Bless HaShem, your G-d, for the good land He has given you

                     (Deuteronomy 8:10)

Av 22, 5778/August 3, 2018

"And it will be, because you will heed these ordinances and keep them and perform them, that HaShem, your G-d, will keep for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers." (Deuteronomy 7:12) Anyone familiar with the Hebrew original, knows that the word translated into English as "heed" is actually "heel," (eikev, in Hebrew). Our sages provide different insights into Torah's unusual usage of the word eikev - heel - in this instance, but one thing is for certain: when discussing Israel's relationship to the land of Israel, the mention of the bottom of the foot is (surprisingly perhaps), sublimely appropriate. Our heels are our constant point of contact and connection to the land of Israel, about which G-d told Avraham, "Rise, walk in the land, to its length and to its breadth, for I will give it to you." (Genesis 13:17) Walk the land! Make it yours! This is the message of this week's Torah reading, Eikev - Heel: walk the land, possess the land, inherit the land. Every aspect of our being takes an active part in our bond with our land, the land promised to us, the children of Israel, by G-d. Even the lowest, literally most base portion of our body, our heels, play an integral part in our love and fidelity to our land. It is our heels that allow us to be upright, and it is upon the blessed land of Israel that they stand.

Little wonder that the word which describes the way of Jewish life, the walk of the nation of Israel, is halacha. Halacha, which is the distillation of Torah commandments into a 24/7 guide of how to lead our lives, literally means "walk," as in, "Rise, walk in the land, to its length and to its breadth, for I will give it to you," as emphasized by Moshe, time and time again in our reading. The secret to possessing and inheriting the land of Israel, far beyond the initial conquest, is in how we move, how we walk, how we conduct ourselves in the land: "Every commandment that I command you this day you shall keep to do, that you may live and multiply, and come and possess the land that HaShem swore to your forefathers." (Deuteronomy 8:1) From the bottom of our heels and up, it is incumbent upon the children of Israel to walk in G-d's ways, in the ways of Torah, for all "Her ways are pleasant, and all her paths are peaceful."(Proverbs 3:17)

G-d brought the children of Israel to the land of Israel, not merely so that they would have a place to rest their feet, but so that Israel would have a living relationship with the land, and through that relationship draw closer to G-d. G-d created for Adam Eve, a helpmate, so that man should not be alone, "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh," Genesis 2:23) and for the nation Israel, G-d created the land of Israel, to cherish and to love and to walk through life together and forever.

"Draw me, we will run after you; the king brought me to his chambers. We will rejoice and be glad in you. We will recall your love more fragrant than wine; they have loved you sincerely." (Song of Songs 1:4) The Hebrew word for land, (or earth), is eretz, and it literally means, "I will run." Eretz Yisrael is the land of Israel, whose blessing and holiness draws us in so that we run after it and into it and run to please and comfort it according to the many commandments that directly concern the land as well as the many commandments that direct our conduct upon the land.

"If you do not know, O fairest of women, go your way in the footsteps [ikvei - heels] of the flocks and pasture your kids beside the shepherds' dwellings."(ibid 1:8) The Song of Songs, a song of love, is a paean to the love of Israel for G-d in the land of Israel, and for Israel's love of the land blessed by G-d's presence in that land. To understand the reality of the nation of Israel, its way of life, its walk through life, one has to understand that it is nurtured and fed by Israel's deep and abiding love and passion for her land. This is Moshe'smessage throughout every verse of parashat Eikev, and throughout the entire book of Deuteronomy. It is not enough to enter and possess the land of Israel. The people of Israel must be head over heels passionate about the land. The people of Israel must wake each morning and fall in love all over again with the beautiful land which Moshe praises over and over and over again in this week's parasha. Yes, Israel's love for G-d is paramount, but the land of Israel is G-d's gift to Israel, His beloved daughter, if you will, which He has entrusted to Israel: to know her is to love her and to love her is to love G-d.

"And you shall keep the commandments of HaShem your G-d, to go in His ways, and to fear Him. a land of wheat and barley, vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of oil producing olives and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, you will lack nothing in it, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose mountains you will hew copper. And you will eat and be sated, and you shall bless HaShem, your G-d, for the good land He has given you." (Deuteronomy 8:6-10)

-The Temple Institute