B"H
Tuesday, Menachem Av 14, 5786 / July 28, 2026
This week’s Parsha, Eikev, begins, “Vehaya Eikev Tishmeun… “And it will be, because you will heed these ordinances and keep and perform them, that the L-rd, your G-d, will keep for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your soil, your grain, your wine, and your oil, the offspring of your cattle and the choice of your flocks, in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you. “
“You shall be blessed above all peoples: There will be no sterile male or barren female among you or among your livestock. And the L-rd will remove from you all illness, and all of the evil diseases of Egypt which you knew, He will not set upon you, but He will lay them upon all your enemies.”
The word Eikev which in this context means because, also means “heel.”
Our sages wonder why the Torah uses the word, Eikev, instead of a more common Hebrew word for because. They explain that the Torah teaches us here a very important lesson. Of the many mitzvot in the Torah there are mitzvot which seem very important in our eyes. Then there are mitzvot which don’t seem so important in the human mind. A person may consider them in the category of Eikev – heel. As our sages express this point, “Mitzvot which a person steps over them with their heel.”
The Torah tells us that a person should be very careful with these mitzvot and the reward for these mitzvot are great. All the mitzvot are from G-d and thus, we should be careful with every mitzvah.
Our sages in Pirkei Avot say, “Be as careful with a seemingly insignificant mitzvah, as with a seemingly important mitzvah, for we do not know the reward for the individual mitzvah.
The Talmud tells the following story: Yosef, the son of Rabbi Yehoshua, had a near-death experience. When he came to himself, his father, Rabbi Yehoshua asked him: “What did you see on the other side?”
He answered: “I saw a world turned upside down, where the poor were rich, and the rich were poor.”
His father answered: “You actually saw a world turned right way up.”
What we see here may not be what is seen from above. The mitzvot which may seem insignificant down here, may be very significant above. The Torah reminds us that we should regard every mitzvah as important. Why did G-d make it seem insignificant? It’s all part of the test. Sometimes, the struggle to perform these mitzvot are greater than the one’s which seem very important. Thus, the reward for these mitzvot may be even greater.
Said the Rebbe of Kotzk: “The heel which is the end of the human body is also a reference to the end of time. Thus, the Torah tells us that, “In the end we will all listen and observe G-d’s mitzvot, for we will realize that there are no other values in life as important as the word of G-d.”
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY