Deuteronomy 32:10

He found them dwelling in the wilderness, in the solitude, the place of howling demons and thorns, the place of thirsting; He overspread them with His seven glorious clouds; He taught them His law; He kept them as the Shekinah keepeth the apple of His eye.

He found him in a wilderness land Now begins the elaboration of “your Father, your Owner” [: 6]. He found him because it was in the wilderness that the Glory was first joined to them. Moreover, they were in an area which no man had explored (for so it is written [Jeremiah 2: 6]), and,

since it was a wilderness, it encompassed a waste-land.

howling a place where there is a howling of animals, like jackals and owls, whose sound terrifies anyone within earshot.

He surrounded him a reference to the clouds.

He gave him wisdom i.e., the Torah.

He guarded him from enemies.

the pupil of his eye I have already explained the word pupil.

eye is an anthropomorphism. The meaning is that He protected them from every enemy and snare.

The expression [He kept him] as the apple of His eye alludes to watchfulness, the verse stating that G-d watched over him as He would shield “His own eye.” Or it may be that the word “man” is missing here: He watched over him as a man shields the apple of his eye, for generally [where there is no specific reference to the contrary, it is assumed that] Scripture speaks of man. There are many similar verses.

ימצאהו, as when the Torah had written in Numbers 11,22 ומצא להם, the reference is to G’d being the “supplier,” i.e. “finding” their needs for them.

יסובבנהו, with His protective angels, as mentioned in Psalms 34,8 “the angel of the Lord camps around those who fear Him.” We also have a liturgical poem recited on the second Day of Rosh Hashanah which revolves around this theme. [the poem is attributed to Rabbi Shimon bar Yitzchok. Ed.] According to the plain meaning of the text the function of the heavenly cloud was only to provide a barrier in front of the people. It would therefore be erroneous to understand Moses as saying that this cloud enveloped the camp of the Israelites. This had been spelled out quite clearly in Exodus 13,21. Furthermore, the word יצרנהו is basically a repetition, i.e. reinforcement of the word יסובבנהו,

כאישון עינו, the cloud, i.e. as G’d’s agent had performed for the Jewish people at the time what the eyelid does for the eye, (pupil ) i.e. it provided a protective cover. The reason it is called אישון, suggesting something dark, is that when the eyelid covers the eye the eye becomes inoperative, its owner remains in darkness. Or, the very fact that the pupil looks black is enough reason for it to be called אישון. We find the word used in Psalms 17,8 where the psalmist implores G’d to protect him as one would the “apple” (אישון) of one’s eye. In Zecharyah 2,12 it is referred to as בבת עין, the part of the eye with which we see.

ימצאהו בארץ מדבר, in the desert He found that the heart of this nation which He considered His only share among mankind was pure and loyal, as testified to in Jeremiah 2,2 “you followed Me into the desert.”

יסובבנהו, to Mount Sinai, as mentioned in Exodus 19,12 when G’d had said to me: והגבלת את העם סביב, “and you will fence in the people around the Mountain.”

יבוננהו, as G’d had said to Moses in Exodus 24,12 והתורה והמצוה אשר כתבתי להורותם, “and the Torah and the commandment which I have written in order to instruct them.”

יצרנהו, He carefully engirded them from being enslaved to other nations and from being subject to the angel of death, as we have been taught by Eyruvin 54 that the words חרות על הלוחות, are best understood as חירות על הלוחות, freedom on the Tablets, i.e. acceptance of the Torah would result in the immortality of the person observing it totally.

כאישון עינו. Just as a man watches carefully over his eyeball after having tended it, so G’d watched over His people. G’d tried to surround the Israelites with layers of protective legislation to counter their natural tendency to be obstinate and “do their own thing.”

ימצאהו בארץ מדבר, “He found him in a desert region.” The word I have underlined is equivalent to yamtzieyhu, meaning: “He provided all their needs for them in that desert. He provided water, heavenly bread, manna, quails (meat) and made their garments resist decay. (Compare Deuteronomy 8,4.)

ובתהו ילל ישימון, “and in an empty howling waste, etc.” in that very region which harbors only jackals and ostriches, as we know from Micah 1,8 which are constantly lamenting, I provided all that could be wished for. An alternate interpretation for the expression: ימצאהו בארץ מדבר. In this area where one could not logically have expected to find anything worth while, Israel found a real treasure i.e. the Torah which the Lord gave them.

ובתהו ילל ישימון, “as long as they had not received the Torah that region had been a completely arid wasteland for them.” Once they received the Torah, it was as if they had been given the gift of light. This is why Solomon said in Proverbs 6,23: כי נר מצוה ותורה אור, “for the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is a light.

יסובבנהו, ”He enclosed it (protectively) by clouds;” Another interpretation: “He surrounded it with an upside down turned mountain, Sinai, like a bucket.” (compare Talmud, tractate Shabbat folio 88).

יבוננהו, “He provided them with insights;” through the Torah. Alternate interpretation: based on the root: בנה, “to build”, “He provided them with a building,” i.e. the Tabernacle.

יצרנהו כאישון עינו, “He kept him as the apple of His eye.”