Commento su Deuteronomio 11:13

והיה אם שמע AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IF YE WILL HEARKEN — The word והיה is to be connected with what is said above (v. 11): “it drinketh water of the rain of heaven”.

[AND TO SERVE HIM] WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL. “Has he not already mentioned with all thy heart and with all thy soul?³²²Above, 6:5. But that warning was addressed to the individual, and this is a warning to the community.” This is Rashi’s language quoting the Sifre.³²³Sifre, Eikev 41. The explanation of the matter is as follows: G-d does not always perform miracles — every time giving the rain of the Land [in its proper season], the former rain and the latter rain, increasing the corn, wine, and oil, and providing also abundant grass in the fields for the cattle, or, on the contrary, shutting up the heaven and drying up the Land — except according to the deeds of the majority of the people. The individual, however, lives by his own merits, and he dies in his iniquity.³²⁴Ezekiel 33:9. Thus he is saying that upon their performance of all the commandments out of perfect love, He will do all these miracles with them for the good. And he further says that when they worship idols He will perform with them a sign for bad [to indicate to them the need to repent]. Know further that miracles for good or bad are performed only for perfectly righteous or utterly wicked people. For average people, however, He visits good or bad upon them in a natural manner according to their way and by their doings.³²⁵Ibid., 36:17.

אם שמוע תשמעו...ונתתי מטר ארצכם בעתו, so that you will find your livelihood painlessly, and the land will cooperate with you. If not, G’d will not provide any rain and you will not have food to eat (16-17)

והיה אם שמע תשמעו, "and it will be if you will surely hearken, etc." The meaning of the word והיה is usually that something joyful will occur. Moses tempers this by making the joy conditional on it being due to performance of G'd's commandments. Moses continues with the conditional אם [as opposd to the word כאשר "when," Ed.]. The reason is analogous to what we have learned in Shabbat 30 that the only kind of joy Solomon praised was the joy generated through מצוה-performance. Concerning all other kinds of joy Kohelet 2,2 applies, i.e. ולשמחה מה זה עושה, "and of joy, what does it accomplish?" Moses repeated the word שמע based on a comment in Berachot 55 on Daniel 2,21 "He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledgable." G'd does not grant wisdom unless a person has already acquired a measure of wisdom. When Moses says: "if you will hearken" he means if you already have a wise heart and are mentally prepared to hearken, G'd will grant you more such wisdom so that you will surely hearken to G'd."

והיה אם שמוע תשמעון...ונתתי מטר, so that you will be able to eat without being subjected to strenuous work. If you do not observe the commandments,

בכל לבבכם ובכל נפשכם, “with all your heart and all your soul.” Rashi points out that Moses had already warned the people individually to do just that, whereas now he warns them to love G’d with all their collective hearts and with all their collective souls (hence the plural endings in both words). Nachmanides explains the matter as follows: G’d is not prepared to perform miracles at all times, especially when it comes to interference with the amount of rain required and the season at which the rain descends. He does not, on account of a few individuals deviate from His laws, re-arrange all of nature, so that the sinner’s field is not irrigated and the fields of the righteous enjoy abundant rainfall, although the two fields are adjoining. Therefore, in this paragraph Moses addresses the people as a unit when exhorting them to love G’d with all their hearts and souls, whereas in the first paragraph of the קריאת שמע when he addressed them as individuals he did not threaten what would happen if some individual were not to follow his instructions. He will however, address that problem in chapter 29 17-19. As a rule, G’d reserves miracles for extreme situations, such as total perversion of the people or total righteousness. The former will produce recognisable unnatural catastrophes, whereas the latter will produce extraordinary and recognizable bounty by G’d, the Provider.

By the rain of the skies you will drink water. For if you heed, then “I will provide the rain of your land.” But if not then, “He will restrain the skies, etc.”

V. 13. והיה וגו׳, schließt sich dem Vorhergehenden an, in welchem gesagt war, dass Blüte und Gedeihen des Landes von unserem sittlichen Verhalten "i>Gott, unserem Gotte" gegenüber bedingt sei, und zwar, wie im Sifri z. St. gelehrt wird, מראשית השנה עד אחרית השנה, unterliegt unser sittliches Verhalten einer steten Überwachung, nicht nur der Frucht auf dem Felde, sondern auch der bereits eingebrachten, aufgespeicherten, ja zum Genuss genommenen, je nach unserem Verhalten Segen oder Unsegen zu spenden, wie es heißt: יצו ד׳ אתך את הברכה באסמיך ובכל משלח ידך (Kap. 28, 8), ברוך טנאך ומשארתך (daselbst), והסירתי מחלה מקרבך (15 .11) ואכלת ושבעת (Schmot. 22), הם ברשותי ליתן בהם ברכה בשם שאני נותן להם ברכה בשדה.

שמע תשמעו lit: AND IT WILL COME TO PASS IF HEARKENING YE WILL HEARKEN — If you hearken to the old (if you hear again what you have already learnt, i.e. if you repeatedly study the old lessons), you will hearken to the new (you will the more easily gain new knowledge) (Sukkah 46b; cf. Rashi on Exodus 19:5). Similar is the meaning of אם שכח תשכח (Deuteronomy 8:19): If you have begun to forget, your end will be that you will forget all of it. So, too, is written in a certain Scroll: If thou forgettest Me one day, I will forget thee two days (cf. Sifrei Devarim 48:8; Jerusalem Talmud end of Berakhot).

ועצר את השמים ולא יהיה מטר, He will lock the gates of heaven and there will not be any rain.

If you heed the old, etc. I.e., if you review what you already learned, then you will gain wisdom from it and understand new matters from the old. Rashi explains likewise in Succah (46b). Even though regarding [the seeming redundancy] הענק תענק (surely bestow a gift) we say that the Torah uses common speech, we expound the verse whenever we are able to (Re”m). Alternatively, here the word והיה (lit., it will be) is an expression of certainty, whereas the word אם (if) is an expression of doubt. Therefore, the verse is expounded.

לאהבה…ולעבדו…ונתתי, "to love G'd..to serve Him;..and I will give the rain, etc." In view of previous statements to the effect that the reward for מצוה-performance is not paid in this life, Moses assures the people if their service is of a quality that is equivalent to their loving G'd with all their heart then they will also experience compensation in this life. This is the meaning of the conjunctive letter ו at the beginning of the word ונתתי in verse 14. Receiving rainfall at the appropriate time is not the reward for their מצוה-performance but is something additional, i.e. ו, plus. The reward itself is stored up for the Hereafter. Moses also hints that although a good livelihood is one of the three blessings which are within the province of mazzal and not of personal merit as we explained repeatedly (Moed Katan 28), when the nation serves the Lord in the above-mentioned manner Israel as a whole will rise above mazzal and everything which happens to it comes under the scrutiny of the personal providence of G'd.

Daran knüpft sich nun als Konsequenz והיה usw. — אם שמע תשמע. Allererste Vorbedingung allen Heiles ist das fortgesetzte, immer fortschreitende "Hinhören auf die Gebote Gottes", das sich nach dem Sifri vor allem im "Lernen" des Gesetzes bekundet, und wird daselbst nachgewiesen, wie Unkenntnis oder mangelhafte Kenntnis des göttlichen Gesetzes zu aller Zeit die Grundwurzel alles Übels gewesen.

מצוה אתכם היום [MY COMMANDMENTS WHICH I] COMMAND YOU THIS DAY — This suggests that they should ever be to you as new commandments, as though you had heard them for the first time on that day (Sifrei Devarim 58).

This is as it is written in the scroll, etc. I.e., Megilas Storim, but it is not a verse found in any of the twenty-four books of Scripture. And in the Talmud Yerushalmi, an allegory is mentioned of two people taking leave of each other. One travels a day’s journey eastward, and the other travels a day’s journey westward. They will find themselves distanced from each other by a two days’ journey. The same is true about the Torah.

בכל לבבכם ובכל נפשכם, "with all your hearts and with all your souls." In this instance Moses did not mention מאדכם, "your material assets" as he did in Deut. 6,5. The reason is that the paragraph in Deut. 6 was addressed to the individual Jew whereas this paragraph is addressed to the nation as a whole. Whereas it is possible to find an individual who values his material assets over and above his very life, the Torah had to command that Jew not to do so. Amongst the people collectively it is psychologically impossible to find them value their assets as worth dying for. In such a setting, the rule applies that people will give up all their wealth in order to save their lives. As soon as Moses had told the people that they should love the Lord with all their souls, it went without saying that the same applies to all their material assets.

אל מצותי und ebenso Verse 14 und 15. ונתתי. Diese unsere ganze Zukunft enthaltende Mahnung wird in direkter Gottesrede gegeben. Sie ist gleichsam das, was Gott, הדרש אותנו תמיר und אשר עיניו בנו מרשית השנה עד אחרית השנה, in jedem Augenblick zu uns spricht. Sie ist der Inbegriff seiner דרישה und השגחה. Es ist, als ob am Schlusse des vorhergehenden Satzes: לאמר stände. — היום: jeder Tag soll uns die Gebote Gottes aufs neue bringen, sie sollen uns nie veralten und unsere Begeisterung für sie soll in ewiger Frische bleiben, שלא יהו בעיניך כדיוטגמא ישנה usw. (siehe zu Kap. 6, 6).

לאהבה את ה׳ TO LOVE THE LORD — This means that you should not say: Well, I will learn, but in order that I may become rich, in order that I may obtain the title Rabbi, in order that I may receive a prize, — but whatever you do, do it out of love for God (Sifrei Devarim 41:23), and ultimately the honour which you desire will certainly come (Nedarim 62a).

As if you heard them this very day. Otherwise why is, “today,” needed?

לאהכה וגו׳ ist nicht das Objekt von dem vorhergehenden מצוה, sondern das anzustrebende Ergebnis des שמע תשמעו: das Aufnehmen des Gesetzes in Geist und Wille soll אהבה: die gänzliche Liebeshingebung an Gott erzeugen, die in dieser Hingebung und der damit zu erreichenden Gottesnähe das höchste und einzige Ziel alles Strebens erkennt, und עבודה: die tätige Förderung der Gotteszwecke auf Erden, und zwar diese אהבה und diese בכל לבב ובכל נפש :עבודה, mit Hingebung, wenn es sein muss, mit Hinopferung (אהבה) aller "Gedanken und Gefühle" und alles "lebendigen Wollens und Vollbringens", so wie mit Erfüllung des göttlichen Willens (עבודה) an unserem ganzen לב ונפש und mit unserem ganzen לב ונפש (siehe zu Kap. 6, 5).

ולעבדו בכל לבבכם AND TO SERVE HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART — i.e. to serve Him with a service that is in the heart: that is prayer, for prayer is termed service (עבודה), as it is said, (Daniel 6:17) “Thy God whom thou servest continually”. But was there service (i.e. sacrificial service, the technical term for which is עבודה) in Babylon? But the term is used because he offered prayer there, as it is said, (Daniel 6:11) “Now his windows were open [in his upper chamber towards Jerusalem and he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed]”. And so, too, it states in the case of David (Psalms 141:2): “Let my prayer be set forth as incense before Thee” (incense being part of the sacrificial service) (Sifrei Devarim 41:25-27).

Rather, all that you fulfill, fulfill with love, etc. The word לאהבה (to love) should be understood as לאהבת ה' (for the love of Adonoy). It then follows that, "And to serve Him," is [also directly] connected to, “Should you thoroughly heed My commandments.” [According to this] it would be fitting for the verse to say ולעבדני (and to serve Me), except this is only a general exegesis.

Wir haben schon angedeutet, dass — לעבדו ב Zwiefaches umfasst: den Dienst an einem Objekte, d. h. die Erfüllung des Willens eines andern an einem Objekte, seine Wartung und Gestaltung nach dessen Willen, und den Dienst mit einem Objekte: seine Verwendung als Mittel zu den von einem andern gewollten Zwecken. Die Verwirklichung der ersten Seite des ולעבדו בכל לבבכם, des Gottesdienstes an unserem Herzen, erkennt die Lehre der Weisen (Taanit 2 a) zunächst in איזו עבודה שהיא בלב הוי אומר :תפלה זו תפלה und weist Sifri z. St. die begriffliche Identität der תפלה als עבודה שבלב mit עבודת המזבח in Stellen nach wie: תכון תפלתי קטורת לפניך משאת כפי מנחת ערב (Ps.141, 2) ודניאל וגו׳ על לביתיה וכוין פתיחין ליה בעליתיה נגד ירושלים וזמנין תלתא ביומא הוא בריך על ברכוהי ומצלי ומודי קדם אלהא כל קבל ד׳ הוה עבד מן קדמת דנה ואומר וכמיקרביה וגו׳ ענא מלכא ואמר לדניאל דניאל עבד אלהא חייא ד׳ אנת פלח ליה בתדירא היכיל לשיובותך מן אריותא וכי יש פולחן בבבל הא מה ת׳׳ל Daniel) ולעבדו זו תפלה כשם שעבודת מזבח קרויה עבודה כך תפלה קרויה עבודה 6. 11 und 21).

בכל לבבכם ובכל נפשכם [TO LOVE THE LORD] WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL — But has it not already admonished us to love God, by the words (6:5) “[Thou shall love the Lord thy God] with all thy heart and with all thy soul”? But that was an admonition addressed to each and every individual (“with all thy heart”), whilst here it is an admonition addressed to them as a community (“with all your heart”) (Sifrei Devarim 41:29).

One command is addressed to the individual, etc. I.e., if only one verse were written then we would think it addresses the community as a whole, but not the individual. Even though it is written, “With all your (singular) heart, and with all your (singular) soul,” we would think it is common for Scripture to use the singular when referring to the community, as in the verse, “Listen (singular) O Israel!” You might ask: Why is the individual warned here more than in other commandments, although there is no difference [here] between the individual and the community? The answer is: Regarding this commandment, the verse states many benefits which Hashem will do for fulfilling it: Harvesting grain, wine, olive oil, grass for animals, etc. Therefore I would have thought it is intended specifically for the community but not for the individual, thus the individual also needs to be included. And it teaches us that when the commandments are fulfilled out of love by individuals, He will also perform all these miracles for them (Ramban). And since this commandment addresses the community, it fits well that is not written here, “and with all your possessions,” as it is written above. For it is unlikely that the majority of the community would consider money more precious than life. However, this may be true of an individual (Mahara”i).

Damit ist denn der Begriff der תפלה als eine "Arbeit an sich selbst", als eine Durchdringung des ganzen Innern mit den Geist erleuchtenden und Herz veredelnden göttlichen Wahrheiten, wie ja auch das Wort "התפלל" lehrt, und der Zweck der תפלה in Erhebung des denkenden, empfindenden und wollenden Menscheninnern zu einer der Gottesnähe und des göttlichen Wohlwollens würdigen Stufe gegeben. Was das Opfer in symbolischem Tatenausdruck vollbringen soll: das Aufgeben alles Eigensinnes und Eigenwillens, die Aufnahme des ganzen Wesens in die wegweisende Macht des Gesetzesheiligtums, das Hinanstreben des ganzen Wesens zu der Höhe der vom Gesetze gewiesenen Ziele und das Beharren auf ihr, die Hingebung aller höheren und niederen geistigen und leiblichen Vermögen an das läuternde und belebende Feuer des göttlichen Gesetzes zur Nahrung des Göttlichen auf Erden und Gestaltung alles Irdischen zum göttlichen Wohlgefallen: ganz das und alles das soll das תפלה-Wort an unserem Innern vollbringen. Obgleich daher nur תפלה im allgemeinen ׳דאורי ist, die dreimalige tägliche Pflicht, ja, nach Auffassung der meisten Autoritäten, die tägliche Pflicht überhaupt, sowie die vorgeschriebenen Gebetfassungen nur דרבנן sind, so sehen wir doch schon aus der oben zitierten Stelle in Daniel, wie uralt bereits dieses dreimalige Tagesgebet ist, und haben wir bereits die völlig inhaltliche Parallele unserer שמנה עשרה mit den Opferhandlungen der תמידין, in deren Hinblick sie gefasst worden, — כנגד תמידין תקנום, — im Jeschurun, Jahrgang XI und Xll, ausführlich beleuchtet. — Es fehlt hier מאודכם, wohl, weil dies schon in ולעבדו begriffen ist, das ja die Gesamtherstellung aller Gotteszwecke fordert, somit die Verwendung aller Mittel zu diesen Zwecken voraussetzt, wozu בכל לבבכם ובכל נפשכם nur die Modalität der freiesten, freudigsten rückhaltlosen Hingebung bildet.