דברים, רביעי

פנו לכם. אָמַרְתִּי לְהַעֲבִיר אֶתְכֶם דֶּרֶךְ רֹחַב אֶרֶץ אֱדוֹם לְצַד צָפוֹן לִכָּנֵס לָאָרֶץ, קִלְקַלְתֶּם וּגְרַמְתֶּם לָכֶם עִכּוּב:

Turn yourselves [around]. I said [thought] to let you pass across the breadth of the land of Edom, northward, to enter the Land [Eretz Yisroel]; however you sinned and caused this delay for yourselves.

פנו לכם. לַאֲחוֹרֵיכֶם וְתֵלְכוּ בַּמִּדְבָּר לְצַד יַם סוּף – שֶׁהַמִּדְבָּר שֶׁהָיוּ מְהַלְּכִים בּוֹ לִדְרוֹמוֹ שֶׁל הַר שֵׂעִיר הָיָה מַפְסִיק בֵּין יַם סוּף לְהַר שֵׂעִיר – עַתָּה הִמָּשְׁכוּ לְצַד הַיָּם וּתְסַבְּבוּ אֶת הַר שֵׂעִיר כָּל דְּרוֹמוֹ מִן הַמַּעֲרָב לַמִּזְרָח:

Turn yourselves [around]. Turn backwards and travel through the wilderness toward the Reed Sea, for the wilderness through which they were travelling, was south of Mount Seir, separating the Reed Sea and Mount Seir. Now draw back towards the [Reed] Sea and circle around Mount Seir, travelling along its entire southern region from the west to the east.

ותהינו. לְשׁוֹן "הִנֶּנּוּ וְעָלִינוּ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם" (במדבר י"ד), זֶה הַלָּשׁוֹן שֶׁאֲמַרְתֶּם לְשׁוֹן "הֵן", כְּלוֹמַר נִזְדַּמַּנְתֶּם:

And you got ready. תָּהִינוּ is an expression similar to הִנֶנוּ, [as in the verse] “Here we are and we will go up to the place.” This is the expression you used, an affirmative expression, As if to say, you made yourselves ready [to go up the mountain].

לא תעלו. לֹא עֲלִיָּה תְהֵא לָכֶם אֶלָּא יְרִידָה:

Do not go up. There will be no going up [victory] for you but only descent [defeat].

כאשר תעשינה הדברים. מַה הַדְּבוֹרָה הַזֹּאת כְּשֶׁהִיא מַכָּה אֶת הָאָדָם מִיָּד מֵתָה, אַף הֵם כְּשֶׁהָיוּ נוֹגְעִים בָּכֶם מִיָּד מֵתִים:

As the bees do. Just as this bee when it stings a person, it [the bee] dies immediately; so too when they [the Emorites] touched you, they died immediately.

ולא שמע ה' בקלכם. כִּבְיָכוֹל עֲשִׂיתֶם מִדַּת רַחֲמָיו כְּאִלּוּ אַכְזָרִי:

Adonoy did not accept your prayer. If this was possible to say of Him — You made His attribute of compassion as though it was one of cruelty.

ותשבו בקדש ימים רבים. י"ט שָׁנָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר כימים אשר ישבתם בִּשְׁאָר הַמַּסָּעוֹת, וְהֵם הָיוּ ל"ח שָׁנָה, י"ט מֵהֶם עָשׂוּ בְקָדֵשׁ וי"ט שָׁנָה הוֹלְכִים וּמְטֹרָפִים וְחָזְרוּ לְקָדֵשׁ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר ל"ב) "וַיְנִיעֵם בַּמִּדְבָּר"; כָּךְ מָצָאתִי בְּסֵדֶר עוֹלָם:

You lived in Kodeish many years. Nineteen years, as it is said: “like the years you lived [elsewhere]” i.e., during their other travels which totaled thirty-eight years. Nineteen of these years they spent in Kodeish, and nineteen years they drifted about aimlessly, and then they returned to Kodeish, as it is said: “He caused them to wander about in the wilderness.” I found this [explanation] in Seder Olam.

ונפן ונסע המדברה. אִלּוּ לֹא חָטְאוּ הָיוּ עוֹבְרִים דֶּרֶךְ הַר שֵׂעִיר לִכָּנֵס לָאָרֶץ מִן דְּרוֹמוֹ לִצְפוֹנוֹ, וּבִשְׁבִיל שֶׁקִּלְקְלוּ הָפְכוּ לְצַד הַמִּדְבָּר, שֶׁהוּא בֵין יַם סוּף לִדְרוֹמוֹ שֶׁל הַר שֵׂעִיר, וְהָלְכוּ אֵצֶל דְּרוֹמוֹ מִן הַמַּעֲרָב לַמִּזְרָח דרך ים סוף. דֶּרֶךְ יְצִיאָתָן מִמִּצְרַיִם שֶׁהוּא בְּמִקְצוֹעַ דְּרוֹמִית מַעֲרָבִית; מִשָּׁם הָיוּ הוֹלְכִים לְצַד הַמִּזְרָח:

We turned and travelled into the wilderness. Had they not sinned, they would have travelled by way of Mount Seir to enter the Land from its southern [border] to its northern [border]; but because they sinned they were forced to turn to the wilderness which is between the Reed Sea and the southern edge of Mount Seir. They then travelled along its southern edge moving from west to east. By way of the Reed Sea [route]. The route they travelled when leaving Egypt, which is the southwestern tip. From there they travelled eastward.

ונסב את הר שעיר. כָּל דְּרוֹמוֹ עַד אֶרֶץ מוֹאָב:

And we circled Mount Seir. We traversed its entire southern rim, until we came to the land of Moav.