“See, this day I set before you blessing and curse” [11:26]. King Solomon, of blessed memory, said: How evil is the attribute of indolence and laziness for the one who has it. The one who has the attribute of indolence has great damage in many ways. The one who is indolent in his house, when a beam breaks and he does not have it repaired immediately, his whole house might collapse. When someone is indolent with his body, and he does not buy food at the appropriate time, when it is plentiful, later he must pay double for it. Sometimes, he cannot find any food and must die of hunger. When someone is indolent with his soul, and does not fulfill commandments, he comes to Gehenna in the end. The person’s soul is compared to a field. Sometimes one finds a field that is easy to plow and things grow easily on it. Sometimes, one finds a field that is difficult to plow and things do not grow easily on it, yet one does what one can, and plows the difficult field, expecting that something will grow from it, even if it is difficult for him. So too it is with people. One finds that some people follow their desires to excess, day and night, and are not punished, and do not want to study Torah. However, when he will take pains, and wants to accustom himself to commandments and Torah, he will come into it and become pious. The one who does not become accustomed to the commandments and the Torah, will not have anything in the next world, since the person has the power to be good or evil. Therefore, the Torah portion begins.1Bahya, Re’eh, Introduction.
“See, this day I set before you blessing and curse” [11:26]. This means, see and be warned about it. I say to you: I give you the good path and the evil path. You can go in which way you want. However, I say that you should go in the good path, as the verse says, “choose life” [Deuteronomy, 30:19]. This means, you should choose the good path. If the Holy One in heaven had commanded that the person should be pious or evil, then the person would have no transgression when he was evil, since God had decreed that he must be evil. Similarly, if the Holy One had decreed upon the person that he must be pious, it would be no novelty that the person is pious. Therefore, this cannot be, but the person has the ability to be good or bad. The person must know this and should always have before him that he can do what he wants.2Bahya, Deuteronomy, 11:26.
“But look only to the site that the Lord your God will choose” [12:5]. The Holy One said that you should bring no sacrifice except in the city where God will show you. For three reasons, the Torah did not explicitly write how this place where one should bring the sacrifice is called, Mount Moriah or Jerusalem. If the Torah had explicitly written the place, the nations would have fought with each other. Each one would have wanted to have that place, because it was holy, and would have killed each other because of it. Secondly, if the nations knew that Israel would bring sacrifices to Jerusalem, they would have destroyed and devastated it. Third, if Israel had known that Jerusalem was a holy place, they would have argued with each other. Each one would have wanted this holy place, just like they argued in the incident of Korah; each one wanted to be a priest. Therefore, even Israel did not know the place where the sacrifices would be brought, and how much more so the gentiles.3Bahya, Deuteronomy, 12:5.
“When the Lord enlarges your territory” [12:20]. Rabbi Abahu said: it is written that you should not forget the Levite, to give him food and what he needs. Thus, the Holy One will expand your boundaries, and you will become rich. Concerning this, the verse said, “a man’s gift eases his way” [Proverbs, 18:16]. This means, that which the person gives, causes that God expands his boundaries. A story occurred with Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Joshua, and Rabbi Akiva. They came to a Jew who was pious and had become impoverished. He saw the rabbis coming to his house and he did not have anything to honor them with, and he was very sad. His wife came and asked him, why are you sad? He said: how should I not be sad? I have nothing with which to honor these good rabbis. His wife was very righteous, and she said: we still have a field left. Sell half the field quickly and we will honor the good rabbis. He immediately sold the half field and gave the rabbis to eat and drink. The rabbis blessed that good man that God should give him double. The rabbis went home and he went to plow the half field. The earth opened under the feet of his ox, and the ox broke its foot in the hole. The good man wanted to pull the ox out, and the Holy One showed him a treasure with gold and silver in the hole. He took the silver and gold and became rich. The rabbis came again to the householder and asked him, how is it going? He responded: your blessing came true and the rabbis honored him.4Yalkut Shimoni, Re’eh, Remez, 884.
Bahya writes a parable. Somebody says to his friend, lend me a gulden. He responds: I do not know you. He says: trust me once. He gives it to him and he repays him quickly. The rich man says to him: take as much as you want, twenty or thirty gulden. So too is the Holy One. He tests the person and makes him rich. If he keeps his word and repays it, that he helps the poor and feeds them from what God had given him, then the Holy One gives him double. gives him double. The Holy One said: I give a person money so that he should give to the poor. The person who is wealthy is like the communal official who should distribute what God has given him. He should remember, this money is not mine, but the Holy One is the owner of these goods, and has given it to people for a while. Therefore, he should not boast, as the verse says, “let the rich man glory in his riches” [Jeremiah, 9:22]. This means that he should not boast about his wealth, that he would say, this wealth is mine.5I was not able to find this in Bahya’s commentary. However, the core of the parable is found in Yalkut Shimoni, Re’eh, Remez, 884, immediately following the previous passage.
“When the Lord enlarges your territory, and you say, I shall eat some meat” [12:20]. The Torah teaches us that when the person is rich, he may eat meat. He should not desire it except when things are good for him. The Talmud in [tractate] Hullin said: Rabbi Eleazar son of Azariah said: if a person has one gulden, he should eat vegetables. If he has a hundred gulden, he may eat meat every day. However, in any event when he cannot afford it, for the honor of the Sabbath he should always eat good meat. Rab said: concerning the words of Rabbi Eleazar, we must defer to him regarding the eating of meat. Rabbi Yohanan came and said: I believe what the good rabbi said. He is healthy and strong. He can eat something ordinary when there is no meat. However, when we have a penny, I and my like should eat meat, so that we can become strong. Rabbi Nachman said: I and my like, even if we have no money, we should borrow and eat in order to become strong in God’s service.6B. Hullin, 84a.
“But make sure that you do not partake of the blood” [12:23]. The Torah wrote concerning this, that one is warned not eat blood. The Holy One will give him much good and also to his children, as the verse says here, “thus it will go well with you and with your descendants after you” [12:28]. Our sages learn from here the reward for the commandments. They say: the Holy One gives a good reward when the person does not eat blood. No person has a desire for this, since it is very disgusting to eat blood. Nonetheless, God gives him a good reward. How much more so, when a person does not engage in illicit sex or does not steal. People desire these things much more. Thus, the Holy One will give him a great reward.7Bahya, Deuteronomy, 12:28.
“Do not inquire about their gods, saying, how did those nations worship their gods” [12:30]. The Torah teaches us that Israel should not say, we will worship God like the nations worship their foreign gods, with beautiful worship. The nations have chosen everything that God, blessed be His name, hates. They do this for their foreign gods, as the verse says, “because its speech is seductive to him till his iniquity be found out and he be hated” [Psalms, 36:3]. This means, the evildoers do everything that the Holy One hates and will anger God. Therefore, the verse says here that the nations can do no worse against the Holy One than that they burn their children before their foreign gods. Rabbi Akiva said: I saw a gentile who burned his father alive for the foreign god. How can anybody anger God more than to burn a person who was created for the person’s sake?8Bahya, Deuteronomy, 12:29.
“When the Lord your God has cut down before you the nations” [12:29]. Rabbi Tanhuma writes: A parable. A king plants a vineyard in his field. There are tall fir trees in that field, and there were also thorns. The king went and cut down the fir trees and allowed the thorns to remain. The servants said to the king, what did you do? You chopped down the good trees and you allowed the thorns that tore our clothes to remain in the garden. The king responded: if I had allowed the fir trees to remain, with what would I have protected the garden? This way I have made a strong fence from the fir trees. So too Israel are protected by the Holy One. He brought Israel into the land of Israel and chopped down the fir trees. These are the nations of the world. He allowed the children of the nations of the world to live, expecting that Israel will keep the Torah. If, heaven forbid, they will not keep the Torah, then these children will persecute them. However, if Israel will keep the Torah, then the Holy One will burn the nations of the world, their thorns.9Tanhuma, Re’eh, 9.
It is written in Sefer Yelamdenu that when the nations of the world dwelled in the land of Israel, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. However, when God destroyed the nations of the world, Israel came to their rest. The Holy One sometimes punishes the nations of the world, expecting that Israel should fear and should repent for their sins. The nations of the world said before the Holy One, your children, Israel, have committed sins, and we were punished. The Holy One responded: your thousands should be destroyed for the sake of Israel, but allow Israel to be pious. I will eliminate you from the world for the sake of Israel. So too, in the days of the Messiah, the verse says, “the future of the wicked shall be cut off” [Psalms, 37:38]. This means, the tent of the wicked will be destroyed. Near it is written, “the deliverance of the righteous comes from the Lord” [Psalms, 37:39]. The help for the righteous is from God, very soon. Therefore, the person should remember the good that the Holy One does, and the Holy One wants that he should repent and should think about being pious.10Yalkut Shimoni, Re’eh, Remez, 885.
“If there appears among you a prophet” [13:2]. When a prophet will arise and will say that he is a prophet from God, and has spoken with God, and will show you signs in heaven or signs on the earth, do not follow him when he wants to dissuade you from worshiping God, but you should worship a constellation or some foreign god, do not follow him. When he gives you great signs and wonders, he may have done this by magic. However, when a prophet says to you that you should fulfill the commandments, since the Holy One wants to have them, then you may follow him, since he acted as a prophet and is still pious and does not follow his desires. We accept the assumption that the person is pious, as we find regarding Elijah who brought sacrifices outside of Jerusalem, where God had forbidden bringing sacrifices. Yet, Israel followed him, because his intention was to strengthen belief in God. He showed the false prophets that what they believed was wrong. We also find concerning Joshua that he conquered the city of Jericho on the holy Sabbath, all of Israel desecrated the Sabbath and followed Joshua. Joshua did all this at one time, but heaven forbid that he had the intention to desecrate the Sabbath. Therefore, Israel made everything that was in the city of Jericho sacred to the Temple, and had no benefit from that city, because it had been conquered on the Sabbath. This is all when the prophet says that God ordered this to be done, and nothing more should be done. At that time you may believe him. When he has not been previously pious and a shout comes, as if from heaven, that says that one should not fulfill the commandment, then one should not listen to the shout, as we find in the Talmud, [tractate] Baba Mezia. A voice came from heaven into the study house. Rabbi Joshua said: we do not listen to the voice, since the Holy One gave us the Torah once on Mount Sinai. It is written that which the majority of the sages want, so should it remain. Therefore, we will not listen to the heavenly voice. When a prophet says that much evil will come into the world, heaven forbid, it will happen that it does not occur as the prophet said. Then you will consider that prophet to be a false prophet. Then you do not do rightly, since what the prophet had certainly heard from the Holy One was that much evil would come, but the Holy One is compassionate. When the people repent, then the Holy One does not bring evil into the world. Even though He had decreed an evil decree, yet it does not come when the people are pious. The Holy One abrogates the decree, as we find with regard to Jonah the prophet. He said about the city of Nineveh that it would be destroyed after forty days. However, because they repented, the Holy One did not destroy the city.11Bahya, Deuteronomy, 13:2, 6.
“If your brother, your own mother’s son, entices you secretly” [13:7]. If your brother, who was with you in your mother’s womb, incites you to worship foreign gods, do not listen to him. The verse teaches us that even such a brother, who is on your mother’s side and will not inherit, yet do not listen to him. How much more so, when he is your brother on your father’s side, he hates you because of the inheritance and therefore do not listen to him.12Bahya, Deuteronomy, 13:7.
“Whom neither you nor your fathers have experienced” [13:7]. The evildoer convinces his friend to worship a foreign god that he does not know, and his father also did not know. It is known that he believes in the Holy One. This is divided into two parts. The first is that the person believes in the Holy One in the way that his father instructed him, that God is one. However, this belief is good, but it is not completely the proper belief. When a gentile will want to dissuade him, he can quickly dissuade him, heaven forbid, since he believes in wisdom and intellect. It is a parable. Many blind people follow one another and one holds on to the other one. A seeing person goes first and shows the way and they hold on to the person who can see and who shows them the right way. However, when he goes alone, he stumbles and falls. Similarly here, he believes because he heard it from his parents, they way they received it, back to Moses Our Teacher. When the person wants to believe in this way, without wisdom, when the gentile who wants to dissuade him, they will soon dissuade him, just like the blind person, when he goes alone, he stumbles and falls. However when he believes with intellect, then he cannot be easily dissuaded, since he can refute each gentile. Therefore, each person should be warned that he should believe what his parents told him, and should also think about God himself, that He is one. It is not enough that he should believe what his father or his teacher said. He must apply his wisdom and his intellect to this, that God is one. Our sages said: study Torah so that you will be able to answer the gentile and the unbeliever. Therefore, the verse says here, “Whom neither you nor your fathers have experienced” [13:7]. This means, the evildoer will dissuade from God, and that you should serve an idol that you do not know with your intellect, and have not heard it mentioned by your parents. Therefore, do not listen to him.13Bahya, Deuteronomy, 13:7.
“You shall investigate and inquire” [13:15]. The verse shows us that one should properly question the witnesses. One should not quickly kill a person because of witnesses, but one should first ask the witnesses in which sabbatical cycle, what day of the month, what day and what hour of the day, in what place, and type of garment was he wearing white or red.14Bahya, Deuteronomy, 13:15.
“You are children of the Lord your God” [14:1]. The Torah wrote this portion about those who worship foreign gods. It shows us that the Holy One said to Israel: you are children of God. Therefore, no person should have pity when his father is killed because of worship of a foreign god. He should not mourn him, because he worshiped foreign gods.15Bahya, Deuteronomy, 14:1.
“You shall not gash yourself” [14:1]. You should not gash yourself for a corpse, like the nations used to do, to tear their hair out when they had a death. The nations think that the world is primary, and when the person leaves the world, they say that he is lost. Therefore, they cry and wail very much over a corpse. Therefore, our Torah comes and tells us, you are children of God. You should not gash yourself and wail over a corpse, since the world to come is prepared for you. Therefore, it is better for the person when he dies; he comes to eternal life. Therefore, the verse says, “You are children of the Lord your God” [14:1]. When you cleave to the Holy One, you will come into the holy world, which is the world to come.16Bahya, Deuteronomy, 14:1.
“You shall no boil a kid in its mother’s milk” [14:21]. You should not boil meat with milk. The Torah wrote three times that you should not boil meat with milk. This shows us the meaning of not boiling meat with milk. Even when you do not want to eat it, you would boil it for a gentile and the people were not warned about this. They boil meat with milk for gentiles in their homes. The second thing is, one should not eat meat with milk. The third is, one should have no benefit when one boils meat with milk, if one wanted to sell it to a gentile. He should not even give it to his dog.17Bahya, Deuteronomy, 14:21.
“You shall set aside a tenth part” [14:22]. When you have given a tenth to the Levite, go and give yourself a tenth and take it to Jerusalem and eat it there. Rabbi Yohanan said in the Talmud, [tractate] Ta’anit: Give a tenth expecting that you should become rich. Even though one should not test the Holy One when he will give the tenth, but if he will give the tenth so that God should make him rich, then he will be testing God. However, our sages said: the Torah told us to test God with the tenth and with giving charity, as the verse says, “put Me to the test” [Malachi, 3:10]. This means, God said, test me with charity and giving tithes, if I will not give you double and ten times as much. The custom is that when somebody has a field and asks a friend to plow it, sow and cut it, he will give him a third or a quarter. The Holy One brings the rain and makes the grain grow and gives good dew, and desires no more than a tenth. A story occurred to someone who gave a tenth from his field every year; a hundred measures since a thousand measures of grain grew on his field every year. He left a will for his son; dear son, give the tithe properly. The first year the son gave one hundred measures, and he said: what a great amount I must give as a tithe, and the second year he only gave ninety measures. The third year he gave eighty measures and every year the field grew ten measures less every year than it used to grow, until the field grew no more than one hundred measures, just like he used to give as a tithe. His relatives came to him in beautiful clothes. He said to them: you rejoice over my disaster. They said: heaven forbid, we are rejoicing that you have become a priest. Previously, you were the owner of the field and now you are a priest. You take a tithe and the Holy One is the owner of the field. Therefore, Moses said: give a tenth, expecting that you should be worthy to give tithes in the future and you will remain wealthy.18Bahya, Deuteronomy, 14:23.
“The yield of your sowing that is brought from the field” [14:22]. Our sages said: if you will tithe properly, then you will sow the field and it will grow. However, if you will not properly tithe and give charity, then the evil Esau will come and take away that which grows. Concerning him it is written, “Esau came in from the field” [Genesis, 25:29], and here, concerning the tithe, it is written, “that is brought from the field.” We used to say, the one who will not give to Jacob, will give to Esau.19Bahya, Deuteronomy, 14:23.
“The tithes of your new grain and wine” [14:23]. The Holy One said to Israel: if you will give tithes, the grain is called your grain. However, if you will not give tithes, then the grain will be Mine, as the verse says, “I will take back My new grain in its time and My new wine in its season” [Hosea, 2:11]. This means, I will take My grain and My new wine, said God.20Bahya, Deuteronomy, 14:23.
“Do not harden your heart” [15:7]. When a poor person asks you, speak good words with him and you should not shout at him. Concerning this, King Solomon said, “riches are ransom for a man’s life, the poor never heard a reproof” [Proverbs, 13:8]. This means, the wealth is an expiation for the person, and he remains wealthy when the poor person does not hear shouting from the communal leader, but he gives with kind words. Rabbi Yannai saw how a communal leader deliberately gave a poor person money in the street before all the people. Rabbi Yannai said: it would have been much better that you would not have given it to him, since you have embarrassed him.21B. Hagigah, 5a. Our sages said: whoever does not give charity, is like someone who worshiped foreign gods, as the Talmud said in [tractate] Baba Bathra.22B. Baba Bathra, 10a.
If you want to ask why the person who does not give charity, it is like he has worshiped idols? The Zeror ha-Mor writes. It is like he has worshiped foreign gods, since the person who does not give charity to the poor person said: I have exerted myself with my wisdom day and night and accumulated my wealth. How should I give it away? Therefore, our sages say that the person who talks like this, is like one who worshiped idols. He does not believe in the Holy One, who has given him the wealth. He thinks that his wisdom accomplished everything, and not the Holy One. Therefore, it is like he had denied God. Therefore, you should not harden your heart, but you should give him kind words when you do no have any money. However, if you do have money, “do not shut your hand” [15:7]. Do not close your hand and give him.23Zeror ha-Mor, Deuteronomy, 15:7, 9.
There are many poor people who might die before they might take charity. Therefore, the Torah wrote shortly afterwards, “and lend him” [15:8]. You should lend him money and you should not demand it of him.24Rashi, Deuteronomy, 15:8.
If the person would think, the Holy One has ordered me to rest on the seventh year. One should not plow and not sow, so where would I have enough to eat, and how should I give to the poor person? Therefore, the Torah wrote here, “beware lest you harbor the base thought, the seventh year is approaching” [15:9]. This means, be warned not to speak against the sabbatical year, like when I told you that you should give to the poor. I can increase it all for you. However, when you will speak ill of the sabbatical year, “you will incur guilt” [15:9]. Thus, the commandment of the sabbatical year will become for you a sin, since the sabbatical year will make you sin and you will come to the sin through the positive commandment. “Give to him readily” [15:10]. That is to say, the Torah wrote that one should give charity many times. It is better to give a penny a hundred times to a poor person than to give a hundred pennies at one time. In this way the person will accustom himself to give often, and he will be accustomed to give. “For in return” [15:10]. A wheel rotates in heaven with regard to people.25This interpretation is based on a play of words. The verse says biglal [for/because], which is reinterpreted as galgal, a wheel. Today he is rich; tomorrow the other person is rich. Therefore, the person should be warned to give to the poor, since the rich person causes the poor person’s poverty. The wealthy one is at the top of the wheel above in heaven and therefore, the poor person is at the bottom of the wheel, as the verse says, “for there will never cease to be needy ones in your land” [15:11]. This means, the poor person will not disappear since the wheel turns. Therefore, the wealthy person should be warned to give to the poor, so that the Holy One should not lower him, and raise the poor person, since the Holy One can quickly change one’s luck. One should help the poor before they fall completely, as the verse says, “if your kinsman, being in straits, comes under your authority, and you hold him” [Leviticus, 25:35]. This means, when your brother will become poor, help him immediately, before he falls completely. Concerning this, the verse says here, “there shall be no needy among you” [15:4]. This means, before he is poor, you should help him. The word efes means, not. That is to say, when he is not yet a pauper, help him, and see that there should not be any pauper among you, that he should fall very low. So writes the Toldot Yizhak.26Toldot Yizhak, Deuteronomy, 15:7–11.
“Lend him support” [15:8]. You should give him enough, but you are not obligated to make him rich. “Whatever he needs” [15:8]. You are obligated to give him what he needs. You are obligated to rent a wagon for him, and even to find a wife for him, if he does not have a wife.27Rashi, Deuteronomy, 15:8.
“You must open your hand” [15:8]. You are obligated to bring the charity to the poor person to his door, to his house, when he does not want to come. However, in any event, one should see that the poor person should not be shamed, as the Talmud writes in tractate Ketubot. Ravah had packets of money tied to his garment and threw the packets behind himself, so that the poor should take it and not know who threw it at him. Ravah also did not know who had taken it. Thus, the poor person was not shamed. Rabbi Akiva had a poor person near his house. Every Friday he sent money to that poor person with his wife. Once his wife came and said, he does not need it. I heard him shouting in his house, which vessels should we prepare, silver or gold? Therefore, Rabbi Akiva’s wife said: he is a liar; he does not need it. He only makes himself to be a pauper. Rabbi Eliezer said: we will thank the charlatans, the liars, who make themselves poor and are rich. Since we know for certain that there are charlatans, then we committed no sin when sometimes a poor person comes and wants money from us, then I can say that he is a charlatan. Then I have no sin when I do not give him money, because there are charlatans. However, in any event, the person should see what he does and should think about how he should give to the poor person properly.28B. Ketubot, 67b-68a.
Rabbi Hiyya said to his wife: when a poor person comes to the door, give him bread immediately, expecting that when your children will be poor and will come to the door of people, then it will be given to them. His wife responded: why are you cursing your children and opening your mouth to evil? Rabbi Hiyya responded: it is written, “for in return” [15:10]. This means, give to the poor person because there is a wheel in heaven that makes someone rich today and the other thing tomorrow. Today somebody is poor and tomorrow he is rich, unexpectedly.29B. Shabbat, 151b.
Our sages also said: how great is charity; with one penny he is worthy to see the Shekhinah, since the Shekhinah appears to the person who gives charity to the poor person, as the verse says, “then I, justified, will behold your face” [Psalms, 17:15]. This means, one should be warned, when one wants to pray, one should first throw some money in the charity box, then the Holy One will appear and his prayer will be accepted.30B. Baba Bathra, 10a.
“Observe the month of Aviv” [16:1]. Be warned to properly observe the month of Nisan, to bring the grain offering, that God allowed you to grow your grain and wheat, and the Holy One took you out of Egypt.31Rashi, Deuteronomy, 16:1.
“Then you shall observe the Feast of Weeks for the Lord your God, offering your freewill contribution” [16:10]. You should make Shavuot joyous and make the poor rejoice according to your ability. Therefore, the Torah wrote concerning Shavuot more than the other festivals that the person should not say, since Shavuot is not more than one day and Passover is seven days, Sukkot is also seven days, he would think that he does not have to celebrate Shavuot with so much rejoicing. Therefore, the verse says here, you should rejoice on Shavuot and make the poor rejoice. The Holy One said: when you will make four types of poor people rejoice; they are, the Levites, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. I will make your four rejoice. These are, your son and daughter, your maid and your male servant.32Bahya, Deuteronomy, 16:10.
“You shall rejoice in your festival” [16:14]. You should rejoice on your festivals. Our sages learn from here that one should not get married on festivals. You should not mix up the joy of the festivals. One should not forget the joy of the festival. The Torah wrote joy with regard to Shavuot and Sukkot, since on Shavuot and Sukkot the grain is ready in the land of Israel. Then he can feed the poor. He can rejoice and make the poor rejoice, but on Passover, the new grain is not ready and the old grain was eaten long ago. Therefore, joy and blessing are not written regarding Passover.33Bahya, Deuteronomy, 16:14.
The Talmud writes in [tractate Pesahim], chapter ten. The men should rejoice with drinking and the women with beautiful clothes. This is the primary joy of the women and not drinking.34B. Pesahim, 109a.
On Sukkot the Torah wrote, “you shall have nothing but joy” [16:15]. This shows us that the person wanted to be very joyous and wanted to forget the Holy One, heaven forbid, and in particular because the person has gathered his grain and his wine. He wants to get drunk very much. Therefore, the Torah wrote, “nothing but joy” [16:15]. This means, you should praise God and you should reduce your joy slightly on Sukkot, as the verse says, “serve the Lord in awe; tremble with fright” [Psalms, 2:11]. This means, serve God with joy and be happy with trembling. So writes Rabbenu Bahya.35Bahya, Deuteronomy, 16:15.