Komentarz do Powtórzonego Prawa 32:39

ראו עתה SEE NOW — Realise now from the punishment which I have brought upon you and from which there was no one to save you, and, on the other hand, from the help which I will render you and there will be none who can prevent Me,

For it is I! I am the One!. It repeats the word “I” to negate the view of those who say that there are two deities, one who rules over good, and one who rules over evil… The proof of this is that it states, “I put to death and make live … and no one can rescue from My grasp.” If there was another deity with Me, he would save from My hand, and the dead would live, the living would die instantly. From this you can understand and know that there is no other deity Our Sages learned from here the source for the resurrection of the dead in the Torah (Pesachim 68a), as it states, “I put to death and make live.” One might think that this refers to putting one person to death and making another person live, therefore the verse states, “I smite and I will heal.” Just as smiting and healing are referring to the same person , so too death and life refer to the same person. The support for their opinion is that it first states, “put to death” and then “make live”.

ראו עתה כי אני אני הוא, realise now that it had been I Who had brought disaster in exile upon you!

ראו עתה כי אני אני הוא, "See, now, that I, I am He." Moses repeats the word אני twice, once each vis-a-vis the two kinds of idolators we have just described. The word אני, emphasises "I and no one else" when applied to the first kind of idolator, whereas it means "I alone," when applied to the second kind of idolator. He continues: ואין אלוהים עמדי, "and there is no other deity with Me," that there are no intermediaries between G'd and His creatures.

ראו עתה כי אני אני הוא, G’d addresses the nations of the earth who have said: ”where is their G’d?,” that when they would now experience G’d’s judgment and how He avenges the injustice done to His people, that He is very much around, notwithstanding their mockery of Him.

ראו, “See!” Moses addresses the nations collectively, hence the plural mode.

ראו עתה כי אני אני הוא, “see now, that I, I am He.” The word אני, as well as the words אתה or הוא, describe a presence, an existence of the subject. They are both nouns [as opposed to pronouns. Ed.] just as in Sukkah 48: אני והו הושיעה נא. I have already explained that verse in Exodus 15,2 when discussing the words זה א-לי ואנוהו.
Moses is at the point where he sums up what he has been saying in this song. The function of these nouns (names) here is to express love and foretell that those who have been scattered will once again be gathered in and united [describing Himself in the first person as well as in the third person is G’d’s way of hinting at the fact that what had been scattered can be fused together again. Ed.]
Subsequently, G’d continues with: “I kill, but I also revive.” This is an allusion to the resurrection which will follow the redemption after a relatively brief interval. He then continues, quoting the Lord, with: “I am the One Who lives forever.” (verse 40). This is an allusion to the world of the future which will follow the era of the life of the resurrected bodies. This is in accordance with the view expressed in Sanhedrin 90 that the dead who will be resurrected at the time of the resurrection will not die again. (See lengthy treatment of the subject on Deut. 30,15). These people will be transferred to a celestial region with body and soul intact, where they will continue a life which knows no death. Concerning this life, our sages always say that “people destined for it have been ‘invited’ to the world of the future.” This is the ultimate purpose of the whole system of reward and punishment, and concerning this experience even the prophet Isaiah 64,3 already said that it is beyond the powers of any prophet to describe, as none has been privileged to have been shown a vision of it. It is something reserved exclusively for G’d to show to the people so honored.
To give us an even stronger hint of the concealed nature of what life in that region will be like, the word לעלם, “forever,” has been spelled without the letter ו. Our sages compare this to the first vision of G’d Moses experienced in Exodus 3,15 where G’d also used this word when He said זה שמי לעלם, “this is My Name forever.” There too our sages point to he absence of the letter ו, i.e. at the concealed elements of such a future. Whereas up until now, Moses had been speaking, at this juncture, G’d resumes speaking. Hearing the promise of a redemption from G’d directly is more reassuring than hearing it through the words of an intermediary. It convinces the listeners that the ingathering will be orchestrated by G’d Himself, not through one of His agents. If and when this occurs, all the nations will sing the praises of His people (verse 43).

It is I Who humbles, etc. Rashi explains the necessity of the repetition of the word “I (אני).”

V. 39. ראו וגו׳. Nun, nachdem alles, alles andere, worauf ihr eure Zuversicht gesetzt, sich euch nutzlos und nichtig erwiesen, und von keiner Seite euch Hilfe und Rettung winkt, nun sehet, כי אני אני הוא, dass Ich allein Ich bin, Ich allein die absolute, von nichts abhängige, ihr Sein nur in Sich tragende, in ihrem Wollen durch nichts bedingte ewig unveränderliche, Ich allein die einzige wirkliche Persönlichkeit bin, der gegenüber alles andere bedingt und in seinem Gegensatz nichtig ist, von der somit alles Gewordene ward und alles Werdende allein zu erhoffen ist, der daher allein euch bleibt, nachdem mit Ihm, als ihr ihn verließet, alles andere euch verlassen. אני אמית ואחיה, in mir allein wohnt der ewige Quell alles Seins und Lebens, Ich töte, Ich belebe auch wieder, מחצתי, wie Ich es war, der euch geschlagen, ואני ארפא, so bin auch Ich es allein, der , ich euch wieder heile, ואין מידי מציל: ihr habt geglaubt, euch durch Huldigung anderer Schutzmächte meiner Beherrschung und Leitung entziehen zu können, ihr sehet nun, wie ich euch doch mir nicht habe verloren gehen lassen, wie ich, wenngleich auf langen Umwegen, über Wege des Todes und des Leidens euch wieder zu meiner ausschließlichen Herrschaft und Leitung zurückführe.

ראו עתה כי אני אני הוא, “See, now, that I, I am He;” As to those who had mockingly asked where the Israelites’ G–d was when they were in exile and persecuted, now they would see that He is not only the G–d of the Israelites but the G–d over the whole universe and what it contains. He is about to demonstrate this. And as far as considering themselves as His junior partners,

ראו עתה כי אני אני הוא, “See now that I, even I am He;” thus says the Lord to the nations that had enslave Israel.

אני אני הוא [THAT] IT IS I, EVEN I — I am He Who have the power to abase (make low) and it is I who have the power to raise,

ואין אלוהים עמדי, I had not required the assistance of any other deity. Your misfortune was not due to any celestial forces appointed by Me.

כי אני אני הוא, “that I, I am He;” I am unique, have no duplicate.

אני אמית ואחיה, "It is I who kill and who bring to life." This statement is addressed to the people who believe that there are two distinct forces at work in the universe, a benevolent one and a destructive one. The Torah goes on record that this is not so, but that all fateful decisions are exclusively G'd's domain. In order to emphasise that G'd intervenes even in what appear to be minutiae, G'd adds: "I strike down and I heal."

ואין אלהים עמדי, “there is no other deity beside Me.”
אני אתית ואני אחיה, “I cause death, and I resurrect (exclusively).” I alone possess this power, and only I am able to resurrect the dead.

כי אני אני הוא, “I am the One Who will not change, always remain the same;”

ואין אלהים עמדי AND THERE IS NO GOD WITH ME — i.e. standing against Me to prevent this.

אני אמית ואחיה, only I decree death and resurrection.(compare Ezekiel 37,12)

ואין אלוהים עמדי, “and no deity is with Me.” I do not have nor need any helper. There is no one who can effectively oppose Me, and prevent Me from carrying out anything I have set My mind to do. Ibn Ezra says that the meaning of the repetition in the phrase אני אני הוא, is that G’d announces that He is constant and will not undergo any change. I am the G’d, Who, when the need arises brings death to Israel, and I am the same G’d, Who, when the situation warrants it, brings this people back to life. They will be saved, but from no other source than Myself. Many commentators say that the concept of a future world, one beyond death, is derived plainly from this verse. They prove this from G’d saying first: “I will kill,” and then “I will revive,” and not the reverse order according to which physical death is the end of the human existence. The same thought is expressed in the same sequence as מוריד שאול ויעל, ”He brings death and gives life.“ (Samuel I 2,6 Channah’s prayer of thanksgiving.)

ואין מידי מציל. "and there is no one who can rescue from My hand." This means that all creatures are mortal. In order to make this point clear G'd did not say ואין מציל מידי, but ואין מידי מציל.

מחצתי ואני ארפא, “I have wounded and I am able to heal.” I will heal them, (My people). Concerning what you gentiles have said sarcastically: יקומו ויעזרכם, “let them arise and help you,” there is no one who can help other than I who can help you. By the same token, no one can save you from Me. (if I decide your destruction).

אני אמית ואחיה, “I kill and I resurrect;” about Him it has been said: ובלע המות לנצח, “He will do away with death forever;” (Isaiah 25,8) now the time has come that I will bring to life מחצתי, “I have wounded;” a reference to what He did to the Israelites in the not too distant past; ואני ארפה, “and I heal;” from now on I will heal them to remain well permanently.

עמדי means, who is my equal and like Me.

מחצתי, I have smashed, by decreeing your unsettled condition, forcing you to move from one country to another without taking permanent root in any of them. (compare Kings I 14,15) where the prophet compares the existence of the Jewish people after G’d has chastised them as similar to that of a reed which is constantly moving.

ואין מידי מציל AND THERE IS NONE WHO CAN DELIVER OUT OF MY HAND those who rebel against Me.

ואני ארפא, and only I can bring healing, as described in Isaiah 30,26.