and so that it will be for your benefit.” The construction here is similar to Psalms 85,13: “The Lord also bestows His bounty, and our land yields its produce.” [Basically, without G’d’s input the land would not yield its produce, but the latter is visible evidence, the former is just as real but invisible to man. Ed.] He continued to explain the ninth Commandment

ולא תנאף AND THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY — The term ניאוף, “adultery”, is technically only applicable in the case of a married woman.

לא תענה ברעך עד שוא, “Do not testify falsely against your fellow;” The version in Parshat Yitro used the term שקר untrue, false, whereas Moses here appears to expand the prohibition to someone who testifies to something irrelevant, something vain, something which is not enforceable by a court of law, for instance. Frivolous testimony, which may only serve to undermine one of the parties’ good reputation is prohibited by the Torah, also, one of the reasons being that the testimony employs directly or implicitly the name of the Lord. Moses continues with his elaboration, on the tenth Commandment,

The term נאוף (adultery), etc. You might ask: Why does Rashi explain this [commandment] more than the other Ten Commandments? The answer is that Rashi is answering the question: Why is the letter vov in ולא תנאף necessary? Rashi answers: The term “adultery” is applicable only in reference to a married woman. Additionally, the vov indicates that “do not commit adultery” is a continuation of the preceding matter, “Do not murder.” In other words: Be careful with the commandment, “Do not murder,” and through this you will distance yourself from many other transgressions. One [such transgression] is, “Do not commit adultery.” For one [who wishes to commit adultery] will think, “perhaps the husband will not hand over his wife,” and because of this he may commit murder. So too with all [the commandments] mentioned afterwards. See Kitzur Mizrachi for a different explanation.

NEITHER SHALT THOU BEAR ‘EID SHAV’ (VAIN WITNESS)¹⁷²In Exodus 20:13, the verse reads: Thou shalt not bear ‘eid shaker’ (false witness). Ramban explains that the admonition here prohibits bearing such false testimony even when it cannot possibly harm the neighbor at all and is consequently “vain” and worthless in court. The prohibition in Exodus, on the other hand, concerns the kind of false testimony which aims to really harm the other person. Thus the verse here explains the full extent of the admonition. AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR. He explained this in order to prohibit even [false] meaningless testimony that will cause no harm at all to his neighbor in court, as, for example, if he testifies, “So-and-so said he will give a hundred [dinars] to that person, but did not obligate himself to do it” [such false testimony is consequently in “vain” and we are prohibited from so doing]. For the term shav [in the above admonition, as elsewhere] signifies “vain, worthless” talk.

Verse 17 u.18. Wir haben bereits zu Schmot 20, 14 bemerkt, dass hier die Wiederholung des Dekalogs alle Verbote des Vergehens gegen das Leben, die Ehe, das Eigentum, das Glück und die Ehre des Nächsten, sowie des bloßen Gelüstens nach dem Verbotenen durch das kopulative Waw in einen Gedanken zusammenfasst und mit Nachdruck auf das letzte, das Verbot der Lüsternheit, hinweist, um zu sagen, dass Gott nicht nur die verbrecherische Tat, sondern schon den verbrecherischen Gedanken, ja schon das bloße Lüsternsein nach verbotenem Gute, die Brutstätte aller verbrecherischen Gedanken und Handlungen, vor seinen Richterstuhl zieht, und dass damit dem sozialen Leben die einzige wirkliche, durch kein menschliches Tribunal zu erreichende Sicherheit vor Verbrechen, durch die von Gottesfurcht gepflegte Loyalität der Gesinnungen seiner Bürger, gewährleistet wird. Sehr wohl begreifts sich demnach, dass diese Erweiterung des לא תחמוד in לא תתאוה und die zusammenfassende Gipfelung aller sozialen Verbote in dies letztere eben bei dieser Wiederholung vor dem Übergang zu dem Besitze des Landes hervortritt. Sind sie doch eben damit im Begriff, aus der Kontrolle einer Zentralüberwachung der vereinzelnden Zerstreuung über ein Land hin, und damit noch mehr der Selbstüberwachung von Innen heraus überlassen zu werden. In diesem Augenblick der Entlassung aus der Nähe des göttlichen Gesetzesheiligtums und der ihm anwohnenden höchsten menschlichen Gerichtsbarkeit tut es umsomehr not, einem jeden den Gedanken an den überall gegenwärtigen, Herz und Nieren prüfenden Gott wachzurufen und ihn selbst mit seinem bloßen Wollen vor dessen richtendes Auge zu stellen. Ganz im Einklange mit diesem nun bevorstehenden wirklichen Güterbesitz, ist denn auch das Güterinventar durch שדהו vervollständigt (siehe Schmot daselbst; in der Wüste gehörten auch die Häuser zu den Mobilien und gab es überhaupt kein immobiles Gut.) — Vielleicht ist daher auch das עד שקר in עד שוא umwandelt, in welchem wir mehr den עד זומם zu erblicken glaubten, und ist eben bei dem Eintritt einer größeren Gefahr sozialverbrecherischer Gesetzlosigkeit die Warnung vor dem höchsten Zeugenverbrechen, und zwar umsomehr an ihrer Stelle, als eben gerade in diesem Verbrechen der verbrecherische Vorsatz und nicht die Ausführung, כאשר זמם ולא כאשר עשה, dem Strafverfahren selbst menschlicher Gerichtsbarkeit (siehe zu Kap. 19, 19) und somit in engerer Verwandtschaft zu לא תתאוה steht.

עד שוא, “a vain witness.” If someone testifies against someone whom he had seen perform a crime deliberately, but his testimony is not supported by a second witness without which a conviction could not be obtained, he is not to come forward to bring a charge that he knows the court cannot deal with.

ולא תתאוה — The Targum renders this by ולא תירוג which, too, is an expression denoting “desiring” (חמד the word used in the preceding part of this verse), just as (Genesis 2:9) “נחמד to the eyes”, we render in the Targum by “desirable (רגג) to behold”.

ולא תחמוד , “and you shall not covet, etc.” In Parshat Yitro the commandment employs only the verb תמד, whereas here Moses added an additional phrase commencing with the verb אוה, to desire (in the reflexive mode). From the wording in Yitro we would have thought that only when steps are taken to translate one’s burning desire into practice does one transgress this prohibition. If Moses had not added the dimension of merely “desiring” a field, or an ox, we might have thought, that only when one engages in translating one’s desire into practice is this prohibited, but that “daydreaming” about it is not objectionable. Hence, he restated part of the original version to make the point we just mentioned.

ולא תתאוה בית רעיך, “and do not covet the house of your fellow.” In the first version of the Ten Commandments the Torah described this coveting of one’s fellow’s house with the verb לא תחמוד. The difference is whether one is planning to pay for it or wants it even without contemplating paying for it i.e. not planning to translate his craving into action. Here Moses reminds us that even the mere thought of wanting it makes one liable for violating this commandment. The reason is that ultimately the desire to own what belongs to someone else (who has not offered it for sale) will lead to one offering money and pressuring the owner to part with it (compare Maimonides Hilchot Gezeilah 1,9).

Which is also an expression of desiring, etc. I.e., one should not ask: [Why] over there (Shmos 20:14) is it written לא תחמוד (do not covet), but here it is written לא תתאוה (lit., do not desire)? Rashi explains: Which is also, etc. And therefore the Targum says לא תירוג, which is an expression of desiring.

He added an explanation in the commandment Neither shalt thou covet in that he mentioned first the [neighbor’s] wife [whereas in the Book of Exodus the neighbor’s house is stated first] for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth¹⁷³Genesis 8:21. with respect to women more than anything else. He further explained, that included in the term “coveting” is even mere “desire” [as stated here, Neither shalt thou ‘desire’ thy neighbor’s house etc.]. Thus if he desires to rob anything from his neighbor, but is unable to do so because his neighbor is stronger than he, or because in his locality there is fear of the government, he transgresses this commandment.¹⁷⁴Thus, if a person really desires something but does nothing to obtain it, he transgresses the prohibition, neither shalt thou desire. If his desire for the object is so strong that he obtains it through some scheme, he additionally transgresses the commandment, Thou shalt not covet. But if the owner refuses under all circumstances to sell it and he takes it by force, he also transgresses the commandment, Nor shalt thou rob him (Leviticus 19:13). See “The Commandments,” Vol. II, pp. 251-252. He added here his field, wherefrom the Rabbis have interpreted in the Mechilta:¹⁷⁵Mechilta, Yithro 5. “Perhaps I may reason: Just as the specific examples [mentioned in the Decalogue in Exodus, namely, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, or his ass] are movable property which may not be seized from customers in case of non-payment by the creditor, so also, I can include [in the prohibition not to covet] only movable property which may not be resorted to for non-payment. But when it says in Deuteronomy his field [which is immovable property and may be resorted to for non-payment] you must perforce interpret the verse as follows: Just as the specific matters deal with things one can buy and sell, so all things one can buy and sell [are included in this prohibition].”

ולא תתאוה, “and you shall not covet.” The expression “to covet” is used only when it describes the desire of one’s heart, not when one plans to act upon that desire. (Ibn Ezra) As soon as someone becomes aware, that his neighbour, due to various kinds of pressure is known to consider selling it and instead of financially supporting his neighbour exploits his reduced circumstances, and decides in his mind to buy it from him, he has violated this commandment. When he expressed his intention by mouth, he has violated the commandment of לא תחמד, as written at the beginning of verse 18. All the last five commandments are introduced with the connective letter ו except for the first one in that string, the warning not to commit murder, i.e. לא תרצח. In all the Ten Commandments, commencing with the word: אנכי, until the words: ולשומרי מצותו at the end of verse 10, there is no difference between the wording of the first set of the Ten Commandments and the wording of the second set, as G-d repeated the wording, and therefore their meaning is identical in both instances. Moses had not intended to introduce any changes either. However, in the second version in our chapter, the changes that Moses did introduce did not change the meaning of the commandment. There is a general rule concerning when something in the Torah has been repeated, you will always find a minor change in the wording or spelling. The change you see was part of the original Torah scroll and has not been introduced subsequently. The Ten Commandments on the first set of the Tablets, which Moses had smashed and the Commandments on the second Tablets quoted in the Book of Deuteronomy are identical with the exception of that addition for the reason given for the commandment to honour one’s parents. What we see written down in the Book of Deuteronomy is the version of the second set of Tablets Moses received from G-d. Basically, the text in the Torah scroll Moses handed down to us is the one that represents Moses’ words. Here Moses arranged the order of the examples quoted in the tenth commandment, according to how people develop desires as they grow older. First they desire a better house, one that that they could not afford previously. Next, they desire a woman who they feel has more to offer them than the one they had married when relatively young and inexperienced. Next they also desire such assets as make life more comfortable, even if they have to acquire them by making someone who owns them part with theirs.

שדהו, “his field,” here Moses introduces a possession, other than chattels, i.e. real estate, something that is sold with אחריות, with certain guarantees by the vendor to reimburse the purchaser if his title will be challenged. Adding this dimension to the list of matters one must not covet closes the circle, i.e. all possessions that are subject to being sold and bought must not be coveted, even if one is willing to pay more than the market price for it in order to satisfy one’s craving for certain possessions. [I have slightly amended the wording in the interest of readers not thoroughly familiar with Jewish civil law. Ed.]

ולא יסף — We render this in the Targum by ולא פסק “and He did not cease”, — [Because it is characteristic of human beings that they are unable to utter all their words in one breath (but must make pauses) and it is characteristic of the Holy One, blessed be He, that this is not so, therefore He did not pause, and since He did not pause, He did not have to resume], — for His voice is strong and goes on continuously (Sanhedrin 17a). Another explanation of ולא יסף: He did not again ever reveal himself with such publicity.

OUT OF THE MIDST OF THE FIRE, OF THE CLOUD, AND OF THE THICK DARKNESS. “The cloud and the darkness” explain the expression out of the midst of the fire, for Clouds and darkness are round about Him.¹⁷⁶Psalms 97:2.

את הדברים האלה דבר השם, "These are the words which G'd spoke, etc." Moses omitted to say "all these words," seeing that some of the words which appeared here were not G'd's words but his own, such as when he said: "as G'd commanded you, etc."

ולא יסף, according to the plain meaning of the text there was never again such an overpowering sound in the history of mankind. Whenever the word יסף appears it represents an addition of something. (compare Deut. 5,21, Psalms 73,19, and Genesis 18,23, the expression האף תספה, where the latter word is from the same root as יסף.)

ולא יסף, “which did not abate.” According to Onkelos the meaning of the expression ולא יסף is the same as ולא פסק, “it did not stop, was not interrupted.” [Such as someone catching his breath. Ed.]; neither did it weaken as it continued. The constancy of the voice showed that it was not a human voice. Nachmanides writes that the Torah had written in Exodus 19,19 that the sound of the shofar blast kept increasing in volume, and the sages explain that the reason for this was to enable the listeners to adjust to the increasingly overpowering volume. We therefore must distinguish between the sounds the people heard from the shofar, and the voice they heard from Hashem. G’d’s voice when He uttered the Ten Commandments, remained steady, even, did not rise or fall. It is fair to assume that Onkelos, who holds that the voice did not cease, bases himself on Jeremiah 48,33 ונאספה שמחה וגיל, where the same root means that “the joy over the harvest will be gone,” so that with the prefix לא the meaning would be that the joy would be continuous, never ending. [Our author quotes a couple of examples where the root יסף is also used in the manner in which Onkelos understands it in our verse. I suppose the concept that a voice is interminable is so unusual, that our author tried to justify Onkelos. Ed.]

קול גדול ולא יסף, “a powerful voice not weakening;” the sound did not stop, did not exhaust itself. This is also how Onkelos understands the words ולא יסף. If you peruse the whole paragraph you will find the word קול “sound, voice,” occurring seven times. It occurs five times as referring to G’d’s voice (verses 19,20,21,22,23 and twice in verse 25 as the voice of the Israelites.) This is what the sages in Shemot Rabbah 28,4 meant when they said that the Torah was given with seven “voices,” i.e. that one voice was split into seven sounds. We have mentioned this already near the end of our commentary on Exodus 20,1.

Because His voice is strong and eternal, etc. The first explanation is problematic, for it is obvious. Since the sound of His voice is strong [and eternal] the first time, why then would His voice pause? Therefore Rashi says, “Another explanation, etc.” But the second explanation is problematic. Why does it say יסף [which can mean “stop”]? It should say יוסיף [which clearly means, “did not continue”]! Therefore Rashi also gives the first explanation.

V. 19. קול גדול ולא יסף. Es gibt keinen eigentlichen Beleg für die Bedeutung von יסף als Aufhören, dass יסף und סוף wie יטב und טוב identisch wäre. Es heißt vielmehr sonst immer: vermehren, fortfahren. So auch V. 22. Wir vermuten, dass es auch hier ein Fortfahren, und zwar ein räumliches Weiterschreiten bedeute: die Stimme war groß und reichte doch nicht weiter, überschritt den jüdischen Kreis nicht, war außer demselben nicht vernehmbar. Sie wurde nur von denen vernommen, an die sie gerichtet war, und eben diese Beschränkung dokumentierte sie als das frei persönliche Wort Gottes und hob sie über alle Gemeinschaft mit irgend welcher akustischen physischen Erscheinung hinaus. So auch von Gottes Rede an Mosche überhaupt in ת׳׳כ zu Wajikra 1, 1 וידבר ה׳ אליו מאהל מועד מלמד שהיה הקול נפסק ולא היה יוצא חוץ מאהל מועד יכול מפני שהיה נמוך ת׳׳ל וישמע את הקול וכו׳ הקול המתפרש בכתובים קול ה׳ בכח וגו׳ א׳׳כ למה נאמר מאהל מועד מלמד שהיה הקול נפסק ולא היה יוצא חוץ לאהל.

קול גדול ולא יסף, “with a strong voice that did not weaken;” according to our sages this voice continued to be heard during the entire forty days that Moses spent on Mount Sinai, immediately after the revelation. Another interpretation of that line: the words ולא יסף mean that the Israelites did not hear anything but the Ten Commandments, so as no to distract them. This would be in line with Jeremiah 45,3: כי יסף מכאוב על מכאובי,”for He had added to my grief.”

A GREAT VOICE, ‘V’LO YASAF.’ “We render this [in the Targum Onkelos] as ‘and He did not pause.’ Because it is the nature of human beings that they cannot say all their words in one breath, but the nature of the Holy One, blessed be He, is different; He did not pause. And since He did not pause [in uttering the Ten Commandments] He did not have to resume, for His voice is strong and eternally enduring. [Thus, the words v’lo yasaf which literally mean ‘did not resume’ or ‘did not continue’ are translated by Onkelos as ‘did not pause,’ because, had He paused, He would have had to continue after the pause. Since G-d can say all the words in one breath, there was no need for a pause followed by a resumption.] Another interpretation of lo yasaf: He ‘never again’ revealed Himself in such a public manifestation.” This is Rashi’s language. But the verse states, And the voice of the horn waxed louder and louder!¹⁷⁷Exodus 19:19. This indicates that the voice was not even in pitch and in volume, thus contradicting Rashi’s opinion that the sound was constant in volume from beginning to end. And the Rabbis also said:¹⁷⁸Tanchuma, Yithro 13. This text also shows that the sound was not constant. “And why was it [i.e., the voice of the horn] soft at first [growing gradually stronger]? In order to accustom the ear with [a sound] it was able to hear.”¹⁷⁹In other words, so that the ear should not be unduly taxed at first, the sound began at a low volume and gradually increased in order that the ear should adjust to the change. — Thus, this text of the Rabbis likewise affirms that the voice was not even, in contradiction to the comment of Rashi. Perhaps this was so with respect to the voice of the horn, but the voice of G-d throughout the Ten Commandments was even. The correct interpretation is that of the Sage who says that [the meaning of v’lo yasaf is] “He did not pause,” thus deriving the translation of yasaf from the expressions: ‘v’ne’esfah’ gladness and joy,¹⁸⁰Jeremiah 48:33. ‘toseif’ their breath, they perish¹⁸¹Psalms 104:29. which signify, in his opinion, the act of taking something away. The verse here thus states that His greatness and power were “not withdrawn” until He finished all the commandments. Similarly it says, and they prophesied ‘v’lo yasafu’¹⁸²Numbers 11:25. [which Onkelos renders, “and they did not cease”]. And in line with the plain meaning of Scripture v’lo yasaf means that “there will never again be so great [a voice].” And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala,] the verse is stating that they heard all these words [proclaimed by] the voice of the Great One,¹⁸³This is alluded to in the beginning of the verse: These words the Eternal spoke. and He did not add anything [perceivable] to all your assembly, except for this one voice, for it was only that voice that they grasped. There I have already explained this subject as well as the whole section.¹⁸⁴Exodus 19:20. See Vol. II, pp. 283-284. In other words, only in the first two commandments did they hear the voice and understand the words, while in the other eight commandments “He did not add anything to all your assembly except that one voice,” meaning that they heard the voice but Moses explained to them the words (Abusaula). See my Hebrew commentary, p. 369.

In such a public demonstration. The word פומבי means, “a public demonstration.”

V. 20. מתוך החשך, wiederholt heißt es מתוך האש. Es ist daher wohl also zu verstehen: aus dem Dunkel und dem im Feuer lohenden Berge heraus, d. h. der Berg war von Finsternis umgeben und brannte im Feuer, und von diesem heraus, somit aus dem Dunkel und dem in ihm in Feuer stehenden Berge heraus, sprach das Wort zu ihnen. Vielleicht auch ist das מתוך ההשך nicht auf את הקול, sondern auf כשמעכם zu beziehen. Sie standen im Dunkel und der Berg loderte vor ihnen im Feuer, und aus ihrem Dunkel heraus vernahmen sie die aus dem Feuer an sie gerichtete Stimme.

הן הראנו ה’ אלו-הינו את כבודו, “here the Lord our G’d has shown us His (attribute) כבוד.” This is a reference to the fire the people experienced at Mount Sinai which was totally aflame.
ואת גדלו, “and His greatness;” this is a reference to the thunder and lightning which accompanied the giving of the Ten Commandments, as well as the sound of the Shofar.
ואת קולו שמענו, “and we have heard His voice;” a reference to the Ten Commandments.”

FOR WHO IS THERE OF ALL FLESH, THAT HATH HEARD THE VOICE OF ‘ELOKIM CHAYIM’ (THE LIVING G-D) SPEAKING OUT OF THE FIRE, AS WE HAVE, AND LIVED? Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that the term living [living G-d] is to distinguish between G-d and the host of heaven which cannot move by itself [but by the living G-d Who is the First Cause].” It is possible to explain that he mentioned this in order to indicate that, if someone hears the voice of G-d with Whom is the fountain of life,¹⁸⁵Psalms 36:10. his soul will cleave to its “foundation” and he will no longer live the life of the flesh.¹⁸⁶Proverbs 14:30. See also further, 11:22, where Ramban elaborates more fully on this doctrine, here alluded to briefly, of experiencing the eternal bliss of the soul in this world. Similarly Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that ‘E-il chai’ is in your midst;¹⁸⁷Joshua 3:10. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth.¹⁸⁸Ibid., Verse 11. Ramban’s intent in citing this verse is to show that the Divine Name, E-il chai, used by Joshua in the preceding Verse 10, is not synonymous with the Name Elokim chayim, used in the verse before us. There, Joshua continued to explain it, Behold the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth, thus intimating that E-il chai means “G-d Who gives life to the entire world,” or “G-d of all the living”, while Elokim chayim means “the living G-d,” and therefore alludes to the fact that the soul of someone who hears the voice of G-d will cleave to its “foundation” etc., as explained in the text. See my Hebrew commentary, p. 369. If so, [that E-il chai, as Joshua explained it, means ‘the Lord of all the earth,’ thus intimating that E-il chai means “G-d of all the living,” and is unlike the expression here, Elokim chayim, which means “the living G-d”] and he swore ‘b’chei’ of the world¹⁸⁹Daniel 12:7. is an oath by His Great Name [meaning that “he swore by Him Who gives life to the world”].

ואת תדבר אלינו AND SPEAK THOU (את the feminine form of the pronoun) TO US — you weakened my strength as that of a woman, (cf. Rashi on Numbers 11:15), for I was distressed because of you (because of your words) and you weakened my hands, since I saw that you were not anxious to approach Him out of love. Indeed, was it not better for you to learn from the mouth of the Almighty God, and not to learn from me?!

V’AT’ (AND THOU) [Moses] SPEAK UNTO US. “[The feminine form of the word v’at indicates] that you caused my strength to be sapped like that of a woman, for I was distressed because of you and you weakened my hands when I realized that you were not anxious to approach Him out of love. For was it not better to learn directly from the Almighty rather than from me?!” Thus far is Rashi’s language from words of the Agadah.¹⁹⁰See Abodah Zarah 5 a. If so, Moses is saying that he was concerned [over their failure to approach G-d] and G-d informed him [in the following verses] that they did so because they feared Him and it was beneficial to them! But the subject is, as I have explained there,¹⁹¹Exodus 20:16. Vol. II, pp. 324-325. that they thought that G-d wanted to communicate the entire Torah to them; however, the [Divine] Will before Him was to proclaim to them only the Ten Commandments as they desired.
Know that now they requested of Moses that they should not hear the voice of the Glorious Name¹⁹²Further, 28:58. — neither on that day nor during any of the succeeding generations — for it is not at all times that miracles occur [and, as they said in Verse 21, their very survival after hearing the voice of G-d was a miracle in itself, a miracle that could not be expected to recur during future revelations], and that they do not want another such Revelation; rather, they will believe in the prophets and do G-d’s will [as revealed] through them. In compliance Moses told them, A prophet will the Eternal thy G-d raise up unto thee, from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; according to all that thou didst desire of the Eternal thy G-d in Horeb. etc.¹⁹³Ibid., 18:15-16. If so, the meaning of this request [of the people in the verse before us — and thou shalt speak unto us — that they wished to hear from prophets rather than from G-d] was meant for future generations.

ואת תדבר אלינו, even though your words will be inferior in value to G’d’s words.

ושמענו ועשינו, "when we hear (them) we will carry (them) out." The reason the word ושמענו is introduced by the conjunctive letter ו is that the people had asked Moses to be their intermediary when receiving G'd's commandments. They explained that initially, in Exodus 19, 9 they had asked to hear the words from the teacher i.e. G'd Himself, instead of merely from the pupil, i.e. Moses. However, in light of their deathly fear they reversed themselves concerning who they were willing to hear the words from. They now made Moses their intermediary. The letter ו in the word ושמענו is the allusion to their previous attitude in the matter. They added the word ועשינו "and we will do" to indicate that the manner of their מצוה performance would be as if they had heard the instructions from G'd Himself instead of merely from Moses, His intermediary.

ואת תדבר אלינו, “and you will speak to us.” Rashi, explaining the feminine pronoun את when being applied to Moses, an outstanding example of manhood, sees Moses as reflecting that the people with their many demands, complaints, etc., had weakened his stature so that he felt no stronger than a woman. What upset him most about his people was, that instead of being desirous to come ever closer to Hashem, demonstrating their love for Him, they tried to distance themselves, relating to Him from feelings of fear and fright. If so, Moses expressed concern that G’d might react negatively to the people’s conduct. This is not compatible with the fact that G’d had told Moses that what the people had done was out of a feeling of profound reverence, “fear of the Lord” for Him, meaning that it was something positive. He therefore continues that the true interpretation is in accordance with what he himself had written, i.e the people not realizing that they would be hearing only the Ten Commandments, thought that G’d would reveal the entire Torah in the same manner, at once. Thinking about that, they became very much afraid that they would not be able to endure such a revelation for such a length of time. At any rate, G’d was pleased with their reaction and revealed only the Ten Commandments at that time. You should realize that the people’s request included not only that the supernatural nature of the revelation be cut short on that occasion, but they meant that at no time in the future would they want to be exposed to such overwhelming experiences as they had just experienced. They meant to include in that request even the generations after them, something that the Talmud (Pesachim 50) calls: לאו כל שעתא מתרחש ניסא, “miracles do not happen all the time;” we derive the meaning of what the people had in mind from verse 21 in our chapter: “this day we have seen that man can survive being addressed by G’d directly.” The word הזה, “this,” is restrictive, meaning only on this day was there such demonstration. It will not occur again. The people as an exchange for foregoing such revelations in the future, undertook to have complete faith in G’d’s prophets, thus making such revelations unnecessary. G’d’s (Moses’) response was יקים לך (Deut. 18,15) ...כמוני יקים לך נביא מקרבך, “He will make arise for you a prophet just like me, etc.” They were to follow the instructions of such prophets, just as they followed Moses’ instructions after the latter had enquired for guidance by G’d.

You have diminished my strength like that of a woman, etc. For the second-person masculine is אתה, and the second-person feminine is את.

V. 24. ואת תדבר, du wirst dich dem Gottesworte gegenüber weiblich, d. i. rein passiv verhalten. Wir haben das Vertrauen zu dir, dass du uns nur das überbringen wirst, was du von Gott empfangen hast. Du wirst nichts als treues Organ sein. Daher auch das die Aufgabe des "Hörens" prägnanter hervorhebende שֲׁמע statt שְׁמע.

ואת תדבר אלינו, “and you shall speak to us;” Moses’ voice, a voice familiar to them and not so overpowering, would be easier to bear, so that they could understand it better.

For I was distressed about you and you weakened my hands, etc. Everyone raises the question: Had not Hashem agreed to their words and said, “Everything they said is excellent (v. 25)”? The answer is: [This verse] is presenting Moshe’s opinion, for he suspected the reason for their speaking in this manner was because they were not anxious to come near to Him out of love. And [in the next verse] Hashem says to Moshe that the reason for their speaking in this manner was because of their fear of Him. Hashem said all this to remove Moshe’s suspicion of the Jewish People.

היטיבו כל אשר דברו, "they are correct in everything they have said." G'd approved that they accepted Moses as their prophet in the matter and that they agreed to carry out the prophet's instructions. Concerning this undertaking by the Israelites G'd added that He wished the Israelites would maintain their present spiritual high indefinitely. Our sages in Avodah Zarah 5 quote Moses as criticising the people as being ungrateful; they should have seized that moment to ask G'd to convert this wish into something permament and to ensure that they would maintain their lofty spiritual niveau for all times. If the Israelites had done this at that time, subsequent debacles such as that of the spies and the uprising of Korach could all have been avoided.

V. 25-26. את קול דברי וגו׳ ,את קול דבריכם. Es dürfte wohl ein Unterschied sein zwischen שמע דברים und שמע קול דברים. Während jenes nur die gesprochenen Worte vernimmt, berücksichtigt dieses auch die Stimme, den Ton, in welchem die Worte gesprochen werden, somit die Gesinnung, die sich in diesem Ton der Rede ausdrückt. Es kommt dies so nur noch einmal vor, oben Kap. 1, 34, וישמע ה׳ את קול דבריכם, und auch dort lag das Verwerfliche nicht nur in den Reden des Volkes, sondern vornehmlich auch in dem Ton, in welchem sie gesprochen wurden und worin eben der ganze an Gott zweifelnde und verzweifelnde Kleinmut und Unmut sich kundgab. Hier hingegen ist es die ganze von Gottes überwältigender Größe und von der Überzeugungsgewissheit seiner persönlichen Offenbarung durchdrungene Gesinnung, die sich in dem Ton ihrer Rede aussprach und die mehr noch Gott als Mosche offenbar war, auf welche Gott hier hinblickt; daher auch: היטיבו כל אשר דברו, alles, was sie gesprochen haben, fließt aus der besten Gesinnung, und: מי יתן usw. Indem aber Gott so die Standhaftigkeit unserer guten Gesinnung wie die dadurch bedingte ewige Dauer unseres Heils als "Wunsch" ausspricht, ist damit der Menschenbrust der göttliche Adel der Freiheit zugesprochen und unsere Tugend und unser Glück in unsere eigene Hand gelegt. —

OH THAT THIS THEIR HEART WOULD REMAIN IN THEM, TO FEAR ME. Scripture uses this expression because man has freedom of choice to be righteous or to be wicked, and “Everything is in the power of Heaven except for fear of Heaven.”¹⁹⁴Berachoth 33 b. All conditions of man’s existence are ordained by G-d except whether or not man will be G-d fearing. It is thus an expression of common usage.
And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the expression [before us] is similar to the verse, And unto man He said: ‘Behold, the fear of the Eternal, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’¹⁹⁵Job 28:28. And so the Rabbis have said with regard to the reward for [performance of] the commandments:¹⁹⁶Menachoth 29 b. There the story is told that, when Moses was in heaven to receive the Torah, he noticed the tagim, the small crown-like decorations atop many of the letters of the Torah. He asked G-d what the tagim represented. G-d answered, “Many generation from now, there will live a man named Akiba, the son of Joseph. He will explain every dot and decoration of all letters.” Moses then requested that he be permitted to listen to one of Rabbi Akiba’s lectures. After hearing it, Moses returned to G-d and said, “You have a man like Akiba and you give the Torah through me!” G-d answered, “Be silent; so I have decreed.” Moses then asked that he be shown Rabbi Akiba’s reward. G-d answered, “Turn around,” Moses then saw etc. — Rabbi Akiba was one of the Ten Martyrs from among the greatest Rabbis of the generation who were put to death by command of the Roman Emperor Hadrian for their public defiance of the Roman ban against studying the Torah and the general practice of Judaism. See Vol. II, p. 301, and Note 369. “Moses saw that they [i.e., the Romans] were cutting the flesh of [the martyr] Rabbi Akiba in meat markets. Moses said to G-d, ‘Master of the universe! Is this the reward for such [knowledge of the] Torah!’ The Holy One, blessed be He, replied, ‘Be silent, thus have I decreed.’”¹⁹⁷In his Shaar Ha’gmul (Gate of the Reward) Ramban writes as follows in explanation of this text: “The Sages thereby wanted to say that Rabbi Akiba’s death through sufferings was not occasioned by the few wrongdoings which every person, even the most righteous, cannot escape, for he was a perfect, righteous man. But the matter is hidden, such being His decree and will” (Kithvei Haramban, Vol. II, p. 275). Ramban, however, proceeds to connect the matter with the secret of the transmigration of souls (see Vol. II, p. 300 and Note 361). You will understand this from what He has said to Moses, And as for thee, stand thou here by Me.¹⁹⁸Verse 28.

ליראה אותי ולשמר את כל מצותי, "to revere Me and to observe all My commandments." What is the reason that revering G'd does not include keeping His commandments so that the Torah had to mention it separately? Perhaps the reason is that fear of G'd resulted in a negative phenomenon when it became the cause that led to the making of the golden calf. When the people were afraid that Moses would not return, they were afraid that they no longer had an intermediary to whom G'd could speak to on their behalf. They feared that as a result G'd would speak to them directly as He had done during the first two of the Ten Commandments. At that time they had feared for their lives and begged for an intermediary. To forestall such a situation they hastened to make the golden calf as a substitute for the missing intermediary Moses. Tanchuma on Parshat Ki Tissa has told us that the calf actually spoke, thus lending credence to the belief that it was an intermediary. This is why G'd was specific, saying to revere Me as well as to observe My commandments. Henceforth reverence for G'd must lead only to observance of the commandments.

מי יתן והיה לבבם זה להם ליראה אותי ולשמר את כל מצותי, “Who can assure that their hearts should remain theirs to fear Me and observe all My commandments!” The reason there is some doubt about this is that G’d has granted us free will and although “everything is within the power of heaven,” the exception is the ability of man, the creature, to choose his path in life.

מי יתן והיה לבבם , “Oh that they had such a heart, etc.;” even though it was within G-d’s power to grant the people such a heart, He preferred to use a syntax familiar to them.

למען ייטב להם, "in order that He will be good to them, etc." This means that the words: "who would give" were not said in order to describe the usefulness of such an attitude by the Israelites for G'd, but in order for the Israelites to reap the benefits of G'd's love which is the result of listening to His prophet.

V. 27. שובו לכם לאהליכם: kehret wieder zu eurer gewohnten Häuslichkeit zurück. Sie waren derselben (Schmot 19, 15) durch göttliche Anordnung in Veranlassung der Gesetzoffenbarung bereits seit drei Tagen entzogen, und bedurfte es der ausdrücklichen Aufhebung dieser Anordnung, um wieder in das alte Verhältnis zurückzutreten. Beza 5 a wird dies als Beispiel für den Satz aufgeführt, dass: כל דבר שבמנין צריך מנין אחר להתירו, dass eine von zuständiger Autorität getroffene Bestimmung nicht mit Wegfall der Veranlassung von selbst außer Kraft tritt, sondern der ausdrücklichen Aufhebung von zuständiger Autorität bedarf (siehe תוספות daselbst und Sanhedrin 59 b).

THAT THEY MAY DO THEM IN THE LAND. I have explained it.¹⁹⁹Above, 4:5.

THAT THEY MAY DO THEM IN THE LAND. I have explained it.¹⁹⁹Above, 4:5.

ואתה פה עמד עמדי, "As for you, stand here with Me, etc." The reason for this is that seeing that up until now the Israelites had not made Moses their intermediary to accept the commandments on their behalf, G'd told Moses to stand next to Him so that He could speak to him and tell him all the commandments which he was to teach the people. Perhaps the meaning of the verse is that as far as G'd is concerned as soon as He had informed Moses of the commandments He considered the Israelites as having received these commandments. Legally, this works as follows: Supposing a woman authorises someone to accept a marriage proposal on her behalf she is considered legally marrried as soon as her delegate has received the necessary gift and documentation. The delegate's "hand" is considered as equivalent to her own. In similar fashion, once Moses, Israel's delegate, had received the commandments, Israel was committed to observe them. This is what G'd meant when He said: "and I will say them to you." He added: "you will teach them and they will carry them out."

'ואתה עמוד פה עמדי ואדברה אליך ...ועשו בארץ וגוthis is a reference to when Moses had said in 4,14 “G’d commanded me at that time to teach you to perform the commandments applicable in the Holy Land.”

ואתה פה עמוד עמדי ואדברה אליך את כל המצוה והחקים והמשפטים, “and you, stand here with Me, and I will say to you all the ceremonial laws, the statutes and the social laws.” When G’d uses the term דבור as distinct from אמירה He refers to the written Torah; i.e. the area over which Moses’ prophecy extended. This is why G’d mentioned that He only “said” it to “you,” i.e. to Moses, seeing that the rest of the people would receive these messages in written form on a Torah scroll. When Moses refers to the people who had originally received these laws the wording is not אליכם but אתכם, i.e. “as the Lord your G’d commanded you at Sinai when you heard the words from His mouth” (verse 30). [The word את always describes some closer relationship than the word אל, such as the difference between ואהבת לרעך and 'ואהבת את ה].

V. 28. ואתה פה עמד עמדי für Mosche aber, der der Gesetzoffenbarung verbleibt, ist die פרישה מן האהל nicht aufgehoben, er kehrte in das Zusammenleben der Ehe nicht zurück, und gab dies die Veranlassung zu den tadelnden Äußerungen der Geschwister (Bamidbar 12, 1 u. 2 — siehe daselbst — und Schabbat 87 a תוספו׳ daselbst).

ואתה פה עמוד עמדי, “but as for you, stay here with Me!” G-d invites Moses to again spend time with Him by ascending the Mountain.

ועשו בארץ, “they shall perform it in the land.” This wording was now appropriate as the people were nearing their destination. Alternatively, the reason for adding the word בארץ is simply because the entire panorama of commandments is designed first and foremost for performance in the land of Israel. I have mentioned this previously (4,14).

מצוה ,את כל המצוה והחקים והמשפטים begreift hier wohl das ganze Gesetz als Verpflichtung, es ist keine bloße Theorie, jeder Ausspruch desselben bringt eine Pflicht unserem inneren und äußeren Leben, weist uns an auf dem Lebensposten, auf welchen uns Gott gestellt, was wir zu tun und zu lassen haben (siehe Bereschit S. 48). חקים und משפטים sind die beiden Hauptkategorien, unter welchen die einzelnen Teile des Gesetzes, hier der מצוה, am häufigsten vergegenwärtigt werden: die Gesetze für unser individuelles sittliches Leben und diejenigen für unser soziales Rechtsleben. Es sind dies diejenigen, die in allererster Linie das Gedeihen unseres Einzel- und Gesamtlebens bedingen und zu denen alle übrigen Gesetze sich wie die Pflegerinnen, Erzieherinnen und Bildnerinnen verhalten.

ועשו בארץ, “in order that they will perform them in the land, etc.” Moses refers to what he had said in Deut. 4,14:, that the Lord had commanded him to teach the people His commandments.

ועשו בארץ: sie erhalten nur das Land, um darin dieses Gesetz zur vollen Verwirklichung zu bringen.

YE SHALL OBSERVE TO DO, THEREFORE, AS THE ETERNAL YOUR G-D COMMANDED YOU. This warning alludes to the Ten Commandments which G-d Himself communicated to them directly, and afterwards he admonished them with respect to the rest of the commandments which they said they [preferred to] hear from Moses and [they promised] to perform them. Therefore, he said, And this is the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances which the Eternal your G-d commanded to teach you,²⁰⁰Further, 6:1. since G-d agreed to your request and He commanded me to teach you the entire balance of the Torah, that ye may live,²⁰¹Verse 30. that He may fulfill the number of your days,²⁰²See Exodus 23:26. and that it may be well with you²⁰¹Verse 30. with all the good that He promised you in the section of If ye walk in My statutes²⁰³Leviticus 26:2. and other sections besides; and that ye may prolong your days in the Land²⁰¹Verse 30. that you will inherit for your children forever.

ושמרתם לעשות, seeing that things have developed in this fashion it is no more than a minimal request that you observe and carry out G’d’s commandments,

ושמרתם לעשות כאשר צוה ה' אלוקיכם אתכם, “You shall be careful to act in accordance with what the Lord your G’d commanded you;” Nachmanides writes that this verse is a warning to meticulously observe the Ten Commandments, commandments which G’d personally gave to them at the Revelation.

VV. 29 u. 30. ושמרתם לעשות וגו׳ ist nun die Anrede Mosche an das Volk und zieht die Konsequenz aus allem Bisherigen. Zuerst ושמרתם: die Verpflichtung zu treuester Erfüllung als Verpflichtung gegen Gott, und sodann ׳בכל הדרך וגו als einziger Weg zu unserem glücklichen Leben in der Gegenwart und zu der Dauer unseres Glückes in aller Zukunft.

ולא תסורו ימין ושמאל, neither to add to them even if your intentions are good, nor to detract from them.

למען תחיו וטוב לכם, in order that you will live enduringly in a good and happy frame of mind.

בכל הדרך…למען תחיון, "all along the way …in order that you may live, etc." The meaning of תחיון וטוב לכם והארכתם means "long life on earth." The additional promise of וטוב לכם refers to the good which they will experience in the hereafter. The meaning of the word והארכתם ימים בארץ is that the Israelites will not ever be exiled from their land.

והארכתם ימים בארץ אשר תירשון, so that you will acquire “long life” in a world which is itself one of unlimited duration.

According to the view of Rabbi Yaakov in Kidushin 39 that there is no reward in this life for the commandments we observe, it appears that even this Rabbi concedes that if someone is a totally righteous person who has observed all the commandments which it is possible for him to observe, he will experience some reward even in this life. The kind of person who was the subject of Rabbi Yaakov's statement is the one whose credits outweigh his debits. The Talmud on the folio quoted supports Rabbi Yaakov's view and adopts it as normative.

From the above you may conclude that only people who are guilty of sins,- though these are outweighed by their good deeds-qualify for the statement in the Talmud that such people will experience afflictions in this life. The reason for this is so that such people will not have to experience afflictions in the hereafter for unatoned sins. When a person is not guilty of such sins he obviously will enjoy the benefits this life has to offer. The Torah alludes to this when writing that "if you walk along the whole way" which G'd has commanded. Such a person will enjoy both the hereafter and the good life in this world. The Torah underlines this by not just writing: "you will enjoy long life," but by writing: "you will enjoy long life on the land you are going to inherit." Had the Torah not added these extra words I would have interpreted the reference to long life as referring to the kind of life which is long by definition, i.e. the hereafter.