Welcome friends to Torah Thoughts from Adas Israel the Jewish Congregation of Northern Iowa and based in Mason City. Grateful that you're here with us again. A reminder that services will be this Friday the 19th at 7:00PM and our Midrash (study session) will be on Shabbat starting at 10:00AM both at the shul. See you there.
This week we read Parsha Eikev (Deut. 7:12 - 11:25). The word "eikev" is Hebrew for "if you follow" which we find in the opening sentence: "This shall be the reward if you follow these commandments, and you observe and perform them..." There is also another meaning for the word "eikev" which is "heel". Like the heel of your foot? What might that mean? This is a midrash that alludes to the sort of commandments (mitzvot) that people may regard as relatively unimportant so they tend to (in a way) tread on them with their heels. So, the Torah is telling the people there are no greater nor are their lesser mitzvot. And, we read here that if the people are careful to observe even what could be neglected mitzvot they can be certain that G-d will reward them with his covenant and kindness. So yes, that cheeseburger is a no-no just like worshiping other gods. Heavy huh?
So, It's a Deal
The very next portion we begin to understand what Moses means when he says to trust in G-d and to do those commandments. They will journey into a new nation, Israel, and there Hashem will protect them, defend them and they will tame the land and occupy it. And while the people are destroying the idols they are reminded not to covet the gold and silver. Why because, "least you be ensnared by it". In other words wealth can also be a "god" or an "idol" and we are commanded to remember from where everything comes.
Ah, The Food
We now read Deut. 8:10 which says, "You will eat and you will be satisfied, and bless Hashem your G-d for the good land that He gave you." One of the interesting things about being thankful, for our food, is that Jews not only offer a blessing before we eat but also after. It is called the Grace After Meal in Hebrew it is the Birkat HaMazon prayer. Why do this? You see, in the blessing after meals, we thank G-d not only for the food we ate, but also for delivering us from Egypt, for the Promised Land, for His covenant with us, for the Torah, for life and for His kindness. There is an interesting view of this practice by Rabbi Avraham Twerski (z"l) who writes:
If someone invited you for a meal, you would undoubtedly thank him. However, would you say, “Thank you for taking me into your house, for giving me a chair and seating me at the table?” Why, when we thank G-d for the food He has given us, do we enumerate all these other things?
It is because the comparison to being invited to a meal is not accurate. A better comparison is to someone who was stranded in an arid desert and had not had any food for several days. If a truck comes by and picks him up and the driver gives him some food and water, he will thank him profusely not only for the food and water but also for stopping to pick him up and saving his life.
This, says Rabbi Benzion Bruk, is how we should feel toward G-d. He provides us not only with food, not only with the necessities of life, but also with life itself. We should indeed express our gratitude for all of these.
The Lesson
What can we learn from this? One of the Chassidic masters asks, "In as much as we should recite a blessing for everything we enjoy in this world, how do we listen to music or enjoy fine art without a blessing?"
He suggests that whereas the Talmud did not prescribe a blessing for everything, it is proper that the first time in a day that we recite the blessing "shehakol nihiyeh bidvoro (Who created everything for His glory)," we should have the intention that we wish this blessing to apply to everything for which no specific blessing was designated.
This is an excellent suggestion. We should not lose sight of the fact that everything we enjoy is a Divine gift.
Services and Midrash
There is, of course, much more in this parsha and we look forward to sharing some thoughts with you this Shabbat. Services at the shul will be at 7:00PM on Friday (Erv Shabbat) and then our study (Midrash) will take place on Shabbat starting at 10:00AM.
Shabbat Shalom and see you in shul....
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