Rashi in His Own Words
דברים י"א, י"ד: וְ נָתַ תִּ י מְ טַ ר אַ רְ צְ כֶם בְ עִּ תוֹ יוֹרֶ ה וּמַ לְ קוֹשׁ וְ אָ סַ פְ תָ דְ גָנֶךָ וְ תִּ ירשְׁ ךָ וְ יִּ צְ הָ רֶ ךָ :
רש"י ד"ה ונתתי מטר ארצכם :עשיתם מה שעליכם ,אף אני אעשה מה שעלי :בעתו :בלילות שלא יטריחו אתכם .דבר אחר בעתו ,בלילי שבתות שהכל מצויין בבתיהם :
Devorim 11:14: I will give the rain of your land at its time, the early rain and the latter rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil.
Rashi Heading - I will give the rain of your land: You have done what is incumbent upon you, so I will do what is incumbent upon Me. at its time: At night so that it will not disturb you. Another explanation of "at its time" is when everyone is at home on Shabbos (Friday) nights.
Synopsis
In this week's Torah portion, Eikev, Hashem tells us that if we obey his commandments, He "will give the rain of your land at its time, the early rain and the latter rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil." Rashi explains, "I will give you the rain of your land," meaning, "You have done what is incumbent upon you, so I will do what is incumbent upon Me." Additionally, Rashi comments that "at its time" means "at night, so it will not disturb you." He then offers a second explanation of "at its time." The rain will fall "on Shabbos (Friday) nights when everyone is home."
We need to understand what was bothering Rashi. The fact that the Torah's words "I will give you the rain of the land at its time" are meant as a reward for obeying His commandments seems quite clear. Additionally, Rashi's explanation does not seem to add anything to our understanding of the verse.
In a verse earlier in the Torah, "I will give your rains in their time," Rashi explains that Hashem will give us the rain "when people do not usually go out, for example, on Shabbos evenings."
Rashi's explanation of "at its (the lands) time" and "in their (the Jews') time" is very similar. However, there are significant differences. The reason is as follows. The earlier verse (in Bechukosai) follows the Torah's words, "If you follow My statutes." Rashi defines that means that you toiled in the Torah. The Torah discusses a reward for going above and beyond what one must do. Therefore, Hashem's compensation is "in their time," meaning the time that best suits the Jew. Hashem repays all of our actions measure for measure. Since we are talking about one who went beyond the letter of the law, Hashem rewards him by causing it to only rain on Friday nights. Based on the laws of nature, supporting Israel requires much more rain than what can fall solely on Friday nights. When the rain falls exclusively on Friday nights, it cannot cause the crops to grow and thrive. Nevertheless, as a reward for going above one's limitations, Hashem likewise transcends the boundaries of nature.
Our Torah portion, however, discusses one who fulfilled the letter of the law but did not toil. Hence, his reward is the rain coming "in its (the lands) time." Under these circumstances, the Divine blessing does not transcend nature.
Rashi's Explanation
In this week's Torah portion, Eikev, the Torah tells us that if we listen to G-d's commandments, He tells us, "I will give the rain of your land at its time, the early rain and the latter rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil." Rashi cites the words "I will give the rain of your land" and explains, "You have done what is incumbent upon you, so I will do what is incumbent upon Me."
We know that Rashi only comments on difficult words for the beginning student. Based on this, we must understand the challenge with the terms "I will give the rain of your land." One verse earlier, the Torah says, "It will be if you listen to My commandments." The Torah follows that by telling us that the reward for following the commandments is "I will give the rain of your land." Furthermore, Rashi's explanation does not appear to add anything to our simple understanding of the verse.
The Mizrachi explains that Rashi explains why the Torah must list many details of our reward for following the commandments. The Torah states that Hashem will give "... the early rain and the latter rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil ... and you will eat and be satisfied." The Mizrachi points out the contrast between here and that stated in the Torah portion of Bechukosai. Hashem also promises rain as a reward for fulfilling the Torah and Mitzvos. However, it only says, "I will give your rains in their time," without listing any details.
Rashi explains this by teaching us, "You have done (all of the many details which are) incumbent upon you, so I will do what is incumbent upon Me." I will give you all the right things, excluding nothing.
Difficulties in Understanding Rashi
It is challenging to explain that Rashi is explaining the reason for the detailed list of rewards, and Rashi uses the heading "I will give the rain of your land" as his explanation. We know that Rashi is particular about the words he cites as the heading of his comments, which are the only words he is explaining. He would have included those words in the header if he had also described the difficulty stemming from other terms and a later verse. At the very least, he would have written, "etc."
Mizrachi explains that Rashi contrasts this with the verse, "I will give your rains in their time." However, Rashi's heading here, "I will give the rain of your land," ostensibly says the same thing in the Torah portion of Bechukosai.
According to Rashi, the reward the Torah promises in the portion of Bechukosai is far greater than the reward delineated here. There, Rashi comments on the verse, "and the tree of the field will give forth fruit," that even non-fruit-bearing trees will bear fruit in the future. In other words, the blessings will be supernatural, unlike here.
There are significant differences between Rashi's comments here and in Bechukosai. There, when the Torah says, "I will give your rains in their time," Rashi comments on the words "in their time" and explains that the rain will come "at a time when people do not usually go out, for example, on Shabbos evenings." On the other hand, Rashi cites the words "at its time" and explains, "At night, so it will not disturb you. Another explanation of 'at its time' is on Shabbos (Friday) nights when everyone is home." Why does Rashi find the explanation that the rain will fall on Friday nights sufficient in the Torah portion of Bechukosai, yet here finds it necessary to give two explanations?
On the other hand, Rashi first explains that the rain will fall "at night so that it will not disturb you." Here, the explanation that the rain will fall on Friday nights is the second, rather than the first, primary explanation. However, in Bechukosai, the explanation that the rain will fall on Friday nights is Rashi's only explanation.
In Bechukosai, Rashi first states that the rain will fall "at a time that people do not usually do not go out." In other words, the content of the blessing is listed first. Rashi cites a specific example, "for example, on Shabbos and festival evenings." However, Rashi first mentions the example, "On Shabbos (Friday) nights." Only then does he tell us the content of the blessing, which is "when everyone is at home." In the Torah portion of Bechukosai, Rashi states the content of the reward in the negative, "at a time that people do not usually go out." However, in our Torah portion, Rashi changes to the positive, "when everyone is at home." In Bechukosai, Rashi uses the phrase "people"; however, here, he says "everyone." In our portion, before giving his second explanation, Rashi repeats the words "at its time." He writes, "Another explanation of 'at its time' is: On Shabbos (Friday) nights when everyone is at home."
The Explanation
There is a significant difference between the blessings in the Torah portion of Bechukosai and here. The Torah portion of Bechukosai says, "I will give your rains in their time." In other words, it is a blessing that G-d gives directly to the Jews. However, in our portion, the Torah says, "I will give the rain of your land at its time." The land is being blessed, so the Jews receive the blessing indirectly.
This helps to explain the differences in each type of blessing. The boundaries and limitations of the laws of nature do not limit the Jewish People. Therefore, blessings are not limited by nature. That is why, as Rashi says in Bechukosai, the blessings include that barren trees will bear fruit. However, in our Parshah, the land is being blessed directly, and the laws of nature bind these blessings.
We now understand the reason for the difference between the two blessings. However, why is this the case? Why is only the land being blessed? Why are the blessings of the unlimited G-d subject to natural laws? Rashi explains that at the beginning of his commentary. "You have done what is incumbent upon you, so I will do what is incumbent upon Me." Rashi is saying that the Jews only kept what was incumbent upon them. They fulfilled all of their obligations without going beyond the letter of the law. Since Hashem deals with us "measure for measure," His reward was likewise not beyond the letter of the law. He will bless us only by doing "what is incumbent upon Him (as to speak)." The blessings will not extend beyond the laws of nature.
However, in the Torah portion of Bechukosai, Rashi explains the first verse, "If you follow My statutes," meaning "if you toil in Torah study." In other words, "I will give your rains in their time" is a blessing for toiling in Torah; it is a reward for going above and beyond the obligation to study Torah. Therefore, the reward is "measure for measure," above and beyond the boundaries of nature.
The general difference that distinguishes Bechukosai ("in their – the Jews' - times") from Eikev, our Torah portion ("at its – the land's - time"), is the reason for the other differences we find in Rashi's explanation of each. In Bechukosai, where the blessing is to Jews, the rain falls at the best possible time for the Jews. The best time for Jews is when they are not going out on the street. Therefore, Rashi writes, "at a time when people do not usually go out, for example, on Shabbos evenings." It would seem that, naturally, that would not supply enough rain for the crops to grow. However, this blessing transcends nature, allowing less rain to suffice.
Conversely, in our Torah portion, the blessing is meted according to the laws of nature. Therefore, in his first and primary explanation, Rashi says that "at its time" means "at night, so it will not disturb you." Naturally, it must rain many nights during the week to cause the crops to grow properly.
Additionally, there are other differences between the blessings given to Jews and those given to the land. The blessings given to the Jews, when it is considered "in their (the Jews') time," depends on what is best for the Jews. Therefore, the time is " when people do not usually go out, for example, on Shabbos evenings." The definition of "in their time" is when people, i.e., Jews, do not usually go out. Therefore, Rashi writes this first in Bechukosai. He then cites an example of this, i.e., Friday nights.
However, "at its time" in our Torah portion is different. The blessing is given to the land, and the Jews are blessed indirectly through the land. Therefore, the time for the rain to fall is when no one works the field, meaning at night. However, this blessing is not purely for the land's benefit; as Rashi says, the time for the rain to fall is "at night so that it will not disturb you."
However, this explanation leaves Rashi with several questions. Firstly, if "in its time" means at night, the Torah could say so! Secondly, "in its (the land's) time" seems inappropriate. There is no benefit to the land, whether it rains during the day or at night, and the only benefit is to those who work the land, meaning the Jews. Therefore, Rashi also offers a second explanation (not his primary explanation): "Another explanation of 'at its time' is on Shabbos (Friday) nights when everyone is at home."
A Deeper Lesson from Rashi
All of the above teaches us the importance of going beyond (what we perceive to be) our limitations. Even though we can honestly say that we have done everything incumbent upon us to fulfill G-d's commandments and study His Torah, that is not enough. We must toil above and beyond what we feel are our capabilities. This applies both to the Torah study and the performance of Mitzvos. Then Hashem will bless us in a supernatural manner.
(Adapted from talks given on Shabbos Parshas Eikev and Re' eh 5734)
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