Rashi emphasizes that Moshe was afraid, unlike the rest of the Jewish people. Thus, the verse “For I have delivered him into your hand” follows “Do not fear him,” which was directed specifically to Moshe. Since the Jewish people viewed Og as merely another gentile king, they had no reason to fear him. Moshe, however, feared that Og might be protected by the merit of his service to Avraham. Therefore, Rashi explains that the continuation, “I have delivered him into your hand,” also refers specifically to Moshe.
Rashi comments on the verses (Bamidbar 21:34–35):
“Do not fear him”—“For Moshe was afraid to wage war against him, lest the merit of Avraham stand for him...”
“And they struck him”—“Moshe killed him, as stated in the Gemara Berachos: ‘He uprooted a mountain three parasangs in size...’”
This requires explanation. Why does Rashi state, according to the simple meaning of the verse, that Moshe killed Og, when the Torah says “they struck him” in the plural?
One cannot say that this is because of Hashem’s promise to Moshe, “I have delivered him into your hand,” since similar language is used regarding Sichon, yet there Rashi does not explain that Moshe personally killed him. In the simple meaning of the text, “into your hand” would ordinarily refer to the entire Jewish people.
The explanation is that Rashi specifically notes that Moshe was afraid, whereas the rest of Israel was not. For them, Og was simply another gentile ruler. Moshe alone feared that Og’s merit from his connection with Avraham might protect him. Since “I have delivered him into your hand” follows “Do not fear him,” and that phrase was directed specifically to Moshe, Rashi understands that “into your hand” also refers specifically to Moshe.
Why, then, does the Torah use the plural expression “they struck him”?
Rashi hints to the answer by citing the Gemara’s statement that Og “uprooted a mountain three parasangs wide.” Og intended thereby to destroy the entire Jewish camp, which was three parasangs in size.
By attempting to annihilate all of Israel, Og forfeited whatever merit he possessed from Avraham. At that point Moshe became included together with all of Israel, and he no longer had any reason to fear Og. Therefore the Torah says “they struck him”, because Moshe is now acting as part of the collective Jewish people.
Furthermore, once Og sought to kill all of Israel, every Jew became obligated under the principle “If someone comes to kill you, rise early and kill him first.” Thus, although Moshe physically killed Og, he did so as the representative and agent of the entire Jewish nation. Therefore the Torah appropriately uses the plural expression “they struck him.”
The Inner Dimension of Torah
Just as with Og, the process began with “I have delivered him into your hand”—a miracle directed specifically to Moshe—but in practice the salvation benefited the entire Jewish people, so too regarding Yud-Beis Tammuz.
Yud-Beis Tammuz is the Festival of Liberation of the Previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn. Although the redemption was his personal liberation, the salvation extended to all those who bear the name Israel. His redemption was not merely a private event, but a deliverance and source of strength for the entire Jewish people.