Comentários de Citação sobre Deuteronômio 20:7

אלמנה – and a High Priest betrothed her, he does not return [to her – a widow],as it is written (Deuteronomy 20:7): “[Is there anyone who has paid the bride-price for a wife,] but has not yet married er? [Let him go back to his home, lest he die in battle and another marry her],” but it was possible. To state, and he did not take her? What is “to take her?” that she is appropriate for him to take her [as a wife].

I STOOD BETWEEN THE ETERNAL AND YOU AT THAT TIME, TO DECLARE UNTO YOU THE WORD OF THE ETERNAL. For Moses would go up to the mountain and hear the words of G-d and come down and tell them to the people, until G-d spoke with them face to face.¹²³Verse 4. This is an allusion to all that is mentioned in the section In the third month,¹²⁴Exodus 19:1. beginning with Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob¹²⁵Ibid., Verse 3. [and concluding with] And the Eternal said unto him, Go, get thee down.¹²⁶Ibid., Verse 24. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that this [occurrence referred to in the verse, I stood between the Eternal and you etc.,] happened after the Revelation at Mount Sinai, the purport of the verse being as follows: “He spoke with you face to face¹²³Verse 4. [at the giving of the Ten Commandments], and from that day on I stood between G-d and you.” But it is not correct.
It appears to me that the correct interpretation is that Moses is alluding to what we have explained there¹²⁷Ibid., 20:7 — Vol. II, pp. 305-306. that Israel understood from the mouth of the Almighty only the commandments I am the Eternal thy G-d etc.¹²⁸Ibid., Verse 2. and Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.¹²⁹Ibid., Verse 3. As for the rest of the commandments, it was Moses who declared to them what G-d said. This is the meaning [of the expression here], to declare unto you the word of the Eternal, for he explained to them each and every commandment. And the meaning of the expression (I stood) between the Eternal and you is that, at the time of the giving of the commandments, Moses was nearer than they to the place of the Divine Glory, for they had removed themselves far [from the mountain] as I have explained there.¹³⁰Ibid., Verse 15 — Vol. II, pp. 324-326. This is [the sense of the words] for ye were afraid because of the fire, and went not up into the Mount meaning that you did not approach it [even the part] that was permissible to you [to approach]. Therefore I stood between you and the place of the Glory — in the middle — because it was distant between you and Him, and from there I declared [the rest of] the commandments [to you].

נקי יהיה לביתו, this refers to the person discussed already in Deut: 20,6 i.e. someone whose bride was betrothed to him but the last stage in the marriage ceremonies, i.e. the chuppah, and the bride receiving her ring and a declaration by her groom that he married her and that the ring was the token of this, had not yet taken place. If he had reported for military duty, he is sent back home with orders to complete the marriage ceremonies. Once these have been completed, he is to devote the whole first year of his marriage to make life pleasant for his bride. We needed several extra words in the Torah to make clear that he is not subject to auxiliary duties not connected with actual service at the front where he would not be exposed to danger. For instance, he might have been required to repair damage to roads, etc., or to help with bringing food and drink to the soldiers serving at the front. The rules applying to this newly wed are identical to the rules applying to someone who had not yet moved into his new house, or had not yet harvested the fourth-year crop from his new vineyard.