Commento su Deuteronomio 11:16

TAKE HEED [THAT YOUR HEART MISLEAD YOU NOT] — when you have eaten and are full, take heed to yourselves that you kick not against God; for usually no man rebels against the Holy One, blessed be He, except out of satiety, as it is said, (Deuteronomy 8:12—14) “Lest thou eat and art full … and thy herds and flocks increase”. What is stated after this? “And thy heart be lifted up and thou forget [the Lord thy God]” (Sifrei Devarim 43:7).

השמרו לכם פן יפתה לבבכם, “Be very much on guard that your hearts will not be seduced, etc.” The seduction might result from the very serenity and affluence of your existence in the land of Israel. You might, G’d forbid, become attracted to idolatry and depart from the path G’d has earmarked for you. If that were to happen, G’d will become very angry at you and lock the heavens so that there will not be any rain (next verse). The reason that Moses uses the example of absence of rain as indicating G’d’s anger is because the pagans attribute the very presence of rain to their worshipping their various deities faithfully. This is why it was important to point out to the Israelites that if they would depart from the path of the Torah the very opposite would occur; instead of their assuring themselves of their rain supply through idolatry they would lose that life-giving rain. Isaiah 30,22-23 is on record that when the Israelites who had been guilty of worshipping idols will throw out the silver overlays of these images they will be provided with rain as acknowledgment of their penitence. The prophet also picked rainfall as his example of G’d’s positive reaction to a penitent Israel to remind them that such basics as rainfall are provided only through the Lord our G’d. We have to pin our hopes on Him and not on anyone else.

By abandoning the Torah, etc. In Scripture, every instance of “turn away” means, “to turn away from what was commanded to be done,” referring to a positive commandment. It is written (below 11:28), “And you turn away from the course, etc.,” and not, from what you were commanded to refrain from doing. Therefore, perforce, “turn away,” [here] means, “To turn away from the Torah that you were commanded to toil in it,” and the result will be, “You serve other gods, etc.” From here our Sages say, “For once a man abandons the Torah, etc.” (Re”m).