INTRODUCTION: If You Need Something To Say At The Sabbath Table contains snippets from the weekly Torah portion. The goal of If you need something to say at the Sabbath Table is to bring more Torah to English speakers living in Israel and abroad.
For some who have recently immigrated to Israel, there may be the nagging sentiment of being in a foreign country. If you need something to say at the Sabbath Table is intended to do away with that sentiment, for you not to be a stranger in a strange land.
And for those living abroad, it is a means to come closer to the Divine.
If however you are living in the Land, you are already a step closer.
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EIKEV, DEVARIM 7:12 - 11:25
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In the opening verse of the Parshah, what does “EIKEV” mean? How is it translated?
Here are some choices:
- · Because
- · If you follow
- · As a consequence
- · In the end
- As a reward
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The second word in the Parshah is עֵקֶב. This word is sometimes translated as “because”.
וְהָיָה | עֵקֶב תִּשְׁמְעוּן אֵת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים הָאֵלֶּה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם וְשָׁמַר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְךָ אֶת הַבְּרִית וְאֶת הַחֶסֶד אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ
“And it will be, because you will heed these ordinances and keep them and perform, that the Lord, your God, will keep for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers”.
עֵקֶב is used in the context of the benefit that accrues to one who listens and obeys what Hashem has to say.
In Parshat Bereishis at 26:55 עֵקֶב is used in a similar vein as our Parshah, when Isaac is addressed by Hashem:
עֵקֶב אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַע אַבְרָהָם בְּקֹלִי וַיִּשְׁמֹר מִשְׁמַרְתִּי מִצְוֹתַי חֻקּוֹתַי וְתוֹרֹתָי
“Because Abraham hearkened to My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My instructions."
Something to think about:
Translating עֵקֶב as "in the end" changes the meaning of both examples. In the first example we begin to think of the end of days and its connotations. In the second example we get the appearance that at first Abraham did not do what he was supposed to do.
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Parshat Eikev, 7:12-15, begins:
“And it will be, because you will heed these ordinances and keep them and perform, that the Lord, your God, will keep for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers”.
These are the results if we do as directed:
13. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you…
14. You shall be blessed above all peoples…
15. And the Lord will remove from you all illness…
These are physical rewards. But having physical rewards enables us to reach higher and have lofty asperations.
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These are the lyrics to the song "Because".
It is reminiscent of the Parshah:
Because,
you come to me
With
naught save love
And
hold my hand and lift mine eyes above
A
wider world of hope and joy I see
Because you come to me
Because
you speak to me in accent sweet
I
find the roses waking 'round my feet
And
I am led through tears and joy to thee
Because
you speak to me
Because God made thee mine
I'll cherish thee
Through light and darkness through all time to be
And pray His love may make our love divine
Because God made thee mine
Perry Como does a good job:
https://youtu.be/ZN5QyIkbf8U
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Anonymous, from a library in Fulda, Germany, 1350-1375
Devarim 8:3
וַיְעַנְּךָ, וַיַּרְעִבֶךָ, וַיַּאֲכִלְךָ אֶת-הַמָּן אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יָדַעְתָּ, וְלֹא יָדְעוּן אֲבֹתֶיךָ: לְמַעַן הוֹדִיעֲךָ, כִּי לֹא עַל-הַלֶּחֶם לְבַדּוֹ יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם--כִּי עַל-כָּל-מוֹצָא פִי-יְהוָה, יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם.
"And He afflicted you and let you go hungry, and then fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your forefathers know, so that He would make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but rather by, whatever comes forth from the mouth of the Lord does man live".
In Parashat Eikev, Moshe describes the gift of Manna as a hardship. Why?
It seems strange to us that the gift of Manna would be treated so suspiciously. A free, endless, nutritious supply of food. No worries about starving. No effort needed to attain one’s daily portion, no need to cook it. It sounds like – well, manna from heaven.
Possible Answer: “Man does not live by bread alone”.
Manna is not enough.
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DESCRIPTION OF ISRAEL
8:7
כִּ֚י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ מְבִֽיאֲךָ֖ אֶל־אֶ֣רֶץ טוֹבָ֑ה אֶ֚רֶץ נַ֣חֲלֵי מָ֔יִם עֲיָנֹת֙ וּתְהֹמֹ֔ת יֹֽצְאִ֥ים בַּבִּקְעָ֖ה וּבָהָֽר:
“For the Lord your God is bringing you to a good land, a land with brooks of water, fountains and depths, that emerge in valleys and mountains,”
Living in the Land, I can vouch for that.
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8:8
אֶ֤רֶץ חִטָּה֙ וּשְׂעֹרָ֔ה וְגֶ֥פֶן וּתְאֵנָ֖ה וְרִמּ֑וֹן אֶֽרֶץ־זֵ֥ית שֶׁ֖מֶן וּדְבָֽשׁ:
“a land of wheat and barley, vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of oil producing olives and honey,”
Israel is a land of wheat, barley, grapes, figs, dates and pomegranates, a land of oil-producing olives. These grains and fruits are called the "Seven Species".
The Seven Species are traditionally eaten on Tu Bishvat, the Jewish "New Year for Trees", on Sukkot, the "Festival of Booths", and on Shavuot, the "Festival of Weeks". In Halakha, they are considered more important than other foods, and a special blessing is recited after eating them. Additionally, the blessing prior to eating them precedes those of other food items, except for bread.
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Iron Meteorite
8:9
אֶ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹ֤א בְמִסְכֵּנֻת֙ תֹּֽאכַל־בָּ֣הּ לֶ֔חֶם לֹֽא־תֶחְסַ֥ר כֹּ֖ל בָּ֑הּ אֶ֚רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֲבָנֶ֣יהָ בַרְזֶ֔ל וּמֵֽהֲרָרֶ֖יהָ תַּחְצֹ֥ב נְחֽשֶׁת:
“a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, you will lack nothing in it, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose mountains you will hew copper”.
Consider extracting some additional meaning from this week’s Parshat Eikev:
I am interested in particular in Devarim 8:9 because most of my working life I was employed in the mining industry.
The verse in question says: “a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, you will lack nothing in it, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose mountains you will quarry copper”.
At the time when Moses speaks these words, we are at the very end of the Bronze Age. If 40 years before, the Pharaoh had used iron chariots to pursue the Israelites, the text would have said so. More conclusively, in the Book of Joshua (17:16), less than 14 years into the future, the Tribe of Ephraim and the half Tribe of Menashe approach Joshua who is responsible for dividing up the Land. They ask for more land because they are not able to go up against the Canaanites who dwell in the valleys because the Canaanites have iron chariots. At this juncture we have passed from the Bronze Age into the Iron Age in less than 14 years’ time.
Devarim 8:9 it speaks about stones of iron. This reference does not describe iron ore, but describes iron that is found in meteorites, a rare an extremely valuable commodity. There is no iron ore in Israel, and even if there was, the technology for locally smelting iron was not existent. Iron meteorites are generally composed of iron and nickel, and do not require smelting.
Then there is the giant Og who was not known for a throne of gold, but for a bed of iron which most certainly was of meteorite origin (Devarim 3:11).
I think there is an extra biblical source for closing in on the date when Moses is speaking: The Bronze Age Pharaoh, Tutankhamen, the boy king of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, ruled from about 1333 to 1323 BCE. An elaborate dagger whose origin is also from meteorites is found in his tomb along with other precious objects.
My hypothesis is that King Tut’s dagger, Og’s iron bed, the iron stones of Devarim 8:9 mark the upper end of the Bronze Age, followed by the Age of Iron as evidenced by the Canaanite iron chariots.
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8:10
וְאָֽכַלְתָּ֖ וְשָׂבָ֑עְתָּ וּבֵֽרַכְתָּ֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ עַל־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַטֹּבָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָֽתַן־לָֽךְ:
“And you will eat and be sated, and you shall bless the Lord, your God, for the good land He has given you”.
Based on this verse it is a mitzvah that following a meal which includes at least an olive sized piece of bread to thank Hashem for our food with a series of blessings. They are called “Birchas Hamazon”.
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At 9:5, Hashem reminds us through Moshe not to be self-righteous:
לֹ֣א בְצִדְקָֽתְךָ֗ וּבְי֨שֶׁר֙ לְבָ֣בְךָ֔ אַתָּ֥ה בָ֖א לָרֶ֣שֶׁת אֶת־אַרְצָ֑ם כִּ֞י בְּרִשְׁעַ֣ת | הַגּוֹיִ֣ם
“Not because of your righteousness or because of the honesty of your heart, do you come to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations,”
I would call this relativism: we’re only in the Land because the other nations are a lot worse then we are which makes us the best of a bad lot.
Relativism is the doctrine that knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation to culture, society, or historical context, and are not absolute (as per Google)..
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The opening sentence of the Amidah prayer quotes Moses's characterization of God in Deuteronomy 10:17
as “the great mighty and awesome ….”
The Passover Haggadah, in the Magid section of the Seder, quotes Deuteronomy 10:22.
With seventy souls, Your forefathers descended to Egypt, and now the Lord, your God, has made you as the stars of heaven in abundance.
Deuteronomy 11:13–21 is the second of three blocks of verses in the Shema, we combine Deuteronomy 6:4–9, Deuteronomy 11:13–21, and Numbers 15:37–41 to form the core of K'riat Shema, recited in the evening (מעריב, Ma'ariv) and morning (שַחֲרִת, Shacharit) prayer services.
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At 10:18-19 we learn about the גֵּ֔ר, the convert or possibly the foreigner or stranger and the treatment of them:
עֹשֶׂה מִשְׁפַּט יָתוֹם, וְאַלְמָנָה; וְאֹהֵב גֵּר, לָתֶת לוֹ לֶחֶם וְשִׂמְלָה
“He executes the judgment of the orphan and widow, and He loves the convert, to give him bread and clothing”.
וַאֲהַבְתֶּם, אֶת-הַגֵּר: כִּי-גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם, בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם.
“You shall love the foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt”.
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