“You shall not add to the word, etc.” Granted, you shall not add is well stated because one might have thought that “the greater includes the lesser,” but why do I needyou shall not diminish? Because one who removes any of God’s commandments is already commanded not to diminish even one of all the commandments. And in our work Olelot Ephraim, discourse 385, we have explained that you shall not diminish is not a command but rather its meaning is similar to what our Sages said (Berakhot 29b): “Do not get drunk and you will not sin.” For “you will not sin” is not a command, as that is obvious, but rather its meaning is “do not get drunk so that you will not sin.” Similarly, the meaning here is do not add and then automatically you will not diminish, for whoever adds, diminishes, because one who does this falls into that. And it is like giving a reason for do not add, and there we elaborated. And perhaps this matter was placed here because it reflects Moses’s sin, for he added in striking the rock and through this addition, he came to a diminishment in faith. Therefore it says, And now, Israel, listen to the statutes — what does and now mean? Was it not necessary for them to listen to the statutes before this? Rather, and now refers to the finalization of his decree that he mentioned before this, and he continued the narrative to the statement of do not add.

Some say that the statement “You shall not add” is connected to the matter of Peor, where every pious fool thinks he is performing a commandment by degrading it [the idol], and [thereby] transgresses You shall not add, and ultimately they came to diminish [the law] for they bowed down to their gods. And this refers to what was written: And we dwelled in the valley opposite Beth Peor. And regarding this, he [Moses] said, as if bringing proof of this, Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did at Baal Peor, to one who worships Peor, for he is a master [ba’al] to that service [worship].

“See, I have taught you etc.” In the Talmudic tractate Nedarim (37), our Sages of blessed memory interpreted: “Just as I [teach] for free, so too should you [teach] for free.” They derived this from what is written: as the Lord my God commanded me — what does this teach us? Would it enter your mind that Moses would command on his own? Rather, he said: Just as the Lord my God commanded me to teach for free, so too I have taught you for free, and from me you shall see and so shall you do — to teach for free. For the concept of mutual responsibility, that all of Israel are responsible for one another, necessitates this matter, as when one individual sins, many will bear his iniquity. And this matter is alluded to in what is written See — speaking to an individual, and afterward it says I have taught you [etchem] — to many. This is to say that if one person sins, judgment will be between us. And in this way, it will be explained, God willing, later in the verse See, I set before you (Deuteronomy 11:26).

And he said: See, I have taught you statutes and judgments, etc. The statutes [chukim] are the commandments whose reasons are not revealed, and the judgments [mishpatim] are from the logical ones. And about them he said since twice, giving a reason for each one separately. About the statutes, which he mentioned first, he said: Since this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people” (Deuteronomy 4:6). The explanation of the matter is that if it should come into your hearts to say that since the nations mock Israel for observing the statutes, therefore there is no substance to them — for sometimes a person refrains from doing something because of those who mock — to this he says, on the contrary, the nations will praise you for observing the statutes. For there are statutes that are hidden from the eye of all living, such as the red heifer, about which it is said: They shall bring to you a red heifer (Numbers 19:2). For all of them it is a statute. Even King Solomon said about it: I said I would be wise, but it was far from me (Ecclesiastes 7:23). But to Moses the secret of the heifer was revealed, which implies that the other statutes are revealed to the unique individuals of the generation to whom God has given wisdom. And what Rashi explained in Parashat Chukat (19:2) that Satan and the nations mock it — indeed it is true that one who hears only this statute, the nations ask, “What is this statute to you?” and you have no answer to reply to them. Obviously, they will mock and ridicule. But the peoples who hear all these statutes — most of which have a reason — will certainly not mock, because most of them will testify about the minority, saying that just as these statutes have a hidden pleasantness, so too the [red] heifer and all like it have a reason. And even if it is not revealed to the majority of the common people, nevertheless, “the secret of the Lord that is with those who fear Him” is revealed.

And they said, “But this is a wise and understanding people, etc.” Admittedly, all the nations who are occupied with matters of wealth, honor, authority, and wars — it is no surprise if they sometimes err in matters of divinity, because most of their affairs are not concerned with wisdom. But Israel, who are deprived of all these lesser perfections, and wisdom alone is their garment for their skin and lies in their bosom, and all their affairs are only with wisdom — how is it possible that elders who have acquired wisdom like them would occupy themselves with these meaningless things? Rather, it must be that they know these secrets, and we have no one who knows the extent of it. And this is the meaning of the word but [rak] — to exclude other aspects of perfection, saying that they have no perfection except that they are a wise and understanding people. Or the word but comes to exclude all the nations and refers back to the word this, saying “but this great nation is a wise and understanding people, and not we with them,” because we have no one who knows the extent of it, and they attribute the deficiency to the limitations of their own understanding.

And regarding the laws that he mentioned, he said, Since what great nation has gods that are close to them, etc. For if the nations say, “What advantage do you have in the laws that were established in the Torah? Doesn’t every nation have its own customs and system of laws?” To this he replies: “Know that our laws have divine perfection because it is said God stands in the divine assembly (Psalms 82:1). From here they learned that the Holy One, blessed be He, stands in the assembly of judges. So whenever a judge calls upon the Lord against the principle that ‘whoever is stronger prevails’ — against the strong-armed person who intimidates the judge — the Lord will answer him from His holy heaven. For the Lord will fight their battle, and judgment belongs to God.” About this it says, Who has gods close to him like the Lord our God whenever we call upon Him. This is not found in the laws of the gentiles.

“And what great nation has righteous statutes and laws.” It is saying that God’s laws are true, as the judgments together with the statutes are unified, because these two parts do not contradict each other; rather, both together are righteous. Furthermore, the statutes serve as an indication about the judgments — just as there are hidden secrets within the statutes, so too there are concealed mysteries within the judgments for those who fear God and contemplate His name.

Only watch yourself and guard your soul very much, lest you forget, etc. Watch yourself refers to guarding the body, and it does not mention “very much” in relation to it as it does with guarding the soul, because in guarding one’s soul a person needs to be more cautious than in guarding the body. Therefore it says, and guard your soul very much.

Another explanation: These two types of guarding refer to positive and negative commandments, through which one guards all the limbs and sinews upon which the human body is established. For our Sages have already said (Zohar Vayishlach 170b) that the 248 positive commandments correspond to the 248 limbs, and the 365 negative commandments correspond to the 365 sinews in a person. Regarding this it is said (Ecclesiastes 12:13), Fear God — this refers to negative commandments, and observe His commandments — this refers to positive commandments, for this is the whole of man — corresponding to the number of his limbs and sinews. They further stated that all the days of the wicked, he is “mitcholel” [tormented] — meaning he becomes a “met chalal” [a dead corpse], because with each transgression he damages one of his limbs or one of his sinews. It seems to me that there is a distinction between the term “chalal” [corpse] and “met” [dead], similar to the difference between positive and negative commandments. For “met” implies dying on its own, while “chalal” implies being killed by direct action. One who transgresses a positive commandment does so passively [by sitting and not acting], thus damaging a limb and causing it to die on its own. But one who transgresses a negative commandment through active violation is as if he directly kills one of his sinews, making it “chalal” [hollowed] and emptied of the blood within it — and the blood is the soul. The negation even of a single sinew is more dangerous than the death of a single limb. This is why the Torah is stricter in punishing one who transgresses a negative commandment than one who neglects a positive commandment, because damage to the sinews is more dangerous than damage to a limb. Regarding this, the verse says Only guard yourself — this refers to guarding one’s limbs, which are the essence of a person, and their preservation depends on observing the positive commandments. And guard your soul very much — this refers to guarding the sinews, because the blood is the soul and requires great protection, which is why it says very much. This protection is achieved through the negative commandments. And this is a correct explanation.

Lest you forget the things, etc. The Sages of blessed memory (Avot 3:10) learned from here that one who forgets even a single item of his learning is liable with his life, because he causes himself that God will also forget him, as it is written (Hosea 4:6), And you forget the Torah of your God, I will also forget your children. Furthermore, the Sages of blessed memory (Chagigah 9b) expounded from the verse Then shall you return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that serves Him not (Malachi 3:18), that one who reviews his learning one hundred times is not comparable to one who reviews his learning one hundred and one times. And I have heard a hint to this matter: “lo avado” [does not serve Him] — its acronym equals one hundred, meaning that one who studies one hundred times is still called one who does not serve Him; “oved Elohim la’asher” [one who serves God to whom] — its acronym equals one hundred and one, because one who reviews his lesson one hundred and one times is called “one who serves God.”

This is from myself, to make a precious hint from this, which is: When you look at the word “remember” [zakhor] and the word “forget” [shikchah], you will find the number 101 [kuf alef] [is the difference] between them. One who wishes to eliminate forgetfulness should review his learning 101 times, and by doing so, he will reduce from the numerical value of “forget” [shikchah] the number 101, and what will remain from “forget” is the word “remember” [zakhor]. Thus, the matter will be preserved with him as a memory and he will not forget it again. It is reasonable to suggest that the angel appointed over memory is named “Remember” [zakhor] and has 227 [reish kaf zayin] powers, while the angel appointed over forgetfulness is named “Forget” [shikchah] and has 328 [shin kaf chet] powers. Therefore, the angel of forgetfulness has 101 [kuf alef] more powers than the angel of memory, which is why forgetfulness prevails over a person. Therefore, one needs to review his learning 101 times, because with each review, he weakens one of these powers, and when he has reviewed 101 times, he has weakened all of the extra powers and comes under the authority of the angel appointed over memory, and will not forget again. A hint to this matter: Take utmost care and watch yourself very much [hashmer ushmor nafshekha me’od] — the first letters of these words of Torah add up to the number 101 [kuf alef], and the first letter of the word “for yourself” [lekha] is lamed, as if saying “study your Torah 101 times lest you forget the matters.” This is a precious hint.

“And the Lord took you, etc. to be His heritage nation, as it is this day.” Above it says And lest you lift your eyes to the heavens and see the sun, etc., referring to the daily sphere that is the greatest of all the hosts of heaven. About this, it says: How can you be so ignorant as to bow down to the sun when you are important and great in God’s eyes like the sun itself? How can you worship something that is similar to you? As it is said, And those who love Him are like the rising of the sun in its strength (Judges 5:31). And if you are comparable in stature to the sun, how much more so to the rest of the hosts of heaven which are lesser in value than the sun. Furthermore, you have dominion over the sun, as in Sun, stand still upon Gibeon (Joshua 10:12), and similarly Moses made the sun stand still. And what is written, which the Lord has allotted to all the nations, does not refer to the existence of the light itself, but rather to their influence over the lower realms, because all the nations are subject to the cosmic system, but you the Lord has taken under His direct guidance, for you are supervised by the First Cause, blessed be He. Therefore, you have dominion over the sun, so how could you worship it?

Another explanation: “As on this day” refers to what was said, “and you He took out of the iron furnace.” One who purifies silver from all dross and waste until it is clean and pure, bright as the sun — so too your material [nature] was purified through the affliction of Egypt until it became as clear as the sun. About this He said, to be for Him a people of inheritance as on this day, like the daily sphere [meaning, the sun], and as it is written, And those who love Him are like the sun rising in its strength. And similarly, Sell me as on this day (Genesis 25:31) — its Aramaic translation [in Targum Onkelos] is “as on this day which is clear,” without dross or waste. Thus, “sell me a clear sale, bright as the sun.” And some say as on this day is like the sun that does not serve [God] in order to receive reward. And it seems to me that about this it is said, And those who love Him are like the sun rising — these are those who serve [God] out of love.

Regarding what is written, “And the Lord was angry with me because of your words” — The commentators have struggled with this verse because it has no connection neither to what comes before nor to what comes after it, and they have offered forced interpretations. It seems reasonable to suggest that this comes to answer: if the sun causes people to sin, why doesn’t God destroy it, just as He punished Moses for causing the masses to sin? To this he responds that the comparison is not valid, because it is true that the Lord was angry with me because of your words, but my death does not cause destruction to the masses. Rather, I die [and] I am not crossing the Jordan, yet nevertheless you remain and cross the Jordan. However, if God were to destroy the sun, then He would destroy the entire world — and should He destroy His world because of fools who have acted improperly? As is concluded in the Tractate Avodah Zarah (54b): A philosopher asked the elders in Rome: If the Holy One, blessed be He, does not want idolatry, why doesn’t He destroy it, etc.

When you beget children and children’s children, etc. Since the punishment for evil is not executed quickly, the hearts of men are emboldened to do evil (Ecclesiastes 8:11). One does not realize that the Holy One, blessed be He, is patient but collects what is His at the end of days. Therefore, it says, When you beget children, etc., and you become corrupt and make a graven image, etc. This means that during this time, in those very days when you corrupt yourselves, you will beget children and children’s children as is the way of the world, and you will grow old in the land. Because of this, you will err and say, “If God wanted to kill us, would He have remained silent all this time? Behold, we are bearing children as is the way of the world and dwelling in the land for many days, so surely we are without guilt.” To this, it says, I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will quickly perish from the land. For it is the attribute of the Blessed God not to bring calamities one after another in quick succession, as they learned in the Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 75:13) from the verse, And put a space between drove and drove (Genesis 32:16). This applies specifically when He exacts punishment immediately without extending the time. But if the Holy One, blessed be He, is patient for a long time, then at the end of days He brings bundled troubles one after another in quick succession, with one calamity approaching its sister. So it was in the time of the First Temple, when they worshipped idols for a long time from the days of Jeroboam, yet He was patient with them. And what is written and you will quickly perish (Deuteronomy 11:17), Rashi explains there: “I will not give you an extension.” Similarly, here it says, you will quickly perish. It must be that this matter of “quickness” refers to the calamities that will come at the end in rapid succession, one after another.

And I have support for this interpretation. From what is concluded in Yalkut Parashat Eikev (869) on the verse and you will quickly perish. One exile after another — they were exiled in the seventh year of Jehoiakim and the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar, they were exiled in the 18th year, etc. And the concept of this “quickness” is beautifully alluded to in this verse, for you shall surely perish [avod tovedon] — the doubling of the language indicates one destruction after another that would occur upon the land. And after the destruction you shall not prolong your days upon it, because you shall surely be destroyed [hashmed tishamedun] — meaning, you will not have extended time between the destruction and annihilation, rather they will be in quick succession. And “annihilation” [hashmadah] contains more complete destruction than “perishing” [ibud], as it is said and the latter one made it more severe (Isaiah 8:23). This is a precious explanation to resolve the “quickness” mentioned here, for indeed the Holy One, blessed be He, extended them a long period of time. Rather, it refers to the succession — one destruction after another and one annihilation after another, and between destruction and annihilation also you shall not prolong your days.

And that which He made heaven and earth witnesses for them, He wanted to provide a reason why the Holy One, blessed be He, extends His patience for a long time. And as concluded in Yalkut Parashat Ha’azinu (941), which states: “A parable of a king who handed his son over to a tutor… So Moses said to Israel, ‘Perhaps you think you can escape from under the wings of the Divine Presence and move away from the earth…’” And the essence of the matter is that the Holy One, blessed be He, extends His patience because He knows there is no escape from Him, for He has delivered them to a tutor, namely, to heaven and earth, from which they cannot move away at all. Therefore, He said I call heaven and earth to witness against you. Furthermore, because the hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him, as it is written: The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, and the earth shall rise up against him (Job 20:27). And it could be that this is the [meaning of the] doubling of the words “destruction” and “annihilation” that is mentioned here, to attribute one to heaven and one to earth. For destroyed [refers to destruction] by heaven, and afterwards you will be destroyed from upon the earth by the earth, and afterwards you will be surely annihilated [which is also a double usage of that verb for the same reason]. And it is reasonable to interpret that this annihilation refers to what is said immediately afterwards: And there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, etc. This refers to actual religious persecution. And the reason for this is that the Holy One, blessed be He, arranges for them to come to [experience] persecution so that Israel will see that all the gods of the nations are worthless idols and there is no benefit in them, and then they will say, I will go and return to my first husband. And this is what is meant by And from there you will seek the Lord your God — it does not say “there” but from there, meaning that this idolatry will be the cause of your return to the Lord your God.

And the Maharal explained regarding the word “from there,” that because of the oppressor’s wrath they will outwardly worship wood and stone, but their hearts will always be toward God. Therefore it says, And you will seek from there, etc. with all your heart — specifically their hearts will be faithful to God because their mouths are not permitted to speak.

Another explanation for why it says “When you beget children and children’s children, etc.” This is because you might think that after being established in the land for many days, you will consider it completely yours and think, “Who will take it from me?” Therefore, it says at the end of the passage, And that you may prolong your days upon the land which the Lord your God gives you all the days — because each and every day He gives you a new grant, not permanently, but every day conditionally, if you keep His commandments. And regarding what the Sages interpreted (Gittin 88a) that according to the numerical value of You shall have been long (ונושנתם = 852 years), they were in the land, and the Lord watched over the evil to bring it two years before the [calculated] time — God had already shown this to Jacob in a vision when the sun set for him two hours before its time, as explained above in Parashat Vayetzei (28:11). And this is a correct allusion.

“For you will surely perish.” This repetition of language, as well as the repetition of “destruction” that he mentioned, and also the repetition of “making” that he mentioned when he said and you make a graven image, and you do evil, etc. — these can be interpreted according to the Midrashic approach where our Sages said (Midrash Rabbah Lamentations 1:57): “They sinned doubly, as it says (Lamentations 1:8), Jerusalem has grievously sinned. And they were punished doubly, as it says (Isaiah 40:2), For she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. And they are comforted doubly, as it says (Isaiah 40:1), Comfort, comfort My people.” But could it really enter your mind that they would be punished doubly more than they sinned? For this would not be consistent with the attribute of the Merciful One, blessed be He. And likewise, we need to understand what is the double nature of the sin.

Rather, this is its interpretation: According to what is said For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to dig for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns (Jeremiah 2:13). Here is one evil that is actually two, because if they had worshipped Him in partnership [with other gods], at the very least the evil would have been singular, namely the association of God’s name with something else. But they have forsaken Me comp/letely, not even worshipping Him in partnership, and this is a double evil — namely idol worship and abandonment of God. Therefore, their punishment was doubled in this manner, for God abandoned Israel and filled the cities of the nations, as it is written I shall be filled, now that she is laid waste (Ezekiel 26:2) — Tyre was only filled through Jerusalem’s destruction. And if both were destroyed, Jerusalem would have found half-comfort in the troubles of others, but now that one rises while the other falls, she has received double for all her sins. It does not say “for her sins” but rather for all her sins, meaning that along with her double sins, she also received a double blow as punishment in this manner. Similarly, the consolation will be double with the abandonment of the nations and the success of Israel. Therefore it says here, and you make a graven image — this is the making of idolatry; and you do evil in the eyes of the Lord your God, to provoke Him — this is a second act, that they will not even worship Him in partnership, for one who provokes is not a worshipper. For this reason, He doubled the destruction and annihilation, as it says, for she has received double. And concerning this He said, You will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will lead you — showing that the lands of the nations will be full, while your land will be desolate. And after saying and you will return to the Lord, etc., He said, to drive out nations greater and mightier than you from before you, etc. This is the double consolation that will occur in the future, just as it was on the day they went up from the land of Egypt.

Then Moses set apart three cities. In connecting this verse with the previous topic, the commentators went out to collect but did not find a sufficient explanation, and what is the meaning of the word then? Now turn your ear and listen, for we find that a person begins a mitzvah even though it cannot be completed by him, nevertheless, a mitzvah that comes to his hand, he is obligated to fulfill it (Makkot 10a), as we find with David who said to his son Solomon, Now, in my poverty I have prepared for the house of the Lord gold, etc. (First Chronicles 22:14), even though he knew that he could not complete the mitzvah because he was not permitted to build the Temple, nevertheless, he began the mitzvah even though he truly knew that it would not be fulfilled completely and properly except through his son. For example, an old man who plants a tree for an etrog for a mitzvah, even though he truly knows that he will not be able to fulfill this mitzvah, nevertheless, his sons can come to fulfill it, and there are many similar examples in this manner. And about this it says in the previous verse, Keep his statutes and his commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you (Deuteronomy 4:40). That is to say, if some mitzvah comes to your hand, fulfill it today immediately, even though the benefit is not completed and visible immediately but rather at the time when your children after you will complete the mitzvah, nevertheless, do the mitzvah today immediately, whether it goes well with you, meaning that it is in your power to complete it, or whether it goes well with your children after you because it is not in your power to complete it. Therefore, it states with your children after you — the word after you is superfluous, but according to our explanation, it fits well. And regarding this it says, Then Moses set apart three cities even though they do not provide refuge until the other three in the land are set apart, nevertheless, Moses said, “A mitzvah that has come to my hand, I will fulfill it.” And this is the meaning of then — when he taught Israel this matter in the previous verse, he immediately put it into practice in a similar way, so that from him they would see and do likewise regarding the entire Torah and its commandments. And regarding this it says, And this is the Torah which Moses set before the children of Israel (Deuteronomy 4:44), that they should do likewise with all the commandments of the Torah. He further alluded to what our Sages said (Avot 4:18), “Exile yourself to a place of Torah,” for just as the cities of refuge provide protection, and he shall flee to these cities and live (see Numbers 35:11), so too regarding the Torah and its commandments it says and live by them (Leviticus 18:5).

These ten commandments differ in several places from those in the portion of Yitro, and you will find the explanation for all of them above in the portion of Yitro.