Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Sforno · Torah
Sforno on Deuteronomy 28:2/ספורנו על דברים כ״ח:ב׳
אוּבָאוּ עָלֶיךָ כָּל הַבְּרָכוֹת הָאֵלֶּה וְהִשִּׂיגוּךָ. אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁלֹּא תִשְׁתַּדֵּל אַתָּה לְהַשִּׂיגָם.
1ובאו עליך כל הברכות האלה והשיגוך. They will catch up with you although you did not even make an effort to “catch up” with them.
בכִּי תִשְׁמַע בְּקוֹל ה׳ אֱלֹהֶיךָ. וְזֶה כְּשֶׁתִּהְיֶה תּוֹרָתְךָ קֶבַע וּמְלַאכְתְּךָ עֲרַאי, וּלְפִיכָךְ יַשִּׂיגוּךָ הַבְּרָכוֹת בִּלְתִּי הִשְׁתַּדְּלוּת. וְהִנֵּה הִזְכִּיר בִּרְכוֹת בַּיִת רִאשׁוֹן, וְאָמַר שֶׁיִּזְכּוּ לָהֶן בְּכָל עֵת שֶׁיִּשְׁמְרוּ אֶת הַמִּצְוֹת, עַד אָמְרוֹ ״יְקִימְךָ ה׳ לוֹ לְעַם קָדוֹשׁ״ (דברים כח:ט). וְזֶה הָיָה בִּתְחִלַּת בַּיִת שֵׁנִי, כְּמוֹ שֶׁסִּפְּרוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה עַל בִּרְכוֹת שִׁמְעוֹן הַצַּדִּיק וְהַנִּסִּים שֶׁל בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ כָּל יָמָיו (יומא כא).
2כי תשמע בקול ה' אלוקיך, all of this will occur when you make the pursuit of Torah your principal endeavour, relegating secular activities to something subordinate. In recognition of this approved lifestyle of yours, the blessings G’d bestows on you can obviously not be described as something that you were actively pursuing. The blessings mentioned by Moses here were the ones that were in evidence during the period of the first Temple during the part of that period when the Jewish people did observe the commandments of the Torah, until verse 9 יקימך ה' לו לעם קדוש, a condition which was fulfilled at the beginning of the period of the Second Temple as described by Shimon Hatzaddik in Yuma 21 who reported on the manifestation of miracles in the Second Temple as proof of the fulfillment of that prophecy by Moses.