Komentarz do Powtórzonego Prawa 32:20

מה אחריתם [I WILL SEE] WHAT THEIR END SHALL BE — i.e. what will come upon them in the end.

AND HE SAID — “that is, and G-d said in His heart, or to the angels. I WILL HIDE MY FACE FROM THEM. This expression is according to the language of man; so also, I will hide Mine eyes from you.⁷¹Isaiah 1:15. And the meaning thereof is that when they will seek Me they will not find Me. I WILL SEE WHAT THEIR END SHALL BE. Some scholars say: ‘I will hide My face from them because I see what they will do in the end.’ But the correct interpretation is as its simple implication: ‘[I will hide My face] until I will see what they do in their distress.’” Thus far are the words of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra. Now the word vayomer (and He said) applies only to the thought and the will before Him to do so, [rather than to an actual statement], similar to the expression and G-d said⁷²Genesis 1:3. in the account of Creation. I have already explained it.⁷³Ibid. (Vol. I, pp. 27-28). I have also explained the expression My face by way of the Truth.⁷⁴Exodus 20:3 (Vol. II, pp. 290-291). Thus, I will hide My face means that I will remove My Divine Presence. I will see what their end shall be is similar to I will go down now, and see,⁷⁵Genesis 18:21. which I have already explained.⁷⁶Ibid., Verse 20 (Vol. I, pp. 243-245). For they are a generation of perversity⁷⁷In Verse 20 before us. and they will not be able to stand up before Me. Children in whom is no ‘eimun’ (training),⁷⁷In Verse 20 before us. for they have no nurse nor tutor. The person learned in the mysteries of the Cabala will understand.⁷⁸See Ramban to Leviticus 26:42 (Vol. III, p. 475): “Ask on my behalf about the welfare of she who raises them” (Abusaula).
Now, up to this point Moses utters the Song and speaks in the first person. From this verse onward, wherein he mentioned, And the Eternal saw, and spurned,⁷⁹Verse 19. And He said: ‘I will hide My face’⁷⁷In Verse 20 before us. — they are all the words of the Glorious Name:⁸⁰Above, 28:58. They have roused Me to jealousy;⁸¹Verse 21. they have provoked Me,⁸¹Verse 21. and similarly the entire Song [to the end].

אסתירה פני מהם, from the sons and daughters.

כי דור תהפוכות המה, "for they are a generation who have reversed themselves." Inasmuch as G'd had said in the first half of this verse that He would hide His face from them, awaiting what would befall the Israelites, this implies that even if they were to turn penitent -seeing G'd would not observe this as He had stopped watching what the Israelites were doing,- He would not accept such penitence. Moses offers as the reason for such an attitude by G'd that the people have turned already from good to evil; he adds בנים ולא אמון בם, "they are thoroughly faithless children." Even if they were to repent to the point of again qualifying for the description of children (of G'd), such repentance will not endure as they are fickle and do not keep faith. As a result of such considerations G'd hides His face from them.

ויאמר אסתירה פני מהם, “so that He said: ‘I will hide My face from them.” Ibn Ezra refers to commentators who understand this line as being addressed by one attribute of Hashem to another attribute of His. Alternately, Hashem said this to the angels, adding: “let us see how they will fare in the end?” G’d meant that what He was going to do was in order that what He had foreseen as their eventual future could materialize. Ibn Ezra himself feels that the correct interpretation is to understand it at face value, i.e. “let us find out how they will react when they find themselves in serious trouble.”

ויאמר אסתירה פני מהם, “He said: ‘I will hide My face from them.’” I have already mentioned in Genesis 1,3 that the term אמירה, i.e. ויאמר, when applied to G’d reflects a benevolent kind of utterance or thought [when it was not uttered in someone’s hearing such as at the time when there were no creatures as yet who could hear the utterance. Ed.]. We may understand the words אסתירה פני as 'אסתיר ה', “I will hide the attribute ה which is “My face.”

What will occur to them at their end. What is desired is only to know what will happen to them in the end, not what will be their end, for their end will be death. Even without Hashem hiding His face, every creature must die. Rather it means what will be their punishment as a result of Hashem hiding His face.

ויאמר אסתירה פני מהם, so that I said: “I’ll hide My face from them.” According to the Targum, this is an expression meaning that G–d will withdraw His benevolent Presence from them.

אסתירה פני מהם, “I will hide My face from them;” by doing so I will await what awaits them when I do not supervise their fate every minute. We will see how useful the stars will be which they worship instead of Me. (B’chor shor)

כי דור תהפכת המה FOR THEY ARE A GENERATION OF PERVERSITY - i.e. they change (הפך) My goodwill into anger.

אראה מה אחריתם, because I can foresee that there is no chance that they will become penitents.

They upset My good will and turn it to wrath. Not that they are the ones who turn, like its plain meaning. His proof is from that which is it is written, “Because, etc. and the word “because” always explains what precedes it. This is simple to understand.

כי דור תהפוכות המה, “for they are a treacherous generation;” they had considered the beneficial acts I had performed for them as harmful for them. As a result they became disloyal to Me.

כי דור תהפוכות המה, “for they are a perverse generation;” only yesterday they said: “we will carry out everything the Lord bids us to do as soon as we will hear the details;” (Exodus 24,7) today they say to a golden calf: “you have taken us out of Egypt.” (Exodus 32,4)

לא אמן בם means, My training is not evident in them, for I showed them the good way and they have deviated from it.

כי דור תהפוכות המה for they have thoroughly turned their hearts away from the path of the living G’d;

My training is not noticeable in them, etc. The meaning of אמן (breeding) is similar to [the verse], “He אומן (raised) Hadassah” (Esther 2:7). And he adds the word “noticeable” for without this addition it would mean “My training is not in them,” that “I have not trained them.” Therefore he added the word “noticeable.”

אמן is of the same meaning as in (Esther 2:7) “And he brought up (אמן) Hadassah”. Nouriture in old French — Another explanation of אמן: it has the same meaning as אמונה, faithfulness, as the Targum takes it (“in whom there is no faithfulness”). At Sinai they said, “We will do and we will hearken” and after a very short time they broke their promise and made the golden calf (Sifrei Devarim 320:6).

בנים לא אמון בם, completely faithless children who had not learned from their fathers any true values in life.

Another interpretation, אֵמֻן denotes “faithfulness”, etc. According to the first reason it is difficult to explain why it did not say אמן with a vav. Therefore Rashi gives an alternative explanation. And according to the alternative explanation it is difficult because it should have said אמון.