What We Overlook: Eikev.22

 What We Overlook: Eikev.22

By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

August 15, 2022

It’s hard to accept this week’s Torah portion (Eikev, “Consequences,” Deuteronomy 7:12—11:25) at face value. Outwardly, the portion speaks of God’s constant love. As long as we maintain our part of the Covenant, God will be there for us, we would never suffer need, hunger or thirst. 

Life and history, however, portray a different reality. Life is often unfair. Illness and undue suffering afflict the righteous. Long lines for relief often end with no help in sight. 

Life sometimes—often—challenges our faith.

Yet Moses persists in his teaching. In Eikev he reminds us of that terrible incident of the Golden Calf. Despite their great sin, God forgave the Israelites. Then as now, when we return to God’s ways and follow God’s word, God is always there to receive us. 

As constant reminder for us, passages from this portion were added to the Sh’ma and V’ahavta (see last week’s portion, Va’etchanan) and written on tiny scrolls that are placed inside the mezuzah that Jews put on their doorways, as well as inside the tefillin—phylacteries, the small leather box that observant Jews place on their foreheads and wrap around their arm at morning prayer. When we wake up, when we leave our homes and later return, we are always reminded of our obligations to God.

Yet the question remains: Why do bad things happen to good people?

Sometimes the reasons escape us. At such times, the Torah reminds us that there is a larger picture that we may not be aware of or even begin to understand. Faith is powerful, offering solace as well as strength to go on despite the obstacles.

Perhaps it is this understanding that motivates Rashi, the great rabbi and commentator of the 11th century, to offer an alternative explanation of the title of this portion. Literally, Eikev does mean “consequences;” that is indeed how the Deuteronomist uses it. But the root of this word actually comes from the Hebrew word for the heel of the foot. The lowly position that the heel occupies is what interests Rashi. As the great teacher expounds: “If you will heed the minor commandments which one tramples with one’s heels.” We need to pay as much attention to the minor details of everyday life as to the greater ones.

Yet what are these “minor” commandments? The ones we tend to overlook. The homeless and hungry that we stop seeing as we drive down our highways. The orphans and “illegal” immigrants whose numbers overwhelm us. The lonely who seek someone—anyone—to offer a listening ear, a comforting hand, or a cup of coffee on a dark night.

Ultimately, we don’t know why there is so much pain and suffering in the world, why evil doers seem to thrive while good people languish. What we can be sure of, however, is that doing good deeds strengthens us. Righteousness gives us hope, especially when chaos and confusion swirl around us. Acts of kindness not only help others, they also fill our own hearts with meaning and love. 

Through Rashi’s teaching, we learn the most important lesson that this portion has for us: To look at life and faith through the other end of the telescope, to see not what lies far away, but rather what is right in front of us.

© 2022 by Boaz D. Heilman