Gentle Rebuke

אל כל ישראל [THE WORDS WHICH HE SPAKE] TO ALL ISRAEL — If he had reproved only some of them, those who were then in the street (i.e. those who were absent) might have said, “You heard from the son of Amram, and did not answer a single word regarding this and that; had we been there, we would have given him an answer!". On this account he assembled all of them, and said to them, "See, you are all here: he who has anything to say in reply, let him reply!” (Sifrei Devarim 1:6-7).

במדבר IN THE WILDERNESS — They, however,‎‎were not then in the wilderness, but in the plains of Moab (cf. Numbers 36:13 and further on verse 5): What, therefore, is the meaning of במדבר? It does not mean "in the wilderness”, but the meaning is: he reproved them on account of that wherein they had provoked Him to anger in the wilderness — that they said, (Exodus 16:3) “Would that we had died [by the hand of the Lord]” (cf. Sifrei Devarim 1:11).

בערבה IN THE PLAIN — i.e. he reproved them regarding the plain: that they had sinned through Baal Peor at Shittim in the plains of Moab (cf. Sifrei Devarim 1:13)

מול סוף OVER AGAINST SUPH — i.e. he reproved them regarding that in which they had shown themselves rebellious at the Red Sea (סוף): viz., on their arrival at the Red Sea — that they said, (Exodus 14:11) “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt [that thou hast brought us to die in the wilderness?]"; and similarly when they left the midst of the Sea, as it is said, (Psalms 106:7) “They murmured because of the Sea, at the Red Sea”, as it is related in Treatise Arakhin 15a (cf. Rashi on Numbers 14:22 and Sifrei 1:14).

בין פארן ובין תפל ולבן BETWEEN PARAN, AND TOPHEL AND LABAN — R. Jochanan said: We have gone through the whole Bible and we have found no place the name of which is Tophel or Laban! But the meaning is that he reproved them because of the calumnious statements (טפלו) they had made regarding the Manna which was white (לבן) in colour — that they said, (Numbers 21:5) “And our soul loathes this light bread”; and because of what they had done in the wilderness of Paran through the spies.

וחצרת AND HAZEROTH — i.e. regarding wh‎at they had done there at the insurrection of Korah. — Another explanation: He said to them, “You ought to have taken a lesson from what I did to Miriam at Hazeroth because of the slander she uttered, and yet you even after that spoke against the Omnipresent (Sifrei Devarim 1:15).

ודי זהב AND DI ZAHAB (the name is taken in the sense of “sufficiency of gold”) — He reproved them on account of the golden calf which they had made in consequence of the abundance of gold which they had, as it is said, (Hosea 2:10) “And silver did I give them in abundance and gold: they, however, made it into a Baal” (cf. Berakhot 32a; Sifrei Devarim 1:18).

Because these are words of admonishment, etc. For it should have said, “And Moshe spoke to all of Israel.” Therefore, Rashi explains: Because these are words of [admonishment]. In other words, we still need to explain why it says, “In the wilderness — on the Arava Plain etc,” rather than explicitly stating their actions. Perforce, we must say that these are words of admonishment etc. And the reason why Moshe said these words in an obscure manner is because in a single speech he recounted all the times that Yisroel angered Hashem. Therefore, he did not rebuke them in a direct manner. But if he was rebuking them for only one incident in which they had angered Hashem, he would have mentioned it directly. For, “There is not a righteous man on earth who does [only] good and never sins (Koheles 7:20),” and therefore it is not so embarrassing. Also, that is why it says הדברים (the words), for the term דברים indicates words of rebuke. Rashi explains this at the beginning of Koheles (1:1), and there his proof is from [this verse], “These are the words.” The primary source that the term דבר indicates rebuke is below (v. 17), “And the matter (דבר) that will be too difficult for you, etc.” Re”m writes: Rashi’s explanation is perplexing. For if “These are the words,” indicates words of rebuke, why does the verse say afterwards (v. 3), “with every detail that Adonoy had commanded etc.”? But, Moshe said the words of rebuke on his own. Perhaps the answer is: The words of rebuke were sanctioned by Hashem, although Moshe said them on his own. And since Hashem had allowed them, it says, “that Adonoy had commanded etc.” Alternatively: Hashem commanded Moshe to rebuke them, and it was on his own that Moshe waited until shortly before his death [to rebuke them]. But it seems to me: “With every detail that Adonoy had commanded etc,” is not referring to the rebuke, but rather to the mitzvos in general, i.e. the review of the Torah. Moshe did two things — he rebuked them on his own, and he also explained the Torah and the mitzvos to them, as will he explains later.

And only intimated, etc. You might ask: Note that afterwards, Moshe explicitly mentions their sins when discussing the spies, as it says (v. 22), “You approached me, all of you, etc.” And also other incidents in which they had angered Hashem are recounted in this parsha. The answer is: For this reason Rashi chose to say, “Moshe intended to recount here all the places.” I.e., here he recounted all the places in an obscure manner, as explained above.

They had angered Hashem in the wilderness, etc. Onkelos also translates in a similar manner, על דחבו במדברא וכו' (that they became guilty to Hashem in the wilderness). Re”m writes: I find it difficult to understand how Rashi can explain that the word אלה (these) is referring to the [actual] words [of rebuke] that the [rest of the] verse is alluding to. Yet, nothing is mentioned here besides the places where they angered Hashem. But the actual words [of rebuke] that Moshe said are not mentioned at all, etc. In truth, I do not know why he finds Rashi to be difficult, because note that Rashi explains אלה הדברים as “these are the words of rebuke.” The word דברים is the rebuke, as if the verse said, “This is the rebuke that Moshe admonished to all of Israel across the Yardein, because they sinned in the wilderness, etc.” Onkelos, however, translates the word הדברים as “These are the words,” instead of, “This is the rebuke, etc.” Therefore, he needed to add the words אוכח יתהון וכו' (he rebuked them, etc). But Rashi, who explains הדברים as “rebuke,” has no need to add the words that Onkelos adds. Rashi’s explanation is logical and clear.

Because it was at Arava, etc. You should not say that Arava simply means “their place of encampment,” as it is written above in Parshas Masai (Bamidbar 33:48), “And they camped in the plains of Moav (בערבות מואב).” Otherwise, Scripture should have written, “Across the Yardein, in the Arava plain, in the wilderness (בערבה במדבר).”

Regarding the denigrating statements, etc. The term תפלו is an expression of being “attached.” I.e., they engaged in an argument about the manna.

The sin they committed in the wilderness of Poron, etc. Do not ask why Rashi did not explain “Poron” before “Tofel and Lovon,” in accordance with the order that they appear in the verse. For the answer is: At first, I would have thought that “Between Poron and Tofel and Lovon,” is describing the place called “Mol Suf.” But now that Rashi explains that “Tofel and Lovon” are not the names of places, then what is the meaning of “Poron”? Rashi answers: The sin they committed etc. However, [according to this explanation] the term “between” is problematic.

This refers to the rebellion of Korach, etc. This implies that the rebellion of Korach happened before the spies were sent [as follows]: It is written, “The People traveled from Chatzeiros and they camped in the desert of Poron (Bamidbar 12:16),” and afterwards it is written, “Send for yourself men [and have them scout the land].” Since it is written here “Chatzeiros,” and Rashi explains, “This refers to the rebellion of Korach,” then we can infer that before they came to the desert of Poron, the rebellion of Korach had already taken place in Chatzeiros. See Parshas Korach [where Rashi explains differently] regarding the verse (ibid. 16:4), “And Moshe heard, etc.”

From what I did to Miriam, etc. According to the first explanation, there is a difficulty: Scripture does not say that the rebellion of Korach happened in Chatzeiros. Therefore, Rashi says: “Another explanation, etc.” But, according to the second explanation there is a difficulty: The term, “Chatzeiros,” is not similar to the terms, “In the wilderness, on the Arava plain.” For, “In the wilderness, etc.,” refers to places where they rebelled against Hashem by angering Him, whereas “Chatzeiros” is rebuke for not having learned from Miriam, etc. But, according to the first explanation, “Chatzeiros” refers to the Jewish People angering Hashem in Chatzeiros; so it cannot be intended as rebuke for Miriam’s sin, for only the sins of the entire People are recounted here. For this reason, the first explanation is also necessary.

And nevertheless you spoke against the Almighty. “You spoke, etc,” refers to, “For it [the Nation of Canaan] is more powerful than us (Bamidbar 13:31),” as Rashi explains there. Alternatively: They spoke against the Almighty Who praised the Land, yet they denigrated it. Even though the rebuke regarding the spies was already learned from, “between Poron,” nevertheless, sending the spies was one matter, and their slander against the Land is a separate matter. We could also explain that “you spoke against the Almighty,” is referring to the rebellion of Korach. There is no [practical] difference between Rashi’s first and second explanation; only that the second one says that Hashem rebuked them for not learning from [the incident of] Miriam who was smitten for speaking against her brother, and the first explanation says that Hashem rebuked them for angering the Almighty with the rebellion [of Korach] (Re”m).

אלה הדברים, These are the words, etc. The word אלה is restrictive, especially in regard to what has been written previously. Seeing Moses recorded in this Book only words which he had spoken on his own initiative, the Torah wishes to emphasise that only the words of admonition recorded in this Book were spoken by Moses on his own initiative. We are told in Megillah 31 that Moses personally composed the curses recorded in this Book, and that even legislation which Moses repeated in this Book he had not been commanded to repeat but did so of his own volition. The Torah was concerned that we might conclude that just as Moses had felt free to say things of his own volition in this Book he might have done so in the previous four Books. This is why this Book commences with the words אלה הדברים, "only these are the words Moses spoke of his own volition, none other."

The Torah also wanted to go on record that during the entire preceding 40 years when Moses had been the faithful shepherd of the people of Israel, he never spoke harshly to the children of Israel unless instructed to do so by G'd. Even though we find Moses reported as having addressed the Israelites with the words: "listen you rebellious people" in Numbers 20,10, he did not include the whole people in that description but only referred to those reluctant to accept authority. This view is supported by the Zohar. The only time Moses included the entire people in an address consisting primarily of words of admonition is in this Book. This is why the Torah here stresses: "to the whole of Israel."

Furthermore, the Torah wanted to provide the time frame during which Moses admonished the people with these words. He began to speak to them on the first day of Shevat as the Torah speaks of "the eleventh month on the first of the month." We know that Moses died on the seventh of Adar, (Kidushin 38) so that he allowed himself 36 days for these admonitions. These 36 days correspond to the numerical value of the word אלה.

The word אלה is also an allusion to a statement by Rava in Yuma 19 that the words ודברת בם "and you shall speak about them" in Deut 6,7 mean that the only legitimate subjects of conversation are Torah learning and the instilling of fear of G'd in the minds of people, i.e. words of admonition. The Torah wishes to testify that throughout his life the only words which Moses permitted himself to speak unbidden were of a compelling nature; other than that he only spoke words which G'd had bidden him to speak. Anyone who peruses the words in this Book can see at once that they are either instructions in Torah or words designed to strengthen the people's faith in G'd.

Still another meaning of the word אלה is based on the words of Bereshit Rabbah 12 which we quoted at the beginning of Parshat Massey that this word separates from what precedes it, the previous subject matter being regarded as something inferior by comparison to what is being introduced by the word אלה. The subject matter being introduced by the word אלה is considered as far greater in importance than what has preceded it. The Torah here explains that the reason for these words of Moses being superior to anything he is quoted as having said in the preceding four Books is 1) the fact that these words were his very own. No other human being could equal Moses in stature which made his words superior to those of any other human being. G'd had indicated this already in Numbers 12,8 when He admonished Moses' brother and sister. 2) He addressed these words to a group of people, i.e. the Jewish people, who also were a select group of human beings, collectively on an incomparably higher spiritual level than any other collection of human beings. In short then: אלה הדברים, "these are (the true) words of Moses, there are none to compare to it."

אשר דבר משה, which Moses spoke, etc. Inasmuch as Moses commences with hinting at Israel's insubordination already at the sea of reeds, the present generation might well have countered that there was no point in dragging up sins committed by people who had long since died. After all, the last of the 600,000 men whose death had been decreed as a result of the sin of the spies had died on the 15th of Av previously (compare beginning of Midrash Eycha Rabbati). The Torah therefore says that if Moses had spoken in G'd's name such a complaint might have been justified. However, he personally, was not bound by such considerations and he considered it important to remind those who had been younger than twenty at the time of the Exodus to look back on a string of insubordinations the people had been guilty of already at that stage of the Exodus. While it was quite true that the Celestial Court sentences only people over and above the age of 20, the same is not true of courts administered by judges on earth who consider males over 13 years as fully liable for their actions. When Moses "dragged" up these ancient sins, he had in mind all those who had been at least 13 years old at the time.

אל כל ישראל, to all of Israel, etc. The reason the Torah had to stress that Moses spoke to all of Israel was twofold. 1) Moses reviewed the Torah; 2) he admonished them concerning things they had been already guilty of. Both matters require that the entire people be in attendance. The reason for reviewing the Torah was to ensure that if someone had forgotten a certain commandment it would now be recalled. Seeing that it was quite impossible to single out who might have forgotten which commandment, Moses had to assemble the entire nation to make certain they would all hear the Torah once more. In this manner everyone could remind himself of anything which he had forgotten. The entire nation had to be assembled to listen to the words of admonition as the impression created if Moses had assembled only part of the people would have been counterproductive. Those who had been assembled would complain that only they had been singled out. The words אל כל ישראל may even include those who had already died. Moses addressed both the living and the dead. We find a parallel for this in Isaiah 43,27 "Your original father (Adam) has sinned, etc."

בעבר הירדן, on the far side of the Jordan, etc. Moses held back with these words of admonition until the Israelites had reached the banks of the Jordan. Once they saw with their own eyes that they had come very close to their eventual destination they would be in a better frame of mind to accept admonitions. As long as they had been a long way from their objective they would not have been in a suitable frame of mind to listen to admonitions.

במדבר בערבה, in the wilderness in the Aravah; our sages in Sifri explain at this juncture that the words מדבר and ערבה [as well as the following names Ed.] are allusions to places where the Israelites had sinned; It is possible to explain the entire verse as a moral/ethical allusion of a slightly different nature. Moses tried to incorporate in a short verse all the principles of reverence for G'd and the various virtues which have to be practiced by all the people who adopt the teachings of Torah as their lifestyle. These comprise a total of nine מדות, virtues, characteristics.

1) One has to adopt the virtue of Abraham of whom the Torah testified that he was העברי, (Genesis 14,13) "on the other side," in a moral class all by himself, he did not run with the pack. Moses alluded to this when he said בעבר.

THESE ARE THE WORDS WHICH MOSES SPOKE UNTO ALL ISRAEL. [The reference is] to the commandments which he will mention in the entire book beginning with the Ten Commandments in the section of Va’ethchanan, as Scripture stated, Moses began explaining this Law, saying, clearly indicating that he is speaking of the Law [which begins with the Ten Commandments in the next section of Va’ethchanan]. And in that case [we must say] that in the [following] verse The Eternal our G-d spoke unto us an introductory expression of “saying.” is omitted. Similarly [there is an omission in the verse] And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Menasheh: ‘for G-d hath made me forget all my toil’ … And the name of the second he called Ephraim: ‘for G-d hath made me fruitful.’ Both verses omit the expression “for he [Joseph] said” [that G-d hath made me forget … “for he said” that G-d hath made me fruitful]. And the purport of these verses here is as follows: “These are the commandments which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the fortieth year from their departure from Egypt on the first day of the eleventh month according to all that the Eternal had commanded him for them, this being after he had smitten Sihon and Og, in the land of Moab, there Moses began to explain to them this Law, as follows. And he said: The Eternal our G-d spoke unto us in Horeb, saying: ‘Ye have dwelt long enough etc.’” And the meaning thereof is that when Moses began explaining the commandments to them, he said to them at the outset of his words: The Eternal our G-d spoke unto us in Horeb, after He gave us the Ten Commandments, [ordering] that we conquer the Land at once and that we cross the Jordan. But your sins caused you this and that consequence [as Moses goes on to relate]. The words of this introduction continue until he concludes with the verse, And thou shalt keep His statutes, and His commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the Land, which the Eternal thy G-d giveth thee, forever. Then Moses called all Israel that were before him and said, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your ears this day, and then began the explanation of the Torah with the Ten Commandments in order that they hear them with the explanation from the mouth of the one who received them from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He. Afterwards he informed them of the Unity of G-d, as it is said, Hear, O Israel: the Eternal our G-d, the Eternal is One, and all the commandments in this book. This is why Scripture explained here which Moses spoke unto ‘all’ Israel, and there it is stated, And Moses called unto ‘all’ Israel [emphasizing that all were present], because the explanation of the Torah and the completion of the commandments must be in the presence of “all” Israel just as was the Giving of the Torah [itself on Mount Sinai]. Now, because he [Moses] prolonged the words of this introduction, Scripture [in Va’ethchanan where Moses finally begins explaining “the words” with which he began this opening verse] returned to the place at which it stopped at the beginning of the explanation of the Torah and said, And this is the Law which Moses set before the children of Israel; these are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Moses spoke unto the children of Israel, when they came forth out of Egypt, and mentioned that it was beyond the Jordan, in the valley over against Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon, this being the land of Moab mentioned here since Israel did not enter the land of Moab except what was made permissible for them by Sihon [who conquered part of Moab and became its ruler, thus removing that territory from the injunction that Israel may not wage war against Moab] as has been explained in the preceding book.
Thus Scripture mentioned two things here. [The first thing is:] it stated that Moses spoke unto the children of Israel, according to all that the Eternal had commanded him for them, this being an allusion to the commandments which he would tell them in this book that have not been mentioned thus far in the Torah. And it says that these commandments were exactly as G-d commanded him; he did not add to, or substract from what he had been commanded. It was necessary that this be stated [i.e., that Moses spoke according to all that the Eternal had commanded him] because Scripture does not state of them “And the Eternal spoke unto Moses;” therefore it included them now, [emphasizing] that they were all according to what he was commanded from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He. [The second thing is:] it further stated that Moses began explaining this Law, this being an allusion to the commandments which were already declared, that he would repeat them in order to clarify them further and to give additional instruction about them. And the meaning of the expression ho’il Mosheh is that “Moses wished” to explain the Torah to them. This is said to inform us that Moses saw fit to do so although G-d had not yet commanded him thereon [but afterwards, when He commanded him to write down the whole Torah, G-d Himself said all these words that were originally spoken by Moses; and Moses wrote them as he was commanded. Hence there is no difference between the first four books of the Torah and this fifth book, Deuteronomy, as all are equally the word of G-d]. The word ho’il is thus related to the expressions: ‘ho’el na’ (be willing, I pray thee), and tarry all night; would that ‘ho’alnu’ (we had been willing) and dwelt beyond the Jordan, and so also many similar expressions.

אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל בעבר הירדן במדבר בערבה מול סוף בין פארן ובין תפל ולבן וחצרות ודי זהב, “These are the words which Moses addressed to the whole of the people of Israel, on the east bank of the Jordan, in the desert, in the wilderness of Moav, opposite Suf, between Paran and Tafel; at Lavan, Chatzerot, and Dee Zahav.” The reason the Torah writes the word במדבר, is not to repeat that the people were in the desert, but to tell us that Moses rebuked the people for sins committed in the desert. Compare Psalms 78,40: “How often did they defy Him in the wilderness, did they grieve Him in the wasteland!” Concerning the expression בערבה, Rashi comments that the word is to be understood as בשביל הערבה, that on account of being in the wilderness they sinned at Baal Peor, Shittim, sins which occurred in the area described as ערבות מואב. The word מול סוף was meant as a reminder of the Israelites having said sarcastically at the ים סוף, the Sea of Reeds: “did you take us here to die because there was a shortage of burial places in Egypt?” The people again complained when moving away from the Sea of Reeds as we know from Psalms 106,7: “they rebelled at the sea, at the Sea of Reeds.” The words בין פארן is an oblique reference to the episode of the spies; the words ובין תפל ולבן are references to the complaints uttered against the manna (Numbers 21,5) and the word חצרות is a reference to what occurred when Korach and his supporters rebelled, as well as to the inappropriate comments made by Miriam against her brother Moses. The words די זהב are a reference to the sin of the golden calf, a sin which was possible because they had a surfeit of gold. Compare Hoseah 2,10 who attributes sin to excess material wealth, “I who lavished silver on her and gold, which they used for the Baal.” Midrash Devarim Rabbah (an edition by Lieberman, according to Rabbi Chavell) concerning the meaning of the words ודי זהב, says that the word ודי is an acrostic of the 6 days in which G’d created the world, the four directions of the globe, and the Ten Commandments. Moses meant that if the comments of the Israelites had been restricted to these three subjects they would not have been guilty of any misdemeanor, they would have been as pure as gold.
All the words mentioned in this verse, which appear as if relating to locations, are only allusions to occurrences as these places do not exist (are never mentioned by these names). At the time when Moses made the speeches which form a large part of the Book of Deuteronomy, the people had already left the desert and were encamped on the fringe of civilisation near the banks of the Jordan. It follows that these descriptions must refer to sins committed in the desert. This is the opinion of Onkelos who explains these names as being oblique references to where the Israelites sinned, i.e. Moses was concerned with the image of the people and did not want to sound too harsh. Seeing that this Book is the fifth and last of the five Books of the Torah I want to explain to you the reason why the Torah has been divided into 5 separate Books and why the sequence is that which we find in front of us. You are aware already that although this fact has already been alluded to (Midrash on Genesis 1,3 on the words “let there be light”) these “Books” are essentially all closely tied to one another. The reason that the Torah commenced with the Book of Bereshit is that the record of the world coming into existence is a basic foundation of our faith. Without this knowledge the concept of G’d supervising and taking an interest in all life on earth would not exist and all of us would consider ourselves as being no more than “accidents” on earth. Once we have established that G’d the Creator takes an interest in what He has created, and especially in the human beings, it follows that there is such a thing as “reward and punishment.” Seeing that these concepts are critical to the Torah they have all become part of the Book of Genesis. The Book of Bereshit therefore had to include some basic commandments, else, the fact that a system of reward and punishment for obedience to the Creator exists could not be demonstrated. These commandments must include positive as well as negative commandments.
As far as the reward for observing the commandments is concerned, the expulsion of Adam from Gan Eden illustrates punishment on a personal level, whereas the deluge demonstrates punishment on a collective level. Noach’s being saved demonstrates reward on a personal level. The prediction of both this reward and punishment demonstrated to both the victims and the survivors that G’d must be Master of the universe, i.e. of nature, ergo its Creator. What befell the people concerned proved that He (unlike a painter who completes a painting) did not sit back and leave His universe to self-destruct but made sure that it would endure (even while allowing man free will). After conclusion of the Book of Bereshit, the second Book of the Torah commencing with the names of the sons of Yaakov is the corollary of the story of the patriarchs who imbued their descendants with this faith in G’d and His Justice.
Once a person possesses faith in the fact that G’d was the Creator, it is only a small step to believe that He is Unique, and the Only G’d. The second Book of the Torah which contains so many examples of the Uniqueness of the Creator, and His revealing Himself to the people of Israel is a natural sequence to the Book of Bereshit.
The Book Vayikra, the Book dealing with the sacrificial service, follows next seeing that the sacrifices represent the bringing closer together and unifying the various forces in this universe until they ultimately reach the Original Cause. The righteous person succeeds in unifying these apparently different and heterogeneous forces through his devotions. Once the unifying force of these sacrifices has been demonstrated the next Book is that of Bamidbar Sinai which contains the story of Eretz Yisrael. It is the logical corollary of the Book of Vayikra, to point out that the sacrificial legislation applies only to the land of Israel. As soon as the Israelites had received the Torah, and the legislation concerning the sacrifices, they were meant to proceed directly to the land of Israel. Had it not been for the sin committed by the spies (and the people who accepted their estimate of their situation), the people’s progress would not have been delayed for 40 years by their wandering in the desert. After the Book of Bamidbar has been concluded and the people’s unity with G’d had been restored we come to the fifth Book, אלה הדברים. Seeing that the principal residence of the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael was not the period during which the two Temples stood, but commences only with the final redemption which is not followed by another period of exile, the Torah wanted to conclude with a Book in which the ultimate redemption is discussed or alluded to. This will be an event comparable to a renewal of the universe itself (compare author’s comments on Deut. 30,3). This event will represent the true purpose and culmination of the creation of the universe, i.e. essentially another Book of Bereshit. We need to understand still why this Book opens with the words אלה הדברים, [traditionally a term which separates from the foregoing. Ed.] instead of ואלה הדברים, just as the Book of Shemot had commenced with the words ואלה שמות in order to demonstrate that it was the logical continuation of the Book of Bereshit. The reason is that although the fifth Book is a continuation in the sequence of the five Books, it is at the same time something unique, just as the etrog, although part of the four species over which we recite benedictions on the festival of Tabernacles is in a class by itself and therefore not bound together with the other three plants, the lulav, the hadass and the aravah.
The second letter ה in the tetragrammaton, i.e. the name י-ה-ו-ה, although part of that name, is nonetheless not quite an integral part of the name which basically represents the attribute of Mercy, as this very letter ה at that point represents the element of Justice. We have explained many times that neither attribute ever appears in a pure form, i.e. the attribute of Justice is always accompanied by at least a small proportion of the attribute of Mercy, and vice versa, the attribute of Mercy is always accompanied by a small proportion of the attribute of Justice. The letter ה at the end of the tetragrammaton represents that portion of the attribute of Justice. It is described by Kabbalists as the “weak,” i.e. diluted form of the attribute of Justice. It is perceived as disciplining Israel for seven specific sins. In our case, the Book of Devarim, the fifth Book of the Torah, is better known as משנה תורה, “a second” version, repetition, of the Torah. This is why Moses commences with severe words of rebuke, recalling seven sins committed by the people under his stewardship of them. The seven sins are: the complaints in the desert, the sin of Baal Peor, the rebellion at the Sea of Reeds, the sin of the spies, the belittling of the heavenly food, the manna; the revolt of Korach, and the sin of the golden calf. “Tofel and Lavan,” are two references to the same sin. The seven sins are also alluded to in the Tochachah in Leviticus 26,18: “therefore I will punish you further seven ways for your sins.” Keeping this in mind, you will find that Moses, instead of speaking in the name of Hashem, as he did generally in the other Books, uses the attribute ה' אלו-הינו, i.e. a deliberate combination of the attribute of Mercy and the attribute of Justice when he refers to what G’d has commanded in this Book. The most pronounced example of this is Devarim 4,24: כי ה' אלו-היך אש אכלה הוא א-ל קנא, “for the Lord your G’d, He is a consuming fire, a jealous G’d.” This is a reminder of the manifestation of G’d’s Presence the people had experienced at Mount Sinai.

In the name of the one who speaks righteousness and declares things that are right I will explain the Torah portion which begins with These Are The Words. Some say that the meaning of eleven days’ journey from Horeb…by the way of mount Seir (v. 2) is: Look. They traveled for forty years in the wilderness. This is the meaning of And it came to pass in the fortieth year (v. 3). However, they err, for Israel came up to Kadesh-barnea in the second year. Actually, And it came to pass in the fortieth year is connected to that Moses spoke (v. 3). I believe that These are the words (v. 1) refers to the precepts recorded in the Torah portions Re’ah Anokhi, Shoftim, Ki Tetze, and Ve-hayah Ki Tavo, which were already spoken by Moses when they were in the wilderness. Moses spoke (v. 1) should be read as if written twice. This means Moses spoke, in the wilderness, in the Arabah, and in Suph from the day that they journeyed from Sinai.

BETWEEN PARAN AND TOPHEL, AND LABAN, AND HAZEROTH, AND DI-ZAHAB. Places not mentioned in the Torah portion These Are the Stages (Num. 33:1). On the other hand, they might have been mentioned under other names, for, observe, Senir has three names. There are many other such instances.

'אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל וגו, he means that in all the locations mentioned by him here he had communicated what follows to the people, some in each location. In all of these locations the people had angered G’d. Each time he reminded them that if it had not been for their sins they would have long since reached their destination. The locations in question were the following: 'אחד עשר יום מחורב וגו, all the 38 years that they were wandering in the desert they did not travel in a straight line, nor did they travel on well marked routes used by desert travelers. Each time they arrived at a spot where they made camp Moses reminded them that the reason that they had still not reached their final destination was due to their having committed so many sins. The proof was that אחד עשר יום יש מחורב עד קדש ברנע...דרך הר שעיר, the shortest route to Kadesh Barnea, the southern boundary of the Land of Israel is only 11 days’ march away from Mount Chorev when traveling via Mount Seir. In fact, G’d made them reach Kadesh Barnea after they set out from Chorev in only three days by leading them through the great and terrible desert. If they were still not in the Holy Land this was only due to their sins. The delay had been designed to make them have remorse and to return to G’d without mental reservations.

אלו הדברים, according to the plain meaning of the text the names mentioned in this verse all are names of locations, as we find that it is customary for the text of the Torah to give detail followed by further detail of the places whose exact location the Torah wishes to elaborate on in greater detail. For instance, in Genesis 12,8 when describing Avraham as pitching his tent in some place, it refers first to Beyt El, and then elaborates by saying that the he found himself with Beyt El on his east and Ai on the west. In Exodus 14,2, the Israelites are described as making a turnabout before a place described as Pi Hachirot, elaborating by saying that this Pi Hachirot is between Migdol and the sea to the north of Baal Yzefon. In Judges 21,19 an annual festival was observed at Shiloh which is described as situated north of Beyt El, east of the highway which runs from Beyt El to Shechem and south of Levonah.
If locations which did not have the distinction of serving as places where parts of the Torah were revealed to the Jewish people were described in such detail, it is not surprising that places where such parts of the Torah were revealed are described in detail. (compare Numbers 9,1, Exodus 12,1-2, Leviticus 25,1 Numbers 33,3) Here too, the locations are described with detail upon detail; they are the places that served Moses to explain the laws of the Torah, the ceremonial laws, the statutes, and the social laws. (compare 4,45-46, as well as verse 5 in our chapter.)

אלה הדברים, “these are the words, etc.” wherever a paragraph is introduced with the word: אלה, it is not to be considered as continuation of what preceded it. Up to now we read about commandments involving ritual and social legislation, whereas from here on in we are reading words of admonition and warnings about a dire future for the Jewish people if these warnings should be ignored. There is no point in countering that Numbers 36,13 also begins with the word: אלה, or to point to Leviticus 26,3 27,34, as in those instances the verse itself concludes the subject matter that had been under discussion.

אל כל ישראל, “to all the Israelites.” This teaches that Moses’ voice was powerful enough to be heard throughout the camp without megaphones.