כלי יקר — וידבר ה' אל משה בעצם היום הזה

Q — The expression 'בעצם היום הזה' appears, per Chazal, in three places — Noach entering the teivah, yetziat Mitzrayim, and Moshe's death. The usual midrashic explanation: Hashem performs these events publicly to silence those who would prevent them. What does Kli Yakar add?

A — A second, layered reading. 'יום' in 'בעצם היום הזה' is not literal day but a metaphor for human life — and the 'evening' of that day is normally the moment of death (when 'the sun sets' on a person). About Moshe the Torah uniquely says: 'לא כהתה עינו ולא נס לחה' — his eye did not dim, his vigor did not flag. So for Moshe, the moment of death was *not* his evening. It was 'בעצם היום הזה' — high noon, sun at full strength. The phrase is itself a eulogy: Moshe died at noon, not at sunset.