מוכיח אדם אחרי חן ימצא ממחליק לשון, “He who rebukes a man (after me) will ultimately find favor; [more so] than he who flatters with his tongue.”(Proverbs 28,23)

Solomon was in the habit of rebuking everybody (through his writings) and he warned everybody who was fit to rebuke others to follow in his footsteps and to take his place. Seeing that the person who has been so rebuked had tended to relate to earth (rather than heaven) when he committed deeds which provoked the rebuke, Solomon uses the expression מוכיח אדם instead of מוכיח איש, i.e. that the rebuke was provoked through the rebuked person having identified too closely with אדמה. It is well known that most rebukes are directed at the average person, the masses; the masses have different views, are not homogeneous. If they would all be of one mind and had similar outlooks they would be known as יחידים and not masses (common people). [I believe that our author distinguished between people who have a mind of their own whom he calls יחידים, individuals, i.e. people with a mind of their own, whereas he calls the people to whom we attribute a herd instinct המון עם, masses. Ed.]. Seeing that all these people do have minds of their own they do not easily accept rebukes seeing that what one person likes another dislikes. What is pleasing to one person is unacceptable to others. This is what prompted Rabbi Tarfon to say (in Erchin 16) “I am convinced that there is hardly a person nowadays willing to respond positively to rebukes. If one tells one person to remove the splinter in his own teeth the person told this would retort that the rebuker should first remove the wooden beams which blocked his own vision.” It was typical of the people of his time that if one pointed out that someone wore a soiled garment, he would respond that the rebuker’s garment was even dirtier. People like to be flattered and not to be criticized. This recalls a statement in Ketuvot 105 according to which the reason that young scholars enjoy more popularity than their senior colleagues is the fact that the former refrain from rebuking people’s religious misconduct. Keeping all this in mind, Solomon said that, eventually, he who rebukes a man will find favor more so than the flatterer. Solomon was not unaware of the psychology of the people enduring rebukes; rather he spoke in terms of what is favored by G’d. He meant that the fact that people do not like to be rebuked is not decisive in the eyes of the Lord. He wanted to encourage people, especially leaders, who would live after him not to commit the error attributed to the young scholars in Ketuvot 105 by complimenting their parishioners rather than pointing out areas in which they should improve. Ultimately, only severe rebukes will have an effect on habitual sinners and save them from the results of their errors. G’d appreciates people who respond positively to rebukes; He accepts repentant sinners seeing that these people responded to rebukes and changed their ways. Ultimately, even the person who has been rebuked realizes that this is preferable to losing his life or even his soul by not being called to order and continuing in his wicked ways. When Moses rebuked the Jewish people with harsh words, he found a favorable echo in the eyes of G’d. Moses invariably used tough language when rebuking the people as we know already from Kadesh (Numbers 20,10) when he called the people “rebellious.” Even as early as Exodus 16,7 Moses criticized the people for accusing Aaron and himself for leading them into the desert as if it had been Moses’ idea to do so.

We are told in Devarim Rabbah 2 that when Solomon above spoke of the flatterers he referred especially to Bileam (who had flattered the Jewish people as opposed to himself) and pointing out that as a direct consequence of Bileam’s flattery the Israelites suffered 24,000 dead at Shittim. Solomon portrayed Moses as the opposite of Bileam when he encouraged leaders to rebuke people for their shortcomings. This is what prompted him to say in Proverbs 27,6: “wounds inflicted by a loved one are long lasting; the kisses of an enemy are profuse.” He meant that discipline administered by a well-meaning father is effective, whereas the compliments of someone who hates you evaporate into thin air. Moses would rebuke the people every time they sinned and would pray for them thus endearing them to their father in heaven for tolerating the rebukes. This is why now, a few weeks before leaving the people permanently, he recalls to them all the sins they had committed while under his care. Moses listed some of the names where the more fateful sins had been committed.

אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל בעבר הירדן במדבר בערבה מול סוף בין פארן ובין תפל ולבן וחצרות ודי זהב, “These are the words which Moses addressed to the whole of the people of Israel, on the east bank of the Jordan, in the desert, in the wilderness of Moav, opposite Suf, between Paran and Tafel; at Lavan, Chatzerot, and Dee Zahav.” The reason the Torah writes the word במדבר, is not to repeat that the people were in the desert, but to tell us that Moses rebuked the people for sins committed in the desert. Compare Psalms 78,40: “How often did they defy Him in the wilderness, did they grieve Him in the wasteland!” Concerning the expression בערבה, Rashi comments that the word is to be understood as בשביל הערבה, that on account of being in the wilderness they sinned at Baal Peor, Shittim, sins which occurred in the area described as ערבות מואב. The word מול סוף was meant as a reminder of the Israelites having said sarcastically at the ים סוף, the Sea of Reeds: “did you take us here to die because there was a shortage of burial places in Egypt?” The people again complained when moving away from the Sea of Reeds as we know from Psalms 106,7: “they rebelled at the sea, at the Sea of Reeds.” The words בין פארן is an oblique reference to the episode of the spies; the words ובין תפל ולבן are references to the complaints uttered against the manna (Numbers 21,5) and the word חצרות is a reference to what occurred when Korach and his supporters rebelled, as well as to the inappropriate comments made by Miriam against her brother Moses. The words די זהב are a reference to the sin of the golden calf, a sin which was possible because they had a surfeit of gold. Compare Hoseah 2,10 who attributes sin to excess material wealth, “I who lavished silver on her and gold, which they used for the Baal.”

Midrash Devarim Rabbah (an edition by Lieberman, according to Rabbi Chavell) concerning the meaning of the words ודי זהב, says that the word ודי is an acrostic of the 6 days in which G’d created the world, the four directions of the globe, and the Ten Commandments. Moses meant that if the comments of the Israelites had been restricted to these three subjects they would not have been guilty of any misdemeanor, they would have been as pure as gold. All the words mentioned in this verse, which appear as if relating to locations, are only allusions to occurrences as these places do not exist (are never mentioned by these names). At the time when Moses made the speeches which form a large part of the Book of Deuteronomy, the people had already left the desert and were encamped on the fringe of civilisation near the banks of the Jordan. It follows that these descriptions must refer to sins committed in the desert. This is the opinion of Onkelos who explains these names as being oblique references to where the Israelites sinned, i.e. Moses was concerned with the image of the people and did not want to sound too harsh.

Seeing that this Book is the fifth and last of the five Books of the Torah I want to explain to you the reason why the Torah has been divided into 5 separate Books and why the sequence is that which we find in front of us. You are aware already that although this fact has already been alluded to (Midrash on Genesis 1,3 on the words “let there be light”) these “Books” are essentially all closely tied to one another. The reason that the Torah commenced with the Book of Bereshit is that the record of the world coming into existence is a basic foundation of our faith. Without this knowledge the concept of G’d supervising and taking an interest in all life on earth would not exist and all of us would consider ourselves as being no more than “accidents” on earth. Once we have established that G’d the Creator takes an interest in what He has created, and especially in the human beings, it follows that there is such a thing as “reward and punishment.” Seeing that these concepts are critical to the Torah they have all become part of the Book of Genesis. The Book of Bereshit therefore had to include some basic commandments, else, the fact that a system of reward and punishment for obedience to the Creator exists could not be demonstrated. These commandments must include positive as well as negative commandments. As far as the reward for observing the commandments is concerned, the expulsion of Adam from Gan Eden illustrates punishment on a personal level, whereas the deluge demonstrates punishment on a collective level. Noach’s being saved demonstrates reward on a personal level. The prediction of both this reward and punishment demonstrated to both the victims and the survivors that G’d must be Master of the universe, i.e. of nature, ergo its Creator. What befell the people concerned proved that He (unlike a painter who completes a painting) did not sit back and leave His universe to self-destruct but made sure that it would endure (even while allowing man free will). After conclusion of the Book of Bereshit, the second Book of the Torah commencing with the names of the sons of Yaakov is the corollary of the story of the patriarchs who imbued their descendants with this faith in G’d and His Justice. Once a person possesses faith in the fact that G’d was the Creator, it is only a small step to believe that He is Unique, and the Only G’d. The second Book of the Torah which contains so many examples of the Uniqueness of the Creator, and His revealing Himself to the people of Israel is a natural sequence to the Book of Bereshit. The Book Vayikra, the Book dealing with the sacrificial service, follows next seeing that the sacrifices represent the bringing closer together and unifying the various forces in this universe until they ultimately reach the Original Cause. The righteous person succeeds in unifying these apparently different and heterogeneous forces through his devotions. Once the unifying force of these sacrifices has been demonstrated the next Book is that of Bamidbar Sinai which contains the story of Eretz Yisrael. It is the logical corollary of the Book of Vayikra, to point out that the sacrificial legislation applies only to the land of Israel. As soon as the Israelites had received the Torah, and the legislation concerning the sacrifices, they were meant to proceed directly to the land of Israel. Had it not been for the sin committed by the spies (and the people who accepted their estimate of their situation), the people’s progress would not have been delayed for 40 years by their wandering in the desert. After the Book of Bamidbar has been concluded and the people’s unity with G’d had been restored we come to the fifth Book, אלה הדברים. Seeing that the principal residence of the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael was not the period during which the two Temples stood, but commences only with the final redemption which is not followed by another period of exile, the Torah wanted to conclude with a Book in which the ultimate redemption is discussed or alluded to. This will be an event comparable to a renewal of the universe itself (compare author’s comments on Deut. 30,3). This event will represent the true purpose and culmination of the creation of the universe, i.e. essentially another Book of Bereshit.

We need to understand still why this Book opens with the words אלה הדברים, [traditionally a term which separates from the foregoing. Ed.] instead of ואלה הדברים, just as the Book of Shemot had commenced with the words ואלה שמות in order to demonstrate that it was the logical continuation of the Book of Bereshit. The reason is that although the fifth Book is a continuation in the sequence of the five Books, it is at the same time something unique, just as the etrog, although part of the four species over which we recite benedictions on the festival of Tabernacles is in a class by itself and therefore not bound together with the other three plants, the lulav, the hadass and the aravah. The second letter ה in the tetragrammaton, i.e. the name י-ה-ו-ה, although part of that name, is nonetheless not quite an integral part of the name which basically represents the attribute of Mercy, as this very letter ה at that point represents the element of Justice. We have explained many times that neither attribute ever appears in a pure form, i.e. the attribute of Justice is always accompanied by at least a small proportion of the attribute of Mercy, and vice versa, the attribute of Mercy is always accompanied by a small proportion of the attribute of Justice. The letter ה at the end of the tetragrammaton represents that portion of the attribute of Justice. It is described by Kabbalists as the “weak,” i.e. diluted form of the attribute of Justice. It is perceived as disciplining Israel for seven specific sins. In our case, the Book of Devarim, the fifth Book of the Torah, is better known as משנה תורה, “a second” version, repetition, of the Torah. This is why Moses commences with severe words of rebuke, recalling seven sins committed by the people under his stewardship of them. The seven sins are: the complaints in the desert, the sin of Baal Peor, the rebellion at the Sea of Reeds, the sin of the spies, the belittling of the heavenly food, the manna; the revolt of Korach, and the sin of the golden calf. “Tofel and Lavan,” are two references to the same sin. The seven sins are also alluded to in the Tochachah in Leviticus 26,18: “therefore I will punish you further seven ways for your sins.” Keeping this in mind, you will find that Moses, instead of speaking in the name of Hashem, as he did generally in the other Books, uses the attribute ה' אלו-הינו, i.e. a deliberate combination of the attribute of Mercy and the attribute of Justice when he refers to what G’d has commanded in this Book. The most pronounced example of this is Devarim 4,24: כי ה' אלו-היך אש אכלה הוא א-ל קנא, “for the Lord your G’d, He is a consuming fire, a jealous G’d.” This is a reminder of the manifestation of G’d’s Presence the people had experienced at Mount Sinai.

אחד עשר יום מחורב, “eleven days’ journey (distance) from Mount Chorev.” These words are also part of the rebukes. Moses reminded the people that the traveling time from Mount Chorev to Kadesh Barnea is normally eleven days. The people had traversed this distance in only three days. This very fact should make them understand that the reason they had remained in the desert for so many years was only due to their sins. Had they not sinned G’d would have shortened their travel time instead of lengthening it. How did the people travel during the three days we just mentioned? The Torah tells us that the people broke camp after having remained around Mount Sinai since the 1st of Sivan in the first year of the Exodus (10 days short of a full lunar year). The cloud lifted on that day as we know from Numbers 10,11. One month and nine days later, i.e. on the 29th of Sivan, Moses sent the spies on their mission from Kadesh Barnea. If we count backwards to the 20th of Iyar, we have to consider that during these 39 days at least 30 days were spent at a place named Kivrot Hataavah, where the people gorged themselves on meat (Numbers 11,21). In addition, they were stuck at Chatzerot, waiting for Miriam to be cured from her tzoraat (Numbers 12,14-16). You will note that there were only a total of three days left during which the people could have traveled between the 20th of Iyar and the 29th of Sivan. It follows that they must have covered the entire distance from Sinai to Kadesh Barnea in three days.

According to Devarim Rabbah (an edition by Lieberman, according to Rabbi Chavell), the words אחד עשר יום מחורב, “eleven days from Chorev,” must be understood to mean that for only eleven days after leaving Mount Chorev could the people of Israel be described as perfect vis-a-vis G’d. The Midrash speaks of the 40 days that Moses was on the Mountain. During the last 29 days they were already contemplating making the golden calf. Another opinion quoted in that Midrash claims that the people remained completely loyal to G’d for only two days out of the 40 days that Moses had absented himself. The author of that view bases himself on Isaiah 58,2: ואותי יום יום ידרשון “As to Me, they seek Me out one day, one day (daily).” A third opinion quoted in that same Midrash claims that the people remained completely loyal only for a single day basing itself on Deut. 4,10: “the day you stood before the Lord your G’d at Mount Chorev.” Yet another opinion expressed in that Midrash claims that the people were not even totally loyal for an entire day, but committed idolatrous acts even on that very day. The source quoted for such an extreme view is Isaiah 17,11: “on the morning you sow, you see it bud but the branches wither away on a day of sickness and mortal agony.” [The author of the Midrash presumably searched for the source of the corruption as the thought that a people perfectly loyal to G’d could not have committed the sin they did just because they saw that Moses was six hours late returning from the Mountain. Ed.]. Another approach to these words: the word אחד and עשר are not to be understood as “eleven,” but have to be read separately, i.e. “one,” “ten.” The first of the Ten Commandments, the אנכי ה' אלו-היך was the theological problem the people could not deal with satisfactorily. Moses reminds the people that the anger they caused G’d stems from their not accepting that commandment properly.

ויהי בארבעים שנה בעשתי עשר חודש, “It was in the fortieth year, during the eleventh month, etc.” Moses rebuked the people when he was already close to death; you find that our patriarch Yaakov also waited until he was close to death before rebuking those of his children whom he wanted to rebuke (Genesis chapter 49). Joshua also waited until he was close to death before he rebuked the people (Joshua chapter 24). The prophet Samuel was also close to death when he challenged the people to tell him if they had any complaints against him (Samuel I 12,2-3). King David also waited with telling his son Solomon who needed to be rebuked (Kings I 2,1).

אחרי הכותו, “after he had defeated, etc.” a reminder of how G’d had been on the side of the Israelites and had defeated the mighty kings Sichon and Og using Moses as His agent. Moses now decided the time had come to rebuke the people for past errors. [Moses reminded them that if anyone had the right to do so he possessed those credentials. Ed.]

אשר יושב בעשתרות באדרעי, “who was dwelling in Ashtarot at Edre-i.” We find that the Bible uses the term Ashtarot to describe three totally different phenomena. The term is used to describe 1) mountains, 2) flocks of sheep; 3) a form of idolatry. In this instance the Torah tells us that Og lived in mountainous country. The reason the Torah tells us this is that not only was Og, the giant, personally powerful and awe-inspiring, but the terrain in which he had his capital was easy to defend and most difficult to conquer. The same applied to a place called עשתרות קרנים which the Torah mentioned in Genesis 14,5 when it described Kedorlaomer defeating the giants residing there. The reason that place was called not just עשתרות, but עשתרות קרנים, is that the sheep which have horns קרנים, used to graze in those mountains just as did the mountain goats and gazelles. The flocks, sheep, are referred to as Ashtarot in Deut. 7,13 where the Torah writes עשתרות צאנך, when referring to flocks of sheep and goats. The word’s root is עשר, “wealth,” i.e. these flocks provide wealth for their owners through their milk, their wool and their young. We have been told in Chulin 84 that one should make a practice of selling land (a field, but not ancestral land in the land of Israel) and buy עתודים, he-goats with the proceeds, based on Proverbs 27,26: ”the he-goats, the price of a field.” We also have a verse making a similar point in verse 27 of the same chapter, i.e. “the goat’s milk will be sufficient for the food of your house, and for the vital needs of your maids.” The term Ashtarot is used to describe idolatry in Judges 12,6 ויעבדו את הבעלים ואת העשתרות, “they served the Baalim and the Ashtarot.” The reason this term is used is that the image representing the deity was a sheep (and the fertility it represents).

באדרעי, “in Edre'i.” This is the name of a province in which the king’s capital was located. They used to build it at the edge of a mountain in the flat land, and there would be assembled his entire army. This is the meaning of that word in Numbers 21,33, where the Torah describes where the battle took place.

הואיל משה באר את התורה הזאת, “Moses began explaining this Torah.” According to the plain meaning of the text Moses wanted to explain to the people at this time all the commandments and the fact that the essence of the Torah is contained in the Ten Commandments. Seeing that the parent generation of the people assembled had heard the Ten Commandments ,directly from from G’d, Moses repeated the text so that at least they would hear it from his mouth. Even though the people were already familiar with the Ten Commandments, having heard them from their fathers, and they believed in the divine origin of these commandments, the fact that Moses was an accredited prophet in their eyes made hearing them from him equivalent to hearing them from G’d Himself.

A Midrashic approach: Moses commenced explaining the Torah in the land of Moav explaining 49 facets of the Torah in a way that would yield authentic exegesis, [our sages call it טהור, ritually pure] and also demonstrating that one can pervert Torah exegesis by 49 ways and obtain 49 inadmissible, “ritually unclean” ways of exegesis. The number 49 corresponds to the numerical value of the word מואב. [This explains that the words בארץ מואב are not to be translated as “in the land of Moav,” seeing the people of Israel had been forbidden to violate the borders of Moav. Ed.]. We have a similar explanation on Song of Songs 5,10: דודי צח ואדום, where these words do not mean “my beloved (simile for Hashem) is clear-skinned and ruddy,” certainly not an appropriate description for G’d. The word דודי is a simile for the 24 Books of the Bible, seeing that its numerical value is 24. The word צח has a numerical value of 98, reflecting the 2 sets of 49 ways to interpret the Torah (pure impure) discussed above. We also have an allusion to this kind of exegesis in Proverbs 2,4 כמטמונים תחפשנה, “search for it as you would for treasures.” The word מטמונים is understood as מ'ט טמונים, that the Bible or Torah contains 49 (מ'ט) “hidden meanings.” The word מונים as “times” appears already in Genesis 31,7 when Lavan changed Yaakov’s wages עשרת מונים, “ten times.”

ה' אלו-הינו דבר אלינו, “the Lord our G’d spoke to us, etc.” You have to remember that throughout this Book Moses always refers to G’d with both attributes, i.e. Hashem and Elokim. I have already mentioned this at the end of verse 1. בחורב, at Mount Chorev. This is the same as Mount Sinai.

ואל כל שכיניו, “and to all its neighbors,” i.e. Ammon, Moav, and the Mountain of Se-ir. והחוף הים, “and at the beaches of the Sea.” This refers to the coast of Ashkelon, Azzah, and Caesaria and other coastal towns along the Mediterranean.

לתת להם ולזרעם אחריהם, “to give to them and to their descendants after them.” Our sages in Yalkut Shimoni 801 understand these words to mean: “to the people who took part in the Exodus and to their descendants,” i.e. the ones who took part in the Exodus from Babylonia. The additional word אחריהם, “after them,” refers to the people alive at the time of the final redemption, the ingathering of the exiles from the present Diaspora. It appears that the reason the Midrash had to interpret the text in this way is the fact that the Torah spent 3 verses on the subject. Each verse adds a new dimension not stated previously. The next verse on the subject is Deut. 11,21; in verse 9 of the same chapter the Torah repeats this message but without the words: “as long as there is a heaven over earth.” This prompted our sages to understand Moses as referring to three separate inheritances.

ואומר אליכם בעת ההיא לאמור, “I spoke to you at that time, saying:” the word לאמור here refers to Yitro, Moses’ father-in-law who had given this advice. When G’d indicated His approval, Moses accepted this advice in practice (Exodus 18,23).

ה' אלו-היכם הרבה אתכם, “the Lord your G’d has multiplied you, etc.” Moses referred to the increase of the Jewish people during their sojourn in Egypt. They had arrived there comprising only 70 persons, whereas by the time they left Egypt they numbered over 600,000 fighting men. As of the time when Moses was addressing them they were so numerous they could not be counted. It is also possible to understand the words הרבה אתכם as not referring to quantitative increase in the people of Israel but to the qualitative increase; they had developed into a powerful nation. The word רבי המלך in Jeremiah 39,13 means the distinguished people of the King, גדולי המלך.

והנכם היום ככוכבי השמים, “and here you are to-day as the stars in heaven.” Moses compared the people to the stars from a quantitative perspective; this is why he added the word לרוב, “in quantity.”

A Midrashic approach, found in Devarim Rabbah (Lieberman edition 16 only) the words “and you are as the stars in heaven” are a reference to the encampment of the Jewish people, and are similar to when G’d showed Avraham that all the zodiac signs in heaven surrounded the Shechinah. Similarly, the flag of the Jewish people, three tribes and their flag in each direction is perceived with the Shechinah in the centre of the camp (the Tabernacle). G’d had told Moses: “just as the zodiac signs surround Me and I am in the centre, so your children will multiply and encamp according to their respective flags while My Presence will dwell in their midst. In other words: “your encampment as of this day (on earth) is similar to My camp in heaven.”

ככם אלף פעמים, “like you, one thousand times.” According to Devarim Rabbah, 13, quoted by Rashi, Moses explained that this blessing was his personal one, and therefore limited. G’d, however, would bless the people without placing a limit on His blessing. This is the meaning of Moses’ rider “as He has said to you,” i.e. “you will be like the dust of the earth (Genesis 28,14).

איכה אשא לבדי טרחכם, “How am I able to carry alone the trouble of you, and the burdens, etc.” The “trouble” Moses was referring to was that he had to explain the meaning of the commandments to foolish people. Our sages in Sifri Devarim 12 explain that the Israelites were bothering Moses with a great deal of litigation and the loser in litigation would never be content with the judgment but would claim that he had witnesses whom he had not presented, arguments which he had not used, etc., all in order to reopen the matter. Moses would have to add more judges to review the case.

משאכם, “your burden.” A reference to the demands for meat and water. We know that in Numbers 11,11 Moses had asked G’d to relieve him of משא כל העם הזה עלי, “the burden of this whole people.”

וריבכם, “and your bickering.” This teaches that the people had a habit of quarreling with one another.

ואשימם בראשיכם, “I shall place them as heads over you.” Moses gave these people positions of honour so that the people would respect them. Our sages (Rashi) point out that the word ואשמם is written defectively, the letter י being missing after the letter ש. This converts the word into אשם, “guilt.” The spelling teaches that the sins of the people of Israel are largely blamed on their leaders if these had been in a position to stop the people from committing these sins and they had failed to exert their authority. (The author notes that in our version of the written Torah the letter י described by the sages as missing is part of the text.)

אנשים חכמים וידועים, “wise men, knowledgeable ones.” Moses does not mention נבונים, “men of insight,” one of the criteria suggested by Yitro that he look for. He had not found people who possessed this quality (Sifri Devarim 15).

שרי אלפים, “chiefs of thousands.” This means that one such “chief” would be in charge of 1,000 Israelites. Similarly, there would be judges in charge of 100 Israelites, judges in charge of 50 and judges in charge of 10 men.

ושוטרים, “and law enforcers.” Men who would enforce the judges’ decisions by physical force.

ואצוה את שפטיכם, “I commanded your judges.” This refers to the judges being cautioned that although they might feel that similar cases had been judged by them many times, each case has to be addressed as if it were the first of its kind.

שמוע בין אחיכם ושפטתם צדק, “listen among your brethren and judge righteously.” This means that the judges should attempt to settle conflicting claims by getting the litigants to agree to arbitration. Technically, the wording suggests: משפט, “judgment,” which is the result of צדק, “charitable attitudes” by both litigants.

ובין גרו, “and his litigant.” Our sages (Sanhedrin 7) derive the word from לגור, to sojourn; they mean that even if the dispute concerns minor matters such as arguments about use of a dwelling, a stove, between people who live in the same house.

לא תכירו פנים במשפט, “Do not show favoritism in judgment.” This is a warning to a judge not to display a stern attitude versus one of the litigants and a mild attitude versus the other party.

כקטון כגדול תשמעון, “listen to claims involving minor sums of money as if it concerned major sums.” Do not relate to disputes involving pennies as a waste of the court’s time.

לא תגורו מפני איש, “do not display fear before any man.” The warning is addressed particularly concerning litigants who enjoy a reputation of being violent. כי המשפט לאלו-הים הוא, “for the judgment is G’d’s.” This is a reminder to the judges that they are not representatives of man but of G’d. If they base their decisions on what pleases man instead of on what pleases the Lord, G’d will find other ways to repay them for their sin. If they convict an innocent party, thus enriching the guilty, G’d will redress the imbalance in His own way. We find this sentiment expressed by King Yehoshaphat in Chronicles II 19,6: “Consider what you are doing, for you judge not on behalf of man, but on behalf of the Lord, and He is with you when you pass judgment.”

A kabbalistic approach: the words כי המשפט לאלו-הים הוא,“for judgment is G’d’s,” emphasise the connection between שופט and דין, “judge” and “justice.” The judge receives his input, inspiration from the attribute of גבורה, also known as the attribute of Justice, מדת הדין. This is the reason why the judge of the universe is known as אלו-הים, seeing He draws on that emanation גבורה situated on the left side of the diagram of the emanations. Seeing that G’d, i.e. the attribute אלו-הים is described by Assaph (Psalms 82,1) as both G’d and judge, it is not surprising that the attribute אלו-הים is applied by the Torah to judges who perform G’d’s work. משפט=דין הנחתך, “Justice= the result after the “discussion of the legal points, לדון, have been concluded.” It is the finished product, “cut and dried,” i.e. separated from the theoretical discussion. When the Torah (Exodus 22,8) speaks of עד האלו-הים יבא דבר שניהם, the meaning is not that the dispute has to be submitted to G’d, but that it be submitted to mortal judges. Seeing the judge performs G’d’s function, he is accorded this title. If such title is accorded to man, on occasion, it is most certainly also accorded to angels who, by definition, always perform G’d’s work as His agents. Both the angels and the mortal judges receive their input from the attribute of Justice, the emanation גבורה.

You should appreciate that seeing the emanation is situated on the left side of the diagram of the emanations, as we know from Ezekiel 1,10 “and the face of the ox was on the left” (of the chayot), the Great Sanhedrin was also known as שררך (Song of Songs 7,3). Rashi explains that its seat was at the navel of the earth, in the centre, at the Temple. The office where the deliberations were held was known as לשכת הגזיז, the office of “cutting,” i.e. where definitive judgments were made, where after deliberations the judgment became (in colloquial terms) “cut and dried” (compare Midot 5,4). תקריבון אלי ושמעתיות , “submit (bring close) to me so that I can hear it.” Our sages in Sanhedrin 8 considered that these words of Moses were words for which he was punished. The reason the law of inheritance which the daughters of Tzelofchod submitted to him was concealed from him was because he had given the impression that he could deal with the most difficult cases unassisted. I commented on this in connection with Numbers 27,4.

We must nevertheless wonder what sin did Moses commit here against Hashem, and why he should be punished for it? How do the words תקריבון אלי, express arrogance on Moses’ part? How else was he to have phrased the message that matters which the chiefs of thousands had been unable to resolve should be brought to him as the Chief Judge so that he could attempt to resolve them?

Perhaps the fact that Moses, who had already said in the first half of this verse that “judgment belongs to G’d,” now made it seem as if he equated his own knowledge with that of G’d is the reason why our sages felt that Moses was punished for this.

ונלך את כל המדבר הגדול, “we went through this great desert.” This refers to the wanderings during the eleven days of which Moses spoke earlier. והנורא ההוא, “and that awesome one.” [This is a reference to the dangerous reptiles inhabited by this desert;] there were snakes as large as beams and scorpions the size of bows.

ראה, נתן ה' אלו-היך לפניך את הארץ עלה רש, “See, the Lord your G’d has given the land before you. Ascend and take possession!” Instead of the word ראה at the beginning of this verse we would have expected the words הנה נתן ה' אלו-היך לך את הארץ, “Here the Lord your G’d has given you the land.” Why did Moses change the usual syntax? He wanted to indicate to the people that seeing the protective angel of these people had already been dealt with by G’d, the people themselves should certainly not present any obstacle. All the Israelites had to do was ascend and take possession. The word עלה is to be understood as “climb on to, or over the protective angel of these people who had already been brought low.” The word ראה here refers to the mental eye of the people, their ability to understand the situation of the Canaanites after the Lord your G’d has already given the land “before you,”

This is also what prompted the sages of the Midrash (Tanchuma Massey 4) to write concerning the above words: “did then G’d literally place the land of Canaan at the feet of the Jewish people?” They answer that the meaning is that G’d made their protective angel fall to earth in front of the Jewish people. This is why we find similarly worded verses in verse 8 of our chapter, and a similarly worded report in 2,33: “go and take possession of the land” had been used in verse 8; the Torah, at this point should have written only: “take possession of it,” instead of repeating the words את הארץ. The apparent repetition means that an obstacle which had existed in verse 8 had meanwhile been removed; the obstacle was the protective angel of the Canaanites. Rashi makes a similar point in explaining the wording of Deut. 2,31. As to the word החל רש used by G’d in 2,31 as compared to the word רש without the preamble החל in our verse here, G’d meant that seeing He had commenced giving possession of the lands of Sichon to the Jewish people (at the time), it was now time to complete the work of taking possession of all the lands of the Canaanites and to complete the process. This is why in our verse the word החל, “begin!” would have been out of place. There was no reason to add the word גמור, “finish, complete,” in our verse because as soon as the Israelites would have commenced to do their part (if the report of the spies had been uniformly favorable) the whole campaign would have ended almost as soon as it started. When G’d commences a war, it does not last long. We have a Midrash Rabbah in Exodus 21,5 in which the same point is made concerning the demotion of Nevuchadnezzar of which Daniel speaks in Daniel 4,28 when a heavenly voice announced that the king had already lost his kingdom (although he still occupied the throne and bragged about his accomplishments). Rabbi Joshua ben Avin interprets the words קל מן שמיא נפל in that verse as “an angel named קל, i.e. Nevuchadnezzar’s celestial counterpart, had fallen from heaven.” This is why the verse in Daniel did not speak about a voice from heaven being heard, or calling, but “falling.” It was not “a voice” but that angel. Immediately after that, heavenly voices saying: “your kingdom Nevuchadnezzar has departed from you, (and much worse)” were heard.

ותקרבון אלי כלכם, “and all of you approached me;” the people did not come to Moses as a delegation in an orderly fashion but they mobbed him. (Sifri Devarim 20).

ויחפרו לנו את הארץ, “so that they will spy out the land on our behalf.” The reason that the Torah uses the term חפר for what was really רגול, spying, is that digging is designed to uncover hidden objects; spying is also designed to reveal hidden things.

וייטב בעיני הדבר, “the matter appeared good (worthwhile) in my eyes.” Moses felt that seeing the entire people were in agreement it was probably all right. The word בעיני, “in my eyes,” makes it clear that the suggestion did not find favour in G’d’s eyes. This is why, when G’d related to the project He told Moses: שלח לך, “send for yourself,” i.e. “not on My behalf. I am not ordering you to do this.”

הארץ אשר דרך בה, “the land on which he walked.” A reference to the city of Chevron, seeing the Torah had specifically mentioned that Calev came to Chevron (Numbers 13,22). Calev is mentioned first before Joshua, here and everywhere when G’d speaks of him.

ואתם פנו לכם, “and you — turn yourselves around.” A 180 degrees turn in the direction of the Sea of Reeds

ותהינו, ”then you were ready.” The word is derived from הן. It is as if the people had said הננו ועלינו, “here we are ready to ascend” (Rashi). Onkelos renders the word as ושריתון למיסק לטורא, “you started to ascend the mountain.” If someone prepares himself to commence a project, an undertaking, he usually signals this by saying הנני, “I am all set to go.”

כאשר תעשינה הדבורים, “just as the bees would do.” They chase anyone who touches their hives putting such people into mortal danger.

The verse also alludes to the fact that at least some of the pursuers died while pursuing the Israelites. The reason is that when bees sting they themselves die as a result of emitting their poison.

ותשבו בקדש ימים רבים, “you remained in Kadesh for many years.” A total of 19 years. The words כימים אשר ישבתם mean as the total number of years you stayed in all the other locations. The subject is repeated in chapter 2 verse 14, where the number of years it took to get from Kadesh Barnea to the river Zered is given as 38 years. This number is confirmed in the Book called Seder Olam — "Nineteen years they spent in Kadesh and nineteen years they wandered the desert."