| 9“You are all standing today before God, your God—the leaders of your tribes, your elders, your sheriffs, and every Israelite man, |
|
טאַתֶּ֨ם נִצָּבִ֤ים הַיּוֹם֙ כֻּלְּכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֑ם רָֽאשֵׁיכֶ֣ם שִׁבְטֵיכֶ֗ם זִקְנֵיכֶם֙ וְשֹׁ֣טְרֵיכֶ֔ם כֹּ֖ל אִ֥ישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל: |
| אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים - You are standing today. This teaches us that Moses assembled them before the Holy One, blessed be He, on the day of his death, specifically to have them enter the covenant. |
|
אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים.
מְלַמֵּד שֶׁכִּנְּסָם מֹשֶׁה לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּיוֹם מוֹתוֹ לְהַכְנִיסָם בַּבְּרִית:
|
| רָֽאשֵׁיכֶם שִׁבְטֵיכֶם - (lit.) Your heads, your tribes - means: the heads of your tribes. |
|
רָֽאשֵׁיכֶם שִׁבְטֵיכֶם.
רָאשֵׁיכֶם לְשִׁבְטֵיכֶם:
|
| זִקְנֵיכֶם וְשֹׁטְרֵיכֶם - Your elders and your sheriffs - i.e., whoever is more important is mentioned first, and afterward, at the end, “every Israelite man.” |
|
זִקְנֵיכֶם וְשֹׁטְרֵיכֶם.
הֶחָשׁוּב חָשׁוּב קוֹדֵם, וְאַחַר כָּךְ כל איש ישראל:
|
| 10your young children, your womenfolk, and your converts who are in your camp, from your woodcutter to your water-drawer— |
|
יטַפְּכֶ֣ם נְשֵׁיכֶ֔ם וְגֵ֣רְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּקֶ֣רֶב מַֽחֲנֶ֑יךָ מֵֽחֹטֵ֣ב עֵצֶ֔יךָ עַ֖ד שֹׁאֵ֥ב מֵימֶֽיךָ: |
| מֵֽחֹטֵב עֵצֶיךָ - From your woodcutter. This teaches us that Canaanites came to convert during Moses’ lifetime, just as we find that Gibeonites came in the time of Joshua, and this is alluded to by the statement regarding the Gibeonites: “they also did so cunningly.” Moses accepted them, but appointed them as woodcutters and water-drawers. |
|
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):
|
| 11in order to perform a ritual by which you will enter into a covenant with God, your God—and to take His oath to uphold it—which God, your God, is making with you today |
|
יאלְעָבְרְךָ֗ בִּבְרִ֛ית יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ וּבְאָֽלָת֑וֹ אֲשֶׁר֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ כֹּרֵ֥ת עִמְּךָ֖ הַיּֽוֹם: |
| לְעָבְרְךָ - means: so that you enter the covenant. It is impossible to explain it as equivalent to: לְהַעֲבִירְךָ “to make you enter,” where the suffix ך refers to the direct object; rather, it is like: לַעֲשֹׂתְכֶם אֹתָם “so that you perform them,” where the suffix כם refers to the one doing the action. |
|
לְעָבְרְךָ.
לִהְיוֹתְךָ עוֹבֵר בַּבְּרִית, וְלֹא יִתָּכֵן לְפָרְשׁוֹ כְּמוֹ לְהַעֲבִירְךָ, אֶלָּא כְּמוֹ לַעֲשֹׂתְכֶם אֹתָם:
|
| לְעָבְרְךָ בִּבְרִית - In order that you enter into a covenant - in a manner of “passing” (הַעֲבָרָה). This was the custom of parties to a covenant, namely, to make a partition on one side and another partition on the other and pass between them, as it says: “the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts.” |
|
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):
|
