Comentário sobre Deuteronômio 28:73

והיה אם שמוע, "It shall be if you surely hearken, etc." We must try and understand exactly what this verse promises. If it is that Gd will make the Jewish people superior to all other nations, the Torah should have written יתנך ה׳ עליון, "G'd will give you to be supreme, etc." instead of writing words such as ונתנך which sound as if they are a continuation of the conditional "if you surely hearken, etc." Perhaps the message of the verse is: "hearken to the voice of the Lord." The meter of the verse would be "if you begin to hearken,-אם שמוע, -then you will indeed listen to the voice of the Lord," תשמע בקול השם. The verse then continues by assuring us that as a further result of listening to the voice of G'd we will not transgress the negative commandments and will carry out the positive commandments, i.e. לשמר לעשות. The reason we will be able to do this is because the Torah saves us from sin, as alluded to in the word שמר. Moreover, the power of Torah study is so great that it will even bring the performance of the positive commandments in its wake, i.e. לעשות. Not only this, but the power of Torah study for the right reason is so great that G'd will make our nation the one that is supreme on earth.

עליון על כל גויי הארץ, “supreme over all the nations of the earth.” This blessing includes that there will be no other nation that even matches you, equally.

Kap. 28. V. 1. והיה וגו׳. Im Vorhergehenden war das Volk zum Wächter des Gesetzes bestellt und ihm als solchem aufgetragen, sofort beim Eintritt in das Land und vor der Besitznahme und Verteilung desselben das Gesetz auf als Altar und Denkmal zu errichtende Steine zu schreiben, damit das Land als Boden des Gesetzes zu weihen und zu verkünden und jedem einzelnen in seine demnächstige Vereinzelung mit der Erfüllung seiner Gesetzespflichten die Unterstellung unter die Segen und Fluch verteilende Gotteswaltung mit heimzugeben.

In addition to the meter of the verse we have just explained, the Torah also wishes to let us know that the level of our Torah study must correspond to the realisation that it emanates in a sacred domain. The word תשמע implies that our listening must take into account who it is we are listening to, i.e. ה׳ אלוקיך. When one listens to what G'd says one does not listen in the same off-handed manner as when one listens to one's peers, but one tries to absorb every nuance of the words G'd says to us in the Torah. Moreover, the words לשמר ולעשות, are a promise parallel to what we have been taught in Avot 4,5 that if the reason that one studies Torah is in order to be able to observe its precepts one is rewarded by the opportunity to study, to teach, to avoid transgressing negative commandments, and to fulfil positive commandments. Our whole verse speaks of this kind of Torah study.

Hier übergibt nun Mosche dem Volke ein Bild von der Zukunft, wie sie sich für die Gesamtheit gestalten wird, wenn das Volk im Ganzen das Gesetz erfüllen oder nicht erfüllen wird, welchen nationalen Segen oder Unsegen es von seiner Gesamttreue oder Untreue gegen das Gesetz zu erwarten hat. Eine solche ermunternde und warnende Verkündung der nationalen Zukunft war bereits zum Schlusse des Wajikra (Kap. 26) gegeben. Vergleicht man aufmerksam beide Verkündigungen, so findet man, dass während in jener ersten das in der Zukunft bevorstehende nationale Heil oder Unheil in allgemeinen, mehr die Gesamtzustände schildernden Zügen gezeichnet wird, hier in der dem Volkskompendium für die bevorstehende Vereinzelung einverleibten Verkündigung der heil- oder unheilvollen nationalen Zukunft diese mehr in dem Anteil geschildert wird, der dem einzelnen an dem Gesamtglück oder Unglück beschieden ist, so dass dem einzelnen sein Mitgenuss und seine Mitleidenschaft an der Gesamtblüte und dem Gesamtuntergang lebhaft vor die Seele tritt. Es entspricht dies ganz wie der ofterwähnten Tendenz der משנה תורה im allgemeinen, so noch besonders dem ערבות, der Solidarität aller, für alle, welche durch das unmittelbar vorhergehende ׳ארור אשר לא יקים וגו mit dem ernstesten Ernst zum Ausspruch gekommen war und jedem im Volke die Verpflichtung auferlegte, nicht nur für sich, sondern in engeren oder weiteren Kreisen für die allgemeine Verwirklichung des göttlichen Gesetzes mit seiner vollen Kraft einzustehen. Die eben bemerkte Fassung der hier folgenden תוכחה gibt diesem Solidaritätsbewusstsein durch den Hinweis noch den vollsten Nachdruck, dass jeder einzelne es wissen und fühlen möge, wie er mit jeder Förderung der Gesetzestreue unter allen seinen nationalen Mitgenossen nur das eigene Heil sichere, sowie mit jeder Gleichgültigkeit gegen den Gesetzesabfall seiner Mitbrüder er nur an seinem eigenen Mitruin arbeite. —

ונתנך ה׳ עליון "then G'd will make you supreme, etc." G'd apportioned the amounts of the goodness He bestows on earth to be commensurate with the מצוה-performance of the community or individual in question. There are 3 levels of such performance our verse speaks about. The words שמוע תשמע refer to Torah study. 2) The word לשמר refers to the avoidance of violating negative commandments. 3) לעשות refers to the performance of positive commandments. Correspondingly, the Torah describes three levels of blessings. 1) Torah study as an independent discipline will be rewarded by the promise contained in this verse i.e. "G'd will make you supreme," you will be on a higher level than all the nations who do not possess Torah.

והיה אם שמוע וגו׳ (vergl. Kap. 11, 13). — את כל מצותיו fasst das ganze Gesetz und alle damit gegebenen Vorschriften in den einen Begriff der gottgebotenen Pflicht zusammen. Die hier zu schildernden Folgen der Erfüllung desselben beruhen auf der Tatsache, dass sie Gottes Anweisungen unserer auf Erden zu lösenden Aufgaben sind, Gottes, der diese ganze Welt der Erscheinungen und Kräfte, welche Bedingung, Mittel und Gegenstand unseres irdischen Seins und Schaffens enthalten, gestaltet hat und beherrscht. — ונתנך וגו׳ עליון, wenn du ganz in Erfüllung seines Willens aufgehst, und sein Wille und nur sein Wille in deiner Gesamtheit und durch deine Gesamtheit verwirklicht wird, so hebt er dich hoch hinaus über alle Konsequenzen der bloß physischen Ordnung, und hebt dich damit hoch hinaus über alle Völker der Erde, die sich die Bedingungen ihres Daseins und Gedeihens im Kampf mit den Gewalten einer ihnen entgegenstehenden Welt der Natur und der Menschengesellschaft erstreiten.

ובאו עליך כל הברכות, "and all these blessings will come upon you." This is an additional promise to that announced in verse one. The Torah adds further: והשיגוך "and they will overtake you." This may be understood in line with Yalkut Reuveni Parshat Vayikra that seeing that G'd is the source of mercy, if someone appeals to that attribute of G'd He is liable to grant his requests to pour out all His goodness to such a person. However, once this outpouring of G'd's goodness is about to reach the person who had requested G'd's mercy, etc., the Celestial Tribunal will assemble and examine if such a person is entitled to all these blessings. If they find that such a person is not really entitled to all these blessings they will withhold it from him. Our verse bears the message that in the case of Israel, if we have lived up to the demands made upon us by the Torah these blessings will actually overtake us, i.e. they will not be prevented from reaching us once they are on the way by a terrestrial court. [I presume that the author means that just as decisions made by the terrestrial tribunal are only reflections of decisions which have already been arrived at in the Celestial Court, so that, if the celestial court had decided that the potential recipient of all these blessings does not deserve them, the terrestrial court will deny them to the recipient in accordance with what has already been decided in the celestial court (not the attribute of Mercy). Ed.]

You will note that all the blessings mentioned here are a reward for Torah study in the following manner: ברוך אתה בעיר, "You are blessed in the city;" we learned in Avodah Zarah 19 that this blessing appears in all three parts of the Bible, i.e. in the Torah, in the Books of the Prophets, and in the Holy Scriptures. People who busy themselves with Torah study find that their worldly pursuits are crowned with success. [The Gaon of Vilna corrects this statement in the Talmud, substituting the word דרכיו, "his paths" for the word נכסיו, "his material possessions." I am mentioning this to forestall obvious questions. Ed.]

ברוך פרי בטנך, "the fruit of your womb will be blessed." We find that Oved Edom Hagitti who hosted the Holy Ark in David's time when everybody else was afraid of hosting it was so blessed as detailed in Chronicles and Berachot 63 that his wife and his eight daughters -in-law gave birth to sixtuplets (or 6 births at intervals of 2 weeks each.)

ברוך אתה בבאך "You shall be blessed when you come in and you will be blessed when you go out." This means that you will depart from this life without sin. All of this you will accomplish thanks to the merit of Torah study which will protect you against sin (compare Baba Metzia 107).

יתן ה׳ את איביך הקמים עליך נדפים, "G'd will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck down, etc." We may understand this in light of Chronicles II 20,22 "As they began their joyous shouts and hymns, the Lord set ambushes for the men of Amnon and Moav and the mountain of Seir who had been marching against Yehudah." Our sages in Shemot Rabbah claim that the word used for joyous shouts, i.e. רנה, is a hyperbole for Torah.

יצו ה׳ אתך את הברכה באסמיך, "G'd will command the blessing for you in your storehouses, etc." Why was this blessing not included with blessings listed earlier? Its place is certainly not after the blessing that G'd will strike down people attacking us! Here the Torah gives us an assurance that the Israelites will not experience what happened to someone who experienced a miracle and whose peers were so upset that this individual was found worthy of G'd performing a miracle for him, i.e. reversed the laws of nature for his sake, so that celestial forces acted as his servant. We are told in Taanit 24 that it happened that Rava was challenged to demonstrate to scoffers who refused to consider G'd's answering prayers for rain in winter (when there was supposed to be rainfall) as an act of providence. He claimed that the same G'd could make it rain in the middle of the summer in response to his prayer. He prayed for rain in summer and so much rain descended that it overflowed the town and ran into the Tigris river not too far away. On the following night Rava's father appeared to him in a dream demanding to know who had had the effrontery to put heaven to such trouble as to make it rain in summer? He told his son to change his bed because he had caused so much anger in heaven. Rava did so and on the following morning he found traces of a knife with which his bed had been slashed. This is why the Torah writes after speaking about G'd frustrating our enemies' designs that we will enjoy blessings even in the hidden storage houses. The evil eye does not exercise any influence on hidden places; this is why the Torah emphasised that this blessing will occur in places which are out of reach of the evil eye. The Torah goes on וברכך בארץ, "and He will bless you in the land, etc." meaning that the nations of the world will not make a united front against you as Jacob had been afraid they would after Shimon and Levi had killed all the males in the city of Shechem (Genesis 34,30).

Acontecio que entraras en la tierra que hashem tu Di.s te ha de heredar, y la heredaras, y habitaras en ella segun el rebe del Ari, en el secreto de ese dia, el señor sera uno. HASHEM, que aparece en el libro de genesis, aparece al final del libro del genesis.

ובאו עליך כל הברכות האלה והשיגוך. They will catch up with you although you did not even make an effort to “catch up” with them.

ובאו עליך כל הברכות האלה והשיגוך, “and all these blessings will come upon you and will overtake you.” The meaning is that instead of having to chase after these blessings the blessings will “chase” after the Jewish people.

V. 2. ובאו עליך וגו׳ והשיגך כי תשמע. Dir kommen die Segnungen der Blüte und des Gedeihens von selbst, sie kommen über dich, ohne dass du sie suchst, sie erreichen dich, nicht du erreichst sie, sie bilden nicht dein Ziel und dein Augenmerk bei deinem Tun und Lassen, und eben weil du sie nicht suchst, weil du nur deines Gottes Willen auf Erden vollbringen willst und vollbringst, gar kein anderes Augenmerk kennst, als Gott gegenüber deine Pflicht zu tun und seinen Willen auf Erden zu vollbringen, suchen gleichsam die Gottessegnungen dich auf, um dich in deinem Vollbringen, das nichts ist als die Verwirklichung der Gotteszwecke auf Erden, zu fördern. (vergl. Kap. 7, 12.)

ובאו עליך כל הברכות האלה, “and all these blessings will come upon you;” you will not have to strive to secure them.

כי תשמע בקול ה' אלוקיך, all of this will occur when you make the pursuit of Torah your principal endeavour, relegating secular activities to something subordinate. In recognition of this approved lifestyle of yours, the blessings G’d bestows on you can obviously not be described as something that you were actively pursuing. The blessings mentioned by Moses here were the ones that were in evidence during the period of the first Temple during the part of that period when the Jewish people did observe the commandments of the Torah, until verse 9 יקימך ה' לו לעם קדוש, a condition which was fulfilled at the beginning of the period of the Second Temple as described by Shimon Hatzaddik in Yuma 21 who reported on the manifestation of miracles in the Second Temple as proof of the fulfillment of that prophecy by Moses.

VV. 3 u. 4. ברוך וגו׳. Infolge der von dir erfüllten sittlichen und sozialen Gesetze blüht dein Familien- und Gemeindeleben und infolge der erfüllten Ackerbau- und Viehzuchtgesetze blüht dein Feld- und Viehstand. Ja, im Gegensatz zu allen sonstigen volkswirtschaftlichen Erscheinungen auf Erden, bedingt bei dir nicht ברכה בשדה die ברכה בעיר, ist nicht Gedeihen in den Städten, weil alles auf dem Felde gedeiht, sondern: ברוך אתה בעיר geht voran, und darum ברוך אתה בשדה. Weil dein Einzeln- und Volksleben, getragen von Sittenreinheit, sich in Erfüllung der Pflichten des Rechts und der Liebe segensreich vollendet, gibt Gott dir den Segen auf dem Felde, lässt dir Früchte deines Leibes, deines Bodens, deiner Herden gedeihen, weil deine Kinder für ein sittliches, gerechtes und pflichtgetreues Menschenleben geboren werden, und was aus der physischen Natur dir zuwächst, in deinen Händen in den Dienst eines sittlich freien pflichtgetreuen Menschenlebens emporgehoben und geadelt wird.

ברך אתה בעיר, “You will be blessed in the town;” you will be blessed for performing the commandments that are performed in an urban area, such as building a sukkah, attaching a mezzuzah to the doorposts of your houses, or a fence around the roof of your house.

ברוך אתה בעיר, “you will be blessed in the city;” all kinds of merchandise will be available there. An alternate interpretation of this phrase: you will be able to bring your harvests from the field safely into your barns in the city.

שגרsiehe Schmot 13, 12; עשתרות siehe Dewarim 7, 13.

וברוך אתה בשדה, “and you will be blessed in the field;” this applies to the farmers who observe the manifold laws pertaining to growing crops and leaving some of the harvest for the poor or the priests and Levites. An alternate interpretation of these statements: “the city” referred to is Jerusalem, the holy city, and the expression: “blessed are you in the field,” refers to Zion, of which the prophet Jeremiah 26,18, said: ציון שדה תחרש , Zion will be plowed as a field.” [I fail to understand this interpretation, seeing that the line quoted from Jeremiah is not only not a blessing, but a curse, followed by the prediction of the fall of Jerusalem. Ed.]

בשדה, “in the field;” both at the time of seeding and of planting.

שגר אלפיך means the young of thy cattle which the animal casts out (שגר) of its womb.

ברוך פרי בטנך, “The fruit of your womb will be blessed.” Moses listed the fruit of your womb before any other blessings, such as “your fruit-basket, and your kneading bowl,” because the fruit of one’s womb, i.e. having healthy well turned out children, is the supreme blessing parents can enjoy. When listing the various curses Moses enumerates this curse last, as G’d first inflicts punishments to our belongings before, if we do no respond to those warnings, He smites what is nearest and dearest to us. Similarly, when speaking about how our enemies will be smitten as part of our blessings, this is listed before mentioning our economic success, i.e. our storehouses filled with produce, seeing that as long as we are exposed to invasions by enemies we could not securely enjoy our good harvests. Dwelling securely amongst the nations is the ultimate blessing in our international relations, and enjoying internal peace is the ultimate blessing in our relations with other members of our people. (Compare Leviticus 26,5-6)

ברוך פרי בטנך, “blessed will be the fruit of your womb.” In this instance, the blessings accruing to the body are listed before such blessings as having abundance of food and drink, blessings which commence only with verse 5. When the curses are listed, the Torah begins with describing deprivations involving the people’s food supply (verse 17) before describing afflictions of the body (verse 20). This teaches the concern of G’d for us in that before harming us physically, He warns us by depriving us of something affecting our pocketbook, something not involving pain to our bodies.

Why are they called עשתרות? See above parshas Eikev (7:13) where I have explained this.

ועשתרות צאנך — Understand this as the Targum does: the flocks of thy herd. Our Rabbis asked, “Why are they (the flocks of sheep) called עשתרות? Because, replied they, they enrich (מעשירות) their owners (through the sale of their wool, etc.) and make them strong as עשתרות — which are strong rocks (Chullin 84b; cf. Rashi on Deuteronomy 7:13).

ברוך טנאך BLESSED SHALL BE THY BASKET — i.e. thy fruits (which are kept in baskets). — Another explanation of טנאך is that it means liquids which you filter through baskets (wicker work).

טנאך, which will be filled with fruit.

Liquids which you filter. Meaning [liquids] such as wine and oil.

V. 5. ברוך טנאך וגו׳. Darum ist dein "Korb" und dein "Trog" gesegnet, darum wird dir Segen werden, wenn du mit dem "Korbe" auf dem Felde stehst, die dir zugereiften Früchte zu brechen, und wird dir Segen, wenn du im Hause das Brot für deine und der deinigen Nahrung bereitest. (טנאך und משארתך entspricht ביכורים und חלה; — siehe Kap. 26, 2 und Bamidbar 15, 20; משארתך siehe Schmot 12, 34). Und darum

ברוך טנאך, “blessed be your basket.” This refers to the basket in which the farmer presents his firstling fruit to the priest; we have the expression טנא in that context in Deut. 24,4.

ומשארתך accordingly means dry produce that remains (נשאר) in the vessel and does not flow out.

ומשארתך, the bowls the dough is placed in while waiting to rise.

Solids, which remain in the utensil, etc. Such as all varieties of fruits. It is called משארתך because they remain (נשארים) in the basket. According to the first explanation [that טנאך means] “your fruit,” there is no explanation [in Rashi] of משארתיך. You must resort to its plain meaning, similar to (Shmos 12:34), “(The people took their dough before it was leavened.) Their leftovers were wrapped in their clothing.” It is as if the verse said, “Blessed will be its fruits and its dough.” According to the first explanation you could ask why it does it not simply say fruit? Why does it say טנאך? Therefore Rashi explains, “Another interpretation: Your basket — liquids which you filter etc.” But according to the “other interpretation” you might ask that the blessing of grapes [wine] is included in the blessing of fruits, so why does the Torah give it a separate blessing? And you cannot answer that the Torah gives it a separate blessing so that even in the event there is no blessing of plenty with the grapes, even so there will be plenty wine. This is not so because once there is a blessing of plenty for fruit in general, the grapes too are included, and there will probably be plenty of wine. Therefore he also needs the first explanation.

ומשארתך, this is a reference to challah, the housewife setting aside the first part of the dough for the priest.

ברוך אתה בבאך וברוך אתה בצאתך BLESSED SHALT THOU BE WHEN THOU COMEST IN, AND BLESSED SHALT THOU BE WHEN THOU GOEST OUT — This means: may thy departure from this world be as sinless as was thy coming into the world (Bava Metzia 107a).

For your departure from the world will be without sin, etc. Meaning that just as your arrival to the world was without sin, so too your departure from the world will be without sin. Rashi's proof [for this interpretation] is that it first it is written “at your arrival” and afterwards “at your departure,” whereas the way of the world is to first depart from a house and afterwards to arrive [back home]. Also, why bless [only] one's arrival and departure, but not one's walking and other movements? Therefore he explains that the verse means to arrive without sin. The verse is saying as follows: You were blessed at your arrival for you had no sin, and so too you will be blessed at your departure that you will have no sin. You might ask, how do we explain the [verse dealing with the] curse where it also written first (v. 28) “Cursed are you upon your arrival,” since over there one cannot say, “Like your arrival into the world with sin,” as Re”m questions. However, I found written in the name of the Mahara of Pragure that this is not difficult at all, as the verse means as follows: You will be cursed at your arrival just as at your departure. Just as you will certainly have sin at your departure, so too you will be cursed at your arrival, i.e., full of sin. You might ask, what sin could a newborn possibly commit? The answer is that the Holy One visits the sins of fathers onto sons. Much more has been said about this. It seems to me that one can answer this question in conjunction with what they said in Chapter Hamapeles (Niddah 30b): To what can an embryo be compared in its mother's womb? To a folded tablet, etc. and they teach it the entire Torah, etc.” Regarding this it says, “Cursed are you upon your arrival,” that just as you are caused to forget the entire Torah [at birth], so too, “cursed are you upon your departure,” as you will also forget all the Torah that you learn in this world. And the beginning of a person's judgment is, “Were you involved in Torah learning?” Another answer is that a person's arrival in this world is with wailing, because it is usual for a baby to cry when it emerges into the air of the world. So too when he departs the world it will also be with wailing. And this is a bad sign for him as it says (Kesuvos 103b): Someone who dies while laughing, it is a good sign for him; while wailing, it is a bad sign, etc.” This is easy to understand. (So it seems to me).

V. 6. ברוך אתה בבאך וגו׳, bist du gesegnet im häuslichen Leben und bist gesegnet im öffentlichen Leben.

ברוך אתה בבואך...ובצאתך, ”you will be blessed when you are coming in ...and when you are going out.” This refers to coming home from war and going out to do battle. The expressions בא and צאת, are used in this sense in Numbers 27,17: אשר יצא לפניהם ואשר יבא לפניהם , “who will go out in front of you when going to war and before you when returning from battle.”

ובשבעה דרכים ינוסו לפניך AND THEY SHALL RUN AWAY BEFORE THEE SEVEN WAYS — Such is the manner of all who flee out of fear: they scatter in every direction.

הקמים עליך, “the ones that rise up against you.” Seeing that Moses had already blessed them by describing them as supreme among the nations, he now has to assure them that even if other nations should rear their heads trying to attack them, G’d will see to it that they are defeated in short order.

By scattering in every direction. Why then it is written “seven”? Re”m explains that it is customary for “seven” to represent an expression of multiplicity, as in (Shmuel I 2:5), “Until the barren gives birth to seven, etc.”

V. 7. יתן ד׳ את איביך וגו׳, und auch für deine Beziehungen nach außen zu andern Völkern bedarfst du, außer deines treuen Pflichtgehorsams gegen Gott, keiner sonstigen nationalpolitischen Gestaltung. Gott, der dir das Glück deiner Häuser und Städte, die Blüte deiner Felder und Herden gewährt, stellt dich auch gegen jeden Angriff von außen sicher. Ja,

באסמיך, in your storage chambers which will be bursting full with different kinds of grain, grapes, and olives. This is described graphically in Proverbs 3,10 וימלאו אסמיך שבע,”and your barns will be filled with food, your vats will burst with new wine.”

Hashem will order upon you a blessing. Now the blessing is for the traders who have storehouses and commerce overseas. But in the future the blessing will be in the land. Just as our Sages have instructed us that one who prays outside of Israel should face towards Israel, so too the blessing outside of Israel will come from the blessing that Hashem will give to the land of Israel.

V. 8. יצו ד׳ וגו׳. Es ist dies keine Wiederholung des bereits Verse 4 und 5 ausgesprochenen Landessegens, und hätte ja auch sonst vor V. 6 seine Stelle gefunden, sondern es ist eine Steigerung des ganzen bisher gezeichneten Segens. Es kommt nicht nur, wie es bisher geschildert worden, der Gottessegen über dich und alles, was du geschaffen, nicht nur ובאו עליך כל הברכות האלה, sondern: יצו ד׳ אתך את הברכה Gott bestellt den Segen zu deinem steten Begleiter. Alles gelingt und gedeiht, was du tust und weil du es tust. Es ist dies der Gipfel der von Gott begnadigten Stellung eines Menschen zu der Welt seines Wollens und Vollbringens, der dessen sittliches, von Gottes Nähe gewürdigtes Wesen auch in den Augen anderer kennzeichnet. So heißt es von Josef: וירא אדניו כי ד׳ אתו וכל אשר הוא עושה ד׳ מצליח בידו (Bereschit 39, 3 u. 5). So war selbst einem Laban die Ahnung aufgegangen נחשתי ויברכני ד׳ בגללך (daselbst 30, 27). Dieser Segensstufe soll Israel in allen seinen Angehörigen teilhaftig werden, wenn Israel in seinem Lande sich gotttreu bewährt.

That is that He commanded us to imitate Him, may He be exalted, according to our ability. And that is His saying, "and you shall go in His ways" (Deuteronomy 28:9). And this command has already been repeated, [when] He said, "and to go in all of His ways" (Deuteronomy 11:22). And in the explanation, it appears (Sifrei Devarim 49:1), "Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, is called merciful; you too, be merciful. Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, is called pious; you too, be pious." And this matter was already repeated in different words: He said, "Go in the ways of the Lord." And in the explanation, it appears (Sotah 14a) that He meant to say to imitate His good deeds and glorious traits by which God, may He be exalted, is described, by way of analogy - He is exalted over everything with great exaltation. (See Parashat Ki Tavo; Mishneh Torah, Human Dispositions.)

אסמיך kommt nur noch Prov. 3, 10 vor. Es dürfte von שום und סמם wie צמם zusammendrängen (siehe Bereschit S. 173) mit vorgesetztem א gebildet sein, wie אצר von צרר mit vorgesetztem א. Es bezeichnet das, was jemand für sich zusammengelegt, zur Bewahrung aufgehäuft hat. Chaldäisch und rabbinisch heißt סימא der Schatz, באסמיך וגו׳ (siehe zu Kap. 11, 12 u. 13).

THE ETERNAL WILL ESTABLISH THEE FOR A HOLY PEOPLE UNTO HIMSELF AS HE HATH SWORN UNTO THEE. He applies the term “oath” to the covenant which He made with them at Mount Sinai concerning all these things, for there it was said, And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.⁸⁰Exodus 19:6. Or it may be that the covenant He made with Abraham to be a G-d unto thee and to thy seed after thee⁸¹Genesis 17:7. includes this one.⁸²In other words, G-d’s pledge to Abraham that He would be a G-d to his seed after him includes what is stated here, The Eternal will establish thee for a holy people unto Himself, as He hath sworn unto thee. Similarly he said, that He may establish thee this day unto Himself for a people, and that He may be unto thee a G-d, as He spoke unto thee, and as He swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob,⁸³Further, 29:12. for the covenant was made for all of them.

יקימך ה׳ לו לעם קדוש, "G'd will establish you for Him as a holy nation, etc." Starting with this verse up to and including verse 11 the Torah describes the rewards accruing to the Jewish people for not violating the negative comandments which are all subsumed above under the heading of שמר. This is why our verse repeats: "if you observe, i.e. not violate, the commandments of the Lord your G'd." A person acquires the attribute "holy" if he has refrained from violating negative commandments. We know this from Leviticus 19,2 where the imperative to be holy follows immediately after the legislation forbidding all kinds of sexual unions. This in turn is followed by another string of negative commandments. It is appropriate therefore for the Torah to write that as a result of your observing these negative commandments G'd will establish you as a holy nation for Him. Our sages in Vayikra Rabbah 24,6 also agree that the term "holy" is applied to people who refrain from violating the laws governing our sexual mores. These laws are all of the kind to which the observance called תשמר applies, i.e. one must merely refrain from violating them. It is appropriate therefore for the Torah to speak of G'd establishing us as a holy nation for Him in return for our observing these laws. The word לו, "for Him," is a hint that the Israelites will replace the angels when they qualify for the description "holy nation." G'd had selected the angels who are described as holy to stand in front of him as we know from Daniel 8,13. Once the Israelites will qualify for this description the angels will be merely adjuncts to them. We find an allusion to that time in Numbers 23,23: כעת יאמר ליעקב ולישראל מה פעל השם, "at a time when it will be said (revealed) to Jacob and to Israel what G'd has wrought" (compare Bamidbar Rabbah 20,20 on this verse).

VV. 9 u. 10. יקימך וגו׳ כי תשמר וגו׳. Dieser ganze Segen wird dir, weil, wenn du Gottes Gebote gewissenhaft erfüllst und nur in den von Gott gewiesenen Wegen die Menschen- und Völkerziele anstrebst, Gott sich, d. h. für seine Menschheitzwecke, dich als eine "heilige", Ihm gehörige, allem Niedrigen und Gemeinen ferne und in ihrem Zusammenleben nur das sittlich Gute mustergültig verwirklichende Nation kennzeichnen will, damit alle Nationen der Erde sehen, dass Gottes Name über dir genannt ist, dass alle Nationen der Erde sehen, was es heißt, "Gottes Volk" zu sein, was es heißt, wenn ein ganzes Volk von Groß bis Klein sein ganzes Sein und Wollen als Mensch und Volk dem Willen Gottes unterstellt, sehen, welche Stufe des Segens und der Macht einem solchen, wie die Weisen (Menachot 35 b) es ausdrücken, תפלין tragendem Volke blühe, ויראו ממך, und aus deiner sittlichen Größe und geschichtlichen Hoheit wird ihnen der Glanz einer solchen Erhabenheit entgegenstrahlen, dass sie sich solcher Volkserscheinung gegenüber mit all ihrer Macht- und Ruhmesgröße verschwindend klein erkennen.

יקימך, same as יעמידך, “He will establish you.”

וראו כל עמי הארץ, "Then all the people of the earth will see, etc." The promise in this verse also refers to the result of our observing the negative commandments. As long as a Jew observes these commandments his face never loses the צלם אלוקים, the image of G'd in which he has been created. As a result of his reflecting this צלם אלוקים, all other creatures, man and beast alike, will relate to him with awe. This is not true of Jews who indulge in the kind of activities which G'd has declared as being abominations in His eyes.

Diese geistige und sittliche Einwirkung deiner geschichtlichen Erscheinung auf die Erkenntnis der Menschen ist das Ziel deiner völkergeschichtlichen Sendung auf Erden, darum

והותרך ה׳ לטובה בפרי בטנך, "And G'd will give you bountiful goodness, in the fruit of your womb, etc." Although the Torah had already mentioned earlier "the fruit of your womb will be blessed," there is a difference. At that time (verse 4) the promise was in return for studying Torah. Here the promise is a reward for observing the commandments. This is why the Torah had to detail it as one reward cannot be deduced from another reward. The Torah emphasises והותרך השם לטובה, "He will grant you additional goodness," and did not say פרי בטנך, "the fruit of your womb," because this promise is specifically designed to compensate you for observance of the negative commandments. The Torah means that in view of the fact that if one does not violate G'd's commandments one does not create negative, destructive forces in the universe, it follows that one's children will not be afflicted by these negative phenomena which are caused by one's own sins. Compare what I have written on the subject in connection with ראובן בכרי אתה, in Genesis 49,3.

בפרי בהמתך ובפדי אדמתך. Both of these blessings will accrue to you as a result of your observing the negative commandments.

וראו כל עמי הארץ, as our sages told us on folio 69 in Yuma about Alexander the Great prostrating himself in front of that High Priest.

נקרא עליך, He will demonstrate by fulfilling your desires that you are His people.

וראו כל עמי הארץ, “and all the peoples of the earth will see, etc.” concerning Israel it had been said in Yoel 3,5: כל אשר יקרא בשם ה׳ ימלט; “but everyone who will invoke the name of the Lord will be saved.”

כי שם ה׳ נקרא עליך, “that the name of the Lord is proclaimed over you.” When G-d has blessed you visibly to all the nations, you are perceived as being the favorite of the G-d of Israel.

וראו, “they will understand” (i.e. see with their mind’seye) Compare Ecclesiastes 1,16: ולבי ראה הרבה חכמה ודעת, “and my mind has absorbed much wisdom and learning.”

והותירך ה' לטובה, meaning that your success will be demonstrably greater and more noticeable than that of other nations.

והותירך, “He will grant you an excess, etc.” even if there should be famine on the earth, you will not be severely affected by it, always having sufficient and even more than that.

V. 11. והותרך וגו׳, wörtlich: lässt dich Gott im Vergleich mit andern in allem Guten als das Übertreffende, Überragende, erscheinen, darum

יפתח ה׳ לך את אוצרו הטוב, "G'd will open for you His store of goodness, etc." From this point on until the end of verse 13 the Torah describes the reward for fulfilling the positive commandments. This is why verse 13 concludes with the words "if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your G'd." The channels which G'd employs to direct the outpourings of His goodness to earth are activated through performance of commandments rather than through the passive refraining from violating negative commandments.

V. 12. יפתח וגו׳, darum lässt Gott selbst die deine Bodenblüte bedingenden Witterungserscheinungen mit einer Regelmäßigkeit eintreten, die Sein unmittelbares Einwirken konstatieren, und gibt dir einen solchen Überfluss, dass, wenn anderwärts Mangel ist, du mit deinem Überfluss aushelfen musst, nie aber in die entgegengesetzte Lage kommst, und so

והלוית גוים רבים, “and you will lend to many nations;” to nations who were plagued with crop failures or storage problems in their barns.

יפתח ה׳ לך; "G'd will open for you." The pronoun "for you" is important as it indicates G'd's special providence for the Jew who observes these commandments. The new element in this promise is that although there may be many people whose conduct would preclude G'd from opening these channels of His bounty, G'd will not let this interfere with His special providence for the subject in our verse. The word הטוב in our verse is the mystical dimension of the "river" or "channel" of G'd's goodness we have referred to. It is what Solomon referred to in Proverbs 10,25 וצדיק יסוד עולם, "that the righteous is the foundation of the world." את השמים, "the heavens," this is a reference to the source of this input, a concept familiar to Kabbalists.

והלוית גוים רבים ואתה לו תלוה, "and you will lend to many nations but you will not have to borrow." It is a well known phenomenon in our literature that as long as the Jewish people observe G'd's laws the good the Gentiles experience in this world reaches them only via the Jewish people. Should the Jewish people, G'd forbid, not live in accordance with Torah precepts their פרנסה, livelihood, would consist only of scraps the Gentiles have left over. Moses illustrates this concept here by presenting both the positive side of the picture, i.e. "you will lend, etc.," and by implication, the negative side of the picture "and you will not have to borrow. If Moses had not presented the alternative we would not have recognised that the first half of the verse is a blessing as it is an accepted norm that the wealthy borrow from one another at different times, not because they are in need of sustenance.

ונתנך השם לראש, "and G'd will place you as a head, etc." Moses means that the fortunes of the people of Israel will be guided directly by the "head" i.e. G'd Himself, not an intermediary; ולא לזנב, "and not as a tail." This is a reference to the various "ministers" in the celestial regions which G'd has appointed to be in charge of the different nations of the world. The Israelites will always be on a "higher" level than these nations being cared for by G'd Himself. והיית רק למעלה ולא תהיה למטה; "you shall only be above and you will not be below." We may understand this best by referring to Yalkut Shimoni Jeremiah item 312, who explains Jeremiah 30,10: "and you My servant Jacob do not fear, etc." When Jacob had the dream with the ladder he observed angels ascending and descending. He assumed the angels to be the "ministers" of the various nations whose role in history would be ascents followed by descents. He was afraid that the same would happen to his descendants. Jeremiah reassures Jacob on that score. In our verse Moses tells us: "you will not be below," i.e. the fortunes of the Jewish people will not parallel those of the Gentiles whose place in the sun will be of brief duration. כי חשמע…לעשות, "when you hearken to carry out, etc." The Torah refers to the carrying out of positive commandments. Why did the Torah not write specifically what it is that we are to carry out, i.e. the commandments? The reason is that there are numerous commandments which most people can never carry out. Concerning these commandments all we can do is תשמע "to hear, i.e. to be prepared to fulfil these commandments if the opportunity arises and to study them meanwhile. Why does the Torah mention once more לשמר, seeing this is a description of how we relate to negative commandments, whereas these two verses speak about positive commandments? The Torah wanted to remind us that the reward for the carrying out of positive commandments can only be expected after one has first made a point of observing all the negative commandments. This is what the prophets meant when they described the sacrificial offerings of many Jews as an abomination. These Jews wanted to ingratiate themselves with G'd and reap rewards for fulfilling positive commandments while ignoring the negative commandments of the Torah. Positive commandments performed by sinners bear no fruit.

AND THE ETERNAL WILL MAKE THEE THE HEAD, AND NOT THE TAIL. The meaning thereof is that He will make you the head of all peoples and not the tail of any one of the nations, for it is possible that you will be the head of many peoples and yet be the tail of one nation more distinguished than you. The correct interpretation is that He will henceforth make you the head and at no time will you ever be the tail. Similarly, thou shalt be above only⁸⁴In Verse 13 before us. always, and thou shalt not be beneath⁸⁴In Verse 13 before us. forever.

לראש ולא לזנב, “as a head and not as a tail.” As a head of all the nations, and not as a tail of a nation more distinguished than you. It was possible, theoretically to rank as number one overall among the nations, and at the same time to trail some nation in a specific matter. Alternately, Moses might have meant that in a best case scenario, when you deserve it, you will be the number one among all the nations, but in a worst case scenario, even when you have endured chastisements by G’d, you will never be the tail, i.e. the lowest ranking of all the other nations.

VV. 13 u. 14. ונתנך וגו׳, macht dich Gott zum voranschreitenden Haupt und nicht zum nachfolgenden Schweif. Durch den dir von Gott infolge deiner Pflichttreue verliehenen beispiellosen Segen wirst du die Augen der Völker auf dich ziehen, so dass sie dein Beispiel als nachahmungswürdig erkennen und du ihnen mustergültig voranschreitest, in nichts aber dich angewiesen fühlst, ihnen nachzuahmen, והיית רק למעלה וגו׳ und in allen menschlichen Beziehungen, im Leiblichen, Geistigen und Sittlichen, im Individuellen, im Familien-, im Volksleben wirst du der Stufe aller menschheitlichen Höhenziele und in nichts dem Gemeinen, dem Niedrigen, dem Schlechten, dem Vergänglichen und Bedeutungslosen angehören. Alles dies: ׳כי תשמע וגו, wenn du die dir nun übergebenen Gesetze Gottes mit שמירה und עשיה, mit geistiger Erkenntnis und gewissenhafter Wachsamkeit stets vor Augen hast und sie mit tatkräftiger Hingebung verwirklichst, und: לא תסור וגו׳, weder rechts noch links, weder im Tun noch im Lassen von irgend einer der Vorschriften abweichst, die nicht nur eurer Gesamtheit als solcher, sondern אשר אנכי מצוה אתכם היום, die jedem einzelnen von euch in eurer Zusammenhörigkeit nunmehr erteilt sind, und von welchen der kleinste abweichende Schritt ein Hinneigen zu den Wahngöttern der andern bedeutet, deren vermeintliche Gunst ein jeder von Gottes Wegen abweichende Schritt sich erwerben zu können und zu müssen vermeint. Jedes Gut, jeder Genuss, jedes Ziel, die uns zum Ungehorsam gegen Gottes Willen verleiten, sind im buchstäblichen Sinne eine עבודה זרה, sind Huldigung einer anderen Potenz, die wir zu einer unser Sinnen und Wollen gestaltenden Göttermacht werden lassen. Und wie die geringste, im kleinsten, fast unmerklichen Winkel sich vollziehende Abweichung von der geraden Linie in aller Ewigkeit nicht wieder mit ihr zusammenkommt, sondern in immer größere Dimensionen sich von ihr entfernt: so führt die kleinste bewusste Abweichung von dem Gotteswege zu immer größerer Entfernung bis zum vollendeten Abfall. Daher ולא תסור מכל הדברים וגו׳ ימין ושמאל ללכת אחרי אלחים אחרים לעבדם.

רק למעלה, “only above;” a permanent state of affairs.

ולא תהיה למטה, “and not below;” “not,” in the sense of “never.”

AND THOU SHALT NOT TURN ASIDE FROM ANY OF THE WORDS WHICH I COMMAND YOU THIS DAY. This is connected with the expression [in the preceding Verse 13] if thou shalt hearken, meaning that all these blessings will come upon you when you will hearken to His commandments, and when you will not turn aside to the right, or to the left⁸⁵In Verse 14 before us. from any of the words which I command you concerning idolatry. For, if you will go after other gods to serve them⁸⁵In Verse 14 before us. you will already have turned aside from all His commandments⁸⁶See Ramban to Numbers 15:22. — The verse before us, And thou shalt not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, is thus not an independent negative commandment, as the author of the “Hilchoth Gedoloth” would have it, but is rather to be understood in connection with the concluding part of that verse, to go after other gods to serve them, meaning to say: if you will go after other gods to serve them, you will already have turned aside from any of the words which, command you this day. and He shall have no desire whatever for any of the commandments you may observe. The sense of the verse is thus unlike the words of the “Hilchoth Gedoloth”⁵⁹Rabbi Shimon Kairo of the Gaonic period, who flourished in the second half of the eighth century Common Era, was the first to enumerate the Taryag Mitzvoth contained in the Torah. The listing is in the preface to his work “Hilchoth Gedoloth”. His concept was utilized by the Paitanim, the writers of liturgical poetry who wrote various Azharoth (Exhortations), liturgical poems containing the Divine Commandments. — It should be noted that while the “Hilchoth Gedoloth” contains the first historical record in our possession of an attempt at enumerating the individual commandments, there is no doubt that the author drew upon older sources of such lists, and as Rabbeinu Saadia Gaon writes here, such “a list of the commandments” was written upon the stones by Moses. who counted this verse as a negative commandment.

Moses concludes the blessings applicable to the period of the Second Temple by warning ולא תסור מכל הדברים אשר אנכי מצוה אתכם היום ימין או שמאל, meaning that the people are not to introduce changes in the commandments of the Torah, and especially not to make any changes in the social legislation, משפטים. Neither are they to introduce variations in the observance of certain commandments which were part of the culture of nations that lived in the land of Canaan, and which had been well entrenched in the entire region. Especially, is this forbidden if by adopting those habits, which, though unrelated to idolatry and of no religious significance, you adopt them in order thereby to display some respect for the culture of the members of those tribes still residing in your midst. In the Torah’s view this would constitute ללכת אחרי אלוהים אחרים לעבדם, that you are on the path to adopt idolatrous practices, eventually even worshipping those idols. However, the admonitions up unto verse 36 i.e. יולך ה' אותך ואת מלכך, refer to periods during the Second Temple, the period of the Seleucids until the Hasmoneans started their uprising to rid the land of the Neo Greeks. Eventually, Aristobulus, a King of the Hasmonean Dynasty, was exiled by the Romans to Rome at the command of Pompey. Starting with this incident up until verse 63 ונסחתם, Moses refers to the period of the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans. What follows are admonitions dealing with our present exile.

ולא תסור מכל הדברים, “if only you do not turn away from any of the words, etc.” According to Nachmanides these words are a continuation of what is written in verse 13 that these blessings are premised on your hearkening to G’d’s commandments. If you were to look right or left, i.e. consider indulging in any form of idolatry, you would already be considered as having turned away from the path G’d prescribed for you. [A warning that not only idolatrous actions bring disaster, but even contemplating such actions is culpable. Ed.] Nachmanides does not agree with the author of halachot gedolot, who considers this verse as one of the negative commandments.

והיה אם לא תשמע, "It will be if you do not hearken, etc." The Torah made it plain here that unless we fulfil all three aspects of Judasim i.e. Torah study, scrupulous observance of the negative commandments, and the carrying out of positive commandments, some or all of the consequences described forthwith will occur. Learning Torah and not observing the negative commandments does not protect us. Observing both negative and positive commandments but neglecting the study of Torah will still result in the curses of the following verses being fulfilled. Non-observance of each of these three groups of Torah laws will attract its own kind of curses. The Torah commences by describing the punishments in store for the Jewish people if they fail to study Torah. .ארור אתה בעיר, "you will be cursed in the city;" this verse until the words ואבדך מהר, "and you will quickly perish" and the end of verse 20 are a row of escalating curses which are retribution for abandoning Torah, i.e. abandoning Torah study. When one abandons study of the Torah it is viewed as if one had abandoned G'd Himself. This is why this paragraph concludes with the words אשר עזבתני, "for you have abandoned Me."

אם לא תשמע בקול ה' אלוקיך לשמור לעשות את כל מצותיו וחקותיו אשר אנכי מצוך היום, with these words Moses introduces his admonitions, the ones which parallel chapter 26 in Leviticus, but are sounding far more devastating. Israel is described as “backsliding,” having, with the help of Torah legislation, been the frontrunner in civilised countries. Whenever the Torah speaks about the Jewish people abandoning the laws of the Torah, the intention is not to make us think that they slid into anarchy, but worse, they slid into adopting the laws of the prevalent cultures and civilisations. Clearly, this is an even greater affront to G’d the Lawgiver, than merely being passive and not carrying out Torah legislation. Social legislation involving tithes was largely ignored, leading to such great scholars as Hillel, and the High Priest Yochanan decreeing legalistic means of circumventing the legislation so that the people would not be guilty of violating such basic social laws as forgiving overdue debts at the end of the Sh’mittah year. The Rabbis, in a number of instances, were forced to preserve the spirit of the law, sometimes at the expense of what may be termed “the letter of the law.” The discontinuance of the examination by the priest of a woman suspected of marital infidelity, Sotah, is one such example, the Rabbis feeling that when infidelity had become the norm rather than the exception, it would not do to demand a miracle from G’d every time such a situation arose. Moreover, the chances were that the husband’s sexual life was not so free from blemish that he could point a finger at his wife. (Compare Shviit,1,3, Maasser Sheyni 5,15, Sotah 46,48,49) Other practices, such as referring disputes to pagan judges of the nation (Greeks or Romans) occupying Israel at the time, made it almost impossible for the Jewish judiciary, even when meaning to preside over Torah law, to be an effective legal instrument. All of these conditions became a self-fulfilling prophecy in the decline of the Jewish people as a holy nation and led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of Jewish independence on a land of their own.

והשיגוך, “and they will overtake you.” In this verse, introducing the curses (afflictions), the word is spelled plene, i.e. with the letter ו, whereas in the previous appearance of this word in verse 2 describing the blessings the word was written defective, without this letter ו. The reason may be to reflect the verse in Psalms 91,15: “I will be with him (Israel) in distress.” This message is, however, alluded to in those words, i.e. עמו אנכי בצרה in the last letters of each of these words, the letters of the tetragrammaton ו-י-ה, which whenever they appear in reverse order allude to the attribute of Justice. The veiled message is that in spite of the awesome list of afflictions in this chapter they will not result in the extinction of the Jewish people. G’d will continue to watch over the Jewish people though they may not be aware of this.

V. 15. והיה אם לא וגו׳. Oben V. 1, in der die Segnungen einleitenden Voraussetzung der Pflichttreue, werden alle Gesetze in den einen Begriff מצות zusammengefasst. Dem freudigen Gehorsam, der Pflichtfreude sind alle Gesetze, die beschränkenden wie die gebietenden, gleich, sie sind die Anweisungen dessen, was wir auf dem Posten unseres Lebensdienstes als Glied des großen Heeres der Diener im Gottes Weltenreiche zu erfüllen haben. Die beschränkenden nicht minder als die gebietenden erfüllen uns mit dem freudig gehobenen Bewusstsein treuen Lebensdienstes vor Gott. Hier aber, in dem trüben Gegensatz des vorauszusetzenden Ungehorsams, stehen הקתיו neben מצותיו; denn dem Pflichtvergessenden bilden namentlich die das sinnliche Begehren beschränkenden חקים den Kreis von Gesetzen, der dem von Gott sich abwendenden Gemüte am meisten widersteht.

ובאו וגו׳ והשיגוך sie werden über dich verhängt und kannst du ihnen nicht entgehen.

V. 16. ארור וגו׳ (siehe zu V. 3).

ארור, just as the meaning of ברוך commonly translated as “blessed,” means enjoying the abundance of success and good things, so the word ארור, its opposite, means loss of valuable things and dearth of many essential things.

VV. 17 u.18. Der den Pflichtgetreuen beglückende Gottessegen zeigt sich ihm sofort in dem blühenden Gedeihen der Kinder und alles Lebendigen und sodann für dieses aufblühende Leben im Fruchtsegen des Bodens. Erst ברוך פרי בטנך und dann ברוך טנאך ומשארתך. Der dem Abfall folgende Unsegen greift nicht sofort das Lebendige an. Er macht sich erst warnend in טנאך ומשארתך fühlbar, bevor er פרי בטנך וגו׳ trifft.

In the blessings he mentioned first the fruit of thy body⁸⁷Above, Verse 4. and afterwards thy basket and thy kneading-trough⁸⁸Ibid., Verse 5. for the fruit of the body is the best and most beloved, but in the curses he delayed it [mentioning first thy basket and thy kneading-trough in Verse 17, and the fruit of thy body in Verse 18] because the punishment extends first to a man’s possessions,⁸⁹Vayikra Rabbah 17:4: “The Merciful One does not smite human life first.” and, if he does not repent, it reaches the fruit of his body. Similarly, in the blessings he mentioned first the smiting of the enemies⁹⁰Above, Verse 6. before the blessing in thy barns, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto,⁹¹Ibid., Verse 8. for triumph over the enemy is the honor and necessity for them in the conquest of the lands, and their dwelling safely among the peoples. And in the curses he mentioned first the diminishing in all that thou puttest thy hand unto to do⁹²Further, Verse 20. and delayed their being smitten before the enemies,⁹³Ibid., Verse 25. for this is the punishment that would reach them afterwards — and in the end they would be exiled.⁹⁴Ibid., Verse 68.

V. 19. Siehe zu V. 6.

המארה means PAUCITY, similar to (Leviticus 13:51) “a fretting leprosy (ממארה)” (a leprosy that frets the flesh, thus attenuating it).

המהומה, by means of the sound of thunder and hail, as in Samuel I 7,10 וירעם בקול גדול על פלשתים ויהמם, “the Lord thundered mightily against the Philistines that day and threw them into confusion.”

V. 20. ישלח וגו׳. Man hat vielfach geglaubt, die buchstäbliche Verwirklichung aller der hier folgenden Ankündigungen des Unsegens in der späteren Leidensgeschichte des Untergangs des zweimaligen jüdischen Staatslebens nachweisen zu müssen. Und in der Tat ist ja auch die mehr als zweitausendjährige Leidensgeschichte des jüdischen Volkes im großen Ganzen der lebendigste Kommentar dieser Ankündigungen, und namentlich die buchstäbliche Verwirklichung der Verse 64 — 67 angekündigten Zerstreuungsschicksals unter allen Völkern macht noch bis auf den heutigen Tag, selbst für das blödeste Auge, einen jeden Juden zum lebendigsten Denkmal und Zeugnis für die Wahrhaftigkeit und Göttlichkeit der Schrift, die ihren Gesetzen solche Ankündigungen als Garanten für Jahrtausende der Zukunft mit hinausgegeben. Allein hinsichtlich der einzelnen Züge des hier in vorhinein entrollten Leidensbildes glauben wir ein Zweifaches erwägen zu dürfen.

ואת המגערת, “curse;” the root of the word is גער to be angry;” G-d will express His anger by letting your crops fail. Proof that this is the correct interpretation of the word מגערת, can be found in Malachi 2,3: הנני גוער לכם את הזרע, “I will put your seed under a curse;”

המהומה — Onkelos renders this by שגוש which means: A TERRIFYING SOUND.

המגערת, a kind of rebuke. Compare Maleachi 2,2-3 הנני גוער לכם את הזרע וארותי את ברכותיכם, “Here I will put your seed under a ban and turn your blessings into curses.”

Zuerst können unmöglich die hier folgenden Leidensschilderungen als solche gegeben sein, welche alle die nationale Gesamtheit treffen werden. Das gestattet schon nicht die wiederholt und wiederholt gegebene Schlussbestimmung: עד כלתו אתך ,עד אבדך ,עד השמדך usw. Ist das ganze Volk bereits durch מארה usw. zu Grunde gerichtet und vernichtet, so kann es nicht erst durch דבר, und wenn durch דבר, so nicht erst durch שחפת usw. vernichtet werden, und hat es bereits durch alles dies Vernichtung gefunden, so kann es nicht noch erst V. 25 durch Kriegselend heimgesucht werden usw. Vielmehr, scheint uns wenigstens, dürften diese Aussprüche nur in dem Sinne gesagt sein, dass die einen durch Krankheit, die andern durch Pest, wieder andere durch Misswachs, andere durch Kriegsnot usw. zu Grunde gehen werden, und entspräche dies ganz der von uns bereits oben (V. 1) gegebenen Bemerkung, dass die charakteristische Tendenz dieser תוכחה in משנה תורה vorzüglich dahin gerichtet ist, dem einzelnen den Anteil schmerzlich fühlbar zu machen, der ihn infolge des Abfalls und Ruins der Gesamtheit treffen könnte. Ferner, glauben wir, dürfte doch nicht übersehen werden, dass die Gesamtverkündigung aller dieser Verhängnisse doch nur hypothetisch ist, für den Fall des vollendeten Abfalls und des allgemeinen Ungehorsams gegen Gottes Gesetz, ein Grad der Verderbnis, der gottlob zu keiner Zeit erreicht worden. Immer, wie wir es aus den Propheten wissen, war ein treu gebliebener Rest, ein שארית, vorhanden. Ja, wir haben anderwärts nachgewiesen (Jeschurun IX, S. 206 f.), wie dieser treugebliebene Rest, wenn gleich die Minderzahl, doch eine sehr bedeutende Minderzahl gebildet haben müsse, dass überhaupt Abfall und Verderbnis sich vorzüglich in den höheren Gesellschaftsschichten verbreitete, das Volk aber einen sehr reinen tüchtigen Kern im Stillen pflegte, sonst hätten nicht in Zeiten der größten Verderbnis, in Zeiten der Richter und Könige, Männer und Frauen von so hohem Geistes- und Sittenadel erstehen können, die sich Gott zu Werkzeugen und Boten seiner Sendungen darboten. War aber der Abfall nie absolut an Höhe und Umfang, so trat auch "Vernichtung" nie in absoluter Schärfe ein, und es konnte sich die göttliche Milde "ihren Rest" für die nicht minder (Kap. 30, 1 — 10) verkündete endliche Heileszukunft retten.

ישלח (siehe Bamidbar 21, 6). Der Fluch מהומה und מגערת kommt von selbst er stellt sich bei jedem sofort ein, der die Bahn des Rechten und Guten verlässt, daher ישַלַח, Gott hält ihn nur nicht zurück, hilft dir nicht, ihn zu beschwichtigen. את המארה את המחומה dem Akzente nach ist את המהומה Apposition zu את המארה: der Fluch die Unruhe. Mit der Sünde entweicht die innere Gemütsruhe und stellt sich המהומה, die innere Unruhe und מגערת, das stete Gefühl des Vorwurfs ein, des Selbstvorwurfs, und das Bewusstsein, den Vorwurf von Gott zu verdienen. So ויגער בו אביו (Bereschit 37. 10; vergl. Wajikra 26, 16). Diese innere Unruhe und stete vorwurfsvolle Stimmung stört das Gedeihen in allem Tun, בכל משלח וגו׳.

ידבק השם בך את הדבר, "G'd will make the pestilence adhere to you, etc." The penalties introduced with this verse through verse 44 ending with the words: "you will be the tail," refer to your failure to observe the negative commandments. This is the reason verse 45 concludes appropriately with: "because you have failed to hearken to the voice of your G'd to observe His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you." Any intelligent student will realise that all these terrible curses are the result of the commission of sins. The reason the Torah uses the simile "G'd will make the pestilence adhere to you," is because we know that if one commits only a single transgression the spiritually negative force one has created thereby attaches itself to the personality of the guilty person and eventually becomes part of his soul. This is the mystical dimension of mental illness. This evil part of man is called דבר, pestilence, as we have learned in Chabakuk 3,5: "pestilence walks ahead of Him." Satan, here called "pestilence," is described as preceding G'd. All the forces of evil are branches of Samael i.e. Satan, and are called by his name. All the various diseases and afflictions mentioned in our chapter are variations of the theme. When Rabbi Ami in Shabbat 55 claims that there is no death which is not due to sin and that there are no afflictions which are not the result of sin, he meant that sin "gives birth" to a variety of bodily afflictions. Jeremiah 2,12 speaks of the bodily afflictions being the result of Israel's wickedness.

ידבר ה' בך את הדבר עד כלותו אותך, “the Lord will make the pestilence adhere to you until it consumes you.” The word כלותו refers to the word הדבר, i.e. the pestilence, [the pestilence in its most violent form, Ed.] The word כלתו, usually understood to mean “it will totally consume,” is written defective, without the latter ו, to hint that the result will not be as terrible as we might think at first glance.

V. 21. ידבק ד׳ וגו׳. Es ist nicht unmöglich, dass die innere Unruhe und Vorwurfsqual die Wirkung selbst einer Pest erst zu verheerender Größe steigern, während Gemütsruhe und Gottvertrauen von innen heraus der Krankheit Widerstand zu leisten fähig sind.

והיו שמיך אשר על ראשך נחשת, "And the sky above your head will turn to copper." We may understand this with the help of the Zohar volume one page 6 that the sources of G'd's goodness will be blocked through our sins. We have an allusion to this in Job 14,11 "that the river is destroyed and dries up."

יתנך השם נגף, "G'd will cause you to be struck down by your enemies, etc." This too is the direct result of your sins as hinted at in Kohelet 8,9: "when a man rules over another to his detriment." Solomon means that the reason man experiences another force ruling him is that he has sinned and the forces he created now try to control him. Similar considerations govern all the various curses written in this chapter. All of them are outgrowths of sinful conduct.

והיו בך לאות ולמופת, "They will be a sign and a wonder in you, etc." When a person commits even a single sin this is somehow engraved on his forehead.

ובזרעך עד עולם, "and in your offspring, forever." The reason for this is that the soul of man becomes evil, corrupt, through all the spiritually negative forces his sins have created and which become progressively more and more part of his personality. We described these outgrowths previously as being like children one sires or gives birth to. We have also explained in connection with Genesis 49,3 that the mystical element of death which G'd decreed upon Adam and all his descendants is due to the fact that all his descendants have at least indirectly tasted the sin which Adam tasted. The transformation in Adam's character brought about by his eating from the forbidden fruit became part of his genes, and therefore, albeit in a less intense form, part of the genes of his descendants. [Seeing that both Eve and Adam transmitted this, it could easily not become diluted through subsequent matings of one human being with a guilt-free and therefore unpolluted human being. Ed.] This is what the Torah means here when it writes: "and in your offspring, forever."

בשחפת — This is a disease whereby one’s flesh becomes worn away and swollen.

בשחפת, with consumption; all the words in this verse refer to a variety of diseases.

יככה ה' בשפחת, “the Lord will strike you with fever, etc.” Notice that in both these verses the instigator of the affliction is the attribute of Mercy, Hashem, not the attribute of Justice, i.e. אלוקים. However, there is no question that in this instance the term Hashem is used to describe the attribute of Justice as it has been used in Genesis 6,7 when the Torah wrote (using the attribute Hashem) “I will wipe out man whom I have created.” We also find the term Hashem used to describe the attribute of Justice in Exodus 17,14 when G’d describes His intention to wipe out Amalek. By the same token, there are instances when the term אלוקים refers to the attribute of Mercy, and not as usual, to the attribute of Justice. One such instance is Genesis 8,1 ויזכר אלוקים את נח, “G’d remembered Noach.” Another such example is found in Genesis 20,17 when the Torah describes G’d as curing Avimelech and his household, employing His attribute of אלוקים. All that these examples teach, -as we have pointed out repeatedly,- is that neither attribute ever operates in an undiluted form. Each of these respective attributes of G’d contains at least minor elements of the opposite attribute at the time when G’d employs the respective attribute which is mentioned. This principle is alluded to in our verse by the otherwise redundant addition of the latter ה at the end of the word יככה. This letter reminds us of the disciplinary function even within the attribute of Mercy, i.e. Hashem. We encounter this extraneous letter ה also in Leviticus 26,18 (during the list of the afflictions) when the Torah warns of further disciplinary afflictions using the word ליסרה instead of simply ליסר. in our chapter the extra letter ה appears with all the seven categories of afflictions.

He will incite armed forces against you. Rashi is answering the question: Until this point the verse lists various kinds of illnesses, but what sort of illness is the sword? He explains that this is a separate curse, that He will incite armed forces against you. Alternatively, Rashi is answering the question how does a sword strike of its own volition [which the verse implies]?

V. 22. שחפת, verwandt mit שאב Schöpfen, שאף gieriges Luftschöpfen: Erschöpfung, Schwindsucht. חרחר von חרר durch Hitze austrocknen. ובחרב in dem Zusammenhange mit dem Vorhergehenden, dürfte hier חרב wohl kaum in der Bedeutung: Schwert zu nehmen sein. Es dürfte vielmehr in der Bedeutung von חֹרֶב Austrocknung stehen. So נהפך לשדי בחרבני קיץ סלה (Ps.32, 4). שדפון; vergl. שדופות קדים (Bereschit 41, 6).

ובחרב, “and with fiery heat;” here the word חרב is not used in the literal sense meaning “sword,” but as something derived from חורב and יובש, “dried out by excessive heart of the sun.” (Compare Ibn Ezra)

ובקדחת AND WITH FEVER — The word is similar in meaning to the verb in (Deuteronomy 32:22) “For a fire burns (קדחה) in My nostrils”. It is the heat felt by sick people, mal du feu in old French, which is a very high temperature.

קדחת,ודלקת, וחרחור, different kinds of fever.

Injury to the crops in the field. Rashi is answering the same question as before, what sort of illness is “שדפון וירקון”? And he explains that these are injurious to the crops. Until now the verse lists illnesses afflicting the body and here it list plagues that afflict the crops.

ובדלקת — This is a fever even hotter than קדחת. — All these terms denote different kinds of diseases, but of a similar character.

Targum: עד דתיבד, meaning, etc. Because according to its straightforward meaning, the verse implies that the Holy One will chase you until you are lost from Him, and someone else will find you. But this is impossible because if one is lost from the Holy One, who will find him and save him from His hand? Therefore he cites the Targum, עד דתיבד, which is an expression of annihilation from the world. Then Rashi asks that if so, why mention a description of destruction? It should have simply said עד אבוד, until annihilation? Regarding this he explains, “meaning, ‘until the annihilation of you.’” That is, if it had not written the ך' that connects the verb to speak in the second person, you might have thought the word אבד is an infinitive, like אבד תאבדון, “You must obliterate” (above 12:2), and its meaning is “until you will annihilate” something [of your own] as atonement for your sins. Therefore the Scripture adds the ך' that converts the verb to speak in the second person, so that the word אבד refers to the person spoken of, meaning, until you [yourself] are annihilated. Nevertheless, he [concludes and] explains that according to the Targum it means “until you are annihilated of yourself.” Examine this carefully. This answers what Re”m wrote, “I do not know how to resolve what Rashi first writes עד דתיבד [until the annihilation of you] and then writes עד אבוד אותך, [until you destroy], which implies that this is the explanation of עד דתיבד, but then he concludes, שתכלה מאליך, “until you are annihilated of yourself,” which can only be going according to the Targum.

ובחרחר — a disease that makes one burning hot inside the body, so that one is continually thirsting for water; in old French astrandement. The word is of the same meaning as the verbs in (Job 30:30) “My bones are burnt (חרה) because of heat”, and in (Jeremiah 6:29) “The bellows are burnt (נחר) by the fire”.

ובחרב AND WITH THE SWORD — i.e. He will bring hostile troops against you.

שדפון is the hot east-wind, hale in old French

ובשדפון ובירקון AND WITH BLASTING AND WITH MILDEW — these are diseases that afflict grain which is yet in the field (yet growing).

ירקון is drought. The symptoms are that the surface of the grain becomes pale and ultimately turns yellow; chaume in old French

עד אבדך — The Targum renders this by עד דתיבד, meaning “until you perish”, i.e. until you will perish on your own.

והיו שמיך אשר על ראשך נחשת AND THY HEAVEN WHICH IS OVER THY HEAD SHALL BE COPPER — These curses (i.e. all the curses contained in this chapter) Moses expressed them as though they came from his own mouth (Megillah 31b) whilst those he spoke on Mount Sinai (Leviticus 26), he expressed them as though from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, as indeed is implied by them (by the expressions used), for so it states there: “And if ye will not hearken unto Me”; “And if ye walk contrary to Me”, whilst here it says: “[And if thou wilt not obey] the voice of the Lord thy God”; “The Lord shall make cleave unto thee”; “The Lord shall smite thee”. Moses was milder in his curses, expressing them in the singular (“The Lord shall smite thee”, not “you”, the entire people), and similarly in this curse, too, he was milder, for in the former curses (those in Leviticus) it states, (Leviticus 26:19) “[I will make] your heaven as iron and your earth as copper”, i.e., that the heaven would not exude moisture, just as iron does not exude, and there would therefore be drought in the world, whilst the earth would exude moisture (be humid) just as copper sweats, and it would consequently rot the fruits. Here, however, it states, “Thy heaven shall be copper and thy earth shall be iron”, i.e. that the heavens would exude moisture: even though they might not pour with rain, at any rate there would be no ruinous drought in the world; whilst the earth would not exude moisture just as iron does not sweat, and consequently the fruits would not perish. Nevertheless this is a curse: for whether it (the earth) be as copper or whether it be as iron it will produce no fruit, and the heaven, too, will not pour with rain (give rain in abundance) (cf. Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 5 3 on Leviticus 26:19).

והיו שמיך אשר על ראשך נחשת, so that no rain can fall upon the earth from the sky.

These curses Moshe articulated himself, etc. Meaning that Moshe asked the Holy One for permission to curse them this way, and the Holy One granted him permission. This resolves the Gemara's statement (Sanhedrin 99a) that Moshe did not innovate even one letter [in the Torah] on his own i.e., without permission from the Holy One. And when Rashi explains that Moshe “articulated himself,” he means that he first asked the Holy One [for permission]. Tosefos in Chapter Bnei Ha'ir (Megilla 31b), [commenting on the Gemora there] write, “Moshe articulated himself, and through Divine Inspiration.”

V. 23. אשר תחתיך ,על ראשך. Es sind nicht allgemeine Kalamitäten, sie treffen nur dich.

נחושת, “copper;” not literally turning the sky into copper, but delivering moisture only like copper when its “sweats.” The same euphemism is used also for the word ברזל, “iron,” describing the earth beneath. In the commentary by Torat Kohanim, these euphemisms are understood in the reverse sense, i.e. the earth being like copper and the sky like iron. This is the way it had been described in Leviticus 27,19, where the chastisement has been authored by G-d Himself.

יתן ה' את מטר ארצך אבק ועפר, instead, what used to be known as “the rain of your land,” will turn into dust and earth. The wind will act instead as harbinger of rain, as harbinger of clouds of dust, blowing down from the arid and parched earth of the mountains.

It is said, “If you do not heed ‘Me’” etc. But if Moshe pronounced them, it would be impossible to say, “...heed me, etc.”

Still, this is a curse, etc. Rashi is answering the question that if Moshe wanted to curse them, then, what curse is “The heavens above your head will be like copper”?

מטר ארצך אבק ועפר [GOD SHALL MAKE] THE RAIN OF THY LAND POWDER AND DUST, through “a wind that comes after the rain” as the Talmud says (Taanit 3b); rain will fall but not as much as is needed, so that there will not be sufficient of it to lay the dust; the wind will come and blow the dust about and cover the leaves of the vegetation which are still wet from the water and it will adhere to them and so become mud which will afterwards become dry, and they will rot (Taanit 3b).

מטר ארצך, an expression describing anything descending from the sky, as in Genesis 19,24 when Sodom and Gomorrha were showered with sulfur and fire. Psalms 11,6 also uses the word מטר in that sense.

When the wind follows a rainfall, etc. This is the expression of the Gemora. Rashi is answering: How can it say that rain will turn into dust and soil which are two opposites, and to have two opposites in one situation is impossible! Therefore he explains, “When the wind follows, etc.”

V. 24. מטר ארצך אבק ועפר. Statt des Regens und eben durch gänzlichen Mangel desselben wirbelt der Wind Staub und Erde in die Höhe und diese fallen vom Himmel auf Felder und Wiesen zum Verderben der Pflanzen herab. So Taanit 9 b אבק ועפר מן השמים היכי משכחת ליה אלא כיון דמדלי להתם מן השמים קרי ליה. Daselbst 3 b wird das יתן ד׳ מטר ארצך אבק ועפר dahin erläutert, dass unmittelbar nach Regen ein heftiger Wind Staub und Erde aufwirbelt und damit die noch feuchten Pflanzen zu ihrem Verderben bedeckt werden.

אבק ועפר, “powder and dust;” the strong winds which normally bring rain from the sky, will instead be sandstorms originating in the tops of the mountains so strong that they turn the trees’ roots upside down.

Not enough to settle the dust, etc. להרביץ is similar to the expression (Shmos 23:5), “Lying (רובץ) under its burden.”

אבק ועפר, the letter א has the vowel kametz under it.

לזעוה [AND THOU SHALT] BECOME A זעוה, i.e. a cause of fright and trembling: it means that all who will hear of thy afflictions will tremblingly move away from you and will say, “Woe upon us, would that there should not befall us as has befallen them!”

V. 25. לועוה, von זעה gleichbedeutend mit זוע, beben, wovon זְוָעָה (Jes.28, 19). והיה רק זועה הבין שמועה das Gehörte verstehen wäre nur Entsetzen. Ebenso hier זעוה. Das Kriegselend, das dich von deinem Feinde trifft, wird ein so namenloses sein, dass der Gedanke an die Möglichkeit eines solchen Elends alle Völker erschüttern wird.

ואין מחריד; no one will chase away the vultures from consuming the dead bodies as there is no one left to bury them.

V. 26. והיתה וגו׳ ואין מחריד. Es wird keiner zurückbleiben, die Gefallenen zu begraben, und die Gegend wird so öde sein, dass die Vögel durch nichts in ihrem Fraß gestört werden.

ואין מחריד, “and there is no one to frighten them away.” No one will bother to bury these carcasses as the survivors have so many other problems to deal with. An alternate interpretation: no one will chase the vultures away.

בשחין מצרים [THE LORD WILL SMITH THEE] WITH THE BOILS OF EGYPT — This was very bad, being wet inside and dry on the surface, as is stated in Treatise Bechorot 41a.

בגרב ובחרס, “with wet boils and itch, etc.” The word גרב refers to an itch which the afflicted person scratches with a shard of earthenware. This is the approach taken by most commentators (Ibn Ezra quoting unnamed sources). It is, however, possible to understand the word ובחרס as related to שמש pronounced shamash (Pessikta Zutrata), that this affliction is due to G’d wanting to frighten the victim who faces such an affliction. The affliction is known by three names, שמש, חמה, חרס. The reason it is known as שמש is because man is supposed to be a servant serving his master, which the Jew afflicted with this disease has not been. Seeing that the servant (Israel) is of an especially high-ranking nature, this reflects on his Master and His High Rank. The name חמה reflects the fact that the skin affected becomes especially hot; it is also called חרס, reflecting the fact that the sun is supposed to spread light on earth (Job 9,7). [Both man and the sun have a similar task, the former to provide spiritual enlightenment, the latter to provide physical light. Ed.]
Furthermore, if you examine the three words שמש, חרס, חמה, you will observe that the combined final letters of these three words spell שס'ה (365) an allusion to the number of days in the solar year. This is a reference to the orbit of the sun created on the fourth day of creation. It is the outermost orbit of the four respective orbits, i.e. daily rotation of earth on its axis, the cycle of the week, and the cycle of the month, i.e. lunar orbit. The veiled warning in all this is that if one does not obey the rules laid down by G’d the result will be a universe which will eventually self-destruct due to our not having observed the commandments of the Torah which are part of the laws of nature. [I have translated this somewhat freely. Ed.] The author cites various verses from Scripture such as Judges 14,18, in which the word חרס means “sun.” Seeing that in Psalms 121,6 David appears to view the sun as a negative force, i.e. “the sun will not strike (יככה) you by day nor the moon by night,” it appears that the thrust of David’s words is that disease and malfunctions in nature are all due to faulty eating habits (involuntary at times), or to exposure to an inclement climate. All of these things are caused in one way or an other by the motion of the sun.

Extremely pernicious, etc. Otherwise, why does it say “Egyptian boils”? It should have simply said “boils.”

ובטחורים, and incurable hemorrhoids. Seeing that these ailments originate in hidden regions of the body they cannot be treated medically, and are described in the written text as עפולין, “from a dark place.”

גרב is a wet boil,

Boils that are dry, like ceramics. This is its meaning, because it is [also] written “with dry boils,” thus this indicates that גרב means running boils. See above in parshas Emor (Vayikra 21:20).

Since these ailments have been inflicted by G-d and are not phenomena known in nature, it is evident that physicians cannot deal with this.

חרס is a boil dry as a potsherd (חרס identical with חרש, a potsherd cf. Rashi on Leviticus 21:20).

ובתמהון לבב means “clogging of the heart”; etourdison in old French

V. 28. תמהון לבב, Unklarheit, Getrübtheit der Empfindungen, Gedanken und Vorstellungen (siehe Bereschit 43, 33).

עשוק [THOU SHALT BE] WRONGED — i.e. against every action of yours there will be dispute.

והיית אך עשוק וגזול כל הימים, “and you will only be cheated and robbed all the days.” The same message is repeated once more in verse 33 with a minor variation, the word רצוץ, “downtrodden,” being substituted for the word “robbed,” in our verse here. As usual, the word אך or רק, represents some exclusion to what preceded them. In this instance the word אך excludes other nations who will never be as downtrodden as the Jewish people when they are being disciplined by the Lord. On the other hand, the word רק, in connection with the elevation of the Jewish people in verse 13, also means that such an elevation as will be experienced by the Jewish people as part of the blessings is unparalleled amongst the Gentile nations.

Whatever you do will be subject to altercation. You cannot say [the term עשוק is related to] “You shall not withhold the wages (לא תעשוק) of your fellow” (Vayikra 19:13), which means to withhold the wages of a hireling, as this has nothing to do with our parsha. And robbery is already mentioned [in the word following]. Therefore Rashi explains the term (עשוק) is related to (Bereishis 26:20), “He named the well עשק [Quarrel], because they had quarreled with him.”

V. 29. והיית ממשש וגו׳. Es entgeht dir die klare Erkenntnis der Dinge und Verhältnisse und daher bringst du, was du unternimmst, nicht zum gewünschten Ziele, und diese deine Ratlosigkeit benutzen andere, zunächst die anwohnenden Völkerschaften, dich deines Rechts (עשוק) und deines Eigentums (גזול) zu berauben.

כאשר ימשש העור באפלה, “as the blind gropes in the darkness.” He does so out of fear. If he felt that he was in an area that was lit up, there would be people who would assist him, or at least warn him of obstacles in his way. (Talmud Megillah,24)

ישגלנה is connected in meaning with the noun שגל, a concubine; Scripture, however, paraphrases it by using a more decent, expression, viz., ישכבנה (i.e. the קרי is ישכבנה). This is a variation such as writers make to avoid an indecent expression (Megillah 25b; cf. Rashi on Genesis 18:22 and Note p. 266).

The meaning is related to “mistress,”“concubine.” [שגל means] a woman who is a concubine. That is to say, “A woman will you marry” and another man will take her as his concubine.

VV. 30-32 ist nur eine Ausführung des V. 29 Angedeuteten. Namentlich in diesen und anderen ähnlichen Ausführungen glauben wir eine Bestätigung unserer bereits geäußerten Meinung zu finden, dass in dieser תוכחה weniger das Gesamtgeschick des nationalen Untergangs als der Jammer und das Elend in mannigfachen Zügen vor die Seele geführt werden sollen, die den einzelnen treffen können, wenn das Ganze infolge des Abfalls der überwiegenden Mehrzahl zusammenbricht. ׳בית וגו׳ ,אשה וגו, ׳שורך וגו׳ ,כרם וגו usw. sind alles Züge, die ja im Einzelgeschick zur Verwirklichung kommen.

אשה תארש; ”you shall betroth a woman to become your wife, seeing that normal people first build themselves a house wherein he and his wife can live, before he offers to marry a woman, something we know already from Deuteronomy 20,5: “who is the man that has built ahouse and has not consecrated it, .... and has planted avineyard,...or has become engaged to a woman?” here the Torah illustrates the foolishness of the person who did not do this in the accepted order, and how his plans therefore will not be realised. He only has his own foolishness to blame for this, not fate.

תחללנו THOU SHALT NOT MAKE IT חולין in the fourth year so as to be able to eat its fruits (cf. Rashi on Deuteronomy 20:6).

But Scripture prefers a more refined term, etc. Meaning that it should have said “will have relations with her,” but Scripture preferred this more refined term, ישגלנה. That is, he will not lie with her like a harlot, but he will take her as a concubine.

This is the kind of refinement made by scribes. I already explained this in parshas Vayera (Bereishis 18:22).

וכלות אליהם [AND THINE EYES SHALL SEE] AND LONG FOR THEM — i.e. they will look expectantly for them (the children) that they should return home, but they will not return. — Any desire that does not come to fulfillment is termed a “failing of the eyes” (cf. Deuteronomy 28:65).

בניך ובנותיך נתנים לעם אחר, “your sons and your daughters will be given to another nation.” According to the Talmud, tractate Yevamot folio 63, here the Torah speaks of the second wife of a father who maltreats his children from his first wife.

וכלות, an expression describing longing for something in vain. Compare Psalms 84,3, וגם כלתה נפשי, “and my soul almost perished from longing.” (Ibn Ezra)

V. 33. פרי אדמתך וגו׳ fasst das Vorhergehende wieder zusammen als Wirkungen des Eingriffs, den sich Nachbarvölker, mit denen du in glücklichen Zeiten in gar keinem Verkehr gestanden, infolge deiner geistigen und leiblichen Herabgekommenheit erlauben. Sie versagen dir die allgemeinste völkerrechtliche Rücksicht (עשוק) und missbrauchen ihre Gewalt, deine letzte Kraft zu zerbrechen (רצוץ).

יאכל עם אשר לא ידעת, “a nation which you do not know will consume it.” They do not do you any favours as they do not even know you.

You will become insane. You will be amazed that you have become like this. That a few bandits have done so much damage, and your strength cannot save you, even though really it should have been strong enough against them. From this you will become insane and go out of your minds.

V. 35. יככה וגו׳. Die vereinzelte Stellung dieses Verses vor dem im folgenden angekündigten partiellen Exil, insbesondere da מכת שחין bereits oben (V. 27) mit anderen Krankheitsleiden erwähnt ist, dürfte vielleicht sagen sollen, dass die im folgenden Verse bezeichneten Exulanten mit einer solchen Krankheit behaftet in die Fremde geführt werden würden, und dadurch ihre Lage unter den ihnen ohnehin gehässigen Feinden nur noch unerträglicher werden würde.

V. 36. יולך וגו׳. Da Verse 38 — 43 noch von Leiden sprechen, welche offenbar noch ein Vorhandensein im eigenen Lande voraussetzen, so dürfte das hier angekündigte Exil vielleicht nur ein partielles sein, bei welchem nur ein Teil der Nation in die Verbannung wandert, ähnlich der Vertreibung der zehn Stämme, oder der Wegführung Jojachins (Könige ll, 24). Wahrscheinlich dürfte aber die Auffassung entsprechender sein, die wir zu den folgenden Versen geben (siehe zu Versen 37 — 45).

ועבדת שם וגו׳, ebenso V. 64. Der Zusammenhang lehrt, dass hier nicht von einem wirklichen Götzendienst die Rede ist, sondern dass damit vielmehr das Gesamtgeschick bezeichnet wird, welches Israel im Exil treffen werde. Die Bevölkerungen, deren Untertanen Israel wird, und von deren Gesinnungen und Anschauungen Israels künftige Schicksale abhängen, stehen selbst unter der Götterherrschaft des Heidentums und gestaltet sich ihre ganze Lebens- und Handlungsweise unter deren Einfluss. Israel wird also in Wahrheit dem Götter verehrenden Heidentum untertänig. Es hat den Dienst des Einzigeinen verschmäht, es lernt jetzt die Verirrung und Entartung fühlen, in welche Menschengeister und Herzen geraten, die nicht unter der Huldigung des Einzigeinen, die unter der Herrschaft heidnischer Wahnmächte ihre Gedanken und Empfindungen, ihre Gesinnungen und Handlungen gestalten. Alles Herbe der künftigen Exilsjahrhunderte wurzelt in der Tatsache, dass Israels Geschick von Menschen abhängig wurde, denen die monotheistische Wahrheit nicht leuchtete und ihnen zur Durchbildung zur Humanität nicht verhalf. Dass dies der Sinn dieses Satzes ועבדת שם וגו׳ ist, das beweist dessen erläuternde Umschreibung in Jeremias (Kap. 16, 13) והטלתי אתכם מעל הארץ הזאת על הארץ אשר לא ידעתם אתם ואבתיכם ועבדתם שם את אלהים אחרים יומם ולילה אשר לא אתן לכם חנינה.

לשמה [THOU SHALT] BECOME AN OBJECT OF ASTONISHMENT — This word means the same as תמהון, etourdison in old French, English astonishment. — Whoever will see you will be astonished about you.

ולשנינה, a kind of byword, as in Deut. 6,7 ושננתם, “you will make them a byword, not to be forgotten.”

VV. 37 — 45. והיית לשמה למשל ולשנינה וגו׳. Mit diesem Satze wird ein Zweck, jedenfalls eine Heilesfolge enthüllt, die sich an die über Israel einbrechende "Verödung" knüpft. שמה ist der völlige Gegensatz zu einem in Segen aufblühenden Zustande (siehe zu Bereschit 42, 21). Diese Verödung, die in folgenden Versen 38. — 44 nochmals in großen Zügen vorgeführt wird, und die sie veranlassende Ursache (V. 45) werden eine weltgeschichtliche, offenkundige Tatsache, mit welcher Israel ins Exil geht und damit das Bewusstsein von dem Menschen und Völker verpflichtenden und richtenden Einzigeinen in den Kreis der Völker trägt. Israels שמה, Israels weltgeschichtlicher Untergang wird למשל ולשנינה zum mahnenden und warnenden Beispiel und zur eindringlichen Lehre für die Völker. Was sich an Israel vollzieht, ist nur ein משל, ist nur die an einem Volke veranschaulichte Wahrheit, die alle Völker zu fürchten haben, sobald sie dem göttlichen Sittengesetze den Rücken zuwenden. Und indem Israel unter alle Völker zerstreut wird und trotz der Vereinzelung nicht in sie aufgeht, sondern, wie es V. 46 heißt, eben durch sein auf Gott hinweisendes Geschick Jahrhunderte hindurch gekennzeichnet bleibt, wird es in Wahrheit שנינה (siehe Kap. 6, 7), ein präzises, scharfumschriebenes, eindringliches Lehrmittel in Gottes Händen zur Erziehung der Völker, und das, was das Gott treue Israel in heiterem Glücke hätte sein sollen und was es einst in wiedererstandenem Glücke werden wird, die Völker zu Gott und seinem Gesetze sammelnde Leuchte (Jesaias 2), das wird nun Israel im Exil unter schwerem Leiden zum einstigen vollen Heile der Völker vorbereiten.

למשל [THOU SHALT] BECOME A PROVERB — i.e., when an extraordinary misfortune comes upon a man people will say: “This is like the misfortune that befell Mr. So-and-so!”

חסל ,יחסלנו ist das gesteigerte אזל, das vollendete schwinden, und zwar aktiv: gänzlich verzehren.

ולשנינה AND A BYWORD — This is an expression of the same meaning as (Deuteronomy 6:7) ושננתם, “And thou shalt speak often”. — “And thou shalt become a ״שנינה therefore means: they (people) will talk about you (make you the topic of their conversation). Onkelos, too, renders it thus: ולשועי, which has the meaning of “relating about a matter”, just as ואשתעי is the Targum rendering of ויספר, “and he related”.

אגר ,תאגר zur Aufbewahrung sammeln. אוגר בקיץ (Prov. 10, 8). Es ist גר, גור, dem Boden entnehmen, mit, vorgesetztem individualisierendem א, zum Selbstzweck, für sich. Eine Schrift, in welcher man die über irgend einen Gegenstand gesammelten Gedanken niedergelegt hat, heißt daher אגרת Brief. לא תשתה ולא תאגר ist wohl absteigend. Sonst hast du nicht nur Wein zum trinken, sondern auch zum Aufbewahren gehabt. Jetzt wirst du keinen Wein zu trinken, geschweige denn zum Aufbewahren erhalten. Oder אגר bezieht sich auf die Weinlese. Du wirst keinen Wein zu trinken, ja nicht einmal Weinbeeren zu sammeln haben.

יירש, das verstärkte ירש, völlig in Besitz nehmen. הצלצל, der Heuschreckenschwarm entweder von seiner die Sonne verfinsternden Menge, oder seinem betäubenden Geräusch. Beides tritt in der Schilderung eines solchen Schwarms (Joel 2, 2 und 5) hervor. צלל: siehe zu Bereschit 19, 8.

הגר. Und all dieses Missgeschick trifft dich ganz individuell. Auf demselben Boden, auf dem du bis zur völligen Verödung zu Grunde gehst, kommt der Fremde neben dir empor.

ובאו עליך, über dich kommen alle diese Leiden und der Fremde in deiner Mitte bleibt von ihnen verschont, und das kennzeichnet sie eben als deinen Ungehorsam gegen Gottes Gesetz strafende Gottesgerichte.

יחסלנו [THE LOCUST] WILL CROP IT OFF — The word means: it will make an end of it. It is for this reason that it (the locust) is also called חסיל (cf. e.g. Joel 1:4) because it consumes all the vegetation, etc. (חסל in Aramaic means “to end”; cf. Talmud Yerushalmi Taanit 3:6).

For this reason it is called, [lit.] the demolisher etc. Elsewhere is the locust called חסיל. Why? Because it destroys everything.

ישל means, it (the olivetree) shall drop its fruits. It is similar in meaning to the verb in (Deuteronomy 19:5), "And the iron falleth off (ונשל).

ישל, from the root נשל as in Deut. 7,1 ונשל גויים, “He will dislodge,” the construction is parallel to that of ימל קצירו in Job 18,16 compared to Genesis 17,11 ונמלתם, you shall circumcise.” The root נשך also becomes ישך in the future tense.

Will discard its fruit, meaning the same as “And the iron discards.” Rashi is not satisfied to say that that it (ישל) means being discarded, because it is a verb applying to an object where the object, i.e., the fruits, are missing [from the sentence]. Therefore he says, “Will discard its fruit, meaning the same as 'And the iron discards (נשל),'“ which is also a verb applying to an object and means that the iron will discard a piece from the wood being hewed, and it will go and kill him. (Re”m)

יירש הצלצל means, the locust will make it (the tree) bare (lit., will impoverish it) of its fruits.

HA’TZLATZAL.’ In the opinion of Rashi this is one of the species of the locust. But if so, it would have been proper for him [Moses] to connect it with the verses where he speaks of the locust⁹⁵Verse 38. and the worm!⁹⁶Verse 39. It appears more likely that the word tz’latzal is a term for “a hostile army.” He is thus stating, Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be thine⁹⁷Verse 41. to work for you and be a nourisher of thine old age,⁹⁸Ruth 4:15. for they shall go into captivity⁹⁷Verse 41. before the enemy. And he states, All thy trees and the fruit of thy soil⁹⁹In Verse 42 before us. which will not bear fruits for you, as he mentioned¹⁰⁰Verses 38-39. — the enemy coming upon you will take possession, for in the year during which the enemy will come upon you, [the trees and fields] will yield them their produce and they will eat it. Now, an army is called tz’latzal [from the term tzeltzal — “cymbal”] because of the noise of war in the camp¹⁰¹Exodus 32:17. which they cause and the voice of the horn,¹⁰²Job 39:24. the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.¹⁰³Ibid., Verse 25. [The word tz’latzal is thus] from the word ‘tziltzelei shama’ (loud-sounding cymbals) and ‘tziltzelei t’ruah’ (clanging cymbals);¹⁰⁴Psalms 150:5. and with rattles¹⁰⁵A musical instrument, a form of metal rattle. ‘uv’tzeltzelim’ (and with cymbals).¹⁰⁶II Samuel 6:5. Similarly, the expression, Ah, land of ‘tziltzal’ of wings¹⁰⁷Isaiah 18:1. means a land [i.e., a people] that causes “the sound of its wings” be heard as it goes to far off places as the vulture swoopeth down.¹⁰⁸Further, Verse 49. And in the Gemara we find:¹⁰⁹Baba Kamma 116b. “[The Mishnah states: ‘If a man took illegal possession of a field] and masikin took it from him.’ The scholar that reads the word as masikin is not in error, for it is written yeyaresh ha’tzlatzal¹¹⁰In Verse 42 before us. which we translate [in Onkelos’ rendition] ‘yachs’nine saka’ah’ (the ‘locust’ will take possession). And the scholar that reads the word as matzikin is also not in error, for it is written in the siege ‘uvmatzok’ (and in the straitness),”¹¹¹Verse 53. for the word [saka’ah which is the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew tz’latzal] was to the Sages the term for those who bring people in the siege and in the straitness¹¹¹Verse 53. [and is thus also an expression for a hostile army, and not as Rashi says that it is a species of the locust].
Know that the admonitions concerning scantiness, discomfiture, rebuke,¹¹²Above, Verse 20. pestilence,¹¹³Ibid., Verse 21. trees, and the fruit of the soil¹¹⁰In Verse 42 before us. and all the other admonitions will all endure until He will cause you to vanish from the Land whither thou goest in to possess it.¹¹⁴Further, Verse 63. But after the exile [will have taken place] he does not imprecate them except by saying, and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.¹¹⁵Above, Verse 36. At times, however, he reverts to reprove them while still in the Land, as he said, The Eternal will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers; and there thou shalt serve other gods,¹¹⁵Above, Verse 36. this being a reference to the exile in which we were expatriated to Rome because of the journey there of King Agrippa¹¹⁶See Vol. I, p. 568. [the last king during the period of the Second Temple who made a covenant with Rome].¹¹⁷See Vol. III, pp. 471-472, Notes 148-149. Afterwards he [Moses] reverts and says, Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field etc.¹¹⁸Above, Verse 38. Now, these admonitions [apply] while they are in the Land, for so he states afterwards, and ye shall be plucked from off the Land¹¹⁴Further, Verse 63. which is a reference to the exile. In my opinion this, too, is part of Moses’ intimations. He states, The Eternal will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that thou hast not known¹¹⁵Above, Verse 36. which alludes to King Agrippa’s journey to Rome. It is also possible that he alludes to another king, preceding Agrippa, namely Aristobulus¹¹⁹Aristobulus, the younger son of King Jannai and the brother of Hyrcanus II, fought the Romans during the siege of Jerusalem. When the city finally fell before Pompey, Aristobulus was taken to Rome in chains. whom the Roman general [Pompey] captured and brought there [to Rome] in fetters of brass. They [the captives] became a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples¹²⁰Verse 37. who were so amazed at their historic strength [and nevertheless such a calamity befell them that the viewers said], How are the mighty fallen, and their weapons of war perished!¹²¹II Samuel 1:27. Afterwards¹²²I.e., a long time afterwards Pompey conquered the city of Jerusalem in the year 63, before the Common Era, while the Agrippa referred to here was the last king of Judea before the destruction of the Second Temple, which took place in the year 70, Common Era. This Agrippa was known as Agrippa II. His father Agrippa I was a righteous king and is often spoken of favorably by the Sages. His policy was to strengthen the position of the Jews. This was not true of Agrippa II who, as the following text shows, assisted the Romans in their conquest of the Land resulting in the destruction of the Temple, and the exile. Agrippa [II] came once again with the emissary of the king of Rome into the Land and captured very large cities in the land of Judea. Then was fulfilled what he [Moses] said, And thou shalt serve thine enemy whom the Eternal shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst etc.¹²³Verse 48. It further states, The Eternal will bring a nation against thee from afar,¹²⁴Verse 49. for, Vespasian and his son Titus came with a very large Roman army into the Land and captured all the fortified cities of Judea, and oppressed them greatly, as is known from the [history] books that they also captured the walls of Jerusalem and there remained only the Sanctuary and the wall of the Court. They [the besieged] ate the flesh of their sons and their daughters.¹²⁵See Verse 53. And when the Sanctuary was also captured, then was fulfilled and ye shall be plucked from off the Land.¹¹⁴Further, Verse 63. Then the Romans returned to their country taking with them the exile of Jerusalem, as did the many [foreign] peoples, too, who were with them [i.e., the Romans] — from Greece, Egypt, Syria and many other peoples [who had joined the Romans in the destruction of Jerusalem and who took Israelite captives with them]. Then was fulfilled the verse, And the Eternal shall scatter thee among all peoples etc.¹²⁶Verse 64. The verses after that, all refer to their punishment in exile. So also, And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee¹²⁷Verse 66. applies to our fear in exile under peoples who constantly promulgate decrees against us. The correct interpretation is that this verse alludes to those generations that existed at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple, for the Romans were then scheming to destroy the Jews completely. Therefore he says afterwards, And the Eternal shall bring thee back into Egypt in ships,¹²⁸In the beginning of the P’sichta (Opening) to Esther Rabbathi. which happened when [the Romans] finished removing them from the Land. And our Rabbis have said:¹²⁸In the beginning of the P’sichta (Opening) to Esther Rabbathi. “Why [was it decreed that they be brought back into] Egypt? Because it is offensive and evil for a servant when he returns to his first master.” If so, he mentioned Egypt as a reproof. However, once we have been exiled to the countries of our enemies, the work of our hands has not been accursed. Neither have our oxen and the breeds of our flock, our vineyards and our olive orchards and that which we have sown in the field [been adversely affected]. Rather in the countries [of our exile] we are like the rest of the peoples who inhabit whatever country, or even better than them,¹²⁹An obvious reference to the favorable condition of Jews in Spain. for His mercies are upon us, because our habitations in exile are by [virtue of] the promise He made to us, And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant with them; for I am the Eternal their G-d.¹³⁰Leviticus 26:44. I have already explained in Seder Im Bechukothai¹³¹Ibid., Verse 16 (at the end). the secret of this covenant [mentioned here], and that it refers to the present time of our exile at the hand of the “fourth beast,”¹³²In Daniel’s vision concerning the four kingdoms that will rule the world, the fourth beast symbolizes Rome. See Daniel 7:7; also Vol. I, p. 35., Note 8, and Vol. IV, pp. 286-290. and afterwards He assured us of being [completely] redeemed therefrom.
Now, we have examined the punishments for idolatry which are mentioned in the Torah in many places, among them what is stated at the beginning [of this book]: When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have been long in the Land, and shall deal corruptly, and make a graven image etc.,¹³³Above, 4:25. this being a warning to Israel lest they worship idols after being in the Land for many years and having grown old in it. The punishment for that is, I call heaven and earth to witness etc.¹³⁴Ibid., Verse 26. until And the Eternal shall scatter you among the peoples, and ye shall be left few in number.¹³⁵Ibid., Verse 27. And there it is stated, And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands,¹³⁶Ibid., Verse 28. and he promised, But from thence ye will seek the Eternal thy G-d, and thou shalt find Him etc.¹³⁷Ibid., Verse 29. This has been fulfilled with them [in the Babylonian exile] as I have already mentioned and explained.¹³¹Ibid., Verse 16 (at the end). And in another chapter he said, And it shall be, when the Eternal thy G-d shall bring thee into the Land which He swore unto thy fathers etc.;¹³⁸Ibid., 6:10. Ye shall not go after other gods of the peoples that are round about you.¹³⁹Ibid., Verse 14. And the punishment is, for a jealous G-d, even the Eternal thy G-d, is in the midst of thee; lest the anger of the Eternal thy G-d be kindled against thee, and He destroy thee from off the face of the earth.¹⁴⁰Ibid., Verse 15. This is a warning to those who enter the Land lest they immediately become attached to idolatry and forget the G-d Who brought them forth from Egypt and walk after the idols. This Israel never did, nor did this punishment ever take place. The language of the verse implies this — that it is a warning, not a suggestion of something destined to be, as he said, lest the anger of the Eternal thy G-d be kindled against thee,¹⁴⁰Ibid., Verse 15. that is to say, you should be fearful of this. In a third chapter he stated Beware lest thou forget the Eternal thy G-d, in not keeping His commandments, and His ordinances, and His statutes etc.,¹⁴¹Ibid., 8:11. and he said, and thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Eternal thy G-d, Who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt etc.; Who led thee through the great and dreadful wilderness etc.,¹⁴²Ibid., Verses 14-15. and so throughout the section. And thou say in thy heart: ‘My power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth.’ But thou shalt remember the Eternal thy G-d, for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth.¹⁴³Ibid., Verses 17-18. And here [i.e., in this third chapter] he said, And it shall be, if thou shalt forget the Eternal thy G-d, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I forewarn you this day etc.¹⁴⁴Ibid., Verse 19. This is also a warning to those entering the Land lest they forget the Glorious Name¹⁴⁵Further, Verse 58. and deny that it was He Who brought them forth from the land of Egypt and [lest they claim that] He did nothing for them, but that they did everything by their own power because they were strong and therefore they will worship the idols as they please. The punishment for this would be complete destruction: As the nations that the Eternal causeth to perish before you, so shall ye perish.¹⁴⁶Above, 8:20. The language of the verse indicates that he is warning them lest they do so when they enter the Land before they grow old in it, before they destroy all the peoples of the Land. Therefore he said, As the nations that the Eternal causeth to perish before you, so shall ye perish,¹⁴⁶Above, 8:20. which applied to the time when the peoples [of the Land] were destroyed, and he warned them that G-d would turn His hand from the destruction of these peoples and He would destroy Israel like them. This, too, Israel never did, and nothing like it came upon them. The fourth time he warned and explained, saying, And it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Eternal thy G-d, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes etc. that all these curses shall come upon thee etc.¹⁴⁷Verse 15 (here). and all the words of the covenant [which follow], and in the end there is the great promise: And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee etc., and thou shalt bethink thyself etc., and shalt return unto the Eternal thy G-d etc., that then the Eternal thy G-d will restore thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee,¹⁴⁸Further, 30:1-3. and so on to the conclusion of the section. Now, this is the warning and allusion to this our [present] exile and to the perfect redemption by which we will be redeemed therefrom. And the fifth chapter is a warning by way of a prophecy to be fulfilled: And the Eternal said unto Moses: ‘Behold, thou art about to sleep with thy fathers, and this people will rise up …¹⁴⁹Ibid., 31:16. [Now therefore write ye this Song for you …] that this Song shall testify before them as a witness, for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed etc.’¹⁵⁰Ibid., Verses 19 and 21. This warning has been wholly fulfilled in its literal sense and wider meaning.

הצלצל, “the chirping locust.”

יירש הצלצל, “the chirping locust will impoverish.” The word יירש is from the same root as להוריש, to dispossess in Deut. 4,38. This is also the way Onkelos understands it, i.e. in Deut. 4,38 when he writes יתרך. Rashi, on the other hand, understands the word as derived from the word רש, poor. In that case, the Torah would describe the locust as making the fruit “look poorly.” The word צלצל describes a certain species of locust, based on the noise this species makes when it appears in swarms. The word is found in a similar meaning in Psalms 150,5 צלצלי תרועה, “the cymbals making loud noises.” The Targum renders this word here as סקאה, suggesting that it is a kind of locust or beetle equipped with a sack-like bag. The word appears in Baba Kama 116 as robbery with violence, the Talmud quoting our verse as proof for the meaning of ונטלוהו מסיקין. The meaning there is that one robs from the robber.

A species of locusts, etc. It is called צלצל, an expression of “clanging cymbals (Tehillim 150:5),” because many of them come at once, and they come with resounding noise and commotion.

יירש means, it will impoverish.

For, if so, it should have written יירש, etc. With a chirik under the first יו"ד.

צלצל is a species of locust. — One cannot explain יְָירֵשׁ as meaning "inheriting" ("taking possesion of", as the Targum does), for if so it ought to have written יִירַשׁ (cf. Genesis 21:10). Nor can it have the meaning of “driving out” and “expelling”, for then it ought to have written יוריש.

הוא יהיה לראש, “he shall become the head;” this is based on Proverbs 22,7, עבד לוה לאיש מלוה, “the borrower is a slave to the lender.”

לאות, that the one cursing his enemy wishes the cursed to be like himself. Furthermore, being accursed is also a sign that the victim did not serve His G’d.

V. 46. והיו בך. Diese deinen staatlichen Untergang herbeiführenden Strafgerichte werden zu einem welthistorischen, Gottes Waltung zeigenden אות und die Menschen ihre Pflicht lehrenden מופת, deren Erinnerung du und deine Nachkommen für alle Zeiten in die Mitte der Völker hinaustragen, und mit diesen Erinnerungen kommst du zu den Völkern ins Exil, und dort:

מרב כל means: while you possessed all good things.

תחת אשר לא עבדת…בשמחה, "Because you did not serve…out of joy, etc." This punishment and what follows until verse 58 אם לא תשמר לעשות is for non-performance of the positive commandments of the Torah. The Torah repeats the same words in verse 58 to make certain that we appreciate which set of curses is in response to which set of sins. The reason the Torah speaks of our failure to perform the commandments out of joy is to contrast joyful מצה-performance with the absolute opposite, i.e. exile experienced amid the most depressing conditions. The Torah paints a picture of the punishment fitting the crime. The Jewish people who shook off the yoke of G'd's commandments will instead have to bear the far heavier burden of their captors' yoke around their necks.

תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה' אלוקיך בשמחה, “because you did not serve the Lord your G’d joyfully.” The Torah accuses people who do serve G’d not to have done so joyfully. A person is obligated not merely to carry out G’d’s instructions but to do so gladly, in a happy frame of mind. Joy when performing any of G’d’s commandments is considered as fulfillment of a commandment by itself, meriting additional reward. This is why one may be punished for failing to perform the commandments with a joyful heart. This is why the Torah requires that its commandments be performed with full intent and joyfully. Our sages in Midrash Ruth Rabbah 5,6 comment concerning this that if Reuven had been aware that G’d would write in the Torah concerning his attempts to save Joseph’s life from the hands of his other brothers (Genesis 37,21) that he would receive a reward not only for his deed but for the good intentions accompanying same, he would have carried Joseph on his shoulders and brought him back to his (their) father. The Torah also makes a point of underlining the joy in Aaron’s heart when he saw his brother Moses again after so many years. Had he known that his feelings would be commented upon favorably (Exodus 4,14), he would have gone out to meet his brother accompanied by an orchestra of many different musical instruments. Had Boaz known that his offering Ruth food and drink in abundance would be recorded for eternity as a good deed of his, he would have fed her the choicest parts of a fatted calf, instead of merely bread and vinegar (Ruth 2,14).

While you had every benefit. Rashi makes the מ"ם of מרוב as if it were a בי"ת, like the מ"ם in “מסיני בא (Adonoy came at Sinai) (below 55:2).” As if the verse said ברוב כל, meaning, “while still in abundant affluence,” i.e., while you still had every benefit.

VV. 47 u. 48. אשר ישלחנו ד׳ בך ,תחת וגו׳, den Gott wider dich schickt, oder vielmehr, wie שלח im Piel gewöhnlich, den Gott wider dich kommen lässt, ihn nicht an deiner Unterjochung hindert. So war der Untergang Israels durch die assyrisch-babylonische Macht ein ganz natürlicher Erfolg dieser welterobernden Gewalt Israels unkriegerischer Ohnmacht gegenüber, die der Übermacht verfallen war, sobald Gott seinen Schutz zurückzog, הסר משוכתו והיה לבער (Jesaias 5, 5).

אם לא תשמור לעשות, "if you will not be careful to carry out, etc." This verse reminds us that we will be punished for non-performance of positive commandments. The Torah includes all the positive commandments as designed to demonstrate our fear/reverence of the Lord. Fearing the Lord is itself one of the positive commandments as stated by Maimonides at the beginning of his Sefer Hamada, Hilchot Yesodey Ha-Torah chapter 2. We have already explained in connection with 27,26 why the Torah did not write the conditional "if you will not perform the commandments, etc." The reason is that many people will simply never be able to perform some of the positive commandments.

It is also possible that this verse intends to parallel what the Torah wrote in a parallel paragraph in Leviticus 26,23 "and if in spite of all these penalties you still refuse to be disciplined." Similarly, our verse may be an introduction to a renewed set of curses in the event the experience of what G'd brought upon the Jewish people still did not have the effect of making penitents out of them. The words תשמור לעשות may then refer to the violation of negative commandments plus the non-performance of the positive commandments. G'd warns that after all the curses He has already brought upon the recalcitrant Jewish people He has still more curses at His disposal to make them realise their mistakes. מכות גדולות ונאמנות וחלים רעים ונאמנים. "great and lasting blows, malignant and chronic illnesses." The Torah uses the expression נאמנים, normally translated as "faithful," to tell us that though there are well-known medications which usually cure these diseases, in this instance the illnesses will remain "faithful," i.e. they will not respond to treatment.

ונשארתם במתי מעט, "and you will remain few in numbers, etc." This is due to your "not listening to the voice of the Lord your G'd." The latter comment by the Torah refers to the Israelites failing to correct their neglect of Torah study. והיה כאשר שש ה׳ עליכם להיטיב אתכם, "And it will be just as the Lord enjoyed to grant you benefits, etc." The Torah reminds us that a person should not say that G'd's virtues include that He is so merciful and compassionate that it is imposssible to imagine that He would allow the misfortunes of the Jewish people to continue after the curses which the Torah has spelled out thus far have already been visited upon His people. This is why the Torah has to tell us that there are circumstamces when G'd has to feel joy in disciplining His people. According to this concept nature does not recoil from these kinds of joy. We have a statement in Proverbs 11,10 that "there is joy when the wicked perish." Our sages in Sanhedrin 39 interpret the verse (Kings I 22,36) ויעבר הרנה, "that a note of jubilation was heard throughout the country when people heard that Achav had fallen in battle." According to the Talmud that joy was heard in the celestial regions. Yonathan ben Uzziel translates the verse in question as "G'd will bring joy to the people because a king who had been rebellious against G'd perished." Nonetheless, the plain meaning of the verse is not uprooted by this translation and has been properly translated by Onkelos as: "a shout or proclamation went through the camp when the sun set: 'every man to his town, every man to his village.'"

We need to understand why the Torah does not include verses of comfort in the list of curses which are recorded here as it did in Leviticus chapter 26,42-44. Besides, why did Moses altogether repeat the curses already recorded by G'd in Leviticus?

I believe the reason Moses repeated the curses here is because in Leviticus they were all addressed to the people as a whole, not to each Israelite individually. Someone might have argued that if part of the nation would live their lives as Torah-observant people G'd would not be so particular about the part who did not. This is why Moses saw fit to write the curses in this chapter all in the singular so that every Israelite would understand that he personally was being addressed by the Torah. In order not to be misunderstood Moses uses a plural on occasion, such as when he speaks about "your skies turning to copper," seeing the individual Israelite does not each have his own sky. At the same time, Moses speaks about the sky being above the head of the individual Israelite, i.e. ראשך. On another occasion Moses says ישא ה׳ עליך גוי מרחוק, "G'd will bring up against you (pl) a nation from afar." Clearly, G'd would not command an entire nation to march against Israel because of an individual sinner; rather Moses speaks here about the possibility that part of the Israelites are disloyal to G'd. At any rate, in the main Moses uses the singular for the reasons that we have mentioned.

Now we can also understand why Moses did not see fit to include verses of comfort as did G'd in chapter 26 in Leviticus. G'd had to reassure the multitude that they would not be subject to total extinction; this is why we have verse 42-46 in Leviticus 26 affirming this. In our chapter, where the individual is addressed, such words of comfort would be counterproductive. If these individuals insist on their wayward behaviour G'd will most certainly destroy them. We have clear evidence of this in the legislation dealing with the עיר הנדחת, the city whose inhabitants became idolators (Deut. 13,14-19). There G'd had commanded to wipe out an entire Jewish city, lock stock and barrel. There certainly was no need either to tell us that a sinner will be brought to court and executed. In Parshat Nitzavim (29,19) the Torah deals with individuals or even a whole tribe becoming wicked and the fact that G'd will single them out for destruction at His hands. There too, the Torah does not bother to write lines of comfort and reassurance.

Do not raise the question that there are two or three instances in our chapter where the Torah addresses the multitude rather than the individual, such as the statement "you (pl) will remain few in numbers, or the words להאביד אתכם, "to destroy you" (pl). In each of those instances the Torah had already addressed the message of the paragraph to the individual Israelites first. Everybody understands that the individuals to whom the Torah speaks are part of a great multitude, i.e. of the same people.

You may counter: "why did the Torah not address the curses in Leviticus in the singular and then there would have been no need to repeat all these curses a second time in our chapter?" I would then have concluded that all these terrible punishments would be meted out only to individuals and not to the people as a body. Or, I would have reasoned that even though the Torah describes these sins as very major, the people as a whole would learn from what happened to sinful individuals and would mend their ways. By mentioning verses of comfort and referring to the continued validity of the covenant between G'd and the Patriarchs, the Torah made it plain that not only individuals but the whole people may become the target of these curses.

To sum up, we have found that G'd punishes us separately for neglect of Torah study, for violating the negative commandments as well as for failure to carry out the positive commandments. Although we have a statement in Menachot 41 that G'd does not mete out punishments for failure to carry out positive commandments unless He happens to be very angry at the time on account of some other sin, there are two positive commandments for which the Torah legislated the karet penalty as a matter of routine. Failure to be circumcised or to be included in the eating of the passover lamb are punishable by extinction from one's people. Furthermore, if a person deliberately decides not to carry out positive commandments written in the Torah, G'd will curse him and he is subject to all the disasters listed in our chapter.

מרב כל, ועבדת את אויביך בחוסר כל, “You will serve your enemies...deprived of everything.” This is another example of how G’d makes the punishment fit the crime (Sanhedrin 90). Seeing that the people did not serve the Lord when they had “plenty of everything,” they would wind up serving their enemies when being “devoid of all.” We read in Chagigah 9 that the words of Isaiah 48,10: “I have refined you, but not as silver, I test you in the furnace of poverty,” mean that G’d reviewed all the various positive attributes He could treat the Israelites with and found that only the attribute of poverty would be appropriate. The scholar Shmuel commented on this statement that this is the meaning of the popular saying: “poverty is as appropriate for the Jewish people as a red harness for a white horse.”

כאשר ידאה הנשר [THE LORD WILL BRING A NATION AGAINST YOU FROM AFAR], AS THE EAGLE SWOOPS DOWN — i.e. suddenly, and by a successful march, and its horses will be swift.

כאשר ידאה הנשר, “as the eagle will swoop.” This is a reference to the Roman Emperor Vespasianus and his general (and son) Titus (before the latter became Emperor). He had thought that it would take him 10 days to reach Jerusalem whereas he found that he reached the city after only five days of travel. He had overheard a young child quote our verse in which G’d describes a nation being carried against the Jewish people from the end of the earth much like an eagle which swoops down out of the sky. He applied this verse to himself when he experienced such an extraordinarily fast journey in his campaign against Jerusalem. Just as this particular verse applies to the destruction of the second Temple, so the entire chapter speaks of events happening at the end of the period of the second Temple.

Suddenly, etc. Rashi is answering the question: Is the eagle unable to come from nearby?! Therefore he explains, “suddenly, etc.” I.e., “as the eagle soars” is a separate phrase and does not refer to the adjacent “nation from afar, etc.” Rather, it refers to the beginning of the verse, “Adonoy will raise upon you a nation” suddenly “as the eagle soars, etc.”

V. 49. ישא וגו׳ Ist unsere Auffassung der Verse 36 — 48 gegebenen Schilderung nicht irrig, so dürfte damit eben auf den politischen Untergang hinausgeschaut sein, den Israels erstes Staatsleben durch die assyrisch-babylonische Macht erlitt. Mit diesem Verse beginnt jedoch die Ankündigung der zweiten Katastrophe, die über den nach dem babylonischen Exil wieder hergestellten Staat, nicht durch ein Nachbarvolk, sondern durch die aus der Ferne gekommene römische Macht hereinbrach und mit Israels gänzlicher Zerstreuung (V. 64) endete. Die Verwirklichung der hier in vorhinein niedergelegten Schilderung der Kriegesnot und des Zerstreuungsjammers lässt sich in den Annalen der nach fast mehr als anderthalb Jahrtausenden mit der Unterjochung Judäas durch die römischen Legionen beginnenden Leidensgeschichte des jüdischen Volkes fast Zug um Zug noch heute verfolgen.

כאשר יראה הנשר, “as the eagle sweeps down,” this is a reference to the Babylonian Empire concerning which it has been written in Daniel 7,4: “like a lion with eagles’ wings.”

לא תשמע לשנו means, a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand. Similar is, (Genesis 41:15) “You understand (תשמע) a dream to interpret it”, and so, too, (Genesis 42:23) “that Joseph understood (שמע)”; entendre in old French

גוי אשר לא תשמע לשונו, “a people whose language you do not understand.” This is why you cannot even plead with them and come to terms with them. Apart from that, you can tell from their facial expressions that they are cruel and tough.

V. 50. גוי עז פנים, dessen Angesicht die feste Härte seines Charakters ausdrückt.

גוי עז פנים, “a nation of fierce countenance;” this is a reference to the Roman Empire, as we know from Daniel 8,23: ובאחרית מלכותם הימים ככלות הפושעים יעמוד מלך עז פנים, “and at the end of their kingdom when the sinners have met their end, a brazenfaced king shall arise;”

עד רדת חמתיך — The word רדת means subjugation (רדוי) and conquest (cf. Rashi on Deuteronomy 20:20).

והצר לך בכל שעריך, “It will besiege you in all your cities.” The word שעריך is a simile for “in every location.” It is possible to explain the fact that the Torah uses the word שעריך four times in our context (verse 52 twice, plus verses 55 and 57) as meaning that the first time the word is mentioned it is in the nature of a heading, כולל. The second time the reference is to the gates guarding the country. The third time it refers to gates guarding entrances to houses of individuals, whereas the last time it is derived from the word שעור, “measure” in the sense of “planning.” It describes how the enemy would thwart whatever plans the Jews would make to counter him and fight him. Such planning of counter measures would only result in additional hurt and confusion among the Jewish people. The entire passage then would express the very reverse of what happens when one plans successful activities. Israel would be frustrated in every single move it makes. It would endure the reverse of what has been described as the fate of the wicked in Psalms 10,5: ”his ways prosper at all times.”

The meaning is mastering, conquering. And חומותיך is missing a בי"ת, since it should have written עד רדת בחומותיך, as in the verse (Bereishis 1:26), וירדו בדגת הים, “And let him dominate the fish of the sea.” [Rashi does not translate רדת as “fall” or descend], because the expression of “descend” applies only to falling from a high place to a low place, and the walls are already standing low on the ground. Rashi therefore explains it as an expression of mastering or conquering. And though רדת is of the same basic structure as שבת, Rashi understands that this is one of the atypical words that often appear in the Torah. And though Scripture writes (Bamidbar 10:17), “[Then] the Mishkon was taken down (הורד),” [and] (ibid. 1:51), “They shall take down (יורידו) the Mishkon,” although the Mishkon stood on the ground, the word רדת is different because it is a verb applying to the subject itself, whereas יורידו and הורד are verbs that apply to another object.

V. 52. והצר לך וגו׳ והצר לך וגו׳. Zwei Momente hätten den Fortschritten des Feindes Widerstand leisten können: die in deinen Augen starke Befestigung deiner Städte und mehr als diese Gottes Schutz, dessen Wille dir ja Land und Städte zu deinem Wohnsitz angewiesen hat. Beide retten dich nicht. Jene nicht, eben weil du in sie und nicht in den durch Pflichttreue dir zu erhaltenden Gottesbeistand deine Zuversicht setztest. Dieser nicht, weil du seiner eben durch Mangel an Pflichttreue unwürdig geworden.

ואכלת … בשר בניך … במצור AND THOU SHALT EAT … THE FLESH OF THY SONS … IN THE SIEGE, [AND IN THE DISTRESS] — Because they (the enemies) will besiege the city and there will consequently be distress— i.e. the stress of famine.

Because they will lay siege to the city, etc. It is not the siege that causes the starvation which leads to people eating the flesh of their sons. Rather, the siege causes torment and agony of starvation that leads to people eating the flesh of their sons. Thus the וי"ו of ובמצוק is superfluous like the וי"ו of (Bereishis 36:24), “[These are the sons of Tzivon:] (and) Ayoh and Anoh (ואיה וענה).”

הרך בך והענג THE MOST TENDER AMONG YOU AND THE DELICATE — רך and ענג are one and the same person; the words denote delicate living. The expressions in v. 56 ומהתענג ומרך prove regarding them that both of them (the two descriptive terms) refer to one person. The meaning of the verse is: Although he may be fastidious and his nature sickens at anything nauseous, yet the flesh of his sons and daughters will be so pleasant to him on account of his hunger, that תרע עינו HIS EYE WILL BE EVIL towards his remaining children, מתת לאחד מהם מבשר בניו THAT HE WILL NOT GIVE TO ANY OF THEM THE FLESH OF HIS CHILDREN — their brothers, אשר יאכל WHOM HE WILL EAT. — Another explanation of הרך בך is: the merciful and tender-hearted will become cruel because of the great hunger and will not give of the flesh of their children who have been killed to their remaining children.

So that he will begrudge his remaining children. Meaning that his eye will be too stingy to give to them. And to whom will he be stingy? To those who are mentioned in the verse, “At his brother and at the wife of his bosom.” But it does not mean that he will be stingy, i.e., [to] himself, rather it his brother to whom he will refuse to give.

אשר יותיב, “whom he has remaining;” a reference to the enemy, or: the remnant in hiding. (Ibn Ezra)

תרע עינה באיש חיקה ובבנה ובבתה HER EYE SHALL BE EVIL TOWARDS THE HUSBAND OF HER BOSOM, AND TOWARDS HER SON, AND TOWARDS HER DAUGHTER — i.e. the adult sons and daughters,

תרע עינה באיש חיקה ובבנה ובבתה, the adults, not wanting to share any food with them,

including even her afterbirth as well as her babies which she will give birth to secretly without offering to share, seeing there is such a famine. She will begrudge even her closest family the smallest share of this “food.”

ובשליתה AND TOWARDS HER שליה — i.e. towards her little children; towards all these will her eye be evil when she eats one of them so that she will not give of the flesh to those that are still with her (to those that are still living).

שליתה, according to the Talmud Niddah 24, literally her afterbirth. The Talmud, in this case quotes the peshat, plain meaning.

V. 57. כי תאכלם. Es liegt eine grässliche Folgerichtigkeit der Gedanken in der Konstruktion, die dieselben Wesen, auf welche sich das תרע עינה bezieht, Objekt der אכילה sein lässt. Wem die Verzweiflung das letzte bereiten kann, dem wendet sie viel leichter das erste zu.

V. 58. אם לא תשמר וגו׳. Ein Gedanke hätte den in letzter Folge in so gesteigertem Elend endenden Ungehorsam gegen das in dieser Schrift dem Volke überantwortete Gesetz aufhalten sollen, und das ist der: dass mit dem Erteilen und Entgegennehmen dieses Gesetzes ד׳ אלדינו geworden, dass mit dem Erteilen und Entgegennehmen dieses Gesetzes der Einzigeine, an dessen Willen jeder kommende Daseinsmoment des Weltganzen und jedes einzelnen in ihm hängt, in ganz besonderer Weise die Leitung unserer Handlungen und Lenkung unserer Geschicke übernommen (Schmot 20. 2), und als solcher den unverbrüchlichen Pflichtgehorsam von uns erwartet. Dieser Name "ד׳ אלדיך" ist "נכבד" und "נורא", sein positiver Gehalt ist נכבד, ist inhaltswuchtig wie das Weltall, und für den Er sich geltend macht, dem legt er die Welt zu Füßen, — und ebenso נורא, ist er für jeden, der in Gegensatz zu ihm tritt. Dieser Name: ד׳ אלדינו ist mit מתן תורה über uns genannt worden, in die Weltgeschichte hinein sind wir damit als Träger dieses Namens gestellt, כל דברי התורה הזאת הכתובים בספר הזה, jedes Wort dieser mit dieser Schrift einem jeden von uns überantworteten תורה lehrt uns nichts anderes, als wie wir diesem שם הנכבד והנורא gerecht werden können, den wir unablöslich trägen — die in eben diese Schrift, wie wir bisher gehört, niedergelegten Züge des namenlosen Wehs, das wir mit Entwürdigung dieses von uns getragenen Namens über uns und unsere Kinder heraufbeschwören können, sollten eben uns ewig vor die Seele halten, wie נורא zugleich dieser שם הנכבד sei, den wir tragen, auf dass נשמר לעשות את כל דברי התורה הזאת הכתובים בספר הזה, wäre es auch zuletzt nur noch ליראה את השם הנכבד והנורא הזה את ד׳ אלדיך. Wenn aber auch diese Verwarnungen vergebens sein werden, und du, ihrer nicht achtend, den Namen durch Leichtsinn und Ungehorsam verleugnest, den du trägst, so

If you will not guard to perform. The prophet Yeshaya is certainly speaking about a generation who fulfill the mitzvos. However they do not do so out of fear of Hashem, but for some other purpose, to achieve a material goal, or out of fear for some person who forces them to act against their will. This causes Hashem’s name to be profaned, for without doubt Hashem examines the hearts and know that they are not acting for the right reason, and He punishes them for their evil thoughts. Those who witness this see them involved in learning Torah and performing mitzvos, and will criticize Hashem’s actions. Therefore our Sages have said: If you see a generation for whom the Torah is not dear to it, gather to yourself (Berachot 63a). The Sages were not speaking about a generation that does not learn Torah at all, but is referring to those who learn but not out of fear of Hashem. Therefore the Torah is not dear to them, as their main goal and priority, but they have some other value and goal… Hashem will find reasons to destroy the wisdom of the wise people of such a generation, because such learning does not create a pleasant spirit before Him.

והפלא ה' את מכתך THEN THE LORD WILL DISTINGUISH THY PLAGUES — He will afflict you with plagues exceptional and quite different from other plagues.

V. 59. והפלא וגו׳, so wird Gott die Leiden, die dich und deine Kinder treffen, zu einem Ihn und seine Waltung deutlich verkündenden פלא machen (siehe Schmot 15. 11), es werden nicht gewöhnliche Leiden sein, die dich treffen, sie werden eben den שם הנכבד והנורא in dem ganzen Ernst offenbar machen, dessen du nicht geachtet hast. Jedes außerordentlich dich treffende Leiden wird dir ein Fingerzeig, dass Gott noch sein Auge auf dich hat, ein Fingerzeig für die Wahrhaftigkeit der תורה und für die Richtung, in welcher allein der Weg zum Heile dir liegt, und wird für alle Welt zum Fingerzeig für den Einen, Einzigen, den sie nicht kennen, und von der Menschenpflicht gegen Ihn, von der sie bis dahin keine Ahnung hatten.

והפלא, “He will make wonderful, in the sense of the plague being extraordinary long lasting.” The last letter of the word is an א, (not a .(ה

ונאמנות (lit., trustworthy, reliable), i.e. certain to chastise you — certain to perform the task entrusted to them.

רעים ונאמנים, “painful and of long duration;” compare Samuel II 7,16: ונאמן ביתך וממלכתך עד עולם, “and your house and your dynasty will endure for a long time.” Compare also Isaiah 22,3 which both the Targum and Rash’bam understand in the same sense.

אשר יגרת מפניהם [HE WILL BRING UPON THEE ALL THE DISEASES OF EGYPT] OF WHICH THOU ART AFRAID — i.e. afraid of the plagues (not of Egypt). When the Israelites saw the strange plagues that came upon the Egyptians they were afraid of them — that they might not befall them also. You may know this, for so it states, (Exodus 15:26) “If thou wilt indeed hearken [to the voice of the Lord …], none of the diseases which I have put upon Egypt, will I put on you”, since one threatens a person only with things of which he is afraid.

The proof is that the following is written, “If you obey etc.” But one cannot prove anything from the verse here where it is written, “which you dreaded,” because you could say that “which you dreaded” refers to the Egyptians and means as follows: “All the Egyptian diseases,” and which Egyptians? Those “which you dreaded.” Therefore Rashi has to prove this from “If you obey, etc.”

את כל מדוה מצרים, “all the diseases current in Egypt;”

יעלם is a form from the root עלה (not from עלם).

The connotation is rising up. The מ"ם of this word is grammatical and indicates the plural. It is not an expression of concealment as in (Eicha 3:56), “Do not conceal (תעלם) Your ear,” in which case it would be explained like (verse 59), “Adonoy will strike you with prodigious (והפלא) blows,” i.e., they will be separate and hidden from every living thing, because if so, it should have been punctuated with a shva under the עי"ן as in the verse “Do not conceal (תעלם) Your ear,” and “will hide their eyes” (העלם יעלימו) (Vayikra 20:4). Furthermore, it should have said יעלימם ה' עליך, since it is referring to the plagues. (Re”m). This is difficult to understand because in all the texts יעלם is punctuated with a shva like העלם יעלימו which is also punctuated with a shva. Therefore we must say that Rashi does not differentiate between whether it is punctuated with a shva or a chataf shva, and his main proof is that it should have written יעלימם. Alternatively, his proof is that if it was an expression of concealment, the phrase [following] “against you” would not be understandable.

אשר לא כתוב, “which have not been recorded (in the Torah);” the Chaldeans used to tie good looking male Jews to their bedposts during the time they engaged in sexual relations with their wives, in order that their wives at the time by looking at these good looking males would become aroused and their babies would resemble what they had seen at that time. It happened once that one of them told his colleague that this is what has been written here, i.e. what is meant by “perversions which have not been recorded in the Torah.” (Talmud, tractate Gittin folio 58.)

ונשארתם במתי מעט תחת וגו׳ AND YOU SHALL REMAIN FEW IN NUMBER WHEREAS [YOU WERE ONCE AS NUMEROUS AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN] — i.e. a few instead of many.

Few instead of many. The verse is not saying that they will remain numerically few and will therefore be unable to stand up against your enemies, because if so, why [does the verse say] “(Instead of your having been) like the stars in the sky, multitudinous”? What difference is it if they were originally many or few? Rather, the verse is saying that they will become less and less, like the bulls offered during Sukkos. You also cannot say [Rashi means] that instead of being wondrously many they will now become wondrously few, because if so he should have said, “Few instead of the many,” which would imply instead of the many they were originally. Rashi should not have said “instead of many” which implies whoever [the many] may happen to be. (Re”m).

'כן ישיש ה SO WILL THE LORD MAKE your enemies REJOICE עליכם OVER YOU, להאביד וגו׳ TO DESTROY [YOU] (Megillah 10b).

To your enemies, concerning you, to annihilate, etc. Rashi adds “your enemies,” to tell us that the joy is connected with your enemies, i.e., the Holy One will bring joy to your enemies concerning you, etc. Otherwise, it should have said ישוש, which would imply that He Himself rejoices. Also, Hashem does not rejoice at the downfall of the wicked (Megilla 10b).

V. 63. והיה כאשר שש. Es heißt nicht: כאשר שש להיטיב אתכם כן ישיש להאביד אתכם, sondern כאשר שש עליכם וגו׳ כן ישיש עליכם וגו׳, wie es ihn um euretwillen freute, euch Glück zu geben, so wird es ihn um euretwillen freuen, über euch Verderben zu verhängen. D. h. wie es euch zu eurem Heile gereichen sollte, da er euch so außerordentlich glücklich machte, so wird es zu eurem Heile gereichen sollen, dass er euch nun so außerordentlich unglücklich werden lässt. Es ist ה׳, dieselbe Liebe, dieselbe Weisheit, dieselbe eure und der Menschheit Zukunft bauende Waltung, die ein solches Leidensgeschick über euch verhängt. להאכיד und להשמיד kann keine wirkliche, gänzliche Vernichtung ausdrücken sollen, da es sofort durch ונסחתם וגו׳ und והפיצך וגו׳ als nur relative gänzliche Entfernung von dem Lande erläutert wird.

והיה כאשר שש ה' אלוקיך עליכם להיטיב אתכם 'ולהרבות אתכם, וגו, “it will be that just as the Lord once delighted in making you prosperous and many;” G–d had not delighted in the Israelites’ distress; others had. In our verse we see a hint of what will happen at the time close before the redemption, the time discussed by Daniel in Daniel 12,11: ומעת הוסר התמיד ולתת שקוץ שמם ימים אלף מאתים ותשעים, “and from the time the daily sacrifice was removed and the mute abomination was emplaced, one thousand two hundred and ninety years.” We must understand our verse as follows: “it will be from the time when the Lord rejoiced in delighting to do good things for you from the time you were in the desert when His presence was with you every step of the way, as well as in the land of Israel when His Presence was with you, after He had made you multiply first in Egypt as we read in Exodus 1,7, a total of 1290 years. Four hundred years of exile in Egypt, 480 years from the Exodus till the erection of Solomon’s Temple as we know from Kings I 6,1: “it was in the 480th year after the Exodus from Egypt, he built the house for the Lord. This Temple stood for 410 years corresponding to the numerical value of the letters in the word בזאת; (in Leviticus 16,2: בזאת יבא אהרן אל הקודש) a total of 1290 years. The exile would last an equal amount of time (according to Daniel) This is what Daniel meant when he wrote in Daniel 12,7: כי למועד מועדים וחצי....תכלינה כל אלה, “or in a time and a half and upon completion all these will be finished,” the first time the word מועד refers to a time period, as in Kings II 4,15: למועד הזה, “at this time;” in the words: מועדים וחצי,the word has to be understood as in Deut. 16,7: “at the season when you came out of Egypt.” There were actually three periods when the Israelites were in Egypt; this is why the Torah described them as follows in Exodus 12,20: ומושב בני ישראל אשר ישבו במצרים שלשים שנה וארבע מאות שנה, and the period that the Israelites resided in Egypt was thirty years and four hundred years. If you multiply 430 by three the result is 1290. According to Daniel, at that time exile will end. This is also why he says in chapter 7,25: ויתיהבון בידה עד-עדן ועדנים ופלג עדן, “and they will be given into his hand until a time; and times, and half a time.” This means that there were three distinct periods that the Israelites had been in Egypt.” [The author continues with different attempts to unravel the periods may not yet have been concluded without the redemption having taken place. There is therefore little reason to list all these interesting speculations, especially that if G–d did not want the time revealed, why should we waste time trying to do so. Too many commentators have tried and failed to do so. Ed.]

ונסחתם is an expression denoting “uprooting”. Similar is, (Proverbs 15:25) “The Lord will uproot (יסח) the house of the haughty”.

ועבדתם שם אלהים אחרים AND YE WILL SERVE THERE OTHER GODS — Understand this as the Targum does: (ye will serve the peoples that worship idols); not actually that they shall serve idols, but they will have to pay tribute and poll-taxes to the priests of the idols.

Not literally idolatry, etc. Because it is impossible to say that the Holy One is informing them that they will serve idolatry.

V. 64. ועבדת וגו׳ (siehe zu V. 36).

לא תרגיע means, THOU SHALT FIND NO REST, as (Isaiah 28:12) “This is the rest (המרגעה)

לב רגז, a fearful heart.

V. 65. לא תרגיע. Die Lautverwandtschaft mit רקע, niedertreten (siehe zu Bereschit 1, 6) lässt in dem schwächeren רגע den Begriff: sich niederlassen, in einer Bewegung innehalten, erkennen. Daher רגע: ein in dem rastlosen Strome der Zeit (in Gedanken) festgehaltenes Zeitteilchen, ein Augenblick. (Die entgegengesetzte Auffassung von Moment.) Daher: רוגע הים das Beschwichtigen, Innehalten des bewegten Meeres. מרגוע das zur Ruhekommen des Gemütes. ובגוים ההם לא תרגיע, unter diesen Völkern wirst du nicht zur Ruhe kommen, eigentlich: du wirst dein Gemüt nicht zur Ruhe kommen lassen, seinen Bewegungen keinen Einhalt tun können, und ולא יהיה וגו׳, und auch äußerlich wirst du kein Fleckchen Erde finden, das sich deinem Fuße als berechtigter und gesicherter Ruhepunkt böte. Du wirst nirgend in die Bevölkerung gleichberechtigt aufgehen.

לב רגז means, A TREMBLING HEART, as the Targum has it: דחל, fearing. It is similar in meaning to (Isaiah 14:9) “The nether-world from beneath trembleth (רגזה) for thee”; (Exodus 15:14) “The peoples have heard, they trembled”; (II Samuel 22:8) “The foundations of heaven trembled”.

You will not be tranquil. With a calm heart, to dwell in peace and quiet.

ונתן ד׳ וגו׳. In dem folgenden Kapitel, Vers 3, wird die Wirkung, welche die von Gott herbeigeführten Erlebnisse auf das erkennende, auffassende und begreifende Innere hätten haben sollen, aber bis dahin nicht gehabt haben, also ausgedrückt: ולא נתן ד׳ וגו׳ לכם לב לדעת וגו׳ עד היום הזה. Ganz ebenso heißt hier: ונתן ד׳ לך שם לב רגז וגו׳: Gott wird dich dort in Mitte der Völker solche Schicksale finden lassen, die dir ein לב רגז usw. bewirken.

וכליון עינים AND A FAILING OF THE EYES — The phrase is used of one who expectantly looks for help and it does not come (cf. v. 32).

There will be no rest for the soles of your feet. This is rest for the body, to remain in one place…

רגז bezeichnet in den allermeisten Fällen nicht zürnen, sondern zittern vor Angst (siehe zu Bereschit 12, 5 und 45, 24). Auch hier ist es nicht ein leicht zum Zorn erregtes, sondern ein ängstliches, zitterndes Gemüt.

Fearful heart. Always angry, as explained in the Gemara (Nedarim 22a).

כליון von כלה, schmachten. דאב bezeichnet den inneren Schmerz, das Weh. Vergl. Wajikra 26, 16 לב רגז: du wirst immer ein neues Unglück fürchten, כליון עינים: du wirst nie die Befriedigung deiner Wünsche sehen, ודאבון נפש: du wirst immer einen schmerzlichen Verlust zu betrauern haben. Die Stellung, welche die Bevölkerungen, in deren Mitte dich dein Gott gebracht, dir gegenüber bewahren werden, wird immer eine gegensätzliche sein, so dass du alles von der Zukunft zu fürchten hast, keiner Gegenwart dich freuen kannst, und nur schmerzliche Erinnerungen aus der Vergangenheit hast. Diese Stellung unter den Völkern, welche die beiden folgenden Verse nur in einzelnen markierten Zügen noch fühlbarer schildern, ונתן ד׳ לך שם, gehört mit zu der Endabsicht Gottes mit deiner Verbannung unter die Völker, die Kap. 30, 1 f. zum Ausspruch kommt. Sie weist dich, immer wieder auf dich zurück, und lässt dich endlich in deinem unverlierbaren Beruf und deinen ebenso unverlierbaren geistigen und sittlichen Gütern das Heil suchen, das dir dein äußeres Geschick auf Erden vollständig versagt.

חייך תלאים לך THY LIFE SHALL HANG BEFORE THEE — because of uncertainty. — Anything that is uncertain may be termed תלוי (“hanging”); You will always be saying: “Perhaps I shall die to-day through the sword that is coming upon us”. — Our Rabbis interpreted this to refer to one who is obliged to buy produce in the market (who does not possess any of his own),

This refers to one who depends on the bakeshop. This is far worse that someone who purchases produce at the marketplace, because the person who purchases produce at the marketplace can buy a large quantity at once to supply him for a long time, unlike the one who depends on the bakeshop. And the curse is, perhaps on one occasion he will not find anything to buy and he will die of starvation..

V. 66. תלאים von תלא gleichbedeutend mit תלה, in der Schwebe halten, hängen, so auch: ועמי תלואים למשובתי (Hosea 11, 7) mein Volk ist schwebend, schwankend in bezug auf seine Rückkehr zu mir. Dein Leben wird dir immer in der Schwebe sein, du wirst keinen sicheren Boden für deine Existenz und deine Erhaltung haben, und מנגד, es wird dir immer ein nicht bereits Gewonnenes, sondern ein noch erst zu Erreichendes, Fernes sein. Du wirst immer für deine Existenz, ja, für dein Leben zu fürchten haben. Daher ופחדת וגו׳.

ולא תאמין בחייך AND THOU SHALT HAVE NONE ASSURANCE OF THY LIFE — this they refer to one who must rely on the baker (cf. Menachot 103b).

בבקר תאמר מי יתן ערב IN THE MORNING THOU SHALT SAY, WOULD IT WERE EVEN! — i.e. would that it were again yesterday evening,

מי יתן ערב, according to the plain meaning this refers to the following evening; this is the way the sick people react to their condition, assuming that they will start to get better by then.

That it were last evening. Rashi is answering the question: Logic would dictate the opposite [of what the verse says], because it says in Bava Basra (16b), “When the sun is high, illness is relieved,” which indicates that illness is worse in the evening than in the morning! Regarding this he explains, “That it were last evening.”

V. 67. כבקר תאמר וגו׳. Im Zusammenhange mit dem erläuternden מפחד וגו׳ וממראה וגו׳ dürfte der Sinn sein: wenn der Tag anbricht, wirst du so in Angst vor dem sein, was der Tag dir bringen wird, dass du wünschen wirst, wäre es nur Abend und der Tag überstanden. Und wenn der Abend gekommen ist, so wirst du so Schreckliches um dich sehen, dass du die Vergangenheit zurückhaben möchtest und wünschest: wäre es doch noch Morgen. Oder: du wirst so vor Angst über das erfüllt sein, was kommen wird, und von Schreck über das, was gekommen ist, dass du dir jede Zeit vorüber wünschest und am Morgen den Abend und am Abend den Morgen herbeisehnst. Nach andern bezöge sich das מי יתן immer auf die zuerst vorüber gewünschte Zeit. Die Leiden werden sich immer so steigern, dass du stets die vergangene Zeit wieder herbei wünschen möchtest.

ובערב תאמר מי יתן בקר AND AT EVEN THOU SHALT SAY, WOULD IT WERE MORNING! — i.e. the morning of today, because the misery will constantly grow more severe, and the curse of each hour will be greater than that of the preceding (cf. Sotah 49a).

For “the tribulations constantly increase etc.” Rashi wants to prove [logically] why the explanation is as he said, and the explanation is not, “would that it were the evening to come.”

באניות [AND THE LORD WILL BRING THEE INTO EGYPT AGAIN] באניות — the latter word means, in ships, i.e. He will bring you again into captivity to Egypt.

והתהכרתם, you will begin to manufacture or make by hand all kinds of goods the host country lacks in order to secure your economic well being, but

והתמכרתם שם, “and you will offer yourselves for sale there.” you will actively beg to be bought as slaves (an ultimate degradation of yourselves).
ואין קונה, “but there will be no buyer.” This is a promise by G’d who spares you this ultimate degradation.

By ship, as captives. Rashi adds the words “as captives,” because without adding this, sending them to Egypt in boats would not be a curse. (Re”m). This was a greater curse than taking them by foot, as it was a terrible affliction, for they drowned themselves in the sea, as we find (Gittin 57b) regarding the four hundred children who drowned themselves in the sea.

V. 68. והשיבך וגו׳ בדרך וגו׳ לא תוסיף וגו׳ (siehe zu Kap. 17. 16). Wir haben schon dort bemerkt, wie das באניות die Möglichkeit ausschließt, בדרך vom konkreten Wege zu verstehen, da sie ja früher weder nach noch aus Ägypten zu Schiffe gegangen waren. Vielmehr, glaubten wir, sei mit בדרך die "Weise" verstanden, nämlich als Hilfesuchende, in welcher die nationalen Wanderungen nach Ägypten wiederholt stattgefunden hatten und die sich nicht wiederholen sollte (vergl. den Ausdruck בדרך מצרים Jesaias 10, 24 u. 26). Es ist somit hier gesagt: Gott wird dich so herunterkommen, und deine Lage inmitten der Völker zu einer so unerträglichen und gegensätzlichen werden lassen, dass selbst deine uralte Sklaverei in Ägypten dir als das Wünschenswertere erscheinen wird, so dass manche von euch dorthin zu Schiff sich flüchten werden, um sich ihren alten Feinden wieder als Sklaven anzubieten und von ihnen werden verschmäht werden. Das באניות scheint darauf hinzuweisen, dass dieser vergebliche Versuch nicht von Palästina, überhaupt nicht von Asien, etwa von Babylon aus, sondern aus der großen Zerstreuung durch die übrigen Weltteile gemacht werden werde.

באניות, “in ships.” These will transport women and children taken prisoner. If they would have let them walk on foot they would have only taken adults as prisoners who are able to walk.

והשיבך ה' מצרים באניות, ”and the Lord will ship you back to Egypt in ships;” there is a river separating the Land of Canaan from Egypt as explained by Rashi on Numbers 34,3.

והתמכרתם שם לאיביך means, you will seek to be sold to them for slaves and handmaids (i.e. YOU WILL OFFER YOURSELVES FOR SALE),

ואין קונה, no one will buy these goods due to antisemitic reasons, as they do not want you to gain a foothold in their country.

You will be sold, through other sellers, etc. That is, ונמכרתם would be passive usage like (Esther 7:4), “For we are sold (נמכרנו), I and my nation.” But because it is written והתמכרתם in the reflexive usage, it indicates that you will seek to be sold but will be unable to do so because no one will buy.

Mit diesem letzten, die tiefste Erniedrigung dokumentierenden Zuge schließt das Bild der sich an den nationalen Abfall von Gott und seinem Gesetze knüpfenden Leiden. Hier unterbricht Mosche seine Verkündigungsrede, um — bevor er sie Kap. 29, 21 bis 30, 10 fortsetzt und endet und in dem Nachwort (daselbst Verse 11 — 20) die daraus zu ziehenden Konsequenzen ans Herz redet — erst einige Tatsachen und Erläuterungen zu geben, durch welche die bisher ausgesprochenen Verkündigungen einer heil- oder leidvollen Zukunft in das rechte Licht gesetzt und als Basis eines erneut mit Gott und seinem Gesetze zu schließenden Bundes gewürdigt werden sollen.

ואין קונה, “but there will not be any buyers for them.” According to Rabbi Yoseph Kara, the Egyptians will say: our fathers who enslaved Israelites were smitten by their G–d. When their owners now found them useless, they would take out their disappointment on the bodies of these prisoners.

באניות, “in ships;” this is a severe punishment, as all kinds of people of both sexes and ages, sick and healthy, were thrown together into the holds of these boats.

ואין קנה AND NO MAN WILL BUY YOU — because they will pass upon you the doom of death and extermination.

והתמכרתם — “et pour vendrez yous” in old French It would not, however, be correct to explain והתמכרתם in the sense of ונמכרתם “and you will be sold” — i.e. by sellers other than yourselves, for it adds afterwards: “but no one will buy you”.

לכרת את בני ישראל [THE COVENANT WHICH THE LORD COMMANDED …] TO MAKE WITH THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL — that they will take upon themselves the observance of the Torah under an imprecation and oath (cf. Deuteronomy 29:11).

בחורב, the admonitions listed in Leviticus chapter 26,14-46. which were delivered shortly before the Israelites began to move away from that Mountain. (Sinai)

V. 69. אלה, die in dem ganzen vorstehenden Kapitel enthaltenen Segen- und Unsegenverkündigungen hat Mosche im Auftrage Gottes als דברי הברית, als Inhalt eines בארץ מואב, im Anblick des verheißenen Landes und im Momente der bevorstehenden Besitzergreifung desselben, als Erneuung und Fortsetzung des bereits in Horeb, am Orte der Gesetzgebung und nach derselben geschlossenen, mit Israel zu schließenden Bundes zu sprechen gehabt. Zwischen ihnen lag die ganze Zeit der Wanderung in der Wüste und der Anfang der Landeseroberung. Durch beide Momente, die vierzigjährige Wüstenwanderung und die Siege über Sichon und Og, waren die mit der Erlösung aus Mizrajim begonnenen geschichtlichen Erfahrungen von der Gotteswaltung und der Gottesgegenwart in den Geschicken der Menschen und Völker und Israels insbesondere vervollständigt. Sie hatten erfahren, wie Gott nicht nur in entscheidenden Momenten wie in Mizrajim, Natur- und Menschengewalten zur Rettung der Hilflosesten darniederwerfend einschreitet, sondern wie er auch in den verlassensten Zuständen in einer seine speziellste Fürsorge bekundenden Weise wunderbar dauernd zu erhalten weiß und ebenso auch in ganz normalen Völkerbeziehungen Sieg und Untergang verteilt. Diese Erfahrungen sollen vor dem Einzuge in das Land zur Erneuung und Bekräftigung des für das Gesetz bereits geschlossenen Bundes verwertet werden, und dies umsomehr, da die auf die Erlösungserfahrung am Horeb gegründete Bundesschließung nicht stark genug war, das erlöste Geschlecht der Landeserteilung würdig zu erhalten, und nun ein neues Geschlecht zur Besitzesnahme bereit stand, das zu großem Teile jene Erlösung und Bundesschließung nur aus dem Munde bereits heimgegangener Väter kannte, und selbst Gott nur in seinen Führungen durch die Wüste und seinen Siegesverleihungen über Sichon und Og geschaut hatte.

אשר צוה ה' את משה, ”that G-d had commanded Moses. This includes chastisements not told him as a form of revelation.

מלבד הברית BESIDES THE COVENANT — i.e. the curses in Torath Cohanim (Leviticus 26:14 ff.) which were spoken at Sinai (Horeb).

Bevor daher Mosche die ihm aufgetragene Zukunftverkündigung durch Mitteilung dessen (Kap. 29, 21 bis 30, 10) zu vollenden hatte, was nun infolge der künftig über Israel heimgegangenen langen Leidenszeiten sich ereignen werde, hielt er nach Schilderung der Segen- und Unsegeneventualitäten inne, und

מלבד הברית, Rashi explains the reference is to all the curses recorded in the Book of Deuteronomy which have been authored by Moses, but approved by G-d to be said to the people publicly. In some instances he even repeated commandments that had already been recorded in one of the other four Books of Moses. Rashi calls these curses as having been revealed to Moses already while he stood on Mount Sinai.

אשר כרת אתם. “which He concluded as a covenant with them at Mount Chorev” (Sinai). This is a reference to chapter 26 in the Book of Leviticus which Moses wrote down at the end of that Book, before the people had left for their journey after staying around Mount Chorev for about a year, after having been given the Ten Commandments.

And that is that He commanded us that one who does certain sins must offer a guilt-offering sacrifice. And that is what is called a definite guilt-offering. And the sins for which one is liable for this sacrifice are misappropriation; theft; one who has sexual intercourse with a designated maidservant; and one who swears falsely with an oath over a deposit. And that is one who misappropriated in error and derived benefit worth a perutah (a small coin) from sanctified property - whether sanctified for Temple upkeep or whether sanctified for the altar; one who robbed the value of a perutah or more from his fellow and took an oath; one who had sexual intercourse with a designated maidservant, whether inadvertent or volitional. [In these cases,] he is obligated to offer a sacrifice for his sin, and it is not a sin-offering sacrifice; indeed, it is a guilt-offering, and it is called a definite guilt-offering. And He said regarding misappropriation, "and he sinned in error, etc. and he shall bring his guilt offering" (Leviticus 5:15). He [also] said, "and he denied his countryman [...] and swore falsely, etc. his guilt offering shall he bring." (Leviticus 5:21-25). And He said, "and she is a designated maidservant for a man [...]. And he shall bring his guilt offering" (Leviticus 19:20-21). And the regulations of this commandment have already been explained in Tractate Keritot. (See Parashat Vayikra; Mishneh Torah, Offerings for Unintentional Transgressions 9.)