28:2 “ובאו עליך כל הברכות האלה והשיגך, כי תשמע בקול ד' אלקיך”
28:3 “ברוך אתה בעיר, וברוך אתה בשדה”
“All this blessing will come upon you and overtake you, if you hearken to the voice of Hashem, your G-d.” “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed you shall be in the field.” What does the Posuk mean when it says, “והשיגך” – that the blessing will “overtake you”? Additionally, what is the Posuk referring to when it says that one should be blessed in the city, and blessed in the field?
The Posuk says, “ובאו עליך” – that the blessing will come upon you, implying by itself, thus what is the word, “והשיגך” – “that it will overtake you”, adding? There was a story with a person who was a simpleton, without much money. This man’s wife heard that there was a special fish that was brought into the local marketplace that day. She told her husband that he should go to the market and purchase one of those special fish. He didn’t really want to go, and tried coming up with excuses as to why he couldn’t go. She did not accept his excuses, and insisted he go. He went to the market place and asked for that fish. The seller saw that this man was a simpleton, and would probably not know the difference as to what fish he was getting. The seller had much of the good quality fish, however he had one large fish of inferior quality that he wanted to get rid of. He told the simpleton that he has this great fish, it is really big, and he can give him a really good price for it. It is not that “special fish” – but it is still a good fish. The simpleton knew that his wife would not be happy that he didn’t bring home the fish she requested, but couldn’t resist the deal he was getting, so he purchased the inferior quality fish. He brought it home, and decided to cut it up immediately, so that hopefully his wife wouldn’t notice which fish it was, once it was already cut up. As he was cutting up the fish, he came across something very hard – and pulled it out. He couldn’t believe his eyes; in his hands was a large precious stone, that had great value. The Posuk is telling us that not only will it come by itself, but it will “chase after you.” This man was not supposed to purchase that fish and the money chased after him and caught him. (עוד יוסף חי)
“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed you shall be in the field.” There are times that one can have two opposing forces coming together. What is good for one, is bad for the other, and vice versa. For example, if one has wheat and barley in a storage house, and at the same time he still has a lot of plantings in his field. If the person asks Hakodosh Boruch Hu for a lot of rain to help his fields grow, that will negatively impact his grain in his storage house that is in the city, as it will bring worms, and drive down the price of his merchandise. If he asks Hakodosh Boruch Hu that it should not rain, that will be good for his storage houses in the city, but will not be good for his fields, for it may dry out and will all go to waste. One must know that Hakodosh Boruch Hu can do everything, even that which seems to be impossible for they oppose each other. Hakodosh Boruch Hu can make his fields prosper, and make his merchandise sell for a good price. This is what the Posuk is saying here, “ברוך אתה בעיר, וברוך אתה בשדה” – that one should be blessed, both in the city, and in the field, despite their inherently being two opposing forces. (אדרת אליהו)
“Blessed you shall be when you come in, and blessed you shall be when you go out.” This Posuk hints to us that one is Blessed when he comes to the Bais Hakneses or the Bais Hamedrash, and blessed is he when he leaves as well. How so? When one goes to the Bais Hamedrash or the Bais Hakneses, he is going to serve Hakodosh Boruch Hu, so that his going is considered a Mitzvah. When one leave the Bais Hamedrash to go eat or to go to work, though he is going to eat so that he has the strength to serve Hakodosh Boruch Hu, and is going to work so that he has money so that he can serve Hakodosh Boruch Hu, then when he leaves the Bais Hamedrash, that is also a Mitzvah – it is a part of his Torah. The Torah is called, “עץ חיים” – as the Posuk in Mishlei 3:18 says, “עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה” – “It is a tree of life to those who grasp her.” One who toils in the Torah Hakdosha is called a “ברוך” – blessed one, as the word, “ברוך” has the same Gematria as, “עץ חיים.” A Talmid Chochom is called a רב. When one learns Torah L’shem Shomayim, and does so as Dovid Hamelech tells us to, “שויתי ד' לנגדי תמיד” – that one is learning the Torah Hakdosha, for the sake of the Shem Hashem, the Shem Havayah, then we add the רב, with כ"ו which is the Gematria of the Shem Havayah (י-ה-ו-ה = 26), and the letters spell, “ברוך.” The person who goes to the Bais Medrash and learns Torah Lishma there, and when he leaves the Bais Medrash, he plans on reviewing his Torah, and taking care of his other needs, but all in order so that he can learn more Torah and heed the Mitzvos, then he is blessed both when he comes to the Bais Medrash and when he leaves the Bais Medrash. (ברכת הרי"ח)
26:16 “היום הזה ד' אלקיך מצוך לעשות את החקים האלה ואת המשפטים ושמרת ועשית אותם בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך” – “This day, Hashem, your G-d, commands you to perform these decrees and the statutes, and you shall observe and perform them with all of your heart and with all of your soul.” This Posuk is telling us as the Gemara in Eiruvin 22a says, “היום לעשות ולא למחר” – one must follow the Mitzvos of Hashem in this world, and not wait for Olam Habah, for then it is too late. (עוד יוסף חי)
Now we can understand what the Torah is telling us when saying that the Brocha will overtake you, and that you should be blessed in the city and the field. These Pesukim are connected, as they are describing the great Brocha one will receive for following the Torah Hakdosha. One will receive such great Brocha, that it will be potentially completely unnatural, where one will do something that should not bear fruits for him, nonetheless, it will work out for him, and he will be prosperous. This is what the Torah means when it says the Brocha will overtake you. When it says that you will be blessed in the city and the field, the Torah is telling us that even if one has two needs which completely contradict each other – that what is good for one thing is bad for the other – and thus there is no solution that will be completely good for the person. To this, the Torah says that Hakodosh Boruch Hu is capable of anything and everything, and even if blessing for the city is bad for blessing of the field, and vice versa, nonetheless, Hakodosh Boruch Hu can make it all Brocha for the person. The Yemei Hadin will be upon us very soon. What are we to do to be Zoche to this great Brocha? We must work on being, “ברוך אתה בבואך, וברוך אתה בצאתיך” – blessed when going into the Bais Hakneses and the Bais Hamedrash. We must make these places a mainstay of our lives, and even when we leave there, we are still really there. We must also work on this, “היום” – “today” – don’t wait for tomorrow, but serve Hakodosh Boruch Hu properly today. In the Zechus of our working on ourselves and trying to make ourselves better servants to Hakodosh Boruch Hu, may we be Zoche to have a כתיבה וחתימה טובה.
