The Book of Deuteronomy begins with Moses reviewing some historical events with the Jewish people. As part of that review, in Deuteronomy 1:11, he blesses them that God should increase them one thousand times.
Deuteronomy 1:11 Background
In Deuteronomy 1:9 and 10, Moses mentions that because the Jewish people were so numerous he could not lead them by himself.
Then he adds:
11. The Lord God of your fathers increase you a thousand times so many more as you are, and bless you, as He has promised you!
Some English translations, such as the King James Version, set off this verse with parentheses to indicate that Moses is interrupting his main topic and inserting a side note.
A Bit of Grammar
This verse features two future tense verbs: “increase” [Hebrew: yoseif] and “bless” [Hebrew: yivareich].
There are several ways they can be translated into English.
As simple future tense verbs the translations are “will increase” and “will bless.”
But, they can also be translated as indirect imperative or jussive: “may He increase” and “may He bless.” Based on the context of the verse, that is how most commentators understand them.
Rashi on Deuteronomy 1:11
Rashi is bothered that Moses blesses the people that they may increase and then adds that God will bless them. What is added by the second phrase?
Rashi explains that there are 2 blessings here. The first blessing (limited to 1000 times) is from Moses himself.
Then he expresses the wish that an unlimited blessing may come from God, as He has promised.
Rashi quotes Genesis 13:16 as a source for the unlimited blessing from God:
16. And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then shall your seed also be counted.
The commentary Rashi K’Peshuto explains that the unlimited blessing from God is for the future when the Jewish people will all be righteous and worthy of God’s blessing.
Until they reach that spiritual level, Moses blesses them that they may increase 1000 times.
The Blessing to the Forefathers
God promised each of the Fathers of the Jewish people that there offspring would be numerous.
Several times He made promises to Abraham like this verse:
17. That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.
After the death of Abraham, God renewed this promise with Isaac:
3. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you, and to your seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father;
4. And I will make your seed multiply as the stars of heaven …
Jacob relied on this promise when he prayed, asking God to protect him and his family from Esau:
13. And You said, I will surely do you good, and make your seed as the sand of the sea, which can not be counted for multitude.
Rabbi Sorotzkin Explains
Rabbi Sorotzkin wonders why Moses offered a limited blessing of 1000 times the population.
Let’s dive in to understand his answer.
The Measure of Good
There is a concept mentioned in Tosefta Sotah 4:1 that the measure of good is 500 times greater than the measure of severe punishment.
This concept is derived from these verses:
9. You shall not bow down to them [idols], nor serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
10. And showing mercy to the thousands [of generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
We can explain the derivation this way. The punishment mentioned in verse 9 lasts for only four generations.
On the other hand, God’s goodness and mercy is for “thousands.”
The word “thousands” is a plural but the verse doesn’t specify how many “thousands.” With no other evidence, we can only assume that the smallest plural is meant. The smallest plural is 2. Hence, we interpret “thousands” as indicating two thousand generations will see God’s goodness.
Thus we have it: 2000 is 500 times greater than 4.
Moses and the Power to Bless
Rashi wrote that it was Moses who was blessing the Jewish people that they should increase 1000 times.
Rabbi Sorotzkin understands from Rashi that Moses had the ability to give them a blessing of 1000 times growth. Not more. Not less.
If Moses could grant them a greater blessing than 1000 times, then he would have done so.
So where does the 1000 come from?
A Fresh Start with Moses
There were two times that God threatened to destroy the Jewish people and start over with Moses.
The first time was when the Jewish people made the Golden Calf.
10. Now therefore let Me alone, that My anger may burn hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of you a great nation.
The second time was after the incident with the spies:
12. I will afflict them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and I will make of you a great nation and mightier than they.
After both of these “offers” from God, Moses prayed that God should spare the Jewish people.
Based on the principle that good is 500 times greater than the severe punishment, God was telling Moses that a nation descended from him would have a population 500 times greater than the existing Jewish population.
God Fulfills the Positive
There is another important concept at work here. Whenever God proclaims something positive, He always fulfills it. This is true even if the good thing has conditions placed on it.
In other words, Moses was told two times that a nation 500 times larger than the current population could descend from him. Moses had not accepted God’s proclamations, but they were still in effect.
Moses now applied those 2 x 500 = 1000 blessings to the Jewish people he was addressing.
Approaches Other Than Rashi
Not all of the commentators on this verse follow Rashi’s approach. Let’s look briefly at two of them.
Abarbanel
He points out that in Deuteronomy 1:10 Moses said, “You are like the stars of heaven in number.”
This hearkens back to the promise God made to Abraham:
5. And He brought him outside, and said, Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if you are able to count them. And He said to him, So shall your seed be.
God has blessed the Jewish people in the past. Therefore, we can believe that He will bless them 1000x in the future.
In summary, according to Abarbanel, in Deuteronomy 1:11 there is one blessing. That blessing is from Moses asking that may God increase the Jewish people 1000 fold.
Malbim
The Malbim reads this verse as Moses stating that God will bless the Jewish people in two ways.
1. God will increase them numerically in a miraculous way so that they will fill the Land immediately.
2. God will bless them with great wealth and all other things.
The result will be that no one person will be able to lead them.