אלה הדברים, “These are the words, etc.” Nachmanides writes in a separate introduction to this Book that seeing that the generation Moses was addressing was the one that would enter the Holy Land, Moses detailed most of the Torah’s commandments that applied inside the Holy Land, omitting sacrificial offerings, purity laws as they relate to the priests, seeing that he had already outlined those, and at any rate, the priests do not need a refresher course, being by definition eager and willing to observe the laws in all its ramifications. He did, however, repeat most of the laws which applied to the ordinary Israelite a second time, adding warnings in many instances, especially laws connected to idolatry which he repeated more than twice. We also find in this Book a number of commandments that have not been mentioned in the first four Books at all, such as the laws pertaining to the levirate marriage, ייבום, or the laws about a groom who slanders the supposedly unchaste bride of his as having not entered marriage as a virgin. Moses himself had, of course, been made familiar with these laws by G’d when he had been on the mountain, before the spies had been dispatched. The thrust of the verse beginning here is that although these laws were communicated by Moses in ערבות מואב, the plain of Moav, not a single one of these commandments was new. The only “new” aspect of these commandments was the fact that they were now spelled out to the people. Another notable fact in this Book is that we do not find such sentences as וידבר ה' אל משה, “Hashem spoke to Moses, etc.” Neither do we find such lines as דבר אל בני ישראל, “speak to the Children of Israel (and tell them about such and such a commandment!)” It is possible that the reason the commandments mentioned here for the first time were not included in the first four volumes of the Torah may be that those commandments were not practiced in the desert. They would be practiced only once the people were in the Holy Land, although some of these commandments pertain to their bodies rather than to the land. Another reason for the non-publication of those commandments before now could be that they are not the type that are observed daily, the opportunity to observe them presenting itself only rarely and not to the average person. Before Moses got ready to relate all these various commandments, he used the present opportunity, a few weeks before his death, to admonish the people, and to remind them of past sins, and how they had caused Hashem a lot of grief during these years. He reminded them how G’d had treated them by invoking His attribute of Mercy and loving kindness time and again. He warned them not to become corrupt again by gambling that G’d would forever employ such forgiveness, etc. They should not rely on the fact that because they were human they were bound to err and sin from time to time, and that G’d, knowing this, would overlook their trespasses. While it is true that if G’d were not to take into consideration their evil inclination and their sometimes falling victim to its lure, neither they nor subsequent generations would ever qualify to conquer the Holy Land, however their daily conduct must not be based on such considerations. They must not forget that in spite of the prevalence of the attribute of Mercy, the attribute of Justice constantly tries to oppose that attribute and they could not rely on the attribute of mercy always prevailing.

אלה הדברים, the words that Moses is about to speak refer to the words that are recorded in this volume of the Torah. Moses will first review the whole Torah, commencing with the revelation at Mount Sinai and the Ten Commandments. In verse 6 we would have expected the verse to begin with the words ויאמר משה, something that is missing here. We do find a similar construction where such an introductory remark is missing when Joseph names his first son Menashe, and the Torah reports that he said: כי נשני אלוקים את כל עמלי, “for the Lord has made me forget all my troubles,” (Genesis 41,51, as well as verse 52 concerning Ephrayim) where we would have expected at least the introductory words כי אמר. The reason that Moses used this introduction was to remind them that not quite a year after that G’d had told the people that they had encamped around Mount Sinai long enough, and that it was time to begin their journey toward their ultimate objective, the Holy Land. This was a pointed reminder that as far as G’d was concerned they had been sufficiently prepared to make war successfully against the Canaanites, whose measure of guilt by then was full, so that the Israelites should have every chance to defeat them. These introductory words continue until 4,40 ושמרת את חוקיו ואת מצותיו אשר אנכי מצוך היום, “you shall observe His decrees and His commandments that I command you this day, to carry them out, etc.” After this Moses called upon the whole nation of Israel that stood assembled before him saying: שמע ישראל וגו', 5,1 and began with a restatement of the Ten Commandments. Having concluded with that restatement, including minor additions, he emphasizes the uniqueness of G’d, i.e.שמע ישראל ה' אלוקינו ה' אחד, “Hear O Israel, the Lord our G’d, the Lord is One,” followed by all the commandments contained in this volume of the Torah. This is the reason why we have the formula here: דבר משה אל כל ישראל that Moses spoke to all of the Children of Israel, and the same formula is used in 5,1 when he is described as calling to all of the Children of Israel when exhorting them to learn and to keep the commandments. It was important that just as 40 years ago at the revelation to the previous generation all the people were assembled, now when the covenant is about to be renewed with a new generation the whole people must be in attendance at that event. When the Torah describes Moses as באר את התורה הזאת “explaining this Torah,” (verse 5) this is a reference to the Torah which the people had already heard from his mouth once before. He now reviews this part of the Torah and in a number of cases expands on it, filling in details not revealed up until now. He emphasized that all of this had been commanded to him by Hashem, i.e. he had not added anything of his own. The meaning of the word הואיל is that the initiative for this review is his own; he had not been told by Hashem to do so. The term is used several times in Scriptures for free-willed agreement, as for instance in Joshua 7,7 ולו הואלנו ונשב בעבר הירדן, “if we had only been willing to remain and settle on the east bank of the Jordan.” When Moses responded to Yitro’s invitation to dwell in his house, his willingness is also described by the word ויואל משה לשבת את האיש, “Moses agreed to dwell with that man.” (Exodus 2,21).

במדבר, “in the desert.” Although at this time the people were already no longer in the desert but in the land adjoining Moav, accessible to civilization, Moses mentions that the Torah had been revealed in the desert. Onkelos claims that all the locations referred to by Moses are merely allusions, thinly veiled, to places where certain events had taken place, particularly the people’s misdemeanours that Moses at this point is not anxious to spell out.

אשר יושב בחשבון, “who dwells in Cheshbon.” Nachmanides comments that the fact that Sichon is mentioned as “dwelling” in Cheshbon confirms that it was not his originally, but that he had captured the city from the Moabites. He had converted it to become his capital.

אשר יושב בעשתרות באדרעי, “who dwelled in Ashtarots which is in Edre-ee.” This land belonged to the Re-fa-im of old, a race of giants, whereas Og was the King of the Emorites. Seeing that the Torah describes Og as having dwelled in Ashtarot it is clear that this is the name of a place (a region) within which is found the town of Edre-ee. Ashtarot was a valley, and the giants had built a town in that valley. This becomes clearer when we consider that Og has been described as gathering his troops there. (Numbers 21,33).

בחורב לאמור, “at Mount Chorev, saying;” Nachmanides writes that Chorev is not a mountain but a region adjoining Mount Sinai where the Israelites were encamped during that year. [In light of Exodus 33,6, where Chorev is clearly described as a mountain, this is somewhat difficult to follow. Ed.] Nachmanides is aware of the difficulty and suggests several alternatives, basing himself on the fact that Sinai is both referred to by the Torah on some occasions as a mountain, and on other occasions as a region in the desert. [I suppose it is reasonable to say that the sheep which had lost its way and which Moses followed only to be confronted by a burning bush, did not climb a mountain. (compare Exodus 3,1) Ed.] Possibly, in the words of Nachmanides- Moses’ hesitation before investigating that spectacle was based on the very fact that the bush was burning on the mountain whereas he was standing at the bottom at that time. Ibn Ezra simply understands the word חורב as an alternate name for Mount Sinai, explaining that the bush was burning on account of the extreme dryness in that region. The people of Israel used either name for that mountain, interchangeably.

ואומר אליכם בעת ההיא לאמור, ”at that time I said to you, saying:” Moses refers to the period before G’d had said to the people to get moving away from the region around Mount Sinai. At least, that is what we must assume according to the view that Yitro visited the Israelites prior to the revelation at Mount Sinai. The meaning of בעת ההיא is ”during the period that we were encamped around Mount Sinai.” The reason why Moses mentions this now is as if he were saying: “here we had received the Torah and you already had all the tens of thousands of judges installed as well as the law enforcers and were ready to begin the journey, and we began our trek from Sinai (Chorev) with all our elderly, etc., and suddenly you delayed us by demanding to first dispatch spies, a demand which resulted in all our plans becoming upset.

טרחכם ומשאכם וריבכם, “your contentiousness, your burdens, and your quarrelsomeness.” Nachmanides explains that the plain meaning of the text is that Moses here repeated in an oblique manner what he had said to his father-in-law Yitro when the latter had enquired what Moses was busy with all day long. At that time (Exodus 18,15-16) he had referred to his duties as threefold: He had stressed that his duties included the settling of disputes arising between one Israelite and another. He told Yitro that the duty to teach the people who had just left hundreds of years of slavery, involved only with the physical effort to survive such bondage, G’d’s law, was not only time-consuming, but difficult. This is what he alluded to when mentioning טרחכם, they were not such brilliant students who immediately grasped the knowledge offered, especially when it came to laws which did not appear logical to them. The word משאכם was a substitute for תפילה, prayer, as in ונשאת תפילה, (Isaiah 37,4) “if you will offer up a prayer.” A prophet, such as Isaiah in the verse quoted- is expected to offer up prayers to G’d on behalf of people who need their prayers for relief from problems to be heard by G’d. Finally, the word ריבכם used by Moses is self-explanatory. The words הבו לכם אנשים וגו', refer only to the attributes of the judges who are to be appointed. Alternatively, the word משאכם refers to the incidents when the people had demanded water, meat, etc., all matters that were beyond their leader’s ability to provide. The word משא is found in connection with that episode. (compare Numbers 11,11)

וידועים לשבטיכם, “and familiar to your respective tribes.” Rashi explains that the word ידועים means that the men in question are well known to fellow members of their tribes, whereas if the same man appeared before Moses, he, Moses would not know who he is. Nachmanides writes that if Rashi were correct this would mean that that the word לשבטיכם would be inextricably linked to the word וידועים. In his opinion the reason why the Torah added the word וידועים is to teach that the judges must be capable and fearless men, i.e they must be known to the people as men of outstanding caliber. They must be known for the piety, fear of the Lord, etc., etc. Every member of their tribe should agree immediately that the person in question is fit to be a judge.

כי המשפט לאלוקים הוא, “for the judgment is G’d’s.” Nachmanides writes that it is one of G’d’s tasks to see to it that His creatures practice justice among themselves. He has created man so that he practices fairness, etc., and the judges on earth are performing their task as G’d’s delegates when they save the oppressed from his oppressor, etc. If they (the judges) were to display fear of any man they would at the same time commit a serious breach of the trust placed in them by G’d.

ואצוה אתכם בעת ההיא את כל הדברים אשר תעשון, “I had commanded you at that time all the things that you have to do.” Rashi, quoting Sifri, explains that the “things” referred to by the word הדברים are the ten judicial difference between adjudging disputes involving only money or its equivalent, and judging matters involving life and death. (compare Sanhedrin 32). Nachmanides writes that if that were the meaning, Moses would be addressing the judges. [Nachmanides’ problem may be that if Rashi were right, why would Moses suddenly add the words “I commanded you at that time,” when this is what he had been doing all the time? Ed.] He considers that the plain meaning is that Moses here refers to what he had taught the people in Exodus 18,20 i.e. החוקים והתורות, הדרך אשר ילכו בה, “the decrees and teachings and the path they should pursue,” the ones Yitro had told him to make his primary concern. The reason that Moses reiterates what had occurred at that time was that the people knew that the plan to appoint all the judges had originated with Yitro, and that he had told Moses that if he were to adopt it G’d would be with him and he would be able to cope with the tremendous burden imposed upon him. Moses was at pains to explain, especially to the new generation, that none of these judges had the authority to formulate new laws. They had been instructed by Moses, who had received al the laws from G’d directly. Yitro’s function had been to help Moses how to successfully disseminate G’d’s laws and teachings, and how to ensure that it could be applied with a minimum of inconvenience to the people. His suggestions had been purely administrative, not legislative. Moses had not mentioned the author of these suggestions at this time, not giving Yitro credit for his suggestions, either because he did not want to embarrass the whole people assembled before him by reminding them that what had prompted Yitro to make these suggestions was that he had observed what a difficult people the Israelites were and what a hard time they had been giving their saviour. Perhaps Moses did not want to remind the people at that time that he had married a daughter of Yitro instead of a girl who had been Jewish by birth. It is also possible that the simple reason is that Moses had not adopted any of Yitro’s suggestions until he had consulted with G’d and obtained His consent, thus making the entire appointment of the judges part of G’d’s legislation.

את הדרך אשר נעלה בה, “the road in which we should ascend, etc.” This is a reference to the initial steps prior to the conquest. The spies (people) did not voice any other purpose of the spies’ mission than to select the most effective route of approach.

ואקח מכם שנים עשר אנשים, “I selected from amongst you twelve men, etc.” Moses did not mention any titles these spies had been distinguished with, seeing that after they had disgraced themselves and led their peers into sin one is not allowed to make any complimentary remarks about the wicked.

ויאמרו טובה הארץ, “they said: “the land is very good!” According to Rashi (based on Sifri) the two spies that reported on the land being so good were Joshua and Calev. Nachmanides writes that if it were correct that only Joshua and Calev had praise for the land, how could one accuse the entire people for believing the majority report of the other ten spies? Perhaps Moses’ accusation against the people for believing the ten spies was based on the fact that what these spies had reported was in direct contradiction to G’d’s own assessment of that land. If, in addition to G’d’s assessment and that of the most outstanding of the twelve spies G’d was considered as proven correct, the people had no excuse to side with the ten spies against the testimony of both G’d and the two senior spies. Once the ten spies realized that Joshua and Calev were firmly in favour of capturing the land of Canaan by war, they began to disseminate evil reports about that land, describing it as a land that consumed its inhabitants, and this is what Moses meant when he said (verse 27) ותרגנו באהליכם, “you slandered in your tents.”I believe, in accordance with what I have already explained in Parshat Shelach lecha on the relevant verses, that publicly, all the spies sang the praises of the land of Canaan. It was only in the privacy of their tents that the campaign of slandering the land and spreading fear was carried on. This is what Moses alluded to here when he recalled that the former generation of Israelites had slandered the land in their tents. The people themselves also had not dared to come out openly against the land within earshot of Moses at the beginning. Later on, they admitted that they had become frightened by their brethren the spies. This is why Moses had told them not to be afraid as they would not have to do any actual fighting; G’d would do this on their behalf.

גם בי התאנף ה', “Hashem also became angry at me;” Nachmanides reconstructs the proper sequence of events at that time. After Moses had recalled the events of the sin of the spies, and the nature of their sin, in the wake of which a whole generation of Israelites had been doomed to die in the desert, he continues to relate how his own inability to enter the Holy Land was also directly linked to the sin of these people. He contrasts the good fortune of Joshua and Calev, who because of their staunch loyalty to G’d on that occasion, are the only ones of that generation that will settle in the Holy Land. He relates all that had happened on that occasion except for the almost immediate death of the ten spies by a pestilence. He continues to explain that he would not be leading the Israelites across the Jordan but his successor, Joshua. He did not want to distract the people by dwelling on the disgrace and its consequences of a few individuals. He wanted the people (new generation) to concentrate on what had happened to their parents because they had been involved in that terrible sin.

בגללכם, “on your account;” Moses makes it plain that if 40 years later, when there was no water the people had quarreled with him and with Hashem, if he had mistakenly struck the rock instead of speaking to it, and the result was that G’d forbade him to enter the Holy Land, none of this would have happened if on an earlier occasion the people had not been punished by having to wander in the desert all these years. They would have long been settled in that land, and the occasion on which Moses made his unpardonable error would never have presented itself. Hashem Himself had stressed that Moses and Aaron had missed an opportunity to sanctify Him amongst the Children of Israel, in other words, Moses’ punishment was due to the Children of Israel.