## Sifrei Devarim Paragraph 49

###### Sifrei Devarim 49:1
[Sifrei Devarim 49:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/49:1)

(דברים יא כב) **לָלֶכֶת בְּכָל דְּרָכָיו**, אֵלּוּ הֵן דַּרְכֵי מָקוֹם? (שמות לד ו) ״ה׳ אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן״, וְאוֹמֵר (יואל ג ה): ״וְהָיָה כֹּל אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָא בְּשֵׁם ה׳ יִמָּלֵט״. וְכִי הֵיאַךְ אֶפְשָׁר לוֹ לָאָדָם לִקְרֹא בִּשְׁמוֹ שֶׁל מָקוֹם? אֶלָּא נִקְרָא הַמָּקוֹם רַחוּם – אַף אַתָּה הֱיֵה רַחוּם; הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא נִקְרָא חַנּוּן – אַף אַתָּה הֱיֵה חַנּוּן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קמה ח): ״חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם ה׳״ וְגוֹ׳, וַעֲשֵׂה מַתְּנוֹת חִנָּם. נִקְרָא הַמָּקוֹם צַדִּיק, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים יא ז): ״כִּי צַדִּיק ה׳ צְדָקוֹת אָהֵב״ – אַף אַתָּה הֱיֵה צַדִּיק. נִקְרָא הַמָּקוֹם חָסִיד, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ירמיה ג יב): ״כִּי חָסִיד אֲנִי נְאֻם ה׳״ – אַף אַתָּה הֱיֵה חָסִיד. לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר (יואל ג ה): ״וְהָיָה כֹּל אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָא בְּשֵׁם ה׳ יִמָּלֵט״, וְאוֹמֵר (ישעיה מג ז): ״כֹּל הַנִּקְרָא בִשְׁמִי״ וְגוֹ׳; וְאוֹמֵר (משלי טז ד): ״כֹּל פָּעַל ה׳ לַמַּעֲנֵהוּ״.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
**Pisqa’ 49**¹⁴⁹
1. “Walking in all *His ways*” (Dt. 11:22).
What are the ways of the All-Present?
“HASHEM, a *compassionate* and *gracious* God” (Ex. 34:6).
And He says:
“And all who are *called by*¹⁵⁰) departs from the masoretic vowelization, “call upon” (*yiqr’a*) as well as from the Septuagint at Joel 2:32 (*epikalesetai to onoma kuriou*), which agrees with the MT.
the Name of HASHEM will be spared” (Joel 3:5).
How is it possible for a person to be *called by*
the Name of the All-Present?
Rather—
**the All-Present is called *compassionate*,**
**so you, too, must be *compassionate*;**
**the Holy One is called *gracious*,**
**so you, too, must be *gracious*,**
**for it is said:**
**“Gracious and compassionate is HASHEM” (Ps. 145:8)—**
***freely offering* His gifts.**¹⁵¹ 3.
The All-Present is called *righteous*,
for it is said:
“*Righteous* is HASHEM, loving righteous deeds” (Ps. 11:7)—
so you, too, must be *righteous*.
The All-Present is called *kind,*
for it is said:
“I am *kind*, says HASHEM” (Jer. 3:12)—
so you, too, must be *kind*.
For this reason is it said:
“And all who are *called by* the Name of HASHEM will be spared” (Joel 3:5)—
[to be “called by” is to “embody His qualities”].
And it says:
“Whoever is *called by* My honorable Name, I have created him” (Is. 43:7),
And it says:
“HASHEM created everything for His *purpose*” (Prov. 16:4).

footnotes:
¹⁴⁹ H:105-106; JN1:184-165.
¹⁵⁰ The rendering “called by” (yiqar’ei
¹⁵¹ Mechilta Ishmael, shirah


###### Sifrei Devarim 49:2
[Sifrei Devarim 49:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/49:2)

**וּלְדָבְקָה בוֹ**, וְכִי הֵיאַךְ אִפְשָׁר לוֹ לָאָדָם לַעֲלוֹת לַמָּרוֹם וְלִדְבֹּק בָּאֵשׁ? וַהֲלֹא כְּבָר נֶאֱמַר (דברים ד כד): ״כִּי ה׳ אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֵשׁ אוֹכְלָה הוּא״, וְאוֹמֵר (דניאל ז ט): ״כָּרְסְיֵהּ שְׁבִיבִין דִּי נוּר״! אֶלָּא הִדָּבֵק בַּחֲכָמִים וּבְתַלְמִידֵיהֶם, וּמַעֲלֶה אֲנִי עָלֶיךָ כְּאִלּוּ עָלִיתָ לַמָּרוֹם וְנָטַלְתָּה, וְלֹא שֶׁעָלִיתָ וְנָטַלְתָּ בְּשָׁלוֹם, אֶלָּא כְּאִלּוּ עָשִׂיתָה מִלְחָמָה וְנָטַלְתָּה, וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר (תהלים סח יט): ״עָלִיתָ לַמָּרוֹם שָׁבִיתָ שֶּׁבִי״.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
2. “And *clinging* to Him” (Dt. 11:22)—
Now, how is it possible for a person
to ascend the heights and cling to fire?
Isn’t it already stated:
“HASHEM your God is a consuming *fire*” (Dt. 4:24)?
And, yet again, He says:
“His throne was tongues of *flame*” (Dan. 7:9).
Rather the point is—
*cling* to the sages and to their disciples,
and I will consider it *as if*
you had ascended the heights
and captured the Torah.
And not only that you had ascended
and captured it peacefully;
but as if you had waged war
to capture it.
And, in this vein, He says:
“Ascending the heights, you took *a prisoner*” (Ps. 65:19).


###### Sifrei Devarim 49:3
[Sifrei Devarim 49:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Sifrei%20Devarim/r/49:3)

דּוֹרְשֵׁי הַגָּדוֹת אוֹמְרִים: רְצוֹנְךָ לְהַכִּיר אֶת מִי שֶׁאָמַר וְהָיָה הָעוֹלָם? לְמוֹד הַגָּדָה, שֶׁמִּתּוֹךְ כָּךְ אַתָּה מַכִּיר אֶת מִי שֶׁאָמַר וְהָיָה הָעוֹלָם וּמִדַּבֵּק בִּדְרָכָיו. עֲשִׂיתֶם מַה שֶׁעֲלֵיכֶם, אַף אֲנִי אֶעֱשֶׂה מַה שֶׁעָלַי (דברים יא כג): ״וְהוֹרִישׁ ה׳״.

**Trans. by Marty Jaffee, 2015:**
3. The expounders of traditional lore¹⁵². Presumably these are specialists in the subject of cosmogonic and cosmological exegesis. A common variant is *dorshei* *reshumot, “*expounders of traces.” say:
So you want intimacy with
the One Who spoke the world into being?
Then master traditional lore,
for you will thereby become familiar with
the One Who spoke the world into being,
and will cling to His ways.
You did your duty;
therefore, I, too, will do My *duty*!¹⁵³ 41.9
“Then HASHEM will *disinherit* all those nations from before you” (Dt. 11:23).

footnotes:
¹⁵² Heb: dorshei h/aggadot
¹⁵³ Cf. Pisq’a