Eikev

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Eikev, Ekev, Ekeb, or Eqeb (עקב — Hebrew for “if [you follow],” the second word, and the first distinctive word, in the parsha) is the 46th weekly Torah portion (parsha) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the third in the book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes Deuteronomy 7:12–11:25. Jews in the Diaspora generally read it in August.

“The Adoration of the Golden Calf” (painting by Nicolas Poussin)

[edit] Summary

[edit] Blessings of obedience

Moses told the Israelites that if they obeyed God’s rules, God would faithfully maintain the covenant, would bless them with fertility and agricultural productivity, and would ward off sickness. (Deut. 7:12–15.)

[edit] Taking the land

Moses directed the Israelites to destroy all the peoples whom God delivered to them, showing no pity and not worshiping their gods. (Deut. 7:16.) Moses told the Israelites not to fear these nations because they were numerous, for the Israelites had but to recall what God did to Pharaoh and the Egyptians and the wonders by which God liberated them. (Deut. 7:17–19.) God would do the same to the peoples whom they feared, and would send a plague against them, too. (Deut. 7:19–20.) God would dislodge those peoples little by little, so that the wild beasts would not take over the land. (Deut. 7:22.) Moses directed the Israelites to burn the images of their gods, not to covet nor keep the silver and gold on them, nor to bring an abhorrent thing into their houses. (Deut. 7:25–26.)

God made the Israelites travel the long way in the wilderness for 40 years to test them with hardships to learn what was in their hearts and whether they would keep God’s commandments. (Deut. 8:2.) God subjected them to hunger and then gave them manna to teach them that man does not live on bread alone, but on anything that God decrees. (Deut. 8:3.) Their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell for 40 years. (Deut. 8:4.) God disciplined them as a man disciplines his son. (Deut. 8:5.)

Moses told the Israelites that God was bringing them into a good land, where they might eat food without end, and thus when they had eaten their fill, they were to give thanks to God for the good land that God had given them. (Deut. 8:7–10.) Moses warned the Israelites not to forget God, not to violate God’s commandments, and not to grow haughty and believe that their own power had won their wealth, but to remember that it was God who gave them the power to prosper. (Deut. 8:11–18.) Moses warned that if they forgot God and followed other gods, then they would certainly perish like the nations that God was going to displace from the land. (Deut. 8:19–20.) Moses warned the Israelites not to believe that God had enabled them to possess the land because of their virtue, for God was dispossessing the land’s current inhabitants because of those nations’ wickedness and to fulfill the oath that God had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Deut. 9:4–6.)

Moses with the Tablets of the Law (painting by Rembrandt)

[edit] The golden calf

Moses exhorted the Israelites to remember how they had provoked God to anger in the wilderness from the day that they left Egypt until that day. (Deut. 9:7.) At Horeb they so provoked God that God was angry enough to have destroyed them. (Deut. 9:8.) Moses ascended the mountain, stayed on the mountain 40 days and nights, and ate no bread and drank no water. (Deut. 9:9.) At the end of the 40 days, God gave Moses two stone tablets that God had inscribed with the words and the covenant that God had addressed to the Israelites. (Deut. 9:10–11.) God told Moses to hurry down, for the people whom Moses brought out of Egypt had acted wickedly and had made a molten image. (Deut. 9:12.) God told Moses that God was inclined to destroy them and make of Moses a nation far more numerous than they. (Deut. 9:14.) Moses started down the mountain with the two tablets in his hands, when he saw how the Israelites had made themselves a molten calf. (Deut. 9:15–16.) Moses flung the two tablets away, smashing them before their eyes, and threw himself down before God, fasting another 40 days and nights. (Deut. 9:17–18.) And God gave heed to Moses. (Deut. 9:19.) God was angry enough with Aaron to have destroyed him, so Moses also interceded for Aaron. (Deut. 9:20.) Moses burned the calf, broke it to bits, ground it into dust, and threw its dust into the brook that came down from the mountain. (Deut. 9:21.)

Moses reminded the Israelites how they provoked God at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah. (Deut. 9:22.) And when God sent them from Kadesh-barnea to take possession of the land, they flouted God’s command and did not put their trust in God. (Deut. 9:23.)

When Moses lay prostrate before God those 40 days, because God was determined to destroy the Israelites, Moses prayed to God not to annihilate God’s own people, whom God freed from Egypt, but to give thought to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and ignore the Israelites’ sinfulness, else the Egyptians would say that God was powerless to bring them into the land that God had promised them. (Deut. 9:25–29.) And God agreed not to destroy them. (Deut. 10:10.)

Thereupon God told Moses to carve out two tablets of stone like the first, come up to the mountain, and make an ark of wood. (Deut. 10:1.) God inscribed on the tablets the Ten Commandments that were on the first tablets that Moses had smashed, and Moses came down from the mountain and deposited the tablets in the ark. (Deut. 10:2–5.)

[edit] Aaron’s death

The Israelites marched to Moserah, where Aaron died and was buried, and his son Eleazar became priest in his stead. (Deut. 10:6.) From there they marched to Gudgod, and on to Jotbath. (Deut. 10:7.)

[edit] Levites’ duties

God set apart the Levites to carry the ark of the covenant, to stand in attendance upon the Tabernacle, and to bless in God’s Name, and that was why the Levites were to receive no portion of the land, as God was their portion. (Deut. 10:8–9.)

[edit] Exhortations to serve God

Moses exhorted the Israelites to revere God, to walk only in God’s paths, to love God, to serve God with all their heart and soul, and to keep God’s commandments. (Deut. 10:12–13.) Moses noted that although heaven and earth belong to God, God was drawn to love their fathers, so that God chose the Israelites from among all peoples. (Deut. 10:14–15.) Moses described God as supreme, great, mighty, and awesome, showing no favor and taking no bribe, but upholding the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and befriending the stranger. (Deut. 10:17–18.) Moses thus instructed the Israelites to befriend the stranger, for they were strangers in Egypt. (Deut. 10:19.) Moses exhorted the Israelites to revere God, worship only God, and swear only by God’s name, for God was their glory, who wrought for them marvelous deeds, and made them as numerous as the stars. (Deut. 10:20–22.)

Moses exhorted the Israelites to love God and always keep God’s commandments. (Deut. 11:1.) Moses asked the Israelites to note that it was they themselves who witnessed the signs that God performed in Egypt against Pharaoh, what God did to Egypt’s army, how God rolled upon them the waters of the Sea of Reeds, what God did for them in the wilderness, and what God did to Dathan and Abiram when the earth swallowed them. (Deut. 11:2–7.) Moses instructed them therefore to keep all the law so that they might have the strength to enter and possess the land and long endure on that land flowing with milk and honey. (Deut. 11:8–9.) Moses extolled the land as a land of hills and valleys that soaks up its water from the rains, a land that God looks after. (Deut. 11:10–12.)

Then Moses told them words now found in the Shema prayer (Deut. 11:13–21.): If the Israelites obeyed the commandments, loving God and serving God with heart and soul, God would grant the rain in season and they would gather their grain, wine, and oil. (Deut. 11:13–14.) God would provide grass for their cattle and the Israelites would eat their fill. (Deut. 11:15.) Moses warned them not to be lured away to serve other gods, for God’s anger would flare up against them, God would suspend the rain, and they would soon perish. (Deut. 11:16–17.) Moses urged them to impress God’s words upon their heart, bind them as a sign on their hands, let them serve as a symbol on their foreheads, teach them to your children, and recite them when they stayed at home and when they were away, when they lay down and when they got up. (Deut. 11:18–19.) Moses instructed them to inscribe God’s words on the doorposts of their houses and on their gates, so that they and their children might endure in the land that God swore to their fathers as long as there is a heaven over the earth. (Deut. 11:20–21.)

Moses promised that if they faithfully kept all the law, loving God, walking in all God’s ways, and holding fast to God, then God would dislodge the nations then in the land, and every spot on which their feet tread would be theirs, and their territory would extend from the wilderness to Lebanon and from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean Sea. (Deut. 11:22–24.)

[edit] In classical rabbinic interpretation

[edit] Deuteronomy chapter 7

Rabbi Bibi ben Giddal said that Simeon the Just taught that the law prohibited a Jew from robbing a non-Jew, although a Jew could take possession of a non-Jew’s lost article. Rav Huna read Deuteronomy 7:16 to prohibit a Jew from robbing a non-Jew, because Deuteronomy 7:16 provided that the Israelites were to take from the enemies that God would deliver to them in time of war, thus implying that the Israelites could not take from non-Jews in time of peace, when God had not delivered them into the Israelites’ hands. (Babylonian Talmud Bava Kamma 113b.)

Chapter 3 of tractate Avodah Zarah in the Mishnah, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of not deriving benefit from idols in Deuteronomy 7:25–26. (Mishnah Avodah Zarah 3:1–10; Jerusalem Talmud Avodah Zarah ch. 3; Babylonian Talmud Avodah Zarah 40b–49b.)

Rabbi Johanan in the name of Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai noted the word “abomination” in common in both Deuteronomy 7:26 and Proverbs 16:5 and deduced that people who are haughty of spirit are as though they worshiped idols. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 4b.)

[edit] Deuteronomy chapter 8

Rabbi Awira told — sometimes in the name of Rabbi Ammi, and sometimes in the name of Rabbi Assi — that the angels asked God whether God was not showing favor to Israel. And God asked the angels how God could not show favor to Israel, when Deuteronomy 8:10 required them to bless God when they had eaten and were satisfied, but the Israelites bless God even when they have eaten only the quantity of an olive or an egg. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 20b.)

Rabbi Johanan deduced from Deuteronomy 8:14 that people who are haughty of spirit are as though they had denied the fundamental principle of God’s existence. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 4b.)

[edit] Deuteronomy chapter 10

Rabbi Hanina deduced from Deuteronomy 10:12 that everything is in the hand of Heaven except the fear of Heaven, for Deuteronomy 10:12 says: “What does the Lord your God ask of you, but only to fear the Lord your God.” (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 33b.)

The Gemara deduced from Deuteronomy 10:20 that it is a positive commandment to fear the Lord. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 56a.)

[edit] Deuteronomy chapter 11

The first three chapters of tractate Berakhot in the Mishnah, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud and the first two chapters of tractate Berakhot in the Tosefta interpreted the laws of the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and 11:13–21. (Mishnah Berakhot 1:1–3:6; Tosefta Berakhot 1:1–2:21; Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 1a–42b; Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 2a–26a.)

[edit] Commandments

According to Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are 6 positive and 2 negative commandments in the parshah.

Not to derive benefit from any ornamentation of an idol (Deut. 7:25.)
Not to take any object from idolatry into our possession, to derive benefit from it (Deut. 7:26.)
The precept of blessing the Almighty for the food we receive (Deut. 8:10.)
The precept of love for converts to Judaism (Deut. 10:19.)
The precept of reverent awe for the Eternal Lord (Deut. 10:20.)
The precept of prayer to the Almighty (Deut. 10:20.)
The mitzvah of associating with Torah scholars and adhering to them (Deut. 10:20.)
That whoever needs to take an oath should swear by the Name of the Eternal Lord (Deut. 10:20.)

(Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 4:304–57. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1988. ISBN 0-87306-457-7.)

Isaiah (painting by Michelangelo)

[edit] Haftarah

The haftarah for the parshah is Isaiah 49:14–51:3.

[edit] Further reading

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:

[edit] Biblical

Josephus

Psalms 11:7 (God loves); 63:4 (God’s loving kindness); 105:5 (remember God’s wonders); 106:36 (their idols became a snare); 136:16 (God led the people through the wilderness); 146:8 (God loves).

[edit] Early nonrabbinic

Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 4:8:2–3. Circa 93–94. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William Whiston. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8.
Matthew 4:4 (not live by bread alone).

[edit] Classical rabbinic

Mishnah: Berakhot 1:1–3:6; Bikkurim 1:3; Sotah 7:8; Avodah Zarah 1:9, 3:1–10; Tamid 5:1. Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 3–7, 167, 458–59, 662, 664–67, 869. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4.
Sifre to Deuteronomy 37:1–52:1. Land of Israel, circa 250–350 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., Sifre to Deuteronomy: An Analytical Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987. ISBN 1-55540-145-7.
Jerusalem Talmud: Berakhot 1a–42b, 72b, 88b; Peah 23a; Sheviit 42b; Avodah Zarah ch. 3. Land of Israel, circa 400 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 1–3, 6b. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.

Talmud

Babylonian Talmud: Berakhot 2a–26a, 32a–b, 33b–34a, 35a–b, 36b–37a, 38a, 40a–41b, 44a, 48b, 51b, 55a; Shabbat 31b, 32b, 82b, 105b, 108a; Eruvin 4a; Pesachim 36a, 49b, 53a, 87b, 101b, 104a, 119a; Yoma 3b, 11b, 69b, 72b, 74b, 75b, 79b, 81b; Sukkah 5b, 26b, 35a, 52a; Rosh Hashanah 7a, 8a–b, 17b; Taanit 2a, 3b–4a, 6a–b, 7b, 9b, 26b; Megillah 19b, 21a, 25a, 31a; Chagigah 12a–b; Yevamot 78b; Ketubot 47b, 111a; Nedarim 7b, 32a, 38a; Sotah 4b–5a, 11a, 33a; Gittin 62a; Kiddushin 29b–30b, 36a, 58a; Bava Kamma 113b; Bava Batra 9b, 14b, 19a, 21a, 110b, 121a; Sanhedrin 4b, 56a, 93a, 90b, 99a, 110a, 113a; Makkot 7b; Shevuot 30b; Avodah Zarah 15a, 21a, 40b–49b, 52a, 54b; Horayot 13a; Zevachim 16a; Menachot 28b, 31b, 37b, 43b, 84a–b, 99a; Chullin 84b, 120b, 135b, 140a; Bekhorot 6b, 44b; Arakhin 4a; Temurah 3b, 28b, 30b; Niddah 16b, 70b. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.

[edit] Medieval

Rashi. Commentary. Deuteronomy 7–11. Troyes, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 5:83–118. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997. ISBN 0-89906-030-7.
Judah Halevi. Kuzari. 1:97; 2:14, 47–48, 56. Toledo, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 68–69, 89, 111–12, 119. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
Benjamin of Tudela. The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela. Spain, 1173. Reprinted in The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela: Travels in the Middle Ages. Introductions by Michael A. Singer, Marcus Nathan Adler, A. Asher, 91. Malibu, Calif.: Joseph Simon, 1983. ISBN 0-934710-07-4. (Anak).
Zohar 3:270a–. Spain, late 13th Century. Reprinted in, e.g, The Zohar. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1934.

Hobbes

[edit] Modern

Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan, 2:26; 3:40; 4:45. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, 319, 504–05, 672, 676–77. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950.
Thomas Mann. Joseph and His Brothers. Translated by John E. Woods, 788. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
Abraham Joshua Heschel. Man's Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and Symbolism, 36. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1954.
Martin Buber. On the Bible: Eighteen studies, 80–92. New York: Schocken Books, 1968.