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ולא נתן ד' לכם לב לדעת ועינים לראות ואזנים לשמוע עד היום הזה

But Hashem did not give you a heart to know, or eyes to see, or ears to hear until this day. (29:3)

Moshe Rabbeinu tells the people that only now, after forty years of miraculous sojourn in the wilderness, with danger at every turn, were the people finally able to acknowledge the all-encompassing gratitude they owed Hashem. It takes common sense, wisdom and insight to appreciate fully the debt of gratitude we owe those who have helped us in our achievements. Sadly, many of us refuse to engage our common sense, either because it then behooves us to show our gratitude to others – which is difficult for some – or because a festering bitterness makes us angry and resentful of anything…

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ברוך אתה בעיר וברוך אתה בשדה

Blessed shall you be in the city and blessed shall you be in the field. (28:3)

A Jew shall remain blessed whether he is in the city together with his chaburah, social group, or if he is alone in the field, away from everyone. Horav Yaakov Galinsky, zl, recalls his years as a student in the Novaradok Yeshivah, an institution which imbued its students with a sense of commitment to Torah and mitzvos that transcend time and place and even social support. Wherever a Novaradoker student found himself, he was somehow able to transcend the vicissitudes of life and the challenges they presented. For example, Rav Galinsky and a group of students were banished to a…

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והיה אם שמוע תשמע בקול ד' אלקיך... ונתנך... עליון על כל גוי הארץ. ובאו עליך כל הברכות האלה

It shall be that if you listen to the voice of Hashem, your G-d… Then (He)… will make you supreme over the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you. (28:1,2)

The Torah enumerates a number of material blessings which are wide ranging and encompass every area of material life. What should be the primary and most significant blessing? “He will make you supreme over the nations of the earth” seems to be presented more as a hakdamah, prelude, to the rest. One would think that our supremacy in the world, the respect, admiration, and certainly the lack of animus against us would not only be an introduction to the blessing – but rather, the greatest blessing in its own right. Horav Zev Weinberger, Shlita, explains that the Torah is teaching…

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ושמחת בכל הטוב אשר נתן לך ד' אלקיך

You shall rejoice with all of the goodness that Hashem, your G-d, has given you. (26:11)

The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh writes that b’chol hatov, “all of the goodness,” alludes to the Torah, for there is no greater “good” other than Torah. He adds that if people would sense the incredible unparalleled sweetness and pleasantness associated with the Torah, people would go out of their minds in pursuit of Torah. Money would have no value; nothing would have value, for the Torah includes within it everything – all of the goodness in the world. In his hakdamah, preface, to his Iglei Tal, the Sochatchover Rebbe, zl, writes, “Chazal’s dictum, Mitzvos lav l’henos nitnu, ‘The performance of mitzvos…

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