| 9You are all standing this day before the Lord, your God the leaders of your tribes, your elders and your officers, every man of Israel, |
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טאַתֶּ֨ם נִצָּבִ֤ים הַיּוֹם֙ כֻּלְּכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֑ם רָֽאשֵׁיכֶ֣ם שִׁבְטֵיכֶ֗ם זִקְנֵיכֶם֙ וְשֹׁ֣טְרֵיכֶ֔ם כֹּ֖ל אִ֥ישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל: |
| You are all standing: [The verse says “this day,” which] teaches us that on the day of his death, Moses assembled Israel in the presence of the Holy One, Blessed is He, to bring them into [His] covenant. |
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אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים:
מְלַמֵּד שֶׁכִּנְּסָם מֹשֶׁה לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּיוֹם מוֹתוֹ לְהַכְנִיסָם בַּבְּרִית:
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| the leaders of your tribes: Heb. רָאשֵׁיכֶם שִׁבְטֵיכֶם, [lit., “your leaders, your tribes,” referring to two separate entities, which does not make sense here because “your tribes” includes the leaders. Rather, this means here:] “The leaders of your tribes.” |
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רָֽאשֵׁיכֶם שִׁבְטֵיכֶם:
רָאשֵׁיכֶם לְשִׁבְטֵיכֶם:
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| your elders and your officers: [We learn from the order in this verse that] the more distinguished ones were mentioned first, and after this: “every man of Israel.” |
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זִקְנֵיכֶם וְשֹׁטְרֵיכֶם:
הֶחָשׁוּב חָשׁוּב קוֹדֵם, וְאַחַר כָּךְ כל איש ישראל:
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| 10your young children, your women, and your convert who is within your camp both your woodcutters and your water drawers, |
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יטַפְּכֶ֣ם נְשֵׁיכֶ֔ם וְגֵ֣רְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּקֶ֣רֶב מַֽחֲנֶ֑יךָ מֵֽחֹטֵ֣ב עֵצֶ֔יךָ עַ֖ד שֹׁאֵ֥ב מֵימֶֽיךָ: |
| both your woodcutters [and your water drawers]: [The mention of these people separate to the main community of Israel] teaches us that in the days of Moses, Canaanites came to convert [to Judaism], just as the Gibeonites came [to convert] in the days of Joshua. This is the meaning of the verse regarding the Gibeonites, “And they also acted cunningly…” (Josh. 9:4), [i. e., pretending that they had come from a far away country. When they were discovered, Joshua made them woodcutters and water drawers for Israel (see Josh. 9:3-27). Likewise here, the Canaanites attempted to deceive Moses, but they did not succeed, and Moses did not accept them to be Jews. Rather,] Moses made them woodcutters and water drawers [i.e., slaves for Israel]. — [Tanchuma 2; Yev. 79a; see Rashi Gittin 23b] |
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מֵֽחֹטֵב עֵצֶיךָ:
מְלַמֵּד שֶׁבָּאוּ כְנַעֲנִיִּים לְהִתְגַּיֵּר בִּימֵי מֹשֶׁה כְּדֶרֶךְ שֶׁבָּאוּ גִּבְעוֹנִים בִּימֵי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, וְזֶהוּ הָאָמוּר בַּגִּבְעוֹנִים (יהושע ט') "וַיַּעֲשׂוּ גַם הֵמָּה בְּעָרְמָה", וּנְתָנָם מֹשֶׁה חוֹטְבֵי עֵצִים וְשׁוֹאֲבֵי מַיִם (עי' תנחומא):
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| 11that you may enter the covenant of the Lord, your God, and His oath, which the Lord, your God, is making with you this day, |
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יאלְעָבְרְךָ֗ בִּבְרִ֛ית יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ וּבְאָֽלָת֑וֹ אֲשֶׁר֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ כֹּרֵ֥ת עִמְּךָ֖ הַיּֽוֹם: |
| that you may enter: Heb. לְעָבְרְךָ. [Meaning,] “That you may pass through [i.e., enter] the covenant.” One should not understand this verb [to be in the causative conjugation,] to mean “to cause you to pass through,” [but rather, the verb is in the simple conjugation, and means that you yourselves will pass through]. This is similar to the expression, לַעֲשׂתְכֶם, “that you [yourselves] should do them” (Deut. 4:14). |
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לְעָבְרְךָ:
לִהְיוֹתְךָ עוֹבֵר בַּבְּרִית, וְלֹא יִתָּכֵן לְפָרְשׁוֹ כְּמוֹ לְהַעֲבִירְךָ, אֶלָּא כְּמוֹ לַעֲשֹׂתְכֶם אֹתָם:
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| that you may enter into the covenant: [lit.] “that you may pass through the covenant.” This was the method of those who made covenants: They would set up a demarcation on one side and a demarcation on the other, and [the respective parties of the covenant] “passed through” between [these partitions], as the verse says, “[when] they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts” (Jer. 34:18). |
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לְעָבְרְךָ בִּבְרִית:
דֶּרֶךְ הַעֲבָרָה כָּךְ: הָיוּ כוֹרְתֵי בְרִיתוֹת עוֹשִׂין מְחִצָּה מִכָּאן וּמְחִצָּה מִכָּאן וְעוֹבְרִים בֵּינְתַּיִם, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "הָעֵגֶל אֲשֶׁר כָּרְתוּ לִשְׁנַיִם וַיַּעַבְרוּ בֵּין בְּתָרָיו" (ירמיהו ל"ד):
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