Devarim Fall 2020 7 Declarations

(1) When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as a heritage, and you possess it and settle in it, (2) you shall take some of every first fruit of the soil, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God will choose to establish His name.

(3) You shall go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, “I acknowledge this day before the LORD your God that I have entered the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to assign us.” (4) The priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down in front of the altar of the LORD your God.

(5) You shall then recite as follows before the LORD your God: “My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. (6) The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. (7) We cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression. (8) The LORD freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents. (9) He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. (10) Wherefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil which You, O LORD, have given me.”

You shall leave it before the LORD your God and bow low before the LORD your God. (11) And you shall enjoy, together with the Levite and the stranger in your midst, all the bounty that the LORD your God has bestowed upon you and your household.

(20) When, in time to come, your children ask you, “What mean the decrees, laws, and rules that the LORD our God has enjoined upon you?”

(21) you shall say to your children, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and the LORD freed us from Egypt with a mighty hand. (22) The LORD wrought before our eyes marvelous and destructive signs and portents in Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household; (23) and us He freed from there, that He might take us and give us the land that He had promised on oath to our fathers. (24) Then the LORD commanded us to observe all these laws, to revere the LORD our God, for our lasting good and for our survival, as is now the case. (25) It will be therefore to our merit before the LORD our God to observe faithfully this whole Instruction, as He has commanded us.”

(1) The following may be recited in any language:the section concerning the sotah, the confession made at the presentation of tithes, the shema, the prayer (the amidah), the grace after meals, the oath concerning testimony, the oath concerning a deposit.

(2) The following are recited in the holy tongue (Hebrew):The reading made at the offering of the firstfruits, The recitation at halitzah, The blessings and curses, The priestly blessing, The blessing of the high priest, The section of the king, The section of the calf whose neck is broken, And the priest anointed [to accompany the army] in battle when he speaks to the people.

Rabbi Baruch HaLevi Epstein, 1860-1941

Composed in Pinsk, Belarus (c.1898 - c.1902 CE). Commentary on the Torah, consisting of a compilation of Talmudic and Halakhic passages relevant to each verse, with a brief explanation by the author.

Devarim 26:13 --

you shall declare before the LORD your God: “I have cleared out the consecrated portion from the house; and I have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, just as You commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor neglected any of Your commandments

The rabbis in Talmud Sotah 32b explain that the phrase "You shall declare" teaches that the declaration over the tithe may be declared in any language...

Commentary of the Torah Temimah, note 51: It seems reasonable to say that the declaration of the passage of First Fruits (which must be said in Hebrew) is distinct from the passage of Tithes (which may be said in any language) in this regard: The purpose of the declaration of First Fruits is to publicize the words one states, which include thanksgiving and praise to the Holy Blessed One. For this reason, that declaration is stated in the (first person) plural: "the Egyptians treated us harshly," "they oppressed us," "we cried out," "He brought us out," "He brought us in," etc.

Therefore it is clear that it would be impossible to recite the declaration in his native tongue (other than Hebrew), for the declaration is intended for the benefit of the hearers. The hearers may not understand his (native) tongue. Therefore it is necessary to make the declaration in the Holy Tongue, which is the shared language of all Israel. If there were among the hearers one who does not understand the Holy Tongue, we would not be accountable for (explaining it to) him, since Klal Yisrael (the Jewish people as a whole) would understand.

(4) They mixed him a second cup, and here the son questions his father. If the son lacks the intelligence to ask, his father instructs him:

How different this night is from all other nights! On all other nights we eat hametz and matzah, tonight only matzah. On all other nights we eat other vegetables, tonight only bitter herbs. On all other nights, we eat meat roasted, boiled or cooked, tonight only roasted. On all other nights we dip once, tonight twice.

And according to the intellect of the son, the father instructs him. He begins with shame and concludes with praise; and expounds from “A wandering Aramean was my father” (Deuteronomy 26:5-10) until he completes the whole section.

(5) ... In every generation a man is obligated to regard himself as though he personally had gone forth from Egypt, because it is said, “And you shall tell your son on that day, saying: ‘It is because of that which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt” (Exodus 13:8). ...

Go out and learn what Lavan the Aramean sought to do to Ya'akov, our father; since Pharaoh only decreed [the death sentence] on the males but Lavan sought to uproot the whole [people]. As it is stated (Deuteronomy 26:5), "An Aramean was destroying my father and he went down to Egypt, and he resided there with a small number and he became there a nation, great, powerful and numerous."