האזינו השמים ואדברה, “hearken o heavens and I will speak;” Moses, when addressing heaven and earth mentioned the word האזינו, addressing the ears of heavens first, whereas Isaiah when doing so in Isaiah 1,2 mentioned the word שמיעה, hearing first. The reason is that Moses’ primary field of activity was with heaven, he was close to it and did not need to worry about the ability of the heavens to hear him, but needed their attention to his words. Isaiah being closer to earth than to heaven had to proceed in the reverse order, first making sure that witnesses’ ears were open, before worrying about gaining their undivided attention. When someone is close to the one who addresses him, all he needs to do to get the message is turn his ears in the source of the sound’s direction. A person who is far from the speaker needs to insure first that he is heard, before worrying that what he says will be heard and understood. According to Rashi, (in his commentary on Isaiah) the reason for the opposite approaches taken between Moses and Isaiah is that both heaven and earth are witnesses, (compare Deut. 30,19) seeing they will be around as long as any Israelites exist, they had to be addressed as such in similar terms, i.e. both as hearing and hearkening, (paying attention to what they hear) otherwise each could claim that they were only witnesses to part of what had been demanded of them. Rav Hunna, quoting Rav Acha, claims that from the wording it is clear that there are more witnesses in heaven than on earth, seeing that Moses addresses heaven in the plural mode, האזינו, whereas he addresses earth in the singular mode, ותשמע. Isaiah followed the same pattern he had read about in the Torah, i.e. plural mode for heaven, and singular mode for earth.

הצור תמים פעלו, “the Rock, His work is perfect;” it is only fair that you will acknowledge His greatness seeing that he is unshakably strong and therefore whatever He has created is perfect; moreover He does not display anger when facing those who are bent to make Him display His anger.

צדיק וישר הוא, “He is righteous and just.” This refers to those human beings that act in accordance with His will. He does not withhold their reward. Seeing that Moses was bent on explaining how G–d takes revenge from those Israelites who deliberately cause Him anger, before doing the same to the gentile nations, he mentioned the righteous and his judgment first.

שחת לו, לא בניו, “Is corruption His? No, His children’s is the blemish. What Moses is explaining is that if His children, the Jewish people perform corrupt deeds, it is not He who will suffer from this; the fallout of their evil deeds will leave a blemish on the children of those who have performed these deeds. They will bear the shame of the deeds of their fathers. This is also the meaning of the Targum on this verse. Rabbi Moses from Pontresia was bothered by the fact that if this interpretation is correct the Torah should have spelled the two words lo in the reverse manner, i.e. לא, לו. As a result, he interpreted the meaning as follows: “the blemish will not adhere to their children, but to them who have performed the corrupt deeds.” This is also what the prophet Hosea said in Hoseah 2,4: כי היא לא אשתי והם לא בני כי בני זנונים המה, “for she is not My wife and I am not her husband, for they are the brood of harlotry.” [though bastards cannot be blamed for the deeds of their progenitors. Ed.]

עם נבל, “they are a people who repay benefits received with disloyalty;”

ולא חכם, “and they are not a wise nation.” They imagine that they are smart and can escape the consequences of their deeds.

זכור ימות עולם, “remember the days of old;” now Moses begins to list the many acts of kindness G–d had performed for His people;

בינו שנות דור ודור, “reflect with intelligence about the years of many generations.” I, G–d, had provided for this nation long before they came into existence as a nation.” The details will be explained in the following verses.

בהנחל עליון גוים, “when the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance;”

בהפרידו בני אדם, ”when He separated the children of men;” during the generation of the Tower (Genesis 11,1-11) At that time, due to the confusion of their languages, each “nation,” i.e. the people who had a language in common, moved away from one another and established separate cultures. This occurred due to the direct intervention of G–d as we know from verse 8 in that chapter.

יצב גבולות עמים למספר בני ישראל, “He set the borders of people, relative to the number of the Children of Israel.” He selected the boundaries of the twelve tribes in the land that would be Israel’s in the future. How did He do this? He first allocated the relevant areas to the descendants of Canaan –who were enslaved to the descendants of Shem through Noach’s curse. Seeing that slaves cannot own anything in their own right, they are never more than tenants on that land.- Genesis 10,15-18 lists the genealogy of Canaan, eleven in number, that are relevant in that respect. At least one of the Canaanite families at some point split into two separate families, (“nations”). This was the P’rizi, which therefore has not been listed in the verses we just quoted. The boundaries of the lands occupied by the descendants of Canaan are also spelled out in that chapter in detail. As a result of this we have 12 separate branches of the Canaanite nation matching the 12 tribes of the Israelites at the time of Moses. [Levi did not get an ancestral share, but Joseph, as Yaakov’s firstborn from the wife Rachel he had worked for had two shares, allocated to Menashe and Ephrayim, the sons born to him before Yaakov’s death. The words: למספר בני ישראל, “corresponding to the number of tribes of the Children of Israel,” in our verse make perfect sense therefore.

ימצאהו בארץ מדבר, “He found him in a desert region.” The word I have underlined is equivalent to yamtzieyhu, meaning: “He provided all their needs for them in that desert. He provided water, heavenly bread, manna, quails (meat) and made their garments resist decay. (Compare Deuteronomy 8,4.)

ובתהו ילל ישימון, “and in an empty howling waste, etc.” in that very region which harbors only jackals and ostriches, as we know from Micah 1,8 which are constantly lamenting, I provided all that could be wished for. An alternate interpretation for the expression: ימצאהו בארץ מדבר. In this area where one could not logically have expected to find anything worth while, Israel found a real treasure i.e. the Torah which the Lord gave them.

ובתהו ילל ישימון, “as long as they had not received the Torah that region had been a completely arid wasteland for them.” Once they received the Torah, it was as if they had been given the gift of light. This is why Solomon said in Proverbs 6,23: כי נר מצוה ותורה אור, “for the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is a light.

יסובבנהו, ”He enclosed it (protectively) by clouds;” Another interpretation: “He surrounded it with an upside down turned mountain, Sinai, like a bucket.” (compare Talmud, tractate Shabbat folio 88).

יבוננהו, “He provided them with insights;” through the Torah. Alternate interpretation: based on the root: בנה, “to build”, “He provided them with a building,” i.e. the Tabernacle.

יצרנהו כאישון עינו, “He kept him as the apple of His eye.”

ירכיבהו על במתי ארץ, “He made him ride on the high places of the earth.” Moses repeated this metaphor again in Deuteronomy 33,29, ואתה על במותימו תדרוך, “and you shall tread on their high places.”

ויאכל תנובות שדי, “he ate of the fruitage of the field;” Here Moses speaks of the future, after the Israelites had conquered the land of Canaan and grown their own crops. By that time the manna had ceased to descend from heaven, as stated in Joshua 5,12: וישבות המן ממחרת הפסח ויאכלו מעבור הארץ, “the manna ceased immediately after the Passover, and they began to eat from the produce of the land.” This enabled them to strengthen their bodies in anticipation of fighting to conquer the land. Concerning this subject we read in the Talmud, tractate Kidushin, folio 38, that as soon as they offered the first omer offering, (a measure of the new barley harvest) they were permitted to eat from the produce of the land. This statement in the Talmud was challenged by Rabbi Nathan Ophniel, who asked why they had to wait until they had offered that offering, seeing that the positive commandment of eating matzot on the first night of the Passover festival (Exodus 12,18) should override the negative commandment (Leviticus 23,14) of not eating from the new barley harvest, just as the positive commandment of circumcising oneself on the eighth day (overrides the negative commandment of not tampering with the foreskin of the newly born if it had displayed signs of the skin affliction known as tzoraat. The answer to his objection is that the sages decreed the prohibition on account of the second piece of matzah, i.e. once the amount of an olive’s size of matzah had been eaten, the commandment in Exodus is no longer mandatory, and it would be too easy to transgress the commandment of not eating from the new barley harvest prior to offering the omer. We find a similar situation with the widow of brother a of the High Priest who had died without child, and who would be in line for the levirate marriage to her brother-in-law the High Priest. (Compare Talmud tractate Yevamot folio 20) You could argue that the positive commandment of performing such a rite (Deuteronomy 25,5) should override the negative commandment that a High Priest must not marry a widow. (Leviticus 21,14) There too the sages forbade the levirate marriage as after the first marital union the High Priest would have fulfilled the whole commandment, and if he were to sleep with his wife by levirate marriage a second time, he would have committed a very serious sin. The sages therefore forbade such a levirate marriage in order to make sure that the High Priest would not become guilty of such a sin.

וינקהו דבש מסלע, “and He made him suck honey from a crag in the rock.” The honey mentioned here is bee’s honey. If date trees had grown in rocky areas their honey would also have been included.

ושמן מחלמיש צור, “as well as oil out of a flinty rock.” Olives growing in such rocky areas are superior in taste to those growing from trees in the field. This is most likely due to the heat of the sun’s ray being reflected from the rocky surface instead of being absorbed by the soil.

עם חלב כרים ואילים, “and curds as well as and rams raised in Bashan.“ Moses lists the highest quality of these species, similar to Genesis 45,18 ואכלו את חלב הארץ, ”and live off the fat of the land!”

עם חלב כליות חיטה, “with the kidney fat of wheat.” The word “kidneys” here is not a metaphor but is to be understood literally. This is because the shape of wheat with its groove is similar to that of the shape of a kidney. (Ibn Ezra)

ודם ענב תשתה חמר, “and of the blood of the grape you will drink foaming wine.” The wine will be red as blood, an indication of its value, similar to what Solomon described in Proverbs 23,31: אל תרא יין כי יתאדם, “do not look at wine when it is red;” [sign that the wine is strong in alcohol content. Ed.]

בתועבות יכעיסוהו, “with abominations they provoke Him.” Robbery and sexual misconduct are what Moses referred to here. Both have been described in the Torah (Leviticus 18,27) as “abominations.”

יזבחו לשדים, “they sacrificed to demons.” This is one of the most abhorrent forms of idolatry.

לא אלוה, “no-gods;” these demons possess no power whatsoever. Compare Ezekiel 17,13: ואת אילי הארץ לקח, “and the ‘mighty’ of the land he took away. [Nebuchadnezzar carried away those who had thought of themselves as ‘mighty.’ Ed.] Onkelos translates our verse as meaning that they are useless. (the demons) If they had any value at all Moses would not condemn worshipping them with such vehemence as he does here. A certain Roman said to Rabbi Shimon, wondering about Exodus 20,5 where Hashem is described as a “jealous” G–d, why this G–d would be jealous of a “nobody.” A truly powerful person is jealous only of another powerful person, not of someone clearly inferior. Why does Moses describe G–d’s jealousy as having been aroused by a “no-god” so that he retaliates by arousing the jealousy of His people by a “no-people?” Rabbi Shimon answered him by using a parable to illustrate his point. A man had married an extremely attractive looking wife. After a while he took a second wife who was ugly in the extreme. His first wife became extremely angry at her husband, saying to him that she could have understood it if he had married another attractive woman who would have been competition to her. The fact that he married an ugly woman, she felt was a deliberate insult, suggesting that she was just as ugly as the second wife he had taken. (Compare Talmud, tractate Avodah zarah, folio 55.) Moses is telling the people that although G–d would be angry at them for worshipping the sun, which appears powerful and a source of life to them, instead of worshipping Him Who had created the sun; but to worship something that is totally useless to them was an additional insult which He resents accordingly with great anger.

אלהים לא ידעום, “a deity they had never heard of.” They had heard of it, but had never heard that it possessed any power. Rabbi Joseph Kara explains the reason why Moses chose this expression as being that we have a verse in Exodus 3,7: where G–d tells Moses that He is well aware of the people’s pains, כי ידעתי את מכאוביו, that the deities His people turned to were ones which had no such knowledge. How could such deities help when they were completely unaware of the problems its worshippers faced?

חדשים מקרוב באו, “new gods that came up of late.” These so called deities had never been considered as deities by anyone.

לא שערום אבותיכם, “gods that your fathers had never dreaded.” The word שער in Aramaic is equivalent to the Hebrew פוקד, compare Targum Deuteronomy 5,9, and thus would mean “remembering with a view to punishing.”

צור ילדך תשי, “You neglected the Rock that begot you;” You forgot the Almighty Who formed you in your mother’s womb and caused you to be born; you did all this on account of something new that had not proven itself in any way.

ותשכח א-ל מחוללך, “you forgot the Divine Power who brought you forth. Moses repeats the thought as it seems so unbelievable that the Jewish people could ever become so foolish. Once I have done this, Moses quotes G–d as saying: אראה מה אחריתם, “I will see what their end shall be;” G–d will watch what use their new found deity has been to them.

ויאמר אסתירה פני מהם, so that I said: “I’ll hide My face from them.” According to the Targum, this is an expression meaning that G–d will withdraw His benevolent Presence from them.

כי דור תהפוכות המה, “for they are a treacherous generation;” they had considered the beneficial acts I had performed for them as harmful for them. As a result they became disloyal to Me.

ואני אקניאם בלא עם, ”I will rouse them to jealousy with a no-people;” G–d retaliates by making the punishment fit the crime. It seems as if G–d is referring to bands of terrorists who will invade their land temporarily before leaving destruction in their wake. These terrorists are called “no-people,” as they are hated universally, seeing they do not only single out the land of Israel for their activities.

ותלהט מוסדי הרים, “(the fire) and set ablaze the foundations of the mountains;” this is analogous to what we read in Job 34,22: אין חשך ואין צלמות להסתר שם פועלי און, “neither darkness nor gloom offers a hiding-place for the evil doers.”

אספה עלימו רעות , “I will heap evils upon them;” in other words: “I will not spare them any of the evils that are in existence.”

חצי אכלה בם, “I will use all My arrows against them.” By repeating himself, apparently, Moses stresses that G–d will use all the destructive power at His disposal.

מזי רעב, “wasting famine;” compare Daniel 3,19 for use of the word מזי. We read there למזי לאתונה חד שבעה, “to heat the kiln seven times.” The people’s skin would be full of holes and blisters due to excessive pains caused by hunger.

ולחומי רשף, compare Song of Songs 8,6, רשפיה רשפי אש, “its flashes are flashes of fire;” epidemics caused by excessive heat-waves.

וקטב מרירי, “and bitter destruction.” The word קטב is found in Hoseah 13,14: אהי קטבך שאול, “your pestilence where? Sheol” (Metaphor for the fires of hell.)

The word מרירי meaning: “bitter,” is familiar to all of us, although our author provides examples for where it is used. However, in the Talmud tractate Pessachim folio 111, the word is understood to mean sheydim, “demons,” the Talmud coming to the conclusion that there are two different kinds of ketev m’riri, demons, one is active before it is noon, and one after the sun has reached its highest point on the horizon.

אמרתי אפאיהם, “I had said I would make an end of them” so that no trace of them would remain. אשביתה מאנוש זכרם “I would make even their memory extinct;”

לולי כעס אויב אגור, “were it not that I dreaded the enemy’s provocation;” (if I, G–d, had not thought that the gentiles would not attribute their disappearance as an act of punishment by Me.) the word גור occurs in the sense of “fearing” in Deuteronomy 1,17: לא תגורו מפני איש, “do not be afraid of anybody.”

פן ינכרו צרימו, “lest its adversaries would boast over their accomplishment” (in having wiped out the Jewish people)

כי גוי אובד עצות המה, “for they are a nation void of sense;” this is a reference to the nation into whose hands I will deliver them. They are devoid of sense, so how could they have succeeded in wiping out My people?.

לו חכמו ישכילו זאת, “if they were wise they would understand this, i.e. they would understand that if such a disaster could have befallen a great nation like the Jewish people, one of which at one time could pursue a thousand of its enemies, how much worse would befall a relatively small nation like that which had hosted them while they were in exile.

אם לא כי צורם מכרם, “unless their “Rock” (their G–d) had sold them.” The verb מכר appears in the sense in which it is used here, in Judges 4,9, when Deborah tells Barak that the glory of the victory over Siserah will not be his but that of a woman, כי ביד אשה ימכור ה' את סיסרא, “for the Lord will deliver Sisera (the enemy general) into the hands of a woman.”

וה' הסגירם, “and the Lord had delivered them up?” The Lord had delivered them into our hands when we performed such deeds of valour.

כי לא כצורנו צורם, “for their Rock is not like our Rock;” besides they know that our G–d is not like any of their deities, as when the Jewish people observed the covenant they had entered into with their G–d, they had been unable to harm them in any way. Not only that; during those eras their G–d had dealt harshly with them and their so-called deities. A prime example is found in Samuel I 5,7, after the Philistines had captured the Holy Ark, first their deity Dagon was found lying on its face in front of the Holy Ark. After picking it up in its former place the same thing happened on the second morning. By that time this idol had lost its hands and its legs, only the trunk remaining intact. The citizens of Ashdod became struck with hemorrhoids, and decided to rid themselves at all costs of the Holy Ark. They attributed their problems to the G–d of Israel, and instead of enjoying their victory over the army of the Israelites considered themselves as having become the victims. They should have realised that if the Jewish G–d had punished His own people, He would deal even more harshly with those who victimised His people. From here on in Moses expounds on what will be the fate of our perennial enemies.

כי מגפן סדום גפנם, “for their vine is of the vine of Sodom;” the cup of destruction has been poured out over them.

חמת תנינים יינם, “their wine is the venom of serpents.” It will make them totally drunk.

וראש פתנים אכזר, “and the cruel poison of asps.” Even their wine will be gall and wormwood.

הלא הוא כמוס עמדי, “Is it not stored up with Me? (the calamity striking the gentiles)

לי נקם ושלם, “vengeance is Mine and recompense;” it is up to Me avenge Myself on them and to repay them for the evil they have done. The root שלם does not only mean (to make) peace, but “peace” is a word which describes a circle being completed. Therefore it is appropriate when being used as punishment for evil which upset the balance in the universe when being committed.

לעת תמוט רגלם, “at the time when their foot shall slip;” when the time comes around when their foot will slip (naturally), I will use that time to repay them for the evil they have committed.

כי קרוב יום אידם, “for the day of their calamity is at hand;” and I stand ready to take advantage of that time.

וחש עתידות למו, “and the things in store for them will make haste.” The prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 60,22 referred to this concept when he said: בעתו אחישנה, “when its time is due, I will hasten it.” To the question when that time will arrive, Moses continues with

כי ידין ה' עמו, “when the Lord will judge His people;” when G–d has reason to judge His people, He will deal with the (guilty) gentile nations at the same time.

ועל עבדיו יתנחם, ”and He will relent in His attitude to His servants.” G–d will reconsider any decree which He issued as a result of the Israelites causing Him anger.

ואפס עצור ועזוב, “and there is none remaining, shut up or left at large.” This is due to the fact that they have no one ready or able to come to their aid. The root עזב, occurs in this sense of assisting in Exodus 23,5: עזוב תעזו, “be sure to assist!”

אשר חלב זבחמו יאכלו, “Who would consume the fat of their sacrifices?” (At the time when these would be offered in their Temple)

ישתו יין נסכם, “and drink the wine of their offering?” A reference to the libations offered on the altar.

יקומו ויעזרכם, “Let them rise up and help you!” (This is a sarcastic comment, including all the gentiles’ various deities.)

יהי עליכם סתרה, “let him be your protection!”

ראו עתה כי אני אני הוא, “See, now, that I, I am He;” As to those who had mockingly asked where the Israelites’ G–d was when they were in exile and persecuted, now they would see that He is not only the G–d of the Israelites but the G–d over the whole universe and what it contains. He is about to demonstrate this. And as far as considering themselves as His junior partners,

ואין אלהים עמדי, “there is no other deity beside Me.” אני אתית ואני אחיה, “I cause death, and I resurrect (exclusively).” I alone possess this power, and only I am able to resurrect the dead.

מחצתי ואני ארפא, “I have wounded and I am able to heal.” I will heal them, (My people). Concerning what you gentiles have said sarcastically: יקומו ויעזרכם, “let them arise and help you,” there is no one who can help other than I who can help you. By the same token, no one can save you from Me. (if I decide your destruction).

כי אשא אל שמים ידי, “for I raise My hand to heaven!” I swear an oath as it is in My power to carry out My vengeance on them.

ואמרתי חי אנכי לעולם, “as I live forever, etc.” It is not unusual for G–d to accompany His oath with the reminder that His oath is valid as He lives forever. Compare Isaiah 49 18: חי אני נאום ה', “as surely as I am (and remain) alive, says the Lord;” as soon as I have completed My judgment of the Jewish people, I will turn My attention to all those gentiles who have infuriated Me as well as to their so called deities, and carry out My vengeance.

מראש פרעות אויב, “from the long-haired heads of the enemy;” The chiefs I have used to punish the enemy with.

הרנינו גוים עמו, sing aloud, o you nations;” then the nations of the universe will break out in a song of jubilation, praising the Jewish people for whom G–d has taken vengeance, as will be spelled out forthwith.

כי דם עבדיו יקום ונקם ישיב לצוריו, “for He avenges the blood of His servants, and renders vengeance to His adversaries.” He will spill the blood of the gentile adversaries of Israel just as they had done to the Israelites. This is what David spoke of in Psalms 110,6 when he said: ידין בגוים מלא גויות, “He works judgment on the nations, heaping up bodies;” In the future when the Almighty will ask the gentiles why they spilled the blood of His people, and they will deny it, He will show them “His garments;” (if I understand correctly, the ones G–d saved up) as full of blood stains and use this as evidence. Authors of poetic poems in our liturgy have repeatedly alluded to this illustration of how G–d has preserved evidence of the murder committed against His people. They referred to the victims as קדושים, “holy martyrs.”

וכפר אדמתו עמו, “His people Israel will serve as atonement for G–d’s ‘Holy Land;’ as is written in Numbers 35,33: ולארץ לא יכופר אשר שופך-בה כי אם בדם שופכו, “for no expiation can be made for the blood that is shed therein but by the blood of him who has shed it.” The Israelites, in due course, will spill the blood of the nations who had been guilty of spilling their blood. Compare also on this subject Ezekiel 25,14: ונתתי את נקמתי באדום ביד עמי ישראל, “I will wreak My vengeance on Edom through My people Israel, and they shall take action against Edom.”

כי מנגד תראה את הארץ ושמה לא תבוא, “for you will see the land from afar, but you will not come there.” G–d answers two requests that Moses had made from him. He asked to cross the Jordan, and he asked to see the Holy Land (Deuteronomy 3,25). The first request would not be granted, but his second request would be granted. G–d did not want to let Moses go out empty-handed.