“And you shall observe, etc., and perform them, so that you may prosper in all that you do.” Since one mitzvah leads to another mitzvah (Avot 4:2), therefore he says that one mitzvah causes you to prosper in all that you do, because each one leads to its companion. And this is what is meant (ibid.) when it says that the reward of a mitzvah is [another] mitzvah. And this is what is meant by you shall observe and perform them, because the observance will lead to the performance, and the reward for the performance is so that you may prosper further in the future in all that you do.

“You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God.” Rashi explains: The important ones [are mentioned] first, and then all of Israel; your heads, your tribes is like [saying] “to your tribes,” but the letter lamed [ל] is missing, and not without reason. Also, why did Moses arrange them in this particular order and position more than in any other gathering when he assembled them?

And the correct interpretation is that he now wanted to make a new covenant with them, in place of the first covenant which was corrupted through the [golden] calf, which happened because they were not yet guarantors for one another. Therefore, each person did what was right in his own eyes and no one said “Stop.” Therefore, he saw fit to bring them into a covenant of mutual responsibility through the oath at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, because mutual responsibility is a great cause for turning many away from sin lest one be held accountable for it. Just as any guarantor who sees a borrower squandering their money will rebuke them out of fear that they might have to pay on their behalf, so too when Israel are guarantors for one another, anyone who has the ability to rebuke, upon seeing an individual or many deviating from the path of reason, will return them to proper behavior. And if they deliberately turn a blind eye to them, then they take their place and join them in their compartment [in the afterlife], and the sin of the many is dependent on them. However, one who does not have the ability to rebuke — reason does not dictate that they should be held accountable for the sin of another, for if so, no creature would be left alive, and with this understanding they did not enter into the covenant of mutual responsibility. And if we sometimes find that the great ones are seized even for the hidden sins of the generation, as happened with the sin of Achan, this is because beforehand they did not impose their fear upon the community and turned a blind eye to the rebellious ones, and they walked after things that do not profit (Jeremiah 2:8), saying that rebuke would not help them. As a result of this, every sinner and rebellious person gives themselves a blessing of peace, thinking that the strap of discipline has been loosened, and therefore they commit bundles upon bundles of transgressions, sometimes openly and sometimes in secret. But if the great ones were always disciplining the sinful people, then they would be afraid to act even in private lest the matter become known. And if so, it is just that in every sin and guilt, the hand of the officials is first in the crime, for every cause precedes its effect.

Therefore it says Begin from My sanctuary (Ezekiel 9:6). Our Sages interpreted (Shabbat 55a) “from those sanctified to Me,” and similarly they interpreted (Bava Kamma 60a) the verse When a fire breaks out and finds thorns — that calamity only comes to the world because of the wicked, but it always begins with the righteous, etc. The reason for this is because in their hands is the “rod of rulers” to turn many away from sin, yet they weaken their hands from strengthening feeble hands in Torah and faltering knees in faith. Therefore, our Sages said (Rosh Hashanah 8b), “A king enters into judgment prior to the public, etc.” For who can and who would care except for him to instill the fear of Heaven upon people, as in his hand is the rod and scepter to establish his authority in the land. Similarly, our Sages said (Tanchuma Emor 22), on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the great ones go out to meet Him first, and afterward the intermediate ones go out, etc., and after that all Israel on Yom Kippur. This is because whoever is more important than others enters into judgment first and is the first to be held accountable, since the guilt of the people depends on their leaders.

Therefore, Moses arranged them in the giving over of the covenant in this manner, because from the aspect of entering into mutual responsibility, the greater ones will always come first to be held accountable for those beneath them. He placed first the leaders [your heads, your tribes] because leaders always precede elders in every place, as people are always more obedient to one who compels them to act with a strong hand and rod of discipline, more than one who admonishes with words alone, as it says A servant will not be corrected by words (Proverbs 29:19), and it says a rod is for the back of fools (Proverbs 26:3). Although a rebuke to the understanding person is more effective than a hundred lashes to a fool (Proverbs 17:10), nonetheless, with fools this is not the measure. Similarly, there were always in Israel “the rod and the lawgiver,” as it says The rod shall not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet (Genesis 49:10). Rod refers to the heads of the exile in Babylon who ruled the people with a rod, and lawgiver refers to the princes of the Land of Israel who taught Torah to the masses, for this is the authority of kingship and the authority of the Sanhedrin — one with a rod and the others with the spirit of their lips. Since the sinner and particularly the rebellious one listens more to one who rules with a rod than to one who admonishes verbally [for he thinks “these are merely words of the lips”], therefore the king comes before everyone else to be held accountable for the guilt of the people. Therefore, it says here also that your heads are first among the guarantors, being responsible for all the people.

And he gave a reason for the matter, because your heads, that is, your tribes [shivteichem, which also means your rods], are themselves the rod that presses you, as it is said Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger (Isaiah 10:5). Just as he called Assyria a rod, so he called the leaders a rod, to say that they themselves are your rods and they have the power to rebuke more than the elders; therefore, they are the first to enter into the covenant. And after them come all the upright of heart, the elders of Israel, lawmakers who with the breath of their lips slay the wicked, and they also have officers who subjugate the people. However, not like the leaders, for the leaders have more authority than the elders. And afterward, each individual man of Israel comes before the women and children, for the women and children obey the men, and likewise the stranger is also subjugated to each individual man of Israel.

“That you [singular] may enter the covenant of the Lord your God.” What is notable is that throughout this section, they [the Israelites] are addressed in the plural, except in the verse mentioning the entering of the covenant, where they are addressed in the singular. This is conclusive evidence that the main purpose of the covenant is for the sake of mutual responsibility [arvut], because through this mutual responsibility, all Israel becomes like one person. When someone has a pain in a particular limb, their entire body feels it and becomes ill. Similarly, when one person sins, everyone feels it, as it is written regarding Achan’s sin, Israel has sinned (Joshua 7:11). And so they said in the Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 4:6): Israel is a scattered sheep (Jeremiah 50:17). Why are Israel compared to a sheep? Just as when a sheep is injured in one of its limbs, all of them feel it, so too with Israel — Achan alone sinned, yet it is written Israel has sinned. And it seems to me that this entire exposition is derived from the word scattered, for it says: since they are like a sheep, when one limb is afflicted, all feel it, and thus they are like one person where the pain of one limb affects the entire body. Therefore, logically, they should all be united as one person. Yet despite this, they are scattered and separated from one another — a person does not seek the welfare and good of his fellow all his days, and does not say in his heart, “Are not all the misfortunes of my fellow returning to me as well? Will not his cup of suffering pass to me too?” Therefore, it says here that you may enter the covenant of the Lord in the singular form, because through this covenant, you will necessarily be united as one person. And based on this mutual responsibility, all the verses of this section will be explained, as will be clarified shortly with God’s help.

“You are standing today.” In the Midrash (Tanchuma 1), why is the portion of “You are standing” placed adjacent to the curses? Because when Israel heard 98 curses [literally, a hundred minus two], in addition to the 49 in Leviticus [Torat Kohanim], their faces turned pale, etc. See the full text in Rashi’s commentary. Here there is room to ask a big question regarding Israel perhaps accepting empty consolation. For what if the reason God has not destroyed them until now is merely because their measure of sin is not yet full enough to bring upon them all the curses of the rebuke? And if you say that they have already provoked the Holy One greatly and increased their guilt to the point that they deserved all those curses, yet the Holy One, blessed be He, in His mercy did not completely destroy them according to all their sins — if so, then Moses gave them a bill with its own receipt. He would have threatened them with all those rebukes in vain, for they would never fear them and dread would not come upon their heads from those curses. They would say, “We have already sinned in such and such ways, yet the curse has not affected us. Moreover, Moses himself assured us that even if we continue to sin, no harm will touch us.” Thus Moses would have done two things that contradict each other — first warning them of curses so they would fear them, and then comforting them by speaking to their hearts that even if they sin, they would not be destroyed by the curses. And if you say that the curses would take effect but not completely destroy them, they were already promised this directly from God, as it is said I will not reject them or spurn them to destroy them completely (Leviticus 26:44). Furthermore, why were they not terrified by the 49 curses in Torat Kohanim [Leviticus], for these too were sufficient to turn all faces pale? And there is more to analyze in the wording: Why does it say “a hundred minus two”? If two are missing, then there are not a hundred, and it should have said 98, just as it said “besides the 49,” etc. And what is meant by the statement, “Thus He has illuminated for you and will illuminate for you in the future”? Where was the future mentioned previously? And how do we know that Moses said all these things?

It seems appropriate to say regarding this that in all the curses detailed in Torat Kohanim and in the portion of Ki Tavo, in all of them there is room for a stiff-necked person to remove the fear of God from before his eyes and to give himself a blessing of peace, seeking some salvation through some human stratagem. Just as it was said about the generation of the flood: Light is he upon the face of the water (Job 24:18) — [they said] “We have small, light boats that will float on the surface of the water.” Similarly with these curses, for example, it is written, And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze — implying specifically what is over your head and not what is over the heads of other nations, for there it will rain. If so, one might stubbornly say, “I will go and buy grain from other nations because they have produce.” And likewise with pestilence and sword, one might say, “I will escape for my life,” as it is written Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; he who guards his soul will stay far from them (Proverbs 22:5). Therefore, in all the curses, their faces did not turn pale because they said there is a way to be saved from them through human stratagem. However, if you threaten a person to do something to him without specifying his punishment, then he cannot guard himself from you because he does not know what to be careful of. Now, in those curses of the plains of Moab, they are certainly one hundred, for the author of the Midrash counted them and found one hundred, but included among them are two whose nature was not specified, as it says, Also every sickness and every plague that is not written in this Torah. Without doubt, the author of this Midrash did not count every sickness and every plague as part of the number 98, but counted 98 besides them, and with them there are one hundred. But of those hundred, two are missing — not actually missing, but missing in that their nature was not specified, and therefore it is impossible to guard against them. This is why “they were alarmed, they hurried, trembling seized them” because of these two that were missing and whose nature was concealed, and they feared them, that they would bring about their destruction.

And Moses spoke to their hearts, “It is not as you thought,” that the reason He concealed the nature of these two [curses] was so that you would have no way to guard against them. For you have angered [God] many times, yet these two curses did not come upon you, even though you deserved for them to come upon you. And if you ask, “If so, why were they mentioned in the promised curses, and why were they not explained?” It is because they speak of punishment in the concealed World to Come. For because a person is entangled in the darkness of his physical nature, he cannot understand the nature of that punishment, just as the Torah concealed the nature of spiritual reward for this reason. The explanation of the matter is that Moses said, “Behold, I am warning you of 98 curses, all of them in this world, as well as every illness and plague that pertains to the sinner in the World to Come according to his wickedness, which is not written in this Torah book.” For the Torah did not speak of this punishment at all, yet it too will fall upon the heads of the wicked. This is what he meant by saying, You are standing today — like this day which darkens and brightens, so too you exist in eternal existence. And even after the sun and moon darken on the day of death, you will return to light in God’s eternal light in the World to Come. And once it is established that a person continues to exist even after death, you will understand the meaning of the verse every illness and every plague which is not written in this Torah book. This is what he meant by saying, “So He has illuminated for you and will illuminate in the future.” For just as there is light for you in this world, so it shines there for the future as well. And the curses and sufferings sustain you and set you before Me, as it is written (Berakhot 5a): “Three good gifts did the Holy One, blessed be He, give to Israel, and all of them were given through suffering.” And one of them is the World to Come, as it is said And the way of life is reproving discipline (Proverbs 6:23). And after Moses revealed to them the secret of the World to Come, which they had not known before, their minds were set at ease through the understanding of these two hidden plagues as mentioned.

“And not with you alone am I making this covenant, etc.” Most commentators have greatly struggled with this oath that was upon them and upon their descendants who were not yet in the world, and how could they enter into the covenant of the oath. The root of this difficulty can be found in the Binding of Isaac, and the Abarbanel and other commentators have followed his opinion. The opinion of our Sages (Tanchuma Nitzavim 3) is that all the souls that were destined to be created were there. Some have deduced this from the change in language in the verse: For he who is here with us standing today before the Lord our God, and with him who is not here with us today (Deuteronomy 29:14). And it does not say “and with him who is not here with us standing today before the Lord,” which implies that it is speaking about souls, which although they are not here with us, they nevertheless are standing before the Lord constantly under the Throne of Glory like angels who are called “those who stand,” as it is written: And I will give you access among these who stand (Zechariah 3:7). It also seems possible to deduce this from the language with us, for it should have simply said “and with him who is not here today.” Rather, the precise meaning is that specifically with us they are not, but they are with the Lord and standing before Him. And regarding the objection of how can one administer an oath to a soul, we find a parallel to this where our Sages said in Tractate Niddah (30b) that on the day of birth they administer an oath to the person: “Be righteous and do not be wicked, etc.”

It seems that the entire sequence of verses speaks of this matter. For one must question why it says For you know how we dwelt in the land of Egypt, etc., and also why do I need two instances of lest — lest there be among you a man, lest there be among you a root bearing poison — let them be combined and stated together. Rather, it comes to give a reason why it was necessary to make the children who were not yet born take an oath. Therefore it says by way of give and take: For you know how we dwelt in the land of Egypt. And there we were slaves to Pharaoh, and God redeemed us from there on the condition that we accept upon ourselves God’s commandments. But your children who did not dwell in the land of Egypt and were not redeemed will argue, “Why should we accept upon ourselves the yoke of His commandments? For God did not redeem us.” Therefore I need to bring your children into the covenant. And if you say, “If so, why do we need to take an oath? Doesn’t He, blessed be He, have a legal claim on us, for on this condition He redeemed us?” To this he responded, And [you saw] how we passed through the midst of the nations and you saw their abominations, etc. The receipt is right there with the bill: from the perspective that we dwelt in the land of Egypt, there was no need to make us take an oath, but from the perspective that you saw the abominations of the nations through whom we passed, there is concern lest there be among you a man or woman, etc. Therefore it is necessary to make them take an oath.

And if you say, if so, the question returns to its place, because it is understandable why He needed to make us swear, since we saw the abominations of the nations and there is concern that we might follow after them. But our children who did not see those abominations, why would they be drawn after them? To this He answers, Lest there be among you a root bearing gall and wormwood. Because in truth, the children who are born, from their own perspective there is no concern that they would follow after idolatry, as they have never seen it. But there is concern that “from the root of a snake comes a viper” — for it is possible that one of you placed murkiness into his heart, and “children inherit the deeds of their fathers,” as the nature of the son follows after the father, like a branch that follows after its root. Therefore, I need to make the children swear about this as well. And with this, the two instances of lest are well explained, because the first lest refers to the fathers who saw the abominations of the nations, lest they follow after them. The second lest refers to the children who are born, because even though they did not see the abominations of the nations, nevertheless there is concern that they will receive the nature of the root, meaning the fathers who are a bitter root bearing gall.

Or it can be said that the entire narrative, from For you know until Lest there be among you a root etc. is all giving a reason for the fathers, for it says that since you dwelled in the land of Egypt and you left from there, and the gods of Egypt did not have the ability to save Egypt, and afterwards you passed through the midst of nations that the Lord did not give you permission to inherit their land, behold in this you might come to the error of saying that this is why judgment was carried out on the gods of Egypt but not on the gods of the nations through which you passed, because your God is stronger than the gods of Egypt but not than the gods of the nations through which we passed. And you might say that for this reason you could not do anything to those nations because their gods are with them to save them. This is what it means when it says, And you saw their abominations, etc. silver and gold that is with them. With the word with them it sealed all their error, for they would say that their gods are with them to save them. And if we had not dwelled in the land of Egypt, the error would not have been so strong, for perhaps the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not jealous of the gods of the nations, those idols, and therefore He does not execute judgments upon them. But since He executed judgments on the gods of Egypt but not on the gods of the nations through which we passed, from this you are likely to come to the error of saying that the gods of the nations are with them to save them. And afterwards, it speaks against the children, Lest there be among you a root bearing gall and wormwood, as has been explained above.

“And he will bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, etc.” This entire narrative speaks of one who sins in thought alone, as it is written whose heart turns away, etc., and he will bless himself in his heart, etc., for I will walk in the stubbornness of my heart. For idolatry’s essence is in thought, since faith exists only in the heart, and therefore it is said regarding idolatry in order to seize the house of Israel by their heart (Ezekiel 14:5). And in every mention of idolatry, only the action is mentioned, as it is written Cursed is the man who makes a carved or molten image, etc. (Deuteronomy 27:15). From this, two kinds of errors can occur. First, one might say who makes but not from what is already made, meaning the gods of those nations mentioned above. The second error is that one might say only the action is forbidden but not the thought. This is what is meant by And it shall be, when he hears the words of this curse. That is to say, that curse which alludes to idolatry specifically, where the context seems to refer only to action. Therefore, he finds a place to attach his error, and he will bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace. He gives himself a blessing of peace because the matter is only in his heart. And this is what is meant by For I will walk in the stubbornness of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst. For he will rely on this to escape punishment, saying, “I dwell among my people,” and [just as] one who waters a field that thirsts for water also waters the saturated parts alongside it, so too through God sending blessing to the righteous who thirst for the word of God — as it is written My soul thirsts for You, etc. (Psalms 63:2) — the wicked, who are sated with God’s service to the point that they choose for themselves new foreign gods that have recently come, will also receive blessing alongside them, for their souls are sated with the service of God. He will also say that since the world is judged according to its majority, the merit of the righteous will also stand for him, and God will forgive him for their sake.

Therefore it says “God will not be willing to forgive him,” because the contemplations of the sin of idolatry are worse than the sin itself, since the essence of the matter is in the heart. For regarding an idolater, it is written Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone (Hosea 4:17). This means that the Holy One, Blessed be He, extends His patience even with idolatry. However, when their heart is divided from God, it is written Their heart is divided; now they shall be found guilty (Hosea 10:2). Therefore it says Then the anger of God will smoke, where the word then indicates the time of “now,” meaning that immediately and at once God’s anger will smoke and His jealousy will be against that man. That is to say, against him alone, because since he sinned in secret, others are not seized for his sin. And there shall lie upon him all the curse that is written in this book. These are the curses mentioned in the section of Bechukotai. However, there all the curses are written in plural form, which might lead one to think that many will waste away because of his sin. Regarding this, it says And God will separate him for evil from all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the Torah. These refer to the curses in the section of Ki Tavo, which are stated in singular form, indicating that he alone will die for his sin, and all of Israel will be innocent.

And that which it calls Torat Kohanim [Leviticus] simply a “book,” and the curses in the portion of Ki Tavo called the book of the Torah, [can be explained as follows]: because all five books together are called “Torah,” while each book individually is called a “book.” Therefore, the book of Torat Kohanim is called a “book” because it does not encompass the entire Torah, but is just one book from the number of five books. However, this fifth book [Deuteronomy] is called “Torah” because it encompasses the entire Torah, and that is why it is called “Mishneh Torah” [Repetition of the Torah], as it is written Moses began to explain this Torah (Deuteronomy 1:5). And this is what it means regarding the separation: And God will separate him for evil, etc., according to all the curses of the covenant written in this book of the Torah. For all of these [curses] were stated in the singular form, indicating this separation, to negate his notion of “adding the watered to the thirsty” — that he should not say “I dwell among my people.” For this reason, the first [curses] are called “curse” [aleh] and the latter ones “curses” [alot], because the latter ones are doubled from the first ones. For in place of each single curse found there [in Leviticus], here [in Deuteronomy] there are two, for the reason we explained in the portion of Ki Tavo (28:15), either corresponding to the 49 gates of understanding, or corresponding to the Torah which is interpreted in 49 ways — corresponding to each one, one blow [in Leviticus], and here two [in Deuteronomy] because of the mutual responsibility. And that which it says, and all the curse will rest upon him — specifically that curse from Torat Kohanim — is because here it speaks about the sin of idolatry, and likewise the curse in Torat Kohanim also speaks about the sin of idolatry, as it is said And I will destroy your high places and cut down your sun-pillars, etc. (Leviticus 26:30). But those curses in the plains of Moab do not mention the sin of idolatry. Therefore, regarding the first curse it says and it will rest upon him, for it alone will rest with him. However, regarding the separation alone — that God will separate Him for evil from all the tribes of Israel — it says according to all the curses of the covenant, etc., because these curses were stated in the singular form. And that which is said afterward, and they will see the afflictions of the land, etc., which implies that it is speaking about the punishment of many — this refers to what was said above: or family or tribe, for this speaks about many sinners, and then they will see the affliction of the land, as will be explained shortly.

“And the future generations will say, etc.” There are uncertainties in this matter, because Scripture does not specify what the future generation and the foreigner who comes from a distant land will say. For one cannot suggest that they will say Why has God done this to this land? since regarding this it already states And all the nations will say, “Why has God done this?” If so, what will your children say? And what is meant by first mentioning the foreigner and afterward saying and all the nations will say? Furthermore, logically, before they see the afflictions of the land they will not say anything, so why does it say And the future generations will say before and they will see the afflictions of the land?

And Rabbi Yitzchak Abarbanel explained, that the first verse does not yet specify what they will say, but rather states generally And the future generation, your children who will arise after you, and the foreigner because both of them will speak about this matter. And afterward it explains what all the nations will say about Israel: Why has the Lord done thus? And your children will respond Because they forsook, etc. But his explanation is not sufficient to address all the difficulties we mentioned, because initially it calls [the speaker] a foreigner and afterward it says all the nations. In the final analysis, his explanation is not at all sufficient to reconcile the verses in their proper context.

And I say that these verses are discussing separate matters, for at first he said Lest there be among you a man or woman or family or tribe and in this verse he speaks both of the individual sinner and of multiple sinners, and afterward he returns and explains each in order from first to last. For from And it will be when he hears the words of this curse until and they see the afflictions of the land — all of this speaks about the punishment of the individual sinner. And from and they see the afflictions of the land until the end of the passage — all of this speaks about the sin of the many. And you need to know that this is the way of the Holy One, blessed be He, for when an individual sins, then he is afflicted in his body according to his wickedness. But when many sin, it is impossible to fulfill what is written regarding the individual, and the Lord will blot out His name from under heaven, because it is impossible to destroy the name of Israel, both because the Lord has already sworn to the forefathers not to exchange them for another nation, and because the 12 tribes of Israel correspond to the 12 constellations in the firmament, and with the elimination of even a single tribe, the constellation in the firmament that depends on it would fall. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, vents His wrath on trees and stones, and that land will be sulfur and salt, a burning throughout its land. And justice dictates that the land should be afflicted because it was the cause of the first sin of Adam through the material it gave him, as we have proven with clear evidence above in the portion of Acharei Mot (18:25) on the verse and the land became defiled, and I visited its iniquity upon it, etc. Therefore, in every sin of the many, the land is afflicted, as it is written regarding the generation of the flood, and the earth was corrupted. And similarly, and the land vomited out its inhabitants, for it is like a sick person who vomits and cannot tolerate food appropriate for him. So too the land is afflicted because it was the cause of all sins and iniquities found in every generation. But in the sin of an individual, if the land were to be afflicted, the harm would reach even those who did not sin.

**And this is what he first said regarding the punishment of a man or woman whose heart turns away from [being] with God,**for then God’s anger will smoke against that person, etc., and God will separate him for evil, etc. And he said, The last generation, your children, etc., and the foreigner who comes from a distant land, for both of them will speak and tell of the wondrous matter of the plagues that God sent upon that individual. And even though it is not explicitly stated in scripture what they will say, nevertheless, this is exactly similar to what is stated in the admonition (Deuteronomy 28:37): And you will become a parable and a byword. Rashi explains and a byword as an expression of speech, “they will speak about you,” as its translation [in Aramaic]: “and for conversation,” even though there too it is not explained what they will say, but implicitly they will speak about what they see in you regarding the greatness of the wondrous plagues. So too, what is stated here, And the last generation will say, etc., and the foreigner, etc. — both of them will speak with surprise about what happened to that person. Specifically, the later generation or the foreigner who comes from a distant land will speak to each other with astonishment about what happened to this person. But that [contemporary] generation, as well as the nearby nations who saw those plagues with their own eyes and know the person and his speech, will certainly judge him unfavorably and justify the judgment against him. However, the later generation and the foreigner who did not know him will speak to each other about what happened to him, and he will be for them a parable and a topic of conversation.

And afterwards, he returned to explain the latter part, which is regarding what was said above about a family or tribe, and they will undoubtedly worship idols openly because if an individual “blesses himself in his heart,” then when many gather for evil, it is not applicable to say they will worship in secret. And if the entire congregation of Israel does not protest against them, it is right that all should be held accountable for the sin of that family or tribe. Regarding this, it says, and they will see the afflictions of that land because when many have turned from the path, it is impossible to destroy them all, therefore God will vent His wrath partially on that land and partially on them, for they will be exiled from it. And all the nations will see the afflictions of that land, etc., sulfur and salt, the burning of its entire land, etc. About this, all the nations, both near and distant, will wonder: Why has God done this to this land? That is to say, why was the land destroyed when it did not transgress or sin? They raise the question and they answer it: Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, God of their fathers. This is similar to the sin of Adam, about whom our Sages said (Sanhedrin 38b, and see there in the commentary of Rabbeinu Chananel) that he denied the fundamental principle [of faith], and the earth caused this through the coarse and turbid matter it placed in him, more than what God commanded it. Because of this, when man was cursed for his sin, the earth was also visited for its iniquity and was cursed, as it says Cursed is the ground because of you (Genesis 3:17). Therefore, these people who denied the fundamental principle [of faith] should rightly be punished — both the land and those who worship idols. This is what it means when it says, Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against that land, etc., and the Lord uprooted them from their land. The punishment is divided between them because in this way, He will not destroy the seed of Israel completely, as the punishment is divided in two, and He cast them into another land — so they would not be in the same land from which their physical matter grew, which caused them to sin.

And concerning the large lamed in the word “vayashlikhem” [and He cast them out], it hints that after 30 generations they would be exiled from their land, because from Abraham to Solomon there were 15 generations, and from Solomon to Zedekiah there were also 15 generations, as is found in Rabbati (Exodus 15:26) on the verse This month shall be for you. For the kingdom of Israel is compared to the moon, which lasted only 30 days, like the days of the lunar month. Therefore, there is a large lamed in vayashlikhem el eretz acheret [and He cast them to another land]. And regarding what is written as it is this day, it tells you that because they endure like this day, therefore it is impossible to completely destroy them. That is why the punishment was divided between them and the land.

“And the hidden things are for the Lord our God, etc.” This resolves the difference mentioned above regarding the sin of an individual man or woman, where God will separate them for evil while all Israel remains innocent, versus the sin of a family or tribe, where it says and they will see the plagues of the land, etc. implying that all of Israel is included in the punishment. Regarding this, it says the hidden things are for the Lord our God. For the individual who blesses himself in his heart saying I will have peace, who knows what is in his heart except God alone? Therefore, God will separate him for evil. But the sin of a family or tribe cannot possibly remain hidden, therefore the obligation to remove idols from the land falls upon all of Israel, as the revealed things are for us and our children forever. If they do not remove them from the land, then it is just that all would be held accountable for the sin of that tribe. This is what is meant by and the revealed things are for us and our children, etc. This appears to be straightforward and correct in explaining all the verses in their proper context.