Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Exodus 4:10/רמב"ן על שמות ד׳:י׳

אגַּם מִתְּמוֹל גַּם מִשִּׁלְשֹׁם גַּם מֵאָז דַּבֶּרְךָ אֶל עַבְדֶּךָ לָמַדְנוּ שֶׁכָּל שִׁבְעַת הַיָּמִים הָיָה יוֹשֵׁב הקב"ה וּמְפַתֶּה מֹשֶׁה לָלֶכֶת בִּשְׁלִיחוּתוֹ. מִתְּמוֹל וּמִשִּׁלְשׁוֹם וּמֵאָז דַּבֶּרְךָ, הֲרֵי שְׁלֹשָׁה, וּשְׁלֹשָׁה גַּמִּין רִבּוּיִין, הֲרֵי שִׁשָּׁה, וְהָיָה עוֹמֵד בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי. לְשׁוֹן רַשִׁ"י (רש"י על שמות ד':י'). וְעַל דֶּרֶךְ הַפְּשָׁט יֹאמַר כִּי אֲנִי כְּבַד פֶּה גַּם מִתְּמוֹל גַּם מִשִּׁלְשֹׁם, כִּי מִנְּעוּרַי הָיִיתִי כְּבַד פֶּה, אַף כִּי עַתָּה כִּי אֲנִי זָקֵן. וְגַם מֵאָז דַּבֶּרְךָ הַיּוֹם אֶל עַבְדֶּךָ, כִּי לֹא הֲסִירוֹתָ כְּבֵדוּת פִּי בְּצַוּוֹתְךָ אוֹתִי לָלֶכֶת אֶל פַּרְעֹה לְדַבֵּר בִּשְׁמֶךָ, וְאִם כֵּן אֵיךְ אֵלֵךְ לְפָנָיו. וְהִנֵּה מֹשֶׁה מֵרֹב חֶפְצוֹ שֶׁלֹּא יֵלֵךְ לֹא הִתְפַּלֵּל לְפָנָיו יִתְבָּרַךְ שֶׁיָּסִיר כְּבֵדוּת פִּיו. אֲבָל טָעַן אַחֲרֵי שֶׁלֹּא הֲסִירוֹתָ כְּבֵדוּת פִּי מֵעֵת שֶׁדִּבַּרְתָּ לִי לָלֶכֶת, אַל תְּצַוֵּנִי שֶׁאֵלֵךְ, כִּי לֹא יִתָּכֵן לַאֲדוֹן הַכֹּל לִשְׁלֹחַ שָׁלִיחַ עֲרַל שְׂפָתַיִם לְמֶלֶךְ עַמִּים. וְהקב"ה כֵּיוָן שֶׁלֹּא הִתְפַּלֵּל בְּכָךְ לֹא רָצָה לְרַפּאוֹתוֹ, אֲבָל אָמַר לוֹ "אָנֹכִי אֶהְיֶה עִם פִּיךָ וְהֹרֵתִיךָ אֲשֶׁר תְּדַבֵּר" (פסוק י"ב), שֶׁיִּהְיוּ דְּבָרַי אֲשֶׁר אָשִׂים בְּפִיךָ בְּמִלּוֹת נְכוֹנוֹת שֶׁתּוּכַל לְבַטֵּא בָּהֶן יָפֶה: וּבְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת רַבָּה (ג':ט"ו) אָמְרוּ, אָמַר לוֹ אִם אַתָּה אֵינְךָ אִישׁ דְּבָרִים אַל תָּחוּשׁ, הֲלֹא אֲנִי בָּרָאתִי כָּל פִּיּוֹת שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם וַאֲנִי עָשִׂיתִי אִלֵּם מִי שֶׁחָפַצְתִּי וְחֵרֵשׁ וְעִוֵּר וּפִקֵּחַ לִרְאִיָּה וּפִקֵּחַ לִשְׁמִיעָה, וְאִם חָפַצְתִּי שֶׁתִּהְיֶה אִישׁ דְּבָרִים, הָיִיתָ, אֶלָּא לַעֲשׂוֹת כָּךְ אֲנִי חָפֵץ וּבְעֵת שֶׁתְּדַבֵּר יִהְיוּ דְּבָרֶיךָ נְכוֹנִים שֶׁאֲנִי אֶהְיֶה עִם פִּיךָ. הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (שמות ד':י"ב) "וְעַתָּה לֵךְ וְאָנֹכִי אֶהְיֶה עִם פִּיךָ". וּלְפִי זֶה נִרְאֶה בְּעֵינַי שֶׁלֹּא רָצָה לְהָסִיר מִמֶּנּוּ כֹּבֶד הַפֶּה בַּעֲבוּר שֶׁהָיָה בּוֹ מִמַּעֲשֵׂה הַנֵּס שֶׁסִּפְּרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ (בשמו"ר א כו) שֶׁאֵרַע לוֹ עִם פַּרְעֹה. וְהַנָּכוֹן בְּעֵינַי שֶׁאָמַר ה' לְמֹשֶׁה מִי שָׂם פֶּה לָאָדָם אוֹ מִי יָשׂוּם אִלֵּם הֲלֹא אָנֹכִי ה' עֹשֶׂה כֹּל, וּבְיָדִי לְרַפּאוֹת אוֹתְךָ, וְעַתָּה כֵּיוָן שֶׁלֹּא תִּרְצֶה בִּרְפוּאָתְךָ וְלֹא הִתְפַּלַּלְתָּ לְפָנַי עַל זֶה, לֵךְ אֶל אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי מְצַוֶּה לְךָ, וְאָנֹכִי אֶהְיֶה עִם פִּיךָ וְאַצְלִיחַ שְׁלִיחוּתִי. גַּם אֶפְשָׁר שֶׁיִּהְיֶה רֶמֶז מִ"וַיִּחַר אַף ה' בְּמֹשֶׁה" (פסוק י"ב) שֶׁלֹּא רָצָה לְרַפּאוֹתוֹ וּשְׁלָחוֹ עַל כָּרְחוֹ:

1AND MOSES SAID UNTO THE ETERNAL: O LORD, I AM NOT A MAN OF WORDS, NEITHER YESTERDAY NOR RECENTLY NOR SINCE THOU HAST SPOKEN UNTO THY SERVANT; FOR I AM SLOW OF SPEECH AND OF A SLOW TONGUE. “This teaches us that for an entire period of seven days, the Holy One, blessed be He, sat²⁶⁷ and urged Moses to undertake the mission. [The expressions], ‘yesterday,’ ‘recently,’ and ‘since Thou hast spoken,’ imply three days, and the three-fold word gam — [here translated ‘neither’ or ‘nor,’ but literally meaning ‘also’] — points to a similar extension of time. Thus you have six days [that have passed], and it was now the seventh day [when Moses still refused to go on his mission].” Thus the language of Rashi.In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, the purport of the verse is as follows: [Moses said,] “For I am slow of speech from heretofore and from time past, for I have been slow of speech from my youth on and all the more now that I am old, and also now since Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant, for Thou hast not removed the defect in my speech when Thou didst command me to go to Pharaoh to speak in Thy name. How then can I go before him?” Now Moses out of his great desire not to go [on the mission] did not pray before G-d, blessed be He, that He remove his defective speech from him, but he argued: “Since You have not removed my slowness of speech from me from the time You spoke to me to undertake this mission, do not command me to go, for it is inconceivable that the Master of everything should send a man of uncircumcised lips²⁶⁸ to a king of the nations.” And since Moses did not pray [for the removal of his defect], the Holy One, blessed be He, did not desire to heal him. Instead, He said to him, I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt speak,²⁶⁹ meaning that “you will be able to correctly express the words which I will put in your mouth.”And in V’eileh Shemoth Rabbah,²⁷⁰ the Rabbis said: “The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: ‘Do not mind it that you are not a man of words. Have I not made the mouth of all that speak, and him that I desire I made dumb? And have I not made the deaf and the blind, and opened their eyes to see and ears to hear? Now had I wanted that you be a man of words, you would have been so. But it is my desire that you continue to be so, and when you will speak [to Pharaoh] your utterance will be correct, for I will be with thy mouth.’²⁶⁹ This is the sense of the verse, Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth.”²⁶⁹According to this Midrash, it appears to me that the reason He did not desire to remove his defective speech from him was because a miraculous event,²⁷¹ as told by our Rabbis, happened to Moses when he was still before Pharaoh.²⁷²The correct interpretation appears to me to be that G-d said to Moses, “Who hath made man’s mouth? or Who maketh a man dumb? … Is it not I the Eternal²⁷³ Who does all this? I could heal you. But now since you did not want to be healed, nor have you prayed to me about it, go and I will be with thy mouth,²⁶⁹ and I will cause you success in My mission.” It is also possible that there is a hint in the verse, And the anger of the Eternal was kindled against Moses,²⁷⁴ that He did not want to heal him, and that He sent him against his will.