וזוממי בת כהן: מנהני מילי אמר רב אחא בריה דרב איקא דתניא ר' יוסי אומר מה ת"ל (דברים יט, יט) ועשיתם לו כאשר זמם לעשות לאחיו לפי שכל המזוממין שבתורה זוממיהן ובועליהן כיוצא בהן
It has been taught: R. Jose the Galilean said: The Torah understood the extreme depths [of depravity inherent in] idolatry,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Or, the wiles by which idolatry attracts.
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Shenei Luchot HaBerit
ואתחנן אל ה' בעת ההיא . Our פרשה begins by extolling the virtues of the Holy Land, i.e. the second of G–d's gifts to the Jewish people. The atmosphere of ארץ ישראל which our sages (Baba Batra 158) have described as contributing to one's knowledge and intelligence is a necessary step for someone who wishes to acquire the "crown" of Torah, i.e. become a true Torah scholar. We have it on the authority of Isaiah 2,3 that: כי מציון תצא תורה, ודבר ה' מירושלים, "Torah comes forth from Zion and the word of G–d from Jerusalem." Thence it proceeds to the Celestial counterpart of ארץ ישראל, also known as עולם הבא. We know that this is so from Isaiah 60,21: ועמך כולם צדיקים לעולם יירשו ארץ, "As to your people, they are all righteous and will inherit ארץ forever." This is the context in which the land of Israel is mentioned at the beginning of our portion. The middle and last sections of the portion deal with the subject of how the Torah was given to the Jewish people.
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