The reason Moses admonished them

245. We learned, Rabbi Yehuda said, What is the reason Moses admonished them in this poem? It is that they were about to enter the land of Yisrael and the Shechinah was about to rest among them. For that reason He admonished them about that.

246. Rabbi Yitzchak said, The Holy One, blessed be He, will admonish Yisrael in two places and the nations in the world will rejoice. The first is as it is written, "Hashem has also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways" (Hoshea 12:3). The nations of the world hear and rejoice. They say, Now these will be wiped away from the world. But when the Holy One, blessed be He, saw them rejoicing, it is then written, "He took his brother by the heel in the womb..." (Ibid. 4). When they heard that, they said, This means repentance FOR THE INIQUITIES OF YISRAEL.

247. THIS IS like a woman who had a quarrel with her son. She went to cry out and sue him. When she saw the judge judging criminal laws, sentencing some to whipping, and some to hanging or burning, she said, Woe if I shall do so to my son. THAT IS, SHE BEGAN TO FEAR LEST HE WILL SENTENCE HER SON TOO TO ONE OF THESE PUNISHMENTS. When the judge finished the trial, he said to that woman, Tell me what your son did. She said to him, I complain (THE END IS MISSING). ACCORDING TO THIS, IT SEEMS THAT SHE SAID SHE COMPLAINED THAT HE PAINED HER IN HER WOMB, WHEN SHE WAS PREGNANT WITH HIM. OF COURSE, THE JUDGE DID NOTHING TO HIM FOR THAT.