"When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the L-rd
your G-d." (Deut. 8:10)
A Jew doesn't pray to G-d only in difficult circumstances, when he is
poor and hungry. Even in the best of times, when he has "eaten and
is full," he should remember that it is G-d Who has given him all
these blessings and that he should thank Him accordingly.
(Lev Simcha) (from L'Chaim #633)
Now Israel, what does the L-rd your
G-d ask of you except to fear G-d. (10:12)
People are strange. They beg and plead that G-d should give them 'fear
of heaven,' when this is something that is entirely in the individual's
control. Yet when it comes to livelihood, they imagine that they are in
charge.
(Rabbi Chanoch of Alexander)
"Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse."
(11:26)
There are two different kinds of "today" -- the "today"
of blessing and the "today" of curse. Consideration of the present
moment as an impetus for action can be either positive or negative: "If
not now, when?" spurs a Jew on to do good, whereas "Eat and
drink for tomorrow we die" leads him down the path of evil. (Rabbi
Chanoch Henich of Alexander)
"The blessing, if you will listen to the commandments of G-d."
(11:27)
Being able to listen to G-d's commandments is in itself a blessing. You
should be able to hear and absorb G-d's words in your very soul
(R. Shimshon Rafael Hirsch)
"Observe and hear all these words which I command you."
(12:28)
"Observe" refers to the study of Torah, explains Rashi, the
great Torah commentator. Studying Torah preserves the G-dly spark within
each of us, preventing it from becoming nullified and lost in the body's
physicality and coarseness, and enabling us to "hear" and fulfill.
(Sefer Hamaamarim 5672)
"You are children of G-d, your G-d." (14:1)
Love of the Children of Israel is love of G-d; when one loves the father
one loves the children.
(The Baal Shem Tov
"For you are a holy people unto the L-rd your G-d."
(14:2)
The Torah enjoins us: you should be a holy people of your own free will
and under your own initiative. Do not leave the task of making you behave
properly to the gentile nations, who will make you holy martyrs through
their decrees and their persecutions.
(Shaar-Chaim)
"Take tithes, you shall take tithes." (14:22)
In the Hebrew, this verse is written, "Aser t'aser." Our Sages
explain it can also be read, "Aser sheh-t'ta-asher - give a tenth
so that you will become rich." Concerning other mitzvot (commandments),
we are told not to perform them in anticipation of the reward. However,
for the mitzva of charity (specifically the required amount of one tenth
of one's earnings) the Torah itself tells us of the reward we will receive
in this world - riches.
(Milei D'Chasiduta on Pirkei Avot)
"You shall bind up the money in your hand." (Deut. 14:25)
The Torah commands the Jew to "bind up" his money and rule
over it, and not the other way around. In other words, his monetary affairs
must never exert such an influence over him that he becomes subservient.
(Rabbi Meir of Premishlan)
It states in Psalms (51:16): "Save me from bloodshed ('damim'), O
G-d, G-d of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness."
In Hebrew, the word "damim" also means money; King David was
thus praying that he never make the mistake of considering money to be
G-d.
(Rabbi Moshe of Kovrin)
"You shall not shut your hand from your needy brother."
(15:7)
In Hebrew, the first letters of this verse spell out the word "Tehillim"
-- Psalms. Reciting Psalms on behalf of a poor person is not enough; one
must open his hand and give him material sustenance as well.
(Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin)
"Lest your eye be evil against your needy brother...and he cry
out to G-d against you, and it be a sin in you." (Deut. 15:9)
Not helping another person in his time of need is bad enough, but looking
down on him and blaming him for his own predicament is even worse. For
if "he cries out to G-d against you," your own behavior will
be carefully scrutinized, and your own sins and failings come to light...
(Rabbi Shmelke of Nicholsburg) (from L'Chaim #580)
"For the sake of this thing [charity] He will bless you."
(15:10)
"I am aware of the hardships of these times, that the means for livelihood
have declined... nonetheless, it is not right to close the hand which
openly gave with benevolence toward all, essential necessities for the
needs of the innocent destitute whose eyes are lifted to us. When the
poor need bread for the mouths of babes, and wood and clothes against
the cold, and the like, then all these take precedence over any fine clothes
and family-feasts, meat and fish, and all the delicacies of man and any
members of his household. The rule 'your life takes precedence' does not
apply in such a case, because all these are not really essential to life,
as are the needs of the poor."
(Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh)
"Observe the month of spring, and keep the Passover to the L-rd
your G-d." (16:1)
The Egyptians believed in the supremacy of natural law and worshipped
man's ability to influence the world through science. G-d therefore took
the Jewish people out of Egypt in the springtime, when the workings of
nature are most evident, to demonstrate that nature is only a tool in
His hands and has no intrinsic power of its own.
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
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"All your children shall be taught of the L-rd; and great shall
be the peace of your children." (Isaiah 54:13; from the
haftorah)
The first Holy Temple was destroyed because the Jewish people did not
keep the Torah's laws properly. The second Holy Temple was destroyed because
of the sin of unwarranted hatred. The Prophet Isaiah, however, assures
us that in the Messianic era, neither of these negative factors will affect
the Third Holy Temple. "All your children shall be taught of the
L-rd" - all Jews will be knowledgeable and observe the Torah; "and
great shall be the peace of your children" - they will live together
in harmony and brotherhood.
(Afikei Yehuda)
[Reprinted with permission from L'Chaim Magazine (www.lchaim.org).]
"See that I am placing before you today a blessing and
a curse." (Deut. 11:26)
When something is seen, it is perceived in its entirety and a deep impression
is made. When man sees the nature of the good that he can achieve through
positive choice, and when he sees that the entire reason evil has been
given any substance is to allow him to make that choice, he will surely
choose positively.
The ultimate expression of the potential of sight will be in the Era of
the Redemption with the fulfillment of the prophecy: "The glory of
G-d will be revealed and all flesh will see."
In contrast to the present era, when we can see only material entities
and G-dliness is perceived as an ephemeral force, in that future time,
we will see directly how
G-dliness is the truth of all existence.
( The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
(Adapted from www.sichosinenglish.com)
See! This day I place before you a blessing. (Deut.
11:26)
The blessing in this verse does not refer to anything specific; rather,
it is a comprehensive statement which includes all the blessings G-d confers
on every Jew. First and foremost, therefore, it refers to the ultimate
blessing of all -- the complete Redemption through Moshiach.
By using the emphatic "See!" the Torah stresses that the Messianic
Redemption is not something theoretical or academic, but rather something
that will be evident with our eyes of flesh -- and this very day!
The Lubavitcher Rebbe (from LChaim #382)
"See! I am giving you today a blessing and a curse."
(11:26)
G-d does not issue curses at all, and only blessings are "issues
from Above." The problem lies "below", in our ability to
receive G-d's blessings. If a person is not a fitting receptacle for the
goodness which G-d bestows upon him, he will simply be unable to accommodate
G-d's blessing. The result will be that after its downward path through
the spiritual worlds, the blessing is received in a way that appears,
to our human eyes, as a curse (See Shlah, Re'eh 374b).
And this also explains why, in the Messianic Era, we will not only forgive
G-d for the sufferings of exile, but we will thank Him (see
Isaiah 12:1) for then it will be evident how even G-d's "curses"
were in fact blessings in disguise.
(Adapted from "Chumash" - compiled and adapted by Rabbi Chaim
Miller)
"See! This day I place before you blessing
" (Deut.
11:26)
One must declare and publicize everywhere, in a most sincere way, that
even this very day the Almighty continuously proclaims to every member
of the Jewish people, through his faithful prophets: "See! This
day I place before you blessing! See and discover that the blessing
of the ultimate and complete redemption may come and be realized this
very day!"
(Lubavitcher Rebbe - adapted by Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet
in"Living with Moshiach")
"In order for you to remember all the days of your life the day
you left Egypt." (Deut.16:3)
The mishna explains this verse: "all the days of your life"
- "to bring the days of Mashiach." I.e. since the verse does
not say "the days of your life" but stresses "all
the days of your life", it is clear that also in the Messianic Era
we will remember and thank G-d for the Exodus from Egypt.
There is an additional explanation: all the days of a Jew's life - "all
the days of your life" - he has to be filled with the one and only
feeling: the feeling that he has "to bring about the days of Mashiach!"
He has to recognize the fact, that with every good deed and thought, he
hastens the coming of Mashiach.
And so, when the redemption will come, we will not feel that we are getting
chesed chinam (unearned kindness). We will know that we also made an effort
and always tried "to bring the days of Mashiach."
(From Pninei HaGeulah by Rabbi Shneur Z. Herzl)
"Re'eh (See)
"
The ultimate expression of the potential of sight will be in the Era of
the Redemption with the fulfillment of the prophecy: "The glory of
G-d will be revealed and all flesh will see." This is in contrast
to the present era, when we can see only material entities and G-dliness
is perceived as an external force, in that future time, we will see directly
how G-dliness is the truth of all existence.
Nor is this merely a promise of the distant future. The Redemption is
an imminent reality, so close to us that a foretaste of its revelations
are possible at present. Indeed, it is already possible to see the manifestations
of the blessings of the Redemption.
[Lubavitcher Rebbe]
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