Midrash su Salmi 95:6

(Deut. 26:16:) “This day the Lord your God is commanding you to perform.” This text is related (to Ps. 95:6), “Come, let us bow down and bend, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker!” But is not bending included in bowing down; and bowing down in bowing? So what does the instruction mean by “let us bow down and bend and kneel down?” Moses simply foresaw that the Temple was going to be destroyed and that the firstfruits were going to cease. He arose and arranged for Israel to pray three times on every day, because prayer is more pleasing to the Holy One, blessed be He, than all of the good works and all of the sacrifices. It is so written (Ps. 141:2), “Take my prayer as an offering of incense, my upraised hands as an evening sacrifice.” And when it was decreed for Moses not to enter the land in spite of all of his good works, he began to pray, and he said (in Deut. 3:25), “Please let me cross over and see [the good land].” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (in vss. 26-27), “Enough from you; do not ever speak unto Me on this matter again. Go up to the top of Pisgah.” It is therefore stated (in 26:16), “[This day] the Lord your God is commanding you to perform….”¹I.e., to obey the command to go up to the top of Pisgah. Although the midrash understands the performance in reference to this one command, the simple understanding of the biblical text is that it is speaking about performing statutes and ordinances. What is written above the matter (in vs. 15)? “Look down from Your holy dwelling, [from the heavens and bless Your people].” R. Abbahu said in the name of R. Jose bar Hanina, “How spoiled and how great a pretext are given to those who perform the commandments [for doing so]: If someone has business with the empire, there are times when he gives some money, until they have him reach the king. When he does reach the king, he has doubts whether he will fulfill his request or not. The Holy One, blessed be He, however, is not like that. Rather when one goes down into his field [and] sees a [grape] cluster that has ripened early, a fig that has ripened early, a pomegranate that has ripened early, he puts it in a basket, goes to Jerusalem and enters and stands in the [Temple] courtyard; he [then] asks mercy for himself, for Israel, and for the land of Israel. Thus it is stated (in Deut. 26:15), ‘Look down from your holy dwelling, [from the heavens and bless your people].’ And not only that, but he would say, “I am not moving from here until You perform my requirements this day,’ as it is written next to it (in vs. 16), ‘This day the Lord your God is commanding you to perform.’” Resh Laqish said, “A heavenly voice (bat qol) comes forth and says, ‘You shall do it again on this day in the coming year.’ [He is] like one who gives fresh fruit to his friend, and [the friend] says to him, ‘Would that you would do this again, and give me some next year.’” R. Hiya bar Abba said, “How spoiled are those who perform the commandments in front of the Holy One, blessed be He. As the Holy One blessed be He, enacts a decree and the righteous ones annul it. As it is stated (Eccl. 8:4), ‘Inasmuch as a king’s command is authoritative, and who can say to him, “What are you doing.”’ Who is it [that can say it]? (Eccl. 8:5:) ‘One who obeys commandments will not know a bad thing,’ he can object to the Holy One, blessed be He.” And so with David, he said (II Sam. 23:3), “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke about me, ‘He that rules over men must be righteous, ruling in the fear of God.”¹See Moed Katan 16b, where this verse is explained as saying that the righteous one rules over God. [(Deut. 26:16:) “This day the Lord your God is commanding you to perform…].” What is the meaning of this day? Had the Holy One, blessed be He, not given a command to Israel until now? And was not this the fortieth year (since they left Egypt), as stated (in Deut. 1:3), “And it came to pass in the fortieth year….” Then what is the meaning of the words, “this day?” Simply that Moses spoke to Israel as follows, “On each and every day, let the Torah be dear to you, as if you had received it this day from Mount Sinai.” Moreover, it is written in another place (i.e., in Deut. 4:9), “make them known to your children….” Then it is written (in vs. 10), “The day that you stood before the Lord [your God at Horeb].” (Deut. 26:16, cont.:) “These statutes,” these are the midrashic commentaries; “and these ordinances,” these are the court decisions. Another interpretation (of Deut. 26:16), “these statutes and these ordinances: [They are meant] to include light and heavy [commandments], inferences from analogy, and fine points of scribal exegesis. (Deut. 26:16, cont.:) “So you are to be diligent in doing them.” R. Johanan said, “When anyone performs a single commandment truthfully, Scripture ascribes it to him as if it had been given [to him] from Mount Sinai, as stated (Deut. 26:16), ‘So you are to be diligent in doing.’” Then what is the meaning of (in Lev. 25:18), “and you shall do (which can also be read as, make) them?” Rather, anyone that observes the Torah and does it truthfully, it as if he arranged it and gave it from Mount Sinai. And R. Johanan also said, “Anyone who does [what is written in] the Torah truthfully, Scripture ascribes it to him as if he had made himself; as stated (in Deut. 4:14), ‘At that time the Lord commanded me to impart [to you laws and rules to make you do].’ It does not say, ‘to do them,’ but “to make you, do them.’ From here [we learn] that Scripture ascribes it to him as if he made and created himself.” (Deut. 26:16, cont.:) “With all your heart.” Behold Scripture warns Israel and says to them, “When you pray to the Holy One, blessed be He, you shall not have two hearts, one in the presence of the Holy One, blessed be He, and one for something else.”²See Ben Sira 1:28 (25).

(Deut. 26:1:) AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS THAT WHEN YOU COME INTO THE LAND, <….> (vs. 16:) THIS DAY THE LORD YOUR GOD IS COMMANDING YOU TO PERFORM….¹In the midrash the parashah actually begins with vs. 16, but the additional verse at the beginning adapts the parashah to the traditional yearly cycle of readings. Note also that verse 16 is translated to fit the context of the midrash. This text is related (to Ps. 95:6): COME, LET US BOW DOWN AND WORSHIP, LET US KNEEL <BEFORE THE LORD OUR MAKER>! Now what does the instruction mean by LET US BOW DOWN AND WORSHIP?²Tanh., Deut. 7:1. Moses simply foresaw that the Temple was going to be destroyed and that the firstfruits were going to cease. He arose and arranged for Israel to pray three times on every day, because prayer is more pleasing to the Holy One than a hundred good works. When it was decreed for him not to enter the land, he began to pray, and he said (in Deut. 3:25): PLEASE LET ME CROSS OVER AND SEE <THE GOOD LAND>. The Holy One said to him (in vss. 26–27:): ENOUGH FROM YOU! DO NOT EVER SPEAK UNTO ME ON THIS MATTER AGAIN. GO UP TO THE TOP OF PISGAH. It is therefore stated (in 26:16): <THIS DAY> THE LORD YOUR GOD IS COMMANDING YOU TO PERFORM….³I.e., to obey the command to go up to the top of Pisgah. Although the midrash understands the performance in reference to this one command, the biblical text is speaking about performing statutes and ordinances.

... Another explanation. “And all the work that king Solomon had wrought in the house of the Lord was finished.” (Melachim I 7:51) What does ‘all the work’ mean? It was built by itself, rising and floating up – thus it does not say when the house was built, but rather “And the house, when it was in building…” (Melachim I 6:7) “…was built of stone finished at the quarry (masa)…” (ibid.) What does ‘finished at the quarry’ (masa nivne) mean? R’ Brechia said: the stone picked itself up (nosah atzma), rose up and was built by itself. This is what Shlomo said in his song “I have surely built You a house to dwell in…” (Melachim I 8:13) He says ‘I have surely built’, meaning ‘I built a building and the stones rose up and flew into place themselves’. If you are shocked that the Holy One would do such a thing for a single righteous person, “And a stone was brought and placed on the mouth of the pit…” (Daniel 6:18) And where did they get a rock in Bavel? Our Rabbis said that it rolled all the way from the land of Israel and came in an instant. So if the Holy One did such a thing for flesh and blood, are you surprised that He would do so for the building of a house to the Holy One?

Rabbi Isaac said: Nothing has been created except by the merit of worship. Abraham returned from Mount Moriah only through the merit of worship, as it is said, "We will worship, and come again to you" (Gen. 22:5). The Temple was fashioned only through the merit of worship, as it is said, "Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship" (Ps. 99:5).

He then said to him [Itzchak]: ‘Itzchak, my son do you what I see?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied. He said to his two servants: ‘Do you see what I see?’ ‘No,’ they answered. ‘Since you do not see it, “stay here with the donkey,” (Gen. 22:5), he bade them, because you are like the donkey, it follows that slaves are like cattle. The Rabbis proved [it from this verse spoken at] the Revelation: Six days you shall labor, and do all your work … you, nor your daughter, nor your man-servant, nor your maid-servant, nor your cattle (Ex. 20:10). R. Itzchak said: This place shall one day be alienated from its Owner. For ever? [No], for it is stated, “This is My resting-place forever; here will I dwell for I have desired it” (Ps. 132:14) — when he comes of whom it is written, “Lowly, and riding upon a donkey” (Zech. 1:9). “And I and the lad will go just there” — Ad Koh. Said R. Joshua b. Levi: We will go and see what is to be the eventual outcome of Koh. “And we will worship, and we will come back to you.” He informed him [through these words] that he [Itzchak] would return safely from Mount Moriah. R. Itzchak said: Everything happened as a reward for worshipping. Abraham returned in peace from Mount Moriah only as a reward for worshipping. “And we will worship, and we will come back to you.” Israel were redeemed only as a reward for worshipping: “And the people believed … then they bowed their heads and worshipped” (Ex. 4:31). The Torah was given only as a reward for worshipping: “And worship y’all afar off” (Ex. 24:1). Hannah was remembered only as a reward for worshipping: “And they worshipped before the Lord” (I Sam. 1:19). The exiles will be reassembled only as a reward for worshipping: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great horn shall be blown; and they shall come that were lost … and that were dispersed … and they shall worship Ad-nai in the holy mountain at Jerusalem” (Isa. 27:13). The Temple was built only as a reward for worshipping: “Exalt y’all Ad-nai our God, and worship at His holy mountain” (Ps. 99:9). The dead will come to life again only as a reward for worshipping: “O come, let us worship and bend the knee; let us kneel before Ad-nai our Maker (Ps 95:6).