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The Book of Deuteronomy – ‫חומש דברים‬ 36

Torah Portion Shoftim

In the Torah portion Shoftim there is a verse:

"Only he shall not increase for himself horses, and he shall not return
the nation to Egypt in order to increase horse(s)." (17:16)

In the beginning of the verse the word "horses" appears in the plural and at the
end of the verse it appears in the singular: "horse."

What is the reason for this?

The "Chafetz Chaim" – Rabbi Israel Meir of Radin explained:

The evil inclination knows that in order to entice a person, at the beginning he
needs to offer him a very alluring offer with a large payoff. Only then in general
will a person be enticed to commit a sin.
And after the person is enticed once or twice for what seems to him a great
reward, he is ready after that to commit a sin also for a reward that is much
lower.

Our Sages taught us: "Since a person has committed a sin and repeated it, it is
made to him as something permissible."

Therefore, says the Chafetz Chaim, the Torah opens with a verse that cautions
the king of Israel in the plural: "he shall not increase for himself horses" – that is
to say, even if they offer him many horses at a low price, it is prohibited for him
to be enticed to acquire them, for if he will not pass this test and he will increase
for himself horses – he will deteriorate more and more and in the end he will
want to return to Egypt even for one horse…

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