Va’eschanan 4:4 · unit 2

TT #8 · Parashas Va’eschanan · First Aliyah · Passuk 4:4

The Complete Passuk

וְאַתֶּם֙ הַדְּבֵקִ֔ים בַּיהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם חַיִּ֥ים כֻּלְּכֶ֖ם הַיּֽוֹם׃

But you who cling to Hashem your God are all alive today.

Chabad.org — 4:4

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Sanhedrin 90b (proof of the resurrection of the dead from the superfluous word “hayom”).

Sefaria — Sanhedrin 90b

E-Daf image — Sanhedrin 90b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
חַיִּים כֻּלְּכֶם הַיּוֹם — מַהוּ הַיּוֹם? אֶלָּא אֲפִלּוּ בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁכָּל הָעוֹלָם מֵתִים אַתֶּם חַיִּים. מַאי מַשְׁמַע? מַה הַיּוֹם כֻּלְּכֶם קַיָּמִים אַף לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא כֻּלְּכֶם קַיָּמִים. מִכָּאן לִתְחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים מִן הַתּוֹרָה.

English: “Alive, all of you, today” — what is the force of “today”? Rather, even at a time when the whole world is dying, you are alive. What is the implication? Just as today you are all existing, so in the World to Come you will all exist. From here we have a source in the Torah for the resurrection of the dead.

On the daf / in context: Within the larger sugya of techiyas ha-meisim, the superfluous “hayom” is read as a comparison: the present vitality of those who cling to Hashem is a paradigm for their future vitality after death.

Type of Learning

R’ Eliezer #8 (from something superfluous) — diyuk of the extra word “hayom” as a source for resurrection.

What Is Learned

The phrase “alive… today” teaches that those who cling to Hashem will remain alive in the World to Come; it is one of the Torah sources for techiyas ha-meisim.