* TORAH WEEKLY * Highlights of the Weekly Torah Portion Parshat Eikev For the week ending 18 Av 5760 / 18 & 19 August 2000 ===================================== OVERVIEW If Bnei Yisrael carefully observe even those "minor" mitzvot that are usually "trampled" underfoot, Moshe promises them that they will be the most blessed of the nations of earth. Moshe tells Bnei Yisrael that they will conquer Eretz Canaan little by little, so that the land will not be overrun by wild animals in the hiatus before Bnei Yisrael are able to organize and settle the whole land. After again warning Bnei Yisrael to burn all carved idols of Canaanite gods, Moshe stresses that the Torah is indivisible and not open to partial observance. Moshe describes the Land of Israel as a land of wheat, barley, grapes, figs, and pomegranates, a land of oil-yielding olives and date-honey. Moshe cautions Bnei Yisrael not to become haughty and think that their success in Eretz Yisrael is a result of their own powers or vigor; rather, it was Hashem who gave them wealth and success. Nor did Hashem drive out the Canaanites because of Bnei Yisrael's righteousness, but rather because of the sins of the Canaanites; for the road from Sinai had been a catalogue of large and small sins and rebellions against Hashem and Moshe. Moshe details the events after Hashem spoke the 10 Commandments at Sinai, culminating in his bringing down the second set of Tablets on Yom Kippur. Aharon's passing is recorded as is the elevation of the levi'im to Hashem's ministers. Moshe points out that the 70 souls who went down to Egypt have now become like the stars of the heaven in abundance. After specifying the great virtues of the Land of Israel, Moshe speaks the second paragraph of the Shema, conceptualizing the blessings that accompany keeping mitzvot and the curse that results from non- observance. ================================ INSIGHTS THE SECRET INGREDIENT "For Man does not live on bread alone, rather on all that comes from the mouth of Hashem man lives" (8:3). How is it possible for the soul whose very essence is spiritual to be sustained by something as physical as food? In reality, the universe exists only as a result of the power of Hashem's original utterance at the time of Creation (as it says in Psalms, "By the word of Hashem, the heavens were created..."). It is this same power of Hashem's word wrapped inside the food which nourishes the soul. When a Jew takes an apple and says a blessing on it, he awakens the latent spiritual power implanted in the fruit at the time of the Creation of the world. This is the real soul-food! * Adapted from The Arizal ================================ HAFTARA: Yeshaya 40:1 -- 26 Yeshaya 49:14 - 51:3 TO THE LIGHTHOUSE No matter how far the Jewish people fall from favor, they can never lose their status as Hashem's Chosen People. That is the underlying theme of Parshat Eikev and its haftara. This is the second of the seven Parshiot of consolation after Tisha B'Av. This haftara is the source of the famous phrase "light unto the nations." Yeshaya tells the Jewish People that despite the terrible tragedies and hardships of exile, he does not despair -- he knows that the end of the exile is coming. And so he pleads with his contemporaries and all of their offspring throughout all the generations to remember that they are the children of Avraham and Sarah, and that Hashem will surely comfort them. ================================ If you like this e-mail please share it with a friend. ================================ Do you know about ALL of Ohr Somayach's e-mail lists? Ohrnet, Torah Weekly, Parsha Q&A, Ask the Rabbi, The Weekly Daf, Seasons of the Moon, OS-Special, Judaismo, Judaismo-p, Light Lines, Ohrnews, Simcha, OS-Alum, Torah and Nature. To subscribe, write to info@ohr.org.il ================================ If you want to unsubscribe from this list, send the message: unsubscribe weekly to: listproc@vjlists.com ================================ Dedication opportunities are available for Torah Weekly. Please contact us for details. ================================ Written and Compiled by Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman Production Design: Michael Treblow ================================ Ohr Somayach International 22 Shimon Hatzadik Street, POB 18103 Jerusalem 91180, Israel Tel: 972-2-581-0315 Fax: 972-2-581-2890 E-Mail: info@ohr.org.il Home Page: http://www.ohr.org.il ================================ (C) 2000 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved. This publication may be distributed to another person intact without prior permission. We also encourage you to include this material in other publications, such as synagogue newsletters. However, we ask that you contact us beforehand for permission, and then send us a sample issue.