Commento su Deuteronomio 11:15

ונתתי עשב בשדך AND I WILL GIVE GRASS IN THY FIELD [FOR THY CATTLE] in thy field: so that you will not need to lead them to distant pasture grounds. Another explanation: it means that you will be able to cut your grain all the rainy season and cast it before thy cattle as fodder, and if you withdraw your hand from it (stop doing this) only thirty days before the harvest, it will not give you less of its corn than if you had not fed your cattle with it (as is implied by ואכלת ושבעת, you will eat to the full) (Sifrei Devarim 43:2).

AND THOU SHALT EAT AND BE SATISFIED. “This is another blessing, meaning that there will be a blessing on the bread within your stomach, and you eat and be satisfied.” This is Rashi’s language and Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented: “And thou shalt eat and be satisfied. This refers back to thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil [mentioned in the preceding verse], not to the grass in thy fields which is near [in the same verse].” The correct interpretation in my opinion is that it refers to everything: “and thou shalt eat and be satisfied with the corn, wine, and oil, and also the sheep and cattle [will eat and be satisfied with the grass in the field].” And in the Sifre we find:³²⁶Sifre, Eikev 43. “And thou shalt eat and be satisfied, when your cattle eats and is satisfied, it works the ground [with strength], and so it is said, and much increase is by the strength of the ox.³²⁷Proverbs 14:4. Another interpretation: [And thou shalt eat and be satisfied] from the young [of the cattle]. Although there is no proof of this, yet there is an indication, for it says, And they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow unto the goodness of the Eternal, to the corn, and to the wine, and to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd etc.”³²⁸Jeremiah 31:11. This is the correct interpretation.

ואכלת ושבעת, “you will eat and be satisfied.” According to Ibn Ezra these words refer to the previous words (verse 14) דגנך, ותירושך, ויצהרך, “your grain, your wine, and your oil,” rather than to the more recent words עשב בשדך, “the grass in your field.” Nachmanides writes that the correct interpretation is that the words ואכלת ושבעת refer to the both דגן, תירושך, ויצהרך as well as to עשב בשדך. They even refer to the livestock mentioned in our verse as בהמתך. The Sifri interprets this as meaning that when your livestock has enough to eat, then your land will be able to provide the harvest it is meant to provide. Another possible approach is that the word ובהמתך does not refer to what you will eat, but to the fact that your livestock will produce its young, just as the soil will produce its yield.

ונתתי עשב בשדך, “I will provide grass in your field, etc.” Moses attributed the provision of grass in the field to G’d personally in order to counter the opinions of the people that the world as we know it has been handed over by G’d unconditionally to planetary forces and terrestrial forces encouraging the growth of vegetation. Seeing this was a widely held view, the Torah had to phrase some things in such a way that people will remember that it is only He Who provides the celestial input without which no growth of any sort will manifest itself in our world. David also reminds us of this in Psalms 104,14: “Who makes the grass grow for the cattle, and herbage for man’s labour.” Just as the rainfall is attributed to G’d in verse 14, so the growth of grass is attributed to Him in this verse. The same idea is also expressed in Zecharyah 10,1

So that it will not be necessary for you to lead it to the desert. I.e., to the desert where there is pasture for the animals. Rather, grass for the animals will grow in your field. This is according to Rabbi Yehuda in the Sifrei. Rashi’s second interpretation, “You will reap, etc.” is according to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai who explains that “Grass in your field,” refers to the grass [i.e., produce] of the field and not to pasture for the animals. And ולבהמתך means, “and also for your animals.” Because of its abundance you will reap it and feed it to your animals, and the remainder will be for human consumption. This is why Rashi offers both explanations.

V. 15. ונתתי. Ich lasse das Kraut auf dem Felde wachsen mit Rücksicht darauf, dass es dein Feld ist, dein Tier dort Weide finden soll, damit du Nahrung in Fülle habest.

ואכלת ושבעת AND THOU SHALT EAT AND BE SATISFIED — This is quite another (a separate) blessing; it means that a blessing will be on the bread within the stomach (see Rashi on Leviticus 25:19). השמרו לכם

ואכלת ושבעת, “you will eat and be sated.” These words refer to the earlier verse which spoke about the grain harvest and the grape harvest. They do not mean that you will eat grass. The words could also be understood thus: When I provide plenty of grass and grazing in the fields, the animals which fed on this and whose meat you will eat will be a source of satisfaction for you. Our sages in Berachot 40 derive a moral lesson from our verse. Seeing G’d speaks first about the feed for the livestock before assuring us that we will eat our fill, this teaches that we are not to sit down to eat until after we have made sure that our animals have food to eat.

This is a different blessing, etc. Rashi is answering the question: How does, “And you will eat and be full” relate to the first part of the verse? Is a person sated because there is food for his animals? Rashi answers: This is not related to the first part of the verse, but rather this is a different blessing, etc.