ונתתי :אתם ועשיתם תשמרו מצותי ואת תלכו בחקתי אם" (ד-ג כו) "פריו יתן השדה ועץ יבולה הארץ ונתנה בעתם גשמיכם
In the simple meaning, the words "Im bechukosai telechu," are the same as the next few words, "v’es mitzvosai tishmeru." Why then is this seemingly redundant language used? Rashi explains (based on Sifra Bechukosai Parshasa 1) that indeed, the meaning of the passuk is not that "if you follow My chukim" to instruct a general following of the chukim in the Torah, but rather "that you should toil in [the study of] Torah."
Based on this, Harav Moshe of Lublin, the son-in-law of the Maharsha and author of Mahadura Basra, explains the words of Chazal (Bava Metzia 85a) on the passuk (Yirmiyahu 9:11-12): "Why was the land ruined?...Because they have forsaken My Torah" – "that they didn’t make a brachah on the Torah first." And the question is known: Was this sin of not saying Birchas HaTorah so great that Am Yisrael was punished with the destruction of the land because of it?
The Mahadura Basra explains: The question of "why was the land ruined" does not refer to the churban of the Bais Hamikdsah, but rather, that the land of Eretz Yisrael lost the brachah in its fruits, for which it is called ‘Nachalas Tzvi’ (Yirmiyahu 3:19). This name was derived because the land brought out fruits very quickly, like a deer that is light on its feet and runs fast (Kesubos 112a). And because in this parashah, the Torah conditions the promise of "venasnah ha’aretz yevulah, the land will yield its crops..." on "im bechukosai telechu," – "that you should toil in Torah," Chazal learn that this punishment came because they didn’t toil in Torah.
This is what Chazal mean when they say: "That they did not recite Birchas HaTorah first." In other words, they abandoned their toil and engagement in Torah, which is the ikkar of its virtue, as explained by the words "La’asok bedivrei Torah," as stated in Birchas HaTorah.
Mahadura Basra Bava Metzia 88a
