תנו לה מפרי ידיה ויהללוה בשערים מעשיה, “Acknowledge her for the fruit of her hands, and let her accomplishments praise her in her gates”(Proverbs 31,31).

Solomon commenced the concluding chapter of Proverbs with the words אשת חיל מי ימצא, “who can find a woman of valour?” According to the plain meaning of the text he spoke about an intelligent woman, eager and competent to discharge the duties of her household, working hard both by day and by night; this is the meaning of Proverbs 31,18: “even when her affairs thrive her lamp does not go out at night.” This woman is known far and wide for the good she does for the poor, sustaining them with the work of her own hands. This is the meaning of 31,20: “she extends her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hand to the needy.” This whole chapter teaches us both moral/ethical lessons as well as lessons in good manners. A man is to look for this kind of a woman when he wants to get married as she is the mainstay of his home to be. Together with her he can look forward to building his family. Solomon wanted to enumerate all the virtues of such a woman in alphabetical order in order to demonstrate that a woman who possesses all these virtues also symbolizes the entire Torah. Her presence is her husband’s best preparation to achieve success in his Torah study and mitzvah performance, much as the body is the preparation for the soul to attain its objectives. This is what the sages alluded to when they said (concerning a man finding a woman) “if he has merit, she will prove an invaluable helpmate” (Yevamot 63). Addressing the same subject, Solomon said: (Proverbs 18,22) “He who found a wife has found a good thing; he will obtain favor from the Lord,” seeing the Torah had said it is not good for man to remain solitary (Genesis 2,18) Solomon, when discussing marriage, said that a woman does not deserve to be praised on account of her physical beauty, graceful mannerism. Solomon said (Proverbs 31,30) “grace is deceptive, beauty is vain, a G’d-fearing woman is the woman who is truly praiseworthy.” This is also why he concludes by saying: “acknowledge her for the fruit of her hands and let her accomplishments praise her in the gates.” It is appropriate that she be praised for what she does, not for the attributes she was endowed with at birth [something for which one should praise the Lord, not her. Ed.] We find that Abigail was the prototype for such a woman whose good virtues employed at the right time and in the right place, saved her husband and her entire household from being killed by David and his men. David himself acknowledged this when he said to her (Samuel I 25,33): ”blessed be your prudence, and blessed be you yourself for restraining me from seeking redress in blood by my own hands.“

A Midrashic approach: the words: תנו לה מפרי ידיה, “acknowledge her for the fruit of her hands,” refer to the opening words of the chapter “who can find a woman of valour?” The Midrash understands the whole chapter as a parable describing Torah and wisdom, something very elusive, almost impossible to attain fully. Solomon proceeds to enumerate the advantages of Torah and wisdom in order to encourage people to immerse themselves in both Torah and wisdom. He commences by saying that בטח בה לב בעלה, “the heart of someone who has mastered this discipline has absolute confidence in it.” This is why he adds ושלל לא יחסר, “such a person will never be short of ‘loot.’” It is a well known fact that people who constantly engage in the pursuit of wisdom do not experience the lack of anything. The poor and destitute whom Solomon refers to in verse 20 are the students, who have thus far only accumulated a minimum of wisdom, not having expended sufficient effort yet to acquire it in larger doses; this is why Solomon says to people at large: “give her (wisdom) from the fruit of her hands.” Solomon encourages the people at large to treat wisdom with respect seeing it produces such good fruit, i.e. honour and glory for those who have acquired it. The fruit which are the result of the acquisition of wisdom are the good deeds man performs, as a result of which he qualifies for eternal life in the celestial spheres. Concerning this, Solomon himself wrote in Proverbs 11,30: “the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.” He referred to the Torah being the entrance card to the tree of life, i.e. eternal life. The Torah already stated concerning the tree of life that if Adam were to eat from it “he would live forever” (Genesis 3,22).

A Kabbalistic approach: when Solomon concludes the Book with the words תנו לה מפרי ידיה, “let her enjoy the fruit of her hands,” he refers to the virtue he had commenced with, i.e. “who can find a woman of valor?” Solomon wanted to seal his Book with the virtue which is the “seal” of the בנין, the structure comprised by the various emanations, its seal being the emanation חכמה [the simile with which he described the woman of valor. Ed.]. Seeing that the Jewish people had heard the Torah out of the fire and the prophet Chabakuk 3,10 referred to this experience saying נתן תהום קולו, “the deep gave forth loud roars” [see the whole verse, Ed.], Solomon arranged the praises of the Torah/wisdom in the order of the 22 letters of the aleph bet. The meaning of the concluding verse: “give to her of the fruit of her hands,” is a call to bestow a blessing on the emanation חכמה, also known as Torah. The whole idea is similar to what the sages said in Avot 3,7 תן לו משלו שאתה ושלך שלו, “give to Him part of what is His, for you yourself and all that is yours are really His.” The words ויהללוה בשערים מעשיה, “and let her accomplishments praise her in the gates,” are a reference to what the blessing consists of. David also used the words ברכה and הלול, in the same verse (Psalms 104,35) when he said ברכי נפשי את ה' הללוי-ה, “let my soul bless the Lord, Hallelujah.” Even though every human being is himself the beneficiary of G’d’s blessing, G’d nonetheless desires blessing uttered by human beings. He specifically commanded this when He said (Deut. 8,10) “you shall bless the Lord your G’d.” Isaiah tells us that “for whoever blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the true (אמן) G’d.” (Isaiah 65,16) You should pay heed to the saying of the sages (Sotah 38) “he (the priest) who utters a blessing will in turn be blessed.” The reason is that by blessing the people in the name of the Lord, he (the priest) has included Everybody i.e. G’d, in his blessing. It is well known that the whole idea of bestowing a blessing is to contribute to the continued existence of the universe. This is why G’d bestowed blessings immediately after He had created certain phenomena, especially living creatures which are very fragile as compared to inert phenomena. [This is why we find already in Genesis 1,20 when the first living creatures were produced by the waters, that G’d felt compelled to bestow a blessing on them. Perhaps the absence of such a blessing for the vegetation on the third day is the reason we have non-fruit-bearing trees. Ed.] The reason that the whole Torah commences with the letter ב instead of the letter א for instance, is that it wanted to begin with an allusion to blessing. G’d blessed Adam, i.e. the human species (Genesis 1,28); He blessed Noach and his children (Genesis 9,1, the remnants of the human species). Only with the advent of Avraham (described by our author as ראש האמונה, “the father-figure of all true faith”) did G’d transfer the ability to bless to him and his descendants as we know from Genesis 12,2. Instead of telling Avraham that he would be blessed, ברוך, He told him that he himself would originate blessings, i.e. והיה ברכה, “become (a source of) blessing.” Ever since, the righteous have become the “sources” of blessings (or distributors directing blessings). This was how Yitzchok viewed himself when he said: “let me bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.” He meant that if he did not transfer the power to bless given to him, it would die with him as he was conscious of the responsibility entailed by this power to bestow blessing (compare Genesis 27,7). At this point, Moses makes use of this power, just as had Yaakov before his death (Genesis 49,28). The remarkable thing (from a kabbalistic point of view) is the use as an introduction of the word זאת on both occasions. This is also why the sages said that Moses continued where Yaakov had left off (Devarim Rabbah 11,1) — Yaakov concluded with וזאת ( וזאת אשר דבר להם אביהם )and Moses began with וזאת (וזאת הברכה).

וזאת הברכה אשר ברך משה איש האלו-הים את בני ישראל לפני מותו, “And this is the blessing with which Moses blessed the Children of Israel before his death.” According to the plain meaning of the text Moses arranged, prepared, this entire blessing and bestowed it on the respective tribes on the day of his death, seeing it is customary for the righteous to bestow such blessings on the day they die.

A Midrashic approach based on Tanchuma Vezot Haberachah 1: the letter ו at the beginning of the word וזאת means that Moses added something over and above the blessing which had been bestowed on the people by Bileam. Bileam should really have bestowed seven blessings on the people corresponding to each of the seven altars he had built at the time. However, if you will check you will find that Bileam only uttered three blessing instead of seven (We know this from Balak who remonstrated with him saying: “here you have blessed them three times (Numbers 24,10). In view of this, G’d said to him: “you wicked and niggardly person; seeing that you are too jealous to bestow the proper number of blessings on these people, I will appoint Moses, who is more generous than you to complete the blessings these people are entitled to. This is the meaning of Proverbs 22,9: “the generous one is blessed (יבורך); do not read the word as יבורך but as יברך, “he will bestow blessing.” The person whom Solomon refers to in this verse is none other than Moses. He was anxious to bless Israel, and he completed the four blessings Bileam had withheld from the people. The first one of those four is found in Exodus 39,43: “Moses saw the entire work, and behold!-they had done it all as Hashem had commanded, so had they done; and Moses blessed them.” The second occasion Moses blessed the people is in Leviticus 9,23: ”Moses and Aaron came to the Tent of Meeting; they came out and blessed the people and the attribute of כבוד appeared to the entire nation.” The third time Moses blessed the people was in Deut. 1,11: “May Hashem, the G’d of your fathers continue to increase you one thousand-fold and bless you as He has said to you.” The fourth occasion when Moses blessed the people begins in our portion with the words: “and this is the blessing, etc.”

A kabbalistic approach: The words: “and this is the blessing,” are a reference to the תרומה, the gift, the Torah, and the covenant, all of which have been introduced with the word זאת on different occasions. (compare Exodus 25,3; Deuteronomy 33,1; Isaiah 59,21). This is why Moses commenced his blessings at the point where our patriarch Yaakov had left off. I already elaborated on this in connection with Genesis 49,28.

איש האלו-הים, “a man of G‘d.” According to the plain meaning of the text a man who was great as he was endowed with the power of prophecy by G’d when He had appeared to Moses in the burning bush. [In his waking hours, already on the first occasion He communicated with Moses at the burning bush with His attribute of the tetragrammaton (Exodus 3,2-4,17) where he was told that he would be an אלו-הים to Pharaoh. Ed.].

A Midrashic approach based on Midrash Tehillim 90,1: the word means: “a judge.” This is based on Deut. 33,21 צדקת ה' עשה ומשפטיו עם ישראל, “he carried out the righteousness of Hashem and His justice with Israel” [See Rashi ibid. (2nd explanation)]. Moses’ personality reflected the sages’ definition of יקוב הדין את ההר, “let the attribute of Justice bore a hole in the mountain.” [He strove for absolute perfection. Ed.] Rabbi Yehudah, son of Simon said: “why was Moses described as איש האלו-הים? When a man (husband) is confronted by certain vows made by his wife he has the option of annulling them or letting them remain valid. This is what the Torah says in Numbers 30,14: אישה יקימנה ואישה יפרנה, “her husband may either confirm it or her husband may cancel it.” Similarly, Moses was in a position in his dealings with G’d to say to Him קומה ה', “let the Lord arise,” or שובה ה', let the Lord desist” (compare Numbers 10,35). Thus far that Midrash.

You need to analyse what the author of this Midrash had in mind. In view of the fact that the prophetic powers of Moses were emanated from the force of the power of Mercy, which is elsewhere described as an active force, an instigator, self-propelled, the Torah compared Moses to the role of the activist, the initiator, whereas the attribute of Justice is described as both initiating and responding as the situation may require. Moses was also compared to that attribute, seeing that the glue which sticks to something is described by the material it sticks to. This is why the Torah here calls him איש האלוהים. [Instead of איש ה'. The Torah differentiates between Moses the man, and Moses’ prophecy. The former had an affinity to the attribute of Justice, the latter was an outgrowth of the attribute of Mercy. Ed.]

A kabbalistic approach: the reason he is called איש האלו-הים is because it is the Torah’s nature to associate the word איש, with the attribute אלו-הים. You will not encounter the word איש ה' anywhere in the Torah. On the other hand, the word עבד is frequently associated with the attribute of Mercy, i.e. עבד ה'. Moses himself (as well as Joshua) is described as עבד ה' in Joshua 1,1 and numerous other verses.

לפני מותו, “before his death.” the Torah means: “close to the time when he died.” According to Devarim Rabbah 11,5 the words mean that when an angel came to take away his soul, Moses stopped him and got up and first blessed the people. The words לפני מותו then are to be understood as לפני המלאך הממיתו — “in the presence of the angel who had come to take his soul.”

ה' מסיני בא, “The Lord had come from Sinai.” The Torah really should have written בסיני, “at Sinai,” instead of “from Sinai.” Similarly, instead of writing משעיר, we would have expected the Torah to write בשעיר, “at Se'ir,” and בהר פארן, instead of מהר פארן. Most of the commentators simply say that the letter מ here is taking the place of the letter ב. I do not think it is that simple. Rather, I think that if the Torah had written בסיני, this would have sounded as if a certain place had been assigned to G’d. Seeing that G’d is known as the מקומו של העולם, “assigning space to the universe,” and not vice versa, the wrong impression about G’d’s omnipresence would have been conveyed (compare Bereshit Rabbah 68,10). In Psalms 68,18 David speaks of אד-ני בם סיני בקודש, “the Lord is among them as in Sinai in holiness.” David was careful to avoid saying קודש בסיני, which would have meant “holy at Sinai.” He reversed the wording to avoid giving the impression that it is possible to assign a certain place (only) to G’d. This is why here Moses had to write מסיני בא. This means that the beginning of the revelation the attribute of כבוד originated at Mount Sinai. He goes on to describe how this revelation expanded to other areas and included other people’s consciousness. Originally, it had emanated its rays towards Israel from afar i.e. from Se'ir. At that time Israel had been a long way from Sinai. It had gradually been perceived as closer, i.e. near Mount Paran. This was the area from which Moses had sent the spies (Numbers 13,3) [in terms of space, not time, Ed.] From Mount Paran this attribute of כבוד moved to Sinai; from there it was finally revealed to the Jewish people. The reason Moses did not describe all these steps in chronological order was that he wanted to demonstrate that the purpose of all these moves by the attribute of כבוד was the revelation at Mount Sinai to the Jewish people. Actually, the prophetess Devorah explained all this in Judges 5,4-5 when she said in her song of thanksgiving: “O Lord, when You came forth from Se'ir, advanced from the country of Edom; the earth trembled....before the Lord, Him of Sinai, before the Lord, G’d of Israel.”

It is noteworthy that in connection with the distant Se'ir Moses used the term זרח, “shone,” i.e. the term used for the sun’s rays when it just rose over the horizon, whereas in connection with Paran Moses used the verb הופיע, which denotes that its visibility was far more pronounced. As the attribute of כבוד came ever closer to Sinai, its rays and brilliance intensified. By the time Moses speaks of the attribute of כבוד getting to Sinai, he uses the expression בא, i.e. it had arrived at its destination. This was the mountain which G’d had selected for this attribute to come to rest on (compare Psalms 68,17.) Thence, it became visible for the eyes of all the Jewish people.

A Midrashic approach based on Tanchuma Vezot Haberachah 4: the words “He shone forth from Se'ir,” mean that G’d first offered the Torah to the descendants of Esau who refused it. He then offered it to the various other descendants of Avraham, all of whom declined. Finally, He offered it to the Israelites who accepted. The fact that only Esau and Ishmael are singled out for mention simply means that even they who were Avraham’s descendants did not want the Torah. Other nations, not genetically related to Avraham, most certainly did not show any interest in it either. Our sages in Avodah Zarah 2 state specifically that G’d offered the Torah to all the nations and peoples of all tongues but that they all declined.

מימינו אש דת למו, “from His right, fire turned into law became theirs.” We must imagine the word היה as following the word מימינו. While G’d was displaying celestial fire, He made the Israelites hear the words of the Ten Commandments. The reference “from His right,” does not refer to the angels but to G’d’s essence. It is as if the Torah had spoken about אש ודת, “fire and (religious) law.”

A Kabbalistic approach: G’d used His right side (attribute) to make the people hear the words of the Ten Commandments (as if) emanating from the fire (compare Deut. 5,19). This describes the spiritual niveau of the Jewish people at that time. However, Moses, whose spiritual niveau was higher, heard the voice of G’d from His right without the need for fire to form a screen. Perhaps the two words אשדת are spelled as one word, as an allusion to what happened at the time. This is the Torah’s way of describing the affinity of the law to the fiery experience when it was revealed. The Torah already described in Deut, 4,15: “the day on which the Lord your G’d spoke to you out of the fire.” I have referred to all this already on Exodus 20,1. Jeremiah 6,29 uses the fusion of two words into one to describe the affinity of one to the other when he said נחר מפוח מאשתם עופרת, “the bellows puff, the lead is consumed by the fire.” According to our tradition the word מאשתם is written as a single word.

אף חבב עמים, “Also (You) love the peoples (tribes of the Israelites).” Apart from having given to the Jewish people His law out of the fire, G’d displayed additional signs of His love for this nation, such as calling them סגולה, “precious.” (Exodus 19,5). The Aramaic translation of סגולה is חביבין, “beloved” i.e. the word Moses uses here. G’d meant that He was fonder of the Israelites than of all the other nations. On the other hand, it is possible that Moses meant that G’d’s fondness of His people was manifest in His applying the title “nation” to each of its tribes (compare Rashi). He bases this on Deut. 33,19 עמים הר יקראו, “the tribes will assemble at the Mount.”

It is also possible to interpret that what Moses meant was that even at a time when the Torah speaks of the people derogatively, calling them simply: העם, this does not mean that G’d is no longer fond of them. We have several examples of the term העם, being used in an unflattering manner; Numbers 25,1, ויחל העם, “the people debased itself;” or Numbers 21,5: וידבר העם באלו-קים, “the people spoke out against G’d.” Or, Exodus 32,1 ויקהל העם, “the people assembled” (in preparation of demanding a new leader). In each of these instances the word העם points at their being at a moral/spiritual low. Even if Moses, perhaps, did not relate to the people with fondness at such times, G’d did not stop being fond of them. Still another way of understanding the words אף חובב עמים is that the word אף here means “anger” as it does on numerous occasions. The message is that even when G’d has reason to be angry at the people, He still also relates to them with fondness. The reason that this is so is that they are His people, עמים שלו. כל קדושיו בידך, “all its holy ones were in Your hand.” A reference to the Levites (Ibn Ezra). They took their lives into their hands, i.e. they placed their lives in Your hands, when they executed the Israelites who had actively worshipped the golden calf.

והם תכו ברגלך, ”and they planted themselves at Your feet.” They always feel drawn to the site of the Holy Ark which symbolises Your Presence, which they perceive as הדום רגלך, “the footstool for Your feet.” The word תכו is the same as הכו, the letter ת being a substitute for the letter ה. This letter is used interchangeably in a similar manner in Kohelet 8,,12 where the words עושה רע מאת should normally have been עושה רע מאה, “doing evil one hundred times.” Or in Psalms 132,4 we find the words אם אתן שנת לעיני “if I will allow my eyes to sleep,” when we would have expected the psalmist to write אם אתן שנה לעיני. [The author quotes more such examples. Ed.] We sometimes find the ת replacing the letter ה, whereas on other occasions the letter ה replaces the letter ת. In the phrase (verse 11) commencing with ישימו קטורה, “they shall prepare incense,” etc., the letter ה, I believe, is also a substitute for the letter ת in the word קטורת, incense. I believe this is a rule in grammar, seeing that the letter ה normally symbolizes the feminine gender, such as in אמרה, שמרה, קראה,, as well as in all the other verbs; the letter ת seeing that it is the final and last letter in the aleph bet, also symbolizes something feminine, passive. This is the reason it was made the last letter. The letter ה at the end of the third person of the verb is also reminiscent of the last letter of the tetragrammaton. The letter ת is used in many forms of the verb in the third person feminine future. In other words, the function of the letter ת and the letter ה frequently overlap, so that we need not be surprised to see them used as alternate spelling for each other.

ישא מדברותיך, “it bears (willingly) Your pronouncements.” This is a reference to the Levites carrying the Holy Ark containing G’d’s pronouncements, the Tablets with the Ten Commandments (Ibn Ezra). Alternatively, [especially because of the switch to the singular, i.e. the individual, Ed.] each one of them gladly acts as the bearer of G’d’s instructions teaching them to his fellow Israelites. This would be similar to verse 10 where Moses praises the Levites for being the teachers of Torah.

A kabbalistic approach: the word תכו in תכו לרגלך, is derived from הכה, to hit, to strike. They are as if struck at the footstool of G’d, carrying the Ark and the Tablets inside them. According to the Midrash the carrying with one’s body of spiritually heavy loads, such as the Levites’ carrying the Holy Ark containing the Ten commandments and the Torah scroll, is debilitating and took its toll of the people doing this. This is why their number of adult males comprised fewer than half of that of the smallest other tribe (Bamidbar Rabbah 5,1). [Perhaps this is why they had to retire from active duty at the age of 50. Ed.] The words ישא מדברותיך is an allusion to the fact that each individual Levite was considered by G’d as the instrument of “carrying (like a flag)” the words of the Lord. The people, so to speak, heard the words of the Torah from the mouths of the Levites as if they had emerged from the Holy Ark [similar to the concept of מתוך האש, which we discussed earlier. Ed.].

תורה צוה לנו משה, “Moses commanded us the Torah;” according to the plain meaning of the text this is a continuation of the previous instruction to the Levites that each one of them has the burden of instructing all the Israelites that the commandments he performs are based on a tradition going back all the way to Moses. The Torah had become an inheritance for them seeing they are what is called the “congregation of Yaakov.” The reason he mentions “Yaakov” instead of saying מורשה קהלת ישראל, is to exclude the Ishmaelites and Edomites, both of whom though descendants of Avraham or even Avraham and Yitzchak, are not descendants of Yaakov, the other descendants of Avraham having declined to accept it. Torah is an heritage only for the descendants of Yaakov, being one of the four gifts from G’d given exclusively to the Jewish people. (the other three are: prophecy, the land of Israel, and resurrection of the bodies at some point in the future).

It is possible to understand the word מורשה as referring to the land of Israel so that the meaning of the whole verse is: “due to the merit of Torah which Moses commanded us, we inherited the land of Israel of which it is written: ‘I give it to you as an inheritance I am the Lord’” (Exodus 6,8). The land becomes the inheritance of the community of Yaakov as a result of these people observing its commandments. If we were to transgress its commandments we would be exiled and be deprived of it. The word מורשה, as distinct from ירושה, refers to something which is continuously to be passed on as an heritage to future generations [as distinct from a normal heritage which the owner could give away during his lifetime without passing it on to his heirs. Ed.]. We find the expression מוריש ומעשיר “G’d makes poor (as opposed to ‘bestows as inheritance’) and enriches” (apparently simultaneously) something that appears very contradictory, in Samuel I 2,7 in Chanah’s prayer. This is not the only word in the Torah which appears to have opposite meanings on occasion. One such example is Numbers 4,13 ודשנו את המזבח, which at first glance could either mean: “and they will clean the altar” (from the remains of pre previous offerings), or it could mean that the priests were to provide the altar with fat, i.e. the fattest, best animals. Everything depends on the intention. When the community of Yaakov relates positively to the Torah, the land of Israel will “behave” positively toward the Jewish people, they will enjoy it as a bountiful inheritance. If the Jewish people disdain the Torah, the land of Israel will disdain the Jewish people. [The dual meaning of דשן when applied to G’d’s Altar, can have similar allegorical meaning. Ed.]

A Midrashic approach (Makkot 23-24): the numerical value of the letters in the word תורה add up to 611, i.e. the number of commandments taught and commanded the Jewish people by means of their leader Moses. The other two commandments, i.e. the first two commandments in the Decalogue, the people had heard directly from the mouth of G’d at Mount Sinai. The expression מורשה קהלת יעקב is understood as including all those who have become part of the Jewish people, קהלה, through conversion. Our sages (Yuma 72) state further that there are “three crowns,” the crown of Torah (not hereditary), the crown of the priesthood, exclusive to descendants of Aaron, and the crown of the kingship, inherited only by descendants of King David. The “crown” of Torah must be perceived as if lying neglected in an out of the way corner, something which can be picked up by anyone desirous of acquiring it. Another Midrashic approach understands the Torah’s choice of the word מורשה instead of ירושה, as a hint that it could also be read as מאורשה, “betrothed,” i.e. that the purpose of giving us the Torah was to make us the Lord’s “betrothed.” A kabbalistic approach also understands as above, that the words מורשה קהלת יעקב as if the spelling had been מאורשה קהלת יעקב. Seeing that Torah is also known as רחל in terms of kabbalistic parlance, a departure (absence) of the Shechinah from the Jewish people is described by Jeremiah 31,14 as “Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her absent children.” At a time when G’d considers the Jewish people in a state of grace Rachel is described as “the wife of Yaakov” (Genesis 46,19).

ויהי בישורון מלך, “He became King in Yeshurun.” [continuing the author’s approach based on the “plain meaning”, Ed.] every Levite would be expected to declare that there was a king in Israel, i.e. none other than the Lord Himself. The concept is that the presence of the Shechinah over the Jewish camp was a manifestation of the presence of the king. The reason the expression Yeshurun has been used here is that it reflects a visual experience, i.e. the experience of the Israelites at Mount Sinai. At that time they had been enabled to have a visual experience of the attribute of כבוד. This was where all the heads of the tribes had assembled together with all the tribes in order to accept G’d as their King. [Compare Deut. 32,8 where the author explained the word ישורון, as the same as אשורנו in Numbers 24,17 where Bileam uses is to describe his visionary powers. Ed.]

A Midrashic approach (Pessikta Zutrata): The “king” referred to in the line ויהי בישורון מלך, is Moses, seeing that people had heard the entire Torah (legislation) from his mouth. The Torah means that the manner in which all the people including their tribal heads assembled around him, gave Moses the stature of king. This was not the first time that Moses had acted as lawgiver. It had occurred in Deut. 31,9 already when he had given the Torah to the priests, the Levites, carriers of the Holy Ark. We also find Moses ordering all the people to appear in his presence in Deut. 31,28. Another way of understanding our verse is that the “king” described here is G’d Himself. The Torah describes that G’d became king only when all the tribal heads assembled. We find something similar described in Psalms 47,8-10 where David refers to G’d’s position as “king” in connection with the leaders of mankind indicating that they accept Him as such. In the case of the Jewish people: “when the leaders of the people volunteered to rally around Him.” We have another similar description of G’d becoming king in Amos 9,6. [The prophet portrays that G’d cannot build His chambers in heaven until an assembly of His loyal people have laid the foundation for this on earth. Ed.] The common denominator in all these verses is that G’d does not impose Himself as “king,” but waits until His creatures manifest their desire for Him to be their king.

A kabbalistic approach: the word ויהי בישורון מלך, is an allusion to the emanation מלכות, which is the one emanation which has absorbed input from all the other emanations “above” it. This is the background to the commentary on the verse in Amos 9,6 הבונה בשמים מעלותיו ואגודתו על ארץ יסדה, “Who builds (commences the structure) in the heaven and gathers it all together when it reaches earth;” [my translation, Ed.] in other words, you may perceive of G’d’s “structure” described by the prophet as if it consisted of a palace built on a number of ships, in sections. As long as the ships supporting different parts of this palace are securely tied together the palace is not in any danger of crumbling; the structure which the prophet describes as the universe, G’d’s palace, i.e. heaven, is secure only as long as Israel provides its sound foundation on earth. This can only be when the Israelites themselves form a firm union one with the other, אגודתו. In the absence of the proper אגודה, “union, brotherliness,” of the Jewish people on earth, His throne in the celestial spheres may be viewed as somehow defective, insecure. The word מעלתו, though spelled in the singular, i.e. “His celestial region,” is to be read as if it had been spelled מעלותיו (pl.) i.e. “His celestial regions.” This is an allusion to the ten emanations. The letter י in the way we read the word alludes to the highest [in our diagrams lowest, Ed.]. emanation, the one which includes input from all the others. This indicates that this verse in Amos makes G’d’s throne’s completeness conditional on the condition of the Jewish people on earth, especially their brotherliness, their ability to establish a single אגודה, union. You should remain aware that the word ויהי in our verse teaches that this king is the Lord G’d. Furthermore, in the word ויהי you find three of the permutations of the holy name of G’d, the tetragram, when you perceive of that name as capable of 4 permutations. The four permutations would be יהו'ה, יה'ו, י'ה, י, the last three being capable of construction from the word ויהי. The sequence would correspond to the fruit used as part of the 4 species on Sukkot; [We use a progressively smaller number of each of these species, i.e. 3 Hadassim, 2 Aravot, 1 Lulav in the אגודה, i.e. the three species which form part of the bunch. Ed.]

Seeing the word ויהי is emanated from the tetragrammaton, this indicates that the tenth emanation belongs to G’d. The meaning of the word מלך in our verse may be similar to what David had in mind when he said in psalm 145,1 ארוממך אלוה-י המלך, “let me extol You, my G’d and king.” It may also correspond to the way the word is used in Numbers 23,21 ה' אלוה-יו עמו ותרועת מלך בו, “the Lord their G’d is with them and their king’s acclaim in their midst.” Solomon may have used the word in a similar sense when he said in Kohelet 5,8 מלך לשדה נעבד, “even a king is indebted to the soil.” The expression מלך is used in that sense (also by Solomon) in Song of Songs 7,6 when he said מלך אסור ברהטים, “a king is held captive by (nazarite) tresses.” The common denominator of the verses we have mentioned is that even a king is subject to restrictions. When G’d is described as king, this does not necessarily mean His total independence, but His dependence on His subjects in a certain way. [All of this is part of what our sages call His ענוותנותו, “His self-imposed humility.” Ed.] Similarly, the verse ה’ צבאות הוא מלך הכבוד סלה, “the Lord of Hosts, He is the king of the attribute כבוד.” [If I understand the author correctly, the latter expression, i.e. king of an attribute, even that of כבוד, is less encompassing than the title represented by the tetragrammaton. All of this shows that G’d imposes restrictions upon Himself. The reason that the psalmist added the word סלה was so that we should not err and think that when G’d manifests Himself as an attribute, כנוי, that this represents His essence. Ed.]

יחי ראובן, “may Reuven live!” According to the plain meaning of the text this is a prayer that Reuven should enjoy long life and not die prior to the time set at the time of his birth seeing it is impossible that he should live forever. [The “he” refers to the tribe. Ed.]

ויהי מתיו מספר, “and may his numbered ones be part of the whole nation.” The word ואל in the first half of this verse must also be understood as applying to this second half, i.e. “and may his numbers never cease.” We find a similar construction in Proverbs 30,3 ולא למדתי חכמה ודעת קדושים אדע, where the meaning is not: “and I did not learn wisdom and I will have knowledge of holy ones,” but the meaning is (as if the word לא had been repeated) “and I have not learned wisdom and (therefore) I do not have knowledge of holy ones.” Yet another example of such a construction is found Psalms 9,19 כי לא לנצח ישכח אביון תקות ענוים תאבד לעד. If one were not to read the word לא, “not,” as also applying to the second half of the verse, not only would the second half of the verse contradict the first half, but the meaning of the whole verse would be: “for not always will the destitute be forgotten, the hope of the poor will be lost for ever.” Clearly, this is not the psalmist’s meaning, but he means: “neither the destitute will be forgotten forever, nor the poor.” [The author quotes a few more such examples. Ed.]

The order in which Moses enumerates the tribes in his blessing follows the sequence in which they received their inheritance. Seeing that the founder of the tribe of Reuven was Yaakov’s oldest, his tribe is also described as the firstborn seeing he is mentioned first. Moses mentioned Yehudah next, seeing this was the tribe who received its inheritance first on the West Bank of the Jordan. The next tribe receiving a blessing was the tribe of Levi because this tribe was encamped around Jerusalem, right next to the tribe of Yehudah. Next was Binyamin whose tribal territory adjoined that of Yehudah; also because the Temple area was shared by both tribes. The tribe of Joseph came next so as not to downgrade Joseph even further, seeing his younger brother Binyamin had already received his blessing. This was followed by a blessing for Zevulun, a tribe who distinguished himself by answering Barak’s call to arms in the days of Devorah. Not only that, but it was due to his financial support that his brother Issachar could devote himself to Torah study without having to worry about where his livelihood would come from. Having completed his blessings for the tribes who were offspring of Yaakov’s senior wives Leah and Rachel, Moses now turned to bless the tribe of Gad seeing he shared a flag with one of the tribes born by Leah, i.e. the tribes of Reuven and Shimon (Numbers 2,10-14). Next came Dan, who was himself in charge of one of the camps; next came Naftali who was senior to Asher.

It is possible to explain the words יחי ראובן ואל ימות as applying to this tribe’s success in war, i.e. that they should not only be successful but also not incur any casualties. The words ויהי מתיו מספר would be an allusion to the distant future when the Romans would condemn 10 sages to death by torture for their forefathers having sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites at the time. Moses hinted that at that time his blessing would not be effective, and members of that tribe would be included in that decree (though Reuven their ancestor had actually saved Joseph from death). We find that the word מספר has a mystical dimension; Isaiah 10,19 speaks of so few trees of a forest remaining that even a young child can record its מספר, “its number.” Rashi quotes Sanhedrin 95, according to which the prophet refers to the letter י meaning “ten” as being so small that even a very young child can write it. Moses would then hint that whereas Reuven’s conduct vis-a-vis Bilhah had been forgiven to the extent that none of his descendants would die prematurely on that account, the pardon was not so absolute, and that is why at the time the Romans decreed the death of the ten sages the number was 10 instead of 9, seeing that neither he nor Binyamin had had a share in it.

A kabbalistic approach: the word יחי in the line refers to life in the hereafter. The words ואל ימות refer to what would happen to Reuven as part of the system of the transmigration of souls, in order to spare him having to die a second time. This is the meaning of Onkelos’ translation of the words ואל ימות, i.e. יחי ראובן לחיי עלמא ומותא תנינא לא ימות. Onkelos revealed to us here that there is a transmigration of souls when the souls of people who committed certain sins reappear in another body to rehabilitate themselves by a second circuit of physical life on earth. This occurs after they had already once received their reward or punishment in the hereafter after having died, (separated from the body which housed them originally). This is a concept which is not hard to understand when one considers that the cycles of Shemittah years are something which repeat themselves time and again. A soul returns to a new habitat on earth after having received its initial judgment for how it performed on earth the first time around. [The “shemittah” cycles the author refers to are not the seven year cycles on terrestrial earth we are familiar with, but the cycles of seven times 7,000 years each of which contains as the last one thousand years a period of metamorphosis for the universe, At the end of the 49,000 years an absolutely perfect terrestrial universe will emerge. The author has referred to this in detail repeatedly, the first time on Genesis 2,3 on the words אשר ברא אלו-הים לעשות. Ed.] According to many views expressed by our sages, this metamorphosis is what is known as תחיית המתים, commonly translated as “resurrection of the dead (bodies).” [The authorities who interpret the concept in the manner we just described base themselves primarily on Isaiah 22,14. They find support for this in the way Targum Yonathan renders that verse in Isaiah. Ed.] In the Talmud Taanit 2 there is a debate concerning whether rain should already be mentioned in our Amidah prayer on the first day of Sukkot or whether one should wait until the last day of that festival. One of the arguments in favour of the former view is the fact that we mention the resurrection of the dead every day of the year in that prayer, although surely, the time for this event to occur is not daily? It is suggested that an event which could conceivably occur at any time qualifies for such mention in our daily prayers. At any rate, according to a view in the Jerusalem Talmud Yuma 8,7 the verse in Isaiah refers to the second death of the persons referred to (who deny that there is life after death). Their punishment will be that they will not participate in the ultimate resurrection. At any rate, considering both the comments of Onkelos in our verse and those of Targum Yonathan in Isaiah, it appears that the words of Moses about the tribe of Reuven are a prayer that they should live long enough so as not to need a second round of physical life on earth to rehabilitate themselves. [I wonder whether all this is in view of the tribe of Reuven and the other one and a half tribes on the East Bank of the Jordan having being the first ones to be exiled and being lost to the קהלת יעקב, Ed.] You will find that David has some very specific comments on the subject of resurrection, transformation of souls, the hereafter, etc. Compare Psalms 103, 3-5: “He forgives all your sins, heals all your diseases. He redeems your life from the Pit, crowns you with steadfast love and compassion. He satisfies you with good things (jewelry?) in the prime of life, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” David mentions a number of experiences which occur after the initial death of the body. Forgiveness of sins; healing of diseases in the second round, a redemption from the grave. All this proves that something happens after death. Subsequently, David describes the goodness the people who have been resurrected will be surrounded with by G’d. The word תעטרני, “You will crown me,” appears to speak of an abstract experience in the disembodied life in the hereafter where one experiences the radiation of G’d’s brilliance, זיו השכינה in the parlance of our sages. This is followed by renewed youth, i.e. life in a body on terrestrial earth. It is significant that the five stages of existence dealt with by David in the three verses we quoted from psalm 103, all end with the letter י, i.e. עוניכי, תחלואיכי, חייכי, המעטרכי, נעוריכי, “your guilt, your disease, your life, your crown, your youth.” These letters י are not part of the nouns in question and have been added by David to allude to certain concepts involved here. They refer to the five names (levels) by which the soul is known. They are נפש, רוח, נשמה, יחידה, חיה. [I have listed them in ascending order. Ed.]

וזאת ליהודה, “and this for Yehudah;” according to the plain meaning of the text we have to insert the word ברכה, “is the blessing” after the word וזאת “this.” He needed the blessing especially since it was this tribe who always was in the forefront in any military encounter between Israel and its enemies. This is why Moses assured Yehudah that G’d has heard his voice, i.e. his prayer for assistance. ידיו רב לו, “his (own) hands will fight on his behalf;” he will not even need help from the other tribes. According to Rashi, Reuven and Yehudah are paired as both of them had been guilty of sins and both made public confessions. Makkot 11, referring to Yehudah having been guilty of the (conditional) oath in Genesis 44,32, where he guaranteed the safe return of Binyamin. This was something beyond his power as it needed the agreement of other parties over whom Yehudah had no control, making him guilty of uttering a vain oath. His punishment was that during all the 40 years that the Israelites were in the desert the bones in his coffin kept rolling around. Moses reasoned that the confession of Yehudah (concerning his mistake of sleeping with his daughter-in-law Tamar and almost burning her to death) was what triggered Reuven’s confession concerning his misconduct with Bilhah and that therefore he should be credited with this merit so that his bones could find rest. [Tosafot state that although Yehudah’s sleeping with Tamar had occurred after Reuven’s misconduct so that “how did his confession affect Reuven?” They answer that up until Yehudah’s public confession that Tamar was more just than he, Reuven had not confessed publicly, only privately. The letter ו which precedes the word זאת, conceptually links Reuven’s conduct and Moses’ blessing for him to that of Yehudah. Ed.] Even though Yehudah’s bones had now come to rest, this still did not represent total forgiveness, i.e. he did not have the strength to ascend to heaven unaided, by his own strength. The reason was that the banishment he had accepted for himself in that oath we referred to covered both this life and the life in the world to come, in his own words: כל הימים, ”for all times.” This is why Moses added the words ואל עמו תביאנו, “and return him to his people.” Reuven’s public confession cleared his brothers from the suspicion that one of them might have been the one who tampered with the bed of Bilhah.

A kabbalistic approach: When Moses said the words וזאת ליהודה, he addressed the emanation מלכות which is the emanation from which the hereditary dynasty of Yehudah draws its divine input. It is this emanation which gives the kings of Yehudah the power to wage war successfully. Interestingly, David, a king descended from Yehudah, refers to the same emanation as זאת, when he proclaimed in Psalms 27,3: אם תקום עלי מלחמה בזאת אני בוטח, “if war overtakes me, I put my faith in זאת, the emanation from which my forefather Yehudah drew his strength.” The emanation מלכות, sometimes referred to as זאת, is featured repeatedly in the life of David, such as in Psalms 99,4: ועוז מלך משפט אהב, or in Psalms 72,1: משפטיך למלך תן. This is the reason that David was successful in all his many wars. This is also why he never fails to give thanks to the Lord Who was the source of his success. The whole formula למנצח מזמור לדוד, is evidence that David attributed his success to the מנצח, “The One Who grants victory.” Just because the kings of Yehudah enjoyed the assistance of the attribute/emanation מלכות, it was doubly important for David to acknowledge that ultimately success is rooted in the Original Cause, in Hashem. Seeing that David’s career involved spilling much blood, he was not chosen as the tool to build the Holy Temple which symbolizes peace (Chronicles I 22,8). It was left to his son Solomon, a man of peace, someone who practiced the attribute of צדקה, to build the Temple. This is the meaning of Psalms 72,1 וצדקתך לבן מלך, “and Your clemency to the king’s son.” [David speaking about the status of his son Solomon, contrasting his own dominant characteristic of משפט, with that of his son, i.e. the characteristic צדקה, Ed.]

וללוי אמר, “and concerning Levi, he said:” The preposition ל in the word וללוי must be understood as בעבור, “for the sake of;” Moses is addressing G’d in this verse. He adds the words לאיש חסידך, “for Your pious one,” referring to his brother Aaron. He continues with אשר נסיתו במסה, “whom You have tested at Massah,” referring either to the incident at the waters of strife which was the only time Aaron had ever failed. Alternatively, Moses referred to the location Massah formerly known as Refidim [it is not clear to me how Aaron was involved there. Ed.] תריבהו על מי מריבה, “You strove with him at the waters of מריבה; “a reference to the sin involving the striking of the rock instead of speaking to it. This was the only sin Aaron had ever been guilty of. Moses did not mention Aaron’s involvement in the sin of the golden calf, seeing Aaron’s intentions at that time had been 100% honourable. If Moses had entertained the slightest doubt about Aaron’s sincerity at that time, he surely would have mentioned it now in order to ask forgiveness for that sin. The fact that Moses uncharacteristically mentioned the תומים here before the אורים, needs analysis. The Torah always mentions the אורים ahead of the תומים. The reason is that they represent the principal names of Hashem. The reason Moses reversed the sequence here is to make plain that they are mutually interdependent, that the אורים, though preceding the תומים, are a totally ineffectual tool for communicating with Hashem unless they are accompanied by the תומים. I have explained this in greater detail in my commentary on Exodus 28,30. This is also the opinion of Nachmanides. They are perceived as representing a certain level of Holy Spirit; any High Priest who wore these folded over parchments inside the folds of His breastplate was equipped with this level of Holy Spirit while wearing same. This is what prompted Onkelos to translate the words תומיך ואוריך לאיש חסידך, as ,תומיא ואוריא אלבשת לגבר דאשתכח חסידא, “I dressed a man who is pious in Your Urim and Tumim.” The matter is similar to what we read in Chronicles I 12,19: “and a spirit ‘dressed’ (seized) Amashai.”

There are four distinct levels of prophecy. Bat Kol, Urim veTumim, Ruach haKodesh, and full-fledged prophecy. They are listed here in ascending order, but all of them are derivatives of the emanation tzedek; this is the meaning of Job 29,14: ”I clothed myself in righteousness and it robed me; Justice was my cloak and turban.”

Let me explain something about the differences between the four levels of prophetic power I have listed. There is a mystical element to the phenomenon known as בת קול which accounts for the name בת קול as opposed to the masculine בן קול. Similarly, there is a mystical reason why the Talmud speaks frequently of בנה אב to describe an exegetical method more familiarly known to us by a masculine expression, i.e. בנין אב (in the Baraitha de Rabbi Yishmael which we recite in our daily morning prayers). Why, for instance, do they not call it בנה אם? Similarly, the expression יש אם למקרא or יש אם למסורה is strange, seeing we might have expected the expression יש אב למסורה or יש אב למקרא to convey that there is a valid tradition justifying a certain way of reading or writing a word in the written Torah. All of these expressions have been formulated by our sages with extreme care and reveal a deep insight into the different levels of divine inspiration which they reflect. [Rabbi Chavell, in his notes, quotes a certain Rabbi Ezra bar Shlomoh (a kabbalist from Gerona, hometown of Nachmanides, author of commentary on aggadot in Talmud, disciple of Rabbi Yitzchak the blind (also Gerona) who found that the only five times the Talmud uses the masculine expression בנין אב is when it refers to a direct verse from the written Torah, i.e. a more direct link to the divine origin of such an exegetical tool.] Actually, every single verse in the written Torah is in the nature of something directly revealed, and the sages could have been expected to refer to it in the masculine form every time, i .e. בנין אב, or בנה אב, but certainly not as אם למקרא, or אם למסורה. The fact is that matters handed down to us by the oral tradition, i.e. תורה ש-בעל פה, the sages usually preface with the word אם, in order to make the distinction of the origin of the tradition. If we keep these principles in mind, we can understand that the expression בת קול was used, seeing that the listener received his instructions via what the Torah itself describes as only a קול and not from the mouth of G’d. Compare Deut. 28,1 which states clearly and unambiguously והיה אם שמוע תשמע בקול ה' אלוקיך, “it will be when you will surely heed the voice of the Lord your G’d.” Also in Numbers 7,89 the Torah speaks of Moses hearing the voice speaking with him from above the lid of the Ark.” It is appropriate to call that “voice” בת, “daughter” [like the subsidiary companies in Israel are called חברת בת, literally: “daughter companies.” Ed.], seeing that the instruction was heard through an intermediary. The author describes as yet another reason why the sages called this relatively low key form of divine communication בת קול, their perception of it as an illustration of the “throne” of G’d which is perceived as broad at the top, tapering off towards the bottom. He claims that אש, fire, is similarly perceived as broad at the top and narrow at the base. The term בת קול therefore reflects something which originates at the throne of G’d rather than in His Essence. This type of communication from celestial regions was a fairly commonplace one even during the period of the sages of the Talmud (Eruvin 12, et al). Moreover, the pious people during the second Temple experienced this kind of communication from celestial sources after there were no more prophets and the High Priest did not have the breastplate with the Urim veTumim embedded in them to facilitate direct communication with G’d. This latter form of communication from celestial sources was one rung higher than the Bat Kol. The form of this communication was representative of what is termed אספקלריא שאינה מאירה, “an unclear vision,” which characterized the type of prophetic visions experienced by most prophets in varying degrees. We had explained already in connection with Numbers 12,6 that the Urim veTumim were a device confirming the truth of the communication received, (compare author on Exodus 28,30). The word אורים itself suggests spiritual enlightenment. The function of the אורים was to visually make the High Priest aware of the letters representing the divine communication, whereas the function of theתומים was to enable him to arrange the letters in question in the appropriate order, to avoid misunderstanding the message. The third level of divine communication is commonly known as רוח הקודש, which is equivalent to or an outgrowth of the tenth emanation. The author appears to feel that a person is able to attain this level of spirituality if he applies to himself Deut. 23,10 ונשמרת מכל דבר רע, “to guard yourself against anything evil.” This level of divine inspiration appears as if it was self-generated by the recipient, who was granted insights without hearing any outside voice or seeing any vision as do prophets. People who experience this level of spirituality are apt to make statements regarding future events without appearing in the least captive to outside communicators. They neither dream the message nor go into a trance or anything like that. It is simply that what they say is perceived as inspired from a higher source. The person uttering such messages has no idea of where they originated from. The fourth level of prophetic insights is prophecy uttered by an acknowledged man of G’d, someone who, while doing so, completely divests himself of his normal personality, becomes merely an instrument of G’d communing exclusively by means of his disembodied intellect with the source from whom he receives his message/instructions. Once he has divested himself of his bodily functions so that they do not represent an impediment to his receiving clear and undistorted messages from a celestial origin, this may occur either in a dream or even during his waking hours. There is no point in elaborating on this at this point as I have already done so in a book called חשן משפט. [The book does not seem to be extant. Ed.]

On the other hand, Nachmanides appears to feel that the level we know as רוח הקודש is superior to the level known as נבואה, prophecy. According to his view, the levels starting from the highest to the lowest are: רוח הקודש, נבואה, אורים ותומים, בת קול. According to his view the level of spirituality we call Ruach Hakodesh, “Holy Spirit,” is derived form very lofty spiritual regions such as have been described in Exodus 35,31 (concerning Betzalel) וימלא אותו רוח אלוקים בחכמה, “He filled him with divine spirit, with wisdom, etc.”

You will also find in the Sefer Yetzirah 1,9 that חכמה is referred to as רוח אלוקים חיים ברוך ומבורך, that the name of G’d is both דבור קול, רוח i.e. that all these manifestations of G’d’s name are called רוח הקודש as they are all disembodied, incapable of being perceived visually. At any rate, the author of the Sefer Yetzirah describes חכמה as רוח אלוקים חיים, “spirit of the Living G’d,” and lists it as first and foremost in a list of spiritual attainments. The foundation of prophecy, נבואה, is anchored in the tetragrammaton; Urim and Tumim, the level of spirituality ascribed to true Torah scholars, rank below the spiritual level of prophecy, but above that of Bat Kol, seeing that the Bat Kol has its origin not in the tetragrammaton but in the Shechinah (attribute kavod). All the various spiritual attainments by man (of a lower level than Bat Kol) are also traced back to the Shechinah. At any rate, seeing that the phenomenon of Bat Kol is rated so low, it is clear why the sages stipulated אין משגיחין לבת קול, “that pronouncements from heaven reaching us via the phenomenon of Bat Kol have no binding force halachically” (Baba Metzia 59). [when opposed to rulings based on other forms of exegesis. Ed.] Such pronouncements cannot countermand halachic rulings based on נבואה, prophecy, for instance, either. The reason we are in the habit of referring to נבואה also as רוח הקודש is that this is the celestial source of all spiritual attainments which devolve from it. [The term רוח הקודש, then is used loosely as a collective term for all that is divinely inspired.]

לאיש חסידך, every High Priest from the tribe of Levi is given the title חסיד, ‘the devout one.’ The reason for this is that it is the function of the High Priest to draw down to his people the heavenly attribute of חסד, (loving kindness). This is why the priests bless the people in order to channel this attribute and its beneficial effects to as many of his people as possible. The blessing is pronounced by invoking the tetragrammaton, the holy name not allowed for others to pronounce. The blessing originates in the tenth emanation, and this is why the Torah prefaces the formula of the words of the blessing with the word כה which is the attribute of Justice, as we know from Exodus where Moses tells Pharaoh in the name of G’d הנה לא שמעת עד כה, “here you have not listened until כה,” i.e. from now on the attribute of Justice will be invoked against you (Exodus 7,16) [This announcement had been the prelude to the first of the Ten Plagues. Ed.] Moses followed this (verse 17) by telling Pharaoh בזאת תדע, “through the attribute זאת you will know, etc.,” i.e. clear proof that both כה and זאת are כנויים, [similes for the attribute of Justice, most commonly appearing as elo-him. Ed.] At any rate, Moses refers to the fact that the whole world is blessed by means of the Priest, hence Psalms 145,10 וחסידך יברכוכה, “and Your devout ones shall bless You.” Instead of reading this as one word, David may mean that the word is to be read as יברכו כה, “will bless the attribute of Justice.”

האומר לאביו ולאמו לא ראיתיו, “who says of his father and his mother : ‘I have no regard for them.’” Moses speaks of the tribe of Levi as a whole here, just as at the time of the sin of the golden calf he had simply called out: “whoever is for Hashem, to me!” (Exodus 32,26) In response to that call all the members of the tribe of Levi responded with alacrity (same verse) Moses had then instructed them to execute all those who had actively worshipped the golden calf, and not to spare even family members if there were such who were guilty. Just as in that instance, although Moses mentioned ‘his son and brother,” this was not meant literally, so here too the words ‘his father and mother,” are not meant literally, as there never had been a father or mother of a Levite who had been guilty of that sin so that their son could have demonstrated that he was prepared even to kill father or mother in response to that call. If even a single Levite had been guilty of worshipping the golden calf, how could the Torah have testified that “the entire tribe of Levi assembled around Moses in response to his call?” The meaning of the words: “father, mother, brother, etc.,” in the verses mentioned referred to such relations who were not from the tribe of Levi. If a Levite had married a woman from the tribe of, say, Zevulun, and the son of that woman found his maternal grandfather worshipping the golden calf, then her son would have had the duty to execute his grandfather seeing he was not a Levite and was guilty of execution. In other words, Moses referred to a possible grandfather, calling him “father,” something not unusual in those days. [the Torah constantly calls the ancestors ‘your fathers’, not your grandfathers or your great-grandfathers.”

כי שמרו אמרתך, “for they have carefully observed Your words;” a reference to the second of the Ten Commandments: ‘you shall not have any other gods.’ ובריתך ינצורו, “and Your covenant they have preserved.” This is a reference to the covenant of circumcision. We have a tradition according to which the Israelites did not circumcise their male children while in the desert, whereas the tribe of Levi did perform this commandment also in the desert (Sifri Behaalotcha 67). Even though Moses speaks here of the tribe of Levi in general, there is also a specific allusion to the prophet Samuel (a Levite himself) concerning whom Moses said that he did not see his father or his mother seeing that as soon as he had been weaned, his mother took him to the Tabernacle and entrusted him to the High Priest Eli to raise and train in the service of the Lord. The words: “and he did not recognize his brothers nor knew his sons,” also apply to the prophet Samuel; the idea is that he sired children for the service of the Lord rather than in order for them to be his personal convenience [as many fathers considered their children then. Ed.]

ברך ה' חילו, “O Lord bless his resources;” this is a reference to the heave-offerings, tithes, firstborn male domesticated animals, and the first ripe fruit, which made up the livelihood of the priests and Levites. ופועל ידיו תרצה, “and the work of his hands shall find Your favour;” this refers to the sacrificial offerings, a portion of which was for consumption by the priests.

מחץ מתנים קמיו, “smash the loins of his foes; as if the Torah had written: “smash his foes in the loins.” מן יקומון, “so that they cannot rise.” Prevent those that attempt to rise against them.

לבנימין אמר, “to Binyamin he said:” according to the plain meaning of the text the preposition ל here must be understood as בעבור, “for the sake of, on behalf of;” Moses means that seeing Binyamin is a favourite of the Lord, He will make His residence (Temple) in the territory of that tribe. The tribe will dwell in security, trusting the Lord, the Lord His G’d dwelling between his shoulders.

חופף עליו, “it hovers over him;” a reference to G’d’s attribute of כבוד, i.e. the Shechinah which rested over Jerusalem, most of which was situated in the territory of Binyamin. The reason Moses speaks of the Shechinah hovering between the shoulders of Binyamin instead of “over his head,” is because the floor of the courtyard to the Temple the עזרה did not literally stand on the top of the mountain but about 23 cubits below the summit, near the level of a well called Eytam (Yuma 31). It had been David’s intention to build it there as explained in the Talmud Zevachim 54. Moses refers to the Temple here as “shoulder,” and so did Joshua his disciple in Joshua 16,5. The reason Joshua added the word “Jebusite” there is to hint that David purchased the site from Arona the Jebusite (Samuel II 24,24). Some (Ibn Ezra) explain the words: “between his shoulders” as describing the fact that the Temple stood in the middle of the tribal territory of Binyamin.

A Midrashic approach: our verse contains allusions to three Temples. (compare Zevachim 118) The words ישכון לבטח, “will dwell safely,” refer to the first Temple, Solomon’s. This is why in the Book of Chronicles the attribute כבוד is specifically mentioned as filling the inside of that Temple (Chronicles II 7,1). The words “He (the attribute כבוד ) hovers over it all day long,” refer to the second Temple; the word ”hover” denotes a less regular presence than does the word ישכון used by Moses as describing the situation during the first Temple. Finally, the words: “and He dwells between his shoulders,” are a reference to the third Temple when the full extent of the Shechinah will return to the Holy of Holies. This is what our sages explained in Sifri on our verse. The reason all these allusions are contained in the blessing for Binyamin is that it was this tribe which served as host for the Divine presence. We have a tradition that the body of the original Binyamin was never attacked by worms. There are seven people concerning whom we have a tradition that their bodies were not attacked by worms. They are: Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Moses, Aaron, Miriam and Binyamin the son of Yaakov (compare Baba Batra 17). Of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov the Torah said specifically that G’d blessed them in all respects, i.e. בכל, מכל, כל respectively. Of Moses and Aaron the Torah writes that they died על פי ה', If they died “by a kiss” as our sages describe their mode of dying, it is reasonable that G’d would not allow the worms to attack their remains. Although the Torah, for obvious reasons, does not describe Miriam’s death as similar to that of her brothers, our sages feel certain that her death was similar. As to Binyamin’s death, the very description of him as ידיד ה', “beloved of the Lord,” surely suggests a similar treatment of his body by the Lord. Some sages say that David’s body too was not attacked by worms. They base this on Psalms 16,9 (“also my flesh will dwell securely”). I have heard a support for this theory from Exodus 16,24 describing that the manna which fell on Fridays did not turn putrid and was not attacked by worms, contrary to the manna which fell on other days and was saved overnight. The word הבאיש, normally understood as “turned putrid,” could be read with the first two letters as an acrostic so that it would be ה'ב איש, meaning “7 men” (were not attacked by worms), etc. This would serve as Scriptural support for the view of Rabbi Eleazar that Miriam was also one of the people whose flesh was not attacked by worms. (to make up the number ה'ב=7) The word בו in that same verse in Exodus, having a numerical value of 8, would serve as support for the view that the flesh of an eighth’ person was immune to worms, i.e. the flesh of David.

A kabbalistic approach: The words: לבנימין אמר ידיד ה' ישכון refer to the attribute כבוד having made this statement. As a result of that attribute dwelling among the tribe of Binyamin, the latter felt secure, i.e. לבטח, being confident that he was under the protection of G’d, the Essence. The whole matter is similar to what we read in Exodus 14,31: וירא ישראל את היד הגדולה ויאמינו בה', “as soon as Israel saw the ‘great’ hand, they believed in the Lord.” This is also the reason that the prophet Nathan named David’s second son from Bat Sheva ידיד-יה (Samuel II 12,25) [“beloved one of G’d,” to show publicly that no stigma was attached to the union of David and Bat Sheva now. Ed.]

According to the Sefer HaBahir item 65, G’d said to Solomon: “seeing you bear My name, I will allow you to be the one to build the Temple for Me.” This is the meaning of Kings I 5,26: “and the Lord had given [I believe the key is the word נתן instead of ויתן, which would have meant that this wisdom had been granted to Solomon only at that point. Ed.] wisdom to Solomon, as He said to him.” We do not have a verse (at that junction) where G’d is on record as granting wisdom to Solomon. However, in Kings I 3,28 we have this verse: “when all of Israel heard the decision of the king (about the two women who each claimed that the baby was hers) they stood in awe of the king; for they saw that he possessed divine wisdom to execute justice.” Thus far the Sefer HaBahir. [the author of that book also refers to the sages who said that every time the word שלמה appears in Song of Songs we must treat it as one of the holy names of G’d. From all the foregoing we learn that among all the tribes there was none who was as blessed as Binyamin in that the Shechinah dwelled among him permanently in a more concentrated form than among any of the other tribes. Clearly, he possessed greater merit than the other tribes. Perhaps this is also the reason why this tribe was singled out to be mentioned separately, i.e. Moses begins his blessing with the word לבנימין, instead of ולבנימין, which would have emphasised what he had in common with the tribes mentioned first. (Only Reuven, who was mentioned first, did not have the letter ו meaning “and” introducing him). Perhaps, just as the etrog occupies a special position among the four species, not being tied up together with the other three species, the absence of the letter ו when introducing the blessing for the tribe of Binyamin may convey similar considerations. The absence of the letter ו (where we really would have expected it) may be a hint that Binyamin is to be perceived as part of the בנין, “the structure” comprised of the ten sefirot, creative forces, leading to the terrestrial universe.

מבורכת ה' ארצו ממגד שמים מטל, “his (Joseph’s) land is especially blessed by the Lord, with the heavenly bounty of dew.” Moses refers to rain as מגד שמים (Ibn Ezra) reflecting a statement by the sages in Bereshit Rabbah 4,3 that the waters in the celestial regions were suspended (kept in place) only by a word of G’d. What are the “fruit” of these waters? The rain waters. This is also in line with what David said in Psalms 104,1: “You irrigate the mountains from Your lofts, from the ‘fruit’ of Your work the earth is sated.” The “heavens” are considered G’d’s “works.” We have another verse making a similar point in Psalms 8,4: “When I behold Your heavens, the “work” of Your fingers.” The psalmist calls the rain “the fruit of His works.” Similarly, here; Moses refers to this as מגד. By adding the word ומטל, Moses blesses Joseph with both dew and rainfall.

ומתהום רובצת תחת, “and from the deep waters crouching below.” This is a reference to the waters on terrestrial earth, i.e. Moses blessed Joseph in that both the waters from above and from below should be beneficial for his land. You may perceive the relationship between the upper waters and the lower waters as analogous to the relationship between light and darkness; hence the choice of the word תהום, by Moses, a word which meant “darkness” already in the second verse of the Torah. The reason the word טל was left to the end, was to place it next to the word תהום, seeing dew descends at night when it is dark.

וממגד תבואת שמש, “and from the bounty of the sun’s crop.” It is well known that the sun is closely associated with the element fire. The closer we get to the sun or vice versa, the hotter it gets. The feeling of being cold is generally associated with the distance from the sun. The heat of the sun causes crops and fruit to ripen. The moon, by contrast, is associated with the element water. Proof is the fact that it exerts influence on the oceans (beaches) determining the tides. Absence of the moon in the sky, or gradual disappearance of it, results in the waters of the sea and some rivers receding. The power of both sun and moon to affect the ripening of crops on earth is called by Moses מגד. The verse tells us that the territory of Joseph will experience the beneficial effects on its harvests of both sun and moon. The moon is perceived as מגרשת הפירות, brings the fruit of the tree to separating. [I prefer Hirsch, who sees in the word ירחים an allusion to the number of months animals are pregnant, i.e. the fruit of the womb is produced after a certain number of “moons,” Ed.]

ומראש הררי קדם, “and from the tops of ancient mountains.” Seeing that fruit growing in the mountains are perceived as superior to those growing in the valley, Moses blesses the fruit of the mountainous regions in the territory of Joseph. [According to the Talmud, the best fruit came from Ginosaur on the shores of Lake Kineret, certainly not a mountainous region but 200 meters below sea-level. Ed.]

וממגד ארץ, “and from the bounty of the earth.” Having first mentioned the fruit growing in the mountains, Moses now mentions the fruit growing in the plains. By adding the word ומלואה, “and its fullness,” he refers to other benefits to be derived from that earth such as silver and gold and other ores to be mined there. The whole land is blessed by the Lord Who resides in the סנה, the burning bush, the site of Moses’ first encounter with Hashem.

A Midrashic approach, [based on Torah Shleimah Bereshit 3,17 note #124] The Midrash asks why the land of the tribe of Joseph was blessed more than that of any other tribe? The answer given relates to the cursing of the earth as a result of Adam’s sin in Gan Eden. The soil which Adam subsequently had to work in the sweat of his brow was cursed because he had listened to the urging of his wife to also eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Joseph, on the other hand, had withstood the urgings of the wife of his master Potiphar to enjoy the “fruit” she had to offer. Therefore, his descendants, in commemoration of the merit accumulated by their ancestor, do not have to work the soil so hard to make it give up its produce as have the other tribes whose founding fathers do not have this merit going for them.

תבואתה לראש יוסף, “may it come to rest (the blessing) on the head of Joseph.” The word תבואתה is a strange word; it is composed of the two words באתה and תבא. Moses is trying to hint here that just as Joseph went into exile into Egypt long before the remainder of his brothers, so when the redemption will come he, (his tribe) will also enjoy that experience before the other tribes will. These are the 45 years discrepancy mentioned between the 1290 years and the 1335 years which Daniel speaks of in Daniel 12,11-12. There is a time lapse between the ingathering of the exiles referred to as נדחים, “outcasts,” and those referred to as נפוצים, “scattered.” (compare Deut. 30,2-3).

בכור שורו הדר לו, “like a firstling ox in his majesty;” seeing Moses had already spoken of grain harvests, Moses compares the tribe of Joseph to an ox [used in ploughing, the first stage in working a field. Ed.]. We find this simile used in the same sense in Proverbs 14,4: ורב-תבואות בכח שור, “bountiful harvests are due to the strength of the ox.” The reason that Moses applies the term “firstborn” to Joseph is because he was the firstborn of his mother Rachel. וקרני ראם קרניו, “and his horns are like the horns of the Re'em.” A reference to the tens of thousands of the members of Ephrayim (and thousands of Menashe).

A kabbalistic approach: in saying בכור שורו הדר לו, Moses attributes two principal attributes, virtues, to Joseph. They are the emanations (attributes) נצח and הוד, the former on the right side of the diagram of the emanations, the latter on the left side. The word הדר symbolises the emanation נצח, whereas the word שור alludes to the emanation הוד. You know that these were the emanations which responded to David’s prayer; compare Psalms 22,22 ומקרני רמים עניתני, “rescue (answer) me from the horns of wild oxen.” [I do not understand how our author squares this with his oft-repeated warning that in prayer one must only address the tetragrammaton, no subordinate attributes. Ed.] Two tribes emerged from Joseph one of whom represented fertility, i.e. אפרים, whereas the second מנשה represents שכחה, forgetting. The latter name is associated with דין, judgment.

שמח זבולון בצאתך, “Rejoice Zevulun in your journeys;” a reference to going out into war (Ibn Ezra). Even though his brother Issachar was senior to him, Moses mentions Zevulun first when according these blessings seeing that it would be he who enabled Issachar to engage in intensive Torah study. Yaakov (Genesis 49,13) had also blessed him before he blessed his older brother Issachar, as he foresaw that in the future Zevulun would be the financial backer of Issachar’s Torah study. Without such financial backing, Issachar could not have devoted himself to Torah study as he did. The joy Zevulun is promised here is his reward in the world to come in recognition of his share in Issachar’s Torah. Even though, as Ibn Ezra has stated, the plain meaning of the word בצאתך refers to going out to battle, one may also understand it as: “when you leave this life on earth.” Moses blesses Zevulun with the joy which will await him in the world to come. The reason all of this joy is (apparently) reserved for Zevulun, is that he is the mainstay of Torah knowledge through his support of those who engage in its study. Basing themselves on our verse, the sages (Pesachim 53) have formulated the saying: “anyone who gives merchandise (on credit) to a Torah scholar to trade with will be rewarded for this in the Torah academy in the world to come, seeing Solomon has said in Kohelet 7,12: ‘for to be in the shelter of wisdom is to be also in the shelter of money;’ and the advantage of intelligence is that wisdom preserves the life of him who possesses it.”

You will note that Moses’ blessing here contains two distinct subject matters. 1) He addresses Zevulun before he addresses his older brother Issachar. 2) He makes the blessing for Issachar part of the blessing bestowed on Zevulun. 3) The blessing for Zevulun is longer than that for the other tribes. He said concerning Zevulun that: “he will be nourished by the riches of the sea and by treasures concealed in the sand (of the beaches). At the same time, Moses was very brief in his blessing for Issachar, saying only: “Issachar in your tents.” No other tribe received such a briefly worded blessing. Seeing that Issachar was the tribe excelling in Torah study, we would have expected Moses to devote more words of recognition for that tribe. We know that Issachar excelled in Torah wisdom from Chronicles I 12,32 where the author Ezra explains the reason why that tribe dispatched only 200 members to attend the crowning ceremonies of King David, by adding that the 200 men in question were יודעי בינה לעתים, “men who understood the needs of the times,” (or were so schooled in Torah that each one could predict when the year would have to be adjusted in order not to conflict with the solar seasons). The fact is that in spite of the relative brevity of Moses’ blessing, the words “in your tents” (pl) contained all the blessings it is possible to bestow on someone. Moses meant the “tent” in the celestial regions, as well as the “tent” in the terrestrial regions. He extended his blessing to Issachar in both worlds. The joy that Moses referred to in the terrestrial regions has been described by David in Psalms 19,9 as פקודי ה' ישרים משמחי לב, “the ordinances of the Lord are just and fair and provide joy for the heart” (of the people studying them). He also blessed Issachar as being happy in the tent of the celestial region, a region where joy is perfect and complete. Our sages in Ketuvot 8 described this celestial region as one in which שהשמחה במעונו, “the true home of joy is in His heaven called מעון.” In that region reward is double what it is elsewhere. Perhaps the double letter ש in the name of יששכר, already indicates that his reward would be divided into two parts. One part of the reward would be given to him who studies the Torah, the other to those who sustain those who study Torah.

שם יזבחו זבחי צדק, “there they will slaughter offerings of righteousness.” Moses means that all the people coming to Mount Moriah then will do so in order to offer their thanks to the Lord for His having granted them so much wealth..

A kabbalistic approach: Moses related the sacrificial offerings to righteousness, i.e. צדק, as this is the emanation which is perceived as the initial one (מלכות) which “receives” offerings in the first instance. The letter ה at the end of the word המזבחה, (Leviticus 1,9) alludes to this emanation; I have already remarked on this in my comments on that verse. The path of the offerings proceeds “upwards” from the emanation צדק until it reaches the highest regions.

ושפוני טמוני חול, “and by the treasures concealed in the sand.” Moses blessed Zevulun and Issachar with generous amounts of material wealth. They would possess so much wealth that they would be forced to bury some of it in the sand to protect it against thieves (Ibn Ezra). The word ושפוני is as if the Torah had written it with the letter צ at the beginning, i.e. וצפוני, “and hidden.” The repeated wording, i.e. both שפוני and טמוני, is similar to the expression אדמת עפר in Daniel 12,2; Onkelos appears to understand it as the sand itself indicating that treasures are buried beneath it.

וירא ראשית לו, “He saw the first (portion) claiming it for himself.” According to the plain meaning of the text the tribe of Gad requested the lands of Sichon and Og which were the first part of the land of Canaan to be conquered. The words: “for that is where the lawgiver’s plot (grave) is hidden,” refer to Moses’ grave. The word מחוקק, usually translated as “lawgiver,” may mean “an outstanding person,” such as in Judges 5,9 in Devorah’s song where she speaks of לבי לחוקקי ישראל, “my heart goes out to the rulers of Israel.” [I suppose the author considers the term “lawgiver” inappropriate once the Torah had been given. Ed.] The reason Moses speaks of ספון, “hidden,” is an allusion to the fact that the exact site of his grave would remain concealed forever. The word is used in such a sense in Jeremiah 22,14 as well as in Chagai 1,4 where it means “roofed,” “covered.” Moses probably also did not want to use the word קבור, “buried,” as this has a ring of finality about it, whereas he considered his grave as a temporary parking place for his body pending the resurrection. He realized that the decree that he had to be buried outside the borders of Eretz Yisrael proper was in order to facilitate the resurrection of the generation of Israelites who had died outside the boundaries of the land of Israel under his leadership and whose resurrection would be due only to his personal merit (Tanchuma Chukat,10).

ויתא ראשי עם, “he came at the head of the nation;” a reference to the two and a half tribes who formed the vanguard of the army of conquest under the leadership of Joshua.

צדקת ה' עשה, “he carried out G’d’s judgments;” by honouring his verbal undertakings to Moses the tribe of Gad carried out G’d’s judgment. He (and the tribe of Reuven and half the tribe of Menasheh) had vowed not to return home until all the tribes had received their heritage.

A Midrashic approach based on Bereshit Rabbah 1,6: The words וירא ראשית לו, are an allusion to the tradition that the universe was created due to the merit of Moses who has been described as ראשית in our verse here.

A kabbalistic approach: the words וירא ראשית לו in our verse may be understood as part of the previous line speaking about G’d expanding the territory of Gad. [The reference is to expansion of intellectual horizons. Ed.] The whole verse commencing with ברוך מרחיב גד may thus be understood as וירא מרחיב גד ראשית לו, “the One Who expands (the territory of) Gad saw that the one called ראשית was His.” The message is: “when the Lord looked at the emanation חכמה, which is the topmost of the operative emanations, in order to begin creating the universe [ראשית and חכמה are thus equated. Ed.], He foresaw that the burial plot of the one called מחוקק(Moses) was hidden in the portion of land allocated to the tribe of Gad, seeing Moses was so integrally part of the emanation ראשית. [Clearly the word ראשית here must be understood on two levels, both in terms of time and in terms of wisdom. Ed.] He (G’d) decided then to radiate the attributes known as ראשי עם from there. In order to better understand this, refer to Psalms 24,7:שאו שערים ראשיכם , where the word ראש, ראשית, is used in a similar meaning. [The word ראשיכם clearly is a concept only, seeing gates do not have heads. Solomon (the author of that psalm who found that he could not bring the Holy Ark into the newly constructed Temple) prayed for an expansion of his perceptive powers. Ed.] The words צדקת ה' עשה ומשפטיו עם ישראל refer to the emanations תפארת and כבוד which emanate from there. This is all very clear (author’s words). [It is not clear to me at all, but I suspect that the message is that seeing all abstract mystical concepts must have a place on earth from which they are made accessible to man, the author tells us that seeing Moses, who represented the emanation wisdom in the most near perfect level attainable by human beings would be buried there, i.e. would be “at home” there, it is natural that ‘lower” attributes, emanations, such as תפארת and כבוד, may become accessible through him who had attained the level of a higher emanation i.e. חכמה. Ed.]

The meaning of the Midrash as well as its mystical dimension, i.e. that Moses=ראשית, is based on the fact that he was the only prophet whose prophetic powers were such that he received what our sages call אספקלריא מאירה, “a clear, unblurred vision.” This type of prophetic vision is also known as ראשית, the “beginning, the top,” seeing that this was the highest level of wisdom Moses had attained. Anyone who prophesies does so from the level of emanation he personally has attained. However, prophesying ”from,” i.e. “out of” an emanation, does not mean that the prophet has “mastered” the essence of this emanation. This explains why Moses asked for additional perceptive powers when he said to G’d (Exodus 33,18) הראני נא את כבודך, “please show me Your attribute כבוד.” This request went unanswered. The reason the Torah does refer to him as מחוקק is because his prophecy was always in the name of the tetragrammaton, G’d’s essence. All the 248 positive commandments were legislated by G’d in His capacity as Hashem. The numerical value of the letters מחקק =248. The total number of negative commandments is 365, a number reminiscent of G’d’s attribute א-ד-נ-י (which is really 65). The opening letters of Daniel’s prayer (Daniel 9,19) asking forgiveness for trespasses (transgressions of negative commandments) are ש-ס-ה i.e. 365. Each request is prefaced by use of the attribute א-ד-נ-י. The whole verse there reads אדנ-י שמעה, אדנ-י סלחה, אדנ-י הקשיבה, so that each word separately features this attribute and the three ראשי תיבות spell 365. I believe that Onkelos may have alluded to this when he translated מחוקק as ספרא רבא, “the great scribe,” seeing the source of his prophecy was the great name of the Lord, Hashem. This association of the name Hashem with the word מחוקק is particularly marked in Isaiah 33,22 כי ה' שופטנו, ה' מחוקקנו, ה’ מלכנו, הוא יושיענו. The numerical value of the letters in the word שופטנו=451, which breaks down into 365 (negative command-ments) emanated by the attribute האלוהים =86. 86+365=451. The numerical value of מחוקקנו is 312, composed of 248+the name of Hashem spelled in words instead of letters making 63. By adding the digit 1 representing the word itself we get 248+64=312. [There probably is significance in the spelling of מחקק without the letter ו here in the Torah, and the spelling with the letterו in Isaiah. How else could we have arrived at the allusions represented by the numerical values? Ed.] Even though Rashi understands the word מחוקק in Isaiah as מושל, “ruler,” rather than as “lawgiver,” he himself understands it in as “students, disciples.” in Genesis 49,10. I believe that I am correct in my approach. Targum Yonathan (on the verse in Isaiah) also speaks of מחוקק as “the one who gave us אולפנא, ‘religious law.’” This is correct as the Torah was given under the aegis of G’d’s Essence, Hashem.

This may be an appropriate point at which to point out a number of things which are all associated with G’d’s “great” name, such as the Holy Temple, for instance. It is pointedly referred to as גדול, in Kings II 25,9: “He (Nevuchadnezzar) burned down the house of the Lord, the house of the King, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and the whole great House he burned by fire.” The last words clearly elaborate on what he did to the Temple. The priest serving in that Temple has also been referred to as the “great Priest.” The largest river on earth the Euphrates has also been described as “the great river.” (Deut. 1,7) In Deut. 11,7 the work of the Lord is described as מעשה ה' הגדול. When we respond during the recital of the Kaddish, we use the formula אמן יהא שמיה רבא, “Amen, may the great name be blessed.” The Aramaic word רבא is the translation of the word גדול, “great´ in Hebrew. We also speak of שלמא רבא in that same kaddish prayer, referring to the “great peace,” i.e. the peace under the aegis of the great name Hashem. The benediction over wine recited on Sabbath morning is known as קדוש רבא as opposed to that on Friday night. (compare Pesachim 106). [Perhaps the great name of Hashem is more appropriate for the day than for the night; the night is usually under the aegis of the attribute of Justice. Ed.] The seventh day of Sukkot is known as הושענא רבא, the “great salvation.” The prayers on that day which feature the willow branch are addressed to Hashem more so than any other day as the day concludes 26 days from the date G’d commenced creating the universe on the 25th of Ellul. 26=the numerical value of the tetragrammaton, i.e. י-ה-ו-ה, hence the appellation “great” is very much appropriate for that date. If you will analyse these examples you will discover that there is a common denominator to the adjective “great” which is associated with these days or with these phenomena.

דן גור אריה, “Dan is a lion cub.” According to the plain meaning of the text Moses compares Dan’s bravery and physical strength to that of a lion, describing how he leaps down from the mountain of Bashan.

A kabbalistic approach: the tribe was called Dan, corres-ponding to the attribute of Justice. When the original Dan was born his step-mother Rachel had said that G’d had judged her (Genesis 30,6). The reason Moses compared the tribe of Dan in his blessing to a lion was that the celestial image of the attribute of Justice is that of a lion cub.

נפתלי שבע רצון, Naftali, satiated with favour;” according to the plain meaning of the text the reference is to the favour of G’d with which this tribe will be satiated; it is somewhat similar in meaning to the words in verse 16 רצון שוכני סנה, “the goodwill of (the Lord) resident in the burning bush.” He will be full of G’d’s blessing and inherit land in the west and south.

A kabbalistic approach: Naftali will be satiated with the favour of G’d in His capacity as the attribute זאת, seeing that portion had commenced with the words וזאת הברכה. The words ים ודרום are an allusion to the world to come which is compared to ים and רחבת ים in Job 11,9. The present terrestrial world is compared to דרום, south, as we know from Joshua 15,19 (where Joshua gave such territory to the daughter of Calev, calling it (ארץ הנגב). This is also what is explained in the Sefer Habahir item 9, that the word ירשה is inappropriate as the word for שבט, tribe, is masculine and Moses should have said ירש, or רש. The addition of the letters י at the beginning and ה at the end are indicative of the blessing this territory enjoyed. We may therefore understand the verse as if Moses had written ים ודרום ויה רש, “he inherited west and south plus the blessing of the Lord.” Moses implied that he hoped that as a result of such blessing Naftali would be meticulous in observing G’d’s ways.

According to my personal understanding of this verse, the allusions in it are both “peace” and “the covenant,” and even the emanations חכמה and בינה are referred to as רש, and this is the meaning of the sequence ים ודרום ויה רש (mentioned in the Sefer Habahir).

The fact is that the tribe of Naftali was encamped alongside Dan in the north (Numbers 2,25-29). His flag depicted an eagle (see our comment there on verse 2). This is hinted at in the acrostic נ-ש-ר forming the opening letters of the words נפתלי שבע רצון. [There is therefore ample justification for not taking the words “west and south” at face value. Ed.]

וטובל בשמן רגליו, “and he dips his foot in oil.” The choice of the word טבל was meant to indicate the abundance and even surfeit of oil (olive oil) in the part of the land allocated to Asher (Ibn Ezra). This is why Moses said: “his foot,” instead of saying: “his hand.” The simile is similar to the one we find in Genesis 49,11: “he washed his garments in wine.” At that time Yaakov mentioned “laundering” to indicate how abundant the wine in Yehudah’s territory would be if one could afford to use it as water is used in laundering. Both expressions do not have to be understood literally.

ברזל ונחושת, “iron and copper.” This means that these ores will be found in Asher’s territory (Ibn Ezra). The verse could also be an allusion that Asher would be the “locksmith” of the land of Israel, i.e. that it would provide secure gates made of copper and iron for its territory to protect it against invaders or thieves trying to steal the oil. The people of Asher would, however, export their oil to other countries. The whole country would be locked by means of these gates (Nachmanides).

וכימיך דבאך, “and as your days (of your prime) may be your old age.” Onkelos believes that the word דבאך should really have been דאבך, as in דאבון נפש, “mental distress.” He implies this in his translation of these words as וכימי עולמתך תקפך, “as in the days when you were full of vigor.” The words ימיך refer to youth, years which have been described elsewhere as ימים; whereas the period of old age is generally viewed as a period in which one endures distress of one kind or another, a period which Kohelet described as a period אשר אין לי בהם חפץ, “years which I do not enjoy” (Kohelet 12,1). The plain meaning of these words, however, is based on the word דבאך meaning: “your flow,” like זבת שמן “flowing with oil.’ Moses prays that Asher will experience this abundance all the days of his life. The Aramaic of זב is דאיב, and Moses may have used an Aramaic word here. This would not be the only time that Aramaic words have been used in the Torah. One example which comes to mind is Genesis 31,47 יגר שהדותא, which is the translation of גלעד. Other Aramaic words are found in Deut. 33,2, ואתה מרבבות קודש. In the Book of Prophets Isaiah 21,12 we have the words אתא בוקר. The author quotes several more examples from the Book of Prophets as well as from the Scriptures. He also quotes words of identical meaning in both languages. The Talmud’s editors Ravina and Rav Ashi used both languages at will. The only reason they could do so was that they followed the example of the Torah. The author hints that there is a mystical foundation for all this, i.e. the relationship between the Holy Tongue Hebrew and Aramaic, which he is not at liberty to elaborate on.

אין כא-ל ישורון , “There is none like G’d, Yeshurun;” after Moses had concluded blessing the tribes individually, he now addresses the whole people reminding them of how fortunate they are in receiving their share on earth by the Creator of the universe directly. He tells them that they will inherit the land of Canaan, something that has been denied him; he also explains aspects of the hereafter to them, as I will explain in greater detail. He seals his words with esoteric matters, and this is why he begins this paragraph reminding the people that there is No One comparable to G’d. Whereas all the other nations have been placed under the guidance of intermediaries, angels, etc., not so the Jewish people. The first time Moses had requested from G’d that this be so was in Exodus 33,16 with the words ונפלינו אני ועמך, “and let me and Your people be distinct.” The reason he calls the Jewish people ישורון at this stage is not because of their character but because they have a “direct line,” (ישר) to G’d, unlike the other nations. This is also why, in extolling the advantages of the Jewish people compared to other nations, he says אשריך ישראל מי כמוך, “Hail to you Israel; who is comparable to you?” (verse 29). They are unlike the other 70 nations. This is why he tells the people that their share of the worldly goods and their status on earth is different from those nations. He commences by describing the G’d of Israel as “riding the heavens,” always available to assist His people ובגאותו רוכב שחקים, “in His majesty (He rides) through the upper regions.” In the last part of this verse the word רוכב is to be added before the word שחקים, otherwise there is a verb missing.

The concept of G’d “riding” the heavens requires some analysis. According to the plain meaning of the text the verb “riding” depicts simply someone who is in control, much as the mounted police are in control of the mob on foot. It is similar to 32,13: “He makes it (Israel) ride on the heights of the Land,” where “riding” also was a simile for being in a dominant position. Just as the horse performs at the command of its rider, Moses describes the function of the heaven as being to perform at the will of G’d Who rides it. We find this described in Job 39,18: תשחק לסוס ולרכבו, “making fun of both horse and its rider.” (G’d describing that were it not for being deprived of its natural instincts, the ostrich would fly and not leave its eggs exposed to all kinds of danger.) The orbits of the celestial bodies must not be ascribed to their own ability and power, but only to the power of G’d Who is the source of their motion. In this verse the word שמים refers to the heavenly regions known as ערבות. Our sages in Chagigah 12 deduce this from the verb רוכב used by Moses here in describing G’d’s movements over the heaven and the same verb used in Psalms 68,5 סולו, לרוכב בערבות, “extol the One Who rides in the ערבות.”

Maimonides writes in Moreh Nevuchim 1,70 “consider the wording of Chagigah 12 where the sages describe the Aravot as high and G’d ‘dwelling’ upon them.” They quote in support the word רוכב from Psalms 68,5. The reason that David used the word רוכב in that psalm rather than the word שוכן is that the latter word would have created the impression that a fixed site had been assigned by him to G’d, something inappropriate seeing He is the site of the universe and not vice versa. At best, using the word שוכן would have made G’d appear no better than some of the other celestial phenomena none of which possess independent powers.

A Kabbalistic approach: when Moses described G’d as רוכב שמים, the word שמים has to be understood as a reference to the various attributes of G’d, whereas the One “riding” them is the Essence, Hashem, the אין סוף. The message Moses wishes to convey is that as long as the Israelites carry out G’d’s commandments, the distance between G’d the Essence, and G’d in the form of His attributes is minimal, no more so than that of a horse and a rider. If the Israelites do not observe the Torah, however, He will gradually withdraw His Essence to more distant regions, thus distancing Himself from His attributes. This has been expressed in a similar vein by our sages who interpreted Psalms 60,14 where David says באלו-הים נעשה חיל, “with G’d we shall triumph;” i.e. at a time when Israel performs the commandments, whereas צור ילדך תשי, Deut. 32,18: “You weakened the Rock Who brought you forth,” i.e. you weakened G’d’s powers by not observing His commandments.

מעונה אלו-הי קדם, “you made as your abode the G’d who preceded time.” According to the plain meaning of the text the words mean: “your abode is the G’d from immemorial times.” The meaning is similar to Psalms 91,9: עליון שמת מעונך, “you established the most High as your haven.” The meaning of the word מעון is similar to סכה, “hut,” in the sense of “shelter.” Compare Psalms 76,3 ויהי בשלם סכו ומעונתו בציון, “Salem became His abode, Zion His den.” The difference between מקום and מעון is that the former describes a place beneath the subject, the latter a place above the subject (Ibn Ezra).

ומתחת זרועות עולם, “and beneath are the world’s mighty ones.” This could refer to powerful forces on earth which provide support for the Jewish people, or it could refer to G’d being the זרועות, “the mighty arms,” Who supports both what is beneath Him as well as what is perceived as above the earth. The simile is somewhat like Psalms 104,2 where David describes G’d as establishing the firmament (without supporting pillars) over the whole globe as if it were a carpet. The fact that G’d suspends earth without perceptible supports has also been described in Job 26,7: “He suspends the world (earth) over nothing (emptiness).” All the Lord needs to support the universe is His invisible, abstract force, power. We human beings have to restrain ourselves from voicing the thought: “how is this possible?” We are simply not able to comprehend this. (something which does not it make any less true). The word בלימה in Job 26,7 are two words spelled as one, i.e. בלי מה, “without anything.” Heaven and earth both are supported by an invisible force. This is also what Isaiah quotes G’d as saying to him in Isaiah 46,4: “I have made it and I carry it.” The prophet speaks of G’d saying that He made both heaven and earth and He carries or supports both. Anyone who possesses this kind of strength is certainly able to expel His enemies from His presence (a reference to the second half of our verse here).

A Kabbalistic approach: The letter ה at the end of the word מעונה (which is usually simply מעון) is a reference to the attribute of Justice. If this were not so, Moses would have said (as he did in Psalms 90,1): ה’ מעון אתה היית לנו, “Lord You have been a refuge for us.” In Psalms Moses uttered a prayer and alluded to Hashem, the attribute of Mercy. Hence he spoke of מעון rather than of מעונה. Here Moses was forced to allude to the attribute of Justice as it is the attribute which will drive out G’d’s (and Israel’s) enemies. The word זרועות is not in the construct form, i.e. “arms of,” or something to that effect. The letter ה at the end of the word מעונה then is a reference to the first letter ה in the tetragrammaton, not the last. [I confess I cannot follow from here to the end of this paragraph. The author tries to describe that Moses demonstrates how, through observance of G’d’s commandments, an aspect of the attribute of Justice may be converted into becoming an advocate on behalf of the people. The precise steps and how they are reflected in the wording here escape me. Ed.]

עין יעקב, “the well of Yaakov.” According to the plain meaning of the text “someone who had emerged from the ‘well’ of Yaakov” (Ibn Ezra). We find a similar expression pertaining to offspring of Yehudah in Isaiah 48,1, where the words וממי יהודה “and have issued forth from the waters of Yehudah,” also mean that the people the prophet refers to are descended from Yaakov through Yehudah. The words אל ארץ דגן, “to a land of grain,” clearly must be understood as “in a land of grain, etc.” We have a similar use of the word אל in Kings I 8,35 where Solomon describes people praying at the Temple as ויתפללו אל המקום הזה, “and they will pray to this place.” Clearly, he did not mean that their prayers should be directed at the “place,” but, to G’d Who is perceived as being at that place. If Moses speaks of the inheritance of the land in conjunction with Yaakov (instead of Avraham or Yitzchok), this is to preclude anyone thinking that other descendants of the two senior patriarchs had any claim to that land. This is also why we never find the expression עין אברהם or עין יצחק as it would have included other sons of Avraham, or Esau, a son of Yitzchok. We have pointed out repeatedly that the Jewish people have an exclusive claim to four gifts: prophecy, Torah, the land of Israel, and resurrection of the bodies after an interval. The exclusivity of these gifts to the Jewish people can be attributed directly to quotes from Moses’ own lips. Concerning the gift of prophecy, he said in Deut. 18,15: “a prophet among you, one of your brethren, someone like me, etc.” He meant: “just as I am a direct descendant of Yaakov, so any future prophet will be a direct descendant of Yaakov.” This verse teaches that prophecy is not to be found except among the Jewish people. If you were to counter that we do find Bileam as a prophet among the Gentile nations, the fact is that Bileam was not a prophet at all; he had the occasional communication from G’d, a communication described as מקרה, as we know from the Torah itself which described G’d ‘s communication to him as ויקר instead of as ויקרא, i.e. a happening which was of a totally irregular nature. Even on that occasion, G’d communicated with him only for the sake and honour of the Jewish people (compare author’s words on Numbers 23,16 and 24,4). Alternatively, the only reason Bileam was granted prophetic powers was to silence the Gentiles’ argument that if G’d had given them prophets they too would have risen to the same moral and ethical levels as had the Jewish people (Bamidbar Rabbah 20,1). The exclusivity of the gift of the Torah to the Jewish people is proved by the verse (Deut. 33,4) “Moses has commanded the Torah to us, an hereditary gift for the community of Yaakov.” The exclusivity of the gift of Eretz Yisrael to direct descendants of Yaakov is proved by our verse mentioning עין יעקב אל ארץ דגן ותירוש. History has proved that during the many centuries of the Jewish people being exiled from that land no other nation ever succeeded in making it a land flowing with milk and honey. This is why it was never settled successfully by another nation for any period of time. The resurrection of the dead being something reserved for the Jewish people is attested to by the words in our verse אף שמיו יערפו טל, “even its heavens drip with dew.” The word שמיו, “its heavens,” refers to the expression עין יעקב at the beginning of the same verse, meaning that the dew which in the future will be the mechanism awakening the dead to rebirth comes from the part of heaven ערבות, in which the descendants of Yaakov ride in the interval. In other words, the Yeshurun described in verse 26 are the souls of the Jewish people after death awaiting the call to be resurrected. This part of heaven contains the dew which will reunite these souls with their bodies. Other nations do not share this privilege; their souls will not be reunited with their bodies. This is what Daniel 12,2 referred to when he spoke about many awakening from their slumber, the “many” being Jews. The word רבים, chosen by Daniel as the ones who will be resurrected is a word which has been used to describe Jews on other occasions in the Bible, such as in Esther 8,17 ורבים מעמי הארץ מתיהדים, which, according to Sifri Haazinu 306 (end of Deut. 32,2), refers to Jews becoming proper Jews again. According to Rabbi Simai there, Moses calls the heaven the domain of the soul, whereas he refers to the earth as the domain of the body. He calls on the dew to reunite the two. People who studied and practiced Torah on earth are as if “heavenly,” and the curse that they will die (permanently) as described by David in Psalms 82,7 does not apply to them. Obviously, the people he speaks of can only be the Jewish people. We also find that Isaiah prophesied about the future of the Gentile nations saying that מתים בל יחיו, רפאים בל יקומו, “they are dead, they can never live; shades, they can never rise” (Isaiah 26,14), whereas in verse 19 of the same chapter he writes: ”your dead will live, let corpses arise! Awake and shout for joy, you who dwell in the dust, for your dew is like the dew on fresh growth, you make the land of shades come to life.” The meaning of the two verses is that a revival of the dead will occur only for the Jewish people. You should know that all of the Jewish people will be resurrected physically, however they will then experience a judgment which will determine their future. This is why Daniel 12,2 describes that some “will remain alive indefinitely whereas others will be consigned to everlasting abhorrence.” This is also what the psalmist Assaph referred to in (Psalms 73,20) בעיר צלמות תבזה, “when awake you despise death.” The word בעיר in that verse has its root in ער, awake, and is to be understood as בהעיר, “when in a state of wakefulness.” We encounter similar constructions, such as in Isaiah 23,11 where the word לשמיד is to be understood as if the prophet had written להשמיד, “to destroy.” Targum Yonathan renders the verse in Psalms 73,20 as “like the dream of a person who is awakened from a dream to face a day of judgment when I awaken them from their graves in anger to announce their permanent death.” We have also been taught in a Baraitha (Rosh Hashanah 16) that when the day of judgment arrives there will be three groups of people. One group comprises the totally righteous, one the totally wicked, irredeemable, and one group consists of the ones who fall in between the other two categories. The first group will be immediately inscribed and sealed in the Book of the righteous and their fate will be sealed so that they can immediately proceed to the hereafter. The second group will be consigned to hell immediately, in accordance with the verse from Daniel which we already quoted. This proves to you that even the totally wicked (Jews) will first be awakened before being consigned to their eventual destination. For the wicked this resurrection of their bodies will actually be a punishment rather than a reward seeing that they will be judged in Gehinom both body and soul in one of the seven levels of that domain. Concerning the people who fall between the two extremes of being totally righteous and totally wicked, the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 17 says that they will express their pains during the punishments endured but, if their merits exceed their demerits, they will rise from the pain inflicted upon them and join their brethren in the hereafter reserved for the righteous. The ones whose demerits exceed their accumulated merits, however, will descend into Gehinom for a period of 12 months. At the end of that period their bodies will cease to exist and their souls will be burned, the remains being scattered beneath the soles of the feet of the righteous inhabiting these celestial regions. The fact that the Talmud describes their bodies as “ceasing,” proves that they had descended to Gehinom first both as bodies and souls. In order to hint that the resurrection of the bodies is something reserved exclusively for the Jewish people, Moses mentioned “dew,” and immediately afterwards: “hail to you Israel.” Our sages in the Sifri 340, commenting on the words in 34,3 where the Torah describes the extent of the vision granted to Moses, עד הים האחרון, “as far as the western sea” in 34,3, add: that instead of reading these words as עד הים האחרון, we should read them as עד היום האחרון, “until the final day.”

A Midrashic approach based on Sifri Vezot Haberachah 356: the words עין יעקב mean: “a similar type of blessing to that bestowed by Yaakov.” The essence of Yaakov’s blessing had been that G’d would bring his family back to the land of Israel. (Genesis 48,21).

אף שמיו יערפו טל, “also its heavens will drip dew.” The simile: “its heavens” (read “his” heavens) refer back to G’d, (א-ל) just as the words ויגרש as well as ויאמר in verse 27 also refer back to that subject at the beginning of verse 26. Alternatively, the simile שמיו, “its heavens,” may refer to Israel, and the construction would be an example of appending something minor to something major. Moses phrased it thus in order to emphasise the great stature of the people of Israel, making the “heavens” subordinate to Israel. A third possibility is that the word שמיו, “its heavens,” refers to the word הארץ, “the earth;” it would not be the first time that the word ארץ appears as masculine. We have several such examples, one of which is Genesis 13,6 ולא נשא אותם הארץ, “the earth could not support them,” where the word נשא is masculine instead of נשאה. Another such example of the word ארץ appearing as masculine is found in Isaiah 9,18 נעתם ארץ instead of נעתן ארץ, “the earth was shaken.” The meaning of our verse then would be: “”the heavens which correspond to the sacred earth will drip dew,” i.e. beneficial dew. The word יערפו would then have the meaning of ירעפו as in Proverbs 3,20: “will drip down.”

אשריך ישראל מי כמוך, “Hail to you, Israel;” this verse is an explicit promise to the Jewish people concerning life in the hereafter. Seeing that in the previous verse Moses had discussed the destination(s) of the body i.e. what is good for the body, such as the blessings bestowed on earth, abundant crops, conditions of secure tenure of the land, such as a land with ample supplies of grain and wine, a land benefiting from the beneficial dews descending from the skies, and even the promise that should the people ever be exiled, no conquering nation would ever feel at home in their land, now Moses addresses his attention to matters of benefit to the soul. We know about this already from Bileam’s blessing in Numbers 23,9: “they are a nation which dwells in solitary splendor,” הן עם לבדד ישכון; Moses now takes up this theme when he refers to Israel being בדד. (verse 28) He is at pains to point out that the rosy future of the Jewish people comprises more than a secure and worry-free existence in Eretz Yisrael, accompanied by an abundance of material blessings. This is why he introduces the subject by describing a unique feature of the Jewish people, i.e. “hail to you Israel, who is like you?” He means that whereas all the other nations, at best, can look forward to a worry-free life of plenty on terrestrial earth, Israel will experience an additional dimension of life in the celestial spheres. This is the meaning of the words עם נושע בה' תשועת עולמים, “a nation delivered by Hashem Who extends His deliverance into 2 worlds” [עולמים, pl. Ed.]. A true deliverance must include life in the world to come, or it is by definition not a true deliverance. [One may understand the words “true deliverance” as a deliverance from the initial curse that came on upon mankind, i.e. death, when Adam ate from the tree of knowledge. Every “true” deliverance should free one from that. Ed.] After having told the people that there would indeed be a reward for keeping the Torah in the world to come, Moses proceeds to offer the Jewish people proof of this in the form of a miracle. He tells the people that G’d Himself would be their shield, that they would be able to boast about G’d being their “sword,” מגן עזרך. This promise includes the attribute of Justice, even. The word מגן, shield, is an allusion to the attribute of Justice, seeing a shield is generally worn on the left, and the attribute of Justice is perceived as on the left side of the diagram of the emanations. David also speaks of G’d being Israel’s shield in Psalms 18,36, when he said: ותתן לי מגן ישעך, “You gave me the shield of Your protection.” He elaborates further in Psalms 84,12, saying: כי שמש ומגן ה' אלו-הים, “for the Lord is both sun and shield.” In that verse David refers to the tetragrammaton, Hashem, as “sun,” and to the attribute of Justice, אלו-הים, as “shield.” Moses reassures the people that constant military success on earth against all their enemies is proof that they have a future in the very regions from which this success emanates, is orchestrated on their behalf by G’d. You may consider it a rule that all the various promises to the people of Israel as a whole, such as at the beginning of the portion Bechukotai, do not concern them themselves merely with the promise of reward in this finite world of ours. They are all similes for the kind of reward awaiting us in celestial regions after the death of our bodies. The success promised by the Torah in our terrestrial world is only to be viewed as proof of the far greater reward in store for us (if we keep the commandments) in a far better world than the terrestrial globe on which we have been born. It is most appropriate that the King of Israel, Moses, on the day when he himself readied himself for entry into that better world, tells his charges that he blessed them in this fashion, that all of them could look forward to that kind of a future.