אור החיים הקדוש · האזינו · שֵׁנִי

Remember the days of old. Moshe presents four distinct directives here, corresponding to the four descriptions of Hashem's relationship with us that he mentioned in the previous verse (Deuteronomy 32:6). Corresponding to his statement there, "Is He not your Father?" which refers to Hashem as the Creator, Moshe says here, "Remember the days of old." This refers to the six days of Creation, where one will find that He is indeed the Maker and Creator of all.

And corresponding to his statement there, "Who acquired you?" which refers to the Exodus from Egypt and the other kindnesses through which He acquired us as His own, Moshe says here, "Consider the years of many generations." This means one should contemplate what Hashem did during the years of two specific generations: the generation that left Egypt, and the fourth generation that entered the Land of Israel. Through studying these, you will recognize His deeds for the Jewish people, through which He acquired you.

And corresponding to his statement there, "He made you," which refers to the lofty spiritual elevation we explained, that He placed His Divine Presence among us and granted us prophecy, Moshe says here, "Ask your father, and he will declare it to you." "Your father" in this context refers to the prophets, as Chazal have explained in the Sifrei.

And corresponding to "and established you," which we explained as referring to the preparations for the World to Come, Moshe says here, "your elders, and they will tell you." This refers to the Sages of Israel, who understand the preparation for and the attainment of the World to Come; they will tell you of these eternal matters.

When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance: This means that when Hashem, blessed be He, distributed the nations as inheritances to the supernal guardian angels, it demonstrated that they are of lesser importance to Him. He did not wish for them to be associated directly with His own Name, and so He placed them under the authority of these supernal ministers.

When He separated the children of men: This means that Hashem did not hand over all the nations to a single guardian angel. Instead, He separated them and assigned a specific portion to each individual minister. The manner of this division, when He set the borders of the peoples, was according to the number of the children of Israel. To understand this, you must know that all of Hashem's creations are structured with one corresponding to another, representing good and evil. All the souls of created beings were planted by Hashem from two primary trees: one good tree and one evil tree.

The good tree is Adam HaRishon, the first man, while the evil tree is Samael, the evil spiritual counterpart, called adam beliyaal, the corrupt man. When Adam HaRishon sinned and evil became mixed with good, the offspring of Adam HaRishon began to produce corrupt souls as well. This continued until a single pure soul emerged, which included within it all the holy souls, thereby separating out the good tree anew. This soul was our father Yaakov, peace be upon him.

This is why Chazal teach in Bava Metzia 84a and the Zohar, Volume 3, page 244a, that the beauty of our father Yaakov was a reflection of the beauty of Adam HaRishon. Understand these deep matters. This holy tree contains seventy branches, which correspond to the seventy souls of Yaakov's family who descended to Egypt. Therefore, when Hashem separated the nations, He set their borders according to the number of the children of Israel, establishing exactly seventy nations to correspond to the seventy branches of holiness.

The purpose of this arrangement is so that each specific aspect of every holy branch should rule over its corresponding counterpart in the realm of evil. This is the inner meaning of the verse in Mishlei 5:5, Her feet go down to death, which teaches that the feet of holiness tread upon the heads of the impure forces. Consequently, the branches of Yaakov rule and reign over the nations.

The next verse then states, For Hashem's portion is His people, which explains the reason for this setup. Since the nation Hashem chose to rule over directly is Israel, He designed this system to elevate and give the children of Israel dominion over all the nations. Through this, when He rules over Israel, He effectively rules over the entire world.

The phrase, Hashem's portion is His people, refers specifically to Israel after they received the Torah, as they were then fully designated as the people of Hashem. The expression, Yaakov is the lot of His inheritance, uses the word chevel, meaning a rope, to signify the primary cord of the inheritance. This relates directly to what I have already pointed out regarding the rabbinic teaching in Bava Metzia 84a that the beauty of Yaakov reflects the beauty of Adam HaRishon.

He offers another explanation based on two levels of souls. Some come from a higher spiritual world, and these are described as "Hashem's portion," a portion from Hashem, so to speak. Others come from the place called nachalas Shaddai, "the inheritance of Shaddai," and these are described by "Yaakov, the cord of His inheritance." For clarity, the author is distinguishing spiritual sources; "so to speak" marks the limits of describing this relationship in human language.

The Torah is precise in using the word chevel, which means a rope, to hint at a profound concept revealed by the masters of Kabbalah. Every living soul in a person is connected by a spiritual cord to its source. This cord extends from the nostrils and remains bound to its supernal root above, and through this cord the soul draws its life force.

Regarding the soul of a wicked person, the verse in Bamidbar 15:31 says, That soul shall utterly be cut off, meaning that Hashem cuts off this connecting cord that binds the soul to the place from which it was carved. Once cut, it can no longer draw spiritual sustenance, and this state is spiritual death, may Merciful Heaven save us. Conversely, regarding the righteous, the verse in Deuteronomy 4:4 states, But you who cling to Hashem your God are alive today. This is the meaning of, Yaakov is the lot of His inheritance, representing this unbroken spiritual cord. Understand this well.

He found him in a desert land, and in the waste, etc. It appears that the verse intends to follow the path of Chazal in Berachot 9b, who said that Israel did not leave Egypt until they had made it like a deep sea that has no fish in it, meaning they emptied it of all its spiritual sparks. Furthermore, they said in Likkutei Torah on Vayeira that if Israel had delayed any longer in Egypt, they would have been absorbed there forever, because they would have entered the fiftieth gate of impurity.

To describe this, the verse says, 'He found him in a land of desert', meaning a land that is desolate and has no spiritual substance left in it. For this reason, the text does not say 'He found him in the desert' (which would refer to the physical wilderness), but rather 'in a land of desert' (referring to Egypt which had become spiritually desolate). Understand this.

The verse further explains that not only was the land a desert, completely devoid of any spark of holiness, but it was also 'a waste, a howling wilderness.' This means it was filled with filth and spiritual impurity. You will find that they said in the Zohar, Volume I, page 16a, that 'waste' (tohu) represents a specific force of impurity (kelipah), and similarly 'a howling wilderness' represents the forces of evil. Thus, the place was entirely stripped of good and completely filled with evil.

Because of this danger, Hashem 'compassed him about' (yesovevenhu), a term denoting protection. The Torah uses the future tense here to teach that this protection which He provided for them was not a temporary event; rather, it remains constant and will endure forever. The depth of this protection is that He extracted them from that place of evil so they would not be absorbed there.

Furthermore, in that very place, when Hashem brought the plagues upon Egypt, He protected them, just as the verses state: 'but of the livestock of the children of Israel...' (Exodus 9:6), 'in the land of Goshen...' (Exodus 9:26), 'but for all the children of Israel there was light...' (Exodus 10:23), and 'He will not allow the destroyer...' (Exodus 12:23). This is the meaning of 'He compassed him about.'

Yevonenehu, "He gave him understanding," refers to Hashem's gift of Torah, the source of understanding. Through it He guards Yisrael "like the pupil of His eye," as in "Understanding will guard you" (Mishlei 2:11). The eye image also appears in Zechariah 2:12: "Whoever touches you touches the pupil of His eye."

The Ohr HaChaim explains the image through the eye's delicacy. It cannot bear a finger touching it because the finger is coarse compared with the eye, which is refined. He uses this contrast to express how something spiritual cannot bear contact with what is coarse and physical.

He connects this to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai's statement in the Zohar (volume 2, 211b): "Woe to the soul that bears a foreign fire." The fire in which the soul is punished is foreign to the soul's own fire. By contrast, the righteous soul immerses in the fire called Nehar Dinur while that fire has not become distant or material, and therefore does not suffer from it. For clarity, he is distinguishing a fire alien to the soul's refined nature from a spiritual fire compatible with it. That distinction helps explain why contact with coarseness can be painful to what is spiritually refined.

This is what the verse means here by 'as the apple of His eye.' Because Israel became spiritual beings, everything outside of them is considered coarse and physical. Therefore, even the touch of something spiritually coarse harms and damages them, just as the touch of a hand harms the delicate apple of the eye.

This high spiritual status was achieved only after He gave them the inheritance of the Torah. For this reason, the verse first says 'He cared for him' (yevonenehu, instructing him in Torah) and only afterward says 'He kept him as the apple of His eye.' This concept also explains the underlying reason for the negative commandments, which protect this delicate spiritual state. Understand this.

Alternatively, the words 'He cared for him, He kept him' (yevonenehu yitzrenhu) can be understood in light of what Chazal said in Tractate Berachot 54b: Three categories of people require special protection, and one of them is a Torah scholar (talmid chacham). The reason for this is that the damaging spiritual forces are envious of the high stature of a Torah scholar and provoke him.

To address this, the verse says 'yevonenehu', meaning He gives him the Torah, which is called understanding (tevunah) in Proverbs 2:11. Because He has elevated him to this level, He must then take responsibility to guard him, as it says, 'He kept him' (yitzrenhu), protecting him from those envious forces.

"Like an eagle that awakens its nest." The Ohr HaChaim notes Chazal's explanations in the Sifrei, as cited by Rashi, then offers another reading. Vayikra Rabbah 17:4 teaches that when Yisrael violates Hashem's will, judgment does not strike at their lives first. It begins by awakening a person through afflictions of the house, then of the clothing, before going further.

That is how he reads the eagle awakening its nest: Hashem awakens His children. The awakening is also measured to what they can bear. He cites Bereishis Rabbah 55:2, that Hashem tests a person only according to the measure he is capable of bearing.

And the verse's statement, He spreads His wings, is understood in light of the Sages' teaching in the Sifrei on Devarim 3:29 that Hashem's right hand is constantly stretched out to receive those who return. If, through the awakening that Hashem stirs up within Israel, they are moved to return in repentance, His right hand is immediately stretched out to welcome them. The Torah uses the future tense to convey this sequence: the very reason He spreads His wings from the outset is in order to gather in the Jewish person who returns in repentance. Were it not for this goal of receiving the penitent, He would not have spread His wings at all.

And the verse's statement, He carries him on His wing, can be understood based on the Sages' teaching in Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 70, page 131a, on the verse in Kohelet 10:20, The winged one will tell the matter. They explain that there is a specific class of angels called possessors of wings. Their sacred service is to carry aloft on their wings every good word and blessing of Hashem that comes out of the mouth of a Jewish person. This is the meaning of, He carries him on His wing, meaning that He carries upward the spiritual goodness that comes from the person.

"Hashem alone will lead him." The Ohr HaChaim explains this through Midrash Tanchuma, Tzav 7, on Hoshea 4:17: "Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone." Chazal read this as a teaching about unity. When Yisrael is united, even the presence of idolatry does not bring immediate punishment. Hanach lo, "leave him alone," expresses granting rest or relief, like the relief granted to the provinces in Esther. He therefore reads badad as the people being one unit: when they are united, Hashem leads them.

Source note: the Hebrew edition prints Esther 2:11 beside "he granted relief to the provinces." The quoted words are in Esther 2:18. The Hebrew is reproduced unchanged.

He continues this reading with "and there is no foreign god with him." Although idolatry is present, Hashem does not count that sin against them by punishing them in this situation. The Ohr HaChaim compares the negative wording with Chazal's reading in Sukkah 41a of "No one seeks her" (Yirmiyahu 30:17). His text summarizes that inference as "this implies that she has [one who seeks her]." He uses the comparison here to read "there is none with him" as implying that a foreign god is in fact present, but Hashem is not punishing the people for it.

For clarity, the Gemara itself phrases its inference as "she requires seeking." The Ohr HaChaim's point here is that the negative wording carries an implication beyond its surface meaning; he is explaining the withholding of punishment, not permitting idolatry.

He then offers a different explanation. When will "Hashem alone lead him"? When the element of evil has come to an end within Yisrael. On this reading, "there is no foreign god with him" means that the evil attached to a person through Adam's sin has been removed. For clarity, this follows the earlier discussion of evil becoming mixed with good through Adam HaRishon's sin. The two readings are distinct: the first discusses unity despite sin, while this one describes guidance after that evil is gone.