신명기 31:9의 주석

ויכתב משה ... ויתנה AND MOSES WROTE [THIS LAW] AND GAVE IT [UNTO THE PRIESTS, THE SONS OF LEVI] — When it was completely finished he gave it to the sons of his tribe.

AND MOSES WROTE THIS LAW — from the beginning of Bereshith to in the sight of all Israel.⁹Ibid., 34:12. Even though it is written here, thou shalt read this law before all Israel,¹⁰Verse 11. and according to the opinion of our Rabbis,¹¹Sotah 41a. Therefore, how can the expression this Law in Verse 9, refer to the entire Torah, while in Verse 11 the same expression refers to the Book of Deuteronomy? Ramban proceeds to answer this question. it refers to this Book of Deuteronomy,¹¹Sotah 41a. Therefore, how can the expression this Law in Verse 9, refer to the entire Torah, while in Verse 11 the same expression refers to the Book of Deuteronomy? Ramban proceeds to answer this question. at this point, he reverted and explained, And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this Law in a book, until they were finished.¹²Further, Verse 24. This includes the entire Torah. [Hence the expression this Law in the verse before us means the entire Torah, while in the following Verse 11, concerning the reading in the Assembly, the same expression refers only to the Book of Deuteronomy.]

את התורה הזאת, a reference to the final commandment in the Torah, Hakhel, for the king to read the Torah once in seven years before the entire Jewish people, minors and babies in arms included.

ויכתוב משה את התורה הזאת, “Moses wrote down this whole Torah, etc.” The whole Torah from Genesis to the last word in vezot hab’rachah. This is so, in spite of the fact that when the Torah reports that he read it all out באזניהם, as G’d had commanded him, “before their ears,” this suggests that they heard him report about his death and about his funeral, etc. [I do not know what verse the author refers to. I have not found a verse which states that Moses read out the entire Torah before the people. Verses 11-12, refer to hakhel, and about a location that G’d has chosen for that event, certainly not to the wilderness of Moav. According to verse 24 the priests placed this Torah scroll into the Holy Ark as soon as Moses had completed writing it. Ed.]

ויכתוב משה את התורה הזאת, “Moses wrote down this Torah.” This means that he wrote down the entire Torah commencing with Genesis up to the last words in Deut. 34,12: “before the eyes of all of Israel.” When we read in verse 11 of our chapter: “you will read this Torah,” this refers only to the Book of Deuteronomy (Sotah 41).

When it was completely finished, etc. Rashi's intention is to explain that the Torah that is mentioned here means the entire Torah from Bereishis until in view of all of Yisroel (Devarim 34:12). It is not referring to the Torah which he wrote after this, which means only Mishne Torah [Devarim]. For why would he give only Mishne Torah to the Kohanim, and not the entire Torah?

V. 9. ויכתב משה וגו׳. Schon Schmot 24, 7 u. 34, 27 hören wir, dass Mosche Teile des göttlichen Gesetzes niedergeschrieben hatte. Jetzt aber, nachdem er auch alles seitdem Erfolgte niedergeschrieben hatte und die Schrift der תורה für beendet hielt, übergab er sie den Priestern mit dem sich daran knüpfenden Gebote der siebenjährlichen Vorlesung daraus vor dem zum Feste versammelten Volke. Der Auftrag zur שירה, und diese noch der Toraschrift anzufügen und damit die Tora zu schließen, ward ihm erst später V. 14 f. — הכהנים בני לוי הנשאים. Die Bundeslade war sonst von den Leviten des Stammes Kehat zu tragen (Bamidbar 3, 31), und so heißen auch V. 25 die Leviten, הלוים נשאי ארון וגו׳. Allein ausnahmsweise bei besonders hervorragender Gelegenheit wurde sie von Priestern getragen. So beim Durchzug durch den Jordan (Josua 3, 3 f.), bei der Umschreitung Jericho׳s (daselbst 6, 6) und bei der endlichen Einbringung derselben in das Allerheiligste des von Salomo erbauten Tempels (Kön, I. 8, 3; siehe Sota 33 b). Auch scheint der Moment der ersten Übergabe der Schrift der Tora an die Priester und Ältesten ein solcher gewesen zu sein, für welchen die כהנים mit dem ארון ברית ד׳ zu erscheinen hatten, und dies um so mehr, da sich daran eine Aufgabe knüpft, deren Ausführung einer Zeit angehörte, in welcher die Bundeslade und mit ihr auch diese von Mosche gefertigte Schrift (V. 26) bereits eine von Gott erwählte Stätte hatte, wo sie unter Obhut der Priester und nicht mehr in Händen der Leviten war. Dies erklärt auch den Wechsel der Ausdrücke. Hier heißt es: אל הכהנים בני לוי הנשאים וגו׳, sie trugen nur in dem Augenblick die Lade. V. 25 heißen aber die Leviten נשאי ארון וגו׳, sie waren die ständigen Träger derselben. Dass dieser Moment Sota 33 b nicht mit aufgeführt ist, dürfte sich daraus erklären, dass dieses Erscheinen mit der Lade nur für den Augenblick und kein Tragen von Ort zu Ort war, das eigentlich zu dem Beruf der Leviten gehörte.

'אל הכהנים בני לוי הנושאים את הארון וגו, “to the priests the members of the tribe of Levi, who were charged with carrying the Holy Ark, etc.” Even though it was the Levites who carried the Holy Ark, and not the priests, (Numbers 7,8) as soon as Moses had died, the priests carried the Holy Ark when the Israelites were in the process of crossing the river Jordan. (Compare Talmud, tractate Sotah folio 33). They did so again when the people marched around Jericho and when they returned the Ark to its place in the days of King Solomon, when it was transferred from the Tabernacle. (Kings I 8,6) An alternate interpretation: seeing that it was the priests who assigned the transportation of the Ark to the Levites, as spelled out in Numbers 4,5, they could have been described as the prime movers. They were referred to there as נושאי הארון, “the carriers of the Ark.”

ויתנה אל הכהנים בני לוי, from whose hands the King who would read it in public would receive it. The Talmud Sotah 41 describes that the Torah scroll passed from the deputy High Priest’s hands to those of the High Priest himself, who in turn handed it to the King.

הנושאים את ארון, one of the three occasions when the priests rather than the ordinary Levites carried the Ark; at the time when the miracle of the waters being split would occur once more, the priests carrying the Ark were the catalyst.

ואל כל זקני ישראל, from whom the priests had received the Torah scroll on that occasion. On the folio in Sotah 41 mentioned earlier, the details of this whole procedure are described.