English translation — דברים ב

A.

After the introduction at the beginning of our parshah about the condition,

time and place where the Jews and Moses found themselves at the time of the saying of Mishneh Torah,

the Torah begins to transmit what Moses said to the Jews¹

: "Hashem our G-d spoke to us at Chorev, saying: 'Enough of your dwelling at this mountain.'"

Rashi stands on "Enough of your dwelling" and explains: "According to its simple meaning.

And there is an Aggadic midrash: 'Much greatness and reward²

for your dwelling at this mountain,

you made the Mishkan, the Menorah, and the vessels, you received the Torah, you appointed for yourselves the Sanhedrin, the leaders of thousands and the leaders of hundreds.'"

one must understand:

a)

Rashi in his commentary on the Torah comes to explain the plain meaning of the verse — so why does he not content himself with the explanation "as its plain meaning"

(that "rav lachem" means "enough for you")

and also brings an "aggadic midrash"?

learn,

that according to the first interpretation it is difficult,

because according to this it should have stood explicitly "di lachem"

(not "rav lachem").

But prima facie this is not a difficulty,

because we already find earlier in Rashi's commentary⁴,

that he translates "rav" — "di",

and he does not bring a second interpretation).

b)

In the second interpretation,

that "rav"

Is from the term "multiplication"⁵

("It is too much for you"),

a great multiplication that Jews received "on this mountain" — is not understood:

1)

Why does Rashi enumerate details of "greatness" that are in "Midrash Aggadah" — according to his method

(the plain meaning of Scripture)

should he have brought the "greatness"

(that occurred "on this mountain")

which is <b>explicit</b> in the <b>plain meaning of Scripture</b>⁶

: "Behold, <b>this great thing</b> or has anything like it been heard? Has a people heard the voice of God speaking from the fire, etc."?

— Rashi mentions only &lt;b&gt;receiving the &lt;/b&gt;Torah — "&lt;b&gt;you received &lt;/b&gt;Torah" — but not the "hearing the voice of God etc." at the giving of the Torah,

which the verse itself calls "the &lt;b&gt;great&lt;/b&gt; thing" — the "voice of God speaking from the fire."

2)

In the matters that Rashi enumerates,

is not

(so much)

evident the &lt;b&gt;greatness &lt;/b&gt;that was &lt;b&gt;renewed &lt;/b&gt;in them "on this mountain": their receiving the Torah

(and commandments)

is not

(entirely)

a new thing,

because already Adam the first,

Abraham&lt;sup&gt;7&lt;/sup&gt;

etc. had received

(instructions)

of Torah,

the children of Noah all were commanded the seven commandments&lt;sup&gt;8&lt;/sup&gt;,

there was the academy of Shem and Eber&lt;sup&gt;9&lt;/sup&gt;,

and among Jews

Torah and mitzvos began from the Patriarchs¹⁰

; also the matter of the Sanhedrin

(Judges)

was before this — even among gentiles

(as understood simply)¹¹

and all the more so and certainly among Jews¹².

B.

Further precisions in the second interpretation:

a)

The order in which Rashi lists the matters

(Mishkan,

Torah and Sanhedrin),

does not match the chronological order when they occurred: first was the giving of the Torah,

afterwards¹³

the appointment of the Sanhedrin,

and only at the end the establishment of the Mishkan¹⁴.

b)

Rashi says "Mishkan, Menorah and vessels" distinguishing the Menorah from the rest of the vessels of the Mishkan¹⁵

— and not "Mishkan and its vessels"

(simply),

which would also include the Menorah?

3)

Rashi translates Sanhedrin "chiefs of thousands and chiefs of hundreds",

and omits the "chiefs of fifties and chiefs of tens"¹⁶.

The difficulties become even stronger when one sees that in Sifri¹⁷,

which is

(seemingly)

the source of Rashi's commentary,

it indeed states the making of the Mishkan after the receiving of the Torah and the appointment of the Sanhedrin; it states "Mishkan and vessels"

(and the Menorah is not specified¹⁸)

; and it also brings "chiefs of fifties and chiefs of tens"

And Rashi is <b>changing</b>

(and in three details in the second part alone of his commentary)

from the source of his commentary!

3.

Also one must understand the reason for the changes in the first part of Rashi's commentary regarding its source in Sifri¹⁹

a)

In the Sifri it only says "reward it is for you",

and Rashi adds another matter "&lt;b&gt;great &lt;/b&gt;

(and reward)

b)

In the Sifri the wording is "reward it is for you your sitting on this mountain" — the sitting itself is the reward; Rashi says however "great for you greatness and reward &lt;b&gt;for &lt;/b&gt;your sitting on this mountain",

that the reward is a &lt;b&gt;result&lt;/b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;

of "your sitting on this mountain"?

ג)

The language of the Sifri is "I appointed over you" — the Omnipresent appointed,

and Rashi says "you appointed for yourselves"²²,

that the Jews appointed.

ד.

The explanation of all this:

"Rav lachem" simply means that it is not only &lt;b&gt;the &lt;/b&gt;lachem

(It is enough for you &lt;b&gt;enough&lt;/b&gt;)

But more than that: "&lt;b&gt;Rav &lt;/b&gt;lachem",

It is too much for you,

&lt;b&gt;More &lt;/b&gt;than enough&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;

; as Rashi is

explains the verse&lt;sup&gt;24&lt;/sup&gt;

"And they said to them, 'Rav lachem'"

(From the claim of Korach and his congregation to Moses and Aaron)

: "&lt;b&gt;Much more than enough &lt;/b&gt;you have taken for yourselves greatness"&lt;sup&gt;25&lt;/sup&gt;.

And this is difficult for Rashi in our verse "Rav lachem shevet bahar hazeh": "much too much" the length of time of "your dwelling on this mountain",

When Jews received more and more in Torah and mitzvos etc., there were indeed

(like)

necessities and brought a great benefit²⁶,

It also reminded them all the time of the event of Mount Sinai <b>etc.</b>,

Until the "mountain" is called "Mountain of God"²⁷

; is at most here fitting the expression "di lachem",

But how can it be "<b>more </b>midai"²⁸?

Rashi warns,

That nevertheless the first interpretation

(and the main one)

of "rav lachem" — "<b>according to its simple meaning</b>",

Because according to the content of the continuation of the matter <b>here</b> in the verse,

Was "rav — much too much — lachem shevet bahar etc.",

And as follows.

5.

And this will be understood with an introduction of a general precision,

that the entire matter

(of the first three verses)

that Moshe said here to the Jews that there was a speech

special from the Most High²⁹

— "Hashem our God spoke etc. turn and journey etc. see I have given etc. and to their seed after them" — is entirely not mentioned in Chumash Bamidbar,

the <b>main</b> place where it speaks about the journey from the Sinai desert; the verse there only says³⁰

: "And it was in the second year in the second month on the twentieth of the month the cloud was lifted from over the Tabernacle of Testimony,

and the children of Israel journeyed on their journeys from the Sinai desert etc.",

The reason for this is understood: here³¹

Moses wanted to describe before the Jews the course of events beginning from their situation at the time of the Giving of the Torah until the situation in which they now stood,

"on the other side of the Jordan" — bringing out,

that essentially the Jews should have entered the Land of Israel immediately after being at Mount Sinai,

and only because of the sin of the spies did they delay in the desert for the entire duration of time³².

Therefore one must tell that already then,

when the Jews were still "at Horeb"

(at Mount Sinai)

the Almighty told them that they should go directly to the Land of Israel.

And based on this it is understood what the verse says "Enough for you to dwell on this mountain": in order to emphasize how strong was the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, to hasten the Jews that they should immediately enter into the Land of Israel

(And in the language of Rashi&lt;sup&gt;33&lt;/sup&gt;

: "And so much was the Divine Presence &lt;b&gt;agitated for your sake to hasten &lt;/b&gt;your coming to the land")

— until,

that not looking at the great virtues which their dwelling at Mount Sinai brings,

their lingering &lt;b&gt;there &lt;/b&gt;becomes

(and consequently — not going to the Land of Israel)

— "&lt;b&gt;too &lt;/b&gt;much".

6.

But the explanation is not smooth,

because from the language "&lt;b&gt;Enough &lt;/b&gt;for you to dwell"

(too much)

it is understood,

that the dwelling at the mountain is not according to the will — while their staying at the mountain,

as with all encampments,

was by the command of the Holy One, blessed be He; as long as it was not "the cloud was taken up",

the Almighty did not command them to leave from there, their "dwelling at the mountain" was "&lt;b&gt;by the word of the Lord&lt;/b&gt;"

(&lt;b&gt;fulfillment &lt;/b&gt;of the Supreme Will).

So how does one say — "too much".

Therefore Rashi brings a second explanation

(from Midrash Aggadah)

that "rav lachem" means

(not literally,

more than enough,

but)

"greatness and reward are abundant for you" — "rav" from the language of multitude

(i.e.

i.e.

much greatness and reward)³⁴.

And in order to explain that

(also)

according to <b>this </b>explanation the intent of the statement to the Jews "rav lachem shevet bahar hazeh" is to hasten the "penu u's'u lachem"³⁵

("to hasten your coming to the land")

— why therefore it is about the saying of the Holy One blessed be He that is told in our portion specifically,

as above — Rashi does not copy the language of the Sifri,

but the Midrash Aggadah³⁶

where the language is "you made a Mishkan, a Menorah and vessels, you received the Torah, you appointed for yourselves a Sanhedrin etc.",

because specifically <b>these </b>things

(and in <b>this </b>order)

demonstrate the readiness of the Jews to go to the land of Israel,

as follows.

7.

Before Jews entered into their own land,

into a "settled land" — that the order of life in a settled land

(like all the nations)

could, heaven forbid, lead Jews to forget their distinctiveness from all peoples — they first needed to establish in themselves the "And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests &lt;b&gt;and a holy nation&lt;/b&gt;"&lt;sup&gt;37&lt;/sup&gt;,

this should be &lt;b&gt;fixed&lt;/b&gt; in them in such a way that even later, finding themselves in a settled land, they should be a "holy nation" — "a treasure from all the nations"&lt;sup&gt;38&lt;/sup&gt;.

And therefore there was the standing at Mount Sinai — this caused that Jews should become a "holy nation" in completeness,

in which there are,

in general,

three matters:

The main point of a holy nation is — in the language of the verse "You shall be holy because I am holy" — one <b>must</b> be a holy nation because "I am holy" is "<b>And I will dwell</b> in their midst"³⁹,

"You have made <b>a Sanctuary</b>" there is a fixed place where the holiness of the Holy One, blessed be He, dwells.

It is not enough the revelation of G‑dliness that was at the Giving of the Torah — the "voice of G‑d speaking from the fire",

because that was temporary,

and not a matter of "<b>And I will dwell</b> in their midst" <b>permanently</b>⁴⁰.

Since here the emphasis is on such a manner of the indwelling of the Divine Presence which affects Jews

(also)

as they are in a settled land — therefore Rashi separates the Menorah from all the vessels of the Mishkan⁴¹,

because the Menorah

(had already <b>Rashi</b> explained⁴²

that it)

is "testimony to all <b>inhabitants of the world that the Divine Presence rests upon Israel</b>"⁴³.

Afterwards comes "their acceptance of the Torah",

that the distinctiveness of "a holy nation" through

The indwelling of the Divine Presence

(in the Tabernacle),

has an influence and power differently

(holy and separate)

the conduct of Jews in every place &lt;b&gt;and in daily life&lt;/b&gt;,

through that which they are &lt;b&gt;receiving&lt;/b&gt; the Torah and instruction from the Most High.

And in order that Jews should know and understand precisely what are the instructions of the Torah — there must be the third matter — the appointment of the Sanhedrin — who teach the Jews the laws and matters of the Torah and show how they should carry out the instructions of the Torah in practice.

With this it is also understood why Rashi brings only "captains of thousands and captains of hundreds",

and not

(as in the Sifri — from the verse)

also "captains of fifties and captains of tens": that which they appointed also "captains of fifties" and "captains of tens" was only during the period that Jews were on the way in the desert,

finding themselves in the journeys in the desert⁴⁴

and the wanderings of the road etc. require "captains" also for smaller groups; but when Jews entered Eretz Yisrael,

in a settled land and permanent place,

they are no longer necessary "captains of fifties"⁴⁵

and certainly not any "captains of tens"⁴⁶.

And since Rashi counts only the matters which are necessary for the readiness to live in Eretz Yisrael as a holy nation,

he mentions only "captains of thousands and captains of hundreds".

8.

According to the above, one will also understand the reason for the other changes of language in Rashi's commentary regarding the language of the Sifri

(above section 3)

According to Rashi, the intent of the verse "Rav lachem etc." is to hint not merely to matters of reward that the Jews received "on this mountain,"

but rather that which the stay on the mountain <b>opened up</b> that the Jews should become prepared for the entry into the land; and therefore Rashi is not satisfied with the language "reward" and also says "

(harbeh lachem)

<b>Gedolah</b>" — because the main point here is the "greatness" to which the Jews attained through their stay on the mountain.

And since the "Gedulah" is

(not the sitting on the mountain itself,

but)

that which came as a &lt;b&gt;result&lt;/b&gt; of their sitting on the mountain — therefore Rashi says

(not "reward is for you your sitting on this mountain",

but)

"reward &lt;b&gt;for&lt;/b&gt; your sitting etc."

And one could say,

that the two expressions in Rashi — Gedulah and reward — are connected with the two matters in the entry into the Land that stand here in the continuation of the verses: a)

The &lt;b&gt;very entering&lt;/b&gt; into Eretz Yisrael — for this it is required that Jews have "Gedulah",

they need to be a

"A kingdom of priests and a holy nation",

as above: b)

The <b>manner </b>of entry: "Come and inherit" — "No one objects to the matter ..

They did not need weapons"⁴⁷

— This is a reward that Jews received for what they did during the time of their settlement on the mountain.

9.

Regarding the appointment of the Sanhedrin,

in which⁴⁸

there were both matters: command and appointment: 1)

Through the Most High — "And God commanded him"⁴⁹,

2)

Through "And Moses chose" and "Provide for yourselves"⁵⁰.

In the books where they bring out the matter of the reward given from the Above — he emphasizes "I have appointed over you",

In Rashi, which is the greatness of the Jews — "I have appointed them for you".

Yud.

From "the wine of Torah" in Rashi's commentary:

Rashi quotes from the verse only the words "Rav lachem shevet"

(without the words "bahar hazeh")

and explains "according to its simple meaning"

— and one must say,

that thereby he hints at a general directive in the service of G‑d:

A Jew must know,

that a state of "Shabbos" — <b>remaining</b> sitting in one place,

standing on the same level in his service of G‑d and not going further and higher — is "rav lachem" "kifshuto": "much too much".

However good and high his level in service may be,

but a <b>continuation</b> of time of "remaining sitting" on the same level is — having given over to it <b>too much</b> time.

A Jew must be a "traveler",

constantly striving toward and going ever higher — ma'alin bakodesh⁵¹.

11.

Another lesson that can be derived from Rashi's commentary:

As discussed several times⁵²,

all commentaries on the same verse have a connection to each other,

and particularly in our case — the two commentaries that Rashi brings here in his commentary.

And this is the lesson: the two matters in connection with the entry into the land —

(a)

the simple literal interpretation,

that Jews need to go as quickly as possible to conquer the land of Israel literally,

and

(b)

the interpretation that this means the spiritual preparation for the entry into the land,

"You made the Mishkan, etc., you received the Torah, you appointed for yourselves the Sanhedrin, etc." — are dependent on each other:

Specifically because one is a holy nation⁵³

One has great reward and recompense — one receives the land of Israel

Contrary to other nations — who become a nation is connected with receiving a land where they live⁵⁴,

By Jews the matter of "rav lachem shevet" — <b>literally</b>,

The "lemaber bo'achem ha'aretz" is not only a speed in time,

But also

(and primarily)

A speed <b>in a manner</b> of

"your coming"

(through — the second meaning — a great multitude)

— "there is no one who objects to the matter",

without war and without weapons⁵⁵.

In other words:

The connection of the Land of Israel to Jews is entirely different than with other nations: by the nations of the world their land has no intrinsic connection with them,

and for this reason they must wage war for it; not so by Jews, their bond with the Land of Israel is in a manner

(and when Jews are in the state of "holy nation" openly it is evident openly)

that the land belongs &lt;b&gt;intrinsically&lt;/b&gt; to the children of Israel,

and in the language of the Tanchuma&lt;sup&gt;56&lt;/sup&gt;

"He chose the Land of Israel etc. and He chose as His portion Israel etc. said the Holy One blessed be He: Let Israel who came to His portion come and inherit the land that came to His portion",

and through a covenant that can never be destroyed — and consequently "there is no one who contests the matter and you do not need to wage war";

And so it will be for us very soon,

that we will be privileged⁵⁷

to receive the Land of Israel in its completeness,

in a manner of "there is no need to increase in the matter and you have no need for war"⁵⁸,

speedily in our days, literally.

(From the talks of Shabbat Parshat Devarim and Shabbat Parshat Eikev 5740)