דברים, שלישי

ותקרבון אלי כלכם. בְּעִרְבּוּבְיָא; וּלְהַלָּן הוּא אוֹמֵר (דברים ה') "וַתִּקְרְבוּן אֵלַי כָּל רָאשֵׁי שִׁבְטֵיכֶם וְזִקְנֵיכֶם וַתֹּאמְרוּ הֵן הֶרְאָנוּ וְגוֹ'", אוֹתָהּ קְרִיבָה הָיְתָה הוֹגֶנֶת – יְלָדִים מְכַבְּדִים אֶת הַזְּקֵנִים וּשְׁלָחוּם לִפְנֵיהֶם, וּזְקֵנִים מְכַבְּדִים אֶת הָרָאשִׁים לָלֶכֶת לִפְנֵיהֶם, אֲבָל כָּאן "וַתִּקְרְבוּן אֵלַי כֻּלְּכֶם" בְּעִרְבּוּבְיָא – יְלָדִים דּוֹחֲפִין אֶת הַזְּקֵנִים, וּזְקֵנִים דּוֹחֲפִין אֶת הָרָאשִׁים (ספרי):

You approached me, all of You. [All of you together] in a hodgepodge. But later, he [Moshe] said, “You approached me, all the leaders of your tribes and your elders, and you said, ‘Look, etc.”’ that approach was proper — the young people showed respect for the elders, letting them them go ahead of them, and the elders showed respect for the leaders, letting them go ahead of them; but here you approached me, all of you, in a hodgepodge — the young pushing aside the elders, and the elders pushing aside the leaders.

וישבו אתנו דבר. בְּאֵיזֶה לָשׁוֹן הֵם מְדַבְּרִים:

And let them bring back word to us. Let them tell us what language they speak.

את הדרך אשר נעלה בה. אֵין דֶּרֶךְ שֶׁאֵין בָּהּ עַקְמִימוּת:

The route we are to go up on. There is no road in which there are no winding curves.

ואת הערים אשר נבא אליהן. תְּחִלָּה לִכְבֹּשׁ (שם):

And the cities we will be coming to. [Which cities] will we have to capture first.

וייטב בעיני הדבר. בְּעֵינַי וְלֹא בְעֵינֵי הַמָּקוֹם; וְאִם בְּעֵינֵי מֹשֶׁה הָיָה טוֹב לָמָּה אֲמָרָהּ בַּתּוֹכָחוֹת? מָשָׁל לְאָדָם שֶׁאוֹמֵר לַחֲבֵרוֹ מְכֹר לִי חֲמוֹרְךָ זֶה, אָמַר לוֹ הֵן, נוֹתְנוֹ אַתָּה לִי לְנִסָּיוֹן? אָמַר לוֹ הֵן, בֶּהָרִים וּבַגְּבָעוֹת? אָמַר לוֹ הֵן, כֵּיוָן שֶׁרָאָה שֶׁאֵין מְעַכְּבוֹ כְלוּם, אָמַר הַלּוֹקֵחַ בְּלִבּוֹ בָּטוּחַ הוּא זֶה שֶׁלֹּא אֶמְצָא בוֹ מוּם, מִיָּד אָמַר לוֹ טֹל מְעוֹתֶיךָ אֵינִי מְנַסֵּהוּ מֵעַתָּה, אַף אֲנִי הוֹדֵיתִי לְדִבְרֵיכֶם, שֶׁמָּא תַחְזְרוּ בָכֶם כְּשֶׁתִּרְאוּ שֶׁאֵינִי מְעַכֵּב, וְאַתֶּם לֹא חֲזַרְתֶּם בָּכֶם (ספרי):

The idea pleased me. In my eyes [the idea was good] but not in the eyes of the Almighty. If the idea pleased Moshe, why did he mention it among his admonishments? [This can be explained with a] parable. A man says to his fellow, “Sell this donkey of yours to me.” He says, “yes [I will sell it to you].” “Will you give it to me on a trial basis”? He answers, “Yes.” “May I try it out on hills and mountains”? He answers, “Yes.” Since he [the buyer] saw that the seller placed no restrictions [on the sale], the buyer says to himself, “This man is confident that I will find no defect in it.” He then immediately says to him, “Take your money — I need not test it.” [Here too, Moshe said], “I too consented to your words, [thinking] perhaps you would change your minds [when you saw that I did not object, but you did not change your minds.”]

ואקח מכם. מִן הַבְּרוּרִים שֶׁבָּכֶם, מִן הַמְסֻלָּתִים שֶׁבָּכֶם (שם):

I took from you. From the choicest among you, from the finest among you.

שנים עשר אנשים איש אחד לשבט. מַגִּיד שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה שֵׁבֶט לֵוִי עִמָּהֶם (שם):

Twelve men, one man per tribe. This tells us that the tribe of Levi was not among them.

עד נחל אשכל. מַגִּיד שֶׁנִּקְרָא עַל שֵׁם סוֹפוֹ (שם):

[They arrived] at Wadi Eshkol. This tells us that it was called [Eshkol] because of the incident that was to happen there.

וירגלו אתה. מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהָלְכוּ בָהּ אַרְבָּעָה אֻמָּנִין שְׁתִי וָעֵרֶב (שם):

And they spied it out. This teaches that they passed through it along four lines — through its length and breadth.

ויורדו אלינו. מַגִּיד שֶׁאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל גְּבוֹהָה מִכָּל הָאֲרָצוֹת (שם):

And brought down to us. This tells us Eretz Yisroel is higher than all other lands.

ויאמרו טובה הארץ. מִי הֵם שֶׁאָמְרוּ טוֹבָתָהּ? יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְכָלֵב (שם):

And they said, “Good is the land.” Who were they that said [the land was] good? Yehoshua and Caleiv.

ותמרו. לְשׁוֹן הַתְרָסָה – הִתְרַסְתֶּם כְּנֶגֶד מַאֲמָרוֹ:

And You defied. וַתַּמְרוּ is an expression of defiance. You defied His word.

ותרגנו. לָשׁוֹן הָרָע, וְכֵן "דִּבְרֵי נִרְגָּן" (משלי י"ח) – אָדָם הַמּוֹצִיא דִּבָּה:

You grumbled. You spoke slanderous words. This is similar to “the words of a נִרְגָן,” i.e., a man who slanders.

בשנאת ה' אתנו. וְהוּא הָיָה אוֹהֵב אֶתְכֶם, אֲבָל אַתֶּם שׂוֹנְאִים אוֹתוֹ; מְשַׁל הֶדְיוֹט אוֹמֵר מַה דִּבְלִבָּךְ עַל רְחִמָּךְ מַה דִּבְלִבֵּהּ עֲלָךְ (ספרי):

Because of Adonoy’s hatred of us. In reality, He loved you, but you hated Him. A popular proverb says, ”What is in your heart regarding your friend, [you imagine] is in his heart regarding yourself.”

בשנאת ה' אתנו הוציאנו מארץ מצרים. הוֹצָאָתוֹ לְשִׂנְאָה הָיְתָה; מָשָׁל לְמֶלֶךְ בָּשָׂר וָדָם שֶׁהָיוּ לוֹ שְׁנֵי בָנִים וְיֵשׁ לוֹ שְׁתֵּי שָׂדוֹת, אַחַת שֶׁל שִׁקְיָא וְאַחַת שֶׁל בַּעַל, לְמִי שֶׁהוּא אוֹהֵב נוֹתֵן שֶׁל שִׁקְיָא, וּלְמִי שֶׁהוּא שׂוֹנֵא נוֹתֵן לוֹ שֶׁל בַּעַל, אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם שֶׁל שִׁקְיָא הִיא, שֶׁנִּילוּס עוֹלֶה וּמַשְׁקֶה אוֹתָהּ, וְאֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן שֶׁל בַּעַל, וְהוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם לָתֵת לָנוּ אֶת אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן (במ"ר י"ז):

Because of Adonoy’s hatred of us, He took us out of the land of Egypt. His taking us out was an act of hatred. This may be compared to a human King who had two sons and two fields, one of which was well-watered, and the other was dry. To the son he loves he gives the well-watered field, and to the son he hates he gives the dry field. The land of Egypt is a well-watered land, for the Nile river rises and irrigates it, and the land of Canaan is a dry land — and He took us out of Egypt in order to give us the land of Canaan.

ערים גדלת ובצורת בשמים. דִּבְּרוּ הַכְּתוּבִים לְשׁוֹן הֲבַאי (ספרי; חולין צ'):

Cities great and fortified sky-high. Scriptual texts [at times] speak in exaggerated terms.

לא תערצון. לְשׁוֹן שְׁבִירָה, כְּתַרְגּוּמוֹ, וְדוֹמֶה לוֹ (איוב ל') "בַּעֲרוּץ נְחָלִים לִשְׁכֹּן"– שִׁבּוּר הַנְּחָלִים:

Do not crumble. תַעַרְצוּן is an expression of breaking; as the Targum [translates it]; and it is similar to “To abide in עָרוּץ נְחָלִים — in the cleavage of the valleys.”

ילחם לכם. בִּשְׁבִילְכֶם:

He will wage war for you. On your behalf.

ובמדבר אשר ראית. מוּסָב עַל מִקְרָא שֶׁלְּמַעְלָה הֵימֶנּוּ – ככל אשר עשה אתכם במצרים, וְעָשָׂה אַף במדבר אשר ראית אשר נשאך וגו':

In the wilderness as you have seen. This verse is connected to the previous verse: “As in everything that He did with you in Egypt,” and now also in the wilderness as you have seen how He carried, etc.

כאשר ישא איש את בנו. כְּמוֹ שֶׁפֵּרַשְׁתִּי אֵצֶל "וַיִּסַּע מַלְאַךְ הָאֱלֹהִים הַהֹלֵךְ לִפְנֵי מַחֲנֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל וְגוֹ'" (שמות י"ד) מָשָׁל לִמְהַלֵּךְ בַּדֶּרֶךְ וּבְנוֹ לְפָנָיו, בָּאוּ לִסְטִים לִשְׁבּוֹתוֹ, וְכוּ':

The way a man carries his son. [Understand this] just as I explained the verse: “the angel of Elohim moved [from its position] when it travelled in front of the camp of Yisroel, etc.” This can be compared to a person on a journey with his son walking ahead of him, and highwaymen come to kidnap him [the son], etc.

ובדבר הזה. שֶׁהוּא מַבְטִיחֲכֶם לַהֲבִיאֲכֶם אֶל הָאָרֶץ – אֵינְכֶם מַאֲמִינִים בּוֹ:

Yet in this matter — that He promised you to bring you to the Land, you did not trust Him.

לראתכם. כְּמוֹ לְהַרְאוֹתְכֶם, וְכֵן (שמות י"ג) "לַנְחֹתָם הַדֶּרֶךְ", וְכֵן (תהלים כ"ו) "לַשְׁמִעַ בְּקוֹל תּוֹדָה", וְכֵן (מלכים ב ט') "לָלֶכֶת לַגִּיד בְּיִזְרְעֶאל":

To show you [the way]. The word לַרְאֹתְכֶם is the same as לְהַרְאֹתְכֶם . Similarly, הַנְחוֹתָם הַדֶּרֶך, [to lead them on the way] is the same as לְהַנְחֹתָם . Similarly, לַשְׁמִיעַ בְּקוֹל תּוֹדָה, [to make myself heard in a voice of thanksgiving is the same as לְהַשְׁמִיעַ .] Similarly, לָלֶכֶת לַגִיד בְּיִזְרְאֶל [ לַגִיד is the same as לְהַגִיד ]

אשר דרך בה. — חֶבְרוֹן; שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר י"ג) "וַיָּבֹא עַד חֶבְרוֹן":

That he trod upon. This refers to Chevron, as it is said, “And he came to Chevron.”

התאנף. נִתְמַלֵּא רֹגֶז:

Was angry. He was filled with anger.