신명기 3:26의 인용 해설

“Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you.” The Yalkut concludes that since Abram was afraid that perhaps he had already received his reward in this world and would have nothing in the World to Come, the Holy One, Blessed be He said to him, “Do not fear, your reward is prepared for the future to come.” This is what is meant by very much, as it is written How abundant is Your goodness that You have stored away for those who fear You (Psalms 31:20). However, this midrash is difficult to understand — if so, what is meant when Abram said What will You give me, as I go childless, etc.? What is the connection between children and reward in the World to Come? This can be resolved based on what is concluded in the chapter “Yesh Nochlin” (Bava Batra 117a): Rabbi Yochanan said, “Anyone who does not leave a son to inherit from him, the Holy One, Blessed be He is filled with wrath against him.” It is written here You shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter (Numbers 27:8) and it is written there A day of wrath is that day (Zephaniah 1:15). The question arises: Why did he bring proof from the Prophetic writings to the words of Torah? He should have brought proof from the verse And the Lord became angry with me for your sake (Deuteronomy 3:26). Rather, he wanted to bring proof about the concept itself and not just about the language, because Rabbi Yochanan held that anyone who doesn’t leave a son to inherit from him will not be exempted from Gehenna, which is called “a day of wrath.” Rabbi Yochanan follows his own reasoning, as he interpreted the verse Those who have no changes, and do not fear God (Psalms 55:20) as referring to one who does not leave a son, because this certainly stems from not fearing God, as it is said Fortunate is everyone who fears the Lord (Psalms 128:1) and adjacent to it is written Your children will be like olive shoots, etc. Indeed so shall be blessed the man who fears the Lord. Therefore, Abram said: What reward will You give me for the World to Come when I go childless, as my judgment will be in Gehenna as stated? And if You say to give my reward in this world, regarding this it is written And Abram said, ‘Behold, You have given me no offspring, and my steward will inherit me.’ See this entire exposition in the portion Pinchas on the verse Ascend these heights of Avarim (Numbers 27:12), for it is a precious exposition.

Personally, I feel that this paragraph was addressed by Moses exclusively to the ears of Joshua. By emphasizing the words ה' אלוקיך, Moses wanted to tell Joshua something about the high level of his prophetic powers. Targum Yonathan ben Uzziel also understood it in this sense when he rendered the words as שכינתיה, i.e. implying that “the Lord your G’d is walking ahead of you.” The word הוא is a limitation, suggesting that whereas the Lord Himself had walked ahead of Moses, His Shechinah, a lesser attribute, would walk in front of Joshua. Proof of this is found in verse 3 where Moses described the attribute of Hashem as speaking to him. No mention is made there of a lesser attribute than that of Hashem. Moses referred to the time in Deut. 3,26 when G’d had told him that he would not cross the Jordan. It says there ויאמר ה' אלי אל תוסף לדבר, “the Lord said to me: ‘do not continue to speak, etc.’” The careful phrasing of every single word in the written Torah reveals the nuances of intimacy with which G’d related to people such as Moses or Joshua, etc. This reflects the statement of our sages that if we compare the face of Moses to the sun, that of Joshua is comparable to the moon (Baba Batra 75).

V. 5. וימת וגו׳ ,על פי ד׳. Es war Gottes ausgesprochene Bestimmung, daß Mosche im jenseitigen Lande sterben solle. Das Bedeutungsvolle dieses Umstandes für die ganze Sendung Mosche haben wir bereits wiederholt erörtert (siehe Bamidbar 20, 12 u. 27, 14, sowie Dewarim 3, 26). Daher diese ausdrückliche Erwähnung im Momente des Ereignisses. – Baba Batra 15a differieren die Ansichten. Nach der einen habe Josua die acht Verse von hier bis zum Schlusse geschrieben, nach der anderen seien auch diese Verse wie die ganze תורה von Mosche Hand nach Gottes Diktat, nur habe bis dahin Mosche das von Gott Vernommene vor dem Niederschreiben sich wiederholt, diese acht Verse aber schweigend mit Tränen geschrieben. עד כאן הב׳׳ה אומר ומשה אומר וכותב מכאן ואילך הב׳׳ה אומר ומשה בותב בדמע. Vielleicht liegt diesem Satze auch der Gedanke zu Grunde: was Mosche bis hierher zu schreiben hatte, war ihm auch für ihn gesprochen, zu seiner Beherzigung, er wiederholte es sich und schrieb es für das Volk nieder. Der Inhalt dieser acht Verse geht aber über sein hieniediges Dasein hinüber, er hatte und zumal auch der Nachruhm, mit dem er schließt, nichts für ihn zu Beherzigendes. Diese acht Verse schrieb er nur ganz objektiv nach Gottes Diktat für sein Volk mit Tränen nieder. – Auch beim Vorlesen desselben, bei קה׳׳ת, macht sich der besondere, schmerzliche Inhalt dieser den Tod Mosche berichtenden Verse darin bemerkbar, daß יחיד קורא אותן (daselbst), daß, nach allgemeinster Auffassung, sie nicht auf mehrere verteilt, sondern nur von einem gelesen werden, ähnlich, wie wir glauben, dem אין מפסיקין בקללות אלא אחד קורא את כולן (Megilla 31a) und zwar, je nach der Auffassung aus ähnlichen Gründen.