Horav S.R. Hirsch, z.l., notes that this pasuk presents the Torah’s prescription for life. Free-willed obedience and adherence to the laws mandated by Hashem allows us truly to “live.” Only by devoting all of our energies to the observance of Hashem’s laws do we attain life. His laws must shape our thought processes and regulate our sensitivities. If Torah does not regiment our life, if its values are not our values, then we have not lived; we have merely existed. Free-willed obedience to the Torah serves as the criterion for our individual lives, transforming mere existence into true living. So, too, it is the sole condition for our national life to be granted credence and acceptability in our own land.
