You shall take of the first of all the fruit of the land . . . (Deuteronomy 26:2)
Everything that is for the sake of G‑d should be of the best and most beautiful. When one builds a house of prayer, it should be more beautiful than his own dwelling. When one feeds the hungry, he should feed him of the best and sweetest of his table. When one clothes the naked, he should clothe him with the finest of his clothes. Whenever one designates something for a holy purpose, he should sanctify the finest of his possessions, as it is written (Leviticus 3:16), “The choicest to G‑d.”
(Maimonides)
The rule “the choicest to G‑d,” applies in all areas of life. If the school day must include both sacred and secular studies, the former should be scheduled for the morning hours, when the mind is at its freshest and most receptive. If one’s talents are to be divided between two occupations, one whose primary function is to pay the bills and a second which benefits his fellow man, he should devote his keenest abilities to the latter.
In devoting the “first-ripened fruits” of his life to G‑d, a person in effect is saying: “Here lies the focus of my existence. Quantitatively, this may represent but a small part of what I am and have; but the purpose of everything else I do and possess is to enable this percentile of spirit to rise above my matter-clogged life.”
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
You shall take of . . . the fruit of the land (26:2)
Not all fruits are subject to the mitzvah of bikkurim (first fruits)—only those from the seven species [for which the Land of Israel is praised]. Here, in our verse, it says the word eretz (“land”), and there (in Deuteronomy 8:8) it says, “A land of wheat and barley, vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of oil-producing olives and honey[-producing dates].” Just as the earlier verse is referring to the seven species through which Eretz Yisrael is praised, here too, the fruits of which the verse speaks are those with which the Land is praised.
(Talmud; Rashi)
An Aramean nomad was my father . . . (26:5)
This phrase—Arami oved avi—also translates as “the Aramean [sought to destroy] my father,” and is interpreted as a reference to Laban the Aramean’s attempts to harm Jacob. Thus we read in the Passover Haggadah (which devotes several pages to commentary on the bikkurim declaration): “Go out and see what Laban the Aramean wanted to do to Jacob our father! Pharaoh condemned only the males, while Laban wished to uproot all.”
A number of interesting explanations are proposed by the various commentaries as to when and how Laban endeavored to destroy the people of Israel. The most basic explanation is that it refers to his desire to compel Jacob to remain with him in Charan, or at least to leave his wives and 11 sons there, claiming (Genesis 31:43), “The daughters [Leah and Rachel] are my daughters, the sons are my sons, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine . . .” Had he succeeded, G‑d forbid, there would have been no Jewish people.
Another explanation is that it refers to his plot to poison Eliezer and thus prevent Rebecca’s marriage to Isaac. (Had that happened, Jacob would never have been born. See the account of Eliezer’s mission to Charan in the Parshah of Chayei Sarah). Yet another thesis is that it was Laban’s deception of Jacob in marrying him first to Leah, instead of Jacob’s chosen bride Rachel, which created the situation in which Jacob regarded Joseph as his true firstborn and the leader amongst his sons, when in truth the leadership belonged to Leah’s children. This led to the tragic schism which rent the Jewish people in two for much of their history.
He looked on our pain and our toil (26:7)
“Our pain”—this is the disruption of marital life; “our toil”—these are the children.
(Passover Haggadah)
He brought us to this place, and gave us this land (26:9)
Should not the order be reversed? The Holy Temple was built by King Solomon in Jerusalem hundreds of years after the children of Israel took possession of the land under Joshua. The correct order should therefore be “He gave us this land, and He brought us to this place”!
But here we have an allusion to that which the Targum Yonatan relates: that on the first Passover (while still in Egypt) the children of Israel were carried “on wings of eagles” (see Exodus 19:4) to the Temple Mount, where they brought the Passover offering.
(Etz Chaim)
You and the Levite and the stranger (26:11)
When one eats and drinks [on the festivals], one must also feed the stranger, the orphan, the widow and the other unfortunate paupers. But one who locks the doors of his courtyard and feasts and drinks with his children and wife, but does not feed the poor and the embittered—this is not the joy of mitzvah but the joy of his stomach . . .
(Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Festivals 6:18)
You have avouched G‑d this day to be your G‑d . . . And G‑d has avouched you this day to be a people for His own possession . . . (26:17–18)
It happened that Miriam the daughter of Tanchum was taken into captivity, she and her seven sons. What did the tyrant do? He imprisoned each one separately from the others. He brought out the first son and said to him: “Bow to the idol, as did your brother.” Said he: “G‑d forbid! My brother did not bow, and neither shall I.” “Why not?” “Because it is written in our Torah (Exodus 20:2), ‘I am the L‑rd your G‑d.’” The king commanded that he be killed.
He brought out the second son and said to him: “Bow to the idol . . .” and so on. [He, too, refused] “because it is written in our Torah (Exodus 20:3), ‘You shall have no [other gods before Me].’” The king commanded that he be killed.
He brought out the third son, [who refused] “because it is written in our Torah (Exodus 22:19), ‘One who slaughters [sacrifices] to alien gods shall be destroyed.’” The king commanded that he be killed.
He brought out the fourth son, [who refused] “because it is written in our Torah (Exodus 34:14), ‘You shall not bow to a strange god.’” The king commanded that he be killed.
He brought out the fifth son son, [who refused] “because it is written in our Torah (Deuteronomy 4:39), ‘Know this day, and consider it in your heart [that the L‑rd, He is G‑d in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath; there is nothing else].’” The king commanded that he be killed.
He brought out the sixth son, [who refused] “because it is written in our Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4), ‘Hear O Israel, the L‑rd our G‑d, the L‑rd is one.’” The king commanded that he be killed.
He brought out the seventh son, who was the youngest of them all. [He, too, refused to bow to the idol, saying:] “We have already sworn to our G‑d that we shall not exchange Him for another deity, as it is written (Deuteronomy 26:17), ‘You have avouched G‑d this day to be your G‑d.’ And just as we have sworn to Him, so has He sworn to us that He shall not exchange us for another people, as it is written (Deuteronomy 26:18), ‘And G‑d has avouched you [this day to be a people for His own possession].’”
Said the king to the child: “If so, I shall throw this ring before the idol, and you go retrieve it—so that it should be said that you obeyed the ruler and bowed to the idol.”
Said the child: “Woe to you, ruler! If you, who are yourself flesh and blood, fear flesh and blood like yourself, should I not fear the King of all Kings, the Holy One Blessed Be He, King of the Universe . . . ?”
The king commanded that he be killed. . . . The sages calculated the years of that child, and found them to be no more than two years, six months, and two and one-half hours . . .
(Yalkut Shimoni)
This day you have become a people (27:9)
The Jewish people are unique among the peoples of the world: their nationhood was forged not at the point at which they gained their own land, or developed a common language or culture, but on the day on which they pledged to uphold the Torah . . .
(Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch)
The following shall stand upon Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon . . . (27:12)
Six tribes ascended to the top of Mount Gerizim, and six to the top of Mount Ebal; the kohanim, the Levites and the ark stood below in the valley.
The Levites turned their faces towards Mount Gerizim and began with the blessing: “Blessed be the man who does not make a graven or molten image . . . ,” and both [the tribes on Mount Gerizim and the tribes on Mount Ebal] answered “Amen!” Then the Levites turned their faces towards Mount Ebal and began with the curse, saying: “Cursed be the man who makes any graven [or molten] image . . . ,” and both [groups of tribes] responded “Amen!” . . . Thus it continued in this manner for all of the blessings and curses, until the very last curse, namely (verse 26): “Cursed be the one who does not uphold [the words of this Torah] . . .”
(Talmud, Sotah 32a)
And all these blessings shall befall you and overtake you (28:2)
Even if you fail to recognize the blessings as such, and run away from them, they will pursue you . . .
(Shaar Bat Rabbim)
Blessed be you in the city, and blessed be you in the field . . . (28:3)
In other words, don’t be “a tzaddik in a fur coat”; rather, your goodness should influence your surroundings, in the “city” and the “field.”
(There are two ways to get warm on a cold winter day: build a fire, which warms everyone else in the room as well; or wrap yourself in furs, which conserves your own warmth but does not generate any heat or warm anyone else. Thus chassidim would refer to a righteous person whose only concern is with his own righteousness as “a tzaddik in a fur coat.”)
(Rabbi Bunim of Peshischa)
Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out (28:6)
May your departure from the world be as free of sin as was your entry into the world.
(Talmud; Rashi)
It shall come to pass, if you will not hearken to the voice of G‑d . . . that all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you . . . (28:15)
It was the custom of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi to officiate as the reader (baal korei) of the weekly Torah reading in his synagogue. One year, the rebbe was away from home on the Shabbat on which the section of Ki Tavo is read. In the rebbe’s absence, someone else did the reading.
That week Rabbi Schneur Zalman’s son DovBer, who was about twelve years old at the time, was so affected by the “curses” of the Rebuke that he developed a heart ailment. Three weeks later, when Yom Kippur came around, he was still so weak that his father was hesitant to allow him to fast.
When the young DovBer was asked, “But don’t you hear the Rebuke every year?” he replied: “When Father reads, one does not hear curses.”
moreBecause you did not serve G‑d with happiness and with gladness of heart, in abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies . . . (28:47–48)
Because you did not serve G‑d when you enjoyed happiness and the abundance of all good things, you shall now suffer want.
(Rashi)
Not only did you sin, you did so “with happiness and with gladness of heart”—for this the punishment is doubly severe.
(Maayanah Shel Torah)
Even though you served G‑d, you did not serve Him with joy—that is the source of all afflictions.
(Maimonides)
In the case of two people wrestling, each trying to throw down the other, if one of them moves with sloth and lethargy, he will be easily defeated and felled, even if he is stronger than his fellow. So, too, in battling one’s evil inclination, one can prevail over it . . . only with alacrity that comes from joy and from a heart that is free and cleansed from every trace of worry and sadness . . .
(Tanya)
Melancholy is not a sin. But the spiritual damage which melancholy can cause, the gravest of sins cannot cause.
(Chassidic saying)
G‑d has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear, until this very day (29:3)
This teaches us that a person does not comprehend the mind of his master until after forty years.
(Talmud)