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1 “And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations, wherer the Lord your God has driven you,

2 And shall return unto the Lord your God, and shall obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul;

3 That then the Lord your God will turn your captivity, and have compassion upon you, and will return and gather you from among all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you.

4 (Even) If any of you are driven out into the outermost parts of heaven, from there will the Lord your God gather you, and from there will he fetch you:

5 And the Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and he will do you good, and multiply you above your fathers.

6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.

7 And the Lord your God will put all these curses upon your enemies, and on them that hate you, which persecuted you.

8 And you shall return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I command you this day.

9 And the Lord your God will make you plenteous in every work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers:

10 If you shall listen to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if you turn unto the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul.

11 For this commandment which I command you this day, it is not hidden from you, neither is it far off.

12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

14 But the word is very nigh unto you, in your mouth, and in your heart, so that you may do it.

15 See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil;

16 In that I command you this day to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that you may live and multiply: and the Lord your God shall bless you in the land where you goest to possess it.

17 But if your heart turns away, so that you will not hear, but shall be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;

18 I denounce unto you this day, that you shall surely perish, and that you shall not prolong your days upon the land, where you passest over Jordan to go to possess it.

19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live:

20 That you may love the Lord your God, and that you may obey his voice, and that you may cleave unto him: for he is your life, and the length of your days: that you may dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

h.ושב ה' אלהיך את שבותך THEN THE LORD your GOD WILL TURN your CAPTIVITY — To express this idea it ought to have written והשיב את שבותך, “then He will bring back your captivity”. But our Rabbis learned from this that, if one can say so of God, His Divine presence dwells with Israel in all the misery of their exile, so that when they are redeemed (i.e. when He speaks of their being redeemed), He makes Scripture write “Redemption” of Himself (i.e. He makes it state that He will be redeemed) — that He will return with them (Megillah 29a). Furthermore the following may be said in explaining the strange form ושב… את, — that the day of the gathering of the exiles is so important and is attended with such difficulty that it is as though He (God) Himself must actually seize hold of each individual’s hands dragging him from his place (so that God Himself returns with the exile), as it is said, (Isaiah 27:12) “And you shall be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel”. We find, however, the same expression in connection with the gathering of the exiles of other nations also, as e.g. (Jeremiah 48:47): ושבתי שבות מואב “And I shall bring back the exiles of Moab”.

h.לא נפלאת הוא ממך [FOR THIS COMMANDMENT …] IS NOT נפלאת FROM YOU i.e. is not concealed from you, just as it is said, (Deuteronomy 17:8): כי יפלא which is rendered in the Targum by “If there be concealed [from thee]”; and (Lamentations 1:9): ותרד פלאים which means, she went down into concealment, i.e. being covered and bound in the place of concealment.

h.לא בשמים הוא IT IS NOT IN HEAVEN — for were it in heaven it would still be your duty to go up after it and to learn it (Eruvin 55a).

h.כי קרוב אליך BUT [THE WORD] IS [VERY] NEAR UNTO YOU — the Torah has been given to you in writing and orally.

h.את החיים ואת הטוב LIFE AND GOOD — the one is dependent upon the other: if you do good, behold, there is life for you, and if you do evil, behold, there is death for you. Scripture goes on to explain how this is:

h.אשר אנכי מצוך היום לאהבה IN THAT I COMMAND you THIS DAY TO LOVE [THE LORD your GOD] — You have here a description of the “good”, and upon this depends וחיית ורבית THAT YOU MAY LIVE AND INCREASE — here you have life.

h.ואם יפנה לבבך BUT IF your HEART TURN AWAY — here you have evil,

h.כי אבד תאבדון [I TELL YOU THIS DAY] THAT you SHALL PERISH — here you have death.

h.העדתי בכם היום את השמים ואת הארץ I CALL AS WITNESSES AGAINST YOU THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH, which exist for ever, and when evil will befall you they will be witnesses that I have warned you regarding all this (cf. Targum Jonathan on). Another explanation of העדתי בכם את השמים וגו׳ I CALL THE HEAVEN [AND THE EARTH] AS WITNESSES AGAINST YOU: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Look at the heavens which I have created to be at your service; have they perhaps ever changed their character? Has the orb of the sun perhaps ever failed to rise in the East and to give light to the whole world, just as is stated, (Ecclesiastes 1:4—5) “And the sun riseth, and the sun goeth down [and hasteth to its place where it arises]”?! Look at the earth which I have created to be at your service! Has it perhaps ever changed its character? Have you perhaps sown it and it did not bring forth, or have you sown wheat and it brought forth barley?! Now how is it with these that have been made neither with the end in view that they should receive a reward nor that they should suffer a loss — for if they act meritoriously (if they follow the natural laws by which they are governed) they receive no reward and if they were to fail they would receive no punishment? They have never changed their character! You, who if you act meritoriously do receive a reward and if you sin do receive punishment, how much the more so should you obey the commands of your Maker! (Sifrei Devarim 306:1).

h.ובחרת בחיים THEREFORE CHOOSE THE LIFE — I show you these (“I set life and death before thee) in order that you may choose the portion of life. It is like a man who says to his son, “Choose for yourself a good portion of my real estate”, and sets him in the best portion saying to him, “Choose this!” And concerning this it states, (Psalms 16:5) “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup, אתה תומיך גורלי”, i.e. “You place my hand on the good lot, saying, ‘Choose this!'”