Head Over Heels: Lessons From Parashat Eikev
By Rabbi Boaz D.
Heilman
August 27, 2016
For me at least, a good book must be more than just a
story. Oh, don’t get me wrong—without a
story, there is no book! Structure is
important too: It needs to have an enticing
beginning, a rich middle and a satisfying end.
Additionally, however, for it to be truly great book, it also needs to
have emotion, depth and breadth. I want
to be emotionally moved; I need to be entranced. A good book warrants repeated readings. Nuances
that are not noticeable at first become apparent the second time around, and
elements that on first reading seem unimportant become indispensible on
subsequent visits.
A true masterpiece will reveal itself seamlessly, bit by
bit, layer after layer. As in a good
mystery, clues will be dropped here and there for the discerning reader to find.
Multiple interpretations become possible as different readers pick up different
elements and piece them together each according to his or her perception. With
great masterpieces, updated adaptations somehow always seem relevant.
The Torah unfolds itself in just such a manner. Its five books spin out from one common
source, each building on the foundation laid by its predecessor. Some of its stories, laws and rituals seem
antiquated and archaic, yet some stories—like the Exodus—never become stale;
and some sacrifices, like the near sacrifice of Isaac by his father, Abraham,
remain as powerful as the day they first appeared. The Torah’s lessons are immortal. Some are obvious and immediate; others
require closer analysis and study.
Sometimes the tales seem out of order; the ancient rabbis cautioned not
to look for chronological order in the Five Books of Moses—“There is no early
or late in the Torah,” they teach. Yet
slowly but surely, a certain forceful logic begins to emerge from its depths. Inauspicious words assume iconic meanings as
they reappear in one story after another.
“Water” thus becomes a symbol for “blessing;” the simple word tov (“good”) becomes more than a mere
adjective, shining in the special light and meaning cast upon it by its first
use in the Torah—Ki tov—“And God saw
that [the light] was good,” (Gen.
1:4).
Sometimes larger, overarching themes reveal themselves like
rainbows extending from one end of the book to the other. So it is with names—in particular that of the
third patriarch of the Jewish People, Jacob.
He is named Ya’akov because as he and his twin brother, Esau, emerged
from Rebecca’s womb, Jacob’s hand was seen grasping Esau’s heel (‘akeiv), as though trying even then not
only to follow Esau, but actually to overtake him.
Head over heels—leader and follower, master and prey—is a
theme that emerges early in the Torah.
Already in the first book of the Torah, Genesis, in the story of the Garden
of Eden, Adam (representing all humanity) is given provisional mastery over the
snake: The progeny of Adam will forever try to crush the snake’s head; yet the
snake will always aim to strike the human’s heel, his ‘akeiv.
Now, four books later, the word ‘akeiv reappears as the title of this week’s Torah portion, Eikev (Deuteronomy 7:12—11:25). Here, at last, it achieves its final
transformation and reveals the full depth of its meaning, both as a word and as
a moral lesson. As it appears here, Eikev means consequence or result. As a consequence of obeying God’s rules, as a
result of following God’s judgments and ordinances, we are given blessings,
including the blessing of nature’s plenty and abundance. The rain, we are promised, will fall in its
season. God will “Bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your soil, your
grain, your wine, and your oil, the offspring of your cattle and the choice of
your flocks, in the Land which God swore to your forefathers to give you” (Deut.
7:13).
The blessings and rewards don’t stop simply with the promise
of earth’s abundance. God also vows to
protect Israel from its foes, to keep the people safe from enemy and oppressor. Eikev—as
a consequence of following God’s commandments, no harm will come to the
people. Enemies will perish as did
Pharaoh at the Sea of Reeds, while the People of Israel will continue to thrive
unperturbed.
The blessings of the firstborn, the legacy and heritage that
Jacob had wrested from Isaac, were won through trickery and subterfuge,
resulting from a deceptive ploy concocted by Rebecca and carried out without
protest by Jacob. In that famous scene
(Genesis 27), Jacob strives to achieve mastery over his brother and fate by
tricking Isaac and Esau. This tactic, however, results in dire consequences for
the entire family. Now, four books and
nearly half a millennium later, after countless tragedies, failures and
rebellions, Jacob’s descendants, the People of Israel, are finally ready to master
the test their forefather had failed.
Parshat Eikev
teaches us that leadership can’t be bought or sold. True power isn’t about conquering lands and oppressing
peoples. For the head to win over the
heel, for a civilization to succeed, for peace and prosperity to ensue, all one
has to do is simply follow in God’s path, a path spelled out in no uncertain
terms: Compassion, justice and
love. Just as God “Administers justice
for the orphan and the widow, loves the stranger and gives him bread and
clothing” (Deut. 10:18), so must we act with compassion for the poor and the needy. Just as God is faithful to us, so must we be
faithful to God. Just as God teaches us,
so must we teach our children to be kind and caring.
It’s a simple matter of cause and effect, a matter of head
over heels.
© 2016 by Boaz D. Heilman
