Mei HaShiloach, Volume I, Deuteronomy, Eikev/מי השלוח·חלק א·ספר דברים·עקב

1“And it will be, on account of your understanding these judgments [and keep them, and do them, and Hashem Your God will keep the covenant and the loving-kindness which He promised to your forefathers].” (Devarim, 7:12)“And it will be” is always a term denoting simcha (joy), as it is said in the Midrash (Bereshit Rabba 42:4). The verse says ekev, meaning both “because of” and “heel”—and thus signifies “the end.” This is in order to show that in the future God will reveal to each soul in Israel the understanding that no statute or law in the Torah, no matter how inscrutable, was without meaning. At present, all the difficulties that Israel suffers over the fulfillment of mitzvot are due to an inability to understand the depth of the good contained in the mitzvot. It appears to them that these statutes are without meaning, and therefore they suffer from them. Yet when it becomes perfectly clear that everything was done in justice for the benefit of Israel and was not without meaning, “then our mouths will be filled with laughter,” (Tehilim, 126:2) and we will rejoice.

2“And it will be, on account of .…” (Devarim, 7:12)It is said in the Midrash (Devarim Rabba, 3:1), “What is the law for a man of Israel who has a lamp that separates into parts, may he carry it on Shabbat? Our rabbis taught that if he assembles it he is liable for the prohibition of building on Shabbat.” What is the point of teaching this law precisely here (at the beginning of the Midrash on Parshat Ekev)? Carrying such a lamp was prohibited on Shabbat from the suspicion of building, for even if the branches were joined together quite loosely they feared that they might tighten through the very motion of carrying, and he would thus be building. Since there was no precise measurement given as to how much one would have to build to be liable for building, even the smallest amount was forbidden, and with this it is impossible to be precise. Consequently one may, God forbid, accuse God of being tyrannical with His creation, giving mitzvot that are impossible for them to perform.Therefore the Midrash follows immediately with, “How did Israel keep the Shabbat when it was first given to them in Alush, where it says, ‘and the nation rested on the seventh day’ (Shemot, 16:30)? Perhaps they would say that for your detriment was Shabbat given to you, when it was only given for your good.”This was in order to show that even the fulfillment of the mitzvot is in the hands of God, for He gives man the power that he needs to fulfill them. In the frail mortal intellect it is impossible to understand how Israel kept the first Shabbat in all its details, to which they were completely unaccustomed to (as they were immersed in slavery), immediately, the first time. All of Israel did not transgress even the minutiae of Shabbat, and the verse testifies to this. In this is proof that God completes us and prepares all of our actions for our welfare. This is, “And it will be, because you surely hearkened …” (ekev, meaning both “because” and “heel” thus signifying the end), because at the end God sees that all of Israel went after His holy will.

5“Guard yourselves, lest you forget Hashem your God to not keep His mitzvot … lest you eat and are satisfied and build good houses … and you say in your heart, ‘my power and the strength of my hand has made for me this wealth.’ And you shall remember Hashem your God for He is the one who gives you power .…” (Devarim, 8:11–18)In Parshat Va’etchanan it says the opposite. There it said, “and it shall be when He shall bring you … to give you great and good cities which you have not built, vineyards which you did not plant … guard yourselves lest you forget … fear Hashem your God, serve Him,” etc. (Devarim, 6:10–13). There it teaches of a time when one sees that God grantes him goodness, and it appears to him that all this God-given abundance will come to him without any effort. Then, lest he think that he does not have to serve or fear God, it says, “fear Hashem your God and serve Him” (Devarim, 6:13). But here it is the opposite, for when one builds houses, plants fields, and succeeds, it may seem to him that his own power and strength effected this. Therefore it says, “and you shall remember Hashem your God for He is the one who gives you power,” for without God’s will the actions of man are nothing. This is also the case with great situations when God gives abundance to man without his effort and it seems that he does not need the service of God. Concerning this it said, “fear Hashem your God,” for God does not give for free. He will only bestow it upon you for the prayer and service within you, and will give to you according to this.And if one says that he will serve God by himself based on his own power, without the assistance of God, for this it says, “remember Hashem your God for He is the one giving you strength.” This means that all the power we have for prayer and avodat Hashem (service of the Divine) is coming from God, as it is written (Tehilim, 10:17), “You prepare their heart, You will incline Your ear.” For surely God has arranged the mitzvah for you without your own awareness, and “one mitzvah draws another mitzvah” (Pirkei Avot, 4:2). By means of this the power for avodah (Divine service) exists permanently within your heart. Since this avodah has been fixed in your heart He will bestow goodness upon you.

6“You shall not say, when Hashem your God casts them out before you, that because of my own righteousness He let me inherit this land, rather because of the wickedness of these nations does He drive them out from before you.” (Devarim, 9:4)At the beginning of this statement it seems as if it is also not because of the evil of the nations that He is giving you the land, but at the end it says, “because of the wickedness of the nations.” Truly God has chosen Israel even regardless of their actions. This is as it is written (Malachi, 1:2), “is not Eisav a brother to Yaakov1? Yet I love (only) Yaakov.” Also in Egypt there were accusations pointed at Israel. This is as it is written in the Midrash (Vayikra Rabba, 21:4), “The angels of the nations of the world came to accuse against Israel before the Holy One, blessed be He, saying, ‘Master of the Universe, these are idolaters and these are idolaters, these are promiscuous and these are promiscuous, these are murderers and these are murderers!’” Nonetheless, God chose Israel because at their depths and at their roots they are a portion of God from on high, as it is written (Devarim, 32:9), “His people are a portion of God.”One could assert that when God commanded us to eradicate the seven nations that He was telling us to act with rampant cruelty, God forbid. But we also see that the Holy One, blessed be He, hates the nations precisely because of their cruelty. From this matter it is seen that what is evil among the nations becomes good with Israel, for God testifies that it is all done from His will. This is the explanation of “for because of the wickedness of the nations” (Devarim, 9:5). Because of this very matter, that with Me they are called evil and doers of evil, in this itself you are called ones who do My will. This is proof that it is not for your righteousness, and not even for the wickedness of the nations, that God brings you into the land. Rather, He desires you regardless of any behavioral criteria. Even though you act as they do, God still desires you. Therefore, “for the wickedness of the nation” is a term denoting “for this reason, because of.” From this we understand that purely because you are His portion will God agree to all that you do, and it will be good in His sight.

7“And now, Israel, what does Hashem your God ask of you but to fear Hashem your God, to go in His ways, and to serve Hashem your God with all your heart and all your soul.” (Devarim, 10:12)It is written in the Gemara (Berachot, 33b), “Is the fear of God a small thing? Yes, for Moshe the fear of God is a small thing. It is as if someone is asked for a great object, if he has it, it seems to him like a small object. If he is asked for a small object, and he does not have it, it seems to him like a great object.” The words of the Gemara are not clear. Why would the fear of God be compared to a small or great object? Yet truly, the fear of God is likened to bread that gives life to man. So when one is described as being poor, you would say that he does not even have a loaf of bread. But if you describe a rich man, you don’t talk about bread, for that is something that everyone needs; rather, you describe how he has all kinds of precious and rare objects that most people do not have. This is what the Gemara means when it says, “a great object, and it seems to him like a small object.” In describing the man who is complete in all ways, you do not describe his fear of God, because this is the very first level that one must reach. This is as it is written (Tehilim, 111:10), “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God.” Yet when you describe a man who is wholly incomplete, you say that he does not even have the fear of God, and then it seems to him like a great object. For this is the principle (for spiritual completeness), as bread is the principle that sustains the life of man.

10“Everywhere your foot shall walk upon is yours .…” (Devarim, 11:24)Everywhere one can receive good without being stubborn. You walk upon it from above (pondering on how it is regarded from on High,) and consider whether or not it is God’s will. If you find that you cannot easily abandon it, then God will clearly give it to you as an inheritance. This is as we have explained with the signs of pure animals and birds in Parshat Shmini.