God's Oath

There is a very perplexing Rashi at the end of the sequence of curses and blessings in the Torah portion of Ki Tavo. The Torah states that God has made an eternal covenant with the Jewish people in the Plains of Moab, just like the covenant sealed at Sinai. Rashi interprets this passage in a way that seems to be at odds with what actually transpired.

Rashi states that the covenant was sealed through both "curse" and "oath," and yet in the verses itself, neither on Sinai or the Plains of Moab is there any mention whatsoever of an oath.

The question therefore is when this oath actually transpired; is the language figurative? Can an oath be something so ephemeral and transient, as to be a matter of mere awareness or consciousness, but in the absence of any words having been uttered?

This question bothered me, leaving me baffled. And so today, I opened a book called "Rashi K'Pshuto," the "Simple Explanation of Rashi," which takes a unique approach. The oath, the book explains, was not one that we, the Jewish people took, but rather, one that God made; and indeed there is mention in the verses of the inviolable oath that Hashem made to the Jewish people, founded not on our worthiness at a given moment, but rather, almost sealed in blood, that hinged on God's undying connection to our forefathers who imbued us with our values, and which are themselves testament to the promise Hashem Himself feels bound to forever more.