Eikev 5774 (עקֶב) “If” or ”Because” 16
August 2014
Torah: Devarim:7:12-11:25
Haftarah: Yeshiyahu 49:14-51:3
Brit
Hadashah: Yohanon 13:31-15:27
Acts
16:1-17:34
6th Aliyah (Dev. 11:10-11:21)
Down through our history, the
fathers have shown their approval / confirmation upon their chief heir – the
one responsible for taking the family through the next chapter of life – by
means of a special honor/blessing. This
is evidenced by a double portion of inheritance, ‘the Blessing”, etc. The principal heir would receive the first
and the best. The rest of the heirs would receive the ‘leftovers’.
With Ham ben Noach, this was no different. He built Hebron (in what is present-day
Yisrael) a full seven years before he
built Zoan (in what is present day Egypt) for his son Mizraim (cf Bamidbar
13:22). Bereishit 13:10 compares Egypt
to the Garden of HaShem – “like the garden of the L-rd, like the land of Egypt”
– setting it above all other lands.
Yeshiyahu, calling Zoan the home of princes, elevates it to the best of
Egypt (Yeshiyahu 30:4). On the other
hand, Hebron was the lowest of all Yisrael, and thus was set aside as a burial
ground. Despite these comparisons, the
Talmud’s summary is that Hebron is seven-fold better than Zoan (Tractate
Kethuboth 112a).
On the eve of their entry into the
land of promise , HaShem, via Moshe,
gives B’nai Yisrael a reminder of their not-so-enjoyable sojourn in the land of
Mizraim. HE told them that the land of
Yisrael was not the same as the land they left forty years prior. Instead of a flat land which had to be
irrigated manually (moving dirt by foot to change the irrigation from one
section to another), Yisrael’s rainfall took care of that need for water. The difference in terrain – mountains and
valleys of Yisrael, versus of the flat plain of Mizraim would produce a yield
of at least four fold.
Scripture states that HaShem looks
after the land, that His eyes are always upon it, from the beginning of the
year to the end thereof – a promise of His provision!
At this point in Scripture, the second
paragraph of the Shema begins. The first
paragraph talks about Yisrael needing to hear about HaShem, and about every last Child of Yisrael loving Adonai
(the L-rd) Eloheicha your (singular) G-d with all levavcha your(singular)
heart. This second paragraph, however,
gives a different wording, this time in plural form If shamo-a (you, plural)
shall hear/hearken … I command etchem
(you plural) … Eloheichem (your - plural) G-d … levavchem (your-plural) heart …
. HaShem is addressing / admonishing the whole community to love and serve Him.
Daniel had the right idea of service
– the Persian king said “your G-d, Whom you serve regularly …” (Daniel
6:17). Daniel was not in the land of
Yisrael, nor had he been for decades. There
was no Temple there in which he could worship, so he prayed, kneeling toward
Yerusalem three times every day. Prayer
from the heart was his service. The
psalms declare a similar attitude from King David.
The Shema sums it up with keep the
Word ever before your eyes, your homes, your cities. As you rise up, lay down, let the Word ooze
out every pore. Teach them to thy
children – teach yourself and your life will teach much louder!.
As we hearken and love, HaShem will
supply our necessary rain, etc. We are to gather what He blesses us with – the
food, the wine, and the oil. G-d will
provide and we will procure.
The sum of the matter: Love HaShem! In whatever you do, whether
study, your job, the ‘daily grind’, do it all out of love for Him, and He will
be honored.
Shabbat
Shalom.
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