פרשת ראה תש"י - הברכה והקללה

the blessing, if ye shall hearken unto the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day;

and the curse, if ye shall not hearken unto the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

את הברכה [I SET BEFORE YOU] THE BLESSING — with the condition that you should obey (אשר תשמעו‎).

את הברכה אשר תשמעו, “the blessing, that you will listen, etc.” Interestingly, Moses did not use the conditional אם when speaking about the blessing, in contrast to his using this word when referring to the people not listening, i.e. את הקללה אם לא תשמעו, “the curse if you will not listen.” Seeing that the word אם implies that what follows is doubtful, Moses did not want the blessing to be associated with a word expressing doubt. The word אשר expresses that something is definite. This is why Moses chose to use this word as describing the blessing, i.e. its materializing.

אחרי [AT THE PASSAGE OF THE JORDAN,] AFTER — This means: behind the passage of the Jordan much further on in a distance, for that is the force of the expression אחרי, because wherever the term אחרי (in contradistinction to אחר; cf. Rashi on Genesis 15:1) is used it signifies “greatly separated” (Genesis Rabbah 44:5; cf. Sifrei Devarim 56:1; Sotah 33b).

מול הגלגל means, distant from Gilgal (not near Gilgal).

אלוני מורה [BESIDE] THE TEREBINTHS OF MOREH — This is Shechem, for it states, (Genesis 12:6): “unto the place of Shechem, unto the terebinth of Moreh” (Sifrei Devarim 56:1; Sotah 33b; cf. Rashi on that verse).

אחר הדברים האלה — Wherever the term אחר is used it signifies immediately after the preceding event; whilst אחרי signifies a long time afterwards. אחר הדברים האלה AFTER THESE THINGS means: after this miracle has been wrought for him in that he slew the kings and he was in great anxiety, saying, “Perhaps I have already received, in this God-given victory reward for all my good deeds” — therefore the Omnipresent said to him, אל תירא אברם אנכי מגן לך FEAR NOT ABRAM, I AM THY SHIELD against punishment: for you shall not be punished on account of all these people whom you have slain. And as for your being anxious regarding the receipt of any further reward, know that שכרך הרבה מאד THY REWARD WILL BE EXCEEDING GREAT (Genesis Rabbah 44:5).

And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, did Joshua set up in Gilgal.

And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel: ‘We are come from a far country; now therefore make ye a covenant with us.’

And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.