Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L
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Moshe
How the Israelites are To Deal With the Other Nations in Israel
Moshe tells the nation that upon bringing them into Israel, He will cast away seven nations which are more powerful than them. These seven nations are: The Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivvites and Jesubites.
Moshe goes on to say that G-d is going to deliver these nations to the Israelites, and they are obligated to totally destroy these nations. Moshe proceeds to list several other restrictions they are to have regarding these nations. They are not to:
Make a covenant with them
Show them any grace (allow them to settle in the land)
Intermarry with them (neither with their men nor women)
The prohibition of intermarriage with them is since if one of their sons marries a Jewish daughter, their child will turn away from G-d. Rashi comments here that this teaches us that the Jewishness of a child goes after the mother.
Rather than establish a covenant with them etc., Moshe elaborates, they are to:
Destroy their altars and monuments*
*Side note: Rashi explains that an altar is a structure made up of several stones while a monument is made up of one.Cut down the trees which they worshipped called Asherim trees and
Burn their idols.
Moshe tells them that these directives are due to them being a holy people to G-d whom He chose from all people on earth. G-d did not choose them due to their large number* but rather due to their being the most humble and kept the promise that He made to their forefathers and took them out of Egypt due to His love for them.
*Side note: Or alternatively according to the Midrash due to them not boasting when G-d sends them goodness.
Therefore, Moshe tells them, they are to know that G-d, their G-d is faithful and keeps the covenant and displays loving kindness towards those who keep His commandments out of love, as well as those who do so out of fear, with thousands of generations of offspring benefiting from this.
Those who hate G-d will be given reward in this world so that they will lose out on reward in the World to Come.
Therefore, Moshe concludes, are they to keep G-d's commandments, statues and ordinances and they will be rewarded for this in the World to Come.
Va'EsChanan, 7th Aliya