Комментарий к Шмот 32:13

זכור לאברהם (lit., remember for Abraham) — If they have transgressed the Ten Commandments, their father Abraham was tried by ten trials and has not yet received his reward for them. Give it to him now — remember for him this merit — and let the ten trials he successfully withstood countervail the infringement of the Ten Commandments (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 24; Shemot Rabbah 44:4).

וכל הארץ הזאת אשר אמרתי אתן לזרעכם ונחלו, a reference to the fourth generation of the Emorite mentioned by G’d at the covenant between the pieces. (Genesis 15,16) Moses realises that this promise will not be fulfilled to his children except now.

זכור לאברהם, "Remember Abraham, etc." Here Moses did not refer to G'd's oath to Abraham to make him into a great nation, etc., a comment G'd had already replied to earlier. Moses referred to the sadness which would engulf people when they would hear about what happened. Moses also argued the merit of the Patriarchs based on G'd's promise in the Ten Commandments (20,6) that He considered such merits for thousands of generations to those who "loved Him and observed His commandments." Moses added the words "Your servants, and "You have sworn," in order to give still greater meaning to what G'd had stated in the Ten Commandments.

Their father Avraham. . . [Rashi knows that Avraham “has not yet received his reward”] because otherwise, why does it say, “Remember Avraham”? He already received his reward for his righteousness, and Hashem is no longer obligated on Avraham’s account to help his children.

V. 13. Diese Erinnerung an die Erzväter und an die ihnen gegebene eidliche Zusicherung dürfte wohl nicht in dem Sinne zu verstehen sein, als ob diese Zusicherung der beabsichtigten Vernichtung des Volkes entgegenstehe. Denn durch die zugleich angedeutete Neubildung eines großen Volkes aus Mosche Nachkommenschaft würde ja gleichwohl diese Zusicherung sich erfüllen. Mosche Nachkommen sind doch auch Abrahams, Isaaks und Jakobs Nachkommen. Vielmehr scheint diese Erinnerung in tieferem Zusammenhange mit Mosche ganzer bisherigen Betrachtung und der darauf gegründeten Bitte zu stehen und folgt daher als Schlussunterstützung dieser Bitte nach. Zuerst wird durch Nennung Abrahams, Isaaks und Jakobs an den edlen Keim erinnert, aus dem dennoch dieses ganze jetzt "hartnäckige" Volk entsprossen, der doch von so urkräftigem, sittlichem Adel gewesen sein muss, dass dem Abraham ein gleich edler Isaak und dem Isaak ein gleich edler Jakob gefolgt, und der daher gewiss in dem ihm entsprossenen Volke nicht ganz verloren sein kann, somit sicher im Laufe der Zeit sich durcharbeiten und ihrem Ursprunge ähnliche Menschen erzeugen wird. Ferner wird durch Erinnerung an den Eid hervorgehoben, dass doch die Gewissheit eben dieser unverlierbaren Würdigkeit, oder doch der unverlierbaren Fähigkeit würdig zu werden, bei dem Eide vorgeschwebt haben müsse, sonst würde eben nicht eidlich haben zugesichert werden können, dass die Nachkommen ein ewiges Anrecht auf das Land haben sollen. Wie, wenn sie nun alle entarteten, und nicht einmal ein Mosche sich unter ihnen fände? Dieser Eid selbst setzt voraus, dass Abrahams Nachkommen in ihrer Gesamtheit nie so entarten können, dass sie nicht durch eine erziehende Gottesführung zum Bessern gebracht zu werden vermöchten, und eben an diese, bei der ganzen Erwählung Israels borauszusetzende Erziehung zum Besseren, an diese notwendigerweise mögliche Zukunft appelliert Mosche, um die augenblickliche Vernichtung abzuwenden.

לאברהם ליצחק ולישראל REMEMBER FOR ABRAHAM, FOR ISAAC, AND FOR ISRAEL — If they are to be punished with death by burning, remember for Abraham his merit that he gave himself over to be burnt for Your sake (for the sanctification of the Divine Name) in Ur (in the fire) of the Chaldees; if with death by the sword, remember for Isaac the merit that he stretched forth his neck to the knife on the occasion of the “Binding”. If by exile, remember for Jacob the merit that he went into exile to Haran (leaving the paternal roof in order to fulfil his father’s command). If, however, they cannot be saved by their ancestors merit what is the good of You saying to me, “and I will make of thee a great nation”? — if a chair with three legs (the merits of the three patriarchs) cannot stand before You in the moment of Your wrath, how much the less a chair with only one leg (the merits of myself alone) (Berakhot 32a).

Remember Avraham who offered himself. . . [Rashi knows all this] because otherwise, why are all three mentioned? Mentioning just Avraham alone is sufficient. (Re”m) Alternatively, Rashi is answering the question: Why is it written, “Remember Avraham, Yitzchok and Yisrael, Your servants, to whom You swore”? [Ostensibly,] Hashem is being asked to remember what He swore, and what He swore is written in connection with Avraham, as it is written: “‘By My Self I have sworn,’ says God.” So the order of the verse should be reversed: “Remember what you swore to Your servants Avraham. . .” Thus Rashi explains: “Remember for Avraham the ten tests. . .” I.e., Hashem is being asked to remember Avraham’s righteousness, not what He swore. Then Rashi answers the question: According to this, what is there to be remembered for Yitzchok and Yaakov? Thus he explains: “If by burning. . .” We need not ask: Why does Rashi mention the ten tests for Avraham? Perhaps [the verse is referring] only to the test of burning. The answer is: Since Avraham has both merits, and neither is more excludable than the other, [therefore both can be included as the verse’s intent].

וכל הארץ הזאת, "and this whole land, etc." There are many ways of interpreting these words. Some say that they are part of Moses' words who quotes what G'd had said to the Patriarchs. It is equally possible that they are words spoken by G'd. The meaning of אמרתי would then have to be understood in a sense similar to Isaiah 3,10: "declare that the צדיק is good!" Here G'd would be proclaiming the superiority of the land of Israel by saying: "I declare that I have elevated the patriarchs by swearing to give such a superior land to their descendants, etc." We can find a parallel to this in Deut. 11,11-12, where the land of Israel is described in terms of being a superior land.

Wir haben daher, da uns der Nachdruck auf לעלם zu liegen scheint, den Akzenten gemäß, das אשר אמרתי אתן לזרעכם zusammen attributiv zu הארץ הזאת gefasst, so dass das ונחלו לעלם die einzige Aussage des Satzes bildet.

אשר נשבעת להם בך TO WHOM THOU SWAREST BY THINE OWN SELF — Thou didst not swear to them by a thing which is perishable — neither by the heavens nor by the earth, nor by the mountains, nor by the hills — but by Thy very Self, Who endurest forever and Whose oath endures for ever. For it is stated that God said to Abraham, (Genesis 22:16, 17) “By Myself have I sworn saith the Lord … [I will greatly multiply thy seed]”; to Isaac it was said, (Genesis 26:3, 4) “and I will perform the oath which I sware by Myself unto Abraham thy father … [and I will multiply thy seed]”; and to Jacob it was said, (Genesis 35:11) “I am God Almighty, be fruitful and multiply”; thus to him also God swore by Himself — by God Almighty (Shemot Rabbah 44:23).

Certainly a chair with one leg. Some ask: What is the logic of this argument? Moshe also has the forefathers’ merit, for he is their descendant, as seen from (Bamidbar 14:12): “I shall make you into a greater nation,” where Rashi explains, “It is not written, ‘I shall make your descendants into a greater nation,’ because you are descended from the forefathers.” They offer an answer: Had the people not sinned with the Calf they would have entered the Land, as Hashem promised Avraham (Bereishis 12:7): “To your descendants I will give this land.” But now that He will destroy them, we see that the sin prevented the promise to Avraham from being fulfilled. If so, how do we know the promise to Moshe will be fulfilled, that his children will be a great nation? Perhaps his children too will sin, and this promise also will not be fulfilled. And if we argue that Moshe’s merit will persevere in any case, even if his children will sin, this claim is against logic: If the merit of three forefathers did not shield them from sin and bring them to the land, certainly the merit of Moshe alone will not.

ונחלו לעולם, “and it shall be their heritage forever.” What Moses meant was that the patriarchs would transmit that heritage forever. Even if the Israelites would be exiled from their land, no other nation would receive it as their heritage. This is the meaning of the words אחוזת עולם, “an eternal possession,” which G’d promised to Avraham in Genesis 17.8. Another meaning included in the words ונחלו לעולם is that the reference is to another, eternal world. When we think about that meaning of the word לעולם in Moses’ plea we would have an assurance in this verse, (or by Moses quoting G’d back to Himself) of G’d’s promise that the Israelites would exist forever, in this world as well as in the hereafter.