Or HaChaim on Deuteronomy 33:21/אור החיים על דברים ל״ג:כ״א

1 וירא ראשית לו. "He chose the first portion for himself." Moses means that actually the ראשית, i.e. the Torah, should have been his share as Moses the lawgiver was buried in his territory. Alternatively, Gad became custodian of a חלק, a small part of the lawgiver, i.e. Moses' earthly remains securely hidden. The reason why Moses was buried there, i.e. on the East Bank of the Jordan was ויתא ראשי עם, in order for the generation of the Exodus, the heads of the nation, to eventually be resurrected together with Moses in order to be allowed to cross the Jordan. The reason that generation is referred to as ראשי עם is that they were the generation whom G'd acquired as His people.

2Another meaning of the words וירא ראשית לו is that it is a reference to the initial inheritance this tribe took possession of in the lands formerly owned by Sichon and Og. The word לו means that it became his inheritance rightfully. It was not just a land grab. There was a need to confirm this in view of Ketuvot 111 that anyone who lived in the land of Israel or is buried there is assured of a portion of the hereafter. Moses had to confirm that as far as the land of Gad (and Reuven and half the tribe of Menashe) is concerned the same consideration applied. The words כי שם חלקת מחקק ספון mean that just as Moses who is buried in that land will be resurrected so will be the tribe of Gad, or vice versa, i.e. that Moses was not buried in exile.

3צדקת ה׳ עשה. "carrying out G'd's justice." These words refer to Moses again. This is the explanation why Moses would merit to bring others with him at the time of the resurrection. He had performed acts of righteousness vis-a-vis G'd.

4An alternative explanation may be that Moses had done more than was required of him, i.e. צדק, as we have already mentioned in our commentary on Deut. 6,25 וצדקה תהיה לנו (pages 1815-16). ומשפטיו עשה עם ישראל. This means that Moses was constantly involved in defending the Israelites vis-a-vis G'd, usually succeeding to wrest a favourable verdict from Him, such as in the matter of the golden calf, the uprising of Korach, etc. The word עשה may be understood as "rectified, rehabilitated."

5Still another meaning of our verse may be to understand the words צדקת ה׳ עשה as referring to how G'd dealt with Moses when He decreed that Moses be buried on the East Bank of the Jordan and did not let him complete his prayer in which Moses had asked to be allowed to remain with the main body of the Israelites. The words עם ישראל are a reference to incidents which caused Moses problems.

6Alternatively, the words צדקת ה׳ עשה may refer to Gad who acted in a manner which G'd considered as righteous when this tribe undertook to join the main body of the Israelites and to remain with them until completion of the wars of conquest. If we were to consider the matter on a purely legal basis, i.e. their obligations vis-a-vis G'd, the tribe of Gad was not obligated to do this. They had received their inheritance in the place of their choosing as they had argued at the time in Numbers 32,5. If that had not been so G'd would never have consented for them to remain on that territory. As a result, the fact that they crossed the Jordan as the vanguard of the Israelite army was an act that was considered as righteousness for them. However, it was an act of righteousness only vis-a-vis G'd. Vis-a-vis their compatriots it was a sacred duty, not something for which they deserved a reward. The wording צדקת השם עשה is very appropriate then.

7The wording ומשפטיו עם ישראל is equally appropriate as it stresses that what the people of Gad did with Israel was no more than what the law demanded of them. If they wanted to appear free from guilt both in the eyes of G'd and in the eyes of Israel they could not have done any less. Seeing that G'd was not in need of the bravery of the soldiers from the tribe of Gad, the Torah describes their fulfilling their duty as applying only to the Israelites.