COUNTING OUR BLESSINGS: TORAH STUDY: PARSHAT KI TAVO

(1) Now, if you obey your God יהוה, to observe faithfully all the divine commandments which I enjoin upon you this day, your God יהוה will set you high above all the nations of the earth. (2) All these blessings shall come upon you and take effect, if you will but heed the word of your God יהוה: (3) Blessed shall you be in the city and blessed shall you be in the country. (4) Blessed shall be your issue from the womb, your produce from the soil, and the offspring of your cattle, the calving of your herd and the lambing of your flock. (5) Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. (6) Blessed shall you be in your comings and blessed shall you be in your goings. (7) יהוה will put to rout before [your army] the enemies who attack you; they will march out against you by a single road, but flee from you by many roads. (8) יהוה will ordain blessings for you upon your barns and upon all your undertakings: you will be blessed in the land that your God יהוה is giving you. (9) יהוה will establish you as God’s holy people, as was sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of your God יהוה and walk in God’s ways. (10) And all the peoples of the earth shall see that יהוה’s name is proclaimed over you, and they shall stand in fear of you. (11) יהוה will give you abounding prosperity in your issue from the womb, the offspring of your cattle, and the produce of your soil in the land that יהוה swore to your fathers to assign to you. (12) יהוה will open for you that bounteous store, the heavens, to provide rain for your land in season and to bless all your undertakings. You will be creditor to many nations, but debtor to none. (13) יהוה will make you the head, not the tail; you will always be at the top and never at the bottom—if only you obey and faithfully observe the commandments of your God יהוה that I enjoin upon you this day, (14) and do not deviate to the right or to the left from any of the commandments that I enjoin upon you this day and turn to the worship of other gods.

“And all these blessings will come to you, and overtake you .…” (Devarim, 28:2)You will not revert to your former self. It is the nature of man to change when God brings him profit, so therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, promised him that the good in the soul of Israel will not, God forbid, be changed by anything.

“And all these blessings will come upon you and reach you” (Devarim ). 28:2The idea is that sometimes a person cannot immediately receive the blessings bestowed upon them. Hashem guards these blessings, as every good deed generates blessing. When the person is ready, Hashem will give them the blessings, either in this world or the next. This is the meaning of “and they will reach you.” [I believe I heard this idea from the Rebbe Mi’Parshischa].

"And all these blessings shall pursue you and come upon you." It is important to understand this because it does not seem to have an explanation. It seems like it would more appropriate to phrase this in the opposite way--that he should pursue the blessings and reach them and not that the blessings should pursue him and reach him. However, this idea is similar to the idea in Psalm 23 "Goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life." That is to say, sometimes people run away from the good because they are shortsighted and do not see the good for what it is. Therefore, the Psamist writes "Goodness and mercy shall pursue me" and reach me even if I do not know enough to pursue them. That is what is suggest in our verse.