Komentarz do Powtórzonego Prawa 34:12

ולכל היד החזקה AND IN ALL THAT STRONG HAND — this refers to the fact that he received the Torah that was on the Tablets, in his hands.

AND IN ALL THE MIGHTY HAND. This alludes to the division of the Red Sea concerning which it is said, And Israel saw the great hand.³⁴⁷Exodus 14:31. AND IN ALL THE GREAT TERROR. This is a reference to the Revelation³⁴⁸Literally: “‘the stand’ (ma’amad) at Mount Sinai.” See Vol. II, p. 251, Note 17. concerning which it is stated and that His fear may be before you.³⁴⁹Exodus 20:17. He mentioned concerning these [two events] that they were done in the sight of all Israel, because he had already referred to all that was done to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land.³⁵⁰Verse 11. And in the Sifre it is stated:³⁵¹Sifre, end of Brachah. “And in all the mighty hand — this refers to the smiting of the firstborn, about which it is said, for by a mighty hand shall he send them away.³⁵²Exodus 6:1. And in all the great terror — this alludes to the division of the Red Sea. Another interpretation: And in all the great terror — this is the Giving of the Torah.”
And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the mighty hand is the attribute of justice, similar to the expressions: the hand of the Eternal was upon me;³⁵³Ezekiel 37:1. for the hand of the Eternal hath wrought this.³⁵⁴Job 12:9. Therefore it is said with reference to [His] judgment, for the hand of the Eternal is gone forth against me.³⁵⁵Ruth 1:13. And the great terror is the attribute of mercy, similar to what is written, Him shall ye sanctify, and let Him be your fear.³⁵⁶Isaiah 8:13. The Rabbis in the Sifre³⁵¹Sifre, end of Brachah. meant this when referring to the smiting of the firstborn [which was done by the mighty hand, alluding to the attribute of justice] and the division of the Red Sea [which is alluded to in the phrase and in all the great terror referring to the attribute of mercy], for concerning them it is written, to make Thyself a Glorious Name.³⁵⁷Ibid., 63:14. The rescue of Israel at the Red Sea displayed G-d’s mercy to His people just as the retributive punishment upon the Egyptian firstborn manifested His justice. Both were to make Him a glorious Name.

ולכל היד, and when G’d demonstrated His power over immanent parts of the universe such as the Sea of Reeds, when He split it, or the earth when He made it open a crevice to swallow Korach and his cohorts, or when the manna descended from heaven on a regular basis.

ולכל היד החזקה, “and by all the strong hand, etc.;” according to Nachmanides this is a reference to the splitting of the Sea of Reeds at the time, as the Torah had testified then וירא ישראל את היד הגדולה, “the people saw with their own eyes the strong hand, etc.” (Exodus 14,31)

ולכל היד החזקה, “and by all the strong hand;” this is a reference to the splitting of the Sea of Reeds in connection with which the Torah had written (Exodus 14,31) “Israel saw the manifestation of the great hand.”

He received the Torah, etc. Meaning that, For the entire strong hand refers to Moshe, and it means that he had the strength and power to take the Tablets in his hands even though they were very heavy. But it does not mean as everywhere else that it refers to Hashem, because if so it should have said, And for the entire strong hand that Moshe performed by the mouth of Hashem.

RaShY on "This before the eyes of all of Israel" says: That they carried his heart towards breaking the tablets before their eyes, etc. Is it not that this act of Mosheh was considered positively, as in "May God strengthen you for breaking" (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 87a)? Behold, on its own, it is a depressing act. Those tablets the reception of which they anticipated for 49 days (plus another 40 days when Mosheh our teacher was on Mount Sinai) from their time of leaving Egypt were broken before their eyes--without it being pleasing that they would receive others in their stead, and it is curious therefore that RaShY would conclude his commentary on the Torah with mentioning this event. But perhaps it is possible that here there is some sort of connection from the end of the Torah to its beginning. There is creation, and there is deconstruction in which there is some kind of creation, in the sense of "deconstructing the old is construction" (Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 31b). Is it not possible that the golden calf and the tablets could have come into being folded into a single moment--and that therefore in the breaking of the tablets there was a sort of construction of a proper reality. (The night after Shemini Atzeret 5749 A.M. [1988 C.E.].)

ולכל המורא הגדול AND IN ALL THAT GREAT TERRIBLENESS — the miracles and mighty deeds that were wrought in the great and terrible wilderness (cf. (Sifrei Devarim 357:45).

ולכל המורא הגדול, the revelation at Mount Sinai;

ולכל המורא הגדול, “and the awesome power, etc.” This is a reference to the revelation at Mount Sinai and all that this involved. Moses had been on record that the awesome spectacle had as a major purpose ובעבור תהיה יראתו על פניכם, וגו', “in order that the awe of Him shall be on your faces, etc.” (Exodus 20,17) This is why Moses mentions the words לעיני כל ישראל, “within view of the entire people of Israel,” as distinct from the miracles performed in the presence of Pharaoh which had not been designed to make the Israelites fear G’d, but to make him and his people recognize the existence and power of the attribute of Hashem. According to Sifri the words ולכל היד החזקה, refer to the killing of all the Egyptians firstborn, as the Torah had predicted this יד החזקה as the catalyst that would set in motion the Exodus already when G’d appeared to Moses at the burning bush. (Exodus 3,19) The words ולכל המורא הגדול, are understood by the author of Sifri, to refer to the splitting of the Sea of Reeds. Yet another interpretation of the words ולכל המורא הגדול, is that they refer to the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.

When he took the liberty of shattering the tablets, etc. Rashi is answering the question: It should have said to all of Yisroel! Why does it say in view of all Yisroel?

WHICH MOSES ‘ASAH’ (WROUGHT) — for he prepared and displayed it in the sight of all the people. It is similar to the expressions: and the souls that they ‘asu’ (made) in Haran;³⁵⁸Genesis 12:5. — “Made, i.e., which Abraham and Sarah brought beneath the sheltering wings of the Divine Presence.” (Rashi). and he hastened ‘la’asoth’ (to make) it;³⁵⁹Ibid., 18:7. Make, i.e., the servant “dressed” the meat. ‘la’asoth’ (to make) the Sabbath-day.³⁶⁰Above, 5:15. Make, i.e., to “keep” the Sabbath. For Moses did not make the mighty hand and the great terror, he merely arranged [that they be displayed by G-d], and for His sake they were wrought in the sight of all Israel.

ולכל המורא, “and in all the awe inspiring manifestations;”

לעיני כל ישראל [WHICH MOSES SHOWED] BEFORE THE EYES OF ALL ISRAEL — This refers to the fact that his heart inspired him to shatter the Tablets before their eyes, as it is said, (Deuteronomy 9:17) “And I broke them before your eyes” (Sifrei Devarim 357:45), and the opinion of the Holy One, blessed be He, regarding this action agreed with his opinion, as it is stated that God said of the Tablets, (Exodus 34:1) אשר שברת "Which you have broken", [which implies] "May your strength be fitting (יישר; an expression of thanks and congratulation) because you have broken them" (Yevamot 62a; Shabbat 87a).

אשר עשה משה לעיני כל בני ישראל, when they were afraid and stood at a distance, whereas Moses approached the mountain which was wrapped in a dark cloud, while it was flaming. During such experiences Moses had acquired the status of a prophet with whom G’d communicates פנים אל פנים At that time G’d also endowed Moses with a kind of awesomeness when He made his forehead emit rays of light.

אשר עשה משה, “that Moses had orchestrated;” Nachmanides understands the word עשה here as in Genesis 12,5 ואת הנפש אשר עשו בחרן, “and the persons whom they had converted in Charan to the service of the one and only G’d.” Seeing that one can hardly credit Moses with orchestrating the splitting of the sea, he only acted as G’d’s agent, Nachmanides understands Moses’ cardinal contribution as being that he made the people understand the concept of the Sabbath in all its dimensions, primarily as a symbol of G’d having created the universe, and of His having orchestrated the Exodus from Egypt in order to make this nation His special people. The word לעשות in the above sense is used in connection with the observance of the Sabbath in Deuteronomy 5,15.

The Holy One, Blessed Is He consented to his opinion, etc. Rashi is answering the question: If the verse is now coming to relate Moshe’s praises, is this praise to Moshe that he broke the Tablets? Therefore he explains, The Holy One, Blessed Is He consented, etc. You might ask, how does the Midrash know to expound which (אשר) you shattered means More power to you (יישר כחך) for shattering them? Perhaps אשר has the same meaning as it has everywhere else? The Ramban already answered in the first chapter of Bava Basra (14b) that this is expounded by juxtaposition. It is written above (10:2) [And I will write on the Tablets the words that were on the original Tablets] that you smashed, and you will place them [i.e. the smashed Tablets in the case]. We see [from this juxtaposition], that the smashed Tablets were beloved to Hashem, since if their smashing was displeasing to Him, He would not have said to place them in an ark, because “an accuser cannot become an advocate.” Therefore, because of this juxtaposition [over there], they expound אשר [here] as meaning אשרי (increase), [i.e. more power]. So far are his words. See his commentary on tractate Shabbos (87a).

Completed are these five books [of the Torah],
In which the wisdom of Agur and Ithiel³⁶¹See Proverbs 30:1. These are surnames for Solomon (see Yalkut Mishlei) whose wisdom was all inclusive (see Vol. I, p. 12). Yet in the mysteries of the Torah even his knowledge was “little.” was little.
And thousands of blessings to G-d,
Who hath bestowed on me according to His compassions,
And according to the multitude of His mercies,³⁶²Isaiah 63:7.
And bring him whom my heart requests,
And He for His Name’s sake consent thereto,
And a redeemer will come to Zion!³⁶³Ibid., 59:20.
Speedily in our days-may Michael stand up,³⁶⁴Daniel 12:1.
To build the House [of G-d] and the Ariel,³⁶⁵Isaiah 29:1. The Ariel is a reference to the altar.
And fulfill the verse written by Ezekiel,
And the nations shall know,
That I am the Eternal that sanctify Israel,
When My Sanctuary shall be in the midst of them, forever.³⁶⁶Ezekiel 37:28.

לעיני כל ישראל, “in the sight of all of Israel.”

לעיני כל ישראל, compare Exodus 34,30 when even Aaron recoiled when he saw Moses.

And blessed be the Eternal, the G-d of Israel,
From everlasting even to everlasting.³⁶⁷Psalms 106:48.
I have found³⁶⁸This section is from manuscripts and found only in early editions of the commentary. The thought behind it is clear. Since Ramban finishes his commentary with a prayer for the building of “the House and the Ariel” he proceeds now in a concluding note to refer to the approaching time of redemption when “G-d will go forth from attribute to attribute — from the attribute of justice to that of mercy to hasten the redemption.” in Midrash Mishlei the following text:³⁶⁹Midrash Mishlei, Chapter 22. “When the Sanhedrin wanted to count Solomon among the three kings and four commoners [that have no share in the World to Come],³⁷⁰The three kings are Jeroboam, Ahab, and Menasheh. The four commoners are Balaam, Doeg, Ahitophel, and Gehazi (Sanhedrin 90a). Solomon’s sin was that he married foreign women who introduced idol-worship to the Land (I Kings 11:1-6). the Divine Glory stood up before the Holy One, blessed be He, and said: ‘Sovereign of the universe! Seest thou a man diligent in his work? he shall stand before kings etc.’”³⁷¹Proverbs 22:29. “He who built My house before his, and moreover, My house he built in seven years, and his in thirteen — this man [Solomon] shall stand before kings [in the World to Come] and he shall not stand before mean men [together with those who have no share in the World to Come]. (Rashi Sanhedrin 104b). And in our Gemara, in Chapter Cheilek³⁷²“Portion” — “All Israel have a portion in the World to Come” (Sanhedrin 104b). [the same text is stated in the following way]: “A vision of [Solomon’s] father’s face appeared and prostrated itself before [the members of the Sanhedrin] etc.” And in the Yerushalmi it is stated:³⁷³Yerushalmi Sanhedrin X, 1. “David came and prostrated himself before them.” All these texts mean to express the same thought, namely, that the Holy One, blessed be He, “cometh forth and goeth forth from attribute to attribute; He cometh forth from the attribute of justice, and goeth to the attribute of mercy,”³⁷⁴See Vol. I, p. 245. this being “the attribute of David,” just as the Rabbis have said with reference to the sanctification of the moon, “David king of Israel ever lives.”³⁷⁵Rosh Hashanah 25a. The student learned [in the mysteries of the Torah] will understand.