הראיתיך בעיניך, in order for you to give it your blessing.

שמה לא תעבור, so that by your crossing the river your blessing would not invalidate the decree issued by Me, that if the sins of the Jewish people were to reach a certain measure that they would be expelled from the land. [According to what the author explained on Deut.1,35-39 it was the fact that Moses was forbidden to cross the Jordan although personally not guilty of accepting the assessment of the 10 spies who counseled against trying to conquer the land, that preserved their chance to participate in the resurrection of the dead when the time would come for this. Our sages subscribe to the concept that whatever Moses did had enduring, eternal validity, provided it had been based on a valid premise. A blessing after setting foot in the Holy Land would have been of more enduring value than one pronounced when not on holy soil. Denying Moses the chance to pronounce his blessing while on holy soil, indirectly benefited the whole generation of the people who were adults at the time of the Exodus. It preserved their chance to participate in the resurrection, as did the fact that Moses was buried outside the Holy Land, and his appearance at the resurrection without the people whom he had shepherded for 40 years would be embarrassing for him. Ed.]

ויקבור אותו, if Moses buried himself, as is the opinion of some of our commentators, (compare Rashi) it would have been his disembodied soul that accomplished this, for it is stated clearly that his body died on the summit of the mountain from which he viewed the Holy Land, as the Torah wrote in verse 5: “Moses died there.” On the other hand, the burial is described in our verse as having taken place in the valley.

ויתמו ימי בכי אבל משה ויהושוע בן נון מלא רוח חכמה, for during the days of weeping for Moses there was neither wisdom nor counsel (חכמה ועצה).

כאשר צוה ה' את משה, a reference to the fact that political decisions such as expansionary wars needed G’d’s confirmation, which was to be obtained by means of the urim vetumim in the breastplate of the High Priest, i.e. Eleazar, son of Aaron. We were told this in Numbers 27,21 when Joshua was appointed Moses’ successor. [This was an example of Joshua’s inferiority as a leader compared to Moses, who never had to resort to such indirect methods of receiving a message from G’d. Ed.]

ולא קם נביא עוד בישראל כמשה, no other subsequent prophet ever attained the lofty spiritual stature of Moses. This explained the statement by our sages that no prophet is allowed to innovate something in the Torah since Moses had died. (Shabbat 104) This statement also explains the rule that no Rabbinical assembly may invalidate a decree by another such Rabbinical assembly which had preceded it, unless it could be proven to be more competent and consisted of a greater number than the Rabbinical assembly which had originated said decree. (Megillah 20)

'אשר ידעו ה, whom G’d had endowed with so much knowledge by turning His face to him. We have been told in Samuel I 10,6 that receiving even a small measure of prophetic insight makes the recipient an איש אחר, a different person. This is why the prophet Amos 2,11 when referring to the deeds of loving kindness performed by G’d for the people lists the fact that G’d gave many Israelites prophetic insights. The people, during Amos’ time, instead of availing themselves of the spiritual inspiration thus accessible, forbade these prophets to impart their visions, etc., reversing and frustrating G’d’s purpose. Seeing that all of G’d’s activity stems exclusively from His own personal knowledge (cannot be evaluated properly by His creatures, seeing that they are “only” His creature) the Torah records G’d as saying that אשר ידעו ה' פנים אל פנים, that in His communications with Moses and granting him insights into His ways, He did so exclusively for Moses’ benefit. This expression ידע appears repeatedly in Scriptures in this sense of endowing someone with insights. One example is Psalms 144,3 מה אדם ותדעהו, “what did man do that You should take the trouble to grant him such insights?” Another such example is found in Exodus 33,17 ואדעך בשם, “I granted you some insights about My essence, by making you familiar with some of My attributes.” [my translation. Ed.] Compare also Exodus 2,25 Psalms1,6 and numerous other examples. [If I do not err, the author feels that seeing that G’d’s omniscience is axiomatic in Judaism, such phrases as the ones quoted cannot simply mean “G’d knew,” for there would be no point in the Torah stating the obvious. They must therefore imply that G’d communicated some of His knowledge. In Exodus 2,25 the Torah meant to tell us that the Jewish people would shortly become aware that G’d knew all about their condition and would do something about it, something that would also raise their spiritual level as a result. Ed.]

פנים אל פנים, while in full possession of his faculties.

לכל האותות, the occasion when Moses experienced this type of communication from G’d described as פנים אל פנים occurred when he was called upon to perform the many supernatural miracles in Egypt. Clearly, his experience at the burning bush had not been of that calibre. Otherwise, why would the Torah have told us that he was afraid to look at the spectacle? (Exodus 3,6) This had been the very opposite of what G’d told Miriam and Aaron about his quality of prophecy in Numbers 12,8 i.e. that Moses can look without hesitation at visual images G’d shows him.

ולכל היד, and when G’d demonstrated His power over immanent parts of the universe such as the Sea of Reeds, when He split it, or the earth when He made it open a crevice to swallow Korach and his cohorts, or when the manna descended from heaven on a regular basis.

ולכל המורא הגדול, the revelation at Mount Sinai;

אשר עשה משה לעיני כל בני ישראל, when they were afraid and stood at a distance, whereas Moses approached the mountain which was wrapped in a dark cloud, while it was flaming. During such experiences Moses had acquired the status of a prophet with whom G’d communicates פנים אל פנים At that time G’d also endowed Moses with a kind of awesomeness when He made his forehead emit rays of light.

לעיני כל ישראל, compare Exodus 34,30 when even Aaron recoiled when he saw Moses.