In Deuteronomy 4:9 Moses tells the Jewish people not to “forget the things which your eyes have seen.” What are these “things” and why are they important?
Let’s start by looking at the entire verse:
9. Only take heed to yourself, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and to your children’s children.
It turns out the commentators take 2 very different approaches to understanding this verse.
Rashi’s Approach
Rashi understands verse 9 as a continuation of the idea presented in Deuteronomy 4:6.
6. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, who, when they shall hear all these statutes, shall say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”
Rashi writes that when the Jewish people do not forget what Moses taught and they perform the commandments properly, then they will be considered wise and understanding. But if they distort the commandments through forgetfulness, then they will be considered fools.
Sforno takes a similar approach in his comment:
Only take heed to yourself: Although I have told you that it is fitting that you be considered wise in the eyes of the nations, (nonetheless) take heed (not to be influenced) by the philosophy of their wise men who deny the existence, power and providence of God, the Blessed One, and who attempt to prove all this with reasoned proof.
Like Rashi, Sforno links Deuteronomy 4:9 back to verse 6. He also adds the idea that Moshe is warning the Jewish people not to be lead astray by non-Jewish philosophies.
In summary, Rashi’s approach is that verse 9 is the conclusion of several verses about the importance of remembering the commandments and fulfilling them properly.
Ramban’s Approach
Ramban begins his comment on verse 9 by quoting Rashi. Then he declares that Rashi is completely incorrect.
As Daat Mikra summarizes the Ramban, Deuteronomy 4:9 is related to the coming verses. It’s the beginning of a new idea which continues with verse 10.
10. The day when you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when the Lord said to me, “Gather the people together, and I will make them hear My words, that they will learn to fear Me all the days that they live upon the earth, and that they will teach their children.”
According Ramban, verse 9 contains two commandments: one negative and one positive.
Negative: we must not forget any aspect of the revelation at Mount Sinai.
Positive: inform the children in each generation what the Jewish people saw and heard there.
The Negative Commandment – Don’t Forget
According to Ramban, a person who forgets what happened at Mount Sinai is transgressing a negative commandment.
Here is how Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan explains a basis for this negative commandment.
4:41 God gathered an entire nation, three million strong, to the foot of Mount Sinai, and proclaimed His message. Every man, woman and child heard God’s voice, proclaiming the Ten Commandments. A permanent bond was thus forged between God and Israel.
4:42 This unique event remained deeply imprinted in the soul of Israel, and throughout history it was something that was not to be forgotten.
How broad and far reaching is this negative commandment? The Mishna in Pirkei Avot answers that question.
8. Rabbi Dostai the son of Rabbi Yannai said in the name of Rabbi Meir: Whoever
forgets a single word of his study, Scripture accounts it unto him as if he had transgressed against his own soul, as it is said, “Only take heed to yourself, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen.”
One could [have inferred that this is the case] even when his study proved [too] hard for him; [there is, therefore] something [further] taught, saying: “and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life.” Thus, he does not incur guilt expiable by his life unless he deliberately removes them from his heart.
I understand 2 ideas from this Mishna.
1. Rabbi Meir teaches that Deuteronomy 4:9 is not only about the events at Mount Sinai. The phrase “the things which your eyes have seen” is shorthand to include the entire Torah and any part of it that a person has learned.
2. The “forgetting” that is a transgression of verse 9 is when a person takes steps to actively remove a teaching from his heart and mind.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch points out how the command to not forget is linked to the command at the end of the verse to teach our children.
Everything, however, rests on this one basic fact: that the nation itself witnessed the Divine revelation of the Torah. For this fact directly attests to the Divine origin of the Torah and to the supernatural Personality of God. Hence, it is, before all else, this historical fact of the Lawgiving at Sinai, proven by the evidence of our own senses, that must remain alive forever in our hearts and minds and must be handed down to our children so that they, too, may take it to heart and pass it on to future generations. [emphasis in the original]
Conclusion
As mentioned above, Deuteronomy 4:9 includes the phrase “lest you forget the things.” The phrase “the things” is the translation of the Hebrew “et hadevarim.”
The Hebrew word “et” is (usually) not translatable into English. This is not the place to explain its function in Hebrew grammar.
There is an idea developed in the Gemara that the word “et” in the Torah serves to indicate or hint at a concept that is not explicit in the text.
The main purpose of Mount Sinai was for God to deliver the Ten Commandments to the Jewish people. In this verse, “et” expands the idea to indicate that all 613 Commandments are hinted at and contained in the Ten Commandments.
I’ll end this article with Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz’s summary of the importance of Deuteronomy 4:9: “Aside from statutes and ordinances, the nation of Israel must retain certain memories in its consciousness. At its core stands its collective memory, which is supposed to be retained not by experts or academics alone.”
In many prayer books at the end of the morning prayers you will find a page with verses of remembrance. These verses are about some of the basic concepts of Judaism that a person should recall every day. In my experience, Deuteronomy 4:9-10 is always included in this list.
It is the job of every Jew, male and female, to actively remember the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, fulfill the commandments, and pass it on to the next generation.