Yes, I'll admit it; I love parshat Ekev! I guess that's why Hashem arranged for it to be my Bar Mitzvah parsha lo those many years ago (my Bar Mitzvah was actually postponed for a month until our family finished aveilut for my zayde, z.l.).
Ekev is known as "parshat Eretz Yisrael" due to its strong emphasis on Israel as the focal point of Jewish history. G-d, Torah and Israel are a matching set. Only when they coalesce as one unit can Judaism find its complete expression and our destiny be fulfilled.
The word ekev is a subject of much discussion. The verse says: "And it shall be when/because [ekev] you listen to the mitzvot, Hashem will guard and redeem you." Rashi tells us ekev is related to "heel", reminding us that we must keep all the commandments, even (especially?) those society tends to neglect and "tread upon" with its heel.
I find another, deeper message embedded in the word ekev. Clearly, it brings to mind Yaakov, so named because he held on to the heel of his brother Esav as they emerged from the womb. Yaakov's life is characterized by tremendous conflict, confrontation and crisis. He struggles with his brother. He flees his home. He is mistreated by his father-in-law. He wrestles with an angel. His daughter is abducted and raped by the evil Shchem. His beloved Rachel dies young. His son is kidnaped, causing him unmitigated grief for 22 years. He presides over the entrance into Exile, and spends his last years far from home.
What a brutal life this tzadik lived! And yet, it is fair to say that Yaakov stands out as the greatest of the Patriarchs, and each and every Jew - as well as our eternal homeland - is called by his name only, (B?nei) Yisrael. Avraham may have lived there, but he didn't have its name right; Yitzchak never left there, but referred to it by its pagan name, Canaan. Only Yaakov/Yisrael embodied the full name and spirit of the Land.
The life, the soul of Yaakov embodies the challenge of the Torah and Eretz Yisrael: Eternal vigilance, excruciating struggle, self-sacrifice and unswerving loyalty, even in the toughest of times. Yaakov could have given up a thousand times, he could have easily lost faith in G-d and in his mission. But he didn't. He was a Jew for all seasons. If that is our approach to Torah and Israel, if we, too, have the perseverance and courage of a Yaakov, resolute and unswerving, then Hashem will "heel" our maladies and bring us a complete Redemption.
[In memory of Ari Yehoshua Halevi Weiss, H.y.d.]
Ekev is known as "parshat Eretz Yisrael" due to its strong emphasis on Israel as the focal point of Jewish history. G-d, Torah and Israel are a matching set. Only when they coalesce as one unit can Judaism find its complete expression and our destiny be fulfilled.
The word ekev is a subject of much discussion. The verse says: "And it shall be when/because [ekev] you listen to the mitzvot, Hashem will guard and redeem you." Rashi tells us ekev is related to "heel", reminding us that we must keep all the commandments, even (especially?) those society tends to neglect and "tread upon" with its heel.
I find another, deeper message embedded in the word ekev. Clearly, it brings to mind Yaakov, so named because he held on to the heel of his brother Esav as they emerged from the womb. Yaakov's life is characterized by tremendous conflict, confrontation and crisis. He struggles with his brother. He flees his home. He is mistreated by his father-in-law. He wrestles with an angel. His daughter is abducted and raped by the evil Shchem. His beloved Rachel dies young. His son is kidnaped, causing him unmitigated grief for 22 years. He presides over the entrance into Exile, and spends his last years far from home.
What a brutal life this tzadik lived! And yet, it is fair to say that Yaakov stands out as the greatest of the Patriarchs, and each and every Jew - as well as our eternal homeland - is called by his name only, (B?nei) Yisrael. Avraham may have lived there, but he didn't have its name right; Yitzchak never left there, but referred to it by its pagan name, Canaan. Only Yaakov/Yisrael embodied the full name and spirit of the Land.
The life, the soul of Yaakov embodies the challenge of the Torah and Eretz Yisrael: Eternal vigilance, excruciating struggle, self-sacrifice and unswerving loyalty, even in the toughest of times. Yaakov could have given up a thousand times, he could have easily lost faith in G-d and in his mission. But he didn't. He was a Jew for all seasons. If that is our approach to Torah and Israel, if we, too, have the perseverance and courage of a Yaakov, resolute and unswerving, then Hashem will "heel" our maladies and bring us a complete Redemption.
[In memory of Ari Yehoshua Halevi Weiss, H.y.d.]