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The Parsha, the Process and the Promised Land - Eikev
Michael Freund
10 August 2001
1. Measuring a Mitzvah in Feet
The Parsha begins with Moshe telling the Jews of the great blessings they
will receive if they fulfill G-d’s commands. The Torah says, “The L-rd your
G-d will safeguard for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to
your forefathers. He will love you and bless you and multiply you, and He
will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your Land… You will be the
most blessed of all the peoples…” (Chap. 7, verses 12-14). Moshe stresses
that these blessings are contingent upon the Jews’ behavior – the opening
verse of the Parsha states: “And this shall be the reward when [“Eikev” in
the Hebrew] you hearken to these ordinances and you observe and perform them”
(Chap. 7, verse 12).
The Question:
What is the meaning of the Torah’s choice of the Hebrew word “Eikev” to
denote that the reward will be granted when the Jews observe the
commandments?
The Answer:
Rashi cites the Midrash, which points out that the word “Eikev” is also
Hebrew for a person’s ankle or heel. Hence, the Torah chose to use the word
“Eikev” to tell us that if the Jews are careful to observe even the
seemingly minor commandments that people view as unimportant (and therefore
commonly “tread upon with their heels”), then they most certainly will
receive the great blessings detailed in the Parsha.
The Lesson:
People should not underestimate the power of fulfilling a mitzvah, even one
they might view as “minor” or “unimportant”. In our day, many otherwise
religious Jews downplay the significance of living in Israel, finding all
kinds of excuses to justify staying in the Diaspora on halachic and religious
grounds. It is worth recalling a brilliant observation of the Kotzker Rebbe,
Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (1787-1859), in this regard. Commenting on the
Rashi and Midrash cited above, the Kotzker Rebbe asks: how could one even
suggest that the Jewish people might be so neglectful of the commandments
that they would “tread upon them with their heels” and dismiss some of them
as “minor”? Rather, says the Kotzker Rebbe, we should interpret Rashi and
the Midrash as follows: There is only one commandment in the Torah that a
person can fulfill, literally, by “treading upon it with one’s heels”, and
that is the commandment to dwell in the Land of Israel.
Many Jews unfortunately view this commandment as a “minor one”, so the Torah
intentionally chose the word “Eikev” to introduce this Parsha. It is to tell
us that if we fulfill the commandment to “tread upon” the Land by dwelling
there, then G-d will certainly bless the Jewish people as He promised to do.
The words of the Kotzker Rebbe, written over a century ago, are equally true
today. Too many Jews still view living in Israel as “just a mitzvah”. People
who will carefully inspect their food to make sure it fulfills the most
stringent of Rabbinic requirements will nevertheless try to offer many
reasons why the Torah’s command to dwell in Israel does not apply to them.
But the fact is that it does. Until more Jews realize this, the blessings
delineated in the Parsha might very well remain on hold. Let us hope and pray
that will not be the case.
2. Give G-d A Chance
After describing the blessings the Jewish people would receive upon
fulfilling G-d’s commands, Moshe concludes with a warning about what will
occur should they fail to do so. The Torah states, “It shall be that if you
forget the L-rd your G-d and go after the gods of others, and worship them
and prostrate yourself to them – I testify against you today that you will
surely perish; like the nations that the L-rd causes to perish before you, so
will you perish when [“Eikev” in the Hebrew] you will not hearken to the
voice of the L-rd your G-d” (Chap. 8, verses 19-20).
The Question:
Why does the Torah again use the word “Eikev”?
The Answer:
The Rashbam (Rabbi Shmuel ben Meir, Rashi’s grandson) says that the two
verses above serve as a conclusion to the theme outlined by Moshe since the
beginning of the Parsha. Hence, the Torah used the word “Eikev” again, as it
did in the Parsha’s opening verse, to signal the end of this section. This,
says the Rashbam, is to emphasize the basic point that Moshe is making: “When
[“Eikev”] the Jews listen” to G-d - they will settle the Land and live there
in peace, but “when [“Eikev”] they do not listen” – they shall be driven
out of it.
The Lesson:
Peace in Israel is dependent less on the vagaries of diplomacy, and more on
the behavior of the Jewish people and their fidelity to G-d’s commandments.
Many people mistakenly believed in recent years that peace was a simple
matter of realpolitik, of reaching compromises that would suit the competing
interests of the various parties while ensuring their security. But the Torah
is warning us that there is another component that must be reckoned with –
the spiritual factor – which is a key ingredient that cannot be overlooked.
Peace is a blessing that is granted by G-d, and if we are to be worthy of it,
then we, as a nation, must behave accordingly, fulfilling our
responsibilities as a people to uphold the Torah and its commands. Arrogating
to ourselves the ability to make peace even as we ignore our obligations to
G-d can only result in failure, as the Oslo process has so clearly
demonstrated. After eight years of Oslo, and the brutal terrorism it has
brought in its wake, the time has come to put aside our arrogance and
conceit, and to finally admit: We gave “peace” a chance, and it didn’t work.
Perhaps the time has come to give G-d a chance. For unlike diplomats and
politicians, G-d is one who keeps His promises.
3. Keep Your Eyes on the Land
Later in the Parsha, Moshe again urges the people to strictly adhere to the
Torah’s commandments, as they are about to enter the Land of Israel, the Land
promised to them by G-d. Moshe assures the Jews that the Land is special and
unique, differing greatly from Egypt, where the Jews had been enslaved for so
many years. He tells them, “It is a Land that the L-rd your G-d seeks out;
the eyes of the L-rd your G-d are always upon it, from the beginning of the
year to year’s end” (Chap. 11, verse 12).
The Question:
What does the verse mean when it says that “the eyes of the L-rd your G-d”
are always upon the Land of Israel and that it is a Land that He “seeks
out”? Isn’t that true of the entire world as well?
The Answer:
Rashi, quoting the Sifri, states that G-d actively oversees and administers
the entire world, but that His primary focus, as it were, is on the Land of
Israel, for only once Israel has been blessed is the rest of the world
blessed. Thus, the Torah singled out the manner in which G-d watches over
Israel to stress the special nature of the Land and its importance to the
Creator.
The Lesson:
The measure of a person’s love and concern for something is the care he shows
towards it. The fact that G-d’s attention is principally directed toward the
Land of Israel is a sign of its importance in His eyes. Rabbi Mordechai
Kamenetzky, in his book Parsha Parables 3, derives a vital lesson from this.
He writes, “Sometimes we think that the Jewish Land is on autopilot, but
Hashem tells us that it is not. His eyes are on it 365 days a year, 24 hours
a day. And though we all care for and love Eretz Yisrael, perhaps we, too,
should mimic that attitude. We, too, should not be able to imagine a world
without a stable and healthy Israel. And, like Hashem, we should also have it
constantly in our hearts and minds – not only during a crisis, when the storm
clouds are brewing, but from ‘the beginning of the year until the end,’ even
when the sun is shining down on it.”
Sadly, though, it appears that many Diaspora Jews are more concerned with
other matters. They might glance to see if there is a story about Israel in
the newspaper, they might be deeply worried from time to time about what is
happening, but their attention is largely directed elsewhere. As we saw
earlier, however, G-d’s primary concern is about what goes on in Israel, and
as Jews, we are commanded to emulate G-d and follow in His ways. If His gaze
is fixed at Israel, ours should be as well. This is not to suggest that there
is anything wrong with a little entertainment, or a pleasant diversion now
and then. But as Israel continues to be battered by brutal Palestinian
terror, the time has come for all of us to worry a bit less about who wins
the latest ballgame and a bit more about who wins the war.
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Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2001 13:13:44 EDT
From: Adrzib@aol.com Add to Address Book Add To Spam Block List
Subject: Fwd: Brief Summary of Middle East Conflict
To: luna@xsite.net, Marcbalban@hotmail.com, MikeatMike@rcn.com,Sterling@foxvalley.net, ctamd@yahoo.com, StuMan770@aol.com,twasserman@safestone.com, HiFiFink@aol.com, Shlomom123@eudoramail.com,Robschwa@juno.com, Allon.Skidelsky@ey.com
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Some information if anyone asks you about the conflict.
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Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2001 00:29:58 EDT
From: WRTLBS14@aol.com Add to Address Book Add To Spam Block List
Subject: copy of e-mail I sent to WPHT's Dom Giordano
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Dear Dom,
In answer to a question posed by one of your callers, here are some of the
true facts of the Middle East:
International lawyers from all over the world have unequivocally concluded
that the land commonly [and erroneously] called Palestine is legally
Israels. Jews owned that land for thousands of years. It was only centuries
after armed conquerers invaded the area and evacuated most of the Jewish
population that Arabs moved in from adjacent lands. Yet a small Jewish
population managed to stay in the area.
Palestine is an Anglicized pronunciation of the Arabic Falestin.
[There is no P sound in Arabic; the Hebrew letter for the F sound becomes
a P at the beginning of a word or syllable.] Falestin is also
transliterated as Philistine and the meaning is one and the same: it refers
to a narrow strip along the Mediterranean which would include present-day
Gaza and a bit northward into Israel proper, through the port towns of Ashdod
and Ashkelon.
Most of the turmoil in the Middle East was caused by repeated conquerings
and invasions, followed by British and French colonialism which arbitrarily
divided up the whole region for their own selfish and greedy purposes.
Meanwhile, the area fell into total decay. Except for a few small pockets
here and there, the region was nothing but desert and swamp, infested with
malaria and cholera and no one wanted to live there -- except for the Jews,
who, for 2000 years had prayed for the return to their homeland.
By the late 1800s, conditions for Jews in Eastern Europe, where a sizeable
percentage of Jews had fled to after dipersal from Israel by the Romans,
became frightening and intolerable. Pogroms, the systemized murdering,
raping and looting of Jews, their homes torched, their meager property
stolen, became rampant. The only solution: a return to their ancient land.
The Jewish Agency was created, which purchased back the lands (that were
rightfully the Jews anyway!) from absentee landlords in Lebanon and Turkey.
Jewish immigrants cleared the land, irrigated, planted crops, drained
swamps, started industry and turned the land that hitherto no one wanted into
a society.
After Jews were systematically being annihilated throughout Europe in the
1930s and 40s (half of the worlds Jewish population was eliminated!) more
refugees attempted to get back to Israel.
Arabs, who had drifted into the area after Israel had made the land
inhabitable once again, also attacked the local Jewish population. The
British, no lovers of the Jews, sided with the Arabs.
The British, who had assumed control of the region, turned away shiploads
of Jews coming to the shores, trying to flee the Holocaust.
The Israeli Jews responded with selected bombings and attacks on the
British occupational military forces. The British decided to leave and asked
the U.N. to take over matters.
The U.N. partition plan of 1947 called for dividing up the former British
mandate of Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state, with the
proposed Arab state getting 77% of the land and the proposed Jewish state
getting 23% of the land, the Jews said okay; the Arabs refused. Their
religious and cultural beliefs preclude the presence of any non-Muslims in
what they perceive as their part of the world.
After the partition, Britain, in its final move as occupier of the region,
gave the Arab sector (the 77%) to a Saudi tribesman to whom they owed a
favor. That was King Abdullah, the grandfather of the late King Hussein and
great grandfather of the present Jordanian monarch. (He was assassinated by
fellow Arabs in 1950 for talking to Israel.)
In May of 1948, Israel formerly declared its statehood in the small strip
of land it had been given. Immediately, all the surrounding Arab states
immediately attacked and invaded Israel with the hope of destroying her and,
in their own words, driving all the Jews into the sea.
The surrounding Arab nations, in radio broadcasts, ordered all the Arabs
living in Israel to flee the area in order to give the invading armies free
access to destroy the Jews, telling the Arab inhabitants they could return
to their homes once the area was completely cleared of the Jews. (Prior to
this, relations between Jews and Arabs were, for the most part, reasonably
harmonious, or at worst, indifferent, , except, of course, for the vicious
Arab massacre of the Jewish population of Hevron [transliterated as Hebron
in English] in 1929.)
This urging of the local Arabs to flee was the creation of the Arab
refugees still living in squalid camps today.
Concurrent with this, all of the Arab countries of the Middle East and
North Africa, expelled all their Jews, creating an even greater number of
refugees. These Jewish refugees headed straight for, and were immediately
taken in and welcomed by, Israel. The Israeli Arabs who fled on orders of
their brethren, were not welcomed nor taken in, but herded into horrible
camps.
Israel, as we know, survived the onslaught by its neighbors and was
victorious in the 1948 war. This was nothing short of a miracle, considering
Israel was vastly outnumbered and weakly equipped with inadequate,
out-of-date, hand-me-down planes and weapons.
Israel, throughout the war, had invited its Arab inhabitants to stay, that
they would be treated humanely and given equal rights in the new Jewish
state [unlike the status of Jews in Arab and Muslim countries!] Those who did
opt to stay were given Israeli citizenship and are today the only Arabs in
the world living in a democratic society, as opposed to living under
tyrannical dictatorship rule in the rest of the Arab world. They also
generally enjoy the highest standard of living of in the Middle East, except
, of course, for the kleptocratic oil sheiks, whose subjects dont share in
the wealth.)
Since Israel prevailed in the war, the Arab countries kept the Israeli
Arabs who had fled the invading Arab armies in these squalid refugee camps,
to use as a propaganda tool against Israel and to foment these unfortunate
caught-in-the-middles into an aggressive, hostile population that could be
employed to battle with them against Israel in future wars. Unlike Israel,
who took in her brethren with open arms, the Arab nations kept their fellow
Arabs like vicious dogs or wolves in pens to be exploited for their own
purposes.
Out of the abominable conditions in these camps grew a movement which
eventually evolved into, or came to be known as, the Palestine Liberation
Organization . A constant barrage of propaganda from the host Arab
governments convinced these refugees that Israel was responsible for their
plight, not the true culprits, namely these Arab governments. An Arab
summit convened in 1964 named this movement., invented the artificial
nationality of Palestinian for these Arabs who had never before considered
themselves a separate ethnic group or nationality and brainwashed them into
committing an endless slew of terrorist attacks which would, presumably,
liberate them from their conditions. This propaganda succeeded. They were
promised, and given, funds and weaponry for that purpose.
In 1967, Egypts dictator, Gamal Abdel-Nasser, the self-aggrandized
leader of the Arab world, ordered the United Nations troops out of the
Sinai, Suez and Red Sea region. (They had been there protecting an uneasy,
precarious cease-fire between Israel and Egypt after the 1956 Suez War, in
which, Israel, after provocation, had succeeded in crossing Sinai and
entering Egypt to stop attacks; the U.S. Eisenhower administration, forced
Israel to retreat before having a chance to insure its security--similar to
the Lebanon situation in 1982!)
With the U.N. peacekeepers out of the way, Nasser blocked the Straits of
Tiran to Israeli shipping, depriving Israel of its only port to the South.
This was a prelude to a planned invasion of Israel by all the surrounding
Arab countries. Israeli intelligence picked up on the plan and launched a
pre-emptive strike against Egyptian troops in the Sinai. Israel was suddenly
being attacked simultaneously by Lebanon from the North, Syria and Iraq from
the Northeast, Jordan from the East , Saudi Arabia from the South and Egypt
from the Southwest.
Israels territory was, and is today, equivalent only to that of New
Jersey! It was invaded by armies more-or-less equivalent to all the
mid-Atlantic states, part of New England and part of the Ohio Valley. At
its most densely-populated part of the country, the center, Israel was only
seven miles wide ! What country can defend a seven-mile wide strip of land
that houses about half its population! And Jordans army was attempting to
sever Israel in half right through there.
Once again, Israel miraculously prevailed. This time, Israel decided to
hold onto some adjacent buffer land around its population centers, in case
of future attacks to allow time and some breathing room for its forces to
mobilize if attacked.
Israel also succeeded in liberating the eastern part of Jerusalem, home to
the holiest site in Judaism, the Temple Mount, where the biblical first and
second Temples stood, and where, to this day, the Western Wall from its
courtyard still stands and is revered and prayed to from Jews all over the
world. Jordan had conquered the eastern half of Jerusalem in the 1948 war,
destroying all its synagogues and cemeteries and massacring its Jews. Jordan
occupied the eastern half of Jerusalem from 1948 to 1967, erecting a
Berlin-style wall with barbed wire and forbidding Jews to enter or pray
there. Jordans occupation of the eastern part of Jerusalem was recognized
by only two countries: Britain and Pakistan.
Israel also conquered the vast Sinai desert, uninhabited except for a few
Bedouin nomads and some sparse, hearty wildlife and cacti. In the Sinai was
the holy Mt. Sinai of Biblical fame, where a small sect of Monks had built a
monastery (Santa Katarina) and further south, some beautiful, undeveloped
beaches. More importantly, the northwest coast of Sinai, at Abu Rodeis, had
oil! Not a huge amount, but Israel developed it where it was adequate to meet
Israels domestic needs without having to import exorbitantly-priced oil from
hostile nations with whom she was still at war via third countries who added
their own markups and shipping costs.
And Israel wound up in possession of the Biblical Judaea and Samaria, which
it won from Jordan in the war, areas adjacent to its most heavily populated
cities, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem which would serve as protective buffers.
Israel also found itself holding the notorious Gaza strip (Ghaza in
Arabic; Aza in Hebrew) a tiny, overpopulated parcel of land nestled
between Israel proper and the Sinai, teeming with an extremely hostile Arab
refugee population living in disgusting camps.
Israel wanted to improve the condition of these refugees and at least give
them running water and proper sewage disposal, which it did. But when Israel
tried to move them into decent apartments, they refused, under orders of Arab
leaders who threatened them if they accepted this from the Israelis.
The so-called settlements Israel built in Judaea and Samaria, a.k.a.,
The West Bank, which Israel legitimately won from Jordan after Jordan
attacked her in the 1967 War, were for most Israelis, nothing more than
natural expansion growth of its biggest cities, Jerusalem, its capital, and
which now had become Israels largest city and Tel Aviv, the second largest.
These were suburbs, bedroom communities of these cities, where real
estate was cheaper, land was plentiful and commuting time was reasonable.
Yes, there were some wild-eyed fanatics, as some called them, religious
Jews who saw a second, and more importtant purpose, a religious obligation to
populate the area and raise their families there in accordance with Biblical
instruction on land promised by G-d to the Jews. While a small number of
these new residents treated their Arab neighbors unfairly, not as grossly
exaggerated by the media, the majority were benign to the local Arabs and
engaged in trade with them. Israel proper also began offering the Arabs of
the so-called West Bank employment, giving them a living better than they
had under Jordanian rule. And the Arabs living in the eastern portion of
Jerusalem profited from the great influx of tourism following Israels
reassuming administration of the sector. (Contrary to myths circulated by
Arab propanda and leftist media, referring to the area as Arab East
Jerusalem, Jews had constituted the majority population of Eastern
Jerusalem since the 1860s!)
But the Arab governments in the region and the so-called Palestinian
leadership who terrorized their own populations would have none of this
peaceful co-existence or newfound propserity. It was contrary to their goals
of destroying Israel and keeping the entire Middle East Judenrein ! A war of
terrorism, including plane hijackings, airport attacks, bus stop bombings,
synagogue firebombings, kidnappings, hostage-taking, ambushing of school
children, suicide bombers and shootings and knifings began. Not only were
Israeli Jews targets but any Jews, anywhere in the world! Also, any friends
of Israel, such as Americans, or anyone who spoke up for the Israeli cause --
or against Arab terror--became victims. And Arab governments came up with
the idea of using their greatest commodity -- oil -- as a weapon, holding
hostage anyone who opposed their agenda.
What the West doesnt understand is that the root cause of Arab terror
has nothing to do with Israel and the Palestinians; its a religious Holy
War. The Muslim world considers Jews and Christians to be infidels and
resents and opposes their presence or even existence anywhere in the world!
Witness the brutal wholesale slaughter of Christians by Muslims and Lebanon
in their civil war, the oppression of Coptic Christians in Egypt, the
barbaric treatment of Jews in most Arab countries (except Morocco) and
Irans and Syrias continued holding of their Jewish population hostage to
prevent them from going to Israel, including random arrests, mock trials
and imprisonment. The so-called Palestinian Authority has even been waging
a quiet campaign to expel Christians from Bethlehem and other areas under
their control.
The poorer, predominantly Shiite, Muslims, are constantly brainwashed in
their official media and school textbooks that the Jews are the source of
their misery, poverty and displacement and should be sought out and killed.
Their government leaders dont want them to know that they are the course of
their suffering and that they embezzle the billions of dollars of financial
aid poured in by The U.N., the U.S., fellow Arab regimes, and, yes, even
Israel! They are being used as propaganda pawns by their own governments,
who want to keep them miserable and angry, and easily employable in their
mission against Infidels and the West. (Arab nations, who technologically
lag centuries behind Israel and Western countries and who rank among the
worlds least literate, and most gullible, populations, are insanely
jealous. Israel, whose very existence is the worst anathema to the Arabs and
Muslim world, has one of the highest literacy rates in the world, the most
newspapers per capita of any country in the world and is the only democracy
in that part of the world with all the freedoms of the West [assembly, free
speech, free elections, opposition, freedom of religion, freedom of the
press, independent media, capitalist ideology and a high-tech economy that
Arab dictators dont wants their subjects to see, lest they be overthrown in
popular rebellion!] Israel is where the cell phone was invented, is the
manufacturer of most of the worlds computer chips, is at the forefront of
cancer research and other scientific discoveries and is at the worlds helm
of agricultural development , helping poor, African nations in arid areas
convert desert into arable, productive land. Israel is also at the cutting
edge of military technology, including benefitting the U.S. with
enhancements of American planes, missiles, weapons systems and defenses.)
Israel, as a trusted friend and ally, by the way, has consistently voted
with the U.S. at the United Nations more than any other nation: 94% of the
time. Even Britain only votes with the U.S. approximately 75% of the time.
And the Arab countries all vote with the U.S. less than 5% of the time!
Israel, as soon as news broke of the tragedies in the U.S. on September 11th,
immediately had a plane ready to depart for New York with its, unfortunately,
all-too-experienced crack disaster rescue team. (Israel has had to put up
with these kinds of terror attacks several times a week over the past year
and certainly knows how to handle such crises better than anyone!) Instead of
welcoming Israels offer to help, the U.S. snubbed it! (For fear of
offending the Arabs, no doubt!)
(And, not to in any way diminish the heroic efforts of New Yorks rescue
teams and the outstanding help of great volunteers, Israels rescue team
probably would have been more successful in rescuing survivors because its
had to perform this sad operation countless times!)
Its rescue team offer turned down, Israels citizens rolled up their sleeves
and sent over 1,300 pints of blood. [Of course, so did Yasir Arafat,
conspicuously in front of a hastily-staged camera --after the world media
showed thousands of his subjects dancing and whooping it up in reckless
jubilation--and while Hanan Ashrawi, in embarrassment, struugled to do damage
control saying the celebration was only by a handful of kids!] ...And, in a
show of solidarity and sympathy with the U.S., Israel renamed one of the
primary thoroughfares in its capital, Jerusalems Yaffo Road, to New York
Avenue! ...This, as Arabs surrounding Israel are celebrating in the
streets, firing guns in the air and passing out candy -- not to mention
threatening the lives of any reporters who videotaped the partying to show
the world!
And when was the last time you heard of a suicide bomber or airplane
hijacker named Cohen, Levy or Goldberg? I dont think ever! Look where these
criminals who slammed filled commercial airliners into the World Trade Center
and Pentagon came from! And in which language were their instruction
manuals written -- certainly not Hebrew! In Arabic!
According to at least one Israeli news source, Israeli intelligence,
reputed to be the most sophisticated and best-networked anywhere, reportedly
warned the U.S. of this kind of a terror attack three weeks before it
happened and the U.S. discounted it! The U.S., apparently, was afraid of
harming its interests in the Arab world by communicating with Israeli
intelligence!
I hope this clarifies some of the confusion about the Middle East.
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