And Moses called to all Israel, and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your ears this day, that you may learn them, and observe to do them.
verse value 7789
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 92 letters. The shortest word is "Moses" (מֹשֶׁה֮, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·rules" (וְאֶת־הַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔ים, 10 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "in·your·ears" (בְּאׇזְנֵיכֶ֖ם). The root ישראל appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "speaking" (root דבר, 170x in Deuteronomy); "today" (root יום, 168x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'today', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 4 words.
Onkelos
And Moses called to all Israel and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances that I speak before you today, and learn them, and take care to perform them.
Ibn Ezra
"And Moses called to all Israel" — as I have explained, [this was] to make the words of the covenant heard by the children.
Or HaChaim
ויקרא משה, Moses called, etc. It is conceivable that as a result of the conquest of the lands of Sichon and Og the Israelites were scattered over a large area at that time. This made it necessary for Moses to call them together. Alternatively, up until this point Moses had addressed only the men; now that he wanted to review the Ten Commandments he made sure that everybody would be present. At the original revelation the entire nation including children had also been present.
Chizkuni
אל כל ישראל, “to all of Israel;” they were to all have part in the reading of the ten Commandments by Moses by witnessing it. Everyone who had been born after the revelation at Mount Sinai was to be present.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויקרא משה אל כל ישראל, “Moses called all of Israel;” this refers to the children i.e. the generation which had not heard the Ten Commandments first-hand at Mount Sinai. This is why in verse three Moses makes the point that the covenant made between G’d and the people at the time did not only include the generation which was an eye-witness to the revelation but that it included all the subsequent generations of Jews throughout the ages.
Verse structure: 6 words, 25 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "he·cut" (כָּרַ֥ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "our·God" (אֱלֹהֵ֗ינוּ, 6 letters). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "our·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy); "with·us" (root עם, 123x in Deuteronomy). Full calculation: יְהֹוָ֣ה [Hashem] (26) + אֱלֹהֵ֗ינוּ [our·God] (102) + כָּרַ֥ת [he·cut] (620) + עִמָּ֛נוּ [with·us] (166) + בְּרִ֖ית [covenant] (612) + בְּחֹרֵֽב [Horeb] (212) = 1738.
Onkelos
Hashem our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.
Ibn Ezra
"At Horeb" — that is Sinai.
Or HaChaim
ה׳ אלוקינו כרת עמנו ברית בחרב, "The Lord our G'd concluded a covenant with us at Chorev." Moses did not spell out the nature of this covenant. Was it the covenant to keep the Torah as is written in Exodus 24,8: "here is the blood of the covenant which G'd concluded with you concerning all these matters?" Or was it the covenant mentioned in Exodus 34,10: "here I am concluding a covenant in the presence of your whole nation?" In that connection our sages explained that G'd undertook not to allow His presence to rest on the nations of the world. Logic suggests that this is the covenant Moses spoke about at this time, and that he hinted at this when he said: "the Lord G'd concluded a covenant with us." This implied that He would be our G'd exclusively and that He would not conclude a covenant with any other nation. What follows in our chapter is a repetition of this covenant. The whole paragraph then was intended as a compliment to Israel from G'd. Verse 3 would confirm all this.
Hashem did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.
verse value 3936 — יְהֹוָ֖ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 56 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "our·fathers" (אֶת־אֲבֹתֵ֔ינוּ, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "our·fathers" (אֶת־אֲבֹתֵ֔ינוּ), "all" (כֻּלָּ֥נוּ). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "today" (root יום, 168x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 8 words. Full calculation: לֹ֣א [not] (31) + אֶת־אֲבֹתֵ֔ינוּ [our·fathers] (870) + כָּרַ֥ת [he·cut] (620) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + אֶת־הַבְּרִ֣ית [the·covenant] (1018) + הַזֹּ֑את [this] (413) + כִּ֣י [but] (30) + אִתָּ֔נוּ [with·us] (457) + אֲנַ֨חְנוּ [we] (115) + אֵ֥לֶּה [these] (36) + פֹ֛ה [here] (85) + הַיּ֖וֹם [today] (61) + כֻּלָּ֥נוּ [all] (106) + חַיִּֽים [alive] (68) = 3936.
Onkelos
Not with our fathers did Hashem make this covenant, but with us — we, all of us who are here alive today.
Rashi
לא את אבתינו NOT WITH OUR FATHERS — i.e. not with them alone, כרת ה׳ וגו׳ DID THE LORD MAKE [THIS COVENANT], כי אתנו BUT WITH US etc.
Ibn Ezra
"Not with our ancestors" — alone. "But with us, we" — the meaning is: but also with us, similar to "your name shall no longer be called Jacob" [Gen. 32:29]. Or the meaning is: He did not make the covenant with our ancestors who were in Egypt, but rather with us He made the covenant — for there are many in the camp who heard the covenant directly from Hashem. Therefore it says "we, these who are here," meaning those who are present and who are alive. The proof that this interpretation is correct is that it says "with you" and "among you."
Sforno
היום כלנו חיים, this is why the covenant has to be made with you who enter the Holy Land, so that you will arrange things in such a manner that future generations who were not present at the time this covenant was made will consider it binding for themselves and conduct themselves accordingly.
Or HaChaim
לא את אבותינו כרת ה׳ את הברית הזאת, "G'd did not conclude this covenant with our fathers, etc." Rashi adds the word לבד. He means that G'd concluded the covenant "not only with our fathers." This is problematical as there was no need for the Torah to write this seeing it had already referred to the covenant G'd concluded "with us" in verse 1. According to my explanantion that the covenant mentioned in verse one refers to the covenant in Exodus 34,10 that G'd would not allow His presence to rest on the Gentile nations, we can understand the sequence of these verses as follows: "G'd did not specifically conclude this covenant with our fathers as we do not find this spelled out anywhere. As a result the reference in verse one to G'd having concluded a covenant with us was not sufficient as the word עמנו, "with us," does not preclude G'd from concluding similar covenants with other nations. Moses therefore went on record in our verse that the covenant he is talking about is indeed an exclsuive covenant between G'd and Israel. The principal message of the verse is that the present generation was given an assurance which even their fathers had not been given. כלנו חיים, "all of us who are alive." How could Moses say this? All the people with whom G'd had made the original covenant were dead already as they had died in the desert? Besides, many of the people who faced Moses at this time had not even been born at the time G'd concluded the original covenant with the Jewish people! While one could answer that what Moses said applied only to part of the people, this would be a forced explanation. Besides, what news did Moses convey to people by telling them they were all alive? Did they not know this without having to be told? Perhaps we may say that Moses emphasised that all of them who had heard the voice of G'd at the time of the revelation at Mount Sinai and who were alive at this time had survived that experience. This in spite of the fact that G'd had spoken to them out of fire, etc, i.e. that the experience had been extremely overpowering. The words כלנו חיים therefore must be understood as belonging to what follows in verse 4 rather than to what preceded it.
Chizkuni
לא את אבותינו (לבדם) כרת את הברית כי אתנו אנחנו, “not only with our fathers (alone) did the Lord establish the covenant;” we find a similar formulation in Genesis 32,29 לבדם) לא יקרא שמך יעקב כי אם ישראל עמו), “your name will no longer be Yaakov, but the name Yisrael will henceforth be added to it.”We find a similar interpretation in the Midrash Tehillim on Psalms 8,3: מפי עוללים ויונקים יסדת עוז, “from the mouths of infants and sucklings You have founded strength.” This is interpreted to mean that even unborn children have received the Torah and are guarantors for this to their parents that they will observe the Torah in due course. The Midrash describes the unborn fetuses as having been given visions of G-d and having heard the Ten Commandments, and responded after each that they considered it as binding for them. כי אתנו אנחנו, “but with us here” (He concluded the covenant). Even though there are quite a few amongst us here to day who have not stood at Mount Sinai, not having been born yet, the covenant applies to them and is binding on them. [The answer to the question of how an unborn person can be held accountable for violating a covenant he had not been a party to when it was concluded, is that in Jewish law one may accept obligations on behalf of people who are not present and aware of it, provided that these obligations are for the benefit of the party on whose behalf these obligations have been accepted. Becoming part of G-d’s people is perceived of being such a benefit. Ed.] The proof that this is so is that G-d has told us that He is meting out penalties for up to the fourth generation after the sinner committed his sin, whereas He allows even the descendent 1000 generations down the line to participate in the reward given to his forbear for good deeds performed. (Exodus 20,6)
Rabbeinu Bahya
כי אתנו אנחנו אלה פה היום כלנו, “but with us we who are here all of us alive today.” Moses‘ point is that “the covenant was concluded with us.” Seeing that there were some survivors from the time of the revelation at Mount Sinai, Moses added: “G’d spoke with you face to face, etc.” In verse 5 Moses recalls to the survivors of that time that at that time they (their elders) had asked him to be the go-between between themselves and G’d as they felt unable to endure the voice of G’d directly any longer.
Hashem spoke with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire—
verse value 1743 — יְהֹוָ֧ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 30 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֧ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "he·spoke" (דִּבֶּ֨ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "face" (בְּפָנִ֗ים, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "face" (בְּפָנִ֗ים). The root פנים appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "he·spoke" (root דבר, 170x in Deuteronomy); "face" (root פנים, 127x in Deuteronomy). Full calculation: פָּנִ֣ים [face] (180) + בְּפָנִ֗ים [face] (182) + דִּבֶּ֨ר [he·spoke] (206) + יְהֹוָ֧ה [Hashem] (26) + עִמָּכֶ֛ם [with·you] (170) + בָּהָ֖ר [the·mountain] (207) + מִתּ֥וֹךְ [midst] (466) + הָאֵֽשׁ [fire] (306) = 1743.
Onkelos
Word with word did Hashem speak with you on the mountain from the midst of the fire.
Rashi
פנים בפנים FACE TO FACE — R. Berechia said: Thus did Moses, in effect, say: Do not think that I am misleading you with something which does not exist at all, as an agent does acting between the vendor and the purchaser; behold, the seller Himself is speaking to you (God who transmitted the Torah to you) (cf. Pesikta Rabbati 21: Pesachim Rabbah פ' י' הדברות קמייתא).
Ibn Ezra
"Face to face" — without an intermediary. The meaning is: as when one causes his voice to be heard to another with his face toward his face, even if he does not see him.
Sforno
פנים בפנים, not in a nocturnal vision when you were asleep.
Chizkuni
פנים בפנים דבר ה' עמכם, “The Lord spoke with you face to face;” Moses refers to the first two commandments that G-d addressed directly to all the people, before they asked Moses to become their gobetween as they found G-d’s voice too overpowering and were afraid of dying. (Compare verse 22)
Rabbeinu Bahya
פנים בפנים דבר ה’ עמכם, “the Lord spoke with you face to face.” According to the plain meaning of the text the meaning is that there was no intermediary between G’d’s voice and the people’s ears. According to a Midrashic approach (Shemot Rabbah 29,2) G’d told the people that the fact that they had experienced a variety of manifestations of Him must not mislead them. The fact is that sometimes G’d appeared to them in the guise of a young man, a warrior (Exodus 15,3), and other times as an old man (Hoseah 12,11), a sage, sometimes they perceived Him as seated, whereas other times as standing up. At Mount Sinai they perceived Him as an old man seated, dispensing the Torah. The words פנים בפנים then mean: ”I have spoken to you revealing many different facets of Myself.” A kabbalistic approach: compare author’s comment on Exodus 33,11
I stood between Hashem and you at that time, to declare to you the word of Hashem; for you were afraid because of the fire, and went not up into the mount — saying:
verse value 3917 — יְהֹוָ֑ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 74 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·you·did·not·go·up" (וְלֹֽא־עֲלִיתֶ֥ם, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "between·Hashem" (בֵּין־יְהֹוָ֤ה), "and·between·you" (וּבֵֽינֵיכֶם֙), "to·tell" (לְהַגִּ֥יד). The root יהוה appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "between·Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "word" (root דבר, 170x in Deuteronomy); "for" (root כי, 164x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 7 words.
Onkelos
I was standing between the Word of Hashem and between you at that time, to declare to you the word of Hashem — for you feared before the fire and you did not go up the mountain — saying:
Rashi
לאמר SAYING — This is to be connected with (v. 4), דבר ה' עמכם בהר מתוך האש “[face to face] the Lord spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire”, — לאמר, אנכי וגו׳, saying. “I am the Lord, etc.", ואנכי עמד בין ה׳ וביניכם WHILST I STOOD BETWEEN THE LORD AND YOU.
Ramban
I STOOD BETWEEN THE ETERNAL AND YOU AT THAT TIME, TO DECLARE UNTO YOU THE WORD OF THE ETERNAL. For Moses would go up to the mountain and hear the words of G-d and come down and tell them to the people, until G-d spoke with them face to face. This is an allusion to all that is mentioned in the section In the third month, beginning with Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob [and concluding with] And the Eternal said unto him, Go, get thee down. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that this [occurrence referred to in the verse, I stood between the Eternal and you etc.,] happened after the Revelation at Mount Sinai, the purport of the verse being as follows: “He spoke with you face to face [at the giving of the Ten Commandments], and from that day on I stood between G-d and you.” But it is not correct. It appears to me that the correct interpretation is that Moses is alluding to what we have explained there that Israel understood from the mouth of the Almighty only the commandments I am the Eternal thy G-d etc. and Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. As for the rest of the commandments, it was Moses who declared to them what G-d said. This is the meaning [of the expression here], to declare unto you the word of the Eternal, for he explained to them each and every commandment. And the meaning of the expression (I stood) between the Eternal and you is that, at the time of the giving of the commandments, Moses was nearer than they to the place of the Divine Glory, for they had removed themselves far [from the mountain] as I have explained there. This is [the sense of the words] for ye were afraid because of the fire, and went not up into the Mount meaning that you did not approach it [even the part] that was permissible to you [to approach]. Therefore I stood between you and the place of the Glory — in the middle — because it was distant between you and Him, and from there I declared [the rest of] the commandments [to you]. SAYING. “This [word] refers to [the expression in the preceding verse], the Eternal spoke with you in the Mount out of the midst of the fire — saying: I am the Eternal thy G-d etc.” This is Rashi’s language. And Rabbi Abraham [ibn Ezra] said: “Pay no attention to the fact that the word saying is far [from the phrase it modifies in the preceding verse], for there are many such cases in Scripture, and the one who spoke [Moses] neither separated his words into verses nor sections.” It would be more correct to connect the word saying with [the preceding phrase in the same verse], to declare unto you the word of the Eternal—saying: I am the Eternal thy G-d, similar to the expression, And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying [in which case the word saying connects itself properly with the preceding and following phrases: saying — It is because of that which the Eternal did for me when I came forth out of Egypt]. But in my opinion there is no need at all [for either interpretation], for its meaning is as follows: “for ye were...
Ibn Ezra
"I was standing between Hashem and you" — I have already explained this. "For you were afraid because of the fire" — even though you had not ascended the mountain. And the word "saying" is connected with "Hashem spoke with you at the mountain from within the fire, saying." It is also possible to interpret "I was standing between Hashem" as referring to a time after the standing at Mount Sinai — meaning that He spoke with you face to face, and from that day onward I stood between Hashem and you, because you were afraid, as will be explained: "And you did not ascend the mountain," as I ascended — for Moses drew near to the thick darkness. And do not be troubled that the word "saying" is distant [from its antecedent], for this occurs frequently, and the speaker did not divide the verse divisions or the parasha divisions. Moreover, do not attend to the words, for they are like bodies and the meanings are like souls — and one who cuts with two instruments, each like the other, performs one action. Therefore "falsehood" (שָׁוְא) and "lie" (שֶׁקֶר) are brothers, for every lie is falsehood. I have already explained that "remember" (זָכוֹר) is equivalent to "observe" (שָׁמוֹר), and [Deuteronomy] adds "as Hashem your God commanded you," the meaning being: at the standing at Mount Sinai.
Sforno
לאמר, פני בפנים דבר ה' עמכם, the word עמכם, “with you,” is used in the sense of אליכם, “to you,” [seeing the Israelites did not respond to G’d with words of their own at that time. Ed.] לאמר אנכי, A explained on Exodus 20,1-2. If so, why did Moses have to stand in a position between that from which G’d’s voice emanated and the people? This was only to tell you the meaning of the words of G’d and to add to the degree of awe with which G’d’s words have to be related to. You yourselves were too sacred to hear G’d’s voice any further. [This is also the reason why you were afraid to ascend the mountain when you saw the fire. Ed.]
Or HaChaim
אנכי עומד בין ה׳ וביניכם, "I was standing between the Lord and between you, etc." This verse means that for part of the Ten Commandments G'd spoke with the people face to face, whereas during part of the Ten Commandments He spoke to them through an intermediary. The reason G'd employed an intermediary for part of the Ten Commandments was not His unwillingness to speak to the people directly, but to their fear of dying. ולא עליתם בהר לאמור. "and you did not ascend the mountain, saying." This means that G'd forbade you to ascend the mountain because of His wanting to say: אנכי ה׳ אלוקיכם, "I am the Lord your G'd, etc."
Chizkuni
אנכי עומד בין ה' ובינכם, “I stood between the Lord and between you;” I did so in order to convey the other eight commandments to you. ולא עליתם בהר לאמר, and you did not ascend the Mountain;” you did not have to ascend the Mountain during the revelation of the Ten Commandments, nor as I did for 40 days thereafter in order to receive the whole Torah. (Ibn Ezra)
Rabbeinu Bahya
אנכי עומד בין ה’ וביניכם, “I was standing between Hashem and between you.” According to Ibn Ezra this verse speaks about Moses being an intermediary between the Israelites and G’d ever since the revelation at Mount Sinai. However, the correct meaning is that described by Nachmanides, that Moses reverted to describe what happened during that revelation when Moses was speaking to the Israelites translating G’d’s words to them, i.e. making what they had heard intelligible to them. The Israelites had both heard and understood the first two of the Ten Commandments. They heard G’d’s voice saying the remainder but did not understand the words and their meanings. This is the meaning of להגיד לכם את דבר ה’, “to tell you the word of Hashem, i.e. the ones you did not understand.” You had become afraid of the fire and you had not ascended the mountain.
Tur HaArokh
אנכי עומד בין ה' וביניכם בעת ההיא, “I was standing between Hashem and between you at that time;” Nachmanides explains this statement as a reference to Moses having ascended the Mountain in order to listen to G’d’s words, words he relayed to the people until the day when Hashem addressed the people personally. (Verse 6) The period covered by Moses began on the first day of Sivan as we read in Exodus Moses had been instructed to relay G’d’s words to the people commencing with the line כה תאמר לבית יעקב, “Thus you shall say to the House of Yaakov” in verse 3 of that chapter. G’d’s instructions continued until He said לך רד ועלית, in Ibn Ezra says that the passage we are reading here was said by Moses after the revelation at Mount Sinai, and that the meaning of the words is that after G’d had spoken to you “face to face,” and you had been unable to endure this and remain alive at the same time, G’d decided to use me as your interpreter as you yourselves had requested. Therefore, from then on I have been standing between you and between Hashem. Nachmanides does not accept this interpretation but prefers the interpretation of our sages, referring to his interpretation on Exodus 20,7 that the Israelites actually only heard and understood the first two of the Ten Commandments from G’d’s own mouth, and that they did not understand the other Commandments though their ears heard them. They had been under far too great an emotional impact. From the third Commandment onwards, Moses was already the interpreter. At any rate, at the time of the revelation, from the point of view of physical proximity, Moses had been asked by G’d to position himself so that he would be closer to the source of these words which appeared to issue forth from the Mountain, than the people who had remained at the foot of the Mountain. לאמור, “to relay by word of mouth.” Rashi says that this refers to repeating the revelation at Mount Sinai, the words G’d had spoken to the people at that time. Nachmanides writes that there is no need for this commentary at all, but that the fact that at the time the people had been so terrified by the accompanying thunder and lightning that they were unable to even properly understand G’d’s words. This had made it necessary that Moses repeat to them what G’d had said on that occasion. Moses was now going to verbalise what the people had remembered only in their minds, i.e their unspoken desire to have him be the go between Hashem and themselves. Nachmanides continues that the part of the Torah known to us all as משנה תורה, “review of the Torah,” commences now with the restatement of the Ten Commandments. Moses did not introduce any changes into the first two of these Commandments, the ones that the people themselves had heard directly from the mouth of G’d. Moses also did not edit in the sense of “expand on” the third Commandment. He began explaining when he substituted the word שמור instead of זכור at the beginning of the fourth Commandment, that of Sabbath observance. He explained that aspect of the Sabbath legislation to them now, their already being familiar with the aspect known as זכור. He informed them that the שמור aspect had been revealed at the same time as the זכור aspect. He added the words:
Rashbam
לאמר, this refers to verse 4 in which Moses referred to the פנים אל פנים “face to face” encounter when G’d addressed the Jewish people directly at the revelation on Mount Sinai commencing the Decalogue with the words “I am the Lord your G’d, etc.”
I am Hashem your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
verse value 2495 — יְהֹוָ֣ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 41 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֧ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "I·brought·you·out" (הוֹצֵאתִ֛יךָ, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "I·brought·you·out" (הוֹצֵאתִ֛יךָ). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·God', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: אָֽנֹכִ֖י֙ [i] (81) + יְהֹוָ֣ה [Hashem] (26) + אֱלֹהֶ֑֔יךָ [your·God] (66) + אֲשֶׁ֧ר [that] (501) + הוֹצֵאתִ֛יךָ [I·brought·you·out] (532) + מֵאֶ֥רֶץ [from·the·land] (331) + מִצְרַ֖יִם [Egypt] (380) + מִבֵּ֣֥ית [from·house] (452) + עֲבָדִֽ֑ים [slaves] (126) = 2495.
Onkelos
I am Hashem your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
Targum Yonatan
Sons of Israel, My people, I am the Lord your God, who made and led you out free from the land of Mizraim, from the house of the bondage of slaves.
Verse structure: 4 words, 23 letters. Notable word values: "gods" (אֱלֹהִ֥֨ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "gods" (אֱלֹהִ֥֨ים, 5 letters) and the longest is "there·shall·not·be·to·you" (לֹ֣א־יִהְיֶֽ֥ה־לְךָ֛֩, 8 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "there·shall·not·be·to·you" (לֹ֣א־יִהְיֶֽ֥ה־לְךָ֛֩). 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "gods" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy); "there·shall·not·be·to·you" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy); "upon·face" (root פנים, 127x in Deuteronomy). Full calculation: לֹ֣א־יִהְיֶֽ֥ה־לְךָ֛֩ [there·shall·not·be·to·you] (111) + אֱלֹהִ֥֨ים [gods] (86) + אֲחֵרִ֖֜ים [other] (259) + עַל־פָּנַָֽ֗י [upon·face] (240) = 696.
Onkelos
You shall have no other god besides Me.
Rashi
על פני BEFORE ME — i.e. in any place where I am, and that is the entire world. Another explanation: so long as I exist (i.e. always) (Mekhilta). — The Ten Commandments — I have already explained them (Exodus 20:1-14).
Rashbam
על פני. I believe that G’d’s point is that even if you believe in Him absolutely and exclusively, you must not make any tangible symbol, anything that you would use as a charm, such as Bileam who did believe in G’d but used charms to help him establish communication with G’d, much as mediums use techniques involving bodily contact. Lavan even called such tangible symbols as his teraphim: “e-lohay,” (Genesis 31,30) The prohibition in Exodus 20,22 not to make “gods of silver or gold,” is not intended to suggest that Jews would consider such man made objects as being divine, but they are a form of establishing indirect rather than direct contact with G’d, contact without resorting to anything physical tangible. G’d made the same point repeatedly, such as in Exodus 22,19.
You shall not make for yourself a graven image, even any manner of likeness, of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
verse value 6066
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 58 letters. Verse gematria: 6066 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "idol" (פֶ֣֙סֶל֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "you·shall·not·make·for·yourself" (לֹֽ֣א־תַעֲשֶֽׂ֨ה־לְךָ֥֣, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 848: below, below. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "you·shall·not·make·for·yourself" (לֹֽ֣א־תַעֲשֶֽׂ֨ה־לְךָ֥֣). The root אשר appears 3 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "earth" (root ארץ, 193x in Deuteronomy); "you·shall·not·make·for·yourself" (root עשה, 163x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'below', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 4 words. Full calculation: לֹֽ֣א־תַעֲשֶֽׂ֨ה־לְךָ֥֣ [you·shall·not·make·for·yourself] (856) + פֶ֣֙סֶל֙ [idol] (170) + כׇּל־תְּמוּנָ֔֡ה [all·form] (551) + אֲשֶׁ֤֣ר [that] (501) + בַּשָּׁמַ֣֙יִם֙ [heavens] (392) + מִמַּ֔֡עַל [above] (180) + וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר֩ [and·that] (507) + בָּאָ֖֨רֶץ [earth] (293) + מִתַָּ֑֜חַת [below] (848) + וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר [and·that] (507) + בַּמַּ֖֣יִם [waters] (92) + מִתַּ֥֣חַת [below] (848) + לָאָֽ֗רֶץ [land] (321) = 6066.
Onkelos
You shall not make for yourself an image, any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or what is on the earth below, or what is in the waters beneath the earth.
You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them; for I Hashem your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me,
verse value 4689 — יְהֹוָ֤ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 76 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֤ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "you·shall·not·bow·down" (לֹא־תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֥֣ה, 8 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "you·shall·not·bow·down" (לֹא־תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֥֣ה), "you·shall·serve·them" (תׇעׇבְדֵ֑ם֒), "visiting" (פֹּ֠קֵ֠ד). 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy); "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·shall·serve·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 13 words.
Onkelos
You shall not bow down to them and you shall not serve them, for I am Hashem your God, a jealous God, who charges the sins of fathers upon rebellious children, to the third generation and to the fourth generation of those who hate Me, when the children continue to sin after their fathers.
Targum Yonatan
thou shalt not worship them or do service before them; for I am the Lord your God, a jealous and avenging God, taking vengeance in jealousy; remembering the sins of wicked fathers upon rebellious children to the third generation and to the fourth of them that hate Me, when the children complete to sin after their fathers;.
and showing kindness to thousands of generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
verse value 1824
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "kindness" (חֶ֖֙סֶד֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·the·thousands" (לַֽאֲלָפִ֑֔ים, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "kindness" (חֶ֖֙סֶד֙), "to·the·thousands" (לַֽאֲלָפִ֑֔ים), "those·who·love·me" (לְאֹהֲבַ֖י). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·doing" (root עשה, 163x in Deuteronomy); "and·those·who·keep" (root שמר, 73x in Deuteronomy); "my·commandments" (root מצוה, 43x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root חסד ("kindness") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·the·thousands', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְעֹ֥֤שֶׂה [and·doing] (381) + חֶ֖֙סֶד֙ [kindness] (72) + לַֽאֲלָפִ֑֔ים [to·the·thousands] (191) + לְאֹהֲבַ֖י [those·who·love·me] (48) + וּלְשֹׁמְרֵ֥י [and·those·who·keep] (586) + מִצְוֺתָֽי [my·commandments] (546) = 1824.
Onkelos
And who performs kindness to thousands of generations, to those who love Me and to those who keep My commandments.
Chizkuni
ולשומרי מצותו, “and to those who observe His commandments. The word מצותו is read as if it had been spelled מצותיו, “His commandments” (pl.)
You shall not take the name of Hashem your God in vain; for Hashem will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
verse value 4451 — יְהֹוָ֔ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 51 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֔ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "name·Hashem" (אֶת־שֵֽׁם־יְהֹוָ֥ה, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 337: in·vain, in·vain. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "name·Hashem" (אֶת־שֵֽׁם־יְהֹוָ֥ה), "will·acquit" (יְנַקֶּה֙), "that·he·bears" (אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־יִשָּׂ֥א). The root לא appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "name·Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy); "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root שוא ("in·vain") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·vain', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 7 words. Full calculation: לֹ֥א [not] (31) + תִשָּׂ֛א [you·shall·bear] (701) + אֶת־שֵֽׁם־יְהֹוָ֥ה [name·Hashem] (767) + אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ [your·God] (66) + לַשָּׁ֑וְא [in·vain] (337) + כִּ֣י [for] (30) + לֹ֤א [not] (31) + יְנַקֶּה֙ [will·acquit] (165) + יְהֹוָ֔ה [Hashem] (26) + אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־יִשָּׂ֥א [that·he·bears] (1213) + אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ [his·name] (747) + לַשָּֽׁוְא [in·vain] (337) = 4451.
Onkelos
You shall not swear in vain by the name of Hashem your God, for Hashem will not acquit one who swears by His name falsely.
Targum Yonatan
Sons of Israel, My people, no one of you shall swear by the Name of the Word of the Lord your God in vain: for the Lord, in the day of the great judgment, will not acquit any one who shall swear by His Name in vain.
Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Hashem your God commanded you.
verse value 2879 — יְהֹוָ֥֣ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "commanded·you" (צִוְּךָ֖֣, 3 letters) and the longest is "day" (אֶת־י֥וֹם֩, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "to·consecrate·it" (לְקַדְּשׁ֑֜וֹ). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "as·that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root שבת ("Sabbath") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·consecrate·it', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: שָׁמ֛֣וֹר [observe] (546) + אֶת־י֥וֹם֩ [day] (457) + הַשַּׁבָּ֖֨ת [Sabbath] (707) + לְקַדְּשׁ֑֜וֹ [to·consecrate·it] (440) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר [as·that] (521) + צִוְּךָ֖֣ [commanded·you] (116) + יְהֹוָ֥֣ה [Hashem] (26) + אֱלֹהֶֽ֗יךָ [your·God] (66) = 2879.
Onkelos
Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as Hashem your God has commanded you.
Rashi
שמור OBSERVE [THE SABBATH DAY] — But in the former Ten Commandments (i.e. where they were first promulgated, in Exodus XX.), it states, “Remember [the Sabbath day]"! The explanation is: Both of them (זכור and שמור) were spoken in one utterance and as one word, and were heard in one hearing (i.e. were heard simultaneously) (Mekhilta). כאשר צוך [OBSERVE THE SABBATH DAY TO SANCTIFY IT] AS [THE LORD THY GOD] COMMANDED THEE before the giving of the Law, at Marah (Shabbat 87b).
Ramban
And now he begins the review of the Torah. He told them the Ten Commandments, not changing and not explaining anything in [the first two commandments]: I am the Eternal etc., and Thou shalt have no other gods before Me, for they heard them from the mouth of the Almighty. So, too, [there are no changes or explanations] in the third commandment because he already stated [here, as in the text of the third commandment in Exodus 20:7, Thou shalt not take] the Name of the Eternal thy G-d [etc.], as I have explained in the section Ye shall be holy. Then he began to exposit to them, saying ‘Observe’ [the Sabbath-day] instead of ‘Remember’ [the Sabbath-day], this being in line with the plain meaning of Scripture [i.e., that ‘Observe’ is the explanation of ‘Remember’]. And in the opinion of our Rabbis “[Remember and Observe] both were spoken in one utterance.” He explained this to them [here] because they all know Remember, and he is thus informing them [now] that Observe was said with it. And so it is by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], that they were both spoken in one utterance seeing that the Voice was both in “remembering” and “observing,” for the Torah is an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure, and he [i.e., Moses] heard from [the attribute of] Remember while they [i.e., the people, heard] from that of Observe. The student [learned in the mystic teachings of the Cabala] will know this from what we have hinted there. He explained [with reference to the commandment that we are to Observe the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy] as the Eternal thy G-d commanded thee — “before the Giving of the Torah, at Marah, [for there it is said], there He made for them a statute and an ordinance.” This is the language of Rashi. But if so, the commandment to honor father and mother was also given at Marah [for in the commandment, to honor parents, too, it is stated as the Eternal thy G-d commanded thee], but the Rabbi [Rashi] mentioned there [in connection with the verse referring to Marah] only “the Sabbath, the Red Heifer, and the laws of justice” [as having been given at Marah, but not the honoring of parents].It appears to me by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], concerning this matter [of the Ten Commandments] as well as the whole Book of Deuteronomy that Moses was speaking as if from the mouth of the Almighty, as he said, And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto My commandments which I command you this day, to love the Eternal your G-d, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, that I will give rain for your Land in its season. Now Moses is not the one who giveth rain upon the earth, nor the one who gives grass in the fields! Rather, the communication of the Torah was given with Remember, and that of Deuteronomy with Observe. Therefore, Moses everywhere in Deuteronomy mentions the Eternal thy G-d while in [the first four books of] the Torah he mentions only the Pr...
Sforno
לקדשו כאשר צוך, in the manner He had already issued commandments pertaining to Sabbath observance at Marah (Exodus 15,26)
Or HaChaim
שמור את יום השבת, "Observe the Sabbath day, etc." Rosh Hashanah 27 teaches that the formula שמור את יום השבת (in Exodus 20) and the formula שמור את יום השבת (here) were articulated simultaneously. According to this interpretation we can understand the words כאשר צוך in our verse as a reference to the word זכור in the first report of the Ten Commandments in the Book of Exodus. We find in the Mechilta on the parallel verse in Exodus that the word שמור was enunciated later. [The Mechilta there quotes other examples of laws which were articulated by G'd simultaneously, i.e. by His using two words to describe them, and which also had to be written separately due to our limited ability to reproduce words articulated simultaneously as such. Ed.] We must ask why the Torah did not write the words זכור and שמור sequentially in Exodus instead of waitng till here to write this word. Perhaps the Torah intentionally separated these words in order that we should not think that the latter expression refers to the time during which the זכור aspect of the Sabbath applies. We might have understood the two words to mean: "remember to observe the Sabbath (at a certain time)." By separating the apparance of these two words the Torah conveyed that it spoke about two separate commandments one of which applies at the beginning of the Sabbath, the other at its conclusion. It is even possible that G'd Himself only uttered the word זכור; however, intelligent people realised that this word implied both the meaning associated with the word זכור and the meaning associated with the word שמור.
Chizkuni
שמור את יום השבת, “to observe the Sabbath day.” In the first version of the Ten Commandments the Torah wrote: זכור את יום השבת, “to remember the Sabbath day.” This was in order to remind the people of the Sabbath each week as they were not to go out looking for manna. Now, in the fortieth year, when the people had been familiar with the manna since the day they were born, it was more appropriate for Moses to underline the importance of the observance of the commandments related to Sabbath observance. Another interpretation for the difference in the terminology used on these two occasions for the law to keep the Sabbath day. The expression שמר also means “to remember.” It was used first by Yaakov when Joseph related the dream to him in which sun, moon and eleven stars bowed down to him (Genesis 37,11) The word שמר refers to long term remembering. Yaakov/Joseph had to wait for 22 years until they understood the meaning of that dream. זכור, on the other hand, refers to remembering for a short period of time. This is like the person who waits all day long for the arrival of the Shabbat so that he can properly sanctify it, like Rabbi Yannai who would wrap himself in his tallit and stand at the eve of Shabbat at twilight, saying: Come, my bride; come, my bride. It is also possible that the expression זכור is addressed to people embarking on protracted voyages on the sea, where they may lose track of time, whereas the expression שמור is addressed to people living on dry land. כאשר צוך, “as He has commanded you.” Rashi comments that this commandment was first issued at Marah (Exodus 15,25.) When the first version of the Ten Commandments was read to the people, they were to remember that already at Marah they had received instructions about parts of the Sabbath legislation. In our paragraph, the people had to be reminded that actually the Sabbath legislation had preceded the revelation on Mount Sinai, and that the bulk of that legislation had been taught to the people already at Marah. We can find proof of this in the Haggadah shel Pessach, where the author, recounting 15 stages of gifts we had received from G-d, states specifically that if G-d had given us only the Sabbath, and never added the revelation at Mount Sinai, this too would have been ample reason to thank Him. According to the plain meaning of the words כאשר צוך is that G-d when He commanded us to observe the Sabbath by reminding us that we should emulate Him and rest on that day just as He had rested on that day. (Exodus 20 11) Still another interpretation: seeing that this expression also occurs in the fifth commandment, which follows immediately, and these two commandments comprise both negative and positive aspects, they are especially to be remembered for that feature. [This is according to the view that both the word זכור and the word שמור, mean: “to remember.” Ed.]
Rabbeinu Bahya
שמור את יום השבת לקדשו , “safeguard the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” In the first recorded version of the Ten Commandments, this commandment was introduced with the word זכור “to remember.” The reason for the variation is to obligate women to listen to kiddush and havdalah. Women are traditionally not obligated to observe positive commandments the performance of which is tied to a certain time frame. If the Torah had not written the word שמור here, the laws about a formal sanctification of the Sabbath, kiddush, and a formal termination of the holiness of the Sabbath, havdalah, would not have been applicable to women. By writing a formula applicable to negative commandments, i.e. שמור, in this version, the Torah made it plain that women are included in these aspects of Sabbath obser-vance. The technical halachic means of arriving at this is termed: “every person who is obligated to fulfill the שמור aspect of the Sabbath legislation is automatically also obligated to observe the זכור aspect, seeing the Torah once employs the one term and once the other.” (Berachot 20,2). This statement effectively covers the Sabbath from its commencement to its termination. Our sages committed this principle to memory by coining the phrase זכור ושמור בדבור אחד נאמרו, “the words זכור and שמור were said as a single utterance” (Shvuot 20). A kabbalistic approach to the concept of בדבור אחד נאמרו: We explained that normally G’d’s legislation appears under the heading of Hashem, i.e. the attribute of Mercy being predominant. In the Book of Deuteronomy, this norm is reversed and Moses almost always speaks of ה’ אלו-היך, “the Lord your G’d,” i.e. a blend (of equal proportions) of the attribute of Mercy and the attribute of Justice. According to accepted norms the first set of the Ten Commandments should have been introduced by Hashem whereas in fact the first set of the Commandments is introduced by the uncharacteristic וידבר אלו-הים, “G’d spoke” (Exodus 20,1). G’d had employed only the attribute of Justice when He began to create the universe. When it came to creating man who was subject to His commandments G’d co-opted the attribute of Mercy in His creation as we explained in our commentary on Genesis 2,4 ב-הבראם. The letter ה alludes to this attribute of Hashem. We have explained that the universe was created by G’d employing 5 sounds. The universe was created in 6 days. The Torah was given on the 6th day of Sivan, and you find the name אלו-הים 32 times in the course of the Torah’s report of the creation. The revelation comprises 10 commandments [10 commandments plus 5 sounds plus five Books of the Torah, plus six days plus the 6th of Sivan add up to 32. Ed.] The Torah commences with the letter ב, concluding with the letter ל, another allusion to the 32 paths of wisdom of the Torah. All of these allusions are reminders of Who created the universe and Who gave us the Torah. כאשר צוך ה’ אלו-היך, “as the Lord your G’d commanded you;” at the revelation at Mount Sinai at which time the Torah commenced with וידבר אלו-הים, to remind us that the Creator spoke those words.
Tur HaArokh
כאשר צוך ה' אלוקיך, “as the Lord your G’d has commanded you “ Rashi understands these words to refer to the part of the Sabbath legislation given to the people at Marah, prior to the revelation at Mount Sinai, where they had also been taught about the red heifer and various items of civil law. Here he added:
Rashbam
שמור את יום השבת, I have already explained in Exodus 20 why this time the expression שמור is used instead of the expression זכור which the Torah used there. כאשר צוך ה' אלוקיך, a reference to G’d having explained the rationale for Sabbath observance in the paragraph dealing with it both in Parshat Yitro (Exodus 20,10) as well as in Parshat Ki Tissa, and Parshat Vayakhel. The expression כאשר צוך used in connection with a positive commandment means that failure to observe it is simultaneously the violation of a negative commandment. We do not find individual negative commandments accompanied by a warning: “which the Lord your G’d has commanded you not to do.”
Verse structure: 5 words, 24 letters. The shortest word is "six" (שֵׁ֤֣שֶׁת, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·your·work" (כׇּֿל־מְלַאכְתֶּֽךָ֒, 8 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "all·your·work" (כׇּֿל־מְלַאכְתֶּֽךָ֒). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "days" (root יום, 168x in Deuteronomy); "and·you·shall·do" (root עשה, 163x in Deuteronomy); "you·shall·labor" (root עבד, 64x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root שש ("six") in Deuteronomy. First appearance of the root מלאכה ("all·your·work") in Deuteronomy. Full calculation: שֵׁ֤֣שֶׁת [six] (1000) + יָמִ֣ים֙ [days] (100) + תַּֽעֲבֹ֔ד֮ [you·shall·labor] (476) + וְעָשִׂ֖֣יתָ [and·you·shall·do] (786) + כׇּֿל־מְלַאכְתֶּֽךָ֒ [all·your·work] (561) = 2923.
but the seventh day is a sabbath to Hashem your God, in it you shall not do any manner of work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates; that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
verse value 7290 — כָּמֽ֑וֹךָ = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 109 letters. Notable word values: "like·you" (כָּמֽ֑וֹךָ) = 86, equal to Elohim. Verse gematria: 7290 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "your·slave·and·your·maid-servant" (וְעַבְדְּךָֽ־וַ֠אֲמָתֶ֠ךָ, 10 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "day" (וְי֨וֹם֙), "all·work" (כׇל־מְלָאכָ֡ה), "your·son·and·your·daughter" (וּבִנְךָֽ־וּבִתֶּ֣ךָ). The root עבד appears 2 times in this verse. 21 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root שביעי ("seventh") in Deuteronomy. First appearance of the root שור ("and·your·ox") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·God', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 17 words.
Onkelos
But the seventh day is a Sabbath before Hashem your God; you shall do no work — you, your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your ox, your donkey, and all your cattle, and your sojourner who is within your gates — so that your manservant and your maidservant may rest like you.
Ramban
He added here [in the commandment on the Sabbath] stating nor thine ox, nor thine ass to explain that He prohibits working the earth [on the Sabbath] even though it involves the livelihood of man, similar to what He said, in plowing time and in harvest shalt thou rest. He stated here that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou; and thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt etc., in order to explain that He commanded concerning the resting of the servant as well as yourself, because, since you were a servant and G-d gave you rest, so you too are to give rest to your servant. Thus the sense of the verses is as follows: “When your manservant and your maidservant will rest as well as you then you will remember that you were a servant etc.”
Ibn Ezra
"Your ox and your donkey and all your livestock" — first a particular, then a general, whereas earlier [in Exodus] it is general first; yet both are equivalent. "So that he may rest" — he adds to explain the reason for [the law of] your male servant and female servant. "And you shall remember that you were a slave" — and [Hashem] gave rest to your servant; therefore Hashem your God commanded you to do so on the Sabbath day. The meaning pertains to the rest of the servant. Some say that the servant does not actually rest, and that Hashem took you out of slavery and commanded you to rest, so that you remember that you were a slave. Regarding the commandment "honor," [the phrase] "as He commanded you" is as I have explained.
Sforno
למעו ינוח עבדך ואמתך כמוך, from the positioning of the commandment that your beasts of burden have to refrain from performing work for you on the Sabbath, before mentioning your children and servants observing such Sabbath rest, it is clear that the reasons animals owned by you must rest o the Sabbath is for the sake of the men working them, not because animals per se are subject to the spiritual concepts governing the Sabbath and its laws. The need for one’s slaves to observe the Sabbath rest is, of course, part of the reminder that when you were slaves you did not enjoy such a day of rest. Hence, do not treat your slave in the hateful you were treated when you were in his shoes.
Rabbeinu Bahya
למען ינוח עבדך ואמתך כמוך, “so that your male servant as well as our female servant may enjoy rest just like you.” The Torah here gave a reason for the work-prohibition on the Sabbath by your servants, i.e. that the Sabbath was not legislated to give the slaves a rest, but the rest enjoyed by the slaves is merely a by-product of their owners’ rest. In other words, seeing that G’d has had pity on you and instead of your having to serve Him for 7 days a week (the curse of earning one’s livelihood in the sweat of our brow) we in turn should display the same kind of consideration for our own servants and not assign them tasks on the days when we rest.
Tur HaArokh
ושורך וחמורך, “as well as your oxen and your donkeys;” Moses explained that not only the immediate working of the soil that produces our livelihood is forbidden on the Sabbath, but that those who work the soil, the farmer’s agents, -if you will,- who help him produce a crop, must also rest on the Sabbath. In this context he added further למען ינוח עבדך ואמתך כמוך, “in order that your servant, and your servant-maid rest just like you.” A reason for all this is:
And you shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and Hashem your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore Hashem your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day.
verse value 5285 — יְהֹוָ֤֨ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 87 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֤֨ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "from·there" (מִשָּׁ֔ם֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·you·shall·remember" (וְזָכַרְתָּ֗֞, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 380: Egypt, from·there. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "and·he·brought·you·out" (וַיֹּצִ֨אֲךָ֜֩). The root יהוה appears 2 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy); "land·of" (root ארץ, 193x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'outstretched', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 7 words.
Onkelos
And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Hashem your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and with an upraised arm; therefore Hashem your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
Rashi
וזכרת כי עבד היית וגו׳ AND THOU SHALT REMEMBER THAT THOU WAST A SLAVE [IN THE LAND OF EGYPT … AND THE LORD BROUGHT THEE FORTH FROM THERE … THEREFORE HE COMMANDS THEE TO KEEP THE SABBATH DAY] — On that condition He freed you — that you should be a servant to Him and observe His commandments.
Ramban
THEREFORE THE ETERNAL THY G-D COMMANDED THEE TO KEEP THE SABBATH-DAY. The meaning thereof is that He commanded you to do so [give rest to the servant] on the Sabbath-day. So did Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explain it. But it is not correct, for we say in the Kiddush [i.e., the proclamation of the sanctity] of the Sabbath, “For this day is the first of the hallowed gatherings recalling our going forth from Egypt” just as we say that it “recalls the work of Creation!” And the Rabbi [Moshe ben Maimon] stated in the Moreh Nebuchim that “the ‘first statement’ [i.e., citing the Creation, as given in the Book of Exodus] expresses the honor and distinction of the day, just as He said, therefore the Eternal hath blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it, and hence He mentioned the reason for in six days etc. But here he warned us to observe the Sabbath because of our having been slaves, working all day against our will and never having rest, and he commanded us now to abstain from work and rest in order that we remember the kindnesses of G-d towards us in bringing us forth from slavery to rest. Thus the Sabbath in general has two reasons: that we believe in the creation of the world [i.e., that the world was created at some point in time out of absolute nought rather than being of infinite age], that the world has a G-d Who is the Creator, and that we remember further the great kindness that He did with us, that we are His servants, since He acquired us for Himself as servants.” This [statement of Rambam] is also not clear to me, for when we are resting and not doing work on the seventh day we are not provided with a remembrance of the exodus from Egypt, nor does anyone who sees us being idle from work have any knowledge of this [reason]. Rather, the Sabbath is like all the other commandments, but it contains a reminder of the Creation because of the fact that we rest on the day that G-d ceased from work thereon and rested. And it is more fitting to say that because the exodus from Egypt is evidence of the existence of an Eternal G-d, Who caused everything to come into existence through His will and Who has supreme power, as I have explained in the first commandment — therefore he stated here: “If there ever arises a doubt in your heart concerning the Sabbath that evidences the creation of the world by the will and power of G-d, you should remember what your eyes saw at the exodus from Egypt which is, to you, the evidence [of His infinite power] and the remembrance [of His deeds].” Thus the Sabbath is a remembrance of the exodus from Egypt, and the exodus is a remembrance of the Sabbath, for on it [the Sabbath] they remember and say that it is G-d Who makes new signs and wonders in everything and does with everything according to His will since it is He Who created everything at the beginning of creation. This, then, is the sense of the expression, therefore the Eternal thy G-d commanded thee to keep the Sabbath-day. Now, he did not explain here that the rea...
Or HaChaim
וזכרת כי עבד היית, "remember that you used to be a slave, etc." These are Moses' words. Moses meant that the Sabbath legislation also contains an element which relates it to the Exodus. When someone rests and does not have to perform labour for someone else he will feel that it was G'd who enabled His people to rest up from all its problems and he will concentrate on gladly accepting the laws given by G'd who took the people out of that particular bondage. Pessachim 117 teaches that these words are the reason we have to mention the Exodus from Egypt in the benediction over the wine on the Sabbath. You may ask why he [Moses] omitted the reason for the Sabbath that God said in the first instance of the Ten Commandments, "that in six days..." [and on the seventh day of creation God rested] (Exodus 20). This reason is the essential reason for this commandment, not the reason of the obligation [given in this verse]. Moses said this reason [based on] faith in the reason for the commandment. According to what our sages said and wrote elsewhere, the Exodus from Egypt illuminates faith in creation of the world. He [Moses] wrote saying "Remember...and God took you out...with a strong hand and an outstretched arm..." since there you will see that He is the Master of All and from there it will be evident to you the reason stated in the first instance of the Ten Commandments, "that in six days...".
Chizkuni
וזכרת כי עבד היית, “you shall remember that you used to be a slave;” the reason why this has been written here, i.e. that your male and female servants also have to rest on the Sabbath, is that we ourselves were slaves and did not enjoy the luxury of resting on the Sabbath. We must not treat our slaves as we have been treated. In the first version of the Ten Commandments that were given on a joyous occasion, the Torah did not want to dampen our sense of joy by reminding us of our low status in Egypt. It therefore omitted mentioning that we used to be slaves. [Besides, 49 days after having escaped from Egypt, who would need a reminder of that? Ed.] It was sufficient to emphasise that it was G-d Who had taken us out of Egypt, and that we had not staged a revolt to bring this about. (Exodus 20,2) An alternate interpretation: if G-d redeemed us from slavery and intolerable conditions and gave us the Sabbath as a reminder, our own slaves are certainly to be granted no less by us. כי עבד היית בארץ מצרים, “for you were a slave in the land of Egypt.” In this version of the Ten Commandments, G-d does not emphasise His being the Creator of the universe in six days, (Exodus 20,11) and this is why we mention this when we recite the blessing over wine when making kiddush, i.e. sanctifying the Sabbath. On other special occasions that do not symbolise the creation of the universe, we content ourselves with reminding ourselves of the making of the Jewish nation, i. e. זכר ליציאת מצרים, “a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt.” על כן, “therefore,” G-d wishes us to remember that our status in Egypt was a deplorable one, we were lowly slaves.
Rabbeinu Bahya
וזכרת כי עבד היית במצרים, “you shall remember (on the Sabbath) that you used to be a slave in Egypt, etc.” just like the slaves that you own now. ויוציאך ה’ אלו-היך, “and the Lord your G’d took you out;” with manifest miracles which attested that something like a rebirth of the universe had taken place, i.e. that it was your G’d who must have created the universe in the first place. על כן, “this is why;” He commanded you to observe the Sabbath day as reminder that G’d created the universe and it did not precede Him as proven by His orchestrating the Exodus.
Tur HaArokh
וזכרת כי עבד היית, “so that you will remember that you yourself used to be a servant;” Moses explains that just as G’d when He took you out of Egypt relieved you of the need to work seven days a week, you in turn, are to give your workers a day of rest, the same day as yours. In light of this, the true meaning of the phrase, beginning with the word למען in our verse, is that when you allow your servant to rest on the Sabbath you will be reminded that you yourself did not have this privilege until Hashem took you out of Egypt. This is what prompted G’d to צוך ה' אלוקיך לעשות את יום השבת, “the Lord your G’d commanded you to “make” the Sabbath day.” Ibn Ezra comments that the word תעשה means that G’d commanded that the day of rest had to be on the Sabbath, i.e the anniversary of the seventh day of creation. [It would not do to pick any day of the week to commemorate that we enjoy a day of rest because the Lord took us out of Egypt.] As to the fact that we commemorate this aspect by reciting the kiddush, Maimonides writes that in the first version of the Ten Commandments the Torah speaks of the special honour accorded to that day. The aspect of commemorating the Exodus on the Sabbath does not override the previously revealed aspect of commemorating the seven days of creation, on the last of which the Lord rested. This is why Moses refers to the previously revealed legislation of the Sabbath in which commemorating the seventh day of creation had been given as the primary reason. To sum up: there are two major reasons for the Sabbath rest. 1) To strengthen our faith in the Creator of the universe, who made constructive rest part of nature by demonstrating His own abstention from creative activity on that day. 2) The Lord’s special love for us, [not so for the other nations who labour under the curse to have to work for a living unceasingly, the legacy of Adam having ignored the command not to eat from the tree of knowledge. Ed.] Nachmanides does not seem too impressed by Maimonides’ approach, as he cannot see how resting on the Sabbath is conceptually related to the Exodus from Egypt any more than any of the other commandments that represent symbols of our history, especially the Exodus. On the other hand, he does agree that Sabbath observance most certainly is conceptually related to the whole work of creation performed by the Creator during the six days preceding the history of mankind. Nachmanides therefore would have Moses not add another dimension to the rationale of Sabbath observance, but to restate the aspect of G’d the invisible Creator having rested on the original Sabbath, to His people who more than any other people had experienced how He manifested Himself visually in their lives making this an additional point to reflect upon on every Sabbath when they would observe constructive rest. All the miracles performed by G’d in Egypt were, in a manner of speaking, a re-enactment of what our sages call חדוש העולם, a replay of the creative process, seeing that G’d proved Himself time and again to be able to make “nature” do His bidding when He wanted and where He wanted. Whereas the first time around there had been no witnesses who could report to us on what they had experienced, in Egypt there had been millions of such witnesses. [I have rephrased this slightly. Ed.]
Honor your father and your mother, as Hashem your God commanded you; that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you, upon the land which Hashem your God gives you.
verse value 3793 — כַּבֵּ֤ד = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 80 letters. Notable word values: "honor" (כַּבֵּ֤ד) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for·you" (לָ֔ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·Hashem" (אֲשֶׁר־יְהֹוָ֥ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 66: your·God, your·God. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "honor" (כַּבֵּ֤ד), "father" (אֶת־אָבִ֙יךָ֙), "and·mother" (וְאֶת־אִמֶּ֔ךָ). The root יהוה appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "as·that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root כבד ("honor") in Deuteronomy. First appearance of the root אם ("and·mother") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·God', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 12 words.
Onkelos
Honor your father and your mother, as Hashem your God has commanded you, so that your days may be prolonged and so that it may go well with you on the land that Hashem your God gives you.
Rashi
כאשר צוך [HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER] AS THE LORD THY GOD HATH COMMANDED THEE — Also regarding honouring parents they received command at Marah, as it is said, (Exodus 15:25) “There He appointed for them a statute and a judgement” (cf. Rashi on that passage and Note p. 243) (Sanhedrin 56b).
Ramban
He added an explanation in the commandment, Honor thy father and thy mother ‘as the Eternal thy G-d command thee’ from the mouth of the Almighty, as I have explained, and therefore he added, and that it may go well with thee, just as it is said, Yea, the Eternal will give that which is good, and our land shall yield her produce.
Ibn Ezra
"And that it may go well with you" — some say this is an allusion to the World to Come, and I will hint at the secret of the World to Come in the verse "I put to death and I bring to life" [Deut. 32:39]. "Your days" — he clarifies that they shall be good. Know that the view of all the ancients is that the first utterance is "I am" (אָנֹכִי). And if one asks why the divider placed the division [of the Ten Commandments] at "You shall have no other gods," I have already explained the Ten Utterances, for I relied on their view. Yet in my own judgment, the word "I am" (אָנֹכִי) is not one of the Ten [Commandments], because the utterance "I am" is the commandment and the root of all commandments, as I have already explained.
Sforno
ולמען ייטב לך, even in this life already. As our ages (said Peyah 1,1) that “there are commandments for the fulfillment of which one “eats” the dividends in this life whereas the principal is reserved for use in the world to come.” Honouring father and mother is one of those commandments.
Chizkuni
ולמען ייטב לך, “and in order that it will go well with you;” in the first version of the commandment to honour our parents, this promise of a reward was absent. In other words, G-d promises an additional reward for honouring our parents. A careful reading of the first version of the Ten Commandments will reveal that the letter ט is the only letter of the Hebrew alphabet that did not appear in it. The second version therefore includes it, as that letter symbolises טוב goodness. Moses caught on to this and took it upon himself to make up for this deficiency by adding a line that included this letter.
Rabbeinu Bahya
כבד את אביך, “honour your father.” In this version of the fifth commandment, Moses (the Torah) added the words למען ייטב לך, “so that it will be good for you,” i.e. that the person fulfilling this commandment will enjoy a quality of life on earth. This is an example of reaping the dividends of the reward for a mitzvah-performance in this life, whereas the principal is stored up in the hereafter. The author explained the significance of the letter ט which introduces טוב the first time it appeared in the Torah, in connection with his commentary at the end of Exodus 20,14. Similarly, you will find explanations about the letter ו which links several commandments to each other in this version whereas this letter is absent in his discussion of the first version in Exodus.
Tur HaArokh
כאשר צוך ה' אלוקיך, “as the Lord your G’d had commanded you.” You heard it from Hashem, directly; and Moses adds immediately: ולמען ייטב לך, “and so that it will be for your benefit.” The construction here is similar to Psalms 85,13: “The Lord also bestows His bounty, and our land yields its produce.” [Basically, without G’d’s input the land would not yield its produce, but the latter is visible evidence, the former is just as real but invisible to man. Ed.] He continued to explain the ninth Commandment
You shall not murder. Neither shall you commit adultery. Neither shall you steal. Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor.
verse value 3024
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 36 letters. Verse gematria: 3024 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֥֖א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·not·you·shall·answer" (וְלֹֽא־תַעֲנֶ֥ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 37: and·not, and·not. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "you·shall·murder" (תִּֿרְצָֽ֖ח), "you·shall·commit·adultery" (תִּֿנְאָֽ֑ף), "you·shall·steal" (תִּֿגְנֹֽ֔ב). The root לא appears 3 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "witness" (root עד, 50x in Deuteronomy); "your·neighbor" (root רע, 37x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root גנב ("you·shall·steal") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·shall·commit·adultery', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: לֹ֥֖א [not] (31) + תִּֿרְצָֽ֖ח [you·shall·murder] (698) + וְלֹ֣֖א [and·not] (37) + תִּֿנְאָֽ֑ף [you·shall·commit·adultery] (531) + וְלֹ֣֖א [and·not] (37) + תִּֿגְנֹֽ֔ב [you·shall·steal] (455) + וְלֹֽא־תַעֲנֶ֥ה [and·not·you·shall·answer] (562) + בְרֵֽעֲךָ֖ [your·neighbor] (292) + עֵ֥ד [witness] (74) + שָֽׁוְא [false] (307) = 3024.
Onkelos
You shall not murder a soul. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. And you shall not bear false testimony against your fellow.
Rashi
ולא תנאף AND THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY — The term ניאוף, “adultery”, is technically only applicable in the case of a married woman.
Ramban
NEITHER SHALT THOU BEAR ‘EID SHAV’ (VAIN WITNESS) AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR. He explained this in order to prohibit even [false] meaningless testimony that will cause no harm at all to his neighbor in court, as, for example, if he testifies, “So-and-so said he will give a hundred [dinars] to that person, but did not obligate himself to do it” [such false testimony is consequently in “vain” and we are prohibited from so doing]. For the term shav [in the above admonition, as elsewhere] signifies “vain, worthless” talk.
Chizkuni
עד שוא, “a vain witness.” If someone testifies against someone whom he had seen perform a crime deliberately, but his testimony is not supported by a second witness or there are two witnesses but the person was not warned about the consequences of his crime before performing it, he is not to come forward to bring a charge he knows that a conviction could not be obtained under these circumstances.
Tur HaArokh
לא תענה ברעך עד שוא, “Do not testify falsely against your fellow;” The version in Parshat Yitro used the term שקר untrue, false, whereas Moses here appears to expand the prohibition to someone who testifies to something irrelevant, something vain, something which is not enforceable by a court of law, for instance. Frivolous testimony, which may only serve to undermine one of the parties’ good reputation is prohibited by the Torah, also, one of the reasons being that the testimony employs directly or implicitly the name of the Lord. Moses continues with his elaboration, on the tenth Commandment...
Neither shall you covet your neighbor's wife; neither shall you desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.
verse value 5536
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 60 letters. The shortest word is "and·not" (וְלֹ֥א, 3 letters) and the longest is "you·shall·desire" (תִתְאַוֶּ֜ה, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 290: your·neighbor, your·neighbor. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "you·shall·covet" (תַחְמֹ֖ד), "you·shall·desire" (תִתְאַוֶּ֜ה), "field" (שָׂדֵ֜הוּ). The root רע appears 3 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "and·not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "all" (root כל, 121x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root אוה ("you·shall·desire") in Deuteronomy. First appearance of the root שדה ("field") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·neighbor', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 12 words.
Onkelos
And you shall not covet your fellow's wife, and you shall not desire your fellow's house, his field, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your fellow.
Rashi
ולא תתאוה — The Targum renders this by ולא תירוג which, too, is an expression denoting “desiring” (חמד the word used in the preceding part of this verse), just as (Genesis 2:9) “נחמד to the eyes”, we render in the Targum by “desirable (רגג) to behold”.
Ramban
He added an explanation in the commandment Neither shalt thou covet in that he mentioned first the [neighbor’s] wife [whereas in the Book of Exodus the neighbor’s house is stated first] for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth with respect to women more than anything else. He further explained, that included in the term “coveting” is even mere “desire” [as stated here, Neither shalt thou ‘desire’ thy neighbor’s house etc.]. Thus if he desires to rob anything from his neighbor, but is unable to do so because his neighbor is stronger than he, or because in his locality there is fear of the government, he transgresses this commandment. He added here his field, wherefrom the Rabbis have interpreted in the Mechilta: “Perhaps I may reason: Just as the specific examples [mentioned in the Decalogue in Exodus, namely, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, or his ass] are movable property which may not be seized from customers in case of non-payment by the creditor, so also, I can include [in the prohibition not to covet] only movable property which may not be resorted to for non-payment. But when it says in Deuteronomy his field [which is immovable property and may be resorted to for non-payment] you must perforce interpret the verse as follows: Just as the specific matters deal with things one can buy and sell, so all things one can buy and sell [are included in this prohibition].”
Ibn Ezra
The word חָמַד (covet) in the holy tongue is explained in two senses. The first is robbery, oppression, and taking what belongs to others by force and compulsion — and so [in the verse] "no man shall covet your land" [Ex. 34:24], for if the meaning were otherwise, the land would be considered bad, yet the verse comes only to speak praise. The second meaning is a desire in the heart that does not issue into action. Thus "You shall not covet your neighbor's house" is the ninth utterance, and "you shall not covet your neighbor's wife" is the tenth utterance. And "your neighbor's house" and "your neighbor's wife" are joined together [in one utterance], or alternatively "your neighbor's house" is a general term [subsuming all that follows]. The proof is that Moses in this book, which explains the Torah, wrote in place of "you shall not covet" — "you shall not desire" (לֹא תִתְאַוֶּה). Many have said that there is no sin in thoughts of the heart, and that there is no reward or punishment for them. There are many proofs to bring against them, but I will not elaborate — I will only point out to them: "a heart that devises wicked plans" [Prov. 6:18]; "You have done well, for it was in your heart" [I Kings 8:18]; "and to the upright in heart." And Moses said at the end [Deut. 30:14]: "in your mouth and in your heart, to do it." For the root of all commandments is to set the heart aright. And most of them serve as a reminder, and the intentional transgressor and the unwitting one prove [the importance of inner intent].
Chizkuni
ולא תתאוה, “and you shall not covet.” The expression “to covet” is used only when it describes the desire of one’s heart, not when one plans to act upon that desire. (Ibn Ezra) As soon as someone becomes aware, that his neighbour, due to various kinds of pressure is known to consider selling it and instead of financially supporting his neighbour exploits his reduced circumstances, and decides in his mind to buy it from him, he has violated this commandment. When he expressed his intention by mouth, he has violated the commandment of לא תחמד, as written at the beginning of verse 18. All the last five commandments are introduced with the connective letter ו except for the first one in that string, the warning not to commit murder, i.e. לא תרצח. In all the Ten Commandments, commencing with the word: אנכי, until the words: ולשומרי מצותו at the end of verse 10, there is no difference between the wording of the first set of the Ten Commandments and the wording of the second set, as G-d repeated the wording, and therefore their meaning is identical in both instances. Moses had not intended to introduce any changes either. However, in the second version in our chapter, the changes that Moses did introduce did not change the meaning of the commandment. There is a general rule concerning when something in the Torah has been repeated, you will always find a minor change in the wording or spelling. The change you see was part of the original Torah scroll and has not been introduced subsequently. The Ten Commandments on the first set of the Tablets, which Moses had smashed and the Commandments on the second Tablets quoted in the Book of Deuteronomy are identical with the exception of that addition for the reason given for the commandment to honour one’s parents. What we see written down in the Book of Deuteronomy is the version of the second set of Tablets Moses received from G-d. Basically, the text in the Torah scroll Moses handed down to us is the one that represents Moses’ words. Here Moses arranged the order of the examples quoted in the tenth commandment, according to how people develop desires as they grow older. First they desire a better house, one that that they could not afford previously. Next, they desire a woman who they feel has more to offer them than the one they had married when relatively young and inexperienced. Next they also desire such assets as make life more comfortable, even if they have to acquire them by making someone who owns them part with theirs.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ולא תתאוה בית רעיך, “and do not covet the house of your fellow.” In the first version of the Ten Commandments the Torah described this coveting of one’s fellow’s house with the verb לא תחמוד. The difference is whether one is planning to pay for it or wants it even without contemplating paying for it i.e. not planning to translate his craving into action. Here Moses reminds us that even the mere thought of wanting it makes one liable for violating this commandment. The reason is that ultimately the desire to own what belongs to someone else (who has not offered it for sale) will lead to one offering money and pressuring the owner to part with it (compare Maimonides Hilchot Gezeilah 1,9).
Tur HaArokh
ולא תחמוד , “and you shall not covet, etc.” In Parshat Yitro the commandment employs only the verb תמד, whereas here Moses added an additional phrase commencing with the verb אוה, to desire (in the reflexive mode). From the wording in Yitro we would have thought that only when steps are taken to translate one’s burning desire into practice does one transgress this prohibition. If Moses had not added the dimension of merely “desiring” a field, or an ox, we might have thought, that only when one engages in translating one’s desire into practice is this prohibited, but that “daydreaming” about it is not objectionable. Hence, he restated part of the original version to make the point we just mentioned. שדהו, “his field,” here Moses introduces a possession, other than chattels, i.e. real estate, something that is sold with אחריות, with certain guarantees by the vendor to reimburse the purchaser if his title will be challenged. Adding this dimension to the list of matters one must not covet closes the circle, i.e. all possessions that are subject to being sold and bought must not be coveted, even if one is willing to pay more than the market price for it in order to satisfy one’s craving for certain possessions. [I have slightly amended the wording in the interest of readers not thoroughly familiar with Jewish civil law. Ed.]
These words Hashem spoke to all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice, and it went on no more. And He wrote them upon two tables of stone, and gave them to me.
verse value 5148 — יְהֹוָ֨ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 88 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֨ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 5148 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "he·spoke" (דִּבֶּר֩, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·all·your·assembly" (אֶל־כׇּל־קְהַלְכֶ֜ם, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 41: these, to·me. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "to·all·your·assembly" (אֶל־כׇּל־קְהַלְכֶ֜ם), "dense·cloud" (וְהָֽעֲרָפֶ֔ל). The root דבר appears 2 times in this verse. 19 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "and·not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "and·he·gave·them" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'he·added', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 6 words.
Onkelos
These words Hashem spoke to your entire assembly on the mountain, from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness — a great voice that did not cease — and He inscribed them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
Rashi
ולא יסף — We render this in the Targum by ולא פסק “and He did not cease”, — [Because it is characteristic of human beings that they are unable to utter all their words in one breath (but must make pauses) and it is characteristic of the Holy One, blessed be He, that this is not so, therefore He did not pause, and since He did not pause, He did not have to resume], — for His voice is strong and goes on continuously (Sanhedrin 17a). Another explanation of ולא יסף: He did not again ever reveal himself with such publicity.
Ramban
OUT OF THE MIDST OF THE FIRE, OF THE CLOUD, AND OF THE THICK DARKNESS. “The cloud and the darkness” explain the expression out of the midst of the fire, for Clouds and darkness are round about Him. A GREAT VOICE, ‘V’LO YASAF.’ “We render this [in the Targum Onkelos] as ‘and He did not pause.’ Because it is the nature of human beings that they cannot say all their words in one breath, but the nature of the Holy One, blessed be He, is different; He did not pause. And since He did not pause [in uttering the Ten Commandments] He did not have to resume, for His voice is strong and eternally enduring. [Thus, the words v’lo yasaf which literally mean ‘did not resume’ or ‘did not continue’ are translated by Onkelos as ‘did not pause,’ because, had He paused, He would have had to continue after the pause. Since G-d can say all the words in one breath, there was no need for a pause followed by a resumption.] Another interpretation of lo yasaf: He ‘never again’ revealed Himself in such a public manifestation.” This is Rashi’s language. But the verse states, And the voice of the horn waxed louder and louder! And the Rabbis also said: “And why was it [i.e., the voice of the horn] soft at first [growing gradually stronger]? In order to accustom the ear with [a sound] it was able to hear.” Perhaps this was so with respect to the voice of the horn, but the voice of G-d throughout the Ten Commandments was even. The correct interpretation is that of the Sage who says that [the meaning of v’lo yasaf is] “He did not pause,” thus deriving the translation of yasaf from the expressions: ‘v’ne’esfah’ gladness and joy, ‘toseif’ their breath, they perish which signify, in his opinion, the act of taking something away. The verse here thus states that His greatness and power were “not withdrawn” until He finished all the commandments. Similarly it says, and they prophesied ‘v’lo yasafu’ [which Onkelos renders, “and they did not cease”]. And in line with the plain meaning of Scripture v’lo yasaf means that “there will never again be so great [a voice].” And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala,] the verse is stating that they heard all these words [proclaimed by] the voice of the Great One, and He did not add anything [perceivable] to all your assembly, except for this one voice, for it was only that voice that they grasped. There I have already explained this subject as well as the whole section.
Ibn Ezra
"These things" — the meaning is the ten statements (הַדְּבָרִים), not the utterances (הַדִּבּוּרִים). "A great voice" — the like of which had never been heard. "And He did not add" — for this was a single, unrepeated event. And he explains why He did not add: it is [found in the continuation] "and it came to pass when you heard."
Or HaChaim
את הדברים האלה דבר השם, "These are the words which G'd spoke, etc." Moses omitted to say "all these words," seeing that some of the words which appeared here were not G'd's words but his own, such as when he said: "as G'd commanded you, etc."
Chizkuni
קול גדול ולא יסף, “with a strong voice that did not weaken;” according to our sages this voice continued to be heard during the entire forty days that Moses spent on Mount Sinai, immediately after the revelation. Another interpretation of that line: the words ולא יסף mean that the Israelites did not hear anything but the Ten Commandments, so as no to distract them. This would be in line with Jeremiah 45,3: כי יסף מכאוב על מכאובי,”for He had added to my grief.”
Rabbeinu Bahya
קול גדול ולא יסף, “a powerful voice not weakening;” the sound did not stop, did not exhaust itself. This is also how Onkelos understands the words ולא יסף. If you peruse the whole paragraph you will find the word קול “sound, voice,” occurring seven times. It occurs five times as referring to G’d’s voice (verses 19,20,21,22,23 and twice in verse 25 as the voice of the Israelites.) This is what the sages in Shemot Rabbah 28,4 meant when they said that the Torah was given with seven “voices,” i.e. that one voice was split into seven sounds. We have mentioned this already near the end of our commentary on Exodus 20,1.
Tur HaArokh
ולא יסף, “which did not abate.” According to Onkelos the meaning of the expression ולא יסף is the same as ולא פסק, “it did not stop, was not interrupted.” [Such as someone catching his breath. Ed.]; neither did it weaken as it continued. The constancy of the voice showed that it was not a human voice. Nachmanides writes that the Torah had written in Exodus 19,19 that the sound of the shofar blast kept increasing in volume, and the sages explain that the reason for this was to enable the listeners to adjust to the increasingly overpowering volume. We therefore must distinguish between the sounds the people heard from the shofar, and the voice they heard from Hashem. G’d’s voice when He uttered the Ten Commandments, remained steady, even, did not rise or fall. It is fair to assume that Onkelos, who holds that the voice did not cease, bases himself on Jeremiah 48,33 ונאספה שמחה וגיל, where the same root means that “the joy over the harvest will be gone,” so that with the prefix לא the meaning would be that the joy would be continuous, never ending. [Our author quotes a couple of examples where the root יסף is also used in the manner in which Onkelos understands it in our verse. I suppose the concept that a voice is interminable is so unusual, that our author tried to justify Onkelos. Ed.]
Rashbam
ולא יסף, according to the plain meaning of the text there was never again such an overpowering sound in the history of mankind. Whenever the word יסף appears it represents an addition of something. (compare Deut. 5,21, Psalms 73,19, and Genesis 18,23, the expression האף תספה, where the latter word is from the same root as יסף.)
And it came to pass, when you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain did burn with fire, that you came near to me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;
verse value 4633
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 63 letters. The shortest word is "burning" (בֹּעֵ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·you·came·near" (וַתִּקְרְב֣וּן, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "as·your·hearing" (כְּשׇׁמְעֲכֶ֤ם), "the·sound" (אֶת־הַקּוֹל֙), "darkness" (הַחֹ֔שֶׁךְ). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·came·to·pass" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy); "to·me" (root אל, 98x in Deuteronomy); "as·your·hearing" (root שמע, 92x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root זקן ("and·your·elders") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'fire', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיְהִ֗י [and·it·came·to·pass] (31) + כְּשׇׁמְעֲכֶ֤ם [as·your·hearing] (490) + אֶת־הַקּוֹל֙ [the·sound] (542) + מִתּ֣וֹךְ [midst] (466) + הַחֹ֔שֶׁךְ [darkness] (333) + וְהָהָ֖ר [the·mountain] (216) + בֹּעֵ֣ר [burning] (272) + בָּאֵ֑שׁ [fire] (303) + וַתִּקְרְב֣וּן [and·you·came·near] (764) + אֵלַ֔י [to·me] (41) + כׇּל־רָאשֵׁ֥י [all·heads·of] (561) + שִׁבְטֵיכֶ֖ם [your·tribes] (381) + וְזִקְנֵיכֶֽם [and·your·elders] (233) = 4633.
Onkelos
And it came to pass, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness while the mountain was burning with fire, that all the heads of your tribes and your elders drew near to me.
and you said: "Behold, Hashem our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire; we have seen this day that God does speak with man, and he lives.
verse value 4914 — יְהֹוָ֤ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 86 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֤ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 4914 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "behold" (הֵ֣ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·his·greatness" (וְאֶת־גׇּדְל֔וֹ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 466: we·heard, midst. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "he·showed·us" (הֶרְאָ֜נוּ), "his·glory" (אֶת־כְּבֹד֣וֹ), "and·his·greatness" (וְאֶת־גׇּדְל֔וֹ). The root ראה appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "our·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy); "that·he·speaks" (root דבר, 170x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'fire', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 7 words.
Onkelos
And you said: Behold, Hashem our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard the voice of His Word from the midst of the fire; this day we have seen that Hashem speaks with human beings and they survive.
Ibn Ezra
"His glory" — the appearance of the fire. "His greatness" — the thunders, lightning, and the sound of the shofar. "His voice" — the Ten Utterances. There is [an opinion] in the words of an individual that only the utterance "I am" (אָנֹכִי) was said by Hashem directly.
Rabbeinu Bahya
הן הראנו ה’ אלו-הינו את כבודו, “here the Lord our G’d has shown us His (attribute) כבוד.” This is a reference to the fire the people experienced at Mount Sinai which was totally aflame. ואת גדלו, “and His greatness;” this is a reference to the thunder and lightning which accompanied the giving of the Ten Commandments, as well as the sound of the Shofar. ואת קולו שמענו, “and we have heard His voice;” a reference to the Ten Commandments.”
Targum Yonatan
and said, Behold, the Word of the Lord our God hath showed us His glorious Shekinah, and the greatness of His excellency, (tushbachteih, His magnificence,) and the voice of His Word have we heard out of the midst of the fire. This day have we seen that the Lord speaketh with a man in whom is the Holy Spirit, and he remaineth alive.
Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of Hashem our God any more, then we shall die.
verse value 4398 — יְהֹוָ֧ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 70 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֧ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "if·we·continue" (אִם־יֹסְפִ֣ים, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "why" (לָ֣מָּה), "shall·we·die" (נָמ֔וּת), "if·we·continue" (אִם־יֹסְפִ֣ים). The root מות appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "our·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy); "for" (root כי, 164x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root מה ("why") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 8 words.
Onkelos
And now, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we continue to hear the voice of the Word of Hashem our God any longer, we will die.
For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
verse value 3001 — אֱלֹהִ֨ים = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 46 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֨ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "midst·fire" (מִתּוֹךְ־הָאֵ֛שׁ, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "all·flesh" (כׇל־בָּשָׂ֡ר), "like·us" (כָּמֹ֖נוּ). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy); "speaking" (root דבר, 170x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root בשר ("all·flesh") in Deuteronomy. Full calculation: כִּ֣י [for] (30) + מִ֣י [who?] (50) + כׇל־בָּשָׂ֡ר [all·flesh] (552) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [that] (501) + שָׁמַ֣ע [heard] (410) + קוֹל֩ [voice] (136) + אֱלֹהִ֨ים [God] (86) + חַיִּ֜ים [living] (68) + מְדַבֵּ֧ר [speaking] (246) + מִתּוֹךְ־הָאֵ֛שׁ [midst·fire] (772) + כָּמֹ֖נוּ [like·us] (116) + וַיֶּֽחִי [and·he·lived] (34) = 3001.
Onkelos
For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the Word of Hashem the Living, speaking from the midst of the fire as we have, and survived?
Ramban
FOR WHO IS THERE OF ALL FLESH, THAT HATH HEARD THE VOICE OF ‘ELOKIM CHAYIM’ (THE LIVING G-D) SPEAKING OUT OF THE FIRE, AS WE HAVE, AND LIVED? Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that the term living [living G-d] is to distinguish between G-d and the host of heaven which cannot move by itself [but by the living G-d Who is the First Cause].” It is possible to explain that he mentioned this in order to indicate that, if someone hears the voice of G-d with Whom is the fountain of life, his soul will cleave to its “foundation” and he will no longer live the life of the flesh. Similarly Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that ‘E-il chai’ is in your midst; Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth. If so, [that E-il chai, as Joshua explained it, means ‘the Lord of all the earth,’ thus intimating that E-il chai means “G-d of all the living,” and is unlike the expression here, Elokim chayim, which means “the living G-d”] and he swore ‘b’chei’ of the world is an oath by His Great Name [meaning that “he swore by Him Who gives life to the world”].
Ibn Ezra
"The voice of the living God" — ["living" (חיים) is] a plural form, as I have explained. The meaning of "living" in my view is to distinguish God from the host, for the host does not move of itself.
Rabbeinu Bahya
כי מי כל בשר אשר שמע קול אלו-הים חיים...ויחי, “for whatever creature of flesh and blood has heard the voice of the Living G’d .....and remained alive?” The meaning of the words “the living G’d” is: “the G’d who is the source of all life.” [How could the Torah speak about a “dead” G’d? Ed.]. According to the author, if the Torah had not added the word חיים, one would have interpreted the word אלו-הים to be a reference to an angel. According to Ibn Ezra the word was meant to distinguish between Hashem, and His army, His entourage, even the stars.
Go near, and hear all that Hashem our God may say; and you shall speak to us all that Hashem our God may speak to you; and we will hear it and do it."
verse value 5836 — יְהֹוָ֣ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 80 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "come·near!" (קְרַ֤ב, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·that" (אֵ֛ת כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 952: all·that, all·that. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "come·near!" (קְרַ֤ב), "he·will·say" (יֹאמַ֖ר), "and·you·shall·speak" (וְאַ֣תְּ תְּדַבֵּ֣ר). The root שמע appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "all·that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "our·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'our·God', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 9 words.
Onkelos
Draw near, you, and hear all that Hashem our God will say, and you shall speak to us all that Hashem our God speaks to you, and we will listen and we will do.
Rashi
ואת תדבר אלינו AND SPEAK THOU (את the feminine form of the pronoun) TO US — you weakened my strength as that of a woman, (cf. Rashi on Numbers 11:15), for I was distressed because of you (because of your words) and you weakened my hands, since I saw that you were not anxious to approach Him out of love. Indeed, was it not better for you to learn from the mouth of the Almighty God, and not to learn from me?!
Ramban
V’AT’ (AND THOU) [Moses] SPEAK UNTO US. “[The feminine form of the word v’at indicates] that you caused my strength to be sapped like that of a woman, for I was distressed because of you and you weakened my hands when I realized that you were not anxious to approach Him out of love. For was it not better to learn directly from the Almighty rather than from me?!” Thus far is Rashi’s language from words of the Agadah. If so, Moses is saying that he was concerned [over their failure to approach G-d] and G-d informed him [in the following verses] that they did so because they feared Him and it was beneficial to them! But the subject is, as I have explained there, that they thought that G-d wanted to communicate the entire Torah to them; however, the [Divine] Will before Him was to proclaim to them only the Ten Commandments as they desired. Know that now they requested of Moses that they should not hear the voice of the Glorious Name — neither on that day nor during any of the succeeding generations — for it is not at all times that miracles occur [and, as they said in Verse 21, their very survival after hearing the voice of G-d was a miracle in itself, a miracle that could not be expected to recur during future revelations], and that they do not want another such Revelation; rather, they will believe in the prophets and do G-d’s will [as revealed] through them. In compliance Moses told them, A prophet will the Eternal thy G-d raise up unto thee, from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; according to all that thou didst desire of the Eternal thy G-d in Horeb. etc. If so, the meaning of this request [of the people in the verse before us — and thou shalt speak unto us — that they wished to hear from prophets rather than from G-d] was meant for future generations.
Ibn Ezra
"But you [אַתְּ] shall speak to us" — the word אַתְּ (feminine 'you') is used here [for Moses, who is masculine], similar to the [anomalous] אַתְּ in "if it is thus that You deal with me" [Num. 11:15], which is explained in that passage.
Sforno
ואת תדבר אלינו, even though your words will be inferior in value to G’d’s words.
Or HaChaim
ושמענו ועשינו, "when we hear (them) we will carry (them) out." The reason the word ושמענו is introduced by the conjunctive letter ו is that the people had asked Moses to be their intermediary when receiving G'd's commandments. They explained that initially, in Exodus 19, 9 they had asked to hear the words from the teacher i.e. G'd Himself, instead of merely from the pupil, i.e. Moses. However, in light of their deathly fear they reversed themselves concerning who they were willing to hear the words from. They now made Moses their intermediary. The letter ו in the word ושמענו is the allusion to their previous attitude in the matter. They added the word ועשינו "and we will do" to indicate that the manner of their מצוה performance would be as if they had heard the instructions from G'd Himself instead of merely from Moses, His intermediary.
Chizkuni
ואת תדבר אלינו, “and you shall speak to us;” Moses’ voice, a voice familiar to them and not so overpowering, would be easier to bear, so that they could understand it better.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ואת תדבר אלינו, “and you will speak to us.” The meaning of the feminine את for of אתה here is similar to the same word in Numbers 11,15 ואם ככה את עושה לי, where Moses applied this feminine form of “you” to G’d. A kabbalistic approach: The people wanted to be addressed by the attribute of Justice rather than by the attribute Hashem. Hence the weaker form of אתה. את כל אשר ידבר ה’ אלו-הינו אליך “everything the Lord our G’d will say to you.” seeing that the Speaker is Hashem. ושמענו ועשינו, “as soon as we hear it we will carry it out.” They meant that as soon as they would hear it from Moses they would carry out G’d’s instructions.
Kli Yakar
Draw near and hear, etc. and you shall speak to us. What was their thinking? If it was possible for Moses to hear the voice of God without dying, then it would also be possible for them. And if it was impossible for them, it would also be impossible for Moses. And the language you [feminine form] needs explanation, for what Rashi explained “You have weakened my strength like a woman,” is not sufficient, because God said, They have done well in what they have spoken. Furthermore, why did he say, Draw near you [masculine form] and hear, using the masculine form, and then it is written that which He will say, meaning soft speech, and afterward it is written and you [feminine form] shall speak, which is hard speech. The explanation for all this is that as long as the power of the material is weakened, the power of the intellect will grow, and the wisdom of the elders proves this. Therefore, Moses was able to hear the voice of God and was not affected by it because his material strength had already been weakened like a woman through separating from his wife and other forms of abstinence that he practiced, as our Sages said (Yoma 4:) The cloud covered him for six days (Exodus 24:16) to purge the food and drink in his bowels, according to the view that the cloud covered Moses. And all this weakening of the material strength causes the strengthening of the intellect that is not affected by the voice, for everything is only affected by its opposite. And he was able to receive God’s voice even as hard speech, therefore they said, Draw near you [masculine] and hear all that He will say, for the soft speech of the Divine Presence you can receive even if your material strength was as strong as a male and not weakened like a female. However, and you [feminine] shall speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you. For you can receive even hard speech because your material strength has already been weakened like a woman, for the face of Moses was like the shining sun illuminating from all sides, so too was his material refined, and regarding this it was well said, They have done well in what they have spoken. And according to Rashi’s interpretation, the explanation will be that Moses was distressed that they did not serve out of love, for every lover clings to his beloved and one who fears distances himself from him. And Moses was distressed about what they said, Draw near you and hear, for the distance indicates fear. And after this, Moses’s strength was weakened because of distress, therefore it says and you [feminine] shall speak. And God said, They have done well in what they have spoken, as a compromise, for according to their stiff-neckedness, it is a novelty to Me even this that they held onto the attribute of fear, and even out of fear, I am concerned that they will not maintain it for many days, who would grant that this heart of theirs be theirs to fear Me, etc. all the days, etc. And there are those who interpret these verses humorously, that Israel said since there is no benefit in death except to remove from us the material which is a separating screen between him and his God so that man can see the face of the Divine Presence, for man shall not see Me and live, and now we see that God speaks to man and he lives. So now, why should we die? To suffer the pain of death in vain, for this great fire will consume us — that is, the pain of death. Nevertheless, if we continue to receive some perfection beyond what we will have in life regarding hearing the voice of God, then we will die — we accept upon ourselves the pain of death.
Tur HaArokh
ואת תדבר אלינו, “and you will speak to us.” Rashi, explaining the feminine pronoun את when being applied to Moses, an outstanding example of manhood, sees Moses as reflecting that the people with their many demands, complaints, etc., had weakened his stature so that he felt no stronger than a woman. What upset him most about his people was, that instead of being desirous to come ever closer to Hashem, demonstrating their love for Him, they tried to distance themselves, relating to Him from feelings of fear and fright. If so, Moses expressed concern that G’d might react negatively to the people’s conduct. This is not compatible with the fact that G’d had told Moses that what the people had done was out of a feeling of profound reverence, “fear of the Lord” for Him, meaning that it was something positive. He therefore continues that the true interpretation is in accordance with what he himself had written, i.e the people not realizing that they would be hearing only the Ten Commandments, thought that G’d would reveal the entire Torah in the same manner, at once. Thinking about that, they became very much afraid that they would not be able to endure such a revelation for such a length of time. At any rate, G’d was pleased with their reaction and revealed only the Ten Commandments at that time. You should realize that the people’s request included not only that the supernatural nature of the revelation be cut short on that occasion, but they meant that at no time in the future would they want to be exposed to such overwhelming experiences as they had just experienced. They meant to include in that request even the generations after them, something that the Talmud (Pesachim 50) calls: לאו כל שעתא מתרחש ניסא, “miracles do not happen all the time;” we derive the meaning of what the people had in mind from verse 21 in our chapter: “this day we have seen that man can survive being addressed by G’d directly.” The word הזה, “this,” is restrictive, meaning only on this day was there such demonstration. It will not occur again. The people as an exchange for foregoing such revelations in the future, undertook to have complete faith in G’d’s prophets, thus making such revelations unnecessary. G’d’s (Moses’) response was יקים לך (Deut. 18,15) ...כמוני יקים לך נביא מקרבך, “He will make arise for you a prophet just like me, etc.” They were to follow the instructions of such prophets, just as they followed Moses’ instructions after the latter had enquired for guidance by G’d.
And Hashem heard the voice of your words, when you spoke to me; and Hashem said to me: "I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken to you; they have well said all that they have spoken.
verse value 5182 — יְהֹוָה֙ = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 87 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "to·me" (אֵלָ֑י, 3 letters) and the longest is "your·words" (דִּבְרֵיכֶ֔ם, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 537: sound, sound. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "when·you·spoke" (בְּדַבֶּרְכֶ֖ם), "all·that" (כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר). The root דבר appears 5 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·words" (root דבר, 170x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 14 words.
Onkelos
And it was heard before Hashem — the sound of your words when you spoke with me — and Hashem said to me: It has been heard before Me, the sound of the words of this people that they have spoken to you; all that they have spoken is well said.
Ibn Ezra
"They did well" (הֵיטִיבוּ) — a past-tense verb from the biconsonantals that appear [as triliteral].
Or HaChaim
היטיבו כל אשר דברו, "they are correct in everything they have said." G'd approved that they accepted Moses as their prophet in the matter and that they agreed to carry out the prophet's instructions. Concerning this undertaking by the Israelites G'd added that He wished the Israelites would maintain their present spiritual high indefinitely. Our sages in Avodah Zarah 5 quote Moses as criticising the people as being ungrateful; they should have seized that moment to ask G'd to convert this wish into something permament and to ensure that they would maintain their lofty spiritual niveau for all times. If the Israelites had done this at that time, subsequent debacles such as that of the spies and the uprising of Korach could all have been avoided.
Targum Yonatan
And the voice of your words was heard before the Lord when you spake with me, and the Lord said to me, All the words of this people which they have spoken with thee are heard before Me; all that they have said is good.
Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear Me, and keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
verse value 3691 — וְהָיָה֩ = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 69 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·will·be" (וְהָיָה֩) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "this" (זֶ֜ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·my·commandments" (אֶת־כׇּל־מִצְוֺתַ֖י, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 75: to·them, to·them. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "their·heart" (לְבָבָ֨ם), "all·my·commandments" (אֶת־כׇּל־מִצְוֺתַ֖י), "and·their·children" (וְלִבְנֵיהֶ֖ם). 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "who?·will·give" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy); "and·it·will·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy); "all·the·days" (root יום, 168x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root עולם ("forever") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'all·the·days', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 5 words.
Onkelos
Would that this heart were theirs, to fear before Me and to keep all My commandments all the days, so that it might go well with them and with their children forever.
Ramban
OH THAT THIS THEIR HEART WOULD REMAIN IN THEM, TO FEAR ME. Scripture uses this expression because man has freedom of choice to be righteous or to be wicked, and “Everything is in the power of Heaven except for fear of Heaven.” It is thus an expression of common usage. And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the expression [before us] is similar to the verse, And unto man He said: ‘Behold, the fear of the Eternal, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’ And so the Rabbis have said with regard to the reward for [performance of] the commandments: “Moses saw that they [i.e., the Romans] were cutting the flesh of [the martyr] Rabbi Akiba in meat markets. Moses said to G-d, ‘Master of the universe! Is this the reward for such [knowledge of the] Torah!’ The Holy One, blessed be He, replied, ‘Be silent, thus have I decreed.’” You will understand this from what He has said to Moses, And as for thee, stand thou here by Me.
Ibn Ezra
"Who can ensure" (מִי יִתֵּן) — Scripture does not say "who can ensure for me" but rather "who can ensure for them," therefore "for them" is written afterward — "would that this heart of theirs." And know that the root of all actions and movements are the decrees of Hashem, and all beings under the heavens [have] their power and their nature according to the supernal configuration together with the [terrestrial] roots below, and likewise with the compound beings, and likewise according to their motion day by day and moment by moment — for there will always be change, as the author of Sefer Yetzirah explained. The parts receive from the wholes according to their nature, and by virtue of the power of the wholes they are able to alter [their] nature somewhat. This is the meaning of "and Hashem hardened the heart of Pharaoh," while in another place it says "he made his heart heavy, he and his servants" — and both are true. Therefore it says, "I know, Hashem, that man's way is not his own" [Jer. 10:23], and it says, "Why do You cause us to stray, Hashem, from Your ways" [Isa. 63:17], and Moses said "and you shall choose life" [Deut. 30:19]. And since Hashem does not withhold good, He loves to do good; yet Scripture speaks in human language: "who can ensure."
Or HaChaim
ליראה אותי ולשמר את כל מצותי, "to revere Me and to observe all My commandments." What is the reason that revering G'd does not include keeping His commandments so that the Torah had to mention it separately? Perhaps the reason is that fear of G'd resulted in a negative phenomenon when it became the cause that led to the making of the golden calf. When the people were afraid that Moses would not return, they were afraid that they no longer had an intermediary to whom G'd could speak to on their behalf. They feared that as a result G'd would speak to them directly as He had done during the first two of the Ten Commandments. At that time they had feared for their lives and begged for an intermediary. To forestall such a situation they hastened to make the golden calf as a substitute for the missing intermediary Moses. Tanchuma on Parshat Ki Tissa has told us that the calf actually spoke, thus lending credence to the belief that it was an intermediary. This is why G'd was specific, saying to revere Me as well as to observe My commandments. Henceforth reverence for G'd must lead only to observance of the commandments. למען ייטב להם, "in order that He will be good to them, etc." This means that the words: "who would give" were not said in order to describe the usefulness of such an attitude by the Israelites for G'd, but in order for the Israelites to reap the benefits of G'd's love which is the result of listening to His prophet.
Chizkuni
מי יתן והיה לבבם , “Oh that they had such a heart, etc.;” even though it was within G-d’s power to grant the people such a heart, He preferred to use a syntax familiar to them.
Rabbeinu Bahya
מי יתן והיה לבבם זה להם ליראה אותי, “who can assure that their heart should remain the same for them to revere Me, etc.” According to the plain meaning of the text the reason that Moses quoted G’d as using the words מי יתן, “who could assure?” is that seeing that G’d had divested Himself of the right to control man’s heart by granting him free will, there is no authority in the world which could guarantee that His wish be fulfilled. This is why our sages in Berachot 33 coined the phrase “all is within the power of heaven except the fear of heaven.” A Midrashic approach (based on Midrash Tehillim 14): We must understand these words in the same vein as Psalms 14,7: מי יתן מציון ישועת ישראל, “O that the deliverance of Israel might come from Zion!” David records this same verse twice in the Book of Psalms (compare Psalms 53,7). Why did he do so? The verses have to be understood as respective wishes by teacher and student. The teacher expresses the wish that the students would remain on their spiritual high as evidenced at the time of the revelation at Mount Sinai, whereas the student (Moses) expresses a similar wish regarding the teacher, i.e. מי יתן כל עם ה’ נביאים, “who could assure that G’d’s entire nation were gifted with the power of prophecy!” (Numbers 11,29 when Eldad prophesied and Joshua was upset.) The fact is that in this terrestrial world there is no assurance that either the wish of the “teacher” or the wish of the “student” will be fulfilled. In fact, according to the Midrash it is certain that the wishes of both will not be fulfilled. However, in the life after the arrival of the Messiah the psalmist is convinced that such wishes will be fulfilled. He bases himself on Ezekiel 36,26 who describes the ushering in of that age with G’d’s promise to replace the heart of stone with a heart of flesh. This will result in the wishes of the teacher regarding the conduct of his pupil being fulfilled. He also finds an allusion to the wishes of the pupil being fulfilled in that new world in the prophecy of Yoel 3,1: “l will pour out My spirit upon all flesh.” The reason David repeated this verse then is to teach us that the time will come when both these types of wishes will become realistic and subject to realization. A kabbalistic approach: The words מי יתן והיה לבבם זה, “these words were uttered by Hashem, meaning who would “inspire” the emanation of wisdom, the source of inspiration for reverence of the Lord, to be active in this regard on an ongoing basis!. Seeing that G’d has to wish that the emanation “wisdom” do or not do certain things is proof that G’d Himself is unable to do this. This is the true meaning of the statement by the sages we quoted that “all is in the hands of heaven except the fear of heaven.” The sages referred to the attribute known as heaven, an attribute which has great powers but whose powers do not include the ability to inculcate fear of the Lord in people. It is something “beyond” this particular attribute, emanation, as it has no control over inspiring reverence for G’d in people. We find a dialogue between Moses and the people described in Avodah Zarah 5 where Moses is described as having harangued the Israelites for being ungrateful when they heard G’d express the wish that the people should always be on a spiritual high such as they attained at Mount Sinai. According to Moses they should immediately have asked G’d to grant that His own wish be fulfilled. Surely this dialogue described in the Talmud presupposes that G’d does have control over who would and who would not possess יראת שמים, “reverence for heaven!” Moses meant that the people should have asked G’d to address His prayer to an emanation higher than the one called שמים. This reflects something we learned in Taanit 25 in connection with Rabbi Eleazar ben Pedot who was in very depressed economic circumstances and it bothered him so that G’d asked him if he really wished that G’d should decree destruction on earth so that possibly on his next round of life he might be born under a more propitious horoscope? Rabbi ben Pedot was amazed to learn that even if G’d were to turn the universe upside down on his account this would still not be a guarantee that his personal fortunes would improve significantly. He therefore declined the “offer.” [The author mentioned only the gist of the story, and although I added some of what is found in the Talmud I suggest to the interested reader to read the whole story in the Talmud. Ed.]. In a different context the Talmud tells the story of how G’d showed Moses all the leaders of successive generations including that of Rabbi Akiva and his death through cruel torture by the Romans. When Moses saw with his mental eye that Rabbi Akiva’s flesh was being offered for sale in the store, he exclaimed: “is this the reward you receive for excelling in Torah?” G’d told Moses to keep silent, that He had seen fit to allow things to happen this way. (Compare Menachot 29 and Nachmanides’ comment). The meaning of this comment by G’d (speaking as the essence) there is that the emanation “wisdom” decreed to delay punishment for the crime of the sale of Joseph by his brothers until over 1200 years later for the sake of the Jewish people as a whole. You find a comment in Midrash Rabbah on the first half of Proverbs 8,30 ואהיה אצלו אמון, “I was like an artisan with Him,” explaining these words as meaning that the Torah says about G’d that it was G’d’s artisan, i.e. He used it to fashion the world. Just as the King when he builds a palace does not do so with his own hands but employs the services of an architect, but the architect works according to plans provided by the king, not making his own designs, so G’d “looked” into the Torah to consult how best to implement His own plans for the universe. Thus far the Midrash. The meaning of all this is that the author of the Midrash compared the Shechinah to a king of flesh and blood and His great name to the “artisan” who carries out the various tasks assigned to him by G’d’s essence The חכמה, the emanation wisdom, is perceived as the textbook which serves the artisans as a standby for consultation to perform their work in the most efficient manner. This is why Moses of whom the Torah wrote in Deut 33,21 וירא ראשית לו כי שם חלקת מחוקק ספון, ”he chose the first portion for himself for that is where the lawgiver’s plot is hidden,” was called מחוקק. [The reason this needs explaining is that this term normally translated as “lawgiver” suggests that the law is initiated by such a מחוקק. This would mean that Moses acted independently of G’d, an intolerable thought. The Midrash therefore introduces these parables to define Moses’ role within the hierarchy commencing at the top with G’d the essence, the emanation wisdom, the Torah as the textbook of wisdom, etc. Ed.] The Talmud elsewhere defines this word as similar to parchment which has been salted and treated with flour in order to make it ready for the writing on it to endure. We encounter such Midrashim (Tanchuma Va'eyra 5) in connection with Pharaoh, who, when told by Moses that he was sent by Hashem, is reported to have asked his magicians to take out all the books containing the names of any past and present deities to search for the name Hashem. The Midrash refers to these “books” also as דפתרא, the kind of parchment we just described. All of this merely proves that the king does not proceed to implement his plans without going “through channels.” When we keep this in mind we do not find some of our sages’ statements as so difficult to comprehend. Seeing that an artisan is not a robot and does not perform his work mechanically without employing his mental faculties it becomes clear that חכמה, the emanation wisdom, is pivotal to all of G’d’s activities. This then is the mystical dimension of Job 28,28: “See, fear of the Lord is wisdom,” i.e. ”wisdom, i.e. pure intelligence, pure thought equates with reverence of the Lord the Creator, the master of the universe.” This is also the mystical dimension of Isaiah 30,18: ולכן יחכה ה’ לחננכם ולכן ירום לרחמכם, “truly, the Lord is waiting to show you grace, truly, He will arise to pardon you.” Why does the prophet switch from the verb חכה in the first half of the verse to רום in the second half of the same verse? The first half of the verse describing G’d as waiting is similar to the wish expressed by G’d in our verse here where G’d waits for the Jewish people to maintain their spiritual high. The second part, i.e. the word ירום describes the result of such waiting at the end of which time G’d can endow the people with His חכמה. חכמה and אמונה, “wisdom and faith” are so closely interwoven as to make them almost inseparabable. The author, quoting the Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchok ben Harav suggests that psalm 143,1 באמונתך ענני בצדקך, is to be understood as an oath to which David wants G’d to commit Himself.
Tur HaArokh
מי יתן והיה לבבם זה להם ליראה אותי ולשמר את כל מצותי, “Who can assure that their hearts should remain theirs to fear Me and observe all My commandments!” The reason there is some doubt about this is that G’d has granted us free will and although “everything is within the power of heaven,” the exception is the ability of man, the creature, to choose his path in life.
Verse structure: 6 words, 22 letters. The shortest word is "go!" (לֵ֖ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "your·tents" (לְאׇהֳלֵיכֶֽם, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "return!" (שׁ֥וּבוּ), "your·tents" (לְאׇהֳלֵיכֶֽם). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "say!" (root אמר, 144x in Deuteronomy); "go!" (root הלך, 52x in Deuteronomy); "return!" (root שוב, 35x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: לֵ֖ךְ [go!] (50) + אֱמֹ֣ר [say!] (241) + לָהֶ֑ם [to·them] (75) + שׁ֥וּבוּ [return!] (314) + לָכֶ֖ם [to] (90) + לְאׇהֳלֵיכֶֽם [your·tents] (136) = 906.
Onkelos
Go, say to them: Return to your tents.
Ibn Ezra
"Go, say to them" — the meaning is that he descended.
But as for you, stand here by Me, and I will speak to you all the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it."
verse value 6052
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 80 letters. The shortest word is "here" (פֹּה֮, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·commandment" (אֵ֧ת כׇּל־הַמִּצְוָ֛ה, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "you·shall·teach·them" (תְּלַמְּדֵ֑ם), "and·they·shall·do" (וְעָשׂ֣וּ). The root עמד appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "in·the·land" (root ארץ, 193x in Deuteronomy); "giving" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·shall·teach·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 7 words.
Onkelos
But as for you, stand here before Me, and I will speak to you all the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances that you shall teach them, and they shall perform in the land that I am giving them to inherit.
Ramban
THAT THEY MAY DO THEM IN THE LAND. I have explained it.
Ibn Ezra
"But as for you, stand here with Me" — the meaning is that he returned. And so it is written: "and I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances." Thus the greater part of the Torah was spoken to Moses at Sinai; Moses only [re]stated it in the wilderness of Sinai and during those eleven days' journey from Sinai, according to my view.
Or HaChaim
ואתה פה עמד עמדי, "As for you, stand here with Me, etc." The reason for this is that seeing that up until now the Israelites had not made Moses their intermediary to accept the commandments on their behalf, G'd told Moses to stand next to Him so that He could speak to him and tell him all the commandments which he was to teach the people. Perhaps the meaning of the verse is that as far as G'd is concerned as soon as He had informed Moses of the commandments He considered the Israelites as having received these commandments. Legally, this works as follows: Supposing a woman authorises someone to accept a marriage proposal on her behalf she is considered legally marrried as soon as her delegate has received the necessary gift and documentation. The delegate's "hand" is considered as equivalent to her own. In similar fashion, once Moses, Israel's delegate, had received the commandments, Israel was committed to observe them. This is what G'd meant when He said: "and I will say them to you." He added: "you will teach them and they will carry them out."
Chizkuni
ואתה פה עמוד עמדי, “but as for you, stay here with Me!” G-d invites Moses to again spend time with Him by ascending the Mountain. ועשו בארץ, “in order that they will perform them in the land, etc.” Moses refers to what he had said in Deut. 4,14:, that the Lord had commanded him to teach the people His commandments.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ואתה פה עמוד עמדי ואדברה אליך את כל המצוה והחקים והמשפטים, “and you, stand here with Me, and I will say to you all the ceremonial laws, the statutes and the social laws.” When G’d uses the term דבור as distinct from אמירה He refers to the written Torah; i.e. the area over which Moses’ prophecy extended. This is why G’d mentioned that He only “said” it to “you,” i.e. to Moses, seeing that the rest of the people would receive these messages in written form on a Torah scroll. When Moses refers to the people who had originally received these laws the wording is not אליכם but אתכם, i.e. “as the Lord your G’d commanded you at Sinai when you heard the words from His mouth” (verse 30). [The word את always describes some closer relationship than the word אל, such as the difference between ואהבת לרעך and 'ואהבת את ה]. ועשו בארץ, “they shall perform it in the land.” This wording was now appropriate as the people were nearing their destination. Alternatively, the reason for adding the word בארץ is simply because the entire panorama of commandments is designed first and foremost for performance in the land of Israel. I have mentioned this previously (4,14).
Rashbam
'ואתה עמוד פה עמדי ואדברה אליך ...ועשו בארץ וגוthis is a reference to when Moses had said in 4,14 “G’d commanded me at that time to teach you to perform the commandments applicable in the Holy Land.”
You shall observe to do therefore as Hashem your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
verse value 4191 — יְהֹוָ֥ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 47 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·you·shall·keep" (וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֣ם, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "you·shall·turn·aside" (תָסֻ֖רוּ). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "as·that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֣ם [and·you·shall·keep] (986) + לַעֲשׂ֔וֹת [to·do] (806) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר [as·that] (521) + צִוָּ֛ה [he·commanded] (101) + יְהֹוָ֥ה [Hashem] (26) + אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם [your·God] (106) + אֶתְכֶ֑ם [you] (461) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + תָסֻ֖רוּ [you·shall·turn·aside] (666) + יָמִ֥ין [right] (110) + וּשְׂמֹֽאל [the·left] (377) = 4191.
Onkelos
And you shall take care to do as Hashem your God has commanded you; you shall not turn to the right or to the left.
Ramban
YE SHALL OBSERVE TO DO, THEREFORE, AS THE ETERNAL YOUR G-D COMMANDED YOU. This warning alludes to the Ten Commandments which G-d Himself communicated to them directly, and afterwards he admonished them with respect to the rest of the commandments which they said they [preferred to] hear from Moses and [they promised] to perform them. Therefore, he said, And this is the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances which the Eternal your G-d commanded to teach you, since G-d agreed to your request and He commanded me to teach you the entire balance of the Torah, that ye may live, that He may fulfill the number of your days, and that it may be well with you with all the good that He promised you in the section of If ye walk in My statutes and other sections besides; and that ye may prolong your days in the Land that you will inherit for your children forever.
Ibn Ezra
"And you shall observe to do" — to add [to the command]: "and you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left."
Sforno
ושמרתם לעשות, seeing that things have developed in this fashion it is no more than a minimal request that you observe and carry out G’d’s commandments, ולא תסורו ימין ושמאל, neither to add to them even if your intentions are good, nor to detract from them.
Tur HaArokh
ושמרתם לעשות כאשר צוה ה' אלוקיכם אתכם, “You shall be careful to act in accordance with what the Lord your G’d commanded you;” Nachmanides writes that this verse is a warning to meticulously observe the Ten Commandments, commandments which G’d personally gave to them at the Revelation.
You shall walk in all the way which Hashem your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
verse value 5241 — יְהֹוָ֧ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 71 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֧ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֨ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·way" (בְּכׇל־הַדֶּ֗רֶךְ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "and·you·shall·prolong" (וְהַאֲרַכְתֶּ֣ם), "you·shall·possess" (תִּֽירָשֽׁוּן). The root אשר appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·shall·go', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 9 words.
Onkelos
In all the way that Hashem your God has commanded you, you shall walk, so that you may live and it may go well with you, and you may prolong your days in the land that you are to inherit.
Ibn Ezra
"In the entire way" — this is the explanation of "to the right and to the left." And this commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances — their root purpose is "so that you may fear, you and your son and your son's son." Thus the root of all commandments is faith of the heart, and when you fear Hashem, "this is the whole of man" [Eccl. 12:13], and for this purpose man was created, as the words of Ecclesiastes [state]. And furthermore, "days shall be lengthened" — together with everyone, upon the earth, and for the individual in the World to Come (one version reads: in this world).
Sforno
למען תחיו וטוב לכם, in order that you will live enduringly in a good and happy frame of mind. והארכתם ימים בארץ אשר תירשון, so that you will acquire “long life” in a world which is itself one of unlimited duration.
Or HaChaim
בכל הדרך…למען תחיון, "all along the way …in order that you may live, etc." The meaning of תחיון וטוב לכם והארכתם means "long life on earth." The additional promise of וטוב לכם refers to the good which they will experience in the hereafter. The meaning of the word והארכתם ימים בארץ is that the Israelites will not ever be exiled from their land. According to the view of Rabbi Yaakov in Kidushin 39 that there is no reward in this life for the commandments we observe, it appears that even this Rabbi concedes that if someone is a totally righteous person who has observed all the commandments which it is possible for him to observe, he will experience some reward even in this life. The kind of person who was the subject of Rabbi Yaakov's statement is the one whose credits outweigh his debits. The Talmud on the folio quoted supports Rabbi Yaakov's view and adopts it as normative. From the above you may conclude that only people who are guilty of sins,- though these are outweighed by their good deeds-qualify for the statement in the Talmud that such people will experience afflictions in this life. The reason for this is so that such people will not have to experience afflictions in the hereafter for unatoned sins. When a person is not guilty of such sins he obviously will enjoy the benefits this life has to offer. The Torah alludes to this when writing that "if you walk along the whole way" which G'd has commanded. Such a person will enjoy both the hereafter and the good life in this world. The Torah underlines this by not just writing: "you will enjoy long life," but by writing: "you will enjoy long life on the land you are going to inherit." Had the Torah not added these extra words I would have interpreted the reference to long life as referring to the kind of life which is long by definition, i.e. the hereafter.
Onkelos
Ibn Ezra
Or HaChaim
Chizkuni
Rabbeinu Bahya