Eikev: Truth or consequences.
While I was writing on Tu b'Av, a day when we think about our beautiful earth, I wondered: can we transform the vengeful elements of our Jewish origin story into a sustainable, future-oriented narrative that is inclusive, and welcoming; conducive to diplomacy and peace-making; admitting of the fact that this planet, this world, needs to be shared peaceably rather than conquered and vanquished?
Now it is Shabbat Eikev, which this year I am calling The Shabbat of Consequences, and as I am writing this morning, I am wondering how today, היום, in this moment, Jews can grapple with the consequences of our actions and decision; how we can wrestle with the outcomes of decisions we make.
Today, in this moment - Shabbat Eikev, the Shabbat of Consequences and Consequentiality, I wonder if we can consider the consequentiality of the choices we make, particularly in the context of Israel's ongoing war in Gaza, today being 324 days since October 7.
Today - היום - it is imperative that we look deeply into the conditionality of God's love for us that is expressed in this Parsha.
Eikev - עֵ֣קֶב: so many ways to translate this: "because"; "and if"; "as a result of"; as a consequence, because, consequently. (If you love to study words as much as I do, there's a more extensive exploration of this word and its semantic cloud toward the end of this sheet.)
Today- היום - it is imperative that we look deeply into the conditionality of God's love for us that is expressed in this Parsha.
(יב) וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ עֵ֣קֶב תִּשְׁמְע֗וּן אֵ֤ת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֥ם וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם וְשָׁמַר֩ ה׳ אֱלֹקֶ֜יךָ לְךָ֗ אֶֽת־הַבְּרִית֙ וְאֶת־הַחֶ֔סֶד אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖ע לַאֲבֹתֶֽיךָ׃
(12) And if you do obey these rules and observe them carefully, your God ה׳ will maintain faithfully for you the covenant made on oath with your fathers:
The conditionality is set out for us: if.... then.
The "if" - the "eikev":
And if you do obey these rules and observe them carefully
וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ עֵ֣קֶב תִּשְׁמְע֗וּן אֵ֤ת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֥ם וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם
and the "then":
your God ה׳ will maintain faithfully for you the covenant made on oath with your fathers:
וְשָׁמַר֩ ה׳ אֱלֹקֶ֜יךָ לְךָ֗ אֶֽת־הַבְּרִית֙ וְאֶת־הַחֶ֔סֶד אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖ע לַאֲבֹתֶֽיךָ׃
(יב) וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ עֵ֣קֶב תִּשְׁמְע֗וּן אֵ֤ת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֥ם וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם וְשָׁמַר֩ ה׳ אֱלֹקֶ֜יךָ לְךָ֗ אֶֽת־הַבְּרִית֙ וְאֶת־הַחֶ֔סֶד אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖ע לַאֲבֹתֶֽיךָ׃ (יג) וַאֲהֵ֣בְךָ֔ וּבֵרַכְךָ֖ וְהִרְבֶּ֑ךָ וּבֵרַ֣ךְ פְּרִֽי־בִטְנְךָ֣ וּפְרִֽי־אַ֠דְמָתֶ֠ךָ דְּגָ֨נְךָ֜ וְתִירֹֽשְׁךָ֣ וְיִצְהָרֶ֗ךָ שְׁגַר־אֲלָפֶ֙יךָ֙ וְעַשְׁתְּרֹ֣ת צֹאנֶ֔ךָ עַ֚ל הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־נִשְׁבַּ֥ע לַאֲבֹתֶ֖יךָ לָ֥תֶת לָֽךְ׃ (יד) בָּר֥וּךְ תִּֽהְיֶ֖ה מִכׇּל־הָעַמִּ֑ים לֹא־יִהְיֶ֥ה בְךָ֛ עָקָ֥ר וַֽעֲקָרָ֖ה וּבִבְהֶמְתֶּֽךָ׃ (טו) וְהֵסִ֧יר ה׳ מִמְּךָ֖ כׇּל־חֹ֑לִי וְכׇל־מַדְוֵי֩ מִצְרַ֨יִם הָרָעִ֜ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר יָדַ֗עְתָּ לֹ֤א יְשִׂימָם֙ בָּ֔ךְ וּנְתָנָ֖ם בְּכׇל־שֹׂנְאֶֽיךָ׃
(12) And if you do obey these rules and observe them carefully, your God ה׳ will maintain faithfully for you the covenant made on oath with your fathers: (13) [God] will favor you and bless you and multiply you—blessing your issue from the womb and your produce from the soil, your new grain and wine and oil, the calving of your herd and the lambing of your flock, in the land sworn to your fathers to be assigned to you. (14) You shall be blessed above all other peoples: there shall be no sterile male or female among you or among your livestock. (15) ה׳ will ward off from you all sickness; [God] will not bring upon you any of the dreadful diseases of Egypt, about which you know, but will inflict them upon all your enemies.
We will be favored and multiplied and blessed.
Our offspring and all that our animals and fields produce will be blessed.
We will be blessed above all other people - מִכׇּל־הָעַמִּ֑ים: no infertility, no illness.
In Judaism we are taught to question, and so I must question this: do I desire to be blessed in this way?
As I read these verses in August 2024 / Sivan 5784, I ask myself: why should I, should we, be blessed above all peoples? Could it be enough to be blessed as much as all others are blessed?
Should I - or anyone - expect to never be ill, to never suffer with sickness or infertility?
Particularly if the "price" for the promise of eternal health and fertility is my agreeing to a covenant that requires me to harm others?
In today's world, where there is so much scarcity and so many inequities and so much inequality of wealth distribution, do I desire to be multiplied and amplified more than all other people?
Is it reasonable to expect to be blessed in this way?
(ה) הֲכָזֶ֗ה יִֽהְיֶה֙ צ֣וֹם אֶבְחָרֵ֔הוּ ...?
(5) Is such the fast I desire...?
- are these truly the blessings we desire?
Now we come to an overview of the rules are, that we must carefully observe in order for God bless us:
(טז) וְאָכַלְתָּ֣ אֶת־כׇּל־הָֽעַמִּ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר ה׳ אֱלֹקֶ֙יךָ֙ נֹתֵ֣ן לָ֔ךְ לֹא־תָח֥וֹס עֵֽינְךָ֖ עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וְלֹ֤א תַעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־אֱלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔ם כִּֽי־מוֹקֵ֥שׁ ה֖וּא לָֽךְ׃ {ס} (יז) כִּ֤י תֹאמַר֙ בִּלְבָ֣בְךָ֔ רַבִּ֛ים הַגּוֹיִ֥ם הָאֵ֖לֶּה מִמֶּ֑נִּי אֵיכָ֥ה אוּכַ֖ל לְהוֹרִישָֽׁם׃ (יח) לֹ֥א תִירָ֖א מֵהֶ֑ם זָכֹ֣ר תִּזְכֹּ֗ר אֵ֤ת אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה֙ ה׳ אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ לְפַרְעֹ֖ה וּלְכׇל־מִצְרָֽיִם׃ (יט) הַמַּסֹּ֨ת הַגְּדֹלֹ֜ת אֲשֶׁר־רָא֣וּ עֵינֶ֗יךָ וְהָאֹתֹ֤ת וְהַמֹּֽפְתִים֙ וְהַיָּ֤ד הַחֲזָקָה֙ וְהַזְּרֹ֣עַ הַנְּטוּיָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר הוֹצִֽאֲךָ֖ ה׳ אֱלֹקֶ֑יךָ כֵּֽן־יַעֲשֶׂ֞ה ה׳ אֱלֹקֶ֙יךָ֙ לְכׇל־הָ֣עַמִּ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֥ה יָרֵ֖א מִפְּנֵיהֶֽם׃
(16) You shall destroy all the peoples that your God ה׳ delivers to you, showing them no pity. And you shall not worship their gods, for that would be a snare to you. (17) Should you say to yourselves, “These nations are more numerous than we; how can we dispossess them?” (18) You need have no fear of them. You have but to bear in mind what your God ה׳ did to Pharaoh and all the Egyptians: (19) the wondrous acts that you saw with your own eyes, the signs and the portents, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm by which your God ה׳ liberated you. Thus will your God ה׳ do to all the peoples you now fear.
Here's the truth: our Parsha is teaching us the in order to be blessed, we must act in a pitiless manner, dispossessing others.
Today, the 20th of Av 5784 - days after marking Tu b'Av - today, היום, I do not want to be a human being or a Jew who shows no pity.
Today, היום, I do not want to be a human being or a Jew who believes that the price of being blessed by God is the dispossession of what belongs to others.
Last week, in my commentary on Va'etchanan, I explored the adverse consequences when we dispossess others:
Va'etchanan 5784 - The Contranymics of Possession
https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/584150?lang=bi
When we dispossess others, we too are dispossessed - of elements of our humanity.
Today, through the lens of Parshat Eikev, these questions persist: what are the consequences of acting to dispossess others, of showing no pity?
Let's consider that the entire consequentiality of actions and possible scenarios described in Parshat Eikev are prompts for exploring our relationship with ourselves and our own souls, and similarly, with ourselves and the Divine.
The heel - the עָקֵב - seems inevitably to follow the foot. Collective actions seem to be headed in a particular direction. Can the heel that follows have any sort of influence?
Can there be an element of choice, even when it seems that consequences are inevitable?
There are consequences to every choice that we make. The broader and more inclusive our consciousness, the more capable we will be of considering the consequences of the choices we make.
Our choices aren't inevitable.
Looping back to the first verse in our Parsha, וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ עֵ֣קֶב תִּשְׁמְע֗וּן אֵ֤ת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה - And if you do obey these rules - I would like to close here with Sforno's commentary on this verse:
את המשפטים. כי במשפט יעמיד ארץ:
את המשפטים, for the earth’s continued existence is linked to performance of justice by its inhabitants. (Proverbs 29.4)
The earth's continued existence is linked to performance of justice by its inhabitants.
At this critical moment in history, in Jewish history, in the history of the State of Israel and the entire Middle east, can we live out the Jewish imperative to question and seek the truth? To perform justice?
I pray that we can and that this Sefaria sheet that I have made can be a catalyst to such questioning, seeking for truth, and performing justice.
Appendix - about the etymology of eikev - עֵ֣קֶב
עֵ֣קֶב
A fascinating and ambiguous word.
from √עָקַב
- to supplant, circumvent, take by the heel, follow at the heel, assail insidiously, overreach
- (Qal) to supplant, overreach, attack at the heel
- (Piel) to hold back
"in the sense of עָקֵב"
- heel, rear, footprint, hinder part, hoof, rear of a troop, footstep
- heel
- mark of heel, footprint
- hinder part, rear
The word "heel" reminds us of our ancestor Jacob who, we're told, was so named because he emerged from his mother's Rebecca's womb holding on to the heel of his twin brother Esau.
Perhaps it would be useful at this moment, as a context for the consequentiality of holding on in this way, to remind ourselves of these verses in Parshat Toldot, and to entertain a question about possession / dispossession / consanguinity:
(כב) וַיִּתְרֹֽצְצ֤וּ הַבָּנִים֙ בְּקִרְבָּ֔הּ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אִם־כֵּ֔ן לָ֥מָּה זֶּ֖ה אָנֹ֑כִי וַתֵּ֖לֶךְ לִדְרֹ֥שׁ אֶת־ה׳׃ (כג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר ה׳ לָ֗הּ שְׁנֵ֤י (גיים) [גוֹיִם֙] בְּבִטְנֵ֔ךְ וּשְׁנֵ֣י לְאֻמִּ֔ים מִמֵּעַ֖יִךְ יִפָּרֵ֑דוּ וּלְאֹם֙ מִלְאֹ֣ם יֶֽאֱמָ֔ץ וְרַ֖ב יַעֲבֹ֥ד צָעִֽיר׃ (כד) וַיִּמְלְא֥וּ יָמֶ֖יהָ לָלֶ֑דֶת וְהִנֵּ֥ה תוֹמִ֖ם בְּבִטְנָֽהּ׃ (כה) וַיֵּצֵ֤א הָרִאשׁוֹן֙ אַדְמוֹנִ֔י כֻּלּ֖וֹ כְּאַדֶּ֣רֶת שֵׂעָ֑ר וַיִּקְרְא֥וּ שְׁמ֖וֹ עֵשָֽׂו׃ (כו) וְאַֽחֲרֵי־כֵ֞ן יָצָ֣א אָחִ֗יו וְיָד֤וֹ אֹחֶ֙זֶת֙ בַּעֲקֵ֣ב עֵשָׂ֔ו וַיִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ יַעֲקֹ֑ב...
(22) But the children struggled in her womb, and she said, “If so, why do I exist?”She went to inquire of ה׳, (23) and ה׳ answered her, “Two nations are in your womb, Two separate peoples shall issue from your body; One people shall be mightier than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.” (24) When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. (25) The first one emerged red, like a hairy mantle all over; so they named him Esau.(26) Then his brother emerged, holding on to the heel of Esau; so they named him Jacob...*Jacob Play on Heb. ‘aqeb “heel.”
Is the strife of consanguinity inevitable?
Whether it's the strife of Jacob and Esau, who emerged from the same mother, the same womb; or whether it's the consanguineous strife between Ishmael and Isaac, seeds planted by the same father...
Can there be different consequences?
