Ekev Answers

Eikev 5716.

Alef.

Devarim 8:7-11 For the LORD thy God Bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths, springing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. And thou shalt eat and be satisfied, and bless the LORD thy God for the good land which He hath given thee. Beware lest thou forget the LORD thy God, in not keeping His Commandments, and His Ordinances, and His Statutes, which I command thee this day;

Devarim 8:12-18 Lest when thou hast eaten and art satisfied, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, Who Brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; who Led thee through the great and dreadful wilderness, wherein were serpents, fiery serpents, and scorpions, and thirsty ground where was no water; Who Brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; Who Fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that He might Afflict thee, and that He might Prove/Test thee, to Do thee good at thy latter end; and thou say in thy heart: 'My power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth.' But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God, for it is He that Giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may Establish His Covenant which He Swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

1. The pivotal point in each section:

              a.  Devarim 8:7-11. Verse 11 is the possible negative phenomenon that is to be avoided.

b.  Ibid. 12-18. Similarly, verse 18 is the positive thing that the people have to preserve in order that they not conduct themselves negatively as is stated in the previous verses.

2.  The common thread in both of these passages is that there is a danger that once the Jews become what might seem as self-sufficient, they will no longer feel beholden for all of the Goodness that He has Bestowed upon them in the past and will continue to do so in the future.

3.  a. Devarim 8:7-11. The seductive way of thinking is a function of being too satisfied by virtue of the natural resources that the land of Israel affords, which might lead to ingratitude and/or taking things for granted.

b. Ibid. 12-18. The seductive way of thinking this time is a function of being very resourceful and self-sufficient which in turn leads to thinking that God’s Involvement and Guidance is unnecessary.

4.  The reason why the argument made in a. is made before b. because in terms of the chronological sequence of events, when the people immediately came into the land, even before they had a chance to plant, grow or build anything, they would be the beneficiaries of all sorts of resources that the land offered up. But once some time passes, then they would become more pro-active and liable to see themselves and their hard work and initiative as mainly responsible for their good fortune. Both ways of thinking are potentially deleterious for a proper relationship with God.

5.  The extensive descriptions of all the things that God Did on behalf of the Jews was in order to try to impress upon the people the extent of their indebtedness to God, which in turn will hopefully serve to assure their continued allegiance to HaShem and commitment to fulfill His Commandments.

6.  a. Devarim 8:7-11. Forgetting God leads to ignoring His Commandments.

     b. Ibid. 12-18. Thinking that all of one’s good fortune is the result of personal effort will lead to an Emuna problem in the sense of what is one to believe re the extent to which HaShem is Responsible for his success. (No mention is made that there is the potential for the alienation from fulfilling Mitzvot.)

7.  It seems to me that the literary device could be categorized in Rabbinic language as a “Kellal U’Prat”, i.e., after making a general statement, “For the LORD thy God Bringeth thee into a good land”, the idea is spelled out in a long inventory of what constitutes a “good land”, i.e.,

“a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths, springing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass”

which deepens understanding and appreciation.

8.  Devarim 32:13-8.

He made him ride on the high places of the earth, and he did eat the fruitage of the field; and He made him to suck honey out of the crag, and oil out of the flinty rock; Curd of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and he-goats, with the kidney-fat of wheat; and of the blood of the grape thou drankest foaming wine. But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked--thou didst wax fat, thou didst grow thick, thou didst become gross--and he forsook God who made him, and contemned the Rock of his salvation. They roused Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations did they provoke Him. They sacrificed unto demons, no-gods, gods that they knew not, new gods that came up of late, which your fathers dreaded not. Of the Rock that begot thee thou wast unmindful, and didst forget God that bore thee. 

This section from Parashat Ha’azinu would appear to parallel 8:7-11 more than 12-18, because individual mention is made of all of the benefits that HaShem Gave the Jews by bringing them to the land of Israel, and nevertheless the people forsook HaShem’s Mitzvot, by engaging in idolatry.

Beit.

1. The difference between the two explanations for the juxtaposition of 8:18-9 is the cause for people seeking out other deities.

a. Ohr HaChayim: Forgetting God and His Supervision begins one’s slide down the slippery slope to the point where you will actively worship other gods.

b. HaEmek Davar: Thinking that God is, as it were, inadequate for what one needs Him, leads one to seek other sources of assistance and belief.

2.  A similar sequence of negative events appears in Parashat Eikev 11:16 (in the second paragraph of the Shema): “Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; “

Gimel.

It is possible that forgetting HaShem is not the same as not listening to His Directives. One can believe in God’s Existence without believing that He Commanded the Mitzvot of the Tora, or even if one believes in Revelation, still not be ready to carry these Mitzvot out. Just because one knows that something is true does not mean necessarily that they will adhere to it. The verse is then stating that whether the people forget about God, or merely ignore His Teachings, it will cause them to end up like the nations that He initially  Displaced in order to Give the Jews a homeland. The homeland this is conditional, and it will be available to the Jews only if they consciously comply with the Divine Will.

                           

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