[Siman 10] As these nations that you are, etc. (Deuteronomy 18:14): This is that which is stated in the verse (Deuteronomy 28:13), "The Lord will make you the head, not the tail; you will always be at the top and never at the bottom.⁠" That there should not be lying judges and that you all be poor in Torah. [It is as you say (Isaiah 9:14), "Prophets who give false instruction, such are the tails.⁠" "You will always (rak) be at the top,⁠" you will only (rak) be few in this world, not forever. Another interpretation: "You will always (rak) be at the top (above),⁠"When you come to ask something, you should not ask what is above, and not ask what is below, in the way that the [other] nations of the world [ask], as it is stated (Isaiah 29:4), "your speech shall sound like a ghost’s from the ground.⁠"As these nations that you are dispossessing, etc.,⁠" such that you should ask from it: This is that which is stated in the verse (Isaiah 8:19), "Now, should they say to you, 'Inquire of the ghosts and familiar spirits that chirp and moan,'" say to them (Isaiah 8:19, cont.), "Does a people inquire of its god, of the dead on behalf of the living?⁠" The needs of the dead are done by the living. Would the needs of the living be done by the dead? "That moan,⁠" as they do not do not serve the needs of their heads. "As these nations, etc. but not like this to you.⁠" There is a story about a convert who was from Batsra. He said, "When I was a foreigner, I would ask of idolatry. Now I have become an Israelite and it is forbidden to me.⁠" What did he do? He saddled his donkey and went to a province and he did not ask of the idolatry. He entered the province and its priest was standing at the entrance of the province. When he entered, he saw them and was immediately afraid. He descended from the donkey and the donkey fled. The [people] that were standing there came down and he became frightened of them. [But] they stood him upright, supported him and said, "This old man fell.⁠" They [then] immediately brought him to his donkey, and [so] he entered in peace and left in peace. What caused him this? Because he held on to the Torah. Hence, "As those nations that you are about to dispossess listen to soothsayers and augurs, but the Lord your God did not give like this to you.⁠" There is a story about Rabbi Yannai and Rabbi Yochanan who were sitting at the entrance of Teveriya. There were two astrologers there who saw two Jews going out to their work. These astrologers said, "Those two men will go out but they will not come back, [as] a snake will poison them.⁠" Rabbi Yannai and Rabbi Yochanan heard [this]. What did they do? They sat at the entrance of the province to know if those two men would come back from their work. And they did come back and Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Yannai saw them. They said to the astrologers, "Did you not say that these two men would go out but not come back, as a snake would poison them?⁠" They said, "Yes.⁠" They said [back], "Behold, they went out in peace and came back in peace.⁠" The astrologers observed them [and then] they said to them, "Tell us, what did you do today?⁠" They said, "We did not do anything [unusual], but rather that which we are accustomed to do. We read the Shema and we prayed.⁠" They said to them, "You are Jews, the words of astrologers do not materialize with you, as you are Jews.⁠" Hence, "but the Lord your God did not give like this to you.⁠"

[Siman 11] Another interpretation: "As these nations that you are about to dispossess, etc. but you not like this to you" (Deuteronomy 18:14). It is speaking about Avraham, as he saw through astrology that the constellation said to him that Avram and Sarai would not have a child. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do for them? Rabbi Yehudah beRabbi Simon said in the name of Rabbi Chanin, "It is written (Genesis 15:5), 'And He took him outside and said, "Observe towards the heavens.⁠"' He raised him above the dome of the firmament (above the skies).⁠" As "out" can only [indicate] firmament, as it is stated (Proverbs 8:26), "Before He had made the land and the outside places.⁠" And it is also stated (Isaiah 33:7), "Behold the [angels of] Ariel yelled outward.⁠" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "That which you said (Genesis 15:3), 'Behold, the one over my household shall inherit me'; the matter is not like this, 'but rather the one who will come out of your innards will inherit you' (Genesis 15:4).⁠" He said [back] to Him, "Are You telling me that I will have a child?⁠" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Leave your measure! Avram will not have a child, Avraham will have a child; Sarai will not have a child, Sarah will have a child.⁠" "And He took him outside.⁠" He said to him, "Behold, you are above the constellation. Who is greater than whom? Is it not you, as you are above it?⁠" "Observe towards the heavens.⁠" It is not written, "Lift up your eyes towards the heavens,⁠" here, but rather "observe.⁠" [This] is like a man who observes [what is] below from above. So is it stated (Psalms 13:4), "Observe; answer me, Lord, my God.⁠" "And He said to him, 'So will be your seed'" (Genesis 15:5). Moshe said to them, "Just as Avraham left the constellation and did not occupy himself with it, also you.⁠" "The Lord, your God, did not give you like this" (Deuteronomy 18:14).

[Siman 12] Another interpretation: "As those nations that you are about to dispossess listen to soothsayers and augurs.⁠" Jeremiah the prophet said (Jeremiah 10:11), "Thus shall you say to them, etc.⁠" Rabbi Eliezer said, "'Thus shall you say to them': If the nations of the world say to you to worship idolatry, say to them, 'If it is able to remove the heavens and the earth, we will serve it. But if not, "Let it perish from the earth" (Jeremiah 10:11).'" Rabbi Yehoshua said, "Say to them, 'If they are able to make the heavens and the earth, we will serve them, But if not, "Let it perish from the earth".'" Rabbi Akiva said, "Say to them, 'If they are able to remove the heavens and the earth, and to make others from a different host, we will serve them, But if not, "Let it perish from the earth".'" Hadrian had three philosophers and he would not do a thing until he consulted with them. He said to them, "I seek to make myself into a god.⁠" The three of them said to him, one [like] the words of Rabbi Eliezer, one [like] the words of Rabbi Yehoshua, and one [like] the words of Rabbi Akiva. He went to his home and was distressed. His wife came to him [and] said, "Why are you distressed?⁠" He said to her, "Because I sought to make myself into a god and they did not let me.⁠" She said to them, "They did not say to you what is fitting. [Hence] I will say something else to you. There is a surety with you [from God]. Give Him his surety and [then you can] make yourself into a god.⁠" He said to her, "And what is His surety?⁠" She said to him, "The soul.⁠" He said to her, "If my soul departs, what shall I do?⁠" She said to him, "You are not able to control the soul that is in you, as so is it written (Ecclesiastes 8:8), 'A man does not control the spirit to imprison the spirit.' So how can you make yourself into a god?⁠" Four men made themselves into gods and were [forced to have] sexual relations like women (were sodomized): Pharaoh, Joash, Hiram and Nebuchadnezzar (etc. as in Midrash Tanchuma, Vaera 9).