Sunday, September 06, 2015

Shadal: What, or who, is הוּא חַיֶּיךָ וְאֹרֶךְ יָמֶיךָ?

Shadal’s last comment at the end of parashat Nitzavim reads as follows:

To explain, the trup in the last pasuk of the parasha reads:

לְאַֽהֲבָה֙ אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לִשְׁמֹ֥עַ בְּקֹל֖וֹ וּלְדָבְקָה־ב֑וֹ כִּ֣י ה֤וּא חַיֶּ֨יךָ֙ וְאֹ֣רֶךְ יָמֶ֔יךָ לָשֶׁ֣בֶת עַל־הָֽאֲדָמָ֗ה אֲשֶׁר֩ נִשְׁבַּ֨ע יְהוָ֧ה לַֽאֲבֹתֶ֛יךָ לְאַבְרָהָ֛ם לְיִצְחָ֥ק וּֽלְיַעֲקֹ֖ב לָתֵ֥ת לָהֶֽם׃

And this means that the etnachta is on וּלְדָבְקָה־ב֑וֹ. The etnachta provides a logical pause in the middle of the pasuk. Meanwhile, Shadal would place the etnachta on the word יָמֶ֔יךָ, and redraw all the trup to fit.

The difference is that, according to the standard reading, the break is like this:

to love the LORD thy God, to hearken to His voice, and to cleave unto Him ||

for that is thy life, and the length of thy days; that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

And according to Shadal, the break is like this:

to love the LORD thy God, to hearken to His voice, and to cleave unto Him, for HE [Hashem] is thy life, and the length of thy days ||

that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

The idea is that He is your life, and so you should choose to love Him and cleave to Him, to dwell on the land. And the reason that it says “for He is your life” is that it says “and to cleave to Him”, in the same manner as “and you who cleave to Hashem, all you are living today.”

We need not dwell on the redrawing of the trup. It is regular and mechanical once you move the etnachta over.

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