Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Isaias 61:9

evildoing seed And they were seed whom the Lord blessed (Isa. 61:9). Similarly, they were children of the Holy One, blessed be He, and they became corrupt.

וישמן ישורון ויבעט, “Israel became fat and kicked.” Up until this time the Jewish people had never been called Yeshurun. It is possible that Moses did not use the name in order to flatter them, but, on the contrary, in order to point out how a people who were once considered entitled to such a compliment had forfeited their claim to that name. The name derives from אשורנו, a vision the prophet Bileam refers to as having had, i.e. the ability to behold supernatural phenomena (Numbers 14,17). The Jewish people had seen such phenomena, i.e. the attribute of כבוד at the time they experienced their spiritual high during the revelation at Mount Sinai. This is why Moses employs this term immediately after having described the Mount Sinai experience of the Jewish people with the words יסובבנהו יבוננהו in verse 10. Seeing that the Torah described the attribute Israel focused at that time as “and the appearance of the glory of G’d was similar to consuming fire at the top of the mountain,” (Exodus 24,17) it is clear that the people at the time had a visual experience. Later on, during his blessings of the people in 33,4 Moses again refers to this term saying ויהי בישורון מלך, “the Lord became King amongst the people known as “Yeshurun.” When Moses concludes his blessings of the people in Deut. 33,26 he again refers to the Jewish people as Yeshurun, saying אין כא-ל ישורון, “there is none like the G’d of Yeshurun.” He meant that the very experience the people had had at Sinai should have convinced them that there is no power in the world that can equal their G’d.
All this is really part of this song which is a collection of criticism, rebuke, during which Moses argues with the people concerning their conduct in the future. He foretells them that they would become sinful and rebel against the Lord, becoming forgetful of all the kind deeds G’d had performed for them. This is why on this day, the last day of his life, he mentions the description Yeshurun three times to underline how terrible it is when a people who attained such spiritual stature as they would experience a spiritual decline.
The prophet Isaiah paraphrases Moses when he said in Isaiah 1,4 הוי גוי חוטא עם כבד עון, “woe, a sinful people, a nation laden with iniquity!” Our sages comment on this that when Isaiah used the term גוי he referred to the people who had distinguished themselves as being referred to as ,ומי גוי גדול, “and who is such a great nation?” How could such a nation become sinful? Furthermore, this was the nation which had been described as עם קדוש, “a consecrated people,” in Deut. 14,2. How could such a people have fallen so much that it fits the description “laden with iniquity?” The Jewish people had been described as “children are you to the Lord your G’d” in Deut. 14,1, and as “seed blessed by the Lord” (Isaiah 61,9).

WHEN THY SON ASKETH THEE IN TIME TO COME, SAYING: ‘WHAT MEAN THE TESTIMONIES, AND THE STATUTES, AND THE ORDINANCES etc.?’ The meaning thereof is that first he will ask, “These commandments called testimonies — to what do they testify?” For they are a memorial to His wonders³²⁰See Psalms 111:4. and witnesses thereof, such as the Unleavened Bread, the Booth, the Passover, the Sabbath, the phylacteries, and the Mezuzah. [Then he will ask] “What are the statutes?,” for their reasons are hidden in the Torah. Of the ordinances he will inquire: “What are the ordinances that we enforce in these commandments — stoning him who does work on the Sabbath, burning him who has intercourse with a woman and her mother, and administering forty lashes to him who sows mixed seeds?” For the ordinances pertaining to the social order of countries — such as the laws of the ox, the pit, the guardians, and the rest of the laws of the Torah — are righteous and good, all that see them acknowledge them,³²¹Isaiah 61:9. [and of these they do not ask]. Now concerning the answer to this question, he commanded that we relate to the inquirer the whole subject of the exodus from Egypt,³²²Verses 21-23. the intent thereof being as He stated in the Ten Commandments, Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt,³²³Above, 5:6. directing us that we inform the inquiring son that the Eternal is the Creator [through Whom everything has come into existence] by His will and power, as has been made clear to us by the exodus from Egypt. This is the sense of the expression [And the Eternal showed signs …] ‘before our eyes,’³²⁴Verse 22. for it is we who know and are witnesses of the signs and wonders, for we saw there that the Eternal is our G-d, He is the G-d in heaven above and upon the earth beneath, and there is none else.³²⁵Above, 4:39. All this was made known through the departure from Egypt, as I have explained in the first commandment.³²⁶Exodus 20:2. Vol. II, pp. 285-286. Thus it befits us to give honor to His Name, for He is our Creator, and [He] has magnified His mercy upon us, and He commanded us to do all these statutes³²⁷Verse 24. mentioned in the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances [about which the son had asked]: to fear Him³²⁷Verse 24. by performing [commandments known as] the testimonies which are a memorial to His wonders;³²⁰See Psalms 111:4. for our good³²⁷Verse 24. through performance of [commandments known as] the statutes for they are good, there being no statute which contains any evil, although their reasons have not been clarified to all people;³²⁸But to the Sages of Israel the reasons of the statutes were revealed. See Ramban further, 22:6. that He might preserve us alive³²⁷Verse 24. through [the commandments called] the ordinances. For we shall live by all [three kinds of commandments] together as they are all good, containing nothing harmful at all, but instead they all ultimately result in good life. Thus we are obliged to do the will of the Creator Who is our G-d, and we are His people, and the flock of His hand,³²⁹Psalms 95:7. and there is nothing but good in all of His commandments. And what is more, it shall be accounted virtue unto us before the Eternal our G-d³³⁰Verse 25. and He will give us good reward for observing all these commandments. The verse refers to the reward for the observance of the commandments as “righteousness” [in the sense of charity] for the bondsman who was bought by his master is obliged to serve him [and has no claim to payment for his service]. If the master gives him payment for his service, he does an act of righteousness with him.