Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Deuteronomy 9:4/רמב"ן על דברים ט׳:ד׳

אאַל תֹּאמַר בִּלְבָבְךָ, אַחֲרֵי שֶׁהִזְהִיר שֶׁלֹּא תַּחְשֹׁב כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי עָשָׂה לִי, רַק שֶׁתֵּדַע כִּי הַנִּצּוּחִים בַּמִּלְחָמָה הַשֵּׁם נָתַן לָהֶם הַכֹּחַ הַהוּא, וְהַתַּקִּיפִים שֶׁבָּהֶם וְהֶעָרִים הַבְּצוּרוֹת אֲשֶׁר תִּלְכְּדוּ, הַשֵּׁם בִּכְבוֹדוֹ עָשָׂה לָכֶם כֵּן בְּנֵס מְפֻרְסָם מֵאִתּוֹ, חָזַר וְהִזְכִּיר לֹא תַּחְשֹׁב כִּי עָשָׂה ה' עִמְּךָ כָּל זֶה בְּצִדְקָתְךָ, כִּי לֹא עָשָׂה לָכֶם כֵּן רַק בְּרִשְׁעַת הַגּוֹיִם הָאֵלֶּה. וְהִנֵּה זֶה טַעַם בְּאָבְדָן הַגּוֹיִם הָהֵם, וְלֹא נָתַן לָהֶם טַעַם בְּרֶשֶׁת יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הָאָרֶץ. עַל כֵּן חָזַר וּבֵאֵר, לֹא בְצִדְקָתְךָ שֶׁתִּהְיֶה צַדִּיק בְּמַעֲשֶׂה, וְלֹא אֲפִלּוּ בְּלֵב יָשָׁר שֶׁהָיָה לְךָ, רַק בְּרִשְׁעַת הַגּוֹיִם אָבְדוּ הֵם, וּבַעֲבוּר שְׁבוּעַת אֲבוֹתֶיךָ יָרַשְׁתָּ אוֹתָהּ הָאָרֶץ, כִּי אֵין הַחֵטְא שֶׁלְּךָ יָכוֹל לְבַטֵּל הַמַּתָּנָה שֶׁנָּתַן לַאֲבוֹתֶיךָ, כִּי בִּשְׁבוּעָה נְתָנָהּ לָהֶם. וְרַשִׁ"י כָּתַב (רש"י על דברים ט':ד') אַל תֹּאמַר בִּלְבָבְךָ צִדְקָתִי וְרִשְׁעַת הַגּוֹיִם גָּרְמָה לִי, לֹא בְצִדְקָתְךָ. וְאֵינֶנּוּ נָכוֹן. וְיֵשׁ עַל הַשּׁוֹאֵל לִשְׁאוֹל, שֶׁהֲרֵי אָמַר (דברים ז':ח') כִּי מֵאַהֲבַת ה' אֶתְכֶם, וְהִנֵּה הֵם אֲהוּבִים לְמַעְלָה, וְהַשֵּׁם לֹא יֹאהַב רַק אֶת הַטּוֹבִים, כִּי רָשָׁע וְאֹהֵב חָמָס שָׂנְאָה נַפְשׁוֹ, אִם כֵּן גַּם בְּצִדְקָתָם יָרְשׁוּ אֶרֶץ. וְהַתְּשׁוּבָה כִּי שָׁם יְדַבֵּר עִם יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּכְלָלָם, וְכָאן יוֹכִיחַ הַדּוֹר הַהוּא שֶׁהָיוּ מַמְרִים אֶת ה' מִיּוֹם הֱיוֹתָם בַּמִּדְבָּר:

1SPEAK NOT THOU IN THY HEART. After cautioning that you should not think ‘my power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth.’¹¹⁹ but instead you are to know that the power over the vanquished was given to you by G-d, and that [the victory over] their mighty ones and fortified cities that you will have conquered [was made possible by] G-d in His Glory Who did it for you in a generally known miracle from Him, he further warned them, “Do not think that G-d did all this for you because of your righteousness; rather, He has done so for you only because of the wickedness of these nations.”¹²⁰ Now this is a cause for the destruction of these nations, but he gave no reason for Israel’s possession of the Land. Therefore he reverted and explained, Not for thy righteousness¹²⁰ that you will be righteous in conduct, nor even because of the upright heart that you will have, but only because of the wickedness of these nations will they be destroyed, and because of [His] oath to your fathers will you possess the Land, for your sin cannot annul the gift He gave to your fathers since He gave it to them by an oath. And Rashi wrote: “Speak not thou in thy heart — my righteousness and the wickedness of these nations caused me [to possess the Land]. Not for thy righteousness.” But this is not correct.¹²¹ the wickedness of the nations was a cause of one thing — their coming into the possession of the Land. On this Ramban comments that the verses indicate instead that there are two separate warnings here: “Do not think that because of your righteousness you are coming to possess the Land, and do not think that because of the wickedness of these nations they are driven out from it” (Mizrachi).Now one should ask, “Has he not said, But because the Eternal loved you,¹²² thus establishing that they are beloved on high, and, [as we know], G-d loves only those who are good, for the wicked and him that loveth violence His soul hateth,¹²³ and if so, [it is justifiable that] they come to possess the Land also for their [own] righteousness [so, how can he say here Not for thy righteousness, etc.]?” The answer is that there he speaks of Israel in general, and here he reproves that particular generation that has been rebellious against the Eternal from the day they were in the wilderness.