“You shall not do so to the Lord your God, etc.” Since the nations choose for their false beliefs the high mountains and leafy trees, as the idols do not honor the place but rather the place honors them, and those who follow the false belief seek the place more than the false belief itself, and since the place is a major factor in this worship, therefore it says you shall surely destroy all the places, etc. But you shall not do so to the Lord your God — you shall not be the ones choosing the place, but rather to the place that the Lord will choose, etc. For He is the one who chooses, not you, because His honor is not dependent on the place; rather, the Holy One honors His place. Therefore, you shall seek His dwelling. Do not seek the place, but rather seek His dwelling — where is the place of His glory, for He is the essential, and the place is secondary to Him. And regarding why it says that the Lord will choose without immediately revealing the place, the Master, the Guide [Maimonides], gave three reasons for this matter, which Rabbi Isaac Abarbanel mentions in his book.

And I say that there is a secret in this matter, because even to Abraham He did not reveal it immediately. And He said upon one of the mountains which I will tell you (Genesis 22:2) and called its name the Lord will see (Genesis 22:14), for He, blessed be He, is the One who sees, and we do not know the extent [of His wisdom]. And it is reasonable to suggest that the reason He did not reveal it was so that they would not treat Shiloh, Nov, and Gibeon with contempt when they would know with certainty that these were not the inheritance and the resting place. And you should know that the commentators said that here there is an allusion to Shiloh and the eternal House [the Temple], and they proved this from several variations they saw in the passage. For at first it says regarding Shiloh, but to the place… to put His name there — implying a temporary placing for a limited time, which refers to Shiloh. And afterward it says, and the place that the Lord will choose to establish His name there — to establish implies permanence for generations. In the first instance it says your vows, and regarding the eternal House [it says] the choicest of your vows, and adds and you shall rejoice before the Lord, while in the first instance it does not mention before the Lord. In the first instance it says you and your households, and regarding the eternal House it adds you and your sons and your daughters. In the second instance it says that the Lord your God will choose in it — implying in that place, while in the first instance it does not mention in it.

And on this I have a difficulty, for in the first [verse] it says from all your tribes, which implies that he collected money from all the tribes, and Rashi proved this from the end of the book of Samuel (II 24:24) from what is written there fifty shekels, yet in Chronicles (I 21:25) it is written a weight of six hundred. Rather it is that he collected fifty shekels from each and every tribe, which added up to 600. If so, the first verse certainly speaks about the eternal Temple which David built. And further I have a difficulty: Has not the place of the eternal Temple been chosen since ancient times? And the proof is from Adam who sacrificed there, and the incident of the binding of Isaac proves this. So what is meant by that the Lord will choose which implies in the future? And as for what was said that the term “placement” [sima] implies a temporary placement, I am not satisfied with this interpretation, for it is said And teach it to the children of Israel, place it in their mouths (Deuteronomy 31:19). Did the Lord command to place the Torah in their mouths as a temporary placement? See what Rashi explained on the verse that you shall place before them (Exodus 21:1). It implies that the opposite is more reasonable, that the term “placement” [sima] indicates something fixed which will never be removed.

Therefore I say the opposite, and with this everything will be resolved. For what was said, But only to the place that the Lord will choose from all your tribes to place His name there refers to the eternal Temple that was collected from all the tribes. And even though that place was already chosen from the days of the Patriarchs, nevertheless it says will choose in future tense because ultimately He will choose to collect money from all your tribes. Therefore, it does not say “will choose it from all your tribes” because “it” refers to the place, and the place was already chosen. And what it says which He will choose means that He will choose to collect from all your tribes to place His name there permanently. You shall seek out His dwelling means you should inquire from the elders and the wise, and they will tell you that this place was chosen for holiness from ancient times. And you shall come there is in singular form because this verse is a warning to the many and a warning to the individual not to offer sacrifices on a private altar. Not only many people, who might be suspected of wanting to separate from the congregation of Israel, but even an individual who is not suspect of this, nevertheless should not offer on a private altar. And you shall bring there, etc. — the reason it does not say “the choicest of your vows” to teach that one should bring from the best, is because this is [understood] a fortiori [all the more so] from Shiloh. Furthermore, even a minimal bringing causes a person greater success in this holy place. And it says And you shall eat there before the Lord because even physical eating is before the Lord there, and all the more so happiness, which is in the soul. And it says you and your households because it is assumed that in Jerusalem, many people, both the masses and the distinguished, bought houses (Nahum 1:12), notable houses, and with this he included all the members of his household.

And afterwards, it says, And you shall cross the Jordan, etc. And it shall be the place which the Lord your God will choose, etc. This implies that this is speaking about the place that was chosen soon after crossing the Jordan, which is Shiloh. And concerning it, He says which He will choose because He would eventually choose that place to rest His name there temporarily, as the Tabernacle is called by this name because it was temporary. And you shall rejoice there before the Lord — specifically the joy of the soul before the Lord, and the entire matter is self-explanatory. And the reason why the text repeats and says, But only in the place which the Lord will choose from one of your tribes, refers also to Shiloh, which was in one of the tribes and not in all of them. And the verse comes to establish a negative commandment in this matter, as Rashi explains, even in Shiloh, and all the more so in the eternal Temple. And if the verse had not repeated, But only in the place, etc., I would have said that what it says, Be careful, to establish a negative commandment in this matter, applies only to the eternal Temple. And this interpretation is true and correct.

“When the Lord your God will expand your border, and you will say, ‘I will eat meat.’” This teaches that a person does not crave desires except through excessive abundance, and a lion does not roar except over a basket of meat (Berachot 32). Therefore, it says, When the Lord expands your border. And this will bring you to remove the veil of shame from your face until you say with a full mouth, I will eat meat. This somewhat resembles throwing off the yoke of Heaven’s kingdom and seeking which is the place of sacrifices. The reason for all this is because the place that the Lord will choose will be far from you, for whoever is closer to God’s sanctuary has more fear of Heaven upon him, as it is written, You shall fear My sanctuary (Leviticus 19:29), meaning from the sanctuary is drawn that you should have fear of Heaven upon you. However, because the place will be far from you causes God to be far from your innermost being; therefore, all day you will desire desires, and you will not even be ashamed to say, I will eat meat. Hence I permit this to you: You may slaughter from your cattle, etc., as I have commanded you — not at all times, but periodically, when desire intensifies. And this is what it means: Just as the deer and the hart are eaten, so shall you eat it. And as it is said (there 18:13), When one hunts a wild beast or bird. And our Sages said (Chullin 84a), “The Torah teaches you proper conduct, that a person should not eat meat except with this preparation.”

The explanation of the matter is: If a person accustoms himself to eating from the animals that are readily available in his house — ox, sheep, or goat — then all day he will desire desires and habituate himself to eating it on a daily basis. But if he does not eat until he hunts in forests and deserts for game animals or birds, which involves danger and great effort to trap them, then his desire will be quieted because the eating is not worth the greatness of the pain and effort. For it was not without reason that Isaac said to Esau, Go out to the field and hunt game for me (Genesis 27:3). Did he not have in his house something already hunted? Why did he cause all this anxiety to send him to dangerous places? Rather, he was conducting himself according to proper ethics [lit., the way of the world] which the Torah taught — that one should not eat meat except with this preparation, specifically through hunting, so that one would not become accustomed to it. Therefore it says, However, as the deer and the hart are eaten, so shall you eat it. That is to say, only on this condition: that one should not be accustomed to it, and one should eat it as one eats deer and hart, which presumably one is not accustomed to since they are wild animals that require hunting, and because of the effort involved, one minimizes eating them — so should one eat even ordinary meat. This is a precious interpretation and explains the term however [ach] better than Rashi’s interpretation.

And since we find, that in everything that is hunted from ownerless places, there is more concern that it might be stolen property, for this reason Isaac warned Esau to bring him from the ownerless and not from theft, because perhaps the hunted animal had owners and escaped from them. Therefore it is said here and you shall slaughter from your cattle and from your flock which the Lord your God has given you — and would it enter your mind that he would slaughter from those which the Lord has not given Him? Rather, it means that he should eat specifically with this preparation when he hunts game or birds, and there is concern about theft as mentioned. Therefore it says which the Lord has given you — even what is in your trap, excluding what is stolen which is not from the Lord. And about this it says as I have commanded you. And I warned you about theft, or I warned you not to eat meat except with this preparation.

“Do not eat it, so that it may be well with you and your children after you.” Here, he specifically mentions your children after you because commentators have said that blood generates cruelty in the body of the one who eats it, and the nature of the father is also passed on to the children, and their offspring will be like them. Therefore, it says that when you do not eat blood, it will be well with you and your children after you, so that cruelty will not become a trait firmly embedded in your descendants. For this reason, it is mentioned nearby regarding the destruction of an idolatrous city [where] women and children [are killed] in a single day, which appears to be a great cruelty, and there is concern that cruelty might become a firmly embedded trait in him and his descendants. Therefore, it says, He will give you compassion, that you will be compassionate by nature, at least toward people, and because of this, God will have mercy on you. And this is what is meant by He will give you compassion and have mercy on you and multiply you — meaning that He will multiply your offspring, as they too will be compassionate like you.