And it shall be, when Hashem your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess it, that you shall place the blessing upon Mount Gerizim and the curse upon Mount Eival.
English: “And you shall place the blessing…” — What does the verse teach? If for its own sake, it is already stated later (in Parashas Ki Savo). Rather, it is to give precedence to the blessing over the curse. One might think that all the blessings precede all the curses; therefore the verse says “blessing and curse” — one blessing precedes a curse, but not that all the blessings precede all the curses.
On the daf / in context: The ceremony alternates: a blessing is pronounced, then a curse, then a blessing, and so on. The blessings do not form a complete block before the curses begin.
Type of Learning
Derash on the verse (Sifrei) — determining the order of the blessings and curses on the two mountains.
What Is Learned
In the ceremony on Mount Gerizim and Mount Eival, the blessings and curses alternate; one blessing precedes each corresponding curse, rather than all blessings being recited first.