Kommentar zu Dewarim 8:22

כל המצוה — Explain this in its plain sense: EVERY COMMANDMENT. — And a Midrashic explanation is (taking it to mean, “the whole of the commandment … shall ye be heedful to do”): If thou hast once made a beginning with a meritorious deed, carry it out to the end, because it bears the name only of him (it is attributed only to him) who does the last part of it, as it is said, (Joshua 24:32) "And the bones of Joseph which the children of Israel brought up from Egypt they buried in Shechem”. But did not Moses alone busy himself with them to bring them up (cf. Exodus 13:19)? But because he had no opportunity to complete this (to inter them), the children of Israel completed it, it was called by their name (Midrash Tanchuma, Eikev 6).

ALL THE COMMANDMENT. The purport of it is to state: “Although I have admonished you [specifically] with respect to the ordinances,⁵⁶Above, 7:12. all the [other] commandments shall ye observe to do also, for in observing all of them [the ordinances and the commandments] you will live and be fruitful in the fruit of the body, the fruit of the cattle, and the fruit of the ground,” all as mentioned above.⁵⁷Ibid., Verse 13.

כל המצוה אשר אנכי מצוך היום תשמרון לעשות, the objective of people worshipping idols is nothing other than their obsession with transient values which consist mostly of three categories, having children, living to a ripe old age, and success in amassing money or its equivalent. The Torah promises that by observing G’d’s commandments as spelled out in the Torah one may achieve all these three objectives. This is meant by the Torah writing: למען תחיון, when commanding the laws of the Torah G’d did not only mean to guarantee you eternal life in the hereafter, but He had in mind also successful, rewarding life on earth.

כל המצוה, "All the commandment which I command you this day, etc." Precisely which commandment is Moses talking about? Besides, had he not already spoken about the need to perform all the commandments in verse 12 of the last chapter? What reason was there to repeat the same thing again at this point? Moses was a clever psychologist, familiar with the workings of the human mind and psyche. He realised that there is a built-in tendency in us to become progressively more lax in our observance, especially if we have performed a number of commandments meticulously and have chosen to perform one or two commandments with special attention to all its details. Once one has done this one is apt to look upon oneself as a pretty good Jew and one tends to be less punctilious with the performance of other commandments. People who are preoccupied with Torah study have a tendency to pat themselves on the back and to disregard some of the commandments which they view as being of minor significance. Such neglect is bound to result in such people suffering various kinds of afflictions; they may experience that others do not show them the respect which they feel is their due, etc. Moses therefore admonishes each and everyone of us not to forget to perform the whole (range) of G'd's commandments. The only effective way Moses found to bring this point across to us was by describing all of the 613 commandments as one single Commandment, i.e. כל המצוה.

The entire mitzvah … you are to guard so as to fulfill. To teach that even when the Jewish people had not reached the ability to perform all the mitzvos, as when they first entered the land of Israel and there will still some mitzvos in which they were not obligated until after they had inherited, divided and settled the land, nevertheless, Hashem commanded them to learn all the mitzvos, so that when they have the ability to perform them they will be able to do so properly. From here we also learn that during the exile we must learn how to act once we are redeemed from that exile.

כל המצוה, “The entire commandment, etc.” Although I have already warned you concerning how the category of commandments known as משפטים are to be observed, similar instructions apply to the performance of the other commandments of the Torah as your successful life in your own land including your enjoying children and increasing amounts of livestock as well as bountiful harvests will depend on this, as mentioned earlier.

This can be understood in its plain sense. I.e., the word מצוה (lit., commandment) refers to a [whole] category, as if it said, “all the commandments.”

Kap. 8. V. 1. Die völlige Nichtigkeit der heidnischen Gottheiten und daraus ihre gänzliche Entfernung und die Entfernung alles dessen, was nur irgendwie in Beziehung zu ihnen steht, aus dem ganzen jüdischen Gesichts- und Besitzkreise, bildete den Inhalt des Schlusses des vorigen Kapitels. Als Gegensatz dazu hebt dieses Kapitel die höchste Positivität Gottes hervor, wie Israel sie erfahren, und fordert deren stete Vergegenwärtigung, aus welcher die treue Erfüllung seines Gesetzes und damit die dauernde Begründung unseres Heiles allein hervorgehen wird.

כל המצוה, “All the instruction, etc.” our author understands the word כל in our verse not so much as “all,” i.e. each and every, but as “the whole commandment.” Once you have begun to fulfill a commandment you must complete what you have undertaken. This rule has been spelled out specifically in the Jerusalem Talmud, tractate Rosh Hashanah, chapter 1, halachah 8. The text is: when someone has commenced to perform a commandment he is told to complete it. If someone has commenced to perform a commandment and it is completed by someone else, the last person gets the credit for having performed it. The source of this ruling is traced to Moses who had commenced the commandment of transferring Joseph’s remains to the land of Israel, (Exodus 13,19) but who could not complete it as he never crossed the Jordan. The credit for burying his remains in the land of Israel is therefore given to the Jewish people, as we know from Joshua 24,32: “and the Children of Israel buried Joseph’s remains which they had brought with them from Egypt, and they were interred in the city of Sh’chem on a plot of land which his father Yaakov had acquired for the price of 1000 kessito as spelled out in Genesis 37,27. This plot became an ancestral heritage to the tribe of Joseph.” (Compare Babylonian Talmud, tractate Sotah) folio 13. Rabbi Sh’muel bar Nachmani is quoted in the Talmud, tractate Sotah folio 13, as saying that if someone commences to fulfill a commandment but fails to complete it (not by circumstances beyond his control), he will wind up burying his wife and his children. He adds that we know this from Yehudah (Yaakov’s son) compare Genesis 37,26, who said: “what profit is there in killing our brother Joseph.” Yehudah, of course buried both his wife and two of his sons, as we read in Genesis 38, 7-12. Some scholars add that this was why the brothers demoted him as we know from the beginning of that chapter. Instead of saving Joseph, the brothers sat down to eat their meal, and in the interval Joseph was taken out of the pit by Ishmaelites and sold as a slave. Yehudah said that they could not pronounce benedictions of G–d while planning to commit murder of their brother. They therefore interrupted, and sold Joseph, before they sat down again to eat. Yehudah is perceived as having begun to save Joseph from death but not having brought him back safely to his father. The Torah had testified that the brothers listened to him, so that it could be assumed that they would also have agreed to bring him back to his father. At any rate, this is the meaning of Moses referring to כל מצוה, “the whole commandment.”

כל המצוה, ”Every commandment,” Moses refers especially to the commandment not to covet the gold of the idolatries mentioned in verse 25 of the previous chapter.

ורביתם, you will multiply by having numerous children.

There is also a Midrashic explanation: If you began to fulfill a mitzvah, complete it, etc. I.e., the word כל is related to the word, “And Hashem completed (ויכל) on the seventh day, etc. (Bereishis 2:2).” Alternatively, the word כל is related to the word כלה (entire). In other words, you should perform the mitzvah in its entirety — if you begin to fulfill it, complete it. According to this, the word מצוה written in this verse refers to “a single commandment.”

He resorted to a way of illustrating his point which is incontrovertible, based on the Zohar volume one page 170. Acccording to the Zohar man has 248 bones and 365 sinews. G'd commanded us 365 negative commandments and 248 positive commandments, one each to correspond to each of these parts of our body. If one suffers a pain or hurt in one of his bones or sinews he should examine which one of the commandments he had neglected so that the pain in question might be due to such neglect. A man will not be satisfied if in response to his cries of pain caused by the afflicted bone he is told by his doctor that seeing that 247 of his bones do not hurt him he should not really be complaining but count his blessings. Similarly, we must relate to each one of the 613 commandments. We cannot pride ourselves merely on the commandments we do observe but must be keenly aware of the damaging effect on our spiritual health of any commandment which we fail to observe when we have the opportunity. All of these considerations are included in Moses' reference to the need for us to observe the whole commandment, both the negative part and the positive part. The reason for this is למען תחיון, "so that you will live and multiply and come and inherit the land." Inheritance of the land of Israel is conditional on מצוה observance, which in turn is the guarantee of our spiritual and physical wellbeing.

כל המצוה וגו׳. Nichts von allem Heidnischen kann das Geringste zu unserem Heile beitragen, auch nur der leiseste Zusammenhang mit ihm reisst uns in seinen Richtigkeits- und Vernichtungsbann mit hinein. Ist doch die Überwindung allen Heidentums das Ziel der göttlichen Waltung und der Sendung Israels inmitten der Völker. Gegründet aber wird unser Heil nicht durch bloße Verneinung des Heidentums, sondern durch völlige positive Hingebung an die Verwirklichung des göttlichen Willens, den uns sein Gesetz offenbart. Das von allem Heidnischen reingehaltene jüdische Haus (Kap.7, 26) muss eine Stätte der Gesetzerfüllung werden, wenn es eine Pflanzstätte unseres Lebens und Gedeihens werden soll. Was dem Völkerwahn das Götterbild im Hause ist, das ist uns die Mizwa.

ובאתם וירשתם, attaining wealth and honour by inheriting the land.

You may query that in the parable we presented the example does not match the subject matter of the Torah, i.e. אין המשל דומה לנמשל. In the parable we described the hurt experienced by a single organ upsets the entire body's balance, something that is not the case when applied to מצוה-performance. This is why Moses had to describe the commandments in the singular. He wanted to make it easy for us to appreciate that when the 613 commandments are viewed as a single unit that the non-observance of even a single one of them can destroy the entire balance of the fabric and throw everything out of kilter.

למען תחיון ורביתם ובאתם וירשתם: die Erfüllung der Mizwa gibt uns persönliches Leben und im Kindersegen sich kundgebendes Gedeihen, und gewährt uns die äußere Selbständigkeit und Blüte im Lande. Individuelles Leben, Familiensegen und Nationalwohlstand sind uns lediglich durch die Erfüllung der Mizwa gewährleistet, in ihrer Hut vollbringen wir die Hut unseres Glückes.

ורביתם, "and you will multiply." This means that any potential obstacles to all these blessings will be neutralised through meticulous מצוה-observance, ensuring your continued unimpeded growth in numbers.

ובאתם, "and you will come." This is one of the greatest messages in the Torah. Who was comparable to Moses in מצוה-performance, closeness to G'd, etc.? And yet Moses was not one of those to whom the promise "you will come to the land" applied! Surely there can be no more potent warning to the people at large to be careful not to become guilty of anything which would preclude them from attaining their objective of an inheritance in the Holy Land! תשמרון לעשות, "you shall observe to carry out;" The word תשמרון suggests that a person must keep a lookout for an opportunity to observe certain commandments which he has not had an opportunity to perform.

The entire verse may also be understood by reference to Moed Katan 28 where we learned that there are three major blessings in life which one does not secure through merit but which are governed by "mazzal." They are: children, life (health), and a good livelihood (compare what we wrote on page 1810). Moses illuminates this subject from a new angle. He promises that if you will make every effort to observe all the commandments viewing them as an integral whole, you are assured of the three blessings which normally are subject only to the influence of "mazzal." He begins by describing the commandments in the singular, i.e. כל המצוה, and promises למען תחיון, life, ורביתם, children, ובאתם וירשתם, and you will get your inheritance, i.e. an ample livelihood. If you needed proof that matters which are subject to "mazzal" can become subject to G'd's personal providence, look at the example of Abraham who said of himself that he would not have children as his "mazzal" did not indicate that he would have them. Due to his gigantic endeavour to do G'd's bidding he eventually had many children in spite of his negative "mazzal."

התשמר מצותו [THAT HE MIGHT KNOW WHAT WAS IN THY HEART] WHETHER THOU WOULDST KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS — viz., the commandment that ye should not put Him to the test, and that you should not doubt Him (i.e. His ways).

AND THOU SHALT REMEMBER ALL THE WAY WHICH THE ETERNAL THY G-D HATH LED THEE etc. He is stating that you can realize that in the observance of the commandments is entailed the perfect good and there will not be the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread,⁵⁸Psalms 37:25. for G-d supported you in the wilderness with the performance of a great miracle because you followed after His commandments. I have already explained⁵⁹Exodus 16:4 (Vol.II, pp. 221-222). in the section of the manna [the verse before us], that He might afflict thee, to try thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no, for [the manna itself] was a great trial to them. They did not know what counsel to adopt for themselves when they entered the great wilderness, a place of no food, and they had none of the manna [in reserve because it could not be stored from day to day] but each day’s portion came down on its day, and as the sun waxed hot, it melted,⁶⁰Ibid., Verse 21. although they hungered mightily after it. All this they did to keep the commandment of G-d, to follow as He commanded. Now G-d could have led them through the [populated] cities that were around them, but instead He brought them into this trial [of never having any food in reserve] for He knew that as a result [of this experience] they would keep His commandments forever.

וזכרת את כל הדרך, during which He gave you bread to eat, clothes to wear, by supernatural means.

למען ענותך, this is the kind of affliction endured by people who have nothing to eat. Their lives hang by a thread each and every day.

וזכרת את כל הדרך,” you will remember the entire route, etc.” Nachmanides explains here that Moses reminds the people that they had first hand experience that by keeping G’d’s commandments, they, who had come this far, had enjoyed G’d’s miracles throughout their trek in the desert only because they did keep the commandments.

Not to test Him and not to be critical of Him. Rashi is answering the question: Just because Hashem oppresses them will they guard His commandments? [Therefore] Rashi explains the verse as, “Adonoy oppressed them in order to know… will you guard His commandments.” I.e., that you are not to test Him, etc. It is at if the verse says: ...to know if you will be critical of Him after He oppresses you and say, “Why do I need His commandments?”

V. 2. וזכרת את כל הדרך. Diese alles andere ausschließende Zuversicht in die der göttlichen Mizwa zu zollende Pflichttreue, als einzig mögliche und allein völlig genügende Vermittlung unseres Zusammenhanges mit Gott und als einzig mögliche und allein völlig genügende Begründung unseres Heiles, bildet also den Grund und Boden unserer Bestimmung, dass Gott, durch eine vierzigjährige Wanderung in der Wüste uns ganz eigentlich zu dieser Zuversicht und Überzeugungsgewißheit hat erziehen wollen.

וזכרת את כל הדרך, “you will remember the whole way, etc.” This refers to Moses having told the people not to lust after silver and gold, (Deut. 7.25) as they had managed without any of that for forty years in the desert. [It is not silver and gold that keeps us alive. Ed.]

וזכרת את כל הדרך, “you will remember the whole trek;” if your heart urges you to covet the gold and silver which are part of the idols of these nations, I remind you of the last 40 years in the desert when you had no need for, nor even use for gold and silver;

לנסותך, to test you if, seeing that you did not have to work hard for a livelihood, you would in return carry out His will.

למען ענותך לנסותך, “in order to afflict you by testing you;” Entering a desert that did not offer means of survival was indeed a great trial for you, and you were totally dependent daily on manna from heaven, never knowing if it would materialize on the following day. G’d did all this in order to train you to observe His commandments and to follow His instructions, where to go, when to rest, etc. He could have led you on a highway leading through cities, but He did not, as He wanted you to know that you could survive by means of His largesse alone. This experience taught you that following His commandments is the fountain of life.

Dieser Wüstenwanderung unter Gottes Schutz sollen wir daher stets eingedenk bleiben, hat sie doch in dem jährlichen Hüttenfeste das ewige Denkmal in Israel erhalten (siehe Wajikra 23, 42 u. 43). — למען ענתך, eigentlich: dich völlig arm zu machen, dich alle Selbständigkeit verlieren zu lassen. לנסתך, dich zu erproben, ׳לדעת וגו, damit du selber dich kennen lernest, kennen lernest, wie viel du bereits von jener sittlichen Kraft besitzest, die zur schwankenlosen Erfüllung des göttlichen Gesetzes gehört. Gänzliche Hingebung an die göttliche Führung, ein von allen anderen Sorgen, als der Sorge, unsere Pflicht zu tun, freimachendes Gottvertrauen, das ist die Grundgesinnung, auf welcher unser Gehorsam gegen Gottes Gebote allein beruhen kann. Bereit sein, wenn es sein muss, mit Weib und Kind in die Wüste zu ziehen, um Gott treu und gehorsam zu bleiben, das ist die Frage, die wir uns alle vorzulegen haben, um einen Gradmesser unserer sittlichen Kraft zu haben.

לדעת את אשר בלבבך, so that what you had in your mind will come to light, so that every angel will know that you had a justified claim to a higher rank in the universe than even the ministering angels.

למען ענותך, “in order to test you to see if you would revolt.

התשמור מצותיו אם לא “if you would observe His commandments or not.” Actually the term נסיין in the sense of a “test,” that could be passed or failed, does not exist in G-d’s vocabulary, seeing that He knows the result of the “test” in advance, being omniscient. G-d employs such “tests” in order to demonstrate to the attribute of justice as well as to the attribute of mercy the true nature of the Jewish people, as I have explained in my commentary on Exodus 16,4.

AND HE FED THEE WITH MANNA, WHICH THOU KNOWEST NOT, NEITHER DID THY FATHERS KNOW. The purport thereof is that you did not know about the manna that you could live by it for many years, nor did such a tradition reach you from your fathers. Or he [Moses] may be saying that He has done with you this great kindness which your holy fathers [i.e., the patriarchs] did not obtain, for, although they walked after Him wherever He commanded them, as is stated, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house,⁶¹Genesis 12:1. yet their eminence did not suffice that He should support them with the corn of heaven⁶²Psalms 78:24. as He did for you. And so the Rabbis have said in the Midrash Bamidbar Sinai Rabbah:⁶³Bamidbar Rabbah 1:2. “Because of the merit of Moses you ate the manna that your holy fathers did not see, as it is said, neither did thy fathers know.” And he explained that He did this in order to inform them that it is He Who preserves man with whatever He decrees, and if so observe His commandments, and live.⁶⁴Proverbs 4:4.
It is possible to explain that the expressions And He afflicted thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna refer to different subjects. He is stating that He afflicted you when you travelled in the wilderness for forty years, similar to the verse, He afflicted my strength in the way,⁶⁵Psalms 102:24. [meaning that travel drains the strength]. And He suffered thee to hunger, at the beginning [of the journey in the wilderness] as the people said, to kill this whole assembly with hunger,⁶⁶Exodus 16:3. and afterwards He fed you with the manna to make you aware that by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Eternal doth man live.⁶⁷Verse 3 before us. So also, Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not,⁶⁸Further, Verse 16. telling them of the miracle that was done to them. And the expression that He might afflict thee [further in Verse 16] reverts to that which he said [in the preceding Verse 15], Who led thee through the great and dreadful wilderness, wherein were serpents, fiery serpents, and scorpions, and draught etc.⁶⁹Ibid., Verse 15. In other words, since according to Ramban’s interpretation before us, the expression that He might afflict thee refers not to the manna but to the journey through the wilderness, then we must also say that the expression that He might afflict thee in Verse 16 preceding the subject of the manna (Verse 17) is to be interpreted as reverting to the beginning of Verse 15, where the subject of the wilderness is mentioned. But that which He said in the section of the manna, that I may, try them, whether they will walk in My law or not⁷⁰Exodus 16:4. means that I will provide them their needs and fulfill their request and [then] see if they will hearken to Me when goods increase.⁷¹Ecclesiastes 5:10. It is the evil of riches which leads to temptation (Proverbs 30:8). This is in consonance with the plain meaning of Scripture, but the first interpretation is true and correct.

He fed you the mon … in order to inform you. This teaches that eating mon gives them intelligence. Similarly Ezra states, “You also gave Your good spirit to instruct them, and did not withhold Your mon from their mouth” (Nechemia 9:20). This is the meaning of the statement (Yalkus Shimoni Shemos 13): The Torah was only given to those who eat mon.

ויענך וירעבך, "He afflicted you and made you suffer hunger, etc." Why did Moses link the afflictions to G'd feeding the Israelites the manna? Does this not project the idea that manna was something of low rank, its only function being to save the Israelites from the pangs of hunger? How can we reconcile this with the many complimentary descriptions the Torah makes about the manna extolling its superiority as heavenly food? The Sifri in its commentary on Numbers 11,7 insists that the reason for that whole verse was to extol the virtues of the manna! Moreover, we are told in Yuma 75 that manna is the food of the angels based on לחם אבירים אכל כל איש, "each man ate the bread of heroes" (Psalms 78,25). I believe that here too Moses spoke of the excellence of the manna. There are two kinds of foods. Some foods are absorbed without negative side-effects by both healthy and sick people. The reason is that these foods do not contain any harmful impurities (additives). The entire food is capable of being digested by our system and is absorbed by our various organs. Such food reinforces our health. There are other kinds of food which, while good for the healthy person, pose a danger for the sick and may even cause his death. This is the reason our verse speaks of ויענך וירעבך ויאכלך, "He afflicted you, He starved you, and He fed you." The afflictions Moses speaks of refer to the tedium of the journey through the desert. The words "He starved you," refer to the absence of food; it is a well known fact that as a result of the discomfort experienced while wandering in the desert bodily functions such as those of the digestive tract are impaired. If, under such circumstances, a person consumes the kind of food which is difficult to digest it will certainly harm him. Even if such a person eats such food only because he is very hungry it is liable to make him sick. We know from daily experience that when a person suffers afflictions he detests the thought of food even if according to his regular meal times he should be very hungry. Moses therefore speaks of G'd feeding the Israelites the manna, the kind of food which even people who suffer from afflictions can eat without danger to their health. This is something quite independent of the fact that manna tasted pleasantly, "like wafers with honey."

אשר לא ידעת ולא ידעו אבותיך, “you had no idea that one could subsist adequately on an exclusive diet of manna, nor did your forefathers know this.” Another way of understanding this verse is not the new dimension of the people‘s knowledge, but Moses wants the people to appreciate the extent of G’d’s loving kindness. Their forefathers, who had been loyal followers of G’d at all times, and had not rebelled time and again, had not been provided for by G’d as they had done, having their needs presented to them on a platter, so to speak. They had had to earn their livelihood by hard work, in particular their founding father Yaakov. There is yet another way in which we can understand our verse, i.e. that the words ויענך, וירעיבך, ויאכילך את המן are each something different, a subject by itself. The word ויענך, “He afflicted you,” refers to the trial of having to wander through a barren desert. The word וירעיבך, “He let you starve,” refers to the period until the manna fell, some 30 days after the Exodus, the time when the people had complained to Moses that he had taken them out of Egypt only in order to kill them in the desert. Finally, the words ויאכילך את המן, they were taught the great lesson that man does not live by bread alone, but by every utterance that emanates from Hashem. In Yuma 74 the Talmud uses our verse to establish the principle that there is a basic difference between the outlook of people “who have bread in their basket, and those who do not.” Although, G’d provided on a daily basis, the people, as opposed to shoppers in a supermarket, could not feel at ease until after the new supply had arrived and was seen to have arrived. The ongoing miraculous nature is what is stressed here and what distinguishes a Jewish people in the desert from Jews before and after who also had to put their trust in G’d. The words למען ענותך refer to the statementאשר הוליכך במדבר.ארבעים שנה, “Who has led you through the desert for 40 years,” as this is all part of the ongoing miracle, whereas the words למען אנסנו הילך בתורתי in Exodus 16,4 where the manna appears for the first time, does not refer to the manna as daily miraculous food, but refers to G’d in general providing the people’s needs. There, G’d uses this as a test to see whether the people are grateful for G’d’s largesse. The latter is the way to understand the verse before us at its face value. However, the commentary given previously is more in keeping with the moral/ethical values Moses is trying to convey throughout the Book of Deuteronomy.

ויענך וירעיבך, “He afflicted you and let you go hungry.” The word “He afflicted you,” refers to the tedium of the journey, compare Palms 102,24: “He drained my strength on the way.” The word “He let you go hungry,” refers to denial of the kind of conventional food eaten by the other nations.

um dich durch eigene vierzigjährige Erfahrung die Überzeugung gewinnen zu lassen. כי ׳לחם .לא על הלחם וגו ist die, der Natur und der Konkurrenz der Mitlebenden "abgerungene" Nahrung. "Brot" ist das Produkt der Natur und der die Welt beherrschenden Menschenintelligenz. "Brot" ist somit die Vergegenwärtigung der durch Beherrschung der Natur im sozialen Zusammenwirken die eigene Existenz schaffenden Menschenintelligenz. Die Wahnvorstellung nun, die in dieser schaffenden Menschenkraft die alleinige Bedingung des irdischen Menschendaseins erblickt und der Gotteswaltung als des allerersten Faktors der Menschennahrung vergisst, obgleich deren spendende Fürsorge ein jedes Stückchen Brot vergegenwärtigt, mit welchem wir einen Augenblick unseres Daseins fristen, diese Wahnvorstellung ist die gefährlichste Klippe für unsere Pflichttreue auf Erden. "Die Sorge ums Brot für Weib und Kind" ist ein an sich so berechtigter Antrieb unserer Tätigkeit, dass diese Sorge uns leicht alle andere Rücksicht aus den Augen verlieren lässt, sobald wir glauben, dass wir und nur wir allein unsere und der Unsrigen Existenz zu schaffen haben, dass jede der Natur und Mitwelt abgekämpfte Errungenschaft unsere und der Unsrigen Existenz sichert, gleichgültig, wie diese Errungenschaft gewonnen ward, ob wir dabei Gottes Gesetz beachtet und nur innerhalb der von Gott gewiesenen Bahnen "Brot" erworben, oder nur mit klugem, gewandtem Griff das Brot für unser Haus erbeutet, ohne der göttlichen Zustimmung dabei zu gedenken. Und wo die auf die eigene Menschenkraft allein ausblickende "Sorge ums Brot" uns nicht aus den Bahnen des Rechts und der Pflicht hinaus verleitet, da ist sie doch ganz geeignet, unseren Blick über die Fürsorge für den gegenwärtigen Augenblick in eine immer weiter und weiter sich ausspinnende Zukunft zu leiten, dass wir nimmer unserer vermeintlichen Pflichtaufgabe Genüge geleistet zu haben uns bereden, so lange wir nicht auch für alle unsere und unserer Kinder und Kindeskinder kommenden Tage die Mittel der Existenz in vornherein erwerben, und so die "Brotsorge" zu einer unbegrenzten Jagd nach Erwerb sich gestaltet, die allem rein geistigen und sittlichen Interesse Denken und Atem versagt. —

ויענך, “He afflicted you, etc.” a reference to the tedium of the journey. Compare Psalms 102,24: ענה בדרך כוחי קצר ימי, “He drained my strength while on the way; He shortened my days.”

ויענך “He afflicted you,” on the way, as in Psalms 102,24: ענה בדרך כחי, “He drained my strength while I was on the way.”

ויאכילך את המן, “He fed you the manna.” This is celestial food, not terrestrial food.

Darum hat uns Gott in die große Schule einer vierzigjährigen Wanderung durch die Wüste geführt, hat uns in völliger Verlassenheit von all den Faktoren, die sonst aus der Natur und der Menschenkraft das Brot den Menschen gewähren, den einen Faktor, der in normalen Verhältnissen so leicht bis zum völligen Vergessen in den Hintergrund tritt, die göttliche Fürsorge, allein sichtbar hervortreten lassen, hat, "anstatt des den Stempel der Menschenerrungenschaft" tragenden "Brotes", mit dem "Manna" der Gottesbescheidung uns genährt, hat diese "von Gott beschiedene Nahrung" uns Tag für Tag unter solchen Modalitäten für jede Seele unserer Hütten werden lassen, dass damit in sprechendster Deutlichkeit die speziellste Gottesfürsorge für jede Seele und jedes Seelchen sich bekundete und wir in dieser Vorschule unseres künftigen Lebenslaufes die Grundwahrheit erlernten: dass nicht auf das "Brot", auf das, was das Brot an Natur- und Menschenstütze repräsentiert, allein der Mensch mit seiner Existenz gewiesen ist, sondern dass auf jeder Gottesbestimmung — auch das Brot, das der Mensch auf künstlichem Wege findet, ist nichts als eine solche — der Mensch sein Dasein fristen könne. Er ist nicht verloren, wenn er um der Gott zu zollenden Treue willen auf alles, was Natur und Menschen zu spenden vermögen, Verzicht leisten muss, und mitten in der reichsten Spende des Natur- und Menschenvermögens ist es nur die speziellste Gottesfürsorge, die ihn nährt (siehe zu Schmot Kap. 16).

וירעיבך, “He starved you;” by giving you only enough food for the same day. This is the meaning of the term רעבון; our sages formulated it thus: “one cannot compare a person with bread in his pocket to a person who has nothing in his pocket.” [One can’t have more than one day’s supply in one’s pocket. Ed.] (Compare Talmud tractate Yuma folio 74.)

וירעבך, “He starved you;” by not giving you more manna than enough for one day at a time. We have a principle that it is not possible to compare the state of mind of people who have a supply of food in their travel bag with those who, even though not hungry, do not have such a supply to fall back on.(Talmud, tractate Yuma folio 74) An alternate interpretation of the last phrase: וירעיבך, if G-d would have provided you with manna while you still had supplies of regular food which you took out of Egypt with you, you would not even have bothered to taste it in order to see if you liked it. This is why He waited until you were hungry, after having exhausted your supplies. You then had no option but to eat what G-d had provided for you. Seeing that this was something totally unknown to you or to your forefathers, G-d had to “starve” you in order to have you accept His food. [We know how often the people treated the manna as something lacking substance, and they even dubbed it as לחם הקלקל,” (Numbers 21,8). Ed,]

ולא ידעון אבותיך, “and which your forefathers had not known.” It is possible that these words are a reference to the patriarchs Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, in which case our verse would describe that the generation of Israelites journeying in the desert enjoyed manifestations of miracles not granted to their illustrious forbears. The reason for this is that the patriarchs had not been granted a proper appreciation of the attribute Hashem as had their descendants. The great and awesome miracles are usually performed by that attribute, and G’d had not needed to invoke this attribute during the lives of the patriarchs. He had contented Himself with the kind of miracles performed within the boundaries of nature, miracles orchestrated by the attribute Shaddai.

חיה על־ vergl. ועל חרבך תחיה (Bereschit 27, 40), wo das Schwert die Basis bildet, auf welcher Esaw seine Existenz finden wird. Ebenso (Ezech. 33, 19): ובשוב רשע מרשעתו ועשה משפט וצדקה עליהם הוא יחיה, das Recht und die Pflicht, zu welcher der Gesetzlose zurückkehrt, bilden eine Basis, auf welcher er das Dasein wieder findet, dessen er durch seine Pflichtvergessenheit verlustig geworden war.

למען הודיעך כי לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה האדם, “in order to make you realise that man does not live by bread alone.” כי על כל מוצא פי ה' יחיה האדם, “but by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord, does man live.” All His decrees and commandments emanating from Him are what enable man to live. They enable you to live on earth and in your afterlife.

לא על הלחם לבדו, “not on bread alone, etc.,” the bread that people normally eat does not possess the power by itself to keep man alive but it must contain also ingredients enabling it to grow, to be assimilated by the body through a digestive process. These ingredients are usually referred to as the power and mazzal of bread. The Torah here reflects a well known statement by our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 10,7) that there is not a blade of grass in this world which does not have its own mazzal, i.e. properties which enable it to accomplish the purpose of its Creator in calling it into existence. This mazzal tells the blade of grass: “grow!” We know all this from Job 38,33: “do you know the laws of heaven or impose its authority on earth? Can you send up an order to the clouds for an abundance of water to cover you?” Each of these powers reposing in any of the phenomena G’d created contains within it an adjacent power, all of which combined amount to what we call the laws of nature, the symphony of instruments which combine to keep this universe on track. Moses sums it all up as the מוצא פי ה', “the utterances of the Lord’s mouth.” Just as historic decisions are attributed to הדבר יצא מפי המלך, “the word had emerged from the mouth of the king,” (Esther 7,8) so Moses uses an idiom understandable to us human beings when describing G’d’s activities.
The principal message Moses teaches us here is that contrary to appearances, the power to keep us alive does not reside in the purely physical properties of bread, or any other food for that matter, but in the potential G’d has placed within that physical food to sustain and make grow the people who consume it. Bread was chosen as the example seeing that in order for man to even produce it so many steps are necessary that one could have thought that the finished product reflects man’s accomplishment more than it does G’d’s.
The closer we are to direct divine input and reduced reliance on intermediaries such as the eleven stages needed to convert a kernel of wheat into bread, the closer we are to the true life-giving forces of heaven. This is the meaning of Exodus 24,11: “they ‘saw’ G’d and they ate and drank.” The ability of the nobles of Israel described in that verse to have a vision of G’d is what gave them the energy they normally thought they derived by eating and drinking physical, conventional food.
Rabbi Yochanan in expounding this verse in Vayikra Rabbah 20,7 said: אכילה ודאית. This sounds as if he meant that the people described ate regular food after or in spite of having been granted such a vision of G’d. I do not believe that this is what Rabbi Yochanan had in mind. If that had been his meaning he need not have commented at all, as the matter is self-evident. I believe that Rabbi Yochanan meant that the effect of the vision described in the Torah was the same as the effect of consuming regular terrestrial food. Even though all the phenomena in the world are in the last analysis “intermediaries” having originated with G’d, i.e. are מוצא פי ה’, as we know from the very word כל, “everything,” the manna came more directly from G’d more than any other kinds of food. This is why G’d described it as לחם מן השמים, “bread from heaven” in Exodus 16,4. The complete meaning of the verse then is: “man lives by means of all the various divine sources of food and energy. Seeing that this is so the words מוצא פי ה’ mean that this food, the manna is even superior to the other foods which come from G’d only indirectly.

׳מוצא פי ה (vergl. Jes.55, 11). כן יהיה דברי אשר יצא מפי, wo damit jede von Gott ausgehende Bestimmung bezeichnet wird. So heißt auch beim Menschen das Wort, das, sei es als Gelübde, oder als Wunsch, Tat werden soll: מוצא שפתיו. Dewarim 23, 24 und Jirmija 17. 16). So auch von Gott die über die Davidische Dynastie ausgesprochene Bestimmung: ומוצא שפתי לא אשנה (Ps.89, 35).

שמלתך לא בלתה THY RAIMENT DID NOT WEAR OUT — the clouds of Divine Glory used to rub the dirt off their clothes and bleach them so that they looked like new white articles, and also, their children, as they grew, their clothes grew with them, just like the clothes (shell) of a snail which grows with it (cf. Shir HaShirim Rabbah 4:11; Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 850).

THY RAIMENT WAXED NOT OLD UPON THEE. “The clouds of [Divine] Glory brushed their garments and pressed them so that they looked like freshly ironed articles; and so it was with their children, as they grew their garments grew with them.” This is Rashi’s language and also are the words of Agadah.⁷²Shir Hashirim Rabbah 4:23. But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote: “Other scholars say that they took many garments out [of Egypt]. And it is possible that it was not in the nature of the manna to produce perspiration [thus enabling their garments to last so long]. And so also he stated that neither did thy feet swell, meaning that He gave them strength or that He led them slowly.” But his [Ibn Ezra’s] words are not correct, for Moses mentions this to them in order to say that upon observing the commandment [of G-d] they will have food and raiment, and renew [their] strength, even as they lived by the manna forty years and they had garments, and the way with their feet they treadeth not.⁷³Isaiah 41:3. All of this was miraculous, for by every thing that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Eternal doth man live⁶⁷Verse 3 before us. and becomes supported. And if you were to cover a rafter with a new cloth it would wear out in forty years even though there is no perspiration, how much less man, that is a worm.⁷⁴Job 25:6.

שמלתך לא בלתה, “your garment did not wear out on you.” Rashi [based on Pessikta de Rav Kahane. Ed.], explains the phenomenon as G’d’s clouds of glory that traveled with the Israelites everywhere, dripping moisture on their garments so that not only did they look as if freshly laundered and pressed, but the children’s clothing grew as the children grew. Ibn Ezra, quoting other scholars, claims that the Israelites had taken a vast variety of clothing out of Egypt with them. He himself considers it possible that one of the properties of the manna was that it did not cause perspiration in the people who ate it. He explains the phenomenon of the feet not experiencing swelling during all these years as also due to the qualities contained in the manna. Alternately, the slow pace at which the people moved was the reason that their feet did not swell. [Considering that in a period of 40 years the people traveled lass than 700 miles, it is hard to see anything miraculous in their feet not swelling. Ed.] Nachmanides disagrees with Ibn Ezra, seeing that Moses was at pains to explain to the people that observing the commandments had been the reason for their phenomenal success during the last 40 years. Moses simply points to the immediate past being an allusion to the future when, if they continue on the right path, G’d will continue to make life easy for them. It would be counterproductive to explain what Moses said here as being natural phenomena, when the whole point of Moses’ recalling the past is to encourage the people so that they would continue to qualify for the kind of miracles they experienced in the past. The basic lesson Moses is trying to get across is that man lives on everything that emanates from G’d, not just from what grows out of the earth and the oceans. New clothes are no insurance against moths, or other destructive agents of nature, so that a degree of G’d’s supervision is needed regardless of how secure one feels with what one owns.

As they grew, etc. Rashi is answering the question: What is this verse teaching us, that by storing their garments in a chest they did not wear out? Rashi explains: Even though their garments were on them [i.e., they were worn] for forty years, they did not wear out. And the reason for this is because the clouds of Divine Glory, etc. This is the significance of מעליך (on you). I.e., even though they wore the garments.

V. 4. שמלתך, ja, an dir selber hast du die allen Bedürfnissen der Lage Rechnung tragende, erhaltende Wundermacht Gottes erfahren. Er hat deinem Gewande und deiner Haut eine solche Ausdauer verliehen, dass deine Kleider nicht gealtert und dein Fuss auf der Wanderung nicht geschwollen.

שמלתך לא בלתה, “your garments did not wear out;” this is relevant to chapter 7 verse 25, where matters you should not covet have been discussed. Although you have travelled a long distance in the desert, for almost forty years, G-d has made certain that your clothing did not need replacing. When you observe G-d’s commandments, you will not need all the things that ordinary people require in order to live on this earth comfortably. If He was able to look after you in an uninhabitable desert, how much more so can He look after you in habitable areas of the earth.

לא בצקה This means: [AND THY FOOT] DID NOT SWELL like dough (בצק), as is usual with those who walk barefoot — that their feet become swollen.

This usually happens to those who walk barefoot, etc. You might ask: It says in Parshas Ki Savo (below 29:4), “and your shoe did not shred from your foot,” which implies that they wore shoes! The answer is: That verse there refers to the Jews who left Egypt who had shoes — those shoes did not shred. Rashi’s explanation here refers to the Jews who were born in the wilderness who did not have shoes. However Re”m explains that, “This usually happens to those who walk barefoot,” is only describing the type of swelling, but they were not actually barefoot, etc. And according to this explanation, one should not ask: What is the significance of “nor did your foot swell”? Since they did not walk barefoot, is this not obvious? The answer is: Indeed this is so. The verse teaches us that their shoes did not shred from their feet. It should be understood as follows: Your foot did not swell (which usually happens to those who walk barefoot); and this is because you did not have to walk barefoot, since your shoes did not shred.

And you will remember Ad-nai your God, who is the Giver of your strength to do valor. It is a main principle to remember the giver of anything. And as we find regarding the tithes (Deut. 26:13) "I did not transgress Your command and I did not forget" and in the Gemara we read "I did not transgress not blessing You and I did not forget to mention Your name over the produce" (Brachot 40b). And even regarding the words of Torah, if a person did not remember to say "Giver of the Torah" one's wisdom does not amount to anything. And therefore the Holy Blessed One set it so that the Human cannot exist without food, so the Human will lack something, and your creations will take great effort, and you will remember the One who brings about the Flow - and this is the level of Israel: they remember the One who brings about the Flow constantly. And through this they receive the inner energy of food, since in truth every thing has a specific quality, such as "wine that gladdens the heart of people" (Ps. 104:15) etc, and dates that make worry go away , as it is written in the Gemara (Ketubot 10b). And the opposite we also find in the Gemara, such as that the flour of barley is hard on the intestines (Brachot 36a), and so too the five grains there is a depth that precisely those five grains give strength and power to humans, and this is why the minimal amount is a olive-size. And regarding oil too, it indicates that "the beginning of wisdom is the awe of God" (Tzidkat HaTzadik 147:1) - and in this it is all the idea that a person must not say "my strength and my power brought me all this", one should constantly remember that "from all that comes from the mouth of God does a person live" (Deut. 8:3), that the essence of existence is what comes from the mouth of God, which is found in the essence of all things , and from this one should bless so that strength and force will flow from what one brought inside oneself, so that one will be able to serve God with that strength, as it is written [wisdom says] "for through me your days will increase, and years be added to your life. " (Proverbs 9:11)

AND THOU SHALT CONSIDER IN THY HEART, THAT, AS A MAN CHASTENETH HIS SON, placing upon him the yoke of instruction for his benefit, as it is said, Chasten thy son, for there is hope; but set not thy heart on his destruction⁷⁵Proverbs 19:18. — SO THE ETERNAL THY G-D CHASTENETH THEE, at first with the affliction of the wilderness and the trial with the manna so that the goodness of the Land and its fruits should be pleasing to you. Therefore walk after Him, for the Eternal thy G-d bringeth thee into a good Land.⁷⁶Verse 7.

מיסרך; along with the commandments He has given you, He gives you a superior moral/ethical challenge to help you achieve perfection as seen from His perspective.

וידעת עם לבבך, "You shall know in your heart, etc." This verse reminds a person to reflect that generally speaking no one makes a point of admonishing and disciplining anyone except his own son, as he is not nearly as interested in the education of others as he is in educating his own son. When a person observes his friend's son commit a wrong he is not as much concerned about this as when the wrong is committed by his own son. When we observe G'd disciplining a Jew this is proof that G'd relates to such a Jew as a father relates to a son. When G'd observes the Gentile nations commit all kinds of abominations, He does not react in the same way as He reacts to sins committed by the Jewish people because He does not relate to the Gentiles in the same way, i.e. as a father. He has not associated His name in an exclusive manner with the Gentiles as He has done with us. This is why He demonstrates His concern every time we depart from the norms of behaviour laid down for us.

כי כאשר ייסר איש את בנו, “for just as a father from time to time chastises his son, etc.;” when a father does so, he does it for his son’s benefit; similarly our father in heaven employs such means for our benefit seeing we are His children.

ה’ אלו-היך מיסרך, “the Lord your G’d is disciplining you.” Moses means that the denial of regular food and the strain imposed on the people by their journeying are examples of how the Lord subjected them to discipline, to tests of obedience and faith. The principal virtue of a Torah-true Jew is his faith in the Lord. The two examples of “afflictions” mentioned by Moses were designed to test this faith.

V. 5. וידעת וגו׳. Stellen wie יוסר לץ לוקח לו קלון (Prov. 9, 6), הוסרו שופטי ארץ (Ps.2, 10) בדברים לא יוסר עבד (Prov. 29, 19), ויסרני מלכת בדרך העם (Jes.8, 12). אשר יסרתו אמו (Prov. 31, 1), sowie der Substantivbegriff מוסר ergeben zur Genüge, dass der Wurzel יסר weder im Kal, noch im Piel die Bedeutung: züchtigen, wesentlich eigen ist. Die Verwandtschaft mit יצר und ישר, sowie mit כשר und קשר lässt als Grundbedeutung eine solche Einwirkung erkennen, durch welche eine Mannigfaltigkeit von Kräften in die feste Richtung auf ein Ziel gebracht werden, mag diese Einwirkung durch äußere Mittel oder durch eine Belehrung des Innern erreicht werden. Sittliche Belehrung und Bildung, sittliche Erziehung ist daher der Grundbegriff von יסר Die vierzigjährige Wanderung durch die Wüste war nichts als eine solche belehrende und bildende Erziehung; Belehrung über Gottes allgegenwärtiges, nahes, fürsorgendes Walten; bildende Übung in vertrauend heiterer Hingebung an diese Führung; und begründete zusammen die Überzeugung, dass unsere durch Erkenntnis und Übung zu erlangende sittliche Vollendung ein nahes Anliegen der göttlichen Waltung sei, die nach unserem sittlichen Erziehungsbedürfnis uns unsere Geschicke gestältet und durch die Lebenserfahrungen, die sie uns machen lässt, zu unserer Erkenntnis belehrend spricht und unsere sittliche Kraft übend erzieht. Von dieser Überzeugung, dass Gott mit seiner Waltung wie ein Vater zu uns steht und alle von ihm uns zukommenden freud- und leidvollen Schickungen nichts als unsere Besserung und sittliche Veredlung erzielen, von dieser Überzeugung heißt es: וידעת עם לבבך.

ה' אלוקיך מיסרך, “the Lord your G-d chastens you. By not providing you with a food supply sufficient for a week or even longer, so that you will be afraid to rebel against Him for fear He might withhold your food, He has succeeded in making you a chastened nation.” Only the feeling that one can exist independently of G-d results in one’s rebelling against the Torah laws. He has taught you to be dependent on His largesse daily.

כן ה' אלוקיך מיסרך, “so is the Lord your G’d disciplining you.” The temporary afflictions experienced by the Israelites in the desert are examples of G’d’s using educational tools at His disposal. Solomon in Proverbs 29,17 phrases it thus: יסר בנך ויניחך, “Discipline your son and he will give you rest;” he continues with “ויתן מעדנים לנפשך, “and he will be a cause of delight to your soul.” By first disciplining one’s son, the goodies the father will provide will be so much more appreciated.

. עם לבבך dürfte keineswegs als gleichbedeutend mit בלבבך zu fassen sein, so dass לבב das Organ der Erkenntnis wäre. Vielmehr bezeichnet עם לבב, wie in der einen Stelle Josua 14, 7 כאשר עם לבבי, die Übereinstimmung mit der Herzensmeinung, welcher Kaleb in seinem Berichte treu blieb, obgleich er damit im Widerspruch mit der Meinung seiner Gefährten war, oder, wie in den Stellen Kön. I. 8, 17. 18; Chron. I. 22, 7 u. f. ׳ויהי עם לבב דוד אבי וגו, das dauernde Hegen eines Gedankens, einer Absicht, die man "mit sich" herumträgt. Auch את כל אשר היה עם לבבה kann nicht wohl heißen: sie sagte ihm alles, was sie im Herzen dachte. Sie wollte ja eben durch Rätselfragen seinen Scharfsinn auf die Probe stellen, ob er die Gedanken erraten könne, die sie ihm in Rätselausdrücken vortrug. Heißt es doch darauf: ויגד לה שלמה את כל דבריה. Vielmehr kann את כל אשר היה עם לבבה sich eben nur auf diese Fragen beziehen, die sie sich für diesen Zweck erdacht hatte und bei ihrer Reise zu Salomo "mit sich" hingenommen hatte. Ebenso ist in Dewarim 15, 9 דבר עם לבבך בליעל nicht ein nichtswürdiger Gedanke, den man einmal im Herzen hegt, sondern eine Gesinnung, die man als leitenden Grundsatz mit sich herumträgt. וידעת עם לבבך wäre daher die Forderung, die durch die Erfahrung der Vergangenheit gewonnene Erkenntnis von der väterlichen Erziehung, die uns Gott durch alles, was uns trifft, angedeihen lässt, als leitende Überzeugung in alle Zukunft mit hinüberzunehmen.

V. 6. ושמרת וגו׳ diese Überzeugung wird die andere Überzeugung hervorrufen, dass wir auf die heilvolle Gestaltung unserer Geschicke nur durch eine ausschließliche und gänzliche Hingebung an die Erfüllung unserer Pflichten einwirken können. Unsere sittliche Vollendung ist das Einzige, das ganz in unseren Händen liegt; allein mit diesem Einzigen haben wir auch unser Schicksal in unserer Hand. Denn eben diese unsere sittliche Vollendung ist das Ziel, zu welchem uns Gott durch alle unsere Lebensereignisse erziehen will. Diese unsere sittliche Vollendung ist aber nichts anderes, als: ושמרת את מצות ׳וגו als die gewissenhafte Beachtung der Gebote Gottes, ללכת בדרכיו in den Wegen zu wandeln, die Er geht und die Er uns gehen lassen will — beides ist וליראה — דרכיו אותו, und Ihn stets vor Augen zu haben.

A LAND OF BROOKS OF WATER. The meaning thereof is that it is like a watered garden,⁷⁷Isaiah 58:11. and it is not necessary to irrigate it by foot as the land of Egypt, as it will yet be stated,⁷⁸Further, 11:10. for it drinketh water as the rain of heaven cometh down.⁷⁹Ibid., Verse 11. Now he explained [here] that fountains and depths, come out in deep valleys and mountains,⁸⁰Verse 7 before us. and from there the brooks flow in the Land, the purport of the verse being “fountains and the fountains of the depths, ” like: when the ‘fountains of the deep’ showed their might;⁸¹Proverbs 8:28. the fountains of the great deep.⁸²Genesis 7:11. The reason [for referring to both sources: fountains, and fountains of the deep] is that there are some fountains that flow from the very moisture of the mountains which has been absorbed by them from the rains, or from the clouds that ascend upon them, these being called “fountains” [or “springs”] as it is said, unto all the springs of water,⁸³I Kings 18:5. the flint [He turned] into a fountain of waters.⁸⁴Psalms 114:8. There are other kinds of fountains which come forth from the interior of the depth, these being called “deep waters” that is to say, the fountains of the depths. The verse is thus stating that both [kinds of fountains] come out in deep valleys and mountains.

אל ארץ טובה, a land which is the confluence of numerous good, desirable qualities not found together in other districts of the globe. These qualities are the following, the Torah prefacing each with the word ארץ again.
1) ארץ נחלי מים עינות ותהומות, not the waters from polluted rivers or static ponds, waters described as evil waters in Kings II 2,19.
2) ארץ חטה ושעורה , crops which are basic as food.
3) ארץ זית שמן ודבש, products fit for the palate of a king.
4) ארץ אשר לא במסכנות תאכל בה לחם, a land in which money can be found cheaply, a land full of treasures as per Isaiah 2,7 “the land is full of silver and gold and there is no end to the treasures it hides.” Dearth of money is more serious than shortage of the products which can be bought with it, as we know from the Talmud Taanit 19 which declares that whereas the blowing of the shofar in supplication to G’d on account of a shortage of foodstuffs does not have to be arranged immediately, shortage of money, i.e. people not having the money to buy the available food products gives rise to immediate supplication to Gd including the sounding of the shofar at public prayer meetings.
5) ארץ אשר אבניה ברזל, a land whose stones contain iron, i.e. a useful metal, or whose stones are strong as iron, providing excellent building materials.

כי ה' אלוקיך מביאך אל ארץ טובה, so that in the end, you will become proud and forget the source of your wealth (verse 14). In order to forestall such a development I command you to remember the path that led you to these achievements and who it was who supplied all this directly from the celestial regions. Knowing this will help you realise that man’s achievements are not due to his own resources.

כי ה' אלוקיך מביאך אל ארץ טובה אל ארץ נחלי מים, “for the Lord your G’dd brings you to a good land, a land containing streams of water, etc.” The whole land is like an irrigated garden for it contains many natural fountains as well as underground reservoirs of water. The latter irrigate the lowlands, the former the hilly regions. From there they run down as rivulets. The point Moses is making is that some of the springs are fed by accumulated rain that has been absorbed beneath the surface of the mountains, other sources of fresh water are the excess remaining from the nightly dew some of which rises after sunup and penetrates as mist into the surface of the mountainside. Moses refers to the latter as מעיינות, springs. Other springs simply emerge from deep in the earth, released from the subterranean aquifer. Moses refers to them as תהומות, “the depths (of the earth)”. Sources of fresh water are readily available both in the mountains and in the plains.

כי ה’ אלו-היך מביאך אל ארץ טובה ארץ נחלי מים, “for the Lord your G’d is bringing you to a good land, a land of many rivers full of water, etc.” Moses contrasts the land of Israel with the desert the people find themselves in at this time. We find something similar in verse 6 where Moses emphasizes what grows in the land of Canaan. The products mentioned there including the honey from dates and pomegranates are supposed to account for the growth of blood in our bodies. In our verses Moses mentions only the three principal sources of nutrition. The word ארץ occurs six times in the three verses 7-8-9. The word occurs twice in verse 7, and again twice in each of the next two verses. In the fourth verse the word is הארץ when the Torah speaks about the commandment to say grace after meals, a prayer in which the excellence of the land of Israel is mentioned. The reason that the word ארץ occurs 6 times in the first three verses is that the land of Israel is the source of 6 different climatic zones which spread out from this land and which draw on its qualities. Concerning the seventh climactic zone, the Torah uses the expression הארץ הטובה, with the letter ה marking the one and only country boasting these advantages. When our sages in Avot d'Rabbi Natan speak about 7 regions, they refer to seven different climates which exist in our globe. David praised the seventh of these climates when he said in Psalms 48,3 concerning Mount Zion that it is situated in the most beautiful region, both climate and landscape-wise. The words יפה נוף used by the psalmist refer to the climate of Jerusalem. The word נוף meaning climate occurs in Joshua 17,11 in connection with the division of the Holy land to the tribes. The difference between different “climates” is determined by the proximity of the area in question to the sun. It is a well known fact that when people leave one climatic region to settle in another they are liable to suffer disease and sickness as a result. However, Jerusalem enjoys such a good climate that anyone moving there will not experience any problems but will be healthy and never get sick (based on R' David Kimchi). This is the reason that David calls it משוש כל הארץ, ‘the best climate on earth.”

V. 7. כי ה׳ אלהיך וגו׳. Denn die Schule der Wüstenwanderung ist zu Ende. Die Zukunft, für welche diese ganze irdische Ausnahmsstellung Vorbereitung sein sollte, bist du im Begriffe, nun anzutreten und hast nun in einer normalen Menschen- und Volkesstellung das zu bewähren, was du in jener außerordentlichen Vorschule gelernt haben sollst und in der veränderten Glückeslage nicht verlernen darfst, wenn diese deine nun beginnende Zukunft Dauer haben soll. ׳ארץ נחלי מים וגו. Es wird zuerst der Gegensatz der Bodenbeschaffenheit im Gegensatz zur Wüste in dem Wasserreichtum charakterisiert, der selbst wiederum die Vorbedingung des im folgenden geschilderten Reichtums an Feld- und Baumfrucht bildet. נחל bezeichnet eine jede größere oder kleinere Fortleitung quillenden Wassers, sei es vereinigter Quellen als Bach, oder vereinigter Bäche als Fluss. נחל, verwandt mit נהל, ist ja überhaupt: fortleiten und wird daher bezeichnender Ausdruck für die Fortbewegung der Güter in Erbschaft von Eltern auf Kinder. עינות sind die Erdaugen, durch welche das Erdinnere zu Tage tritt: Quellen. wogen, sind größere Wassermengen, die sich als Seen mitten im ,המם von תהומות Lande bilden.

ארץ נחלי מים, “a land of brooks and water.” The word ארץ appears no fewer than seven times in this verse. It refers to the seven Canaanite nations that the Israelites would inherit as their ancestral land.

כי ה׳ אלוקיך מביאך, “for the Lord your G-d is about to bring you to a good land;” seeing it provides your needs in abundance, there is a danger that you might forget Him and imagine that you can manage on your own.

יוצאים בבקעה ובהר, “springing forth both in the valleys and in the mountainous regions.” This makes it unnecessary for the people dwelling in the mountainous regions to have to descend to the valleys in order to secure their needs, i.e. their water supply.

זית שמן (lit., the olive of oil) means, olives that produce oil (i.e. good olives, not hard fruits that give no oil).

A land. There are ten words in this verse. Therefore one must place all ten fingers on the bread while reciting the berocho. It also corresponds to the ten mitzvos which are done in preparing bread: You may not plow with an ox and with a donkey together (Devarim 22:10); Do not plant in your vineyard mixed species (Devarim 22:9); Fallen sheaves (Vayikra 19:10); Forgotten sheaves (Devarim 24:19); Leaving the corners of the field (Vayikra 23:22); You may not muzzle and ox while it threshes (Devarim 25:4); Terumah (Bamidbar 15:21); Maaser Rishon (Bamidbar 18:24); Maaser Sheni (Devarim 12:17); Challah (Bamidbar 15:20).

ארץ חטה ושעורה, “a land producing wheat and barley, etc.” Seeing the land corresponds to the tenth emanation, it is praised as possessing ten qualities. Five of these qualities are the types of grain that can be grown in the land of Israel successfully. Moses mentions only the two principal varieties, i.e. wheat and barley as he considers the other three as sub-categories, i.e. oats, spelt, and rye. The five types of fruit mentioned make up the number ten. On other occasions the blessings of the land of Israel are summarized under the heading of “a land flowing with milk and honey.” This hints that G’d’s goodwill results in an abundance of products reminding us both of His attribute of Mercy (the white, milk) and His attribute of Justice, (the red color of the honey from dates). [The author commented on Genesis 36,39 that the abundance of material blessings when abused such as by the descendants of Esau may result in the attribute of Justice being activated. Ed.].

Olives that produce oil. I.e., there are two species of olives, and one of them does not produce oil. Therefore it needed to write, “oil-olives.” Alternatively, [Rashi’s explanation is] because we say that the Land of Israel is praised for seven items. But if you count, “olive,” and, “oil,” separately, then you will find eight items. Therefore Rashi explains: “Olives that produce oil.” I.e., it is only one item.

V. 8. ארץ חטה וגו׳. Es bedarf der Ermittlung, warum die Beschreibung des Bodenreichtums in zwei durch die Wiederholung des ארץ offenbar geschiedenen Gruppen gegeben worden. Irren wir nicht, so gehören die sieben Fruchtgattungen in der Reihe, in der sie genannt werden, immer wärmeren Klimaten an, und zwar gehört die Dattelpalme, דבש (siehe Wajikra 2, 11), entschieden der heißen Zone an, während Wein nur in der gemäßigten Zone gedeiht. Vielleicht sagt der Satz: es ist ein Weizen¬, Gersten-, Wein-, Feigen- und Granatäpfelland, in welchem nicht nur auch Oliven und Dattelpalmen vorkommen, sondern das ebenso auch ganz eigentlich ein Oliven- und Palmenland ist, in welchem ebenso wie Korn und Wein, so auch Oliven und Datteln vorzüglich gedeihen. Dafür spräche auch das Makif zwischen ארץ und זית, welches den Ölbaum noch prägnanter als charakteristische Eigentümlichkeit des Landes mit diesem zu einem Begriff verbindet. Nach Oken III. 2, 1116 ist auch Palästina die eigentliche Heimat des Ölbaums, und ist er erst von dort nach Griechenland usw. verpflanzt worden. Es hat somit dieses Land den glücklichen Vorzug, eine Fülle der vorzüglichsten Früchte aller Zonen zu tragen. Dass mit dem zweiten ארץ eine zweite, der mit dem ersten ארץ eingeleiteten an Vorzug gleiche Eigentümlichkeit des Bodens zum Ausdruck gebracht wird, ist auch aus der Halacha Berachoth 41 b ersichtlich, nach welcher hinsichtlich der zu sprechenden Beracha vor dem Genusse Datteln den Granatäpfeln vorangehen, weil jene an zweiter Stelle, diese aber erst an fünfter Stelle nach ארץ genannt sind, זה שני לארץ וזה חמישי לארץ. — Ebendaselbst a heißt es: כל הפסוק כולו לשיעורין נאמר, alle die in unserem Texte genannten Früchte seien für Maßbestimmungen ausgesprochen, z. B. ׳גרוגרת) המוציא אוכלין כגרוגרת ,עצם בשעורה מטמא וגו׳ ist eine getrocknete Feige), ככותבת הגסה ביה׳׳כ, אכילת חלב וכו׳ בכזית ,כלי בעלי בתים שיעורן כרמונים (כותבת ist: Dattel. Mir zeigte einmal der Verfasser eines Werkes über die halachischen Maßbestimmungen die ersten Druckbogen seiner Schrift, worin er eine, wie mir scheint, sehr beachtenswerte Bemerkung über diesen Satz gegeben hatte. Er weist darin nach, wie auch außer dem jüdischen Kreise in der alten Welt überhaupt für die Grundeinheiten der Längen- und Gewichtsmaße Früchte, wie Gerste, Oliven usw. angenommen waren. Natürlich musste nun auch im Völkerverkehr für diese Maßfrüchte wiederum die Fruchtart eines bestimmten Landes als Normalfrucht gelten. Es wären nun die Früchte Palästinas im Weltverkehr so als die vorzüglichsten bekannt gewesen, dass sie eben die Normaleinheit für die Längen- und Gewichtsgrößen abgaben, und man nicht nach Gerste, Oliven überhaupt, sondern nach palästinensischer Gerste, palästinensischen Oliven usw. Maßbestimmungen feststellte, sich somit שבח ארץ ישראל, die Vorzüglichkeit der palästinensischen Bodenfrüchte darin zeigte, dass sie als die bekanntesten allgemein als Maßeinheiten gelten. Zu meinem Bedauern ist mir der Name des Verfassers entgangen und weiß ich auch nicht, ob seine Schrift im Drucke vollendet erschienen ist.

A LAND WHOSE STONES ARE IRON. The meaning thereof is that in the place where you expect stones, you will find iron, for it will be mined from the dust thereof.⁸⁵See Job 28:2. He thus brought them the joyful message that in the Land of Israel there is a quarry of copper and iron which are a great necessity for the inhabitants of the Land, and thou shalt not lack any thing in it. But [the absence of] a source of silver and gold⁸⁶See ibid., Verse 1. is no deficiency in a land. And in the Targum Yerushalmi I have seen it rendered: “a Land whose stones are as bright as iron,” meaning to say that Scripture is praising the Land because in it there will be found quarries of great stones, costly stones,⁸⁷I Kings 5:31. hewn stones with which to build houses, walls, and towers, unlike the land of Egypt and many lands where people dwell in houses of clay⁸⁸Job 4:19. and their houses may become their graves [from excessive rains].⁸⁹Yerushalmi Yoma VI, 4. This was the High Priest’s prayer on the Day of Atonement for the people that live in the flatlands — “that their houses may not become their graves” [from excessive rains]. Ramban uses the expression in the broad sense indicating the advantage of the Land of Israel where homes can be built from rocks that will not endanger the lives of their inhabitants.

תחצוב נחושת, you will mine copper; the Torah’s definition of “good” iron, material that is excellent for either building material, or raw material for a variety of vessels.

ארץ אשר לא במסכנות תאכל בה לחם, "a land in which you will not eat bread out of scarceness;" Moses mentions this as there are people, even wealthy people, who always practice the lifestyle of poor people. They may be motivated by one of two reasons. 1) They are afraid they may lose their wealth and find themselves impoverished, forced to curtail their lifestyle. They prefer not to live in accordance with their wealth so that any eventual forced adjustment would be easy for them as they had never indulged themselves in the first place. 2) They do not want to appear wealthy and arouse envy. Moses says אשר לא במסכנות, "where there is no scarceness," to teach the Israelites that both of the reasons mentioned for adopting the lifestyle of the poor do not apply in ארץ ישראל. The two considerations we mentioned were based on the assumption that the society is divided into "haves" and "have nots." This will not be the case in ארץ ישראל because לא תחסר כל בה, "no one will lack anything therein." If our wealth would derive from sources outside the land of Israel there would be a reason for the considerations we mentioned. Some people would make an effort to get rich, others would not. Accordingly, there would be class distinctions after a while. Seeing the source of wealth is the land of Israel itself, everyone has equal access to it and there is no need to fear becoming impoverished or to attract the envy of the less fortunate. Moses says: כל בה, "it contains all (that anyone desires)."

אשר לא במסכנות תאכל בה לחם, you will not eat dry bread like poor people, for in addition to the wheat and barley which the land produces, you will also enjoy vineyards and their products, and pomegranates, as well as honey derived from dates which are sweet.

אשר אבניה ברזל, “whose stones yield iron, etc.” The place you choose to look for stones will surprise you by harbouring iron. According to the Jerusalem Targum, the meaning is that the stones in the Land of Israel will prove to be as strong as iron. In other words, the land is full of quarries from which valuable building stones can be hewn. These stones will be useful in the construction of walls and fortifications. The reason why Moses did not praise the land for the silver and gold one might find there, is that the stones he mentioned would prove more useful than the silver and gold, which are only luxuries, not necessities.

V. 9. סכן ,מסכנות .ארץ וגו׳: auf etwas große Achtsamkeit richten, wovon סוכן der Bewahrer königlicher Schätze. Davon מסכן: der Karge und der zur Kargheit Genötigte. מסכנות Kargheit (siehe Bereschit S. 274). לא תחסר כל בו: auch was nur die Annehmlichkeiten des Lebens erhöht, bietet es dir. — ׳אשר אבניה ברזל וגו. Aus Chron. I. 22, 3 erhellt, dass Eisen- und Kupferbergbau in Palästina betrieben wurde. הצב eigentlich aushauen, der entsprechende Ausdruck für das Ausgraben der Erze aus Felsen. Es ist somit ein Land, das durch seine Bodenbeschaffenheit dem Ackerbau und der Industrie die geeignetste Förderung bietet.

לא תחסר כל בה, “you shall not lack for anything in it.” Whatever grows in that land will grow in abundance.

Moses singles out two examples of the earth's natural wealth which the land of Israel is blessed with, i.e. iron and copper. The reason Moses singles out these two examples is because they are basic to everybody's needs. After this (verse 10) Moses mentions that people would eat and be satisfied, etc. The reason Moses had to mention this cardinal fact was that the perfection of the land does not merely consist of its fruit, its harvests, but the land must also provide basic materials to enable its people to build their shelters and to generally provide the possibility of life in the city. Many successful farmers in various countries who employ outside labour, etc., nonetheless are forced to sell all their produce in order to acquire building materials, clothing and tools. To teach us that the land of Israel would not lack natural resources Moses adds the words לא תחסר כל בה, that nothing essential would be scarce in this land after he had described the seven most valuable foods and fruit the land would produce.

AND THOU SHALT EAT AND BE SATISFIED, AND BLESS THE ETERNAL THY G-D FOR THE GOOD LAND. He is stating that when you remember the bondage in Egypt and the affliction in the wilderness, and you will eat and be satisfied in the good Land, you will bless G-d for it. And our Rabbis have received by tradition that this is a positive commandment,⁹⁰Berachoth 21a. See “The Commandments,” Vol. I, pp. 26-27. its meaning thus being, “and you shall bless the Eternal your G-d.” Similarly, then thou shalt make a parapet for thy roof;⁹¹Further, 22:8. and thou shalt keep the Passover;⁹²Ibid., 16:1. and thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the ground,⁹³Ibid., 26:2. and so also many similar verses [which appear to be mere optional, but are, nevertheless, interpreted as positive commandments]. The meaning of the expression for the good Land is “and for the good Land;” that is, He commands that you are to bless Him at all times for the food you eat to satisfaction, and for the Land that He gave you in order that you might have it forever as an inheritance and be satisfied with its goodness. Thus the obligatory nature of this commandment is in all places [i.e., even outside of the Land of Israel, since the commandment to bless Him for the food we eat is independent of the duty to bless Him for the Land He has given us].

וברכת את ה' אלוקיך, the reason why the Lord blesses you in such a fashion is so that you will remember that only from Him could you have been given a land with such an abundance of advantages.

ואכלת ושבעת וברכת, “you will eat, be sated, and bless the Lord.” This is the verse from which we derive the positive commandment to bless Hashem.

V. 10. ׳אכל :אכל .ואכלת ושבעת וגו, verzehren zur Selbstreproduktion; שבע verwandt mit ספה ,שפע ,שבע ,צבה, die alle eine Fülle, ein Genügen ausdrücken. ברך ׳את ה "Gott segnen" heißt: die der sittlich freien Menschentat überantworteten Gotteszwecke fördern, zur Verwirklichung bringen, oder ein solches Tatenleben geloben (siehe Schmot 18, 10). So oft du durch den von Gott gewährten Segen dich gekräftigt und den Anforderungen deines leiblichen Daseins Befriedigung gebracht, sollst du, in dem Bewusstsein, dass du Gott, und Gott allein, als deinem Gotte, jede Wiederherstellung deiner Kraft und jede Befriedigung deines Daseins verdankst, dein ganzes durch Ihn gekräftigtes und gehobenes Wesen Seinem Dienste, der Förderung Seiner Zwecke, der Verwirklichung Seines Willens auf Erden weihen und dieses Weihegelöbnis im ברכה-Wort aussprechen. Es ist dies das Gebot der ברכת המזון, der nach dem Genusse der Brotnahrung zu sprechenden Beracha, durch welche die vermittelst der offenbaren Mannawunderspeisung gewonnene Gewissheit von der speziellsten Gottesfürsorge mitten in den normalen menschengesellschaftlichen Nahrungsverhältnissen gepflegt und festgehalten, und jedes Stückchen Brot so als unmittelbare Gottesspende begriffen wird, wie einst das den in der Wüste Wandernden gespendete Himmelsmanna. Die Berachot 44 a rezipierte Halacha bezieht nämlich das Gebot: ׳ואכלת ושבעת וגו auf das im vorhergehenden Verse 9 als Objekt genannte לחם, und nicht auf die dem zuvor genannten Früchte, da Vers 9 mit ארץ ein neuer Satz eingeleitet und das Land als ein solches charakterisiert ist, dessen Bewohner ihr Brot nicht in Beschränkteit, sondern inmitten eines mit allen andern Bedürfnissen versorgten Wohlbehagens genießen. Das eigentliche Objekt bleibt aber לחם, und auf dieses bezieht sich das ׳ואכלת וגו. Demgemäss wäre מן התורה nur nach "Brotgenuss" ברכת המזון geboten und damit wohl die bedeutsame Wahrheit niedergelegt: Nicht, wie man meinen dürfte, das allenfalls an Gütern und Genüssen Entbehrliche verdanken wir Gott, vielmehr nicht einmal das Allernotwendigste, das unser Dasein fristende "Brot" ist in des Menschen Hand gelegt, selbst das Brot, somit die einfachste nackteste Existenz, ist eine unmittelbare Spende der Gottesfürsorge (siehe zu Verse 17 u. 18); es ist allen ׳מוצא פי ה, jeder Atemzug hängt an Gottes Mund. — Unter לחם wird nur das aus den fünf Getreidearten חטה ושעורה וכוסמין שבולת שועל ושיפון Weizen, Gerste, Spelt, Hafer, Roggen, bereitete "Brot" verstanden. Diese fünf Getreidearten sind alle unter חטה ושעורה begriffen. — Es gibt jedoch eine Auffassung, nach welcher auch die Beracha nach dem Genusse der V. 8 genannten sieben Früchte דאוריתא wäre (siehe טור א׳׳ח ר׳׳ט und ב׳׳י daselbst).

ואכלת ושבעת וגו׳, “you will eat and be satisfied;” this verse is the one from which the sages derived the first three blessings in the prayer known as ברכת המזון, saying grace after meals. The three pertinent words are: ואכלתושבעת וברכת “when you have eaten and been satisfied you are to say grace.” The first blessing concludes with the words: הזן את הכל. “He Who gives food to all.” The word את in the line: את ה׳ אלוקיך; this is a reference to the owner of the house in which you have consumed this food, i.e. your host.

על הארץ הטובה אשר נתן לך, “for the good land that He has given you.” At all times, and in every location whenever you will feel sated, you are to bless Him in acknowledgment of both the nourishing food and the land on which it grows. You are to especially express gratitude that the land is ours as an inheritance to be passed on to your children. This commandment is not dependent on our owning or living in the land during any particular period.

Der ganze Zusammenhang, in welchem die ברכת המזון-Mizwa mit dem Vorangehenden und Nachfolgenden steht, sowie schon der Begriff "Beracha" an sich lehrt, dass das jüdische "Tischgebet", wie man es nennt, keine "anstandsmäßige Dankabstattung für genossene Mahlzeit", dass es vielmehr mit dem Bewusstsein der Gott, und Gott allein zu verdankenden Existenz zugleich das Bewusstsein aller der Konsequenzen beleben und wach halten soll, die sich an diese Tatsache für die ganze Lösung unserer Lebensaufgabe knüpfen. Unser ברכת המזון besteht daher aus vier Berachoth, die zusammen alle die Momente umfassen, aus welchen unter Gottes allgemeiner Weltleitung und besonderer jüdischer Geschichtsführung sich der Begriff "Jude" konstituiert und jeder jüdischen Gegenwart ihre Aufgabe klar wird.

על הארץ, “for the land; this is a reference to the paragraph in our grace which commences with the words: נודה לך, “let us give thanks to You.”

Was durch die Mannaspeisung jeder jüdischen Seele zur unverlierbar überzeugungssicheren Gewißheit geworden ist, dass Gott, sowie sein "Name" die "Zukunftspende" für jede Menschenseele umfasst, also auch jede Seele und deren Zukunftsbedarf das besondere Augenmerk seiner fürsorgenden Waltung sein lässt, und daher jedes genossene Brot und das dadurch gefristete Fortdaseinsmoment als die Spende "seiner Güte" zu begreifen ist, mag diese Güte — je nach der Würdigkeit des Empfängers — sich als "Gnade" oder als "Liebe" oder als das nimmer verlierbare "Erbarmen" sich manifestieren: das bringt ברכת הזן, die erste Beracha zum Ausspruch und gelobt den Lebensdienst dem Allernährer.

הטובה אשר נתן לך, “the good one that He gave to you.” This is a reference to the third paragraph in which we ask G-d to rebuild Jerusalem, compare Talmud tractate Sotah folio 5. After a person has sated himself, and is revolted by seeing more food, he is obligated to pronounce these benedictions. If this is so, it follows automatically, without having to be spelled out, that when he is hungry and sits down to a meal that he will bless the Lord Who has provided it directly or indirectly. He does so by reciting the line concluding with the words: המוציא לחם מן הארץ, “Who has caused the earth to produce “bread,” i.e. food.

Allein, wenn Gott dem Lebensgeschicke und der Lebensbestimmung eines jeden Menschen nahe ist, so steht das Lebensgeschick und die Lebensbestimmung des jüdischen Menschen noch in besonderer Beziehung zu ihm und seiner Waltung, eine Beziehung, die Er durch die Verheißung und Erteilung des jüdischen Landes an die jüdische Menschenfamilie für ewige Zeiten dokumentiert hat. Dieses jüdische Land in seiner Blüte und in seinem zeitlichen Churban ist das Unterpfand der besonderen geschichtlichen Stellung Israels auf Erden; ihm ist die zweite Beracha, ברכת הארץ, geweiht. Allein sie soll in ihrer Bedingung und in ihrem Zwecke zur Beherzigung kommen. Die ganze von dem "Lande der Verheißung" getragene jüdische geschichtliche Stellung beruht auf dem die ganze Leiblichkeit in den Dienst Gottes stellenden ת א (Bereschit 17, 7 u. 8) und hat zum Zwecke die pflichtgetreue Erfüllung der זיתן להם ארצות גוים וגו׳, תורה בעבור ישמרו חוקיו ותורותיו ינצרו (Ps.105, 44 u. 45). Des gottverheißenen Landes ist daher nur im Zusammenhange mit ברית und תורה zu gedenken, und nur dem Forttragen dieses ברית בבשרנו und der treuen Hingebung an die Aufgaben der תורה verdanken wir die "täglich und stündlich durch alle Zeiten" uns erhaltende Fürsorge der göttlichen Waltung.

ואכלת ושבעת וברכת, “these words are also a hint that when three people share a meal, they add an additional blessing to Hashem,. זימון.

Diese der Verwirklichung des göttlichen Gesetzes ausschließlich angehörende jüdisch nationale Bestimmung hat aber ihren bleibenden Ausdruck im Gesetzesheiligtum zu Zion und ihren bleibenden Träger in der Dynastie Davids erhalten, des Mannes, der seinem Volke die politische Selbständigkeit erstritt und gleichzeitig die Klänge seiner Harfe vermachte, die es zu der geistigen Höhe seiner Bestimmung emporgehoben. Ihnen ist die dritte Beracha bestimmt. Jerusalem zu Füßen der Zionhöhe, deren Gipfel des Gesetzesheiligtums Stätte bildet, vergegenwärtigt das um das Gottesgesetz als die es beherrschende und belehrende Seele sich scharende Gottesvolk, dessen edelstes Geschlecht, die Davidische Dynastie, für immer mit der Erreichung dieses jüdischen Höhezieles verknüpft ist. Dieser durch Jerusalem-Zion dem ganzen jüdischen Lande topisch aufgedrückte Charakter seiner geistigen Bestimmung wird Berachot 48 b:in der Beifügung הארץ הטובה gefunden, wie ja auch oben Kap. 3, 25 die geistige in dem Zionsberg sich konzentrierende Bestimmung des Landes ebenso: הארץ הטובה וגו׳ ההר הטוב וגו׳ (siehe daselbst) ausgedrückt ist.

Die in der dritten Beracha nur im Zusammenhange mit, dem Anliegen um die Forterhaltung und Gewährung materieller und geistiger Gesamtwohlfahrt zum Ausdruck kommende Bitte um die Forterhaltung und Gewährung der Einzelexistenz und Unabhängigkeit hatte daher während des Bestandes des Davidischen Reiches und Tempels dieses Anliegen um die Gesamtwohlfahrt in einer Bitte um die Erhaltung dieser Träger der nationalen Zukunft zum Ausdruck zu bringen; seit dem Churban und Galut aber gestaltet sich diese Bitte zur Bitte um den Wiederaufbau Jerusalems, בונה ירושלים.

Damit sind die דאוריתא in ברכת המזון zu beherzigenden Momente erschöpft. Als der von Barkochba geleitete Aufstand unter Hadrian sich als eine unheilvolle Verirrung erwiesen und es galt, für alle Zeiten dem jüdischen Bewusstsein die Warnung stets gegenwärtig zu halten, mit eigener Macht nie wieder den Versuch zur nationalen Wiederherstellung zu machen, diese nationale Zukunft vielmehr ausschließlich und allein der Gotteswaltung anheim zu stellen, schrieben — als die niedergetretene Nation wieder aufzuatmen begann und schon die bloße Gestattung, die hunderttausende um Bethar Gefallener endlich zu begraben, als den Anfang einer besseren Zeit begrüßte — die in Jabne tagenden Weisen eine vierte Beracha: הטוב והמטיב in das tägliche Tischgebet ihres Volkes, in welcher das Andenken an die beispiellose Niederlage zu Bethar in dem Dank verewigt wird, der schon die Erhaltung der Leichen und deren Bestattung als überschwängliche Gnade begrüßen durfte, הטוב שלא הסריחו והמטיב שנתנו לקבורה (Berachat 48 b), und für alle Zukunft hin den Blick von jeglicher Menschenhülfe ab und ganz allein auf Gott, ausschließlich auf Gott hinrichtet, הוא הטיב וכו׳ הוא יטיב לנו ׳הוא יגמלנו וכו׳ הוא ימלך וכו׳ הוא ישבור וכו׳.

Eine tief ethische Bedeutung scheint der Halacha inne zu wohnen, die die Gemeinsamkeit des nährenden Genusses zu einer ganz: besonderen Beherzigung durch die Bestimmung hervorhebt, dass, wenn drei oder mehrere zur selbständigen Mündigkeit Gereifte, בני מצוה, sich zu gemeinschaftlichem Brotgenuss zusammengesetzt, sie diese Gemeinsamkeit auch in der Beracha festhalten und, durch einen von ihnen zum gemeinschaftlichen Berachasprechen aufgefordert, er sowohl wie sie es beherzigen, dass ein Ernährer und eine Güte den einen wie den andern gespeist, ׳נברך שאכלנו משלו, ברוך שאכלנו :וגו, und dann einer die Beracha für alle spricht, welche die von einem gesprochene Beracha durch אמן zu der ihrigen machen. Wenn nichts den Menschen so sehr wie das Nahrungsstreben in sein ich zurückwirft und den einen zum Nebenbuhler des andern zumachen geeignet ist, soll, wie uns scheint, diese Gemeinsamkeit des Genusses und der Beracha durch den Gedanken der allen in gleicher Weise gleichzeitig zugewandten Gottesgüte die Befreiung der Gemüter von selbstsüchtigen Gedanken vollbringen, und beschränkt sich daher ברכת הזמון wesentlich auf ברכת הזן (Berachot 46 a תוספו׳).

Dieses ׳וברכת את ד׳ אלקיך וגו des göttlichen Gesetzes ist das Vorbild und der Grundtypus der großen Berachothinstitution geworden, mit welcher die Weisen, den jüdischen Volksgeist bildend, unser ganzes Leben durchwoben haben. Wie hier das göttliche Gesetz den Genuss der Landesfrucht Veranlassung sein lässt, unsere Gedanken von der Frucht auf den Spender des Landes und der Frucht hinzulenken und daraus die Entschließungen für unsere Lebenstat fassen lässt, die es in dem Begriff: ברכה zusammenfasst, so hat die Weisheit der Weisen das ganze Leben mit allen seinen an uns herantretenden Erscheinungen zu solchen Gott und unsere Verpflichtung zu Gott lehrenden Mentoren gestaltet und lehrt uns, immer aufs neue zu Gott aufzublicken und ihm das Gelöbnis unseres Lebensdienstes in ׳ברוך אתה וגו zu erneuen. Jeder Genuss, jede bedeutsame Naturerscheinung, jedes bedeutsame Ereignis im wechselnden Geschicke, sowie in der Veranlassung zur Mizwaerfüllung, ברכות המצות ,ברבות הראיה והשמיעה ,ברכות הנהנין, legt uns das gelobende Wort ׳ברוך אתה ד׳ וגו in den Mund, lässt uns durch alles, mit allem und zu allem die reine Stellung zu Gott, "unserm" Gott, gewinnen.

Ja, unser ganzer Gottesdienst, die ganze עבודה שבלב (siehe zu Kap. 11, 13), die ganze "Pflichtarbeit an unserem Innern", hat als Kern und Blüte ganz eigentlich diese in "ברכה" sich aussprechende Lebensweihe zur tätigen Erfüllung des göttlichen Willens auf Erden. Was der עולה-Begriff für den OpferGottesdienst ist, wie er das ewig fortschreitende Emporringen zur Höhe unserer Lebensbestimmung zum steten Inhalt eines jeden Pulsschlages unseres Herzens macht, so übersetzt unser WortGottesdienst diesen Inhalt durch ברכה. In der Tat konzentriert sich ja in dem Begriff: ׳כרוך אתה ד die Summe aller Wahrheiten, die die Basis unseres sittlichen Lebensgehaltes bilden: die spezielle Gottesbeziehung zu jedem einzelnen, das Stehen eines jeden einzelnen in dem Dienste Gottes, die sittliche Freiheit, mit deren Verleihung Gott die Erfüllung seines Willens, das Erreichen seiner Ziele auf Erden, "die Segnung seines Werkes", von dem freien Entschlusse seiner Menschen abhängig gemacht, also, dass der Seinem Dienste sich weihende Mensch diese Weihe in dem zu Gott gewandten "Baruch" niederzulegen vermag.

Sinnvoll fügen unsere Berachoth zu dem bereits durch unseren Text gegebenen ד׳ אלקיך :שם, also: ד׳ אלקינו, auch den Begriff: מלך העולם ,מלכות hinzu, und lehrt die Halacha (Berachot 40 b): כל ברכה שאין בה שם ומלכות אינה ברכה. Leiten doch die Berachoth von den "in der zeitlichen Welt" an uns hinantretenden Momenten zu dem ewigen Regierer aller Zeitlichkeit über, auf dass wir in dem, den uns ein jeder Moment unserer Zeitlichkeit verkündet, den erkennen, der ה׳ אלקינו ist, und dem wir als solchem mit der Dahingebung unseres ganzen Seins und Wollens huldigen sollen. Ebenso sinnvoll spricht die zweite Hälfte unserer Berachoth von Gott in der dritten Person, während die erste Hälfte zu ihm in der Anrede der zweiten Person hinantritt. Die zweite Hälfte der Berachoth spricht nämlich in der Regel das Moment aus, welches auf den hinweist, zu dem wir in der ersten Hälfte der Beracha mit unserem Huldigungsausdruck hinantreten. Der Genuss, die Erscheinung, die Mizwa weist uns auf den hin, usw. und zu ihm אשר קדשנו במצותיו ,שבחו וגבורתו מלא עולם ,הזן את העולם כולו treten wir mit dem ברוך אתה-Gelöbnis hinan, mit dem durch den Genuss zu erzielenden oder erzielten Gewinnst an Kraft, in der von seiner Allmacht erfüllten Welt, mit der seinem Gesetze gemäß zu übenden Tat usw. der Erfüllung seines Willens zu leben.

Ebenso wie unsere von den Weisen nach Genüssen usw. geordneten ברכות in ברבת המזון das Vorbild דאוריתא haben, ist auch nach der Auffassung vieler eine Vorberacha, die vor למוד התורה zu sprechende Beracha (Berachot 21 a) דאוריתא (siehe siehe ; ַ47 א׳׳ח פר׳׳ח und מצוה טו׳ ,מצות עשה ספר המצות Nachwort zu רמב׳׳ן unten zu Kap. 32, 3) und wären somit diese beiden die Vorbilder für die von den Weisen uns geordneten Vor- und Nachberachoth. Der vor jedem Genuss in Beracha zu gelobende Entschluss, den durch den Genuss zu gewinnenden Zuschuss an Lebenskraft im Dienste Gottes zu verbrauchen, soll uns erst des Genusses würdig machen, und כל הנהנה מן העולם הזה בלא ברכה מעל, lautet das Wort der Weisen, wer von dieser Welt ohne Beracha genießt, hat sich gleichsam an einem Gottesheiligtum vergriffen; vor der Beracha ist alles Gottes und erst mit der Beracha erwirbt man ein Anrecht an die Güter der Welt (Berachot 35 a).

Ebenso soll die Beracha vor Erfüllung einer Mizwa erst unseren Sinn zu dem rechten Bewusstsein sammeln, in welchem die Mizwa erfüllt sein will, dass wir die vorzunehmende Handlung als "Mizwa", als Gottesgebot zu dem Zwecke unserer "Heiligung" zu üben haben: אשר קדשנו במצותיו. Beracha wird daher nur vor solchen Mizwoth gesprochen, mit deren Erfüllung zugleich ein unser Denken und Wollen berichtigender und bereichernder, somit uns heiligender Einfluss bezweckt wird, wie vor מגלה ,שופר, ציצת usw. usw. nicht aber, wo zunächst nur eine konkrete Wirkung beabsichtigt ist, wie השבת עבוט ,השבת גזלה ,צדקה usw. deren Erfüllung nicht wesentlich bei der Gesinnung und Stimmung beteiligt ist, in welchen wir sie üben.

Wir glauben, damit einen Schlüssel für das System der ברכות מצוה gefunden zu haben. Nur die Beracha vor Herstellung einer מעקה. (Dewarim 22, 8; — siehe Abudraham Kap. III) stände dem entgegen (siehe (678 § חורב .

השמר לך פן תשכח את ה' אלו-היך לבלתי שמר מצותיו ומשפטיו וחקותיו, “Be very much on guard against yourself not to forget the Lord your G’d and to not observe His commandments, His social laws and His statutes.”You are aware already that throughout the Book of Deuteronomy Moses constantly speaks of the combined attributes ה' אלו-הינו, the ones we invoke each time we recite one of the blessings mentioning that we perform one of His commandments. The mystical dimension in that formula is that we address G’d both directly i.e. ברוך אתה, as well as indirectly 'אשר קדשנו וגו.

V. 11. השמר לך. Durch ברכת המזון soll das Bewusstsein stets wach gehalten werden, wem wir das Land und seine Segnungen verdanken, unter welchen Bedingungen und für welchen Zweck wir es erhalten, dass wir der empfangenen Segnungen nur so lange würdig bleiben, als wir der mit jeder empfangenen Gottesspende sich erneuenden Verpflichtung eingedenk bleiben, selber "Segen zu werden", Segen des Gotteswerkes, Erfüller des göttlichen Willens auf Erden. השמר לך פן תשכח, eben die Fülle könnte uns gottvergessen machen.

Bedeutsam stehen hier מצות voran und sodann משפטים und חוקות. Soll doch zunächst dem durch Besitz und Genuss so leicht entstehenden egoistischen Selbstgefühl durch die Mahnung an die mit jedem Besitz und jedem Genuss sich nur steigernde "Pflicht" entgegengewirkt werden, allen Besitz und allen Genuss nur im Dienste Gottes zu verwenden, der uns auf unseren "Posten in seinem Reiche" gestellt und uns für die Lösung seiner Aufgaben Besitz und Genüsse gewährt. Diese "Verwendung von Kräften und Mitteln für Gottes Zwecke" sind ganz eigentlich מצות, und משפטים und חוקים sprechen die Anforderungen des Rechts und der Sittlichkeit als die Schranken des Besitzes- und Genussesstrebens aus.

VV. 12 u. 13. פן תאכל ושבעת usw. Während Bodenreichtum immerhin mehr den Gottessegen als die Schöpfungen der Menschenkraft vergegenwärtigt, sind es Bauten und beweglicher Reichtum, in welchen sich vor allem das Selbstgefühl schaffender Tätigkeit selbstgefällig spiegelt. Diese sind daher nächst der vom Lande gewährten Sättigung besonders hervorgehoben.

ורם לבבך ושכחת את ה' אלו-היך, “and your heart will be arrogant and you will forget the Lord your G’d;” pride is the principal cause of forgetting essentials. Due to the abundance of affluence, peace, tranquillity, etc., a person’s heart becomes haughty, smug, and his evil urge finds it easy to provoke him to follow the dictates of his heart without restraint. When that happens, heaven’s concerns become marginal for him. This is why Solomon felt prompted to say (Kohelet 10,4) “if the spirit of a ruler flares up against you, do not leave your place, for deference appeases great offenses.” Solomon referred to the power of the planet Mars as a “ruler,” seeing it is the instigator of all the troubles and unpleasant occurrences on earth; the evil urge derives from that constellation. Solomon calls it רוח, spirit, seeing it personifies the spirit of impurity. The meaning of the whole verse is: “if this spirit of impurity wants to assert itself over you, do not prove agreeable, do not listen to it to put aside the concerns of the Lord in order to follow its call. Do not leave “your place,” seeing G’d is “the place” of the universe.”

VV. 14. — 17. ורם לבבך ושכחת (Sota 5 a) wird hieran אזהרה לגסי רוח, die allgemeine Warnung vor Stolz und Hochmut geknüpft und gezeigt, wie Stolz und ע׳׳ז, Stolz undכפירה בעיקר so nahe zusammengrenzt. In der Tat führt Hochmut nicht erst zur Gottvergessenheit, er ist selbst schon der Anfang von Gottvergessenheit; denn wo der Gedanke "Gott" wohnt, da gibt es keine Stätte für "Hochmut und Stolz". כל אדם, heißt es daselbst, שיש בו גסות הרוח אמר הקב׳׳ה אין אני והוא יכולין לדור בעולם, von dem Stolzen spricht Gott: Ich und er, wir können zusammen nicht in der Welt wohnen.

ורם לבבך ושכחת, “and your heart feels superior, as a result of which you will forget” (the Lord and His largesse). Moses had warned against such a phenomenon already in verse 11. The phenomenon of becoming haughty is tragically all too common.

המוציאך. In der Selbständigkeit und der Fülle wirst du ganz vergessen, wie du Sklave in Mizrajim und hilflos in der Wüste gewesen und die Selbständigkeit und jetzige Fülle nur Gott verdankest, und deine gegenwärtige Sättigung vermittelst der gewöhnlichen Naturordnung, ganz so wie die offenbare Wunderspeisung in der Wüste, Gottes Werk und Spende seiner fürsorgenden Waltung ist. —

כחי ist die schaffende Kraft, ׳עצם יד die Schwierigkeiten und Gegner bewältigende Macht. חיל ist jede zu Gebote stehende Sammlung von Kräften und Mitteln (siehe Schmot 18, 21).

ומצור החלמיש, which was turned into water for your benefit. Compare Psalms 114,8: “Who has turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint stone into a fountain of water.”

למען ענותך, so that you will keep His commandments out of a sense of poverty, as do people who have no bread in their baskets (which would give them a feeling of confidence).

למען ענותך ולמען נסותך להיטיבך באחריתך, “in order to afflict you and in order to test you, to do good for you in the end.” All the tedium the people experienced during their trek in the desert was designed to subject them to a test to get them used to deal with such phenomena and to strengthen their faith when they would emerge from these tests each time. Faith in the Lord had to be instilled in them until it became their second nature (actually “first” nature). This is what David prayed for when he said in Psalms 25,5: “guide me in Your true way and teach me.” The word למדני, “teach me,” must be understood as similar to Jeremiah 2,24: פרא למוד במדבר, “a wild ass used to the desert” (trained in the desert). [The wild ass would not be wild if it had indeed been trained. The meaning is that it was unbridled and reflected the norms applicable in the desert. G’d used the Israelites’ desert experience to train them to cope with adversity by relying on their G’d in heaven. Ed.]. Hoseah 10,11 using the example of a heifer, makes a similar point. David asked for G’d’s assistance in training him to do His will until it would become his nature to do so, until it required little effort. We find the same wish expressed in Deut. 14,23 where the commandments of tithing and making pilgrimages to Jerusalem annually are used as prime examples of getting the Jewish people to “learn” to revere the Lord our G’d.
The reason why the Torah describes a people being fed manna from heaven as suffering, enduring an “affliction” in doing so is to teach that when someone does not have a food supply for a number of days ahead he is considered as enduring an “affliction.” The fact that the supply of manna was only sufficient for one day at a time and the people had to depend on G’d’s goodwill on a daily basis was an ענוי, a serious discomfort. Even the eating of such a limited food supply makes one conscious that there is nothing left when one has concluded one’s meal, a fact which lessens’ one’s enjoyment. Psychologically, this is similar to the blind who cannot see what they eat and therefore do not enjoy it. Peace of mind, and therefore enjoyment of what one has in storage depends largely on one’s ability to see and reassure oneself that one has no immediate worries. Scriptural proof for this is found in Kohelet 6,9 טוב מראה עינים מהלך נפש, “better what the eyes see than what the mind (only) imagines.”

ולמען נסותך, to see if He will give you your livelihood without your having to perform back breaking labour if you perform His will as written in the Torah

להיטיבך, more so even than to the ministering angels, who, in spite of their devoted service are in a state of panicky flight before Him.

To ultimately benefit you. This does not mean “that it will be good for you ultimately” for if so, it should have said, “To give benefit to you.” Rather it means “to make you good.” This test was similar to the test of the flax which I wrote about earlier, and is in order to accustom you to trust in Hashem, even until your final moment. And it is clear from this that Hashem watches over everything that happens every single moment.

ואמרת בלבך כחי ועוצם ידי, “and you will say in your heart: “My strength and the power of My hand, etc.” Moses says that possibly your arrogance will become such that you ascribe your affluence to your horoscope. The word כחי would refer to influences from outer space, astrological in nature, the word עצם ידי would refer to sub-terrestrial influences, demons resident below earth.

AND THOU SHALT REMEMBER THE ETERNAL THY G-D, FOR IT IS HE WHO GIVETH THEE POWER TO GET WEALTH. It is known that Israelites are mighty men, valiant men for the war⁹⁴Jeremiah 48:14. because they were likened to lions⁹⁵See Genesis 49:9. and to a ravenous wolf,⁹⁶See ibid., Verse 27. and they vanquished the Canaanite kings in battle. Therefore he said, “If you should think, ‘my power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth,’⁹⁷Verse 17. you should remember G-d Who brought you forth from Egypt where you had no power or might of hand at all. You should further remember that He provided all your needs for you in the wilderness, where you had nought in the power of thy hand⁹⁸Further, 28:32. to survive. If so [concerning] this wealth which you have won by your strength as well, [you should bear in mind that] it is G-d Who gave you the power [that was necessary for you] to accumulate the wealth; and if you forget G-d He will consume thy flesh and thy body⁹⁹Proverbs 5:11. and you will perish,¹⁰⁰Verse 19. just as [the nations before you] perished,¹⁰¹Verse 20. for all that forsake the Eternal shall be consumed.¹⁰²Isaiah 1:28.
And then Moses reverted to bring yet another proof that you should not think ‘my power and the might of my hand etc.,’⁹⁷Verse 17. and he said Hear, O Israel¹⁰³Further, 9:1. a true word from my mouth, that these nations are greater and mightier than thyself,¹⁰³Further, 9:1. and how will you vanquish them in battle? Besides, they have cities great and fortified up to the high heavens,¹⁰³Further, 9:1. and how will you capture them? Moreover, there is a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom thou knowest¹⁰⁴Ibid., Verse 2. from the spies who saw them, and of whom thou hast heard¹⁰⁴Ibid., Verse 2. from days of yore that no man can stand up against them. And when all this becomes clear to you, you should realize and believe from this day on that you will be unable to go over [the Jordan to do battle] before them at all until you know in your heart that the Eternal thy G-d is He Who goeth over before thee as a devouring fire, and He will destroy them, and He will bring them down.¹⁰⁵Ibid., Verse 3. It is not the power and the might of hand He gave you, but the hand of G-d that did this to the mighty ones among them. This is an allusion to what is stated, and the Eternal cast down great stones from heaven upon them,¹⁰⁶Joshua 10:11. and similarly it is said there, And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Eternal hearkened unto the voice of a man; for the Eternal fought for Israel.¹⁰⁷Ibid., Verse 14. The reference to the fortified cities he mentioned here¹⁰³Further, 9:1. is an allusion to the wall of Jericho that fell before the ark. This is what David said, For not by their own sword did they get the Land in possession, neither did their own arm save them; but Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance, because Thou wast favorable unto them¹⁰⁸Psalms 44:4. This psalm is ascribed to the sons of Korach (Verse 1). However, according to the Talmud (Baba Bathra 14b) it is David who wrote the Psalms, including among them the work of the elders, such as the sons of Korach, etc. Hence Ramban correctly writes of this psalm “that David said.” — the right hand of G-d and His [left] arm fought against their mighty ones, and the light of His countenance that was favorable unto them [the Israelites] gave them power over those who were slain in battle. Scripture refers to this in saying further, And I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.¹⁰⁹Amos 2:9. He [the prophet Amos] singled out the Amorite because it was the mightiest [nation] among them, and it was G-d Who destroyed it.

וזכרת את ה׳ אלוקיך, "You shall remember the Lord your G'd, etc." Moses means that we must remember that the source of all the good we will experience is G'd and we must never forget it. If He had not imbued us with strength we could never have achieved what we imagine we have achieved with our own power. Whenever people turn away from religion, if ever so slightly, it is because they forget that their achievements are not truly their own. Such a path leads to a person's eventual destruction. This may be the reason this verse is immediately followed in the next paragraph by the dire warnings about what will happen when Israel "forgets" its G'd deliberately. Once you forget that G'd is the source of all the good you experience, you will eventually forget that you have a very exclusive G'd altogether. Once that happens, you will seek out other deities. Not only will you contemplate idol worship but you will engage in it actively. Not only will this be some kind of loosely defined service, but you will even prostrate yourself in front of such images. Sanhedrin 60 teaches that if one prostrates oneself in front of the idol Markolies one is guilty of idolatry even though this is not an accepted form of worship for that idol.

וזכרת את ה' אלוקיך כי הוא הנותן לך כח, “you are to remember the Lord your G’d, for it is He Who gives you strength, etc.” Nachmanides explains that it was a well known fact that the Israelites counted among them men of outstanding bravery, experts in martial skills, and others of sheer physical strength, for had not their founding father Yaakov compared some of his sons to lions, wolves, etc.? Had they not defeated the most powerful Canaanite Kings in war? Therefore Moses takes pains to remind the people that such strength had been granted to these individuals by Hashem; they are not to credit their achievements in any sphere of activity to כחי ועוצם ידי, “to my own strength and the power of my hand,” but they are to remain mindful of the fact that without the active support of Hashem they could not have achieved any of this. Moses repeats once more his clarion call: שמע ישראל in chapter 9 reminding the people that the nations in the land of Canaan, on a man for man basis, are far more powerful than the individual Israelites, and they are more numerous, and it is only due to Hashem’s intervention on their behalf that past and future victories are possible. Those people even number giants as part of their population. If you were to leave everything to natural causes, you would never achieve your aspirations to subdue them. You must therefore constantly remain conscious of the fact that you have Hashem, Who is your commander-in-chief, and with such a commander-in-chief how could you fail?

V. 18. כח .וזכרת וגו׳: alles, was deine schaffens- und erwerbsfähige Persönlichkeit ausmacht: die Intelligenz, die Fertigkeit, die überlegende und berechnende Einsicht, die geistige und leibliche Gesundheit, jedes Moment deines seienden und wollenden und könnenden Wesens, ist kein Produkt deiner pyhsischen Nahrung, ist unmittelbare Verleihung deines Gottes, sowie von Ihm und Ihm allein auch das Zusammenwirken der äußeren Verhältnisse abhängt, die die Möglichkeit und das Gelingen deines Schaffens bedingen: Er gibt dir die Kraft, Vermögen zu schaffen. Dein Glück ist zum kleinsten Teil dein Verdienst. Und nicht einmal deinem sittlichen Verdienste kannst du diesen Segen des göttlichen Wohlgefallens zuschreiben; denn nicht um deiner sittlichen Verdienste willen, sondern um deiner Väter willen, deren Tugenden Er in dem Glück der Enkel lohnt למען הקים וגו׳, wird dir dies alles. Du hast also nach keiner Seite hin Ursache, stolz zu sein.

והיה אם שכוח תשכח, this will happen if you attribute your success to your own efforts instead of giving credit to G’d and thanking Him for it by blessing Him.

אבד תאבדון כגוים, "you will most certainly perish, just as the nations, etc." Why did Moses repeat the word אבד תאבדון? Besides, why did Moses have to illustrate this by a comparison to other nations? Moreover, why did he repeat himself another time at the end of verse 20 with the words כן תאבדון, "so you will perish?"

V. 19. והיה. Es bedarf, wie durch ברכת המזון und die anderen Institutionen des Gesetzes der steten Erinnerung an Gott. Man kehrt Gott nicht auf einmal den Rücken, man wird Ihm nach und nach entfremdet und in keinem Zustande mehr als im mangellosen Glückszustande. Darum nach der Bemerkung der Weisen: כל מקום שאתה מוצא אכילה ושביעה שם אתה מוצא אזהרה.

That is that He commanded us to bless Him after eating. And that is His saying, "And you shall eat and be satiated, and bless the Lord, your God" (Deuteronomy 8:10). And the language of the Tosefta (Tosefta Berakhot 6:1) is, "Grace over the meals is [an obligation] from the Torah, as it is stated, 'And you shall eat and be satiated, and bless.'" And the regulations of this commandment have already been explained in many places in Tractate Berakhot. (See Parashat Ekev, Mishneh Torah, Blessings 1.)

תאבדון, you will be lost both in the terrestrial world and will forfeit your claim to eternal life after you depart from this earth.

I believe the verse is best understood in light of the Jerusalem Talmud Chagigah 1,7 that the reason Jerusalem was destroyed was because they "cancelled" Le. deliberately failed to teach their children words of the Torah. The Talmud means that even though many people worshiped idols and committed other cardinal sins, this in itself would not have resulted in the destruction of the Temple and the city had they not openly shown their disdain for the Torah. Such a statement is apt to make some people feel that they could get away with idolatry as long as they deceive G'd and study His Torah at the same time, expecting their Torah study to serve as a protective shield for them. Moses therefore warns that idolatry will lead to destruction of the people and their expulsion from the land of Israel. He reinforces his warning with the words העידותי בכם "I forewarn you this day, etc." The repetition of the word תאבדון refers to two stages of this "perishing." Initially, you will become like Gentiles who have no Torah and who therefore forget that there is a G'd. Once you have become like the Gentiles whom G'd makes perish from time to time, you will be treated in the same maner, i.e. you will perish altogether instead of merely being reduced to the status of Gentiles. According to this interpretation the word כגוים at the beginning of verse 20 is part of verse 19. The word suggests that the first word תאבדון "you will perish" in verse 19 means that you will perish as Jews and be like Gentiles. The same word as part of verse 20 then does "double duty" and refers to the way G'd makes the Gentiles perish; Moses threatens that as stage two of this process the Jews, who have by then declined to be no better than the Gentiles, will also perish bodily, just as many of the Gentiles have done already. Moses continues saying עקב לא תשמעון to teach that where there is no Torah there is not a single element in their favour which could delay their destruction. This is why he added the words בקול ה׳ אלוקיכם, "to the voice of the Lord your G'd." I have already mentioned repeatedly that wherever we encounter the expression the "voice of G'd," this is a reference to the Torah.

The sequence of the words כגויס..כן תאבדון may also mean that in addition to the expression אבוד תאבדון in verse 19 they will face another disaster, i.e. that those Jews who have survived the disaster will end up as Gentiles. Moses means that these Jewish survivors will be deprived of prophecy and the Holy Spirit. This threat will make the people tremble as there is no greater curse in the world than this threat. Woe to the generations of Jews who have experienced this bitter existence, a fate worse than death. May the Lord have mercy upon us and restore the Holy Spirit to all deserving members of our people as in times of old.

We may also understand these two verses in the following manner. Moses alludes to three kinds of disasters. One example is what happened when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the first Temple when he killed many Jews and exiled the remainder. Moses referred to this when he said אבוד תאבדון. The second disaster alluded to is what happened during the days of Mordechai when Haman plotted to wipe out every single Jew. Moses referred to this when he said כגוים אשר ה׳ מאביד, "as the nations whom G'd wipes out." He meant that the Israelites might experience the kind of punishment which Haman had in mind for them, i.e. utter destruction such as in Deut. 20,17 where the Torah commands us not to let a single soul of the seven Canaanite nations survive. Had it not been for the merit of Mordechai and Esther who made strenuous efforts to cancel this anti Jewish decree who knows what would have happened. This is what Moses alluded to when he repeated כן תאבדון, "you would indeed perish," i.e. he referred to a separate possibility which fortunately did not materialise. The third disaster Moses alluded to in these two verses is the removal of the gift of prophecy from the people of Israel, and this is the deeper meaning of עקב לא תשמעון בקול ה׳ אלוקיכם. The word עקב again means: "at the end, etc." If after all the admonitions by the prophets you will persist in not hearkening, then the very instrument, i.e. the prophecy, which is meant to help you find your way back to G'd will be denied you. I have already emphasised that this is the worst of the three disasters Moses envisages.

BECAUSE YOU DID NOT HEED. This is the conclusion of the entire beginning of the parasha. V'HAYAH EKEV TISH'M'UN [If you do obey], you will come to own the land; V'EKEV LO TISH'M'UN [Because you did not heed], you shall perish from it.

V. 20. עקב וגו׳, sowie die, wenngleich oft späte, doch sichere Folge des Gehorsams Segen und Gedeihen ist (Kap. 7, 12), so ist der Untergang, wenngleich oft spät doch die sichere Folge des Ungehorsams. Beides kommt nach und nach und spät, sonst wäre Gehorsam keine Tugend und Ungehorsam Wahnsinn. Daher bedarf es ganz eigentlich der העדה, wie es im vorigen Verse העדתי heißt, der "Vergegenwärtigung" dessen, was, weil es nicht sofort sichtbar ist, dem Bewusstsein entschwindet (העד ,עוד siehe Bereschit 43, 3).

That is that He commanded us to administer the laws of the impurity of a garment that has tsaraat, such that it be impure. And this commandment includes all the types of impurity of tsaraat of a garment - how they are impure and how they generate impurity, which ones need quarantine or tearing or burning or washing and purification - and the other things that appear in Scripture or through the tradition about it. (See Parashat Tazria; Mishneh Torah, Defilement by Leprosy 12.)