חִשַּׁ֥בְתִּי דְרָכָ֑י וָאָשִׁ֥יבָה רַ֝גְלַ֗י אֶל־עֵדֹתֶֽיךָ׃
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Kli Yakar
“If you follow My statutes, etc.” Rashi explains that “you should toil in Torah, etc.” Even though Rashi arrived at this interpretation from the redundancy in the verses since keeping the commandments is already mentioned, nevertheless, the language itself also requires explanation.
His [Rashi’s] intention is to divide this verse into three parts, corresponding to which and I will give is mentioned three times. In the first section it says, If you follow My statutes. This refers to toiling in Torah and establishing fixed times for Torah study as an unbreakable rule. For this reason, the language My statutes [bechukkotai] is used, as the intent is not about the statutory [arational] commandments since we do not find the language of “walking” or “following” used with them throughout the Torah. The Torah never says “walk in My statutes, which indicates that this ”walking“ refers to something that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not command directly, but rather something a person does of his own accord. Necessarily, this must be interpreted as something a person does naturally, as through habituation it becomes second nature. This can only apply to someone who establishes fixed times and rules for Torah study, accustoming himself to come to the house of study at a specific time until it becomes natural for his feet.
This aligns with the Midrash (Rabbah 35:1) which says about If you follow My statutes: This is what is written I considered my ways and turned my feet to Your testimonies (Psalms 119:59). David said before the Holy One, blessed be He, ”Master of the Universe, each day I would plan to go to a certain place, but my feet would bring me to houses of study, etc.“ This happens only because he established fixed times for Torah study as an unbreakable rule, to the point that his feet would guarantee to take him to houses of study unconsciously, as they had become accustomed to it.
Therefore, there was no need to command this to a person, because something done without conscious intention cannot be subject to a commandment — one cannot command the feet. Rather, it speaks of a situation where one has established fixed times for Torah study until, at that time, one’s feet go by themselves at the appointed time, which is called a ”statute“ [chok]. Regarding this it says, If you follow My statutes.
Corresponding to this, it states, I will give your rains in their time. For the one who establishes fixed times for Torah study, this is his reward — that the rains will come in their proper time. As the Sages said (Taanit 7b), ”Rain is withheld only because of the sin of neglecting Torah study, as it is said Through laziness, the ceiling sags (Ecclesiastes 10:18).“
His [Rashi’s] intention is to divide this verse into three parts, corresponding to which and I will give is mentioned three times. In the first section it says, If you follow My statutes. This refers to toiling in Torah and establishing fixed times for Torah study as an unbreakable rule. For this reason, the language My statutes [bechukkotai] is used, as the intent is not about the statutory [arational] commandments since we do not find the language of “walking” or “following” used with them throughout the Torah. The Torah never says “walk in My statutes, which indicates that this ”walking“ refers to something that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not command directly, but rather something a person does of his own accord. Necessarily, this must be interpreted as something a person does naturally, as through habituation it becomes second nature. This can only apply to someone who establishes fixed times and rules for Torah study, accustoming himself to come to the house of study at a specific time until it becomes natural for his feet.
This aligns with the Midrash (Rabbah 35:1) which says about If you follow My statutes: This is what is written I considered my ways and turned my feet to Your testimonies (Psalms 119:59). David said before the Holy One, blessed be He, ”Master of the Universe, each day I would plan to go to a certain place, but my feet would bring me to houses of study, etc.“ This happens only because he established fixed times for Torah study as an unbreakable rule, to the point that his feet would guarantee to take him to houses of study unconsciously, as they had become accustomed to it.
Therefore, there was no need to command this to a person, because something done without conscious intention cannot be subject to a commandment — one cannot command the feet. Rather, it speaks of a situation where one has established fixed times for Torah study until, at that time, one’s feet go by themselves at the appointed time, which is called a ”statute“ [chok]. Regarding this it says, If you follow My statutes.
Corresponding to this, it states, I will give your rains in their time. For the one who establishes fixed times for Torah study, this is his reward — that the rains will come in their proper time. As the Sages said (Taanit 7b), ”Rain is withheld only because of the sin of neglecting Torah study, as it is said Through laziness, the ceiling sags (Ecclesiastes 10:18).“
Or HaChaim
A second reason why the Torah uses the expression of "walking" in G'd's statutes is based on an interpretation of Vayikra Rabbah 35,1 of the verse in Psalms 119,59: "I have considered my ways and have turned back to Your decrees." According to the Midrash David had considered daily to do "his own thing" but had found that invariably his feet brought him to the Torah academy or the House of prayer. The lesson is that when one applies oneself to Torah and its precepts diligently one's very organs will automatically help one to head in the spiritually correct direction. You may translate the line: "if according to My statutes, you will find yourselves walking in the right direction."
Or HaChaim
The Torah added the words ללכת בהם as a reference to the raw material the human being represents when performing G'd's commandments. If man has performed the sexual act after proper spiritual and mental preparation he will be able to father children whose natural tendency it will be to observe G'd's commandments. David referred to something like this when he said in Psalms 119,59: "I have considered my ways and have turned back my feet to Your decrees." Our sages in Vayikra Rabbah 35,1 understand these words to mean that David had so trained himself that his feet automatically would walk towards the Torah Academy out of habit and out of a desire to study G'd's Torah. When the Torah asked us ללכת בהם, it urged us to so relate to G'd's commandments that we would develop a "natural" tendency to walk in the paths of Torah.