## Sifrei Devarim Paragraph 11

###### Sifrei Devarim 11:1
[Sifrei Devarim 11:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/11:1)

(דברים א יא) **ה׳ אֱלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם יֹסֵף עֲלֵיכֶם כָּכֶם אֶלֶף פְּעָמִים**, אָמְרוּ לוֹ: רַבֵּינוּ מֹשֶׁה, אִי אֶפְשֵׁנוּ שֶׁתְּבָרְכֵנוּ! הַמָּקוֹם הִבְטִיחַ אֶת אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ (בראשית כב יז): ״כִּי בָרֵךְ אֲבָרֶכְךָ וְהַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה אֶת זַרְעֲךָ כְּכוֹכְבֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם וְכַחוֹל״, וְאַתָּה נוֹתֵן קִצְבָּה לְבִרְכָתֵינוּ! מָשָׁל לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁהָיוּ לוֹ נְכָסִים הַרְבֵּה, וְהָיָה לוֹ בֵּן קָטָן, וְהָיָה צָרִיךְ לָצֵאת לִמְדִינַת הַיָּם. אָמַר: אִם אֲנִי מַנִּיחַ נְכָסַי בְּיַד בְּנִי הוּא עוֹמֵד וּמְבַזְבְּזָם, אֶלָּא הֲרֵינִי מְמַנֶּה לוֹ אֶפִּיטְרוֹפּוֹס עַד שֶׁיִּגְדַּל. מִשֶׁהִגְדִּיל הַבֵּן הַהוּא אָמַר לוֹ לָאֶפִּיטְרוֹפּוֹס: תֵּן לִי כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב שֶׁהִנִּיחַ לִי אַבָּה בְּיָדְךָ! עָמַד וְנָתַן לוֹ מִשֶּׁלּוֹ כְּדֵי פַרְנָסָתוֹ. הִתְחִיל אוֹתוֹ הַבֵּן מֵצֵר, אָמַר לוֹ: הֲרֵי כָּל כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב שֶׁהִנִּיחַ לִי אַבָּה בְּיָדְךָ? אָמַר לוֹ: כָּל מַה שֶּׁנָּתַתִּי לְךָ – לֹא נָתַתִּי לְךָ אֶלָּא מִשֶּׁלִּי; אֲבָל מַה שֶׁהִנִּיחַ לְךָ אָבִיךָ – הֲרֵיהוּ שָׁמוּר! כָּךְ אָמַר לָהֶם מֹשֶׁה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל: **ה׳ אֱלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם יֹסֵף עֲלֵיכֶם כָּכֶם אֶלֶף פְּעָמִים** – זוֹ מִשֶּׁלִּי, וְשֶׁלָּכֶם – **וִיבָרֵךְ אֶתְכֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָכֶם** כְּחוֹל יַמִּים וּכְצִמְחֵי אֲדָמָה וְכִדְגֵי הַיָּם וּ״כְכוֹכְבֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם לָרֹב״.

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
(Devarim 1:11) "May the L-rd, the G-d of your fathers, add to you, such as you, a thousand times!" They said to him: Our teacher, Moses, we do not want you to bless us. The Holy One Blessed be He promised Abraham our father (Bereshith 22:17) "… and multiply, will I multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and I will make your seed like the sand on the seashore" — and *you* set a limit to our blessing! He answered: This is *my* (blessing). An analogy: A king had many possessions and a young son, and he (the king) had to go abroad. He said: If I leave my possessions in the hand of my son, he will squander them. So saying, he appointed a caretaker (for his possessions) until his son would grow up and he (the caretaker) gave him (his son) enough of his own for his sustenance — whereupon the son cried: Is this all the silver and gold that my father has left me? And the caretaker: Everything I have given you is mine. What your father left for you is in keeping for you. Thus did Moses say to Israel: "May the L-rd, the G-d of your fathers, add to you, such as you, a thousand times." This is *my* (blessing to you). As far as *yours* is concerned, (*Ibid*.)_ "and may *He* bless you as He spoke to you" — as the sand of the seas, and the dust of the earth, and as the fish of the ocean, and as the stars of the heavens, in abundance.