## Mei HaShiloach, Volume I, Deuteronomy, Devarim

###### Mei HaShiloach, Volume I, Deuteronomy, Devarim 1
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**אלה הדברים.** איתא במדרש [שוחר טוב פרק ל"ט] לא ניתן להם תורה לישראל אלא כדי שלא יעסקו בדברים בטלים. וזה פירש (תהלים נ"ח,ב') האומנם אלם צדק תדברון, כי לכל הכוחות שנבראו באדם נתן הקב"ה מצוה שיוכל האדם לעבוד בו הש"י, והאדם נברא בכח הדבור וניתן לו ד"ת לעסוק בהם.

**Living waters, the Mei HaShiloach. Trans. and edited by Betsalel Philip Edwards, Jerusalem, J. Aronson 2001 [Revised digital edition, 2021]:**
*“These are the words .…”* (Devarim, 1:1)
It is written in the Midrash (Sochar Tov, 39), “The Torah was only given to Israel so they would not occupy themselves with idle words.” This is the meaning of (*Tehilim*, 58:2), “will indeed the mute speak righteousness?” For all the powers that were created in man, the Holy One, blessed be He, gave a commandment with which to serve God. Man was created with the power of speech, and he was given words of Torah with which to occupy himself.


###### Mei HaShiloach, Volume I, Deuteronomy, Devarim 2
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**בערבה מול סוף.** הענין מה שמכנה את חטאי ישראל על שמות המקומות ולא על שם הזמן, רמז בזה שלא יחשוב האדם כי חטאם היה נגד בחירתם, שהיה להם בחירה לפרוש מהחטא, ע"ז מרמז ענין המקום שלא היה באפשרות להשמר מחטאים ולזוז למקום אחר.

**Living waters, the Mei HaShiloach. Trans. and edited by Betsalel Philip Edwards, Jerusalem, J. Aronson 2001 [Revised digital edition, 2021]:**
*“… in the plain over against Suf .…”* (Devarim, 1:1)
Why were the sins of Israel discreetly mentioned through the names of the places where the sins occurred rather than by mentioning the time when they occurred? (See Rashi on this verse, who teaches of the merits of Moshe that he mentioned the names of the places where the children of Israel sinned, but not the sins themselves. He did not say, “at the Aravah you sinned with the Baal Peor, at at Shittim with the Moabites, etc.” This was so as to honor them and not be overly harsh in his reproof. The Author takes this further, with a simple question. Why not mention the times instead of the places?) 
This is in order that man does not think that they sinned according to their power of choice, and that they had the choice to remove themselves from the sin. Place hints at this, for it was not possible for them to guard themselves from the sin and move to a different place (where they might not have sinned.)¹ *Moharan* II 1:14, and in Torat Moseh ‘Masei’[Haghahot Peretz]. So as not to erroneously think that this is Antinomian, the Isbitzer Hassid needs to remember that “Isbitz is for after the sin” [R. Moshe Lainer, Rebbe of Radzin shlita]

footnotes:
¹ Note: This idea is also found in Likutei


###### Mei HaShiloach, Volume I, Deuteronomy, Devarim 3
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**אחד עשר יום מחרב.** כי בקבלת התורה עוד לא נזדכך לב ישראל להמשך אחר רצון הש"י בשלימות, ורק בשכלם הבינו כי טוב לפניהם לקיים רצון הש"י ולבם לא היה מזוכך, אך בביאת ארץ אז נזדכך לבם, וזה שאמר להם מרע"ה אחד עשר יום מחורב, היינו כשהייתם בחורב וקבלתם התורה היה בדעתיכם כי כבר נזדכך לבכם, כי הלכתם בג' ימים. ובאמת אינו כן כי יש מרחק אחד עשר יום, ולא קניתם ד"ת שיקבעו בלבכם, רק אחר הארבעים שנה ע"י המכשולות והנסיונות עי"ז נזדכך לבכם, שאין אדם עומד על ד"ת אלא א"כ נכשל בהם (גיטין מ"ג.), וע"ז אמר דהע"ה (תהלים קכ"ז,ב') שוא לכם משכימי קום וכו' אוכלי לחם העצבים כן יתן לידידו שינה, כי קודם שלב האדם נזדכך צריך ליגיעה ועצב קודם שיקיים רצון הש"י, אך אחר שנקבע ד"ת בלבו אז משפיע לו הקב"ה ד"ת אף בלי יגיעה ואף בעת שינה ואין צריך ליגע את עצמו כ"כ.

**Living waters, the Mei HaShiloach. Trans. and edited by Betsalel Philip Edwards, Jerusalem, J. Aronson 2001 [Revised digital edition, 2021]:**
*“Eleven days from Horev .…”* (Devarim, 1:2)
Upon receiving the Torah the heart of Israel was not yet refined so as to be completely drawn after God’s will. They understood in their intellect that it was good to fulfill God’s will, yet their heart was not yet purified. Only once they had entered the land was their heart refined. This is as Moshe Rabeynu said to them, “eleven days from Horev.” After you received the Torah at Horev and then you reached Kadesh Barnea in only three days, you thought that his was a sign thatyour hearts were already purified.¹ was trying to hasten their entrance into the land. Yet it is not so, for (the distance from Horev to Kadesh) is actually eleven days (meaning it is a longer journey, a greater effort), and (in this Moshe was telling them,) “You have not yet acquired words of Torah that they may be fixed in your heart. It is only after forty years, by means of failures and trials, that your hearts became refined,” for “one cannot uphold the Torah unless he has failed in it [*Gittin*, 43a].”
Concerning this King David said (*Tehilim*, 127:2), “It is vain for you to get up early [to think that in only three days you have sufficiently refined your hearts] … by eating the bread of sorrows, thus He gives His beloved sleep.” Before the heart is refined one must undergo toil and strife in order to fulfill God’s will. Yet after words of Torah are fixed in his heart, then the Holy One, blessed be He, bestows words of Torah upon him without any struggle, even while sleeping, and one does not need to undergo great efforts.

footnotes:
¹ Rashi notes that the Shechina


###### Mei HaShiloach, Volume I, Deuteronomy, Devarim 4
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**לא אוכל לבדי שאת אתכם.** כי עיקר חלק מרע"ה היה קבלת התורה, וארץ ישראל היה חלק יהושע, וכאשר נאמר רב לכם שבת וכו' פנו לכם, היינו התחלות כניסת א"י אז נחלש דעתו.

**Living waters, the Mei HaShiloach. Trans. and edited by Betsalel Philip Edwards, Jerusalem, J. Aronson 2001 [Revised digital edition, 2021]:**
*“… I alone cannot bear you .…”* (Devarim, 1:9)
The principle of the portion of Moshe Rabeynu was the reception of the Torah, and the land of Israel was the portion of Yehoshua. So when it was said to them (verses 6 and 7), “It is enough of your dwelling on this mountain. You shall turn and go,” this signified the beginning of their entrance into the land. Then his strength waned.


###### Mei HaShiloach, Volume I, Deuteronomy, Devarim 5
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**ואומר אלכם בעת ההיא לאמר לא אוכל לבדי וכו' הבו לכם אנשים חכמים ונבנים וידעים.** כאשר היו קרובים לכנוס לא"י והרגיש מרע"ה כי רצון הש"י הוא שע"י יהושוע יכנסו לארץ, והוא היה רוצה שיתפללו ישראל לה' שאינם רוצים במנהיג אחר, וזה שרמז להם במאמרו לא אוכל לבדי וכו' אף שמצינו שאח"כ בקש מה' שהוא יכניסם, ואומר להם כדי שיבינו שהוא צריך לתפלתם כעת, וזה הפסוק הוא פסוק תשיעי מהתחלת הסדרה ובכל מקום בפסוק התשיעי נמצא עומק שלא כפי פשוטו, וכמו שמבואר בפ' בלק [ד"ה ויאמר בלעם], והם לא הבינו ואמרו טוב הדבר, וע"כ אמר אח"כ ואקח מאתכם אנשים חכמים וידועים וכו' ואמרו חז"ל (נדרים כ':) מה שלא הוזכר נבונים כי נבונים לא מצא וז"ש ונבונים לא מצאתי רומז כי לא מצא מי שיבין כוונתו, כי באם הבנתם את כוונתי והתפללתם אולי הייתם מועילים בתפלתכם.

**Living waters, the Mei HaShiloach. Trans. and edited by Betsalel Philip Edwards, Jerusalem, J. Aronson 2001 [Revised digital edition, 2021]:**
*“And I said to them at that time, saying, ‘I alone cannot bear you … bring men of wisdom.…’ ”* (Devarim, 1:9, 13)
When they were close to entering the land of Israel, Moshe Rabeynu felt that it was God’s will that Yehoshua would be the one to bring them in. But still he wanted Israel to pray to God saying that they did not want another leader (than Moshe, in effect to change God’s will). This is hinted in the way he said, “I alone cannot bear you.” (Not alone, but if all of Israel prays, then perhaps.) Even though we find later (at the beginning of the next *Parsha*) that he asks God to be the one to bring them in, he says it to them here in order for them to understand that he needs their prayers now. This verse is the ninth verse from the beginning of the *Parsha*, and each time the ninth verse contains a depth much deeper than the plain meaning, as is explained above in *Parshat Balak*.² [the *sefirah* of] *Yesod*–foundation, and there is something hidden within it. This is as it says in the Holy Zohar [*Bereshit*, 3a], “[because nine is the Hebrew letter *tet*, the first letter in *tov* or good] letter *tet*, your good is closed within you and hidden within you.” However, they didn’t understand (Moshe’s hidden meaning, wanting them to pray that he should be the one to bring them in), and they said, “it is good to do what you have said [to choose other leaders]” (*Devarim*, 1:14). Therefore it is said, “Take men of wisdom, of deep understanding, and known (among your tribes),”¹ (verse 13) and after, “so I took wise men, and known…” (verse 15). On this our sages say (*Nedarim*, 20b), “the second time it does not say, ‘of deep understanding,’ because he didn’t find anyone of deep understanding.” This means that (because they answered him in verse 14, “it is good to choose new leaders”) he didn’t find anyone with an understanding of his hidden intention (as if to say), “for if you had understood my intention and prayed, maybe your prayer would have been successful.”

footnotes:
² It says there: The ninth hints at the attribute of Yoseph the Tsaddik
¹ Koren Translation


###### Mei HaShiloach, Volume I, Deuteronomy, Devarim 6
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**ה' אלקיכם הרבה אתכם והנכם היום ככוכבי השמים לרב.** איתא במדרש (דברים רבה פרשה א',י"ד) אמר מרע"ה לפני הקב"ה למה לא משלת אותם בחמה ולבנה שהם גדולים מכוכבים, אמר לו הקב"ה חמה ולבנה יש להם בושה לעתיד לבוא מנין שנאמר (ישעיה כ"ד,כ"ג) וחפרה הלבנה ובושה החמה אבל הכוכבים אין להם בושה מנין שנאמר (יואל ב',כ"ז) כי בקרב ישראל אני ואני ה' אלקיכם ואין עוד, כי חמה ולבנה נקרא שיעשה האדם מעשיו עפ"י חכמתו ובינתו, וכל מחשבות אדם עפ"י חכמתו יהיו בטילין, וכוכבים נקרא במקום שהקב"ה יאיר עיני האדם וילך עפ"י הארות אור הש"י וזאת יקום לעולמי עד.

**Living waters, the Mei HaShiloach. Trans. and edited by Betsalel Philip Edwards, Jerusalem, J. Aronson 2001 [Revised digital edition, 2021]:**
*“Hashem your God has increased you, and behold, you are today like the stars of the heavens for a multitude.”* (Devarim, 1:10)
It is said in the Midrash (*Devarim* Rabba, 1:14), “Moshe Rabeynu said before the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘why did you not compare them to the sun and the moon, which are greater than the stars?’ The Holy One, blessed be He, answered him, ‘in the future, shame will come from the sun and the moon, as it is said [Yesahya, 24:23], “then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun shall be ashamed, when the Lord of Hosts shall reign on mount Zion and Jerusalem.’”³ And God continued, ‘yet no shame shall come from the stars, as it is said (Yoel, 2:27), ‘For I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the Lord your God, and there is no other, and you shall no longer be ashamed.’” The sun and the moon represent a time when one acts according to his own human wisdom and understanding, for (in the time to come) all the thoughts of man according to human wisdom will be nullified. On the other hand, the stars represent the place where the Holy One, blessed be He, illuminates the eyes of man, and he goes according to the illumination of the light of God. This will endure forever and ever.

footnotes:
³ For several reasons, among them that when it is clear to all that God reigns over all, any lesser ruler, kings, or even the forces of Heaven will be ashamed in comparison, and also because they were objects of idolatry. (Ibn Ezra)


###### Mei HaShiloach, Volume I, Deuteronomy, Devarim 7
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**ויהי בארבעים שנה בעשתי עשר חדש באחד לחדש דבר משה וכו'.** הענין שנתפרש כאן באיזה חודש, כי חודש שבט מורה על שבט ותוכחת מוסר וכתוב (משלי כ"ט,ט"ו) שבט ותוכחת יתן חכמה, ונתן מרע"ה עצה שיכנסו את עצמם בד"ת ותפדה אותם מכל רע כמ"ש (תהלים קי"א,ט') פדות שלח לעמו צוה לעולם בריתו, וברית הוא התורה כמ"ש (ירמיה ל"ג,כ"ה) אם לא בריתי וכו', וזה שנאמר (משלי ט"ו,ל"ג) יראת ה' מוסר חכמה, כי יש מוסר עפ"י יסורין ח"ו וד"ת ג"כ נקראים מוסר כמ"ש (משלי ח',י') קחו מוסרי, כי מד"ת יוכל ג"כ האדם להתייסר ואשרי הגבר אשר תיסרנו יה ומתורתך תלמדנו, וז"ש (תהלים קי"א,י') ראשית חכמה יראת ה' שכל טוב לכל עושיהם, פירוש שזה חכמה ושכל טוב לאדם שיכניס את עצמו בד"ת ועל ידה ינצל מכל רע.

**Living waters, the Mei HaShiloach. Trans. and edited by Betsalel Philip Edwards, Jerusalem, J. Aronson 2001 [Revised digital edition, 2021]:**
*“And it was, in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first of the month, Moshe spoke .…”* (Devarim, 1:3)
The reason why he specifies here the exact month is because the month of Shevat (the eleventh month) teaches of the rod [*Shevet* in Hebrew] and ethical reproof, as it is written (Mishlei, 29:15), “the rod and reproof will bring wisdom.” Here Moshe Rabeynu advised them to enter into the Torah, and God would redeem them from all evil, as it is written (*Tehilim*, 111:9), “He sent redemption to his people, He commanded eternally His covenant.” The covenant [*brit* in Hebrew] is the Torah, as it is written (Yirmiya, 33:25), “If My covenant did not last day and night.” This is as it is said (Mishlei, 15:33), “the fear of God instructs wisdom,” for there is ethical instruction by means of suffering, God forbid, and the study of Torah is also called ethical instruction, as it is said (Mishlei, 8:10), “take My instruction.” From the Torah one may also come to the kind of suffering (bringing ethical understanding), for “fortunate is the man whom God punishes, and learns from His Torah [*Tehilim*, 94:12].” This is as it says (*Tehilim*, 111:10), “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, a good understanding to all who do them,” meaning that this is wisdom and good understanding to the man who enters himself into the Torah. By means of this he is saved from all evil.


###### Mei HaShiloach, Volume I, Deuteronomy, Devarim 8
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**הנה ערשו ערש ברזל הלה הוא ברבת בני עמון.** מרע"ה נתירא מעוג לפי שהיה בו אות ברית אשר שם בו אאע"ה כדאיתא בזוה"ק (במדבר קפ"ד.), כי עוג היה אליעזר עבד אברהם, כידוע, והיה ירא פן ח"ו ה' עמו. וזה שנכתב תשע אמות ארכו וארבע אמות רחבו, כי ט' וד' הם האותיות הקודמת לשם י"ה, כי מאלו השני אותיות יוצאים כל ההשפעות לאדם, כי אותיות ו"ה מהשם הם מצד תפיסת האדם כידוע, וזה שירא מרע"ה כי שמא שורה עליו השם הזה, והראה לו הש"י כי אינו כן אף כי נדמה על הגוון כי מעשיו הם טובים אעפי"כ אין תוכו נקי, וזה שנאמר עליו הלה הוא ברבת בני עמון, כי עמון הוא קליפת תאוה וניאוף כידוע וכמאמר זוה"ק [שם] דפגים בההוא אות ברית, וזה שהבטיח הקב"ה למשה היום הזה אחל תת פחדך על העמים אשר תחת כל השמים, כי השמים נקרא הגוון הנראה למראה עינים לכח וסיעתא מה' והראה לו הש"י כי בתוך האומות אין בזה שום ממש, וזה ששינה בלשון, כי מהצורך היה לכתוב תת פחדך על כל העמים אשר תחת השמים, ורמז בזה כי כל הגוונין שנראים טובים בין האומות אין בהם שום ממש.

**Living waters, the Mei HaShiloach. Trans. and edited by Betsalel Philip Edwards, Jerusalem, J. Aronson 2001 [Revised digital edition, 2021]:**
*“For only Og king of Bashan remains … Behold! His bed is a bed of iron, is it not in Rabat of the children of Ammon? Nine cubits its length and four cubits its width .…”* (Devarim, 3:11)
Moshe Rabeynu feared Og, because he had the sign of the *brit* (covenant) given to him by our father Avraham, as it is written in the Zohar (*Bamidbar*, 184a), “for Og was Eliezar the servant of Avraham,” as is known. Moshe then feared that maybe God was with him, God forbid. This is why it is written, “nine cubits its length and four cubits its width,” for four, the letter *dalet*, and nine, the letter *tet*, are the letters preceding the first two letters of the name of God, *Yud Hei*. All the Divine influences to man come from these letters, for the last two letters in God’s name, *Vav Hei*, come from the side of human apprehension, as is known. Moshe feared that perhaps the name *Yud Hei* rested on Og, so God showed him that it is not so. Even though it seemed that on the surface his actions were good, still his insides were not clean. This is why it says “is it not in Rabat of the children of Ammon.” Ammon is the *klipah* (evil force) of desire and promiscuity, as is known from the Zohar (ibid.), “that [Ammon] contaminated his sign of the *brit*.”
Concerning this the Holy One, blessed be He, promised Moshe Rabeynu (*Devarim*, 2:25), “On this day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the face of the nations which are under all the heavens.” “Heavens” teaches of something that seems to all on the surface to receive power and assistance from God, and God showed him that among the nations there is none of this in reality. This is why the phrasing seems to be changed. It would seem that it should have been, “to put the fear of you on *all* the nations which are under *the heavens*.” This hints that all the surface appearances that seem good among the nations really have no substance within them.⁴

footnotes:
⁴ Saying just “the nations” because they are not receiving God’s strength, and “all the heavens” because what seems true on the surface is not so in the depths.