I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people.
Ramban
AND I WILL WALK AMONG YOU. This means that My conduct with you will be well-known, as when a monarch walks in the midst of his army, supplying them with all their needs. This then is the way of the simple sense of the words of the covenant, and it is true, for so indeed will He do with them. Now Scripture did not mention here the reward of the existence of the souls in the World of Souls,. and in the World to Come after the resurrection, for their existence [following the death of the body] is a matter of necessity in the way of creation, as I have explained in [the section on] excisions, this form of punishment being the “cutting off” of the guilty ones [from life eternal], and all the other [souls] will continue to exist on account of their fundamental nature inherent in their creation. But by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], these blessings [in this section] are also heavenly blessings in matters above, as I have explained. Thus, And I will give peace in the Land; and My soul shall not abhor you, and similarly, and I will walk among you, allude to the [Divine] attribute which our Rabbis have called Shechinah (the Divine Presence), of [the root found in the expression], And I will set ‘mishkani’ (My dwelling) among you, and as the Rabbis say: “The Shechinah (Divine Presence) dwells with Israel.” And in Bereshith Rabbah they have said: “The Divine Presence was mainly in the lower world.” Thus the Garden of Eden [i.e., the World of Souls] and the World to Come [after the resurrection] are mentioned here (Verse 11); and I will give peace in the Land (Verse 6), as hinted to above (Ma’or V’shamesh). to those who know [the way of Truth]. Now these blessings in their perfection will only occur when all Israel do the will of their Father [in heaven], and when [as a result of this] the structure of heaven and earth will be perfect, in accordance with its [original] plan. There are no other blessings in the Torah as perfect as these, which constitute the words of the covenant and the conditions between the Holy One, blessed be He, and us. Know, [however], that Israel never attained these blessings in their perfection, neither many of them [i.e., as a people] nor as individuals, since their merits were never sufficient for them, just as the Rabbis have said with reference to David’s [captains]: “And he [Adino the Eznite] lifted up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time. But he [David] was troubled about the [remaining] two hundred. (Deuteronomy 32:30) (Moed Katan 16b). Thereupon a Divine Voice came forth and said to him, Save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.” Therefore you will find our Rabbis of blessed memory speaking of [the fulfillment of] these verses [containing the blessings] in the future [which is yet] to come. [Thus they have said]. 2:2. “This teaches that a child of Israel will in the future stretch forth [his hand into the pupil of an adder’s eye, and remove his gall through his mouth.” Similarly they have said]:, 3:3. “The Holy One, blessed be He, will in the future walk about with the righteous in the World to Come.” This is because [these blessings] have not yet been fulfilled, but they will be fulfilled for us at the time of [our] perfection.
Hebrew and Aramaic words are the commentator’s citations of the sacred text; the English translation that follows each is the translator’s.
Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.