רפואה מן התורה
Healing from the Torah
Parashat Eikev
Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25
By Rabbi Adam Ruditsky
By Rabbi Adam Ruditsky
Last Shabbat was Shabbat Nachamu,
the first of 7 weeks of consolation that connect the lowest day of the Jewish
calendar – Tisha B’Av – to the beginning of the New Year – Rosh
Hashanah. The first week was about
comfort, Nachamu, the Shabbat immediately after the mourning of Tisha
B’av. The second week of consolation is about moo’da’oot (מוּדָעוּת) or awareness. In this parsha, as with the others in
Deuteronomy, Moses is recounting the history of Israel’s wilderness journey to those
who are about to enter the land so they will be aware of the past in order to
secure their future. But these two weeks
of consolation also correspond with the sefirot connected to the seven chakras. The foundational chakra is Malchut, meaning
kingship, representing the lower world of Israel’s wanderings. The second chakra is Yesod, or foundation.
Yesod is the place of spiritual emotions according to the Jewish
mystics, so while yes we are a part of the physical world, our awareness is tied
into spiritual realms. Moses throughout
has been imploring Israel to see the “hand of God” in their wonderings,
encouraging them to be aware of the relationship between heaven and earth (cf.
Dt. 7:8).
This idea of moo’da’oot runs rampant is the writing of Moses. Here in Parashat Eikev, Moses is reminding the children of the wilderness generation that although their ancestors saw the defeat of Pharaoh they also engaged in acts of idolatry, which led to the destruction of the Torah made of stone from Sinai. Moses used the word “you,” although many who stood there were babies or not yet even born, saying “You shall cut away (וּמַלְתֶּם, oo’mal’tem) the barrier from your heart and no longer stiffen your neck” (cf. Dt. 10;16). Yes, they were not there, but they had the potential to commit the same offences as their parents and grandparents. Moses therefore instructs them in Deuteronomy 8:2-3; “And you will remember all the ways which the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that God might afflict you, to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would or would not keep the commandments. And God afflicted you, and you suffered hunger although you were fed manna, which you did not know, neither did your ancestors; that God might make you know that people do not live by bread alone, but by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.” What can this teach us about moo’da’oot, or awareness?
The Sforno taught that what was remembered, the manna, itself was supernatural, and that Israel was afflicted in order to test their willingness to follow the mitzvot in union with that manna they freely received in the wilderness. Israel received the food of angels (the manna; see Psalm 78:24-25) for 40 years that was freely given and happily taken (well kind of), and the test was about their willingness to follow Torah, which took more effort. Viewing this as a God who dishes out reward and punishment to the faithful and unfaithful misses the subtlety of this moment. Testing comes when you hold yourself to a higher value that becomes a bar of personal ethics, which can lead to affliction if missed and/or perceived as out of reach. Rabbi Raphael Samson Hirsch writes that affliction was not just physical but psychological (see Hirsch on Dt. 7:15). The affection came from God insofar as the standard the people sought to obtain was the higher value of Torah that represented the ways of God, and today it is not different.
The middah of Mussar attributed to this parsha is n’divut (נְדִיבוּת) or generosity. There is another word that generosity is related to that is harakat tovah (הַכָּרַת טוֹבָה), which means gratitude, and is the flip side of n’divut. Also from Eikev we read words that are apart of the Birkat Hamazon, וְאָכַלְתָּ, וְשָׂבָעְתָּ--וּבֵרַכְתָּ אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, עַל-הָאָרֶץ הַטֹּבָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַן-לָךְ; “And you shall eat and be satisfied, and bless the LORD your God for the good land which [God] has given you” (cf. Dt. 8:10). Israel received manna in the wilderness and is about to enter a good land and Moses is reminding them to be aware of their blessings then, now, and tomorrow, but also that their awareness include Yesod, a foundation that makes room for God. The Aramaic Targum sums it up by saying, “Be mindful, therefore, in the time when you will have eaten and are satisfied, that you render thanksgiving and blessing before the Lord your God for all the fruit of the goodly land which God has given you.” In response to the provision of nourishment, which was the manna, the peoples harakat tovah was made manifest by their n’divut. Rabbi Yair Robinson notes that our harakat tovah comes from our gratitude that we attribute to God’s generosity (recognizing the source of the food we eat) whereas n’divut is the generosity that we show to others, and reveal by our own practices (giving thanks for the food we eat), because we cannot repay God directly. For Moses, the generosity of God to feed the people with manna for 40 years was repaid by the gratitude of the people when they followed Torah. Moses taught the new generation that by not doing the same they would also experience what their ancestors failed to achieve.
In Perkei Avot we read that the world stands and endures on the pillars of peace, truth, and justice, three pillars that stem from Torah, service of heart, and loving kindness (Cf. Avot 1:2 and 18). The Yesod that Moses attempted to impart was so the people would have future success in the land, but their moo'da'oot was more than just about their history, it was also about the spiritual awareness of God in the community. We all know that saying, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” and remembering the past is not about canceling it out or ignoring it. The last thing that Moses wanted for the children of the wilderness generation was for them to forget the failings of their parents and grandparents, but also to forget the good, the provision and the many blessings. Even with a new canvas, we cannot erase human history and/or short fallings, but we can create new ones that are improved. We are 6 weeks away from Rosh Hashanah and as we ascend to that day we are to be aware that a new year means we can do it again, better than last year, renewed and restored. This has been a tough year, and I am sure we all seek a sense of newness right now, but that must begin with moo’da’oot, awareness, not only of what is around us but also with ourselves.
This idea of moo’da’oot runs rampant is the writing of Moses. Here in Parashat Eikev, Moses is reminding the children of the wilderness generation that although their ancestors saw the defeat of Pharaoh they also engaged in acts of idolatry, which led to the destruction of the Torah made of stone from Sinai. Moses used the word “you,” although many who stood there were babies or not yet even born, saying “You shall cut away (וּמַלְתֶּם, oo’mal’tem) the barrier from your heart and no longer stiffen your neck” (cf. Dt. 10;16). Yes, they were not there, but they had the potential to commit the same offences as their parents and grandparents. Moses therefore instructs them in Deuteronomy 8:2-3; “And you will remember all the ways which the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that God might afflict you, to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would or would not keep the commandments. And God afflicted you, and you suffered hunger although you were fed manna, which you did not know, neither did your ancestors; that God might make you know that people do not live by bread alone, but by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.” What can this teach us about moo’da’oot, or awareness?
The Sforno taught that what was remembered, the manna, itself was supernatural, and that Israel was afflicted in order to test their willingness to follow the mitzvot in union with that manna they freely received in the wilderness. Israel received the food of angels (the manna; see Psalm 78:24-25) for 40 years that was freely given and happily taken (well kind of), and the test was about their willingness to follow Torah, which took more effort. Viewing this as a God who dishes out reward and punishment to the faithful and unfaithful misses the subtlety of this moment. Testing comes when you hold yourself to a higher value that becomes a bar of personal ethics, which can lead to affliction if missed and/or perceived as out of reach. Rabbi Raphael Samson Hirsch writes that affliction was not just physical but psychological (see Hirsch on Dt. 7:15). The affection came from God insofar as the standard the people sought to obtain was the higher value of Torah that represented the ways of God, and today it is not different.
The middah of Mussar attributed to this parsha is n’divut (נְדִיבוּת) or generosity. There is another word that generosity is related to that is harakat tovah (הַכָּרַת טוֹבָה), which means gratitude, and is the flip side of n’divut. Also from Eikev we read words that are apart of the Birkat Hamazon, וְאָכַלְתָּ, וְשָׂבָעְתָּ--וּבֵרַכְתָּ אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, עַל-הָאָרֶץ הַטֹּבָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַן-לָךְ; “And you shall eat and be satisfied, and bless the LORD your God for the good land which [God] has given you” (cf. Dt. 8:10). Israel received manna in the wilderness and is about to enter a good land and Moses is reminding them to be aware of their blessings then, now, and tomorrow, but also that their awareness include Yesod, a foundation that makes room for God. The Aramaic Targum sums it up by saying, “Be mindful, therefore, in the time when you will have eaten and are satisfied, that you render thanksgiving and blessing before the Lord your God for all the fruit of the goodly land which God has given you.” In response to the provision of nourishment, which was the manna, the peoples harakat tovah was made manifest by their n’divut. Rabbi Yair Robinson notes that our harakat tovah comes from our gratitude that we attribute to God’s generosity (recognizing the source of the food we eat) whereas n’divut is the generosity that we show to others, and reveal by our own practices (giving thanks for the food we eat), because we cannot repay God directly. For Moses, the generosity of God to feed the people with manna for 40 years was repaid by the gratitude of the people when they followed Torah. Moses taught the new generation that by not doing the same they would also experience what their ancestors failed to achieve.
In Perkei Avot we read that the world stands and endures on the pillars of peace, truth, and justice, three pillars that stem from Torah, service of heart, and loving kindness (Cf. Avot 1:2 and 18). The Yesod that Moses attempted to impart was so the people would have future success in the land, but their moo'da'oot was more than just about their history, it was also about the spiritual awareness of God in the community. We all know that saying, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” and remembering the past is not about canceling it out or ignoring it. The last thing that Moses wanted for the children of the wilderness generation was for them to forget the failings of their parents and grandparents, but also to forget the good, the provision and the many blessings. Even with a new canvas, we cannot erase human history and/or short fallings, but we can create new ones that are improved. We are 6 weeks away from Rosh Hashanah and as we ascend to that day we are to be aware that a new year means we can do it again, better than last year, renewed and restored. This has been a tough year, and I am sure we all seek a sense of newness right now, but that must begin with moo’da’oot, awareness, not only of what is around us but also with ourselves.
Shabbat Shalom
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