I pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying, “O Lord GOD, You who let Your servant see the first works of Your greatness and Your mighty hand, You whose powerful deeds no god in heaven or on earth can equal! Let me, I pray, cross over and see the good land on the other side of the Jordan, that good hill country, and the Lebanon.” But the LORD was wrathful with me on your account and would not listen to me. The LORD said to me, “Enough! Never speak to Me of this matter again! Go up to the summit of Pisgah and gaze about, to the west, the north, the south, and the east. Look at it well, for you shall not go across yonder Jordan. Give Joshua his instructions, and imbue him with strength and courage, for he shall go across at the head of this people, and he shall allot to them the land that you may only see.” Meanwhile we stayed on in the valley near Beth-peor.

ואתחנן — All forms of the verb חנן signify an ex gratia gift. Although the righteous might make a claim to reward depend Upon their good deeds, yet they solicit from the Omnipresent only an ex gratia gift. [Because He had said to him, (Exodus 33:19) “I will show grace (וחנתי) unto him to whom I will show grace”, he (Moses) when referring to his entreaty of God uses the expression (lit., spoke to Him) "I implored grace (ואתחנן)” (Midrash Tanchuma 5:2:3] — Another explanation is that the idea of an ex gratia gift is not to be stressed; but this is merely one of the ten terms by which prayer is described, as are enumerated in Sifrei Devarim 26:7.

בעת ההוא [I IMPLORED GRACE OF GOD] AT THAT TIME — After I had subdued the land of Sihon and Og I thought that perhaps the vow that I should not enter the land was annulled, since this was part of the land of Canaan (cf. Sifrei Devarim 26:8 and Rashi on Numbers 27:12).

לאמר TO SAY (i.e. that God should say) — This is one of the three occasions where Moses spoke before the Omnipresent: I will not let You go until You tell me whether You will fulfill my request or not (Sifrei Devarim 26:9; cf. Rashi on Numbers 12:13).

אתה החלות להראות את עבדך THOU DIDST BEGIN TO SHOW THY SERVANT an opening to stand and offer prayer, although the decree has been enacted; he said to Him: I learned to do so from Thee, for Thou didst say to me, (Exodus 32:10; cf. Rashi thereon) "And now, leave Me alone”. Was I, then, holding Thee? But Thou didst say this to open the door and to show that it depended upon me to pray for them. Just so do I think to act now (Sifrei Devarim 27:2).

אדני אלהים O LORD, GOD — O Thou Who art. merciful (ה׳) in judgment (אלהים) (cf. Sifrei Devarim 26:10).

את גדלך [TO SHOW] THY GREATNESS — This means Thy attribute of goodness. Similarly it states, (Numbers 14:17, 18) "And now, I beseech Thee, let the strength of my Lord be great, [according as thou hast spoken, saying: The Lord is long-suffering and of much mercy, etc."].

ואת ידך AND THY [STRONG] HAND — This refers to Thy right hand which is extended to all who enter the world (all human beings) [to receive them in penitence] (Sifrei Bamidbar 134:5).

החזקה [THY] STRONG [HAND] — I speak of it as Thy strong hand, because by showing mercy Thou forcibly (בחזקה) subduest the attribute of strict justice (Sifrei Bamidbar 134:5).

אשר מי אל וגו׳ FOR WHAT GOD IS THERE [… WHO CAN DO ACCORDING TO THY WORKS] — Thou art unlike a mortal king who has counsellors and assessors who would prevent him when he wishes to show kindness and to forgo, what is due to him: Thou, however, — there is none who can prevent Thee if Thou pardonest me and dost annul Thy decree (Sifrei Devarim 27:6). But according to its plain sense it means: "Thou hast begun to show Thy servant the war with Sihon and Og, as it is written, (Deuteronomy 2:31) “Behold I have begun to give [Sihon and his land] before thee"; let me behold also the war with the thirty-one kings of Canaan.

אעברה נא LET ME PASS OVER, I PRAY THEE — The term נא is a term of request (it does not here signify "now").

ההר הטוב הזה THAT GOODLY MOUNTAIN, i.e. Jerusalem (that was situated on hills) (Sifrei Bamidbar 134:5).

והלבנן AND LEBANON — this is a term for the Temple (Siphre).

ויתעבר ה׳ This means, GOD WAS FILLED WITH WRATH (Sifrei Bamidbar 135).

למענכם ON ACCOUNT OF YOU — You caused this for me (that God was wroth with me); similarly it states, (Psalms 106:32) “And they provoked Him at the waters of Meriba, and He did evil to Moses on their account".

רב לך LET IT SUFFICE THEE (i.e. pray no more), so that people should not say, “How harsh is the Master, and how obstinate and importunate is the disciple" (Sotah 13b). Another explanation of רב לך (lit., there is much for you) — more than this is reserved for you; much is the goodness that is stored up for thee (Sifrei Bamidbar 135).

וראה בעיניך [LIFT UP THINE EYES …] AND SEE IT WITH THINE EYES — Thou didst request of Me, (v. 25) “Let me see the good land”; I will let thee see the whole of it (not the good territory alone), as it is said, (Deuteronomy 34:1) “And the Lord showed him all the land״ (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 135).

וצו את יהושע AND GIVE JOSHUA CHARGE regarding the cumbrance, the burdens and strifes that he will have to bear (cf. Deuteronomy 1:12).

וחזקהו ואמצהו AND STRENGTHEN HIM AND MAKE HIM FIRM through thy words, so that he may not become faint-hearted, saying, “Just as my master was punished on account of them, so eventually will I be punished on account of them and not enter the land. I promise him “that he shall pass over [before this people] and he shall cause [them] to inherit [the land]”” (cf. Sifrei Devarim 29:9).

כי הוא יעבר (this may mean: if he passes) — If he will pass before them, they will possess the land, and if not, they will not possess it. So, indeed, you find that when he sent some of the people against Ai and he remained in the camp, “the men of Ai smote of them [thirtysix men]” (Joshua 7:5). And when he fell on his face, He said to him, קם לך: the verb is written קם (without ו, so that it may be read קָם) i.e. “It is thou who standest in thy place and sendest My children to war, who hast brought about this defeat. Why is it that thou fallest on thy face? Did I not thus tell thy master, Moses: If he will pass, they will pass on, but if not, they will not pass on? (Sifrei Devarim 29:9).

ונשב בגיא וגו׳ SO WE ABODE IN THE VALLEY [OVER AGAINST BETH PEOR], — and ye associated yourselves with idol-worship, yet, however, ועתה ישראל שמע אל החקים NOW, O ISRAEL, HEARKEN TO THE STATUTES and everything will be forgiven thee. But I — I was not privileged that it was forgiven me (Sifrei Devarim 30:2).

The word חנון everywhere signifies, etc. Otherwise, it should have said ואתפלל (I prayed).

Because [the Almighty] had said to him, etc. Rashi is saying: How did Moshe know to ask the Almighty even for an underserved gift, one that is not dependent upon good deeds? On this question Rashi explains, “I will be gracious, etc.”

There is another explanation: This is one of the ten terms. According to the first explanation there is a difficulty: Why is it not written ואתחנם (I asked for a free gift). Therefore Rashi says, “There is another explanation, etc.” But according to the second explanation there is a difficulty: Why does it not say ויחל (implored) as above (Shmos 32:11).

By which prayer is described, as is stated in Sifrei. The following [are the ten terms: 1.שועה. 2.צעקה. 3.נאקה (three types of crying out). 4.רנה (song). 5.פצור (press). 6.קריאה (call). 7.נפול (fall). 8.פלל (plead). 9.פגיעה (approach). 10.תחנה (supplicate).

After I had captured, etc. Rashi has the following difficulty: Above it is written (Devarim 3:21), “And Yehoshua I commanded at that time, etc.” which means at the time of capturing Sichon and Og. And, “I pleaded to Adonoy,” refers to that verse [therefore the phrase here, “at that time,” is apparently not necessary]. Rashi answers: After ... I imagined that the vow had been partially cancelled. Therefore, [at that time] I thought to pray in order to enter the land, etc. (Re”m).

I imagined that the vow had been cancelled. You might ask: Since the vow had been cancelled, why then did Moshe need to pray? The answer is that Moshe thought the following: Before the land of Sichon and Og were conquered, it did not occur to me to pray because the Almighty had made a decree along with a vow, and therefore prayer would not help. But after conquering the land, and Bnei Gad, Bnei Reuvein, and half the tribe of Menashe inherited it, I thought that perhaps the vow had been cancelled — for a vow which is partially cancelled becomes totally void. If so, then the Almighty’s decree is without a vow and thus prayer will help.

This is one of the three occasions, etc. Re”m writes that Rashi is difficult to understand. For Sifrei lists five places, and Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria mentions four occasions where Moshe said, etc., and they are all listed explicitly. If so, Rashi’s words do not match either opinion. But it seems to me [the answer is]: Rashi’s commentary, “This is one of the three occasions, etc.,” means that Moshe prayed for these things and requested for the Almighty to fulfill his request and to make known to him if his request will be fulfilled. Such as regarding Miriam (Bamidbar 12:13) where Moshe requested she should be healed from tzara’as. Also regarding (Ibid. 27:15), “Almighty, appoint etc.,” where Moshe requested that his sons inherit his position of leadership — as Rashi explains there. And also here, Moshe is praying to cross the Yardein. But the other two occasions quoted in Sifrei are different. “Moshe spoke before Adonoy saying, etc. (Shmos 6:12),” where Moshe requested to know if You would redeem them, etc. And also, when “Moshe cried out to Adonoy saying ‘What shall I do to this people,’, etc. (Ibid. 17:4),” where Moshe requested to know if he would fall into their hands, etc. These two occasions were only a request to be informed, but not a request and prayer for the Almighty to fulfill what he is asking for. This answer can be found here in Rashi’s words, if you read the text carefully.

Merciful in judgement. Rashi is answering the question: Hashem’s four-letter Name [Tetragrammaton] signifies His attribute of mercy, but the Name “Adonoy” signifies His attribute of justice [so how do we explain the two terms when they appear together]?. Therefore Rashi explains, “Merciful in judgement.” In other words, He judges with mercy, and not with harsh justice. An alternative approach is: Rashi is explaining why Hashem’s four-letter name here is vocalized as “Elohim,” with a chataf-segol, cholam, and chirik, and not in the usual manner? Therefore Rashi says, “Adonoy Elohim,” even though it is written as “Adonoy.” In other words, it is [primarily] the four-letter Name, but according to its vocalization it is as if “Elohim” were written. So Rashi explains: Even though the four-letter Name is Hashem’s attribute of mercy, it is vocalized as “Elohim” to signify that He is merciful in judgment. And the first Name of Adonoy that appears in the verse, Moshe only intended as an introductory remark, “My Master.” According to the first explanation, Rashi must have said, “Elohim,” because that is how the four-letter name is read. Although above in Parshas Lech Lecha it is written, “Adonoy Elohim what will you give me (Bereishis 15:2),” and Rashi offers no explanation. The answer is: The verse in Bereishis means to say: Whether out of justice, or whether out of mercy, I request for You to give me children because You had said to me, “Go for yourself from your homeland ... and I will make you into a great nation (Ibid. 12:1).” But here it is difficult to understand why it needs to say the Name Adonoy, which signifies Hashem’s attribute of justice.

An opportunity to stand and pray, etc. Otherwise, it should say, “You have shown Your servant etc.” As [the significance of, “You have begun to show,”] Rashi explains further on.

And now please magnify the Might. Afterwards it is written, “Adonoy said, ‘I have forgiven you as you said.’” In other words: Your attribute of goodness is that you forgive those who transgress Your will.

Which is extended to all who enter the world. It is extended to accept whoever repents. This is also part of Moshe’s prayer.

You subdue with [Your] compassion, etc. This is also part of Moshe’s prayer. But it does not mean the same as, “For by [My] strong hand he will let them go (Shmos 6:1),” for how does this relate to Moshe’s prayer?

You are unlike a king of flesh and blood. This is also part of Moshe’s prayer. But it does not mean that there is none like You, as in, “For there is no power like You, etc. (Tehillim 81:8).” For how does this relate to Moshe’s prayer?

Who has advisors and critics, etc. The term סנקנתדרין means “critics.”

But according to its simplistic sense [it means]; You have begun to show your servant, etc. Also according to its simplistic sense it is part of Moshe’s prayer. In other words: Since You have begun to show me the two wars with Sichon and with Og, show me also the wars with the thirty-one kings.

The word נא is a term denoting a request. I.e., pertaining to the word נא appearing here. But [where it appears] elsewhere in the Torah it means, “now.”

A reference to Jerusalem. As it is written, “Jerusalem is surrounded by mountains (Tehillim 125:2).”

A reference to the Bais HaMikdosh. Why is the Bais HaMikdosh called, “Levanon”? Because it whitens (m’labein i.e., cleanses) a person of his sins.

He was filled with wrath. The term ויתעבר is related to the term עברה (wrath).

You caused this [to happen] to me, etc. I.e., Because I had said to you, “Listen you rebellious ones (Bamidbar 20:10),” on account of this sin Hashem decreed that I shall not enter the Land. Rashi quotes a proof: Similarly is states, “...and Moshe suffered harm because of them (Tehillim 106:32).” For that verse means the same as here: “Because of them,” means that Moshe suffered because they caused him harm. The word למענכם (lit., because of you) does not mean, “Because He is doing as you wish and you do not wish for me to enter the Land,” as in, “Because of you (למענכם) I was sent to Babylon (Yeshayah 43:14).”

So that people should not say “How harsh is the Master,”, etc. The term רב לך means, “master,” as if Hashem were saying: “Since I am your Master and you are my disciple, you must listen to your Master, and you may not stubbornly oppose Me so that, etc.”

Another explanation of רב לך, Much more than this, etc. The first reason is problematic, for the verse should say רב אני (I am your Master). Therefore, Rashi suggests, “Another explanation, etc.” But the second reason by itself is also problematic, for the verse should say רב טוב לך (great is the goodness) [that is hidden away for you]. Therefore, the first reason is also needed.

Great is the goodness that is hidden away for you. I.e., the goodness that is hidden away for you in the World to Come is greater than [the goodness] you would have from entering the Land.

I will show you all of it, etc. Rashi is explaining how the Almighty is answering Moshe’s request to cross the Yardein. For how does, “Go up to the peak of the Pisgah ... see with your own eyes, etc,” relate to Moshe’s question? Rashi explains: You asked of Me to see [only] the good mountain and the Levanon, which refers to Yerusholayim and the Beis Hamikdosh — the best of all the Land. But I will show you all of it, which is more than you had requested.

Regarding the troubles, the burdens, etc. As the verse says (above 1:12), “Your troublesomeness, your burdensomeness, and your contentiousness.” For if וצו (command) is referring to אמצהו וחזקהו (embolden him and encourage him), then וחזקהו would not be preceded by a vov (and), which implies that besides the command given to Yehoshua, you are also to encourage him and embolden him. We see from this that the command is one matter, and “encourage him and embolden him,” is a separate matter.

With your words so that he will not become faint- hearted, etc. I.e., not with your actions, for you are not able to encourage him and embolden him except with words. In other words, I assure him that he will cross over. For afterwards Rashi says: “He will cross over, etc.” We see from this that the encouraging and emboldening is with speech.

If he will cross at the head [of this people] they will possess [the land], but if not, etc. Rashi is answering the question: The verse only needed to say ינחיל (and he will apportion), etc. Rather the [extra] word והוא (and he) is intended to teach us that only when he will cross, then they will possess, but if not, etc.

And when he fell on his face, he [Hashem] said to him, etc. I.e., when the Israelites were being killed in the war against Ai, Yehoshua fell [in supplication] before Hashem.

It [the word קם] is written [without the vov], etc. In other words: [The defeat was] because you remained in your place and did not go with them.

And you attached yourselves to idolatry, etc. Rashi is saying: The preceding verse was dealing with the Almighty’s response to Moshe, that he shall not enter the Land. [So now,] Moshe says to the Jewish People, “We lived in the valley,” meaning that you attached yourselves to idolatry and sinned by worshipping it. Nevertheless they are told, “And now Yisroel, etc.” I.e., despite this, you will enter the Land, but I, etc. [Rashi explains in this way,] even though “And now, etc.,” is a separate paragraph. There are other verses that are understood in the same way, such as, “And it was after the plague. And Adonoy said to Moshe, etc. (Bamidbar 26:1).” You might ask: Why does Moshe mention this sin more than any other that they committed in the wilderness? The answer is: Moshe mentions the sin of facing Beis Peor to say that even though they sinned, the Almighty will forgive them through Moshe’s burial [being there]. For this is the reason that Moshe is buried outside the Land, as it is written in Parshas Vezos Habracha (below 34:6), “He buried him in the valley, in the land of Moav facing Beis Peor.” And Rashi explains there that Moshe was buried facing Beis Peor, outside the Land, to atone for their sin of idolatry that they committed in Beis Peor (attributed to the Maharitz).

ואתחנן אל ה׳ בעת ההיא לאמור, "I pleaded with G'd at that time, saying, etc." Why did Moses have to say "at that time?" Sifri writes that when Moses saw how Sichon and Og had fallen, he believed that the fact that he had lived to see this was proof that G'd had relented in His decree against him and that this was an opportune time to plead to be allowed to enter the West Bank. If we accept this interpretation the words בעת ההיא refer to the time of the wars with Sichon and Og. Moses excused himself saying that had it not been for what he had been allowed to witness at that time he would not have pleaded for G'd to rescind His decision seeing he was aware that the decree was final.

According to the sages in the Sifri even the word לאמור is part of Moses' plea. Moses challenged G'd to tell him if He was prepared to let him enter the Holy Land. I believe that all these comments are merely homiletics. The words בעת ההיא refer to the time when G'd had sworn that except for Joshua and Calev no one who had been over 20 at the time of the Exodus would see the land of Israel. Moses had referred to that date in 1,37 when he had mentioned that G'd had been angry at him also, saying that he too would not get to the Holy Land. At that time Moses had pleaded to cancel His decree and to release Himself from the oath as alluded to by the words: "You have begun to show your servant Your greatness, etc." Our sages interpreted these words as a reference to an invalidation of an oath, as I shall discuss shortly. The reason Moses inserted this paragraph at this point was so that the people should not suspect him of having pleaded only on his own behalf and that he was not concerned with G'd cancelling the decree He had sworn concerning the entire generation. By saying בעת ההיא, Moses indicated that he prayed before the decree had begun to be executed.

Even though we do not find in Moses' opening words that he prayed also on behalf of his people, his intention had been to pray on behalf of the people as soon as G'd had hearkened to his own prayer concerning himself. This would be relatively simple as we have a principle that once part of a vow has been cancelled, the entire vow is no longer valid (Nedarim 66). The word לאמור in our verse indicates that Moses was concerned not only with himself but also with additional words he was going to say. He thought he acted wisely as he assumed that it would be easier to obtain a cancellation of the part of the decree which referred to him personally not entering the Holy Land. After all, he, personally, had not committed a sin involving lack of faith as had his peers. All of Moses' words demonstrate that he considered G'd as having acted righteously.

Moses' entreaty also demonstrated four conditions which are necessary in order for one's prayer to be accepted. 1) One needs to pray in a manner similar to a poor man who knocks on a door in order to obtain some alms or some food as a hand-out, as we have been taught in Proverbs 18,23: "the poor man speaks beseechingly." 2) The prayer must be addressed to the source of Mercy, i.e. G'd Himself in His capacity as the attribute of Mercy. 3) It must be offered at a time when prayers are accepted, as we know from Psalms 69,14: "May my prayer to you come at a favourable moment, etc." 4) The prayer must be specific, incapable of being interpreted wrongly. This point is illustrated by Esther Rabbah at the beginning of chapter 7 item 24. [The Midrash discusses the meaning of the words in Esther 3,14: "that the people should be ready for this date," without specifying what precisely they should expect to happen on that day. The point is made that predictions made by Gentile prophets are obscure, liable to be misunderstood, whereas predictions made by Jewish prophets are clear and unambiguous. Ed.] The example quoted concerns a Jewish traveller who tired of the long trek he had to walk and whose ankle gave out. He said: "I wish I had a donkey." Shortly thereafter a Roman whose ass had just given birth to a young donkey passed him and told him to take it and to carry it. The traveller acknowledged that his prayer had been heard but that he had not expressed his prayer appropriately. He had failed to specify for what purpose he had requested the donkey. Thus far the Midrash. The word ואתחנן is the appropriate terminology when one beseeches G'd. By using this word Moses had complied with the first of the four conditions needed for a successful prayer. When he added אל השם, he complied with the second condition, i.e. he addressed his prayer to the attribute of Mercy. When he said בעת ההיא, he indicated that he had waited for the appropriate moment to offer up his prayer, i.e. a moment when G'd was known to be in a favourable frame of mind. Who would know better when such a time occurred than Moses? Perhaps this had been at the moment when G'd had said החל רש, "begin to possess and inherit his land" (Deut. 2,31). This would be in line with the view of our sages who said that Moses offered this prayer after the Israelites had defeated Sichon and Og and conquered their lands. By having waited for the appropriate time Moses had complied with the third of the four conditions for successful prayer we have listed earlier. Moses complied with the fourth condition for successful prayer when he said לאמור, i.e. he was precise in the formulation of his prayer, making it imposssible to misunderstand. I have pointed out repeatedly that the word לאמור is often used to indicate that whatever immediately precedes it does not necesssarily describe the exact words being used. Some of our commentators such as the author of the Yalkut Shimoni hold that the words בעת ההיא, "at that time," refer to Numbers 20,12 when G'd had told Moses and Aaron: "you (both) will not bring this community to the land I have given to them." On the other hand, Midrash Rabbah claims that the time Moses offered this prayer was on the occasion of Numbers 27,18 when G'd had told Moses to appoint Joshua as his successor. It is possible that Moses prayed a similar prayer on each of the occasions mentioned.

א־דני אלוקים אתה החילות להראות, "O Lord G'd, You have begun to show, etc." This (א־ד־נ־י) form of address may be understood as similar to Samuel I 3,18 where the High Priest Eli after being told by his pupil Samuel that G'd said that He would exact retribution from the house of Eli, reacted by saying: "My Master (א־ד־נ־י) will do whatever seems good in His eyes." Eli meant that when a master loses a servant such a loss is keenly felt by him; as a result, The Master would not agree to lose the servant unless He had good reason. When Moses used the word א־ד־נ־י in this instance he meant to say that his own success and wellbeing was a matter for his master (G'd) to evaluate.

He also used the 4-lettered name of G'd with the vowels of the attribute of Justice, i.e. אלוקים. Rashi comments as follows: רחום בדין, (the word א־דני means) "the One who is merciful even while dispensing judgment." I have seen that Nachmanides criticises Rashi claiming that he overlooked the fact that the first word א־ד־נ־י is written with the letters א־ד, whereas the second name of G'd is spelled with the letter י־ה, and that our sages have said that whenever this combination of letters in the name of G'd occurs it refers to the attribute of Mercy. Thus far Nachmanides. [According to Rabbi Chavell, Nachmanides meant that only the combination of the letters י־ה describe the attribute of Mercy. Ed.] I believe that Rashi did not refer to the word א־ד־נ־י at all when he made his comment. Rather, he referred to the fact that although the vowels in the Ineffable Name Moses used here are the ones used for the attribute of Justice, i.e. elokim, the fact remains that even when G'd dispenses justice there is always an element of mercy present. This is the reason for the strange vowelling in this instance. Sifri also understands the word in this sense when the author commented: "הויה always means mercy, whereas אלוקים always means justice." Sifri clearly refers to the relative spelling (i.e. consonants) and reading (i.e. vowels) meaning different attributes.

The reason Moses employed a name for G'd which incorporates both attributes becomes clear when you refer to my explanation of the word לאמור at the end of the last verse. I explained that as soon as Moses' own prayer had been accepted he meant to pray on behalf of the whole generation. Moses felt that the degree against himself could be voided merely by an appeal to the attribute of Justice, whereas in order to void the decree against the people of the Exodus it required the application of G'd's attribute of Mercy. Tanchuma illustrated this with a parable. [the version of this parable in my edition of the Tanchuma is substantially different, but I am quoting the version the author describes. Ed.] A king who wanted to marry a certain lady dispatched messengers to examine the lady in question and to present her with his marriage proposal. The messengers went and came back with the report that they could not have found an uglier person than the lady in question. One of the patrons of the bride-to-be heard about this negative report and told the king that there was not a more beautiful lady in the whole kingdom than the one the king wanted to marry. The father of the bride told the King's messengers that on no account would he allow them to be present at the wedding as they had shamed the bride. When the patron who had sung the praises of the bride wanted to take part in the wedding celebrations the father would not allow him to enter either. The patron remonstrated saying to the father of the bride: "I have praised her although I have never met her, and I told the king that she is the fairest in the land." Moses used a similar argument when he pleaded with G'd. He considered it unfair that he who had been instrumental in promoting the wedding between Israel and G'd and the land of Israel should not be allowed to attend the wedding, the consummation of the deal. Moses' argument was that even if G'd applied the yardstick used by the attribute of Justice, he should be allowed to enter the Holy Land. This is the reason he mentioned the attribute of Justice. He alluded to the element of mercy by punctuating the Ineffable Name in this unusual manner as this related to his prayer for the people as a whole as I explained on the word לאמור. He made a point of using the name for the attribute of Justice as he has been quoted as only praying for himself. [The Torah does not record vowels, only consonants. The reader has to supply the vowels himself. Ed.] He used the indirect reference to the attribute of Mercy, as his prayer for the people as a whole remained potential rather than actual as long as his prayer on his own behalf had not been accepted.

It is also possible that Moses had to allude to the attribute of Mercy in G'd's name precisely because he demanded to be heard as a matter of justice rather than merely as a matter of mercy. Who is so righteous that he can demand to be judged by the pure attribute of Justice? We have it on the authority of Psalms 143,2 "for before You no creature is in the right."

אתה החלות, "You have begun, etc." The Sifri offers three possible meanings for the word החלות 1) The word is derived from התחלה, beginning. 2) It is an expression for prayer similar to Maleachi 1,9 ועתה חלו נא פני קל, "and now implore the favour of the Lord!" 3) it means to release, i.e. to release from a vow, etc. Moses said to G'd: "You have released me from my vow" when You said to me in Exodus 3,10 "take My people out of Egypt." At the time I told You that I had already sworn an oath to my father-in-law Yitro that I would not leave him as we know from Exodus 2,21: "Moses agreed to dwell with the man, etc." The word ויאל is used when one swears an oath. Moses argued that if G'd had seen fit to release him from that oath, He could release Himself from His own oath not to let him enter the Holy Land. Another meaning of the word is "opening." Moses said "You have provided an opening for me to implore You by prayer when You said to me in Deut. 9,32: 'let Me be so that I can destroy them, etc.' Did Moses then restrain G'd? The meaning is that G'd had opened a door for Moses by these words encouraging him to pray." We are therefore entitled to understand the word as meaning "prayer." Another explanation sees in the opening for prayer a reference to the time Moses granted the lands of Sichon and Og to the tribes of Reuven and Gad. He had provided an opening for possible cancellation of that vow. This latter explanation [that the word החלות means an opening to cancel a vow. Ed.] seems somewhat strange. What proof could Moses bring from the time G'd had released him from his vow to remain with Yitro? Moses' vow on that occasion had been easy to cancel as he had a ready answer saying that had he known at the time that G'd would call upon him to lead the Jewish people to freedom he would never have made such a vow. What possible opening was there for G'd to rescind His own oath seeing that when G'd swears an oath all future possibilities are known to Him and He could never plead insufficient knowledge of the future as a reason to cancel His vows!

This problem may be solved when we review what Maimonides wrote in chapter six of his treatise Hilchot Shevuot. He writes: "If someone swore an oath and did not regret it, and is intent on keeping his oath, the court has to examine if keeping his oath would prevent this person from fulfilling some positive commandment or from maintaining peaceful relations with his peers. If keeping the oath were to result in either of these results, the court has to engage in negotiations with that person until it convinces him that had he been fully aware of these consequences he would not have sworn the oath in question. After that they will release him from the obligation which the oath entails." This teaches us that even if no "opening" existed for the court to cancel the vow, one uses one's intelligence to create such an "opening." This is what Moses had in mind when he said: "You have provided an opening already when You prevailed upon me to be released from my vow though I had not expressed any desire to be released from it." The proof that Moses did not ask to be released from his vow is found in Exodus 3,10 where G'd commences a campaign of seven days trying to convince Moses to accept His mission. Moses now argued that G'd could apply this procedure to His own oath not to let him enter the Holy Land even if there had not been a prima facie opening for releasing Himself from His oath. Moses, after all, was desirous of fulfilling the positive commandment of living in the Holy Land, as evidenced by his words: "let me cross so that I can see the good land, etc."

Should you argue that the situation is totally dissimilar to the one discussed by Maimonides, and it was not G'd who would perform a commandment as a result of releasing Himself from His oath but Moses, the answer is that the reason Moses described himself as את עבדך, "with Your (G'd's) servant," was to hint that it was a well known fact that whatever belongs to the servant belongs to the Master, i.e. G'd would share equally in Moses' performing the commandment of living in the Holy Land.

אעברה נא, "please let me cross, etc." Why did Moses say נא? Besides, why did he say: "so that I will see?" Is seeing the land not a natural result of crossing the Jordan? Perhaps Moses wanted to rebut reasons which had prevented him from entering the Holy Land. Our sages say that there had been two such reasons. 1) The time for Joshua to reign had arrived, and the rule of one monarch must not overlap with the rule of a second monarch by as much as a hair's breadth (Berachot 48). 2) G'd foresaw that the Israelites would sin in the future and He would have to pour out His wrath at them. He therefore preferred to use the Holy Temple as the object on which to pour out His wrath rather than on the people themselves. We have dicussed this in connection with Psalms 79 where Assaph appears to write a hymn in honour of the destruction of the Holy Temple (my translation page 1766). We explained that if Moses had crossed the Jordan the Temple he would have built would have stood forever, and whenever the Israelites would sin G'd would have to vent His wrath on them rather than on the Temple. Compare my commentary on Deut. 1,37.

This is why Moses referred to these two scenarios with his words. Concerning the fact that the time of his reign must not overlap with the time assigned to Joshua, he said "let me cross," i.e. he did not ask to cross in his capacity as the leader but was content to cross as a simple citizen; he did not expect to be given any special honour. Concerning the eventuality of the Temple becoming the excuse for G'd venting His wrath on the people in any future sinfulness by the people, he said: ואראה, "in order that I may see the land," i.e. he had no aspirations to build the Temple. Moses was thus careful to forestall any argument against granting his wish. As to his using the expression נא, this means that he was ready to abdicate his position as king immediately.

It is also possible that Moses pleaded for the Israelites to cross the Jordan river immediately before the end of the day so that he could cross at a time when his crossing would not interfere with the period G'd had ordained for Joshua's reign. If you accept my interpretation that the words בעת ההיא referred to the time immediately after G'd decreed that the generation of the spies would not enter the Holy Land, there would not have been any problem with the time, as that event took place 38 years prior to the period when Moses addressed the people here. From Moses' words it is easy to surmise that he prayed on behalf of the whole people seeing that G'd had only decreed that they would die in the desert. He had not decreed that they would die prematurely, i.e. before reaching the age of 60 which would have meant that they died by the karet penalty. If Moses were to enter the Holy Land at that time (38 years ago) it would be understood that the people would enter with him as G'd had not decreed that they had to die prior to age 60.

There is another way of explaining Moses' choice of words based on Bamidbar Rabbah 19,13 that the redeemer for the people of the generation of the Exodus would be Moses himself. [The Midrash quotes G'd as saying that if the generation Moses had led out of Egypt would die in the desert whereas Moses would lead the younger generation into the Holy Land this would be construed as a sign that there was no hope for the present generation ever to enter the Holy Land. Ed.] There is suppport for this in a statement in the Zohar volume 2 page 120 that this is already alluded to in Kohelet 1,9: מה שהיה הוא שיהיה, "whatever has been, is what will be." Moses knew of this as G'd had revealed to him that it would be part of his role in the future to cross the river Jordan to the Holy Land. In view of this knowledge he merely begged to fulfil his role now instead of in the distant future. The words אעברה נא therefore mean: "let me cross now (we are speaking about 38 years ago)."

The words אעברה נא may also be part of Moses' answer to something we have learned in Midrash Rabbah that the reason that Moses had to die outside the boundaries of the Holy Land was to enable him to lead his generation to their hereafter, as we have already explained. Moses used the term אעברה, i.e. a temporay crossing rather than a permanent crossing of the Jordan indicating he was quite willing to die and be buried on the East Bank after having first crossed the Jordan, so as to be able to play his appointed role of helping the people of his generation to attain their share in the hereafter. [Our author is vague, speaking of עולם הבא; I believe he may have referred to the time of the resurrection. Ed.]

Yet another meaning of the term אעברה may be connected to the statement in Ketuvot 111 that any person who has had the good fortune to walk four cubits inside of ארץ ישראל has thereby assured himself of a share in the hereafter. Moses wanted to assure himself of that by crossing the Jordan even temporarily.

אשר בעבו הירדן, "which is on the far side of the Jordan, etc." Although at first glance these words appear totally superfluous, Moses had to spell this out as there is a good land in the celestial regions known as the "good land," a land which David referred to in Psalms 116,9 as "the land of life" when he asked G'd to let him walk therein. Moses also had to spell out the words: "this good mountain, the Lebanon" in accordance with what we learned in Sotah 14 where the Talmud says that Moses referred to his desire to perform the commandments which can be performed only inside the boundaries of ארץ ישראל. This is why he enumerated the various locations where it would be possible for him to perform these various commandments he had in mind.

In addition he was astute enough to word his request in such a way that G'd would not be able to say to him that he could accomplish all that he had spoken of by merely looking at the land, albeit with an enhanced power of vision. What he wanted to accomplish in the places he had named he could not accomplish merely with his eyes.

ויתעבר ה׳ בי למענכם, "But G'd became angry with me because of you, etc." Moses repeated himself by first citing G'd as becoming angry with him and then saying G'd would not listen to him. He interrupted himself by adding the words "on your account;" we would have expected him to say: "G'd became angry at me and would not listen to me." Besides, seeing Moses had already said in 1,37 that "G'd became angry at me on your account," we must try and understand what he meant to add here. I have explained earlier that the words "on your account" in 1,37 were an allusion to Moses' intention to offer a prayer on behalf of the whole people בעת ההיא, at that time, in addition to the plea he made on his own behalf. At this point Moses said ויתעבר ה׳ בי למענכם, meaning that as far as the prayer on Israel's behalf was concerned G'd remained angry; as far as the prayer on his own behalf was concerned, G'd did not listen to him. He did not use the term עברה, "anger," concerning G'd's reaction to the prayer on his own behalf as what he had asked for himself was not based on G'd having been angry at him for something he had done.

Another meaning of this verse could be as follows: "G'd was angry at me, i.e. insisting that I die before crossing the Jordan, למענכם, "for your sake," i.e. so that I will eventually become your redeemer. We have to understand the word ויתעבר in the sense that the prophet Tzefaniah used it in Tzefaniah 1,15 where the יום עברה is a reference to the day on which the people who are the victim of this "anger" will die. When Moses added: "G'd did not listen to me," he meant that G'd was not willing for him to cross the Jordan even temporarily, even on condition that he would return to the East Bank and be buried there.

ויאמר ה׳ אלי רב לך, אל תוסף, G'd said to me: "enough for you, do not continue, etc." Why did G'd say to Moses both: "enough for you, and "do not continue, etc.?" G'd answered both parts of Moses' request. Concerning the part of Moses' prayer in which he asked to personally be allowed to cross the Jordan, G'd said: רב לך, "enough for you." G'd meant that He did not accept that Moses only wanted to cross the Jordan in order to fulfil certain commandments there. Moses had already fulfilled so many commandments that he did not need the additional merit which would accrue to him from fulfilling מצות התלויות בארץ, the kind of commandments which require one to be in the land of Israel in order to fulfil them. G'd would give him such a great reward that he would not miss out on anything by not having attained this particular merit. Concerning the prayer Moses offered on behalf of the people, G'd silenced him by saying that he should not continue to harp on that subject.

Alternatively, G'd implied that all the people who would fulfil the commandments which could only be fulfilled in the land of Israel would share the merit they acquired with Moses because he had been the one who had instructed them to observe these commandments. This is the mystical dimension of the words רב לך, "it was due to you their teacher that they will attain the merit which accrues from fulfilling all these commandments." G'd implied: "seeing that you have a share in all the מצות performed by your pupils, there is no need for you to belabour the subject, i.e. אל תוסף דבר, you will also have a share in those מצות."

The words רב לך may also be G'd's answer to Moses' offer to immediately resign his position so as not to conflict with the period during which Joshua was to reign. G'd answered that Moses could not do this as the position allocated to him was a lifetime position. He had to remain king as long as he was alive. Crossing the Jordan as a private citizen was out of the question. He could not transfer his status to Joshua during his lifetime. The words אל תוסף דבר are essential then.

Furthermore, it is possible to understand the words רב לך as applying to the subject at hand, whereas the words אל תוסף דבר belong to the next subject, i.e. עלה ראש הפסגה, "ascend the top of the hill, etc." Seeing that G'd had accepted half of Moses' prayer, i.e. to let him see the land, He told him not to speak about it anymore but to go to the top of the summit from where he would be able to see the land in all its details. G'd was afraid that Moses would persist that He should also grant the other half of his prayer. The very fact that G'd had granted part of his prayer might encourage Moses to persist. This is why He had to tell him to ascend instead of continuing to plead. The words בדבר הזה mean that this subject is closed. G'd reinforced this by saying: "for you will not cross this Jordan."

וראה בעיניך, "and behold it with your eyes." The word בעיניך is necessary especially after G'd had told Moses שא עיניך "raise up your eyes!" G'd meant to tell Moses that whatever he had hoped to accomplish by walking in the land, He, G'd would enable him to accomplish by means of his eyes alone. There was no need for him to traverse the land in order to become familiar with it.

Moreover, we know that there are techniques by means of which distant objects can be brought closer to one's eyes, such as telescopes and binoculars. G'd told Moses that he would see the Holy Land not with his very own physical eyes.

וצו את יהושע, "and command Joshua, etc." What precisely was Moses to command Joshua? Yalkut Shimoni item 823 quoting Sifri on Pinchas claims that Moses was to command Joshua not to be taken in by the Gibeonites. Another opinion cited claims that Moses warned Joshua concerning possible strife amongst the people. There is no hint in the text of this and unless it is based on tradition we do not have to accept this explanation. I believe that the plain meaning of the verse may be understood in light of Samuel I 13,14: ויצוהו ה׳ לנגיד על עמו, "the Lord appointed him as ruler over His people." The word means "he appointed." Please refer to what I have written on Exodus 6,13 ויצום אל בני ישראל. Moses simply told Joshua to exert authority over Israel already while he was still alive. He personally would support him in this before the eyes of the whole nation.

ונשב בגיא, "we abode in the valley, etc." What did Moses want to tell us with this verse? How is it connected to either the previous verse or to the one following? Rashi, quoting Sifri, says that Moses reminded the people that they had become attached to the idol Baal Pe-or and that he exhorted them that all would be forgiven provided they would from now on hearken to G'd's statutes as per 4,1. If we accept this, we still have not explained the word ונשב as the verse only wishes to remind us of the sin of בעל פעור. Even the words מול בית פעור, opposite the temple of the פעור does not appear to make sense. If Moses referred to what had happpened there he should have used the language used by the Torah in Numbers 25,3 ויצמד ישראל לבעל פעור.

I believe that what Moses meant was that with this verse he concluded the subject with which he had commenced when he said: "I pleaded with G'd" in 3,23. He concluded by saying that his prayer did not help, that instead of both he and the people crossing the Jordan at once, they remained encamped opposite the temple of Pe-or. The expression ישב always means a stay of indeterminate length [the author says: עד עולם, i.e. forever. I do not know the source for this although the Talmud in Megillah 21 states that the word means "a delay." The proof offered there is based on Deut. 1,46 which was certainly not "forever" but for a period of 19 years according to most commentators. Ed.] The reason Moses described the location as being "in the valley" is that the land of Israel is situated at a higher level than all other countries, as we know from Numbers 13,17 "ascend here from the South." Moses added that the place was opposite the temple of Pe-or as he hinted at the place where he would be buried (Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 45). We are told there that when this idol and accuser of Israel looks at Moses' grave he is scared to raise his voice against Israel (as Moses had fought him successfully on numerous occasions).

I pleaded to Hashem. Rashi explains that even though the righteous can claim rewards based on their good deeds, they ask the Almighty only for an undeserved gift. This is difficult to understand, for why would one think that they would ask for reward based on the good deeds that they had already performed? A person can never have any claim that Hashem owes him, because all of the mitzvot that a person does can never be sufficient to pay Hashem back for all the goodness that He does…

The answer to this question is that when it says that the righteous can claim based on their good deeds it does not refer to those good deeds that they have already performed, but to those good deeds that they will do in the future. For it is understood that no righteous person wants to claim any physical benefit, except in order to be able to fulfill another mitzva… If so, Moshe could have based his request on those good deeds that he would do in the future if Hashem would grant him his request. This is something real.

ואתחנן אל ה' בעת ההיא לאמור, “I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying:” the words בעת ההיא, “at that time,” refer to the aftermath of the defeat of Sichon and Og, whose lands were given to the Israelites. At that time Moses had dared hope that maybe the decree that he would not be allowed to enter the Holy Land had been canceled. This verse is a continuation of verse 21 when the Torah mentioned ”these two kings.”

לאמור, “to say.” This expression is strange as who was G’d to say this to? The fact is that the word לאמור here refers to the movement of the lips of Moses during prayer. We have encountered a similar construction in Numbers 12 13: ויצעק משה אל ה' לאמור, “Moses cried out to Hashem saying.” On that occasion I already commented on the meaning of the word לאמור at that juncture. A Midrashic approach to the words ואתחנן אל ה' בעת ההיא לאמור; Moses said to G’d: “You have called me ‘servant,’ seeing You have said to Miriam and Aaron: “not so My servant Moses” (Numbers 12,7). I am Your servant and Leviathan is Your servant. I am pleading with You and Leviathan is pleading with You. We know that Leviathan is pleading with You from Job 40,27: “Will he plead with you at length? Will he speak soft words to you?” You have accepted the pleadings of Leviathan [why else would Job be unable to catch the Leviathan unless G’d had responded to its pleas? Ed.] Moses continues: “Leviathan apparently has made a covenant with You to remain Your lifelong slave.” Moses argued that seeing G’d had also said to him that He had made a covenant with him (Exodus 34,10) why should G’d listen any less to his entreaty than to that of the Leviathan?” Moses added that apparently G’d did not mean to keep this covenant with him else why did He tell him that he would die on the mountain he would ascend (Deut. 32,3)? There is another verse in Exodus 21,6 that if the slave does not want to leave the master and go free that he will have his ear pierced and serve the master forever? Moses claimed this right for himself in his prayer. He complained that G’d did not apply that rule to him. G’d answered him: רב לך, meaning: “as far as you are concerned Your adversary, i.e. Adam, the first human being, already caused the decree that you or any human being cannot live forever seeing he had eaten from the tree and he and his descendants have been condemned to become mortal. The very Job whom you have cited as discussing the fate of Leviathan already said (Job 31,35) concerning Adam: ‘O that I had someone to give me a hearing; O that Shaddai would reply to my writ; or my accuser draw up a true bill!’” Which was the book he talked about? The ספר תולדות אדם, the Book of the descendants of man (Genesis 5,1). Thus far the Midrash.

אדוני אלו-הים אתה החילות להראות את עבדך את גדלך...אעברה נא ואראה, “My Lord, G’d You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness...please let me cross so that I may see, etc.” There are a number of puzzling points in this entreaty by the foremost prophet that ever lived. How does the fact that G’d showed Moses some of His greatness relate to his desire or entitlement to cross the river Jordan into Eretz Yisrael? According to the plain meaning of the text the words: “You have begun,” refer to the giving of the Torah, the performance of which is man’s purpose on this earth. This was the reason Moses injected the words את עבדך, “Your servant,” to point out his function on earth to keep the laws of the Torah, [some of which he could most certainly not keep if denied entry into Eretz Yisrael. Ed.] The word את גדלך, “Your greatness,” Moses chose seeing that in connection with the giving of the Torah, the Torah itself spoke about את כבודו וגדלו, “G’d’s having manifested Himself in His glory and greatness” on that occasion (Deut. 5,21). The words את ידך החזקה are also a reference to what occurred on that occasion at Mount Sinai as we know from that same verse where the Torah writes: ואת קולו שמענו מתוך האש as well as 4,36: מן השמים השמיעך את קולו ליסרך ועל הארץ הראך את אשו הגדולה אשר יעשה כמעשיך; all these quotations of G’d’s attributes Moses mentioned, the Torah had mentioned in connection with the revelation at Mount Sinai. The word מעשיך refers to G’d manifesting Himself in the heavens, the word גבורותיך, to G’d manifesting Himself on earth. This is the reason that Moses addressed two attributes of G’d at the beginning of his plea when he said “Lord-G’d.” When G’d commenced the decalogue He introduced Himself as אנכי י-ה-ו-ה- אלוה-יך.
You may best understand the sequence of the verses to which Moses referred as follows: “seeing that You G’d have begun to give the Torah through me, and the Torah in the main cannot properly be observed except in the land of Israel, and we have a principle that if someone commences to fulfill a commandment he is given an opportunity to complete it, it follows that I should be allowed to cross the Jordan in order to complete fulfilling the commandment which I began fulfilling when You G’d gave us the land of Sichon under my leadership”. This is the way my great and revered teacher Rabbi Shlomo Aderet explained Moses’ prayer. It is possible to view Moses’ prayer as a plea to allow him to translate into terrestrial reality his spiritual accomplishments in understanding the structure of the emanations. The words אתה החילות להראות are a reference to the enlightenment in these matters he had been granted; by saying אעברה נא ואראה, Moses asks to be allowed to relate all these insights to what needs to be done on earth to bring these two spheres, the celestial and the terrestrial, into tandem. [I have paraphrased this paragraph and condensed it. Ed.]. A Midrashic approach, based on Devarim Rabbah 2,8: the words אתה החילות are a reference by Moses to G’d Who was the first One to refer to the Israelites as rebellious when He said in Numbers 17,25 למשמרת לאות לבני מרי, “as a sign for the rebellious ones,” (the Israelites who had challenged the appointment of Aaron). Seeing that G’d had decreed Moses’ punishment on account of his having addressed the Israelites as שמעו נא המורים, “listen please you rebellious ones,” (Numbers 20,10) and immediately thereafter G’d had decreed that Moses could not enter the land of Israel, Moses now argues that he had been entitled to use this word seeing G’d Himself had already called the Israelites by that adjective. A kabbalistic approach: with the words ”you have begun to show me Your greatness, etc.,” Moses refers to his first encounter with G’d at the burning bush. When he goes on to describe G’d’s attributes, he means that it had been his privilege to acquaint the Jewish people with these attributes of G’d and His accomplish-ments in his capacity as His prophet. (David uses similar language in Psalms 86,8) Seeing that this has been so, Moses begs to be allowed to see the Holy land with his own eyes. The reason the name of G’d is spelled א-ד-נ-י in his plea here is that Moses alluded to Psalm 114 7-8 in which G’d is called אדון חולי ארץ, in connection with turning the rock into a lake of water. That verse referred to the incident at the rock where Moses had become guilty of this punishment. He now begs forgiveness by alluding to his sin in this indirect way. The word י-ה-ו-ה with the vowels of “elo-him” are an aspect of the attribute of Justice which contains a large measure of the attribute of Mercy. The word ואתחנן is used next to the attribute of Justice by Moses as when one asks forgiveness one does not address the attribute of Mercy but first has to assuage the attribute of Justice. We also learn this from Job 8,5: אם אתה תשחר אל א-ל ואל שדי תחנן, “if you want to pray to the Lord (to forgive your sins) first plead with the attribute Shaddai.”

הארץ הטובה,ההר הטוב, “the good land, the good mountain.” Tanchuma Va-etchanan 1 explains Moses’ words by means of a parable. A king who wanted to marry a certain lady sent some of his trusted messengers to look over the prospective bride. When the messengers returned they reported that the bride was the most ugly woman they had ever seen. A friend of the king who overheard this report by the king’s emissaries upbraided them by saying: “how can you have the nerve to give such a report seeing that the girl in question is extremely beautiful, unmatched in fact!” When it came to the wedding, the father of the bride told the king’s emissaries that none of them would be allowed to participate in the wedding feast seeing they had slandered the bride. When the friend of the king was about to enter the wedding feast the father of the bride told him that he too was not welcome. To this, the friend of the king said: ‘how can you deny me entrance seeing that I have praised your daughter without even having seen her whereas the other messengers of the king described hers as indescribably ugly!’ Now I want to see her to see if perchance the messengers had spoken the truth or if I have been right all along!” This is what happened when Moses prayed to cross the Jordan. As long as the spies who had been sent to evaluate the bride (the land of Canaan) had issued a negative report saying that this land ate up its inhabitants, and Moses had been full of praises to the people of Israel concerning that land, he had done so merely on faith. Now he asked G’d for a chance to see if he had been right all along. This is why he said: “please let me cross the Jordan so that I can see the good land and the good mountain with my own eyes.”
ההר הטוב הזה והלבנון, “this good mountain and the Lebanon.” These words are similes for the Temple which “whitewashes,” מלבין, the sins of the Jewish people (Sifri Vaetchanan 28).

ויתעבר ה' בי למענכם, “the Lord was angry at me on your account.” According to the plain meaning of the text G’d became filled with anger on account of your many complaints. We have a similar verse in 4,21 where the wording is והתאנף ה' בי על דבריכם, “the Lord was angry at me on account of your words. Moses’ own reaction to some of the Israelites’ complaints was described in similar language, such as in Psalms 106,32: “and Moses suffered on their account.” [His error had been caused by the Israelites’ annoying G’d. Ed.]. A Midrashic approach to these words: The word ויתעבר is basically the same as ויעבור in Exodus 34,6 ויעבור ה' על פניו, “the Lord passed in front of Moses.” Moses refers to the time after the sin of the golden calf when, seeing that G’d had endowed him with greatness on account of the Jewish people and “G’d passed before him,” he pleaded with G’d to forgive his own sin as well, but G'd did not accept his plea. A kabbalistic approach: the word ויתעבר contains an allusion to the mystical dimension of calculating the lunar calendar. This idea is reinforced by Moses using the word בי instead of the word עמי, “with me.” On other occasions when the word התעבר is used as an expression of G’d’s anger such as in Psalms 89,39 the preposition used is עם, i.e. התעברת עם משיחך, “You were angry with Your anointed.”
It is common knowledge that the expression סוד העבור, is chosen as it depicts an element of עברה, זעם, i.e. Divine anger. The mystical dimension of all the orbits, the constant revolutions of celestial bodies which are a feature of this present imperfect universe (עולם הזה), are manifestations of the attribute of Justice. This is also the mystical dimension of Exodus 34,20 that G’d is פוקד עון אבות על בנים, that He remembers and punishes the sons if the sins of their fathers have not been expiated I have alluded to this principle when I discussed that verse and subject.
Another meaning of the expression פרשת העבור is that offered in Berachot 29, where Rav Chisda says that even when G’d is angry the needs of a pregnant woman, עוברה, are constantly part of His concern. Moses prayed that G’d should not allow His anger to blot out any other consideration. Some commentators in the Talmud there read instead of באשה עוברה, “at,” or “of” a pregnant woman,” כאשה עוברה “like a pregnant woman.” This error is responsible for these people misunderstanding the Talmud, as they thought G’d’s anger is compared to a pregnant lady. There can be no doubt that the correct text is באשה עוברה. This is also the view of the famous Kabbalist of Gerona, Rav Yitzchak the blind. [Incidentally, his house is the only trace of a Jewish presence ever in Gerona. This editor visited Gerona].
The reason that the science of calculating the time when the moon renews itself month after month is known as סוד העבור is that G’d knows all developments in human history long before they occur as well as the dates on which they will occur, as we know from Isaiah 41,4 קורא הדורות מראש, “He Who announced the generations from the start (of history).” [If the sages who calculate our calendar would err with the date the new moon is to appear and fix our calendar according to their faulty calculations this would cause confusion and play havoc with G’d’s plans seeing He authorized the Jewish sages to determine the calendar. Ed.]. This is why the סוד העבור is also known as כח הדורות, “the force determining human development.” All manifestations of trans-migrations of souls derive from the concept that G’d has foreseen all developments and finds ways of achieving His objectives in spite of man’s freedom of choice.
The word עבור is also closely related to the word רבוע, “square, divided into four equal parts,” (same letters differently arranged), an allusion to such transmigrations of souls being limited to a total of four such lives i.e. the original and a maximum of three transmigrations. Another mystical dimension of the word עבור is that such transmigrations do not occur outside, (beyond) the original family of the body the soul lived its original life in [if I understand the author correctly. Ed.]

רב לך אל תוסף, “enough for you; do not carry on.” According to our sages (Sifri Pinchas 135) G’d meant: “what has been reserved for you as reward in the hereafter is sufficient.” The word רב is understood by Sifri in the same sense as Psalms 31,20: “how abundant is the good that You have in store for those who revere You.” A Midrashic approach by Tanchuma Vaetchanan 6: when G’d said to Moses רב לך אל תוסף, Moses replied: “not only did my mother have to gnash her teeth when she had to throw me in the river, but now she even has to gnash her teeth in death (when I die).” G’d answered that this is the way He had decided in His מחשבה, and this is the way of the world, i.e. everyone has to die. [If I understand this, the Midrash refers to the word אל תוסף, interpreting these words as G’d saying to Moses: “do not add new rules to the way the world is run.” Ed.]

ימה וצפונה ותימנה ומזרחה, “westward, northward, southward and eastward.” We do not find that the Bible describes the four directions of the wind in a uniform manner. Sometimes the Bible commences by mentioning the direction “east,” such as in Job 23,8: הן קדם אהלך ואיננו ואחור ולא אבין לו שמאל בעשותו ולא אחז יעטוף ימין ולא אראה, “but if I go (forward) East — He is not there; and backward (West) — I still do not perceive Him; “on the left hand (North) where He does work — since He is concealed, I do not behold Him; on the right hand (South) He is hidden, and I cannot see Him.” This is the appropriate order in which the directions should be referred to seeing they represent two straight lines, East to West and North to South. The sequence we find in Job also corresponds to the promise G’d made to Yaakov in his dream (Genesis 28,14) “you will spread out West and East, North and South.” On other occasions such as Genesis 13,14, North is mentioned first, such as when G’d said to Avraham: “raise your eyes please and look from the place where you are standing, to the North, to the South, to the East and to the West.”
It is possible that the reason that in the case of Yaakov and Moses the reason why the Torah commences by mentioning West first is that the Shechinah which descended with Yaakov to Egypt (Megillah 29) is perceived as being in the West (Baba Batra 25). Here too, Moses addresses the Shechinah in the first instance and mentions תימנה as “southward,” instead of the more customary נגבה. The reason may be that in this way he was able to include one half of the Holy Name, i.e. either י-ה, or ו-ה in each of the four directions he made mention of. Had he said ונגבה, the second י-ה would have been missing. We must remember that Moses had previously exalted G’d by calling Him א-ל אלו-הי הרוחות, “the Lord G’d Who presides over the winds (directions of the earth).
The reason why G’d used the words עיניך twice when He responded to Moses’ prayer and why He told him to “raise” his eyes before looking and to physically ascend the summit is because from that location he would be able to behold the four corners of the land with his physical eyes and at the same time understand by means of focusing with his mental eyes on the four-lettered name of Hashem which symbolizes the highest מרכבה, on all directions of the world. You should appreciate that the four directions of the world, i.e. מזרח, מערב, צפון, דרום, are known by three names each. מזרח, (East) is known as מזרח, קדם or פנים. West is known as either מערב, ים or אחור. South is known as דרום, נגב or ימין. North is known as צפון, אסתן or שמאל. the meaning of these various terms for these directions is as follows: The reason the Hebrew word מזרח means East, is that the sun “shines” זורחת in the morning from the East. The reason it is also called קדם is because it proceeds in a forward direction from the East as it spreads its light over more parts of the globe. It is also called פנים (face) as when G’d created man he made him face East after completing him. His back faced westward, his right side southward, and his left side northward.
The name מערב for West, i.e. “mixing,” derives from the fact that the sun sets in the West; it is a time when the shadows merge, become confused and indistinct. It is also called ים as the great Sea, the Mediterranean, is the western boundary of the Holy Land. It is also called אחור, “rear,” seeing its counterpart, East, is also known as קדם, “front.” Incidentally, Onkelos calls the Mediterranean the ים האחרון, “the Sea of the rear,” or “the ים המערבאה, the Sea of the West.” The word אחור, meaning “West” occurs in the verse from Job 23,8-9 we quoted earlier. The South is known as דרום, seeing that at its highest point at midday the sun is high in the sky. The word דרום is a combination of the two words דר רום, “residing on high.” Alternatively, we may view the word as an acrostic of דרך רום from Chabakuk 3,10 רום ידהו נשאת ”lifted up his hands on high.”
The reason South is called נגב, is that that direction is very dry, exposed to extreme heat of the sun which spreads out over that region more than on any other. This is what Solomon referred to when he said (Kohelet 1,6) “it travels toward the South and then describes a turn moving northward.” Solomon uses the verb הלך in connection with the sun’s motion while shining, whereas he uses the verb סבב, “turning,” when describing the sun’s motion when out of view of man’s eyes. We have been told by the “scientists” that it happened once that someone living in the South forgot a wooden bowl outside and left it lying outside in the midst of the sun’s rays in the middle of the summer. When he returned to pick it up in the evening he found it completely dried out, shrunk as if it had been burned by the fire. This is why the South is called נגב i.e. ”dried up.” We know this from Judges 1,15 where Calev’s daughter complains to her father that the land she was given was parched, dried out, deprived of water, and she requested sources of water to offset it. The Targum there renders the words ארע דרומא, normally translated as “southern land,” as ימין, the right side, seeing that it is on the right of man as he was when first created, i.e. facing East. It is also possible that the reason for this translation is that the sun always has the south on its right. We have a verse in Daniel 1,5 וימן להם המלך, “the king provided for them.” This is the reason the provisions the Israelites received in the desert from heaven were called מן. The word reflects the fact that it was ready for them on a daily basis, i.e. available like “provisions.” The North is also called צפון because the sun is perceived as “hiding” in that region while invisible to man at night. Furthermore, the northern extremes of the globe are known to be unfit for human habitation. Our sages in Baba Batra 25 interpret Job 26,7 נוטה צפון על תהו to mean that ”He stretches Tzafon over chaos” means that the north wind does not operate there.
The word אסתן is not a Biblical term but one coined by our sages occurring as a proverb in Ketuvot 23 and meaning that when someone’s witnesses are in an inaccessible, “hidden” region, how can they be relied on? Rashi understands the word as meaning “north.” The author quotes some sources showing that the north wind is associated with therapeutic qualities, [maybe freezing kills the bacteria. Ed.]. At any rate, this would agree with the tradition that the Israelites did not circumcise their children while in the desert due to the absence of this North wind and its therapeutic effects on wounds.
The reason North is also known as שמאל, left, is that when man faces East, as we said, North is always on his left. It may also be due to the fact that it is on “the wrong side” of the sun, i.e. the sun never shining in that direction. The “left,” basically is associated with negative connotations, something inferior. The word, phonetically speaking, is related to סומא, “a blind person.” When we speak about something hidden, the Talmud uses the term סמוי מן העין, “hidden from the eye.”
According to a Midrash quoted in Tosafot Baba Batra 25 the reason that David spoke about Adam describing himself as having been created “both forward and backward” (Psalms 92,8), was because he faced forward toward sources of light, whereas his rear faced darkness, an absence of light, i.e. the rear of the sun being perceived as having no light to radiate. His right side, the one always exposed to the light of the sun was called “right,” his left, the northern side, always out of reach of the sun was called שמאל. This is the side with which man does not perform his work.

כי לא תעבור את הירדן הזה, “for you are not going to cross this Jordan.” G’d meant that even Moses’ remains would not cross the river Jordan (Sifri Pinchas 135). This is what Moses had in mind when he said in 4,22: “I am going to die in this land, I will not cross the Jordan.” Seeing that if he were dead he could not cross the Jordan, the last part of the verse means that even his bones would not be put to rest in Eretz Yisrael. If Moses had not previously been informed of this decree, surely he would have commanded Joshua and Eliezer to bring his remains for burial in the Holy Land. Or, he could have commanded the entire Jewish people to see to it that he would be buried in Eretz Yisrael, just as Joseph had done, and just as he must have done seeing he had carried Joseph’s coffin with him all these 40 years in the desert.
Yaakov, the last of the patriarchs, one of the supports of the מרכבה, was afforded burial of his entire body in Eretz Yisrael. Joseph only had his bones buried there. Moses, who surpassed both Yaakov and Joseph in his relationship with G’d, did not merit to have any part of his body interred on holy soil. It was G’d’s wish that none of Moses’ body be interred in Eretz Yisrael as a form of respect for the entire generation of Jews who had died in the desert and whose remains had also not been interred in Eretz Yisrael. Also, it was a consolation for all the many hundreds of generations of Jews throughout the Diaspora who died and were buried in exile. The souls of all these people are in G’d’s care pending the resurrection, at which time not only Moses but the vast majority of them will also be resurrected.

ונשב בגיא מול בית פעור, “We stayed on in the valley across from Bet-Peor.” We had already been encamped there, as this was the ראש הפסגה Moses had mentioned in verse 27; seeing this was where the people had committed idolatry and adultery. Moses warns them once again concerning the sin of idolatry in the following paragraph.

The meaning of va-etchannan (and I besought) is, and I had already besought. When Moses mentioned Joshua and said, And I commanded Joshua, etc. (v. 21) because I am not passing over with you, he had already asked the Lord to be allowed to pass over with the Israelites; for God’s greatness is unsearchable (Ps. 145:3) and They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness (Lam. 3:23).

THOU HAST BEGUN. The wisest of the wise said: Thou hast begun to show Thy servant Thy greatness, in heaven and on earth, i.e., the manner in which You conduct the world.

AND THY STRONG HAND. Via the signs performed through Moses so that the world learned that there is no God but the Lord. The meaning of El (God) is mighty. IN HEAVEN. Wherein are the angels and the hosts. OR ON EARTH. Wherein are the beasts and human beings.

ACCORDING TO THY WORKS. All of which are governed by wisdom.

MIGHTY. In ability. This section was written to instill a love of the Land of Israel. If they love the land, they will observe God’s commandments so that they will not be exiled from the land.

GET THEE UP INTO THE TOP OF PISGAH. The reference is to the valley that is in the field of Moab, the top of Pisgah.

SO WE ABODE IN THE VALLEY. The meaning is, and we had already stayed in this valley, which is the top of Pisgah, for from there they journeyed to the plains of Moab. The valley is in the mountains of Abarim, for the latter is clearly stated. Moses now commenced to speak about the commandments. He began with idol worship because they were near Bethpeor.

AND I BESOUGHT THE ETERNAL AT THAT TIME, SAYING. [The time referred to, is] when Moses mentioned the conquest of the lands of Sihon and Og. He said, And I commanded Joshua at that time, intimating, that “I [Moses] will not go over there, for I besought the Glorious Name [to rescind the decree forbidding me to enter the Land], but He hearkened not to me and He commanded me to charge Joshua, for he shall go over before this people.”
The purport of the expression at that time is that it alludes to the time of the decree that he mentioned, Also the Eternal was angry with me [for your sakes, saying: ‘Thou shalt not go in thither’], though [Moses’] supplication is not mentioned there on the day of that event. The correct interpretation, however, is that the expression at that time refers to the time mentioned: “when I conquered Sihon and Og and I began to war against the nations given to Israel and I allocated the land to the two tribes [Reuben and Gad].” In that case, this supplication [referred to here] was offered when it was said to Moses, Get thee up into this mountain of A barim, for it was then that he sought mercy in the matter and entreated this supplication. And when G-d did not hearken to his voice, he again prayed, Let the Eternal, the G-d of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, as is mentioned there. It is this verse, And charge Joshua [that constitutes the answer to Moses’ second request]. Now, there [in the Book of Numbers] Scripture mentioned the prayer on which he was affirmatively answered [namely, the appointment of a successor] and here he mentioned this [unsuccessful prayer] in order to inform the people that, although the Land was beloved to him, he did not merit [to enter] it because of them. All this was part of his reproof.

G-D THE ETERNAL — “merciful in judgment.” This is Rashi’s language. Now, the Rabbi did not consider that the first Divine Name is spelled with the letters Aleph Dalet and the second Name is spelled with the letters Yod Hei [i.e., the Tetragrammaton]. In this regard [i.e., the Tetragrammaton], the Rabbis have said: “Wherever Scripture states ‘the Eternal’ [i.e., the Tetragrammaton] it signifies the attribute of mercy, and [wherever it mentions] ‘G-d’ (Elokim) it indicates the attribute of judgment.” Rather, the Divine Names written here mean: “Lord in the attribute of mercy.” And so the Rabbis have said in [Midrash] Yelamdeinu: “Moses said to G-d: ‘Master of the worlds! If it is justly requested by me [that You grant my supplication] give it to me, and if it is not justly requested by me, have mercy on me,’ just as Abraham said, O Lord Eternal, what wilt Thou give me etc.” Also in the case of Abraham, the Divine Names are written in this order: the first one with Aleph Dalet, and the second with Yod Hei. And the purport of the section [before us] will be understood [by the fact that the Divine Names are written in this particular order]. For Moses stated va’ethchanan (and I besought) and he did not say va’ethpaleil (and I prayed), since he spoke in “supplication” [to the Glorious Name], saying: “O Lord in Whom is the mercy, Thou hast begun to show Thy servant. Such was the beginning of my prophecy that You showed me Your glory — as it is written [at Moses’ first vision of G-d’s glory], And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon G-d — together with the greatness and the power, and I learned to know what deity is there in heaven or on earth from whom could come forth like Thy great works and Thy mighty prowess?” From here you will further understand the matter concerning which the Glorious Name was angry with Moses. However, the language of the Sifre is as follows: “Wherever Scripture mentions ‘the Eternal’ it signifies the attribute of mercy, as it is said, The Eternal, G-d, gracious and merciful, [and wherever it mentions] G-d (Elokim) it indicates the attribute of judgment, as it is said, before ‘ha’elohim’ (the judges) shall come the word of both. ” And the intent [of the Sifre] is to explain that the second [Divine] Name mentioned here indicates the attribute of mercy, this being the Proper Divine Name, while all other Names signify the attribute of judgment, like Elokim which is also a term for judges, and certainly the Name Aleph Dalet which is an expression of lordship.
Thus Moses completed the words of reproof with this episode in which he informed the people that their fathers caused themselves evil, and also caused him [Moses] to suffer punishment preventing them from going over into the Land. They, the children, however, will go over and inherit it, if they will not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation. Therefore he now began to warn them about the principles of the commandments that they should not add to them, neither diminish from them.

ואת ידך החזקה, demonstrated by overriding well known laws of nature. No one but the Creator of the universe is able to do this. Moses credits G’d with having done all this only in order to be able to bring the Jewish people to the Holy Land. In view of the length to which G’d had gone to do this it behooves the people to do everything in order to justify their remaining in that land.

אעברה נא, in order to exterminate all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan in order that the Jewish people will never be exiled from that land. (compare our author on 1,34)

ואראה את הארץ הטובה, let me see it so that I can bless it with the blessing that its goodness be at the Jewish people’s service for ever.

ויתעבר ה' בי למענכם, G’d was angry at me for trying to ensure your permanent stay in that land while He had already decreed that at a certain point in history your descendants would be exiled among the gentiles.

החלות, as mentioned earlier in 2,25 היום הזה אחל תת פחדך, “from this day on I begin to place the fear of you, etc.” The letter ח in the word החלות is the reason why the letter ה preceding it has the vowel patach underneath it. Similar vowel patterns are observed when the letter ה precedes the letter ע, as in Isaiah 41,25 העיירתי מצפון, “I have roused him from the north.” We have the same pattern in Deuteronomy 30,19 when Moses says העידותי בכם היום, “I call as witness against you this day, etc.” Isaiah 9,3 is another example of this anomaly. When the letter following the letter ה does not belong to the group known as אחה"ע we would generally find a chataf patach under the letter ה.

ונשב בגיא, until now when we find ourselves facing the Beyt Peor in the Arvot Moav. What you have seen happen there should serve as a lesson to you; the details are described in 4,3-4.

ואתחנן, “I pleaded;” the root חנן when used in the reflexive conjugation occurs in this sense also in Genesis 42,21 when Joseph is described as pleading with his brothers. According to Rashi, who considers the root of the word to be חנם, the final letter ן at the end, should really have been a final ם.

ה' אלוקים, the first name of G-d here is a reference to the attribute aleph dalet, not to the tetragram, (an attribute that can be used normally only by the High priest in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement). The second attribute used by Moses here is the tetragram. (Nachmanides)

אתה החלות להראות, “You have begun to show;” Moses refers to the conquest of the lands of Sichon and Og by the army of the Israelites, a feat which would have been unthinkable without G-d’s active intervention. Since he had been permitted to witness this, he pleaded to also be permitted to witness the conquest of the lands occupied by the other five Canaanite tribes.

כמעשיך, “as Your (other) works;” all of which demonstrate Your superior wisdom.

וכגבורתך, ”and Your superior abilities.”

אעברה נא ואראה את הארץ הטובה, “please let me cross and see first hand the good land;” the question asked by most commentators is if Moses really only wanted to cross the Jordan for the mundane purpose of enjoying the fruit that grew in the Holy Land. It appears unbelievable to them that this could be the correct interpretation of this verse. They therefore conclude that the meaning of Moses’ plea was that he wished to be able to fulfill the many commandments of the Torah that can be fulfilled only while the person doing so is on the soil of the Holy Land.

והלבנון, “and the Lebanon.” The word: הלבנון here is a simile for the permanent Temple. (Ibn Ezra) Seeing that Solomon used the cedar wood of that region to line the inner walls of the Temple that he built, this interpretation is not as far fetched as it might appear to some.

ויתעבר ה' בי למענכם, “but the Lord was angry at me for your sakes;” G-d had said to Moses: “if you cross the Jordan into the Holy Land, people will say that the decree against the generation which had come out of Egypt to die in the desert was because they had forfeited their claim on an afterlife. If I now allow you to enter the Holy Land in response to your prayer, they will say that Moses was not concerned with anyone but himself. Therefore you will be buried where they are buried, and both you and they will rise at the time of the resurrection and live in the Holy Land.” This is the meaning of: ויתא ראשי עם in Deuteronomy 33,21: “they (the tribe of Gad) positioned himself at the head of the fighting men of the people”, i.e. as the pioneers. Moses, by agreeing to be buried in the fields of Moab displayed his total identification with the fate of his people.

רב לך, “it is enough for you;” the fact that you merited to experience the conquest of the lands of Sichon and Og.“As far as your request to cross the Jordan is concerned, do not continue to belabour this subject with Me. As far as your request to see the land with your own eyes, is concerned, I am willing to grant that wish of yours.”

עלה על ראש הפסגה, “ascend to the top of the summit;” if you were to ask who it is that will cross the Jordan with these people, command Joshua to do so. [The reader must appreciate that when Moses tells the people here that he had pleaded with G-d, his plea had been made immediately after he had been told that he would not be allowed to cross the Jordan, after he had struck the rock. (verse 28) 'עלה ראש הפסגה וגו, this is what G-d had told Moses already in the portion of Pinchas, Numbers 27,12 when He had said to him: עלה אל הר העברים, “ascend to the top of Mount Avarim.”

ונשב בגיא, “we settled down in the valley.” Moses refers to Numbers 25,1, 'וישב ישראל בשיטים ויחל העם לזנות וגו, Israel settled down at Shittim, and the people began to indulge in harlotry, etc.” At that time, 24000 of them fell victim to a plague as a result of their misconduct. As a result of this we are still stuck here.