Comentario sobre Levítico 26:4

בעתם [THEN I WILL GIVE YOU RAIN] IN ITS SEASON — i. e. at times when the rain is “seasonable”, at such moments when people do not usually go out on journeys, as, for instance, in the nights preceding the Sabbaths (Friday nights) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 1 1; cf. Taanit 23a).

THEN WILL I GIVE YOUR RAINS IN THEIR SEASON. He mentioned the matter of rains first [of all the blessings] because if they come in their proper season, the air is pure and good and the springs and rivers are good [clear], and thus it [the rain] is a [prime] cause of physical health, and all produce will increase and be blessed by it, just as He said, and the Land shall yield her produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.¹In Verse 4 before us. Thus because of this [pure state of the environment] people do not become sick, and none shall miscarry, nor be barren,²Exodus 23:26. even among their cattle,³See Deuteronomy 7:14. and they will live out [the full extent of] their days.⁴See II Samuel 7:12. For when the material frame [of human beings] is large and healthy, they can continue [in health] as in the days of Adam.⁵Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years (Genesis 5:5). See Ramban ibid., on Verse 4, (Vol. I pp. 98-99). Thus this [blessing — the rains in their seasons] is the greatest of all blessings [and therefore it is given first place].
Now He said that the heavens will respond to the earth⁶See Hosea 2:23. with rains in their seasons, and the earth shall respond⁷See ibid., Verse 24. with its “produce”, which includes vegetation and all moving creatures — cattle, beasts, creeping things and fowl, as well as fish — for the term ha’aretz [“the earth” or “the land,” in and ‘the land’ shall yield her produce] includes the whole of the lower sphere [i.e., everything under the sphere of the moon], just as [in the verses]: In the beginning G-d created the heaven and ‘ha’aretz’ (the earth);⁸Genesis 1:1. See Ramban ibid., Verse 3 (Vol. I, p. 25) where he discusses this topic fully, and mentions also the verses cited in the following text. And the heaven and ‘ha’aretz’ (the earth) were finished;⁹Ibid., 2:1. and similarly, Praise the Eternal from ‘ha’aretz’ (the earth), ye sea-monsters and all deeps,¹⁰Psalms 148:7. and so also in most verses in Scripture [where this word occurs]. Thus all things created in the lower spheres are “the produce of the earth.”

ונתתי גשמיכם בעתם, "And I will provide your rains at their proper time." We must first understand why the verse commences with the letter ו seeing the verse is not preceded by another promise that this verse adds on to. If you accept my interpretation of the word תלכו itself being the promise in the last verse, there is no need to wonder about the letter ו at the beginning of this verse.

At the time that it is not the habit of people to go out. You might ask: How does Rashi know this? Perhaps “in their proper time” means at the time you need rain? The answer is: Since it is written “your rain” instead of “rain,” this indicates it will be “your rain,” i.e., at the time you need it. If so, why does Scripture write “in their proper time”? To teach you, “At the time...”

גשמיכם בעתם, “your rains at their appointed times.” If these rains would descend at the wrong time they would make your crops rot instead of ripen.

ועץ השדה AND THE TREES OF THE FIELD [SHALL YIELD THEIR FRUIT] — This refers to the wild trees; and even these will bear fruits in future (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 1 6).

On Friday nights. As it says in Arvei Pesachim (Pesachim 112b), that “in their proper time” refers to [the verse] above where it is written, at the end of parshas Behar (26:2) “You shall keep My Shabbosos,” and [this is based on the rule that] they derive [new laws] from [the juxtaposition of verses]. See more about this later in parshas Eikev.

The letter ו may also be justifiable in light of the plain meaning of this verse appearing to promise that there is a reward for observing the commandments in this life and that this reward is the beneficial rainfall. One might assume therefore that G'd has discharged His promise of rewarding us for מצוה-observance with economic prosperity. The letter ו indicates that prior to promising any benefit for our observance in this life the Torah had already promised reward in the hereafter in the previous verse. I have alluded to this in one of my commentaries on the words אם בחקתי תלכו. Alternatively, the key to the verse is the suffix כם in the word גשמיכם, "your rains." Normally, we would have considered that seeing the rain comes from heaven it is G'd's rain. The Torah had previously promised a reward in the hereafter, which is something no one in this world can experience. The Torah therefore wanted us to know that there is something over and beyond that in our world but that it emanates from the celestial spheres. In order that we should not look upon these rains as a reward for Torah observance G'd describes them as "your rains." It is something that is ours not as a result of our מצוה-observance but because the Torah scholars are the pillars of the world. Anyone who studies Torah is entitled to view them as something belonging to him. Perhaps it is this consideration which led Baba Kama 38 to conclude that since the Israelites can lay claim to the whole world based on this consideration, the properties of the Gentiles legally belong to them. [The Talmud there bases the ruling that the Jewish owner of an ox which gores an animal belonging to a Gentile does not have to pay compensation, on Chabakuk 3,6. Ed.]

These are non-fruit bearing trees. Because it is written “trees of the field,” which is a superfluous [phrase]. Thus “of the field” implies trees that grow in the field that do not generally produce fruit. I.e., non-fruit bearing trees. (Nachalas Yaakov) Rashi is answering the question: We do not find that the bearing of fruit by non-fruit bearing trees was fulfilled, even though “the word of our God stands forever” (Yeshayahu 40:8) and cannot remain unfulfilled? He answers: Even though Israel did not merit to receivereceiving this blessing in this world, it will be fulfilled in the [Messianic] future, soon in our days.

Another reason why the verse commences with the letter ו may be G'd telling us that although we receive the rain as a gift from Him, He does not consider it as belonging or having belonged to Him but as belonging to "you."

The Torah is careful to use the word: "And I will give," to underline that it is the exclusive domain of G'd to provide rain both quantitatively and qualitatively. He alone can judge how much rain is needed by the earth in the land of Israel. This is the meaning of Vayikra Rabbah 28,3 that while man lies down to sleep G'd is busy gathering the clouds to provide rain.

The word גשמיכם may be understood as a collective term for food or nourishment, both the kind which is required for the earth, and that which is required for the creatures inhabiting it. There is both spiritual and physical nourishment. The earth is recipient of nourishment in the form of rain or dew. I have explained all this in my commentary on פרשת בהר.