From The Masters Of Kabbalah and Chumash (5 Books of
Moses)
13th century - "RambaN" - Rabbi Moshe ben
Nachman
14th century - "Bachya" - Rabbi Bachya ben
Asher
16th century - "Alsheich" - Rabbi Moshe
Alshech of Tsfat
17th century - "Shelah" - Rabbi Yeshaiya
Horowitz
18th century - "Ohr HaChayim" - Rabbi Chaim
Ben Attar
Ramban
"….and in all the mighty hand" [Deut. 34:12]
This alludes to the division of the Red Sea concerning which it is said,
And Israel saw the great hand.
"…and in all the great terror" [ibid]
This is a reference to the Revelation, concerning which it is stated,
that His fear may be before you. Moshe mentioned concerning these two
events that they were done in sight of all Israel, because he had already
referred to all that was done to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and
to all his land. And in the Sifre it is stated: "And in all the mighty
hand - this refers to the smiting of the firstborn, about which it is
said, for by a mighty hand shall he send them away. And in all the great
terror - this alludes to the division of the Red Sea. Another interpretation:
And in all the great terror - this is the Giving of the Torah."
And by the way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Kabbalah],
the mighty hand is the attribute of justice, similar to the expressions:
the hand of the Eternal was upon me; for the hand of the Eternal hath
wrought this. Therefore it is said with reference to His judgment, for
the hand of the Eternal is gone forth against me. And the great terror
is the attribute of mercy, similar to what is written, Him shall you sanctify,
and let Him be your fear. The Rabbis in the Sifre meant this when referring
to the smiting of the firstborn [which was done by the mighty hand, alluding
to the attribute of justice] and the division of the Red Sea [which is
alluded to in the phrase and in all the great terror referring to the
attribute of mercy], for concerning them it is written, to make Yourself
a Glorious Name.
"which Moses 'asah' (wrought)" [ibid]
For he prepared and displayed it in the sight of all the people. It is
similar to the expressions: the souls that they 'asu' (made) in
Haran; he hastened 'la'asot' (to make) it; la'asot (to make)
the Sabbath day. For Moses did not make the mighty hand and the great
terror, he merely arranged [that they be displayed by G-d], and for His
sake they were wrought in the sight of all Israel.
(credits)
Rabbeinu Bachya
"And this for Yehudah" [33:7]
A kabbalistic approach: When Moses said the words, "v'zot l'Yehuda,"
he addressed the emanation malchut, the emanation from which the hereditary
dynasty of Yehudah draws its divine input. It is this emanation that gives
the kings of Yehudah the power to wage war successfully.
Interestingly, David, a king descended from Yehudah, refers to the same
emanation as when he proclaimed in Psalms 27,3: "if war overtakes
me, I put my faith in zot," the emanation from which my
forefather Yehudah drew his strength. The emanation malchut sometimes
referred to as zot is featured repeatedly in the life of David,
such as in Psalms 99:4 and 72:1. This is the reason that David was successful
in all his many wars.
This is also why he never fails to give thanks to the Lord Who was the
source of his success. The whole formula 'Lamnatzeah mizmor l'david'
is evidence that David attributed his success to, "The One Who
grants victory." Because the kings of Yehudah enjoyed the assistance
of the attribute/emanation malchut, it was doubly important for
David to acknowledge that ultimately success is rooted in the Primal Cause,
in G-d.
(credits)
Alsheich
"G-d came from Sinai....He brought from his right hand the fire
of the Law to them." [Deut. 33:2 - read on Simchat Torah]
The fire of G-d revealing Himself was sublimated into da'at [law,
religion], so that people of physical matter, flesh and blood, were able
to form G-d's entourage without being burned by His fire.
(credits)
Shelah
(credits)
Ohr HaChayim
"But you yourself will not cross there." (34:4)
Perhaps the reason this is repeated at this point is that G-d wanted
to tell Moses that he did not need to enter the gate to heaven by first
having set foot in the land of Israel. The Zohar 1:81 says that all the
souls ascend to heaven by way of the Land of Israel. Seeing that Moses'
soul was being gathered up by G-d personally, and that G-d immediately
deposited it in the Celestial Regions, there was no need for his soul
to travel via the Land of Israel in order to achieve its objective. The
words "and Moses died there" mean that when Moses died his soul
ascended to heaven immediately
(credits)
Sources
Ramban
- credits
Adapted from the 13th century classic by the illustrious scholar, philosopher
and defender of the faith, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman-known as 'RAMBAN' or
'Nachmanides', a master kabbalist in his own right and a major link in
the transmission of Jewish mysticism-based on the excellent annotated
English translation, Nachmanides on the Torah, by Rabbi Dr. Charles B.
Chavel
Bachya
- credits
Selected with permission from the seven-volume English edition of The
Torah Commentary of Rabbeinu Bachya, as translated and annotated by Eliyahu
Munk. Rabbi Bachya ben Asher [1255-1340] of Saragosa, Spain, was the outstanding
pupil of Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet (the "Rashba"), a main disciple
of Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (the "Ramban"). Several books have
been written about the Kabballah-based portions of R. Bachya's commentary.
Alsheich
- credits
Adapted from Torat Moshe - the 16th commentary of Rabbi Moshe Alshech,
the "Preacher of Zefat" on the Torah, as translated and condensed
in the English version of Eliyahu Munk)
Ohr HaChayim
- credits
Selected with permission from the five-volume English edition of Ohr HaChaim:
the Torah Commentary of Rabbi Chaim Ben Attar, as translated and annotated
by Eliyahu Munk.
The holy Rabbi Chayim ben Moses Attar was born in Sale, Western Morocco,
on the Atlantic in 1696. His immortal commentary on the Five Books Of
Moses, Or Hachayim, was printed in Venice in 1741, while the author was
on his way to the Holy Land. He acquired a reputation as a miracle worker,
hence his title "the holy," although some apply this title only
to his Torah commentary.
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