(א) כׇּל־הַמִּצְוָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר אָנֹכִ֧י מְצַוְּךָ֛ הַיּ֖וֹם תִּשְׁמְר֣וּן לַעֲשׂ֑וֹת לְמַ֨עַן תִּֽחְי֜וּן וּרְבִיתֶ֗ם וּבָאתֶם֙ וִֽירִשְׁתֶּ֣ם אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־נִשְׁבַּ֥ע יְהֹוָ֖ה לַאֲבֹתֵיכֶֽם׃ (ב) וְזָכַרְתָּ֣ אֶת־כׇּל־הַדֶּ֗רֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֨ר הוֹלִֽיכְךָ֜ יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ זֶ֛ה אַרְבָּעִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר לְמַ֨עַן עַנֹּֽתְךָ֜ לְנַסֹּֽתְךָ֗ לָדַ֜עַת אֶת־אֲשֶׁ֧ר בִּֽלְבָבְךָ֛ הֲתִשְׁמֹ֥ר מִצְוֺתָ֖ו אִם־לֹֽא׃ (ג) וַֽיְעַנְּךָ֮ וַיַּרְעִבֶ֒ךָ֒ וַיַּאֲכִֽלְךָ֤ אֶת־הַמָּן֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹא־יָדַ֔עְתָּ וְלֹ֥א יָדְע֖וּן אֲבֹתֶ֑יךָ לְמַ֣עַן הוֹדִֽיעֲךָ֗ כִּ֠י לֹ֣א עַל־הַלֶּ֤חֶם לְבַדּוֹ֙ יִחְיֶ֣ה הָֽאָדָ֔ם כִּ֛י עַל־כׇּל־מוֹצָ֥א פִֽי־יְהֹוָ֖ה יִחְיֶ֥ה הָאָדָֽם׃ (ד) שִׂמְלָ֨תְךָ֜ לֹ֤א בָֽלְתָה֙ מֵֽעָלֶ֔יךָ וְרַגְלְךָ֖ לֹ֣א בָצֵ֑קָה זֶ֖ה אַרְבָּעִ֥ים שָׁנָֽה׃ (ה) וְיָדַעְתָּ֖ עִם־לְבָבֶ֑ךָ כִּ֗י כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר יְיַסֵּ֥ר אִישׁ֙ אֶת־בְּנ֔וֹ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ מְיַסְּרֶֽךָּ׃ (ו) וְשָׁ֣מַרְתָּ֔ אֶת־מִצְוֺ֖ת יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ לָלֶ֥כֶת בִּדְרָכָ֖יו וּלְיִרְאָ֥ה אֹתֽוֹ׃ (ז) כִּ֚י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ מְבִֽיאֲךָ֖ אֶל־אֶ֣רֶץ טוֹבָ֑ה אֶ֚רֶץ נַ֣חֲלֵי מָ֔יִם עֲיָנֹת֙ וּתְהֹמֹ֔ת יֹצְאִ֥ים בַּבִּקְעָ֖ה וּבָהָֽר׃ (ח) אֶ֤רֶץ חִטָּה֙ וּשְׂעֹרָ֔ה וְגֶ֥פֶן וּתְאֵנָ֖ה וְרִמּ֑וֹן אֶֽרֶץ־זֵ֥ית שֶׁ֖מֶן וּדְבָֽשׁ׃ (ט) אֶ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹ֤א בְמִסְכֵּנֻת֙ תֹּֽאכַל־בָּ֣הּ לֶ֔חֶם לֹֽא־תֶחְסַ֥ר כֹּ֖ל בָּ֑הּ אֶ֚רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֲבָנֶ֣יהָ בַרְזֶ֔ל וּמֵהֲרָרֶ֖יהָ תַּחְצֹ֥ב נְחֹֽשֶׁת׃ (י) וְאָכַלְתָּ֖ וְשָׂבָ֑עְתָּ וּבֵֽרַכְתָּ֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ עַל־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַטֹּבָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָֽתַן־לָֽךְ׃
(1) You shall faithfully observe all the Instruction that I enjoin upon you today, that you may thrive and increase and be able to possess the land that the Eternal One promised on oath to your fathers. (2) Remember the long way that the Eternal One your God has made you travel in the wilderness these past forty years, that He might test you by hardships to learn what was in your hearts: whether you would keep God's commandments or not. (3) The Eternal subjected you to the hardship of hunger and then gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had ever known, in order to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but that man may live on anything that the Eternal One decrees. (4) The clothes upon you did not wear out, nor did your feet swell these forty years. (5) Bear in mind that the Eternal One your God disciplines you just as a man disciplines his son. (6) Therefore keep the commandments of the Eternal One your God: walk in God's ways and revere The Eternal One. (7) For the Eternal One your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams and springs and fountains issuing from plain and hill; (8) a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey; (9) a land where you may eat food without stint, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you can mine copper. (10) When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the Eternal One your God for the good land which God has given you.
(לה) וַתַּ֨הַר ע֜וֹד וַתֵּ֣לֶד בֵּ֗ן וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הַפַּ֙עַם֙ אוֹדֶ֣ה אֶת־יְהֹוָ֔ה עַל־כֵּ֛ן קָרְאָ֥ה שְׁמ֖וֹ יְהוּדָ֑ה וַֽתַּעֲמֹ֖ד מִלֶּֽדֶת׃
(35) She conceived again and bore a son, and declared, “This time I will praise the The Eternal One.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
(א) הפעם אודה. שֶׁנָּטַלְתִּי יוֹתֵר מֵחֶלְקִי, מֵעַתָּה יֵשׁ לִי לְהוֹדוֹת:
(1) הפעם אודה NOW WILL I PRAISE [THE Eternal One] — because I have assumed more than my share, from now on I should praise God (Genesis Rabbah 71:4).
HaKarat HaTov - Noticing The Good
הכרת הטוב
Thanking
Hoda'ah - הודעה - Thanking -- To Thank: vav - dalet - hei ו.ד.ה.
Hodah/Todah/Hoda’ah/Modeh all from the root letters of the word Vov, Daled, Hei.
הכרת הטוב
Thanking
Hoda'ah - הודעה - Thanking -- To Thank: vav - dalet - hei ו.ד.ה.
Hodah/Todah/Hoda’ah/Modeh all from the root letters of the word Vov, Daled, Hei.
תניא היה רבי מאיר אומר חייב אדם לברך מאה ברכות בכל יום שנאמר (דברים י, יב) ועתה ישראל מה ה' אלהיך שואל מעמך
It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Meir would say: A person is obligated to recite one hundred blessings every day, as it is stated in the verse: “And now, Israel, what [ma] does the Lord your God require of you” (Deuteronomy 10:12). Rabbi Meir interprets the verse as though it said one hundred [me’a], rather than ma.
(א) מוֹדה/מוֹדה אֲנִי לְפָנֶֽיךָ מֶֽלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם שֶׁהֶחֱזַֽרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְּחֶמְלָה, רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶֽךָ:
(1) I give thanks to You living and everlasting Sovereign for You have restored my soul with mercy. Great is Your faithfulness.
(ד) שִׂמְלָ֨תְךָ֜ לֹ֤א בָֽלְתָה֙ מֵֽעָלֶ֔יךָ וְרַגְלְךָ֖ לֹ֣א בָצֵ֑קָה זֶ֖ה אַרְבָּעִ֥ים שָׁנָֽה׃
(4) The clothes upon you did not wear out, nor did your feet swell these forty years.
Rashi on Deuteronomy 8:4
(1) שמלתך לא בלתה THY RAIMENT DID NOT WEAR OUT — the clouds of Divine Glory used to rub the dirt off their clothes and bleach them so that they looked like new white articles, and also, their children, as they grew, their clothes grew with them, just like the clothes (shell) of a snail which grows with it (cf. Shir HaShirim Rabbah 4:11; Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 850). (2) לא בצקה This means: [AND THY FOOT] DID NOT SWELL like dough (בצק), as is usual with those who walk barefoot — that their feet become swollen.
(1) שמלתך לא בלתה THY RAIMENT DID NOT WEAR OUT — the clouds of Divine Glory used to rub the dirt off their clothes and bleach them so that they looked like new white articles, and also, their children, as they grew, their clothes grew with them, just like the clothes (shell) of a snail which grows with it (cf. Shir HaShirim Rabbah 4:11; Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 850). (2) לא בצקה This means: [AND THY FOOT] DID NOT SWELL like dough (בצק), as is usual with those who walk barefoot — that their feet become swollen.
Ibn Ezra on Deuteronomy 8:4
(1) THY RAIMENT. Some say via a miracle. Others say that the Israelites brought out many garments from Egypt. However, it is most likely the nature of manna not to produce sweat. (2) NEITHER…SWELL. The word batzekah (swell) is related to the word batzek (dough) in And they baked…the dough (Ex. 12:39). It is usual for the feet of a wayfarer who walks great distances to swell. It is possible that God gave the Israelites strength or that he led them slowly.
(1) THY RAIMENT. Some say via a miracle. Others say that the Israelites brought out many garments from Egypt. However, it is most likely the nature of manna not to produce sweat. (2) NEITHER…SWELL. The word batzekah (swell) is related to the word batzek (dough) in And they baked…the dough (Ex. 12:39). It is usual for the feet of a wayfarer who walks great distances to swell. It is possible that God gave the Israelites strength or that he led them slowly.
Ramban on Deuteronomy 8:4
(1) THY RAIMENT WAXED NOT OLD UPON THEE. Rashi speaks midrashically but Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra is wrong! For Moses mentions this to them in order to say that upon observing the commandment [of the Eternal One] they will have food and raiment, and renew [their] strength, even as they lived by the manna forty years and they had garments, and the way with their feet they treadeth not. All of this was miraculous, for by every thing that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Eternal doth man live and becomes supported. And if you were to cover a rafter with a new cloth it would wear out in forty years even though there is no perspiration, how much less man, that is a worm.
(1) THY RAIMENT WAXED NOT OLD UPON THEE. Rashi speaks midrashically but Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra is wrong! For Moses mentions this to them in order to say that upon observing the commandment [of the Eternal One] they will have food and raiment, and renew [their] strength, even as they lived by the manna forty years and they had garments, and the way with their feet they treadeth not. All of this was miraculous, for by every thing that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Eternal doth man live and becomes supported. And if you were to cover a rafter with a new cloth it would wear out in forty years even though there is no perspiration, how much less man, that is a worm.
Chizkuni on Deuteronomy 8:4
(1) שמלתך לא בלתה, “your garments did not wear out;” this is relevant to chapter 7 verse 25, where matters you should not covet have been discussed. Although you have travelled a long distance in the desert, for almost forty years, God has made certain that your clothing did not need replacing. When you observe God’s commandments, you will not need all the things that ordinary people require in order to live on this earth comfortably. If God was able to look after you in an uninhabitable desert, how much more so can the Eternal One look after you in habitable areas of the earth.
(1) שמלתך לא בלתה, “your garments did not wear out;” this is relevant to chapter 7 verse 25, where matters you should not covet have been discussed. Although you have travelled a long distance in the desert, for almost forty years, God has made certain that your clothing did not need replacing. When you observe God’s commandments, you will not need all the things that ordinary people require in order to live on this earth comfortably. If God was able to look after you in an uninhabitable desert, how much more so can the Eternal One look after you in habitable areas of the earth.
Bahya
(1) שמלתך לא בלתה מעליך, “your garment did not wear out from you.” This was a great miracle involving suspension of the rules of nature. It is normal for clothes to wear out, to disintegrate after much use. The garments worn by the people of this generation remained as new for 40 years. They resisted the acidity generated by human sweat which normally has a very corrosive effect.
(2) A Midrashic approach based on Midrash Tehillim 23:
Rabbi Eliezer asked Rabbi Shimon where the Israelites got all their clothing during the forty years in the desert. Rabbi Shimon answered that their clothing came from the same source as that of the ministering angels. He based this on Ezekiel 16,10: “I clothed you in embroidered garments.” Concerning the meaning of the word רקמה, “embroidered,” used by the prophet, Rabbi Simai said that it is a kind of mantle. To the question: “did they not wear out?” Rabbi Shimon replied: “Did you not ever read the text of the Torah? The Torah tells you that the clothing did not wear out!”
To this Rabbi Rabbi Simai retorted: ”did then the clothing grow with the children?” He was told to take his cue from the lizard whose skin (compared to clothing because it is shed) also grows with it.
To this came the question: “did this clothing not ever need laundering?” He was answered that the cloud would both wash it and iron it.
The questioner then wanted to know if these clothes did not ever burn, catch fire? He was told to observe a certain category of animal called Sitin (salamander) which are “sort of dry-cleaning themselves” in fire without suffering burns.
The questioner now wanted to know if the people wearing the same clothing for forty years did not ever experience attacks by vermin such as lice, etc.? Thereupon the questioner was told that if the bodies of these people were not subject to attacks by worms, they would certainly not be vicitimized by vermin while they were alive.
The next question concerned the foul smell that must have emanated from people who wore the same clothes year in year out without change. The answer given was that the traveling well produced fragrant smells which neutralised any stench emitted by the clothing of the people. This is why they did not have to change their garments at all. In fact, according to our tradition this well made all kinds of herbs grow, herbs the fragrance of which could be inhaled from one end of the earth to the other. The people would waft these herbs to and fro; this is what David referred to in Psalms 23,2 בנאות דשא ירביצני, “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” Solomon also referred to this phenomenon in Song of Songs 4,11 when he said: “and the scent of your robes is like the scent of Lebanon”.
(1) שמלתך לא בלתה מעליך, “your garment did not wear out from you.” This was a great miracle involving suspension of the rules of nature. It is normal for clothes to wear out, to disintegrate after much use. The garments worn by the people of this generation remained as new for 40 years. They resisted the acidity generated by human sweat which normally has a very corrosive effect.
(2) A Midrashic approach based on Midrash Tehillim 23:
Rabbi Eliezer asked Rabbi Shimon where the Israelites got all their clothing during the forty years in the desert. Rabbi Shimon answered that their clothing came from the same source as that of the ministering angels. He based this on Ezekiel 16,10: “I clothed you in embroidered garments.” Concerning the meaning of the word רקמה, “embroidered,” used by the prophet, Rabbi Simai said that it is a kind of mantle. To the question: “did they not wear out?” Rabbi Shimon replied: “Did you not ever read the text of the Torah? The Torah tells you that the clothing did not wear out!”
To this Rabbi Rabbi Simai retorted: ”did then the clothing grow with the children?” He was told to take his cue from the lizard whose skin (compared to clothing because it is shed) also grows with it.
To this came the question: “did this clothing not ever need laundering?” He was answered that the cloud would both wash it and iron it.
The questioner then wanted to know if these clothes did not ever burn, catch fire? He was told to observe a certain category of animal called Sitin (salamander) which are “sort of dry-cleaning themselves” in fire without suffering burns.
The questioner now wanted to know if the people wearing the same clothing for forty years did not ever experience attacks by vermin such as lice, etc.? Thereupon the questioner was told that if the bodies of these people were not subject to attacks by worms, they would certainly not be vicitimized by vermin while they were alive.
The next question concerned the foul smell that must have emanated from people who wore the same clothes year in year out without change. The answer given was that the traveling well produced fragrant smells which neutralised any stench emitted by the clothing of the people. This is why they did not have to change their garments at all. In fact, according to our tradition this well made all kinds of herbs grow, herbs the fragrance of which could be inhaled from one end of the earth to the other. The people would waft these herbs to and fro; this is what David referred to in Psalms 23,2 בנאות דשא ירביצני, “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” Solomon also referred to this phenomenon in Song of Songs 4,11 when he said: “and the scent of your robes is like the scent of Lebanon”.
Deuteronomy Rabbah 7:11
A conversation between Rabbi Eleazar and Rabbi Simeon ben Yose.
Rabbi Eleazar asked: “Did the Israelite children not grow so that the clothes became too small for them?”, to which Rabbi Simeon replied: “When the snail grows, its shell grows with it.”
Rabbi Eleazar then asked: “Did the clothes not need washing?” The reply: “The pillar of fire rubbed against them and whitened them.” This led to another question: “Seeing that the pillar consisted of fire, were they not scorched?” Rabbi Simeon’s response: “As their clothes were of heavenly make, the pillar rubbed against them without damaging them.”
Rabbi Eleazar was still not satisfied: “Did vermin not breed in them? Did they not emit an evil odour because of the Israelites’ perspiration?” But Rabbi Simeon had an answer to this as well: “The Israelites used to play with sweet-scented grasses.”
A conversation between Rabbi Eleazar and Rabbi Simeon ben Yose.
Rabbi Eleazar asked: “Did the Israelite children not grow so that the clothes became too small for them?”, to which Rabbi Simeon replied: “When the snail grows, its shell grows with it.”
Rabbi Eleazar then asked: “Did the clothes not need washing?” The reply: “The pillar of fire rubbed against them and whitened them.” This led to another question: “Seeing that the pillar consisted of fire, were they not scorched?” Rabbi Simeon’s response: “As their clothes were of heavenly make, the pillar rubbed against them without damaging them.”
Rabbi Eleazar was still not satisfied: “Did vermin not breed in them? Did they not emit an evil odour because of the Israelites’ perspiration?” But Rabbi Simeon had an answer to this as well: “The Israelites used to play with sweet-scented grasses.”