Parashat (Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25) Sichat Torah- July 31, 2021/ 22 Av 5781

A Summaryof the Parasha • tells the that if they followGod's laws, the nations who now dwell across the Jordan River will not hann them. (7: 12-26) • Moses reminds the people of the virtues of keeping God's commandments. He also tells them that they will dispossess those who now live in the Land only because they are idolatrous, not because the Israelites are uncommonly virtuous. Thereupon, Moses reviews all of the trespasses of the Israelites against God. (8: 1-10:11) • Moses says that the Land of Israel will overflowwith milk and honey if the people obey God's commandments and teach them to their children. (10:12-11 :25)

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CJ?�Jim CJ?77;1;;l l:l2'J�:;i lV'� J��i;,'-N? :i:J :oi?�� :o#? 1;r:r1w� :i 1 Love, therefore, the Lord your God, and always keep His charge, His laws, His rules, and His commandments. 2 Take thought this day that it was not your children, who neither experienced nor witnessed the lesson of the Lord your God- His majesty, His mighty hand, His outstretched ann; 3 the signs and the deeds that He perfonned in Egypt against Pharaoh king of Egypt and all his land; 4 what He did to Egypt's army, its horses and chariots; how the Lord rolled back upon them the waters of the Sea of Reeds when they were pursuing you, thus destroying them once and forall; 5 what He did for you in the wilderness before you arrived in this place; 6 and what He did to and , sons of Eliab son of , when the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them, along with their households, their tents, and every living thing in their train, fromamidst all Israel- 7 but that it was you who saw with your own eyes all the marvelous deeds that the Lord perfonned. 8 Keep, therefore, all the Instruction that I enjoin upon you today, so that you may have the strength to enter and take possession of the land that you are about to cross into and possess, 9 and that you may long endure upon the soil that the Lord swore to your fathersto assign to them and to their heirs, a land flowingwith milk and honey. 10 For the land that you are about to enter and possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come. There the grain you sowed had to be watered by your own labors, like a vegetable garden; 11 but the land you are about to cross into and possess, a land of hills and valleys, soaks up its water fromthe rains of heaven. 12 It is a land which the Lord your God looks after, on which the LORD your God always keeps His eye, from year's beginning to year's end. 13 If, then, you obey the commandments that I enjoin upon you this day, loving the Lord your God and serving Him with all your heart and soul, 14 I will grant the rain for your land in season, the early rain and the late. You shall gather in your new grain and wine and oil-15 I will also provide grass in the fields for your cattle-and thus you shall eat your fill. 16 Take care not to be lured away to serve other gods and bow to them. 17 For the Lord's anger will flare up against you, and He will shut up the skies so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its produce; and you will soon perish from the good land that the Lord is assigning to you. 18 Thereforeimpress these My words upon your very heart: bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead, 19 and teach them to your children-reciting them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up; 20 and inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates- 21 to the end that you and your children may endure, in the land that the Lord swore to your fathersto assign to them, as long as there is a heaven over the earth. 22 If, then, you faithfully keep all this Instruction that I command you, loving the Lord your God, walking in all His ways, and holding fastto Him, 23 the Lord will dislodge before you all these nations: you will dispossess nations greater and more numerous than you. 24 Every spot on which your foot treads shall be yours; your territory shall extend from the wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River-the Euphrates-to the Western Sea. 25 No man shall stand up to you: the Lord your God will put the dread and the fear of you over the whole land in which you set foot, as He promised you. 75 DEUTERONOMY 10:20-11:4 '£KEV

NJPS swear. 21He is your glory and He is your God, who OJPS swear. 21He is thy glory; and He is thy God, that hath wrought for you those marvelous, awesome deeds that you saw done for thee these great and tremendous things, which thine 2 22 with your own eyes. 2Your ancestors went down to Egypt sev­ eyes have seen. Thy fathers went down into Egypt with enty persons in all; and now the LORD your God has made you threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath as numerous as the stars of heaven. made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude. A I I r Love, therefore, the LORD your I I Therefore thou shalt love the LORD n K 2 : God, and always keep His charge, His � 70i;, ,ry 1 J.7?.,o/1:1 1)?tp:n P�7D 1=?,, thy God, and keep His charge, and His laws, His rules, and His commandments:-\ -n-i::< �Dr:< iTjf',¥-,lp� -;pp?t'; K,ry, statutes, and His ordinances, and His com­ 2 � f Take thought this day that it was not­ ,�7 i)P� iT?�i:1K h 71�;:i-n-i::<1 ri7\1;:i mandments, always. your children, who neither experienced 2And know ye this day; for I speak not ";P!;,°:l� W!;JJ o,}.1'.;lip� 22 : nor witnessed the lesson of the LORD your ,-n� ·;mi� with your children that have not known, God- -;pry?t'; iT,1iT, �l;lif' iT�J11 iTJ?;J¥l? and that have not seen the chastisement of His majesty, His mighty hand, His : :l·77 oit;io/D ,�:;i,:i� the LORD your God, outstretched arm:\>the signs and the deeds His greatness, His mighty hand, and 3 that He perform�"tl in Egypt against Pha­ - -L. ' � , His outstretched arm, and His signs, and f;17�o/1 lt'; iT)iT; n� 1;1'.;li:J�) raoh king of Egypt and all his land; 4what �rr.r His works, which He did in the midst of -'7 1 ,, P n He did to Egypt's army, its horses and � ,,D- ¥l?, y�tp,;i, f,,-PQ1 ,f.i7�tp Egypt unto Pharaoh the king ofEgypt, and �l, f: oin�iT unto all his land; 4and what He did unto - 1• T- the army of E t, unto their horses, and RASHI 11:2 Take thought this day. i)P� □?ip-n-i::< K? I ,?'b1�;:i-□ry3?1,p1 gyp (I] You m st know, understand, and accept iT1iT, ,om-nK. U

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS 22 The LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven. This is hyperbole; it is not meant as a precise number (Bekhor Shor). Starting from "seventy persons," this is one of the greatest miracles ever. Remember that this happened in Egypt, where government policy was to prevent them from increasing in number-and that they were there for no longer than 210 years (Gersonides). � waters of the Sea of Reeds when they were pursuing you, thus to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD 5 destroying them once and for all; 5what He did for you in the hath destroyed them unto this day; and what He did unto you in wilderness before you arrived in this place; fand what He did to the wilderness, until ye came unto this place; 6and what He did Oathan and Abiram, sons ofEliab son of Reuben, when the earth unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben; opened her mouth and swallowed them, along with their house­ how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and holds, their tents, and every living thing in their households, and their tents, and every their train, from amidst all Israel- 9 living substance that followed them, in the 1 i 6 [7but that it was you who saw with your Oi;PJ�-1;,� 'tiio-o� ip,-n� ti i-;::r midst of all Israel; own eyes all the marvelous deeds that the 1¥ i11i17 O'Jjll'.\71 □,;;P1Ql'.' op·rp 7but your eyes have seen all the great LORD performed. work of the LORD which He did. J 1'.:1hT 1: ),l'.:l• - tJ:J?1..•: ilivl1T :.'T1'tU.K1 T J": -: - s : ilr-.Til• - 01�ilJ - 8Keep, therefore, all the Instruction · 8Therefore shall ye keep all the com­ 6 il that I enjoin upon you today, so that you 11p�1 } ;!.D 01p�o-1� O;?�·::i-1� mandment which I command thee this .: may have the strength to enter and take -p ��,71:$ ,,P o p:;i�?l lDl? ilo/¥ day, that ye may be strong, and go in and i Yl.�iJ i1D¥� .. RASHI 6 Every living thing in their ;:r $-n� ,w� ,�,x7 IBN EZRA 4 Ro lled back. For the un-

□hil"." ,?ilx•• T: T nx,'.' : omr-, 1..0.' •• ::iT -nx, • • : □J••ll?:i.m T : ' - train. Rather, "everything standing at their - • usual verb, compare "Waters flowed over feet." The reference is to their wealth, for it my head" (Lam. 3:54). Destroying them :i.1i?.. ::i ory,',rp iw� 'mp70-l;,f n�l is wealth that stands a man on his feet. once and for all. No descendants arose to From amidst all Israel. Wherever any of [ :7�71f',-7f take their place and go on acting this way. them might flee, the earth split open be­ i1Ji17 iljl.7¥,;i-l;,f-n� n•i<"ii:r b:;iiJ,}.' ,? i) 5 What He did for you in the wilder­ neath him and swallowed him up; these are ness. This refers to the manna. the words of R. Judah. Said R. Nehemiah, [: i1W¥ ,g;� 1;,·•Ho 6 Their households. The Hebrew says

"But Num. 16:32 says, 'The earth opened its ,.J":J ·JxT ,wx ._,._. -: i11Y�ilT ; ' - -?'.:lT -nx'•' br-i,r.:iw'/ : - ! , s literally "their houses," but the implication mouth'-not 'its mouths'!" Said R. Judah, is that their wives and children were also bryx::;i, l�P? 01�0 "All right, then how am I supposed to under­ ,pp:il) �n�r,i swallowed up. Every living thing. This is a stand 'from amidst all Israel'?" R. Nehemiah catchall term for everything else of theirs. In ABARBANEL'S QUESTIONS ♦ How can v. 6 men- replied, "The earth sloped down like a fun- tion "what He did to Dathan and Abiram" without their train. The Hebrew says: everything nel, and no matter where one of them might saying a word about ? "that was at their feet." This might be taken flee, he would roll down to the place where literally, or it might be a metaphor saying the earth opened its mouth." c.,. '\, that all this happened "on account of them." [7 But that it was you who saw with your own eyes. The contrast is with v. 2; see 8 Therefore. Since "it was you who saw my comment there. "It is not with your children that I am speaking today, but with you, with your own eyes all the marvelous deeds who saw with your own eyes."} that the LORD performed" (v. 7). Ta ke possession. Note the unusual f:iireq under NAHMANIDES 4 Once and for all. This is the same phrase that NJPS usually the , instead of pataf:i, a result of assimila­ translates "as is still the case" (e.g., 10:8); the Hebrew literally means "up to this day." This tion to the f:iireq under the ,. makes no sense to me in connection with the destruction of Pharaoh's army. Are all those who died at the sea perishing eternally? Perhaps the point is that the destruction of the chariots and horses brought Egypt so low that the kingdom has never recovered. Ibn Ezra suggests that our phrase means the de­ scendants of those who pursued the Israelites never did so again; the implication is that the Lord did not merely drown them in the sea but also killed their offspring back in Egypt, leaving them no name or remnant. For those who pursued the Israelites after the Lord had redeemed them acted with more evil than anyone else in Egypt. But none of this is recorded in the Torah. 5 What He did foryou in the wilderness. As I pointed out in my comment to v. 2, Ibn Ezra has misunderstood this phrase; it really means "what He did to you" (see OJPS). He sent a plague upon them after the incident, and a fire against them at Taberah; then there were the seraph serpents, the plagues at Kibroth-hattaavah and Shittim, and the decree after the spies episode. [Kl "Indeed, the hand of the LORD struck them" (2: 15) right up to this very place. Moses is speaking elliptically of these punishments. That is why the Israelites must keep the commandments: "so that you may have the strength" (v. 8). For His strong hand strengthens those who keep the commandments, but "He gives no strength to evildoers" (Job 8:20). Q 1,. [ 6 What He did to Dathan and Abiram. Moses does not mention Korah and all his company, who were killed at the same time, by a fire that "went forth from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men offering the incense" (Num. 16:35), because they had explicitly violated the prohibition against a non-priest offering incense. This was punished throughout the ages. As with Korah, so with Uzziah: "Uzziah, holding the censer and ready to burn incense, got angry; but as he got angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in front of the priests in the House of the LORD beside the incense altar" (2 Chron. 26: 19). So it is not listed here with the punishments that were specific to the wilderness. 1 [Kl See Exodus 32, Numbers 11, Numbers 21, Numbers 25, Numbers 11 again, and Numbers 14, respectively.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS 4 Once and for all. Rather, "unto this day" (OJPS). The Egyptian army was so ravaged that even now, 40 years later, they still feel the loss of those troops, who have not yet been replaced (Sforno). [ 6 What He did to Dathan and Abiram. Since Korah's dispute was directed specificallyat Moses' brother, , he did not want to mention Korah here lest the Israelites think he was complaining about being personally disrespected (Abarbanel). The earth opened her mouth and swallowed them . .. from amidst all Israel. Even a needle that belonged to one of them but had been borrowed by another Israelite rolled down and was swallowed up with them (Bekhor Shor). 1 O'"L 8 All the Instruction that I enjoin upon you today. About the 12 stones of Joshua 4 (Sforno). So that you may have the strength. Rather, "for the sake of keeping the Instruction you will have the strength" (and similarly v. 9). Otherwise, these verses would be suggesting that you observe the commandments for the sake of a reward (Bekhor Shor). 77 DEUTERONOMY ll:8-11 'EKEV

NJPS possession of the land that you are about to cross into OJPS possess the land, whither ye go over to possess it; 9an and possess, 9and that you may long endure upon the soil that that ye may prolong your days upon the land, which the LOR

the LORD swore to your fathers to assign swore unto your fathers to give unto the, to them and to their heirs, a land flowing and to their seed, a land flowing with mil with milk and honey. tJiJ:;1:v or,� ,w� n.�;:i-n� opip·n and honey. 10For the land that you are about to bir,i� 1:P'J�D gn�71 9 : i1f;1o/7? iT�)P 1°For the land, whither thou goest i enter and possess is not like the land of to possess it, is not as the land of Egyp o,,._..:Jin " ·:1K,-: - miT ST , : :v:ituJ - : ' ·,wx •: -: iTiJ,xiTT T -: JT -,:v- Egypt from which you have come. There from whence ye came out, where tho :i.'.?r:i n�r n� 0}77! 1 ov:, r,:, the grain you sowed had to be watered by ? n didst sow thy seed, and didst water it wit O : 1 your own labors, like a vegetable garden; 'TJ)TJ) w;q thy foot, as a garden of herbs; llbut th 11but the land you are about to cross into h�1p-x;i iTf;l,t(; ,w� n.i:<;:t ,? LO land, whither ye go over to possess it, is and possess, a land of hills and valleys, x,fr b,7¥r,i Y7J::9 ;ir;,ip,7 land of hills and valleys, and drinket soaks up its water from the rains of heaven. ,w� i-<7 water as the rain of heaven cometh doWI ��nr-n� lllrD 1W� tJ¼ir,J Of1.K¥� 11 [ RASHI 9 Flowing with milk and n.i:<;:i1 : i'"J�D 1p �'?n:;i i;,,pwit1 RASHBAM 10-17 For the land tha honey. Milk flows from the goats, honey n� i1f;,ip77 h�¢; o,J:;i·:v tJJ),t(; ,ip� you are about to enter and possess is no from the dates and figs. · oi like the land of Egypt. The sense of thi ( 10 For the land that you are about to -iTlJo/D oir:io/D 11''?7 n¥R:;J.1 "J;:t passage is as follows: You must keep th enter and possess is not like the land of commandments of the Lord your God, fc Egypt. It is better. - This promise was made to Israel as soon as they left Egypt. For this land is better than the land of Egypt fo they thought, "Perhaps we will never get to a land as fineas this one." The plain wording those who obey the commandments, bu of the verse might be thought to imply, "It is not like the land of Egypt, but worse." worse than any other land on earth for thos, Remember, though, that "Hebron was founded seven years before Zoan of Egypt" (Num. who do not obey them. Egypt is not de 13:22). Now, the same man, Ham, built both cities, Zoan for his son Mizraim ("Egypt") pendent on rain, so the good and the wicke, and Hebron for his son Canaan. The way of the world is that the first one built is nicer alike get their water by toil and can eat thei (since the second is built of what is left over from the first) and also that the one men­ fill. But the land of Israel-if you keep th1 tioned first is presumed to be the best. You therefore learn that Hebron was nicer than Zoan. Yet no country was more praiseworthy than Egypt: "like the garden of the LORD, IBN EZRA 10 The land that you an like the land of Egypt" (Gen. 13:10). And no place in Egypt was more praiseworthy than about to enter. This passage provide: Zoan, which was the royal capital: "Though [Pharaoh's] officers are present in Zoan, another reason why you must keep Hi: and his messengers reach as far as Hanes" (Isa. 30:4). Yet Hebron was merely what was commandments. Is not like the land o left over from the rest of the land of Israel-that is why it was set aside for burying Egypt. Instead, God must look after it al the dead. Even so, it was nicer than Zoan. B. Ket. 112a comes to a similar conclusion year long. somewhat differently. [J] From which you have come. Even the part of Egypt from which the Israelites came, which was "in the choicest part of the land of Egypt, in the region of Rameses" (Gen. 47:11), was not as good as the land of Israel. There the grain you sowed had to be watered by your own labors. Literally, "with your foot" (compare OJPS). In Egypt, the fields had to be irrigated by carrying water from the Nile on foot You had to stir yourselves fromsleep in order to toil. The lower ground got the most water, for you had to carry water up from the lowe1 ground to the higher. But "the land you are about to cross into ... soaks up its water from the rains of heaven" (v. 11). While you are asleep in bed, the Holy One irrigates the low ground and the high ground alike, whether it is open or not. Like a vegetable garden. Fm even where there is rain, that is not enough for a vegetable garden, which requires so much water that one must still carry water there by foot, on one's shoulders. 11 A land of hills and valleys. Hills are better than flat ground, for in the same amount of territory where you could harvest a single kor on flat ground, you would get five on a hill-one on each of its four sides, and one on top. (The "valleys" of our phrase are the flat ground.) [J] See Rashi's comment to Num. 13:22.

NAHMANIDES 10 For the land that you are about to enter and possess is not like the land of Egypt. Rashi's comment is taken from the Sifrei. The straightforward sense of the passage is as follows: Keep the commandments and you will possess a land flowing with milk and honey, for God will grant the rain for your land in season. But you must know that your land is not like Egypt, which could be irrigated by carrying water from the Nile and the other water sources. It gets its water "from the rains of heaven" (v. 11) and in no other way. It needs God to look after it because it is an extraordinarily parched land and needs rain all year long. If you contravene His will and He ceases to provide rain, it is a terrible land, "beyond sowing and producing, no grass growing in it" (29:22). All this is explained again in the next paragraph. Our paragraph is simply explaining some basic geographical facts. We learn from it that, even though everything is under God's control, and He can dry up the rivers of Egypt as easily as He can stop the rain in Canaan, Canaan would perish much more quickly. The sick man needs to pray for health more than the healthy man needs to pray not to become sick. (The same is true of the poor and the rich.)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS 9 That you may long endure upon the soil. Literally, "that you may prolong your days upon the land" (compare OJPS). When it is a matter of remaining in the same place "upon the land," it is you who have the power to prolong your days; when it comes to prolonging life itself, this is in God's hands, not in ours (Kimhi). 1 O The land that you are about to enter and possess is not like the land of Egypt. As is well known, it never rains i�ypt (Gersonides). DJ 11 The land you are about to cross into and possess, a land of hills and valleys, soaks up its water from the rains of h.-,rn.-n NJPS 12lt is a land which the LORD your God looks after, on OJPS 12a land which the LORD thy God careth for; the eyes of which the LORD your God always keeps His eye, from year's the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the beginning to year's end. year even unto the end of the year. 131[, then, you obey the commandments 13And it shall come to pass, if ye shall that I enjoin upon you this day, loving the wJ:, ';rt.i'7t$ i1Ji1�-,w� n.� 12 : □�w hearken diligently unto My command­ LORD your God and serving Him with all i-T� �,i)?t$ i1,1i1� ,j,,v. 1ii,)r;, i-Tf,,-K ments which I command you this day, to your heart and soul,{'11 will grant the rain love the LORD your God, and to serve for your land in season, the early rain and o : i!Jlpn, JQt< 1}'1i1 �o/D *h,w1.� Him with all your heart and with all your 13 14 ,t,·,yr.:i-',x- ; • ' ' \imw.11; : • .Y°r.:iw-□x-( T " i1imTT ; the late. You shall gather in your new grain . soul, that I will give the rain of your land � in its season, the former rain and the latter i1:li1K?T -; - : □i�il,., - □:JnK\.',' : 0/ mYr.:i _,._.-; ,:J.JK:.,• T ,wxS',' -: RASHI 12 It is a land which the LORD rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, □:J::i::i',\.',' : - ; -',:J::i T : ;·,::iyr, : T : b:Ji;t',x'." •• I •:: mi1,-nx (T ' • • your God looks after. He looks after all , • lands, doesn't He? "Who cut a channel for □?,:;qw,y'? ,r,1:,�1141 : □;?.tp!?r'7;i:;i, RASHBAM commandments, it is a the torrents and a path for the thunder­ ';J�fl f;l!?Q1:<1 Wij?7J?1 i1').i, il:J�� land ... on which the LORD your God storms, to rain down on uninhabited land, always keeps His eye to water it with rain on the wilderness where no man is" (Job · x ,on v. 12. from heaven from year's beginning to 38:25-26). But it is as if He looks after it year's end, giving it rain when rain is alone, and His care for it takes care of all the other lands as well. On which the LORD needed. If, then, you obey the command­ your God always keeps His eye. To see what it needs, and to keep issuing decrees with ments ... I will grant the rain for your regard to it-sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse (see B. RH 17b). From land in season and you will eat your fill year's beginning. When judgment is made about how the year will end. without toil. If not .. . He will shut up the 13 If, then, you obey. "If" here logically follows v. 11. The land soaks up its water skies so that there will be no rain. "if you obey." The double form of the verb "obey" in Hebrew indicates: If you "hearken" (OJPS) to the original commandments, then you will hearken to later ones as well. See IBN EZRA 12 On which the LORD similarly my comment to 8:19. The commandments that I enjoin upon you this day. your God always keeps His eye. This is They should seem to you as fresh as if I were giving them to you for the first time today. metaphoric, of course. The image is that of Loving the LORD your God. You must not say, "I am studying God's law in order to someone who is always looking to see what become rich" or "to become a rabbi" or "to get a reward"; rather, everything you do you the land needs so he can provide it in good must do out of love, and in the end reward will come. Serving Him with all your heart time. Vv. 13-14 describe the obvious conse- and soul. The "service of the heart" is prayer. Remember that the king said to Daniel, quence. Beginning. Note that x is missing "Your God, whom you serve so regularly" (Dan. 6:17). Now, was there a Jewish Temple in from the Hebrew word; this is a frequent Babylonia? He was referring to Daniel's praying: "Daniel ... went to his house, in whose occurrence. � '2. upper chamber he had had windows made facing Jerusalem, and three times a day he [ 14 The early rain. Literally, the "indi­ knelt down, prayed, and made confession to his God" (Dan. 6:11 ). We learn the same cating" rain, the rain that indicates the year from the example of David, who said, "Take my prayer as an offering of incense" (Ps. will be a good one. The late. Since the first 141 :2). Note that "your" is plural here, in contrast to "your" of "You shall love the LORD word refers to the early rain, this must obvi­ your God with all your heart and with all your soul" (6:5), which is singular. But that verse ously refer to the late rain. 1 was addressed to individuals and this one to the collective. f \.[ 14 I will grant the rain for your land. Once you have fulfilled your obligation, I will fulfill Mine. In season. Literally, "in its time"-the nighttime, so that it does not get in your way. Another reading: "its time" is Friday nights, when everyone is at home observing the Sabbath. The early rain. The Hebrew word is related to the verb "moisten." This is the rain that falls after the crop is sown, to moisten the earth and the seeds. The late. This is the rain that falls close to harvest time, to make the stalks fillout; the Hebrew term for this rain, malkosh, sounds like "fill-stalk." (It is actually connected with an Aramaic word meaning "late.") Another reading: it is an acronym for melilot and kashin, "grain" and "straw." You shall gather in your new grain. You shall gather it in, not your enemies-as in "Nevermore will I give your new grain to your enemies for food" (Isa. 62:8), and not as in "After the Israelites had done their sowing, Midian, Amalek, and the Kedemites would come up and raid them; they would attack them, destroy the produce of the land all the way to Gaza, and leave no means of sustenance in Israel, not a sheep or an ox or an ass" (Judg. 6:3-4). 1

NAHMANIDES 12 It is a land which the LORD your God looks after. Since this phrase does not connect God's "looking after" the land with rain, the midrash quoted by Rashi would seem to be implied in the text. On which the LORD your God always keeps His eye. The talmudic comment cited by Rashi [LI conceals a profound mystery. This land is looked after by All, it is All, and all the other lands are in Truth supported by it. [Ml 13 With all your heart and soul. Rashi's comment, which comes from the Sifrei, is to be explained as follows. God does not miraculously provide the rain and do all the other things described here, except on the basis of how the majority of the people are acting. But individuals will live by their own merits or die for their own sins. What our text is saying is that, if the Israelites observe all the commandments out of perfect love, He will do all these miracles for them; if they worship idols, He will do the opposite. You must know that special miracles are not performed, whether for good or ill, except for those who are completely righteous or completely evil. God treats ordinary people with good or ill that appears to occur in the normal way of the world, according to their behavior. IL] Both here and in the previous comment, Nahmanides quotes directly without mentioning Rashi. [M] "All" is being used here by Nahmanides to name an aspect of God; see his comment to Gen. 24: I.

ADD ITIONAL COMMENTS 12 It is a land which the LORD your God looks after. Keeping tabs on it and on its inhabitants (Bekhor Shor). On which the LORD your God always keeps His eye. Precisely judging its inhabitants' deeds (Bekhor Shor). Be- gin � ning. This is the only occurrence of this Hebrew word (out of 51) that is missing the x (Masorah). � ( 14 In season. Literally, "in its time"-on Tuesday and Friday nights (Bekhor Shor). ou shall gather in your new grain and wine and oil. Since I might take Josh. 1 :8 literally when it says, "Let not this Book of the Teaching cease from your lips, but recite it day and night," this verse tells us, "You have permission to work at your occupations" (Hizkuni). © 15 15 NJPS and wine and oil� I will also provide gr:ass in the OJPS and thy wine, and thine oil. And I will give grass in thy 6 fields for your cattle-and thus you shall eat your fill.f Take care fields for thy cattle, and thou shalt eat and be satisfied. 16Take not to be lured away to serve other gods (� heed to yourselves, lest your heart be de­ and bow to them�}tFor the LORD's anger 15 ceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other :i , ·,, will flare up against you, and He will shut 37o/'.\l ip}.' ,ru:in [11iJ¥ l 31p i;:,1 gods, and worship them; 17and the anger of 16 up the skies so that there will be no rain �7'?\Vi-:t l r;,.1/;i1V1 D?�J:<1 1D'?iJ'.;1? the LORD be kindled against you, and He shut up the so that and the ground will not yield its produce; bry7��1 tl1)7Ql o;p�7 i1f1�? rn tl⇒? heaven, there shall be and you will soon perish from the good no rain, and the ground shall not yield h [: i1? oni,n.r:,wm 0,-,nx oiii?.K _ _ er land that the LORD is assi ing to you.1 tl,. .. ' ,... · -, - . ' · ' · ·· -, , ,. .. . , frmt; and ye pensh quickly from o gn , 17 ff the [ 18Therefore impress these My words -n� 1;!1/l tl,?� i1p7-t')� i171)1 ) good land which the LORD giveth you. 18 upon your very heart: bind them as a sign X? i1�7.t,<]:r1 1�)? i1;_;;r,-x71 bir,lifiJ Therefore shall ye lay up these My on your hand and let them serve as a words in your heart and in your soul; ''7.Yr.i- ·· i1ii1r.i.. ' o.r:,1:ix1,.. ' - -, - i'T?"' � :.:i ,-nx. 1.r:in Co,r\�\t\V�."0 01\. ,._,e_ >-lo. '?o..�(, (...... ,. . and ye shall bind them for a sign upon 1 · . ' ,, ' [: tJ:J,. . , 1m ,.. m;i, ,wx-, ;i:ii:,;i- yix;i... RASHI 15 I will also provide grass in . ' , , ... , your hand, and they shall be for frontlets '. 0 18 the fields. You will not need to lead your o;p.�'7-,.v i1?� ,·:9Tr,� 1:.1'?Wl } cattle to pasture. Another reading: You will -,.v nix? or,,.x ory7wp� o?,ip�r'f-"1 IBN EZRA 15 Thus you shall eat shear your crop all through the rainy season : o;;rJ,:V. p,:;i. r,·�l?iu, ��iJl tJ⇒T your fill. As the punctuation of NJPS and toss what you cut in front of your cattle. makes clear, "thus" refers to the "new grain Just stop doing that 30 days before harvest and wine and oil" of v. 14, not the grass time, and your crop will not be diminished at all from its full amount. You shall eat your mentioned in the first part of our verse. fill.This is a separate blessing-that your bread will be so filledwith goodness that even a 17 Its produce. I explained this in my bit of it will fill your bellies and leave you satisfied. comment to Lev. 26:4. You will soon per­ G:''>- [16 Take care. Once you have eaten your fill.For it is not want, but satiety, that causes ish. You will be exiled from it by starvation. people to rebel against the Holy One: "When you have eaten your fill... beware lest your [ 18 Therefore impress these My words heart grow haughty and you forget the LORD your God" (8:12, 14ijNot to be lured away. upon your very heart. Since the land is "Away" from the Torah. To serve other gods. Once a man goes away from the Torah, he good, if you fail to impress these words on goes and holds fast to idolatry, just as David said: "For they have driven me out today, so your heart and end up perishing from hun­ that I cannot have a share in the LORD'S possession, but am told, 'Go and worship other ger, it is your own responsibility. symbol. gods"' (1 Sam. 26: 19). Now who told him this? What he meant was, "Having been driven See my comment to 6:8. ""t. away from the Torah, I am on the point of worshiping other gods"-or rather, "different" ):.- gods. For they are different to those who worship them than the Lord is to those who worship Him. One cries out to them and they do not answer, treating their worshipers as something "other." 1 7 The ground will not yield its produce. Not even what you yourselves originally "produced" when you came to sow it: "You have sowed much and brought in little" (Hag. l:6)[You will soon perish. On top of all the other punishments, I will exile you from the land that caused you to sin. A parable: A king sent his son to a feast, warning him, "Do not eat more than you need to, so that you may keep yourself clean enough to come home." But the son paid no attention. He ate and drank far too much, and vomited all over the other guests. They took him by the arms and legs and tossed him out of the palace. -And this will happen to you soon. "I will not give you any leeway." You might argue that He did give leeway to the generation of the Flood: "Let the days allowed him be one hundred and twenty years" (Gen. 6:3). But they had no one to learn from, and you do have someone to learn from. l \..\l- 1,..">- [ 18 Therefore impress these My words upon your very heart. Even after you are exiled, you must mark yourselves by observance of the commandments. Don tefillin and make mezuzot, so that they are not new to you when at last you return: "Erect markers, set up signposts; keep in mind the highway, the road that you traveled. Return, Maiden Israel! Return to these towns of yours!" (Jer. 31:21). "\_

NAHMAN IDES 15 You shall eat your fill. See the comments of Rashi and Ibn Ezra. In my view, the first half of the verse is not parenthetical, as Ibn Ezra thinks; your sheep and cattle will also be able to eat their fill. As the Sifrei points out, when your animals eat their fill they can work the land for you: "A rich harvest comes through the strength of the ox" (Prov. 14:4). Another possible reading is that "your cattle" are provided with grass so that you may "eat your fill" of their young. This interpretation is made plausible by Jer. 31: 12, "They shall come and shout on the heights of Zion, radiant over the bounty of the LORD-over new grain and wine and oil, and over sheep and cattle." And this is the correct interpretation. 18 Impress these My words upon your very heart. See Rashi's comment. Though tefillin and mezuzot are personal obligations, which one is required to observe every place on earth just as one would in the land of Israel, the midrash quoted by Rashi conceals a profound mystery, to which I have already alluded in my comments to Lev. 18:25. Note that this paragraph repeats the commandments of 6:7-9, implying that we are still obligated to fulfillthem even after being exiled, outside the land. It is in fact from this that we learn that all the commandments that are personal obligations are obligatory everywhere. We are exempt outside the land only from the com­ mandments that directly apply to the soil-e.g., the tithes and the priestly gifts. This is how the Sifrei explains it. The point of the midrash is that "impress these My words" follows immediately upon "you will soon perish" of the previous verse. But this particular passage is actually focused on doing these things "in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to assign to them" (v. 21). Perhaps, though, it is saying that you must do these things so that you may endure in the land forever-afteryou return from exile. According to the straight­ forward sense of the passage, it could be that the purpose of the repetition was the differences in the section about "reciting them" (v. 19); see my next comment.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS 16 Other gods. They are sometimes literally made into something "other"-if the idol is made of gold and the owner needs the gold, he will replace it with one of silver; if of silver, he may replace it with one of copper (Hizkuni). ( 17 You will soon perish. The only other occurrence of the phrase is in Josh. 23:16 (Masorah). Rather, "you will soon be exiled." The_ Hebrew word is used this way in Isa. 27:13, "the strayed who are in the land of Assyria" (Hizkuni). ) G) NJPS symbol on your forehead,1 9and teach them to your OJPS between your eyes. 19And ye shall teach them to your children-reciting them when you stay at home and when you children, talking of them, when thou sittest in thy house, and are away, when you lie down and when you get upj0and inscribe when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and them on the doorposts of your house and J when thou risest up. 20And thou shalt on your gates-21to the end that you and write them upon the door-posts of thy 19 21 your children may endure, in the land that □� 1;n7 □;?,Jf-.n� □J:,-X □p7�?l ) house, and upon thy gates; that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your the LORD swore to your fathers to assign ·�p�W'.?-1 T1.'1:;l ?)1;1:;l?'.?,� �J:P:p �l;l'.?,lPf to them, as long as there is a heaven over 20 children, upon the land whic? the LORD ':'lr,i:::i .nimr.i-?.Y □n:l.n:J� [: ';)r.l1i?:l�,... 1 ' the earth. ·,"" ·· , , ' - " \ - ' _ swore unto your fathers to give them, as 22 ,r.i,, ir.i, :::i,, r.i 21 • -;,,, w:1 If, then, you faithfully keep all this ,.. • □:J ... •· , � , , • 1.Y - -, , • ·1 , ...yT , • � the days of the heavens above the earth. Instruction that I command you, loving i1Jil� Y;ilp� 11p� il�l�tJ ?.V. tJ⇒ip 22For if ye shall diligently keep all this

the LORD your God, walking in all His i 1tt . ::l ii? ·:1 commandment which I command you, to □ • r.i,- T il- ,r.i, ,. • □'"' ' .n.n?, •• ' □":Ji.n" •• x? � - do it, to love the LORD your God, to walk J'\. 1'1'!:l01 'Y':l1V t, : n.-!:';:t-;.V RA SHI 19 Re citing them. f From the ilH'�iT?f-.n� 1�'1'?\Vl:l ir.np-□� ·,:;122 moment your children know how to speak, RASHB AM 21 As long as there is a f,T y-:- □,._,,- ; •: .J•,•- r.i; :r, T ,wx S"." -: - f you must teach them, "Moses commanded i'l.n·w , :J.nx il�Y :J·Jx .nx:til heaven over the earth. For from that

us a law" (33:4), so that this is how they -,:J:::iT ; .n:J??',' J"/ T □:Jiii,x ';J'." •• •,•; ilm iT , ; -.nx',' il::lilK?T -: - ; heaven I will grant the rain, and the ground learn to speak. Our Sages derived from this will yield its produce. verse that as soon as a child begins to speak his father must converse with him in Hebrew and teach him Torah, and that if he does not he as good as buries him, since the purpose of the recitation is "that your days may be IBN EZRA 21 As long as there is a multiplied, and the days of your children" (as v. 21 really says; see OJPS). If you do so, heaven over the earth. If you do impress your days will be multiplied; if you don't, they won't. For with regard to words of Torah, these words on your heart, you will not positive statements imply the corresponding negative, and negative statements imply the perish from the land, but will live there as corresponding positive. long as there is a heaven over the earth. 1 If, 21 The land that the LORD swore to your fathers to assign to them. He did not 22 then, you faithfullykeep all this swear to give it to "you," but to "them." We thus find that the doctrine of resurrection of Instruction. This is not merely a condition the dead can be derived from the Torah. of remaining on the land-you will not enter If, 22 then, you faithfully keep. Again the Torah uses two forms of the Hebrew verb. the land in the first place, let alone conquer The Torah requires multiple "keepings" if one is to learn and not forget. Walking in all it, if you do not faithfully keep all the com­ His ways. As He is compassionate, so must you be compassionate; as He does acts of mandments of the Lord. Loving the LORD kindness, so must you do acts of kindness. Holding fast to Him. Can one really say this? your God. In your heart. Walking in all After all, He is "a devouring fire" (9:3). Rather, you must hold fast to the Sages and their His ways. Never changing course or back­ disciples, and I will regard you as having held fast to Him. sliding. Holding fast to Him. As a conse­ quence of loving the Lord and walking in all j '1.. His ways. This "holding fast to Him" is a NAHM ANIDES [ 19 Teach them to your children-reciting them. Rather, "teach profound religious mystery. I your children to speak of them." In 6:7 it is we who are to "recite them," but here we are told that we must teach our children to do so. "Impress them upon your children" of 6:7 uses a different Hebrew verb than does our verse; the meaning there is really just to "repeat" the commandments, while here we are instructed to "teach" them so that they will understand them and can discuss them. 1 21 As long as there is a heaven over the earth. This too is an addition to the Deuteronomy 6 passage, invoking it throughout the generations. Or our phrase, which literally says "as the days of the heavens above the earth" (OJPS), may be a reference to the primordial heaven and earth of Gen. 1: 1. One who is enlightened will understand. 22 Holding fast to Him. Ibn Ezra calls this "a profound religious mystery," but that mystery is not derived from this text. He is perhaps saying that one must love the Lord and walk in His ways in order to be worthy of holding fast to Him at last. But Josh. 23:7-8, "Do not utter the names of their gods or swear by them; do not serve them or bow down to them. But hold fast to the LORD your God as you have done to this day," shows that the Israelites had already been "holding fast" to the Lord on a regular basis. So it seems that our verse is simply another of the warnings not to commit idolatry by transferring one's thoughts from the Lord to other gods and not to imagine that there is any substance to idolatry: "Worship none but Him, and hold fast to Him" (13:5). One must not worship God along with some other god, but only Him alone, in both thought and deed. It could be that "holding fast" includes remembering God and loving Him always, never letting your thoughts leave Him "when you lie down and when you get up" (v. 19), to the extent that even when speaking with other people one's thoughts remain before God. It could be that the lives of people who are on that level are "bound up in the bundle of life" (1 Sam. 25:29) even while they are still alive, being themselves a habitation for the Shekhinah, as the Kuzari hints. I have already discussed this in my comment to Lev. 18:5. Joshua tells them to hold fast to God "as you have done to this day" because while they were in the wilderness, eating manna, drinking from the well, and all in all completely dependent on miracles, their thoughts and deeds were continuously on God. Now, in the land, once these miracles had disappeared, he warns them not to let their attention stray from the glorious and awesome Lord.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS 19 When you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Literally, "when you sit in your house, when you walk on the road, when you lie down, and when you stand up" (compare OJPS); walking, sitting, lying, and standing are the four human postures (Bekhor Shor). 22 Walking in all His ways. Running your affairs in the same way that He runs His world-with righteousness and justice (Sforno). Holding fast to Him. Perhaps, as Ibn Ezra writes, this refers to the soul's holding fast to Him after its separation from the body (Abarbanel). NJPS ways, and holding fast to Him, 23the LORD will dislodge OJPS in all His ways, and to cleave unto Him, 23then will the before you all these nations: you will dispossess nations greater LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall and more numerous than you. 24Every spot on which your foot dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves. 24Every treads shall be yours; your territory shall extend from the wilder­ place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours: ness to the Lebanon and from the River- from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the Euphrates-to the Western Sea. 25No the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the 23 man shall stand up to you: the LORD your -1115 i1}i17 w,'Jii11 : tri1i?:;i17� ,,?77 hinder sea shall be your border. 25There

r-i , J�,r.i•• : ' ' ?.K o m·',:::3- God will put the dread and the fear of you □J•: w ; ,• , I' □N/:,, i1 •: V' i1T J", ; T shall no man be able to stand against you: over the whole land in which you set foot, the LORD your God shall lay the fear □ipY;l;:i·,� 24 : □am □,t;i¥¥1 □,?.h� □,;,. of as He promised you. you and the dread of you upon all the land i1 , i ;.i;l □;?7 � □;iri,·pi;� 177D iip� that ye shall tread upon, as He hath spoken RASHI 23 The LORD will dislodge n7E/l-,D� ,J:q;:i-p� 1i5:;,.'p;:r1 ,�-p�;:i-1,;i unto you. before you all these nations. When you -�6 2s : □?,7:::i.� i1:,i;, li'1Q�r,t □!D '-1�1 fulfill your obligation, I will fulfill Mine. RASHBAM 24 Every spot on which Greater and more numerous than you. □?.�1;,;i� □?7t:J;i □,?,J-?::;i w,t< :ix�1;,, '" '" your foot treads. To engage in battle with Rather, "mightier" (OJPS). You are mighty, 'rl.1:'D ':;, ;JE/1 '� □⇒,V?t$ i1,1i17 1 lf.P the seven nations. From the wilderness. but they are mightier. - For if the Israelites o : □?.7, ,:;n ,g;��;,� -�:,77r:, ,µ;� The south. From the River-the Euph­ themselves were not mighty, it would be rates. In the north. To the Western Sea. faint praise to call the Amorites mightier. From where you are standing now, at the "You are mightier than all the other nations, but the Amorites are mightier even than you." southeasternmost point of the land of Israel, L r 25 No man shall stand up to you. "No man"-but how do I know that this also to "the hinder sea" (OJPS) in the west. includes "no nation, no clan, no woman expert in sorcery"? Even without the word "man," r 25 No man shall stand up to you. the Hebrew would mean "no one." How then must I interpret the use of the word "man"? Within those territories. "Not even a man like King Og of Bashan." lKJ The dread and the fear of you. Is "dread" not "fear"? The use of both words implies: The dread of you will fall on those close by, and the fear of you on those far off. In fact the first Hebrew word implies sudden panic, and the second refers to longstanding worry. As He promised you. And where did He promise this? "I will send forth My terror before you, and I will throw into panic all the people among whom you come" (Exod. 23:27). [Kl See Rashi's comment to 3: 11.

NAHMAN IDES 24 Every spot on which your foot treads shall be yours; your territory shall extend from the wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River-the Euphrates-to the Western Sea. According to our Sages, these are two separate promises: (1) Every place they might wish to conquer in Shinar, Assyria, and the like would be theirs, and the commandments would all apply throughout these countries, for they all are part of the land of Israel; (2) but from the wilderness to the Lebanon as far as the Western Sea was the territory that they were obligated to conquer and (as v. 23 says) to dispossess the nations from there, and to eradicate idolatry and idolaters from it, as commanded in 7:25. In both cases, v. 25 promises, "No man shall stand up to you." It is from this verse that the rabbinic controversy over the status of Syria in Jewish law derives. David conquered Syria because he felt like doing so; he did not inquire of the Urim and Thummim or of the Sanhedrin. But he was obligated firstto dispossess the seven nations of Canaan and only after that go fightsome other country (if he wished to). Since he did not follow the commandment of the Torah and achieve that conquest, some of the Sages say that his taking Syria is not technically a conquest under the rules given here, and it is treated as being outside the land of Israel; at least, that is how it is taught in the Sifrei. But others, on B. Git. 8, say that it is considered to be within the land. Even though he did not do things in the right order, since he did go there and conquer it, the promise of "Every spot on which your foot treads shall be yours" does apply, and it is part of the land of Israel.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS 23 The LORD will dislodge before you all these nations. He will give you a place where you can support yourselves without difficulty, so that you will be able to do His will (Sforno). 25 The dread and the fear of you. Some take these to represent two aspects of fear: dread and reverence. How is it that they do not findtwo aspects to the love of God as well? But "fear" refers to keeping the commandments-not because you are afraid of punishment, but because you are afraid of disappointing God. One might also say that one loves to perform the things we are commanded to do and fears to do the things that are prohibited (Abarbanel).

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6) Haftarah for Parashat Eikev: Isaiah 49:14-51:3

14 Zion says, "The Lord has forsakenme, My Lord has forgotten me." 15 Can a woman forgether baby, Or disown the child of her womb? Though she might forget, I never could forget you. 16 See, I have engraved you On the palms of My hands, Your walls are ever beforeMe. 17 Swiftlyyour children are coming; Those who ravaged and ruined you shall leave you. 18 Look up all around you and see: They are all assembled, are come to you! As I live -declares the Lord- You shall don them all like jewels, Deck yourself with them like a bride. 19 As for your ruins and desolate places And your land laid waste­ you shall soon be crowded with settlers, While destroyers stay far fromyou. 20 The children you thought you had lost Shall yet say in your hearing, "The place is too crowded forme; Make room forme to settle." 21 And you will say to yourself, "Who bore these for me When I was bereaved and barren, Exiled and disdained- By whom, then, were these reared? I was left all alone-And where have these been?"

22 Thus said the Lord God: I will raise My hand to nations And lift up My ensign to peoples; And they shall bring your sons in their bosoms, And carry your daughters on their backs. 23 Kings shall tend your children, Their queens shall serve you as nurses. They shall bow to you, faceto the ground, And lick the dust of your feet. And you shall know that I am the Lord­ Those who trust in Me shall not be shamed. 24 Can spoil be taken froma warrior, Or captives retrieved from a victor? 25 Yet thus said the Lord: Captives shall be taken from a warrior And spoil shall be retrieved from a tyrant; For I will contend with your adversaries, And I will deliver your children. 26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, They shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine. And all mankind shall know that I the Lord am your Savior, The Mighty One of Jacob, your Redeemer.

50: 1 Thus said the Lord: Where is the bill of divorce Of your mother whom I dismissed? And which of My creditors was it To whom I sold you off? You were only sold offfor your sins, And your mother dismissed foryour crimes. 2 Why, when I came, was no one there, Why, when I called, would none respond? Is my arm, then, too short to rescue, Have I not the power to save? With a mere rebuke I dry up the sea, And tum rivers into desert. Their fishstink fromlack of water; They lie dead of thirst. 3 I clothe the skies in blackness And make their raiment sackcloth.

4 The Lord God gave me a skilled tongue, To know how to speak timely words to the weary. Morningby morning, He rouses, He rouses my ear To give heed like disciples. 5 The Lord God opened my ears, And I did not disobey, I did not run away. 6 I offeredmy back to the floggers, And my cheeks to those who tore out my hair. I did not hide my face From insult and spittle. 7 But the Lord God will help me- Therefore I feelno disgrace; Therefore I have set my facelike flint, And I know I shall not be shamed. 8 My Vindicator is at hand- Who dares contend with me? Let us stand up together! Who would be my opponent? Let him approach me! 9 Lo, the Lord God will help me­ Who can get a verdict against me? They shall all wear out like a garment, The moth shall consume them.

10 Who among you reveres the Lord And heeds the voice of His servant?­ Though he walk in darkness And have no light, Let him trust in the name of the Lord And rely upon his God. 11 But you are all kindlers of fire, Girding on firebrands. Walk by the blaze of your fire, By the brands that you have lit! This has come to you from My hand: You shall lie down in pain.

51: 1 Listen to Me, you who pursue justice, You who seek the Lord: Look to the rock you were hewn from, To the quarry you were dug from. 2 Look back to your father And to Sarah who brought you forth. For he was only one when I called him, But I blessed him and made him many. 3 Truly the Lord has comforted Zion, Comforted all her ruins; He has made her wildernesslike Eden, Her desert like the Garden of the Lord. Gladness and joy shall abide there, Thanksgiving and the sound of music.