Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Deuteronomio 29:3

SPEAK UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. Since this chapter deals with [the laws of] prohibited sexual intercourse which apply equally to all Israel, therefore He said only, Speak unto the children of Israel, and did not specify the priests but included them together. Therefore He said at first, I am the Eternal your G-d, just as He did in the Ten Commandments [which He began with the words, I am the Eternal thy G-d].²¹⁴Exodus 20:2. And the meaning of the verse, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: I am the Eternal your G-d, is as if He said, “Say unto them in My Name, ‘I am the Eternal your G-d.’” Similarly, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them: Ye shall be holy, for I the Eternal your G-d am holy,²¹⁵Further, 19:2. [means: “say unto them in My Name, ‘Ye shall be holy'”].
It is possible that the reason [why the verse does not say: “this is what G-d commanded,” is not because it means: “say unto them in My Name” as explained above, but] is rather as follows: When Moses came out from before the Eternal without the veil²¹⁶Exodus 34:33-35. [on his face], and he came out, and spoke unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded,²¹⁷Ibid., Verse 34. he did not need to say to them: “Thus said the Eternal,” for it was known to them that it was His spirit that spoke through him [Moses] and His word was upon his tongue,²¹⁸See II Samuel 23:2. Hence it is no longer necessary to explain the meaning of the verse to be [as we said above]: “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them in My Name, I am the Eternal your G-d,” since it was known to them that Moses did not speak in his own name. and that he did not speak in his own name. Similarly, in many places in the Book of Deuteronomy it is stated in the same way, such as: And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto My commandments, which I command you this day … that I will give the rain of your Land … And I will give grass in thy fields,²¹⁹Deuteronomy 11:13-15. and [it is known that] Moses is not the one who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields,²²⁰Job 5:10. and makes the grass grow in the fields, but it is G-d, blessed be He [that does these things]. Similarly it is said, But the Eternal hath not given you a heart to know … And I have led you forty years in the desert … Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink; that ye might know that I am the Eternal your G-d.²²¹Deuteronomy 29:3-5. The opening verse [But the Eternal …] clearly indicates that the expression in the following verse, And I have led you etc. is also a reference to the Eternal, and not to Moses. The meaning of the expression to love the Eternal your G-d²²²Ibid., 11:13. [which is stated in the third person, when that same verse begins in the first person, And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto My commandments], has already been explained.²²³Exodus 24:1 (towards end — Vol. II, p. 422-3).

AND MARRY HER AS BROTHER-IN-LAW, AND RAISE SEED TO THY BROTHER. The son will be called by the name of the deceased. This is Rashi’s language.
But this is not true, for in the same commandment of the Torah it likewise says, And it shall be, that the firstborn that she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother that is dead, that his name be not blotted out of Israel,¹⁵⁰Deuteronomy 25:6. and yet the brother-in-law is not commanded to call his son by the name of his dead brother.¹⁵¹Yebamoth 24a. In the case of Boaz it says, Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Machlon, have I acquired to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place,¹⁵²Ruth 4:10. and yet she called him Obed,¹⁵³Ibid., Verse 21. not Machlon. Moreover, it says here, And Onan knew that the seed would not be his.¹⁵⁴Verse 9 here. Now what misfortune would have befallen him — to the point that he wasted his seed from before her — if his son was to be called by the name of his dead brother? Most people even desire to do so. Again, Scripture does not say, “And Onan said,” but instead it says, And Onan ‘knew’ that the seed would not be his.¹⁵⁴Verse 9 here. This would indicate that Onan had some definite kind of knowledge in this matter which made him certain that the seed would not be his.¹⁵⁴Verse 9 here.
The subject is indeed one of the great secrets of the Torah,¹⁵⁵Ramban here hints to the mystic doctrine of the transmigration of souls. Onan “knew” that when he married his brother’s wife his brother’s soul would become incarnate in his son. Therefore Onan did not consider the child to be his own. See my Hebrew commentary, pp. 214-5. concerning human reproduction, and it is evident to those observers who have eyes to see, and ears to hear.¹⁵⁶Deuteronomy 29:3. The ancient wise men who were prior to the Torah knew of the great benefit in marrying a childless dead brother’s wife, and that it was proper for the brother to take precedence in the matter, and upon his failure to do so, his next of kin would come after him, for any kinsman who was related to him, who would inherit his legacy, would derive a benefit from such a marriage. And it was customary for the dead man’s wife to be wed by the brother or father or the next of kin in the family. We do not know whether this was an ancient custom preceding Judah’s era. In Bereshith Rabbah¹⁵⁷85:6. they say that Judah was the one who inaugurated the commandment of marrying a childless person’s widow, for since he had received the secret¹⁵⁵Ramban here hints to the mystic doctrine of the transmigration of souls. Onan “knew” that when he married his brother’s wife his brother’s soul would become incarnate in his son. Therefore Onan did not consider the child to be his own. See my Hebrew commentary, pp. 214-5. from his ancestors he was quick to fulfill it. Now when the Torah came and prohibited marrying former wives of certain relatives, it was the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, to abrogate the prohibition against marrying a brother’s wife in case he dies childless, but it was not His will that the prohibition against marrying a father’s brother’s wife or a son’s wife or similar wives of relatives be set aside. It was only in the case of a brother that the custom had established itself,¹⁵⁸Prior to the giving of the Torah. and the benefit is likely with him and not with the others,¹⁵⁹Ramban’s intent is that when two brothers come from one father, the soul of the dead one finds closer identification with the child that his brother will beget rather than with that of any of the other relatives. (Abarbanel; see my Hebrew commentary, p. 215). as I have mentioned. Now it was considered a matter of great cruelty when a brother did not want to marry his dead brother’s wife, and they would call it the house of him that had his shoe loosed,¹⁶⁰Deuteronomy 25:10. for [after his dead brother’s wife had performed Chalitzah (the loosening of the shoe) of the brother-in-law], he¹⁶¹The soul of the dead brother. The Cabala has considered the subject of Chalitzah, as one of profound mystery. was now removed from them, and it is fitting that this commandment be fulfilled through the loosening of the shoe. Now the ancient wise men of Israel, having knowledge of this important matter, established it as a custom to be practised among all those inheriting the legacy, providing there is no prohibition against the marriage, and they called it Ge’ulah (Redemption).¹⁶²Ruth 4:7. This was the matter concerning Boaz, and the meaning of the words of Naomi and the women neighbors.¹⁶³Reference is to what the neighbors said; There is a son born to Naomi (Ruth 4:17), meaning that she was thereby given back the son Machlon whom she had lost. This explains why the women did not say, “There is a son born to Ruth or Boaz.” The man of insight¹⁶⁴A term denoting the student of the Cabala, the mystic doctrine of the Torah. will understand.

CIRCUMCISE THEREFORE THE FORESKIN OF YOUR HEART — that your heart be open to know the truth, not as you have done to this day, for the Eternal hath not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear [unto this day].²⁵²Further, 29:3.