Musar para sa Deuteronomio 26:3

Seifer Chareidim admonishes sternly that this is included in the commandment, “And I will relate this day to Hashem your God that I have come to the goodly land, etc.” (Devarim 26:3). This, he explains, is a strong warning to anyone who has received goodness and bounty from Hashem, that he must give praise and thanks. And certainly he must not complain like the misers who cry and complain to the world all day long, no matter how much food and sustenance Hashem grants them, that they lack bread to eat, when in fact their hands are filled with all manner of goodness. Their real goal is simply to keep the poor and needy at bay. Concerning this was it written, “This poor man cried out and Hashem heard” (Tehillim 34:7). The poor man’s prayer does not move from its place until a cup of punishment is poured out upon these people and they themselves are rendered destitute. Of course, it is also praiseworthy to fulfill the Sages’ teaching (Ta’anis 10b) that one should not display one’s wealth ostentatiously before the nations of the world. Thus Yaakov said to his sons, “Why should you show yourselves?” (Bereishis 42a). This is especially important in these times when, on account of our many sins, the nations have their eyes on Jewish wealth. Therefore it is a very good idea to conceal one’s wealth from them. Nevertheless, showing a pleasant countenance and demeanor of love and good will towards the poor, the destitute and the needy brings pleasure to the Creator. This is especially so of those who bring the honorable poor and needy into their homes and grant them lodgings. Through this they merit many blessings and many a barren woman has been granted children in the merit of feeding and supporting worthy poor and needy people for the sake of Heaven.

We also have to address the problem of why the Torah (17,9) speaks about an individual judge or a lower court turning for guidance to the Supreme Court "in those days." How can one appeal for guidance to a judge or court whose members are no longer alive? The Torah therefore only tells you that even though the judges in your generation are clearly inferior to the judges of a former generation they still are the authority of their day. If that were the true explanation why did the Torah have to allude to the subject altogether? I certainly would have known this by myself! Unless such an attitude was universally accepted, no one would have ever turned to Joshua to settle a dispute since everyone was aware that Joshua was inferior to Moses! One can understand why the Torah tells us not to bypass a certain priest (cf. 26,3) in favour of another priest, seeing that they both live in the same generation but are on duty on different days or weeks, but such an argument cannot be used with judges whose function is not restricted to a certain משמר, duty roster.