Moses’ Prayer to Enter the Land

Deuteronomy Rabbah 2:1

5th–10th Century

When Moses sought to enter the land of Israel, the Holy One said: Enough! (Deuteronomy 3:26). He [Moses] replied before Him: Master of the universe, did You not say to me, “To one who has a claim on me, I will be gracious (Exodus 33:19)—I will deal with him freely as an act of grace?!” Now I do not maintain that I have any claim on You, so do this freely as an act of grace. From where [do we learn this]? From that which we read in the matter, And I sought grace from the Lord (Deuteronomy 3:23).

Translated byRichard S. Sarason.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.

Deuteronomy Rabbah’s expansion of Moses’ prayer to enter the promised land is based on its interpretation of Exodus 33:19: “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy” (NRSV). In the midrash’s interpretation, God bestows “mercy” on those who have earned a reward and “grace” on those who have not. Although God refuses Moses’ initial request to enter the land (Deuteronomy 3:25–26), Moses appeals to God again, saying that he does not claim to be deserving but that his request should nonetheless be granted on the basis of God’s self-proclaimed attribute of grace. The midrash derives this second prayer from Deuteronomy 3:23, “and I sought grace from the Lord.”

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Moses’ Prayer to Enter the Land

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