신명기 34:5의 인용 해설

And after the death of Moshe. This is connected to the chapter of the Torah¹The spirit of prophecy did not rest upon Yehoshua until the thirty day mourning period for Moshe was over. It was then that God began to speak to him and command him to begin the conquest of Eretz Yisroel. Yehoshua was in a state of sadness and the spirit of propecy does not rest upon a person who is sad. There are other Seforim in Tanach such as Ruth, Esther, Yonah that begin with the word וַיְהִי, and it was, that are not connected to any previous event. But here the beginning is definitely connected with the conclusion of Sefer Devorim where the death of Moshe is related. which concluded with the passing of Moshe;²Devorim 34:5,6,7,8. and this (Seifer Yehoshua) is connected to it.³Devorim 34:9.

“And this is the blessing which Moses blessed.” The word “vezot” [and this] is entirely superfluous, and the connecting vav [and] of “vezot” needs explanation. It seems that this refers to what was written in Parshat Devarim (1:10-11): The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times as many as you are, etc. And our Sages said (Sifrei Devarim 1:11): “Israel said: ‘Moses, you are putting a limit on our blessings.’ He replied to them: ‘This is from me, but the Lord will bless you as He has spoken to you.’”
If so, Moses had already blessed them with abundance, and that blessing was his own, not from his capacity as a man of God. And that blessing was also before his death, as Rashi explains there (1:3). Therefore, it says here “vezot” with the connecting vav, adding to that blessing with which Moses blessed them from his own accord close to his death. This blessing too he gave them, but not from himself like the first one, rather from his capacity as a man of God, because this entire blessing came to him prophetically from God and was not his own like the first blessing.
He gives a reason why he is now called man of God more than at the first blessing — because this was before his death, very close to his actual death, more so than during the first blessing. After all, in the interim he had taught Israel the entire book of Deuteronomy, so certainly now he was closer to his death than he was at the first blessing. Nevertheless, God did not attach His special name to him, but only the name “Elohim,” which is shared between God and man. But at his death it says (Deuteronomy 34:5): And Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there, for then the special Name was attached to him.

AND THIS IS THE BLESSING WHEREWITH MOSES THE MAN OF G-D BLESSED THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL BEFORE HIS DEATH. It states the man of G-d in order to indicate that his blessing will be fulfilled because he was the man of G-d, and the prayer of the upright is His delight.¹Proverbs 15:8. Now Scripture calls Moses our teacher the man of G-d, and so also the rest of the prophets,²The Sifre, Brachah 342, lists eighteen prophets of whom Scripture speaks as ‘men of G-d.’ Elijah,³I Kings 17:18. and others,⁴Those not identified by name. Thus: And there came a man of G-d to Eli (I Samuel 2:27), and other similar cases. but it does not state “the man of the Eternal;” instead it says Moses the ‘servant’ of the Eternal.⁵Joshua 1:1. Moses is the servant of the Eternal Who has created everything, and Moses’ conception of Him was like that of a servant who is afraid to behold his master. Moses was also the man of G-d, since all his deeds and words came by command of the Almighty (Ma’or V’shamesh). The reason is known to every student learned in [the mystic lore of] the Torah. So also by way of the Truth, [the expression ‘v’zoth habrachah’ (and this is the blessing) means that] “v’zoth is the blessing” [as explained further on], for From the Eternal has ‘zoth’ (this) come.⁶Psalms 118:23. — “By way of the Truth,” another name for the teachings of the Cabala, thus begins a new thought of Ramban. First he intimated that the reason for Scripture stating the man of G-d and not “the man of the Eternal” is known to every student of the mysteries of the Torah. And now he begins to explain, on the basis of the Cabala, the unique expression of v’zoth habrachah. Similarly it is said in the case of Jacob, ‘v’zoth’ (and ‘this’ is) what their father [Jacob] spoke unto them.⁷Genesis 49:28. It was this blessing that David meant when he said, ‘Zoth’ (this) came to pass unto me, because I have kept Thy precepts,⁸Psalms 119:56. alluding to Zion the city of David, for there the Eternal commanded the blessing, even life forever.⁹Ibid., 133:3. The student learned in the mysteries of the Cabala will understand. Our Rabbis meant this secret in their interpretation in Bereshith Rabbah:¹⁰Bereshith Rabbah 100:13. “‘v’zoth’ (and this is) what their father spoke unto them.⁷Genesis 49:28. A man like me is destined to bless you, and, from the very place where I [Jacob] concluded — from there will he begin. At the moment Moses our teacher rose to bless them, he began with ‘v’zoth habrachah’ (and this is the blessing) — from the very place where their father concluded. This then is the meaning of the expression ‘v’zoth’ what their father spoke unto them⁷Genesis 49:28. [their father Jacob told them that the next blessing they receive would be from a man who will begin with v’zoth — v’zoth habrachah]. He [i.e., the patriarch Jacob] said to them: When will these blessings reach you? From the time you accept the Torah, in which is written, ‘V’zoth’ (And this is) the Law etc. ”¹¹Above 4:44. For this word zoth alludes to the blessing which is the Torah, and this is the covenant, as it is written ‘Zoth’ (this is) My covenant.¹²Genesis 17:10. I have already mentioned this.¹³Ibid., 2:20 (Vol. I, p. 79); Exodus 25:3 (Vol. II, pp. 437-438).

and eight verses – From "And Moses died" (Deut. 34:5) to the end of the book.

And Yehoshua wrote, etc.¹²What were the words that Yehoshua wrote and where did he write them? It might be inferred that he wrote the words of his admonishment to the people and inserted them in the Sefer Torah of Moshe, but we know this is not true. According to Targum Yonasan— And Yehoshua wrote these words, and concealed them in the Sefer Torah of God.¹³According to Targum Yonasan, He merely placed them where the Sefer Torah was kept, which was in the Ark. In Maseches Makos,¹⁴ 11a. two Amoraim argue [about what Yehoshua wrote]. One says that it refers to the eight verses from ‘And Moshe died’ until ‘in view of all of Yisroel,’ for the Sefer Torah was incomplete and he [Yehoshua] completed it.¹⁵See Devorim 34:5-12. These verses describe the passing of Moshe. Could Moshe have written them himself? How could he have written them while he was alive when they were not yet true? Moshe could not have written that he had died when it had not yet happened. This Amora says therefore that the final eight verses were written by Yehoshua. The other one says that this refers to the chapter of the cities of refuge¹⁶See above, Chapter 20. which he wrote in his book [Sefer Yehoshua] as they were written in the Sefer Torah.