Parshas Eikev
Choices and Miracles
Even though Moshe in his review of the life of the Jewish people in the
desert of Sinai over the past forty years recounts all of the miracles
that occurred, he does so not for the purpose of narrative but rather to
teach an important moral lesson for all ages. That stark lesson is that
after all of the miracles that God may perform on our behalf, our fate is
in great measure in our hands. And the lesson of all of Jewish history is
summed up in the verse “For not by bread alone – even miraculous bread
such as the manna – shall humans live, but rather by the word of God, so
to speak, - the values, commandments and strictures of Torah shall Jews
live.”
All attempts to avoid this lesson, to substitute other words, ideas and
ideologies for the words of Torah have turned into dismal failures. But
reliance upon miracles is just as dangerous a path. My teachers in the
yeshiva would say to us, then pious young men, that prayer helps one to
become a scholar in Torah. But they emphasized that sitting and studying
Torah for a protracted time with concentration and effort may help even
more in the quest for true Torah scholarship. Moshe uses the constant
miracles of the desert to drive home the point that much of the
responsibilities of life are in our hands and our decision making
processes. In essence the clear conclusion from his oration is that God
helps those who help themselves.
In our post–Tisha B’Av mood and run-up to Elul and the High Holy Days it
is important to remember how much of our fate truly lies in our own
actions. The small choices that we make in our everyday lives add up to
our life’s achievements and accomplishments. That is what Rashi means when
he states that “these are the commandments that one grinds under with
one’s heel – ekev!” The small things that we think to be unimportant at
the moment often translate into major decisions and sometimes even have
irreversible consequences. The question always before us is do our actions
measure up to the standards of God’s word, so to speak. We live not “by
bread alone” or by miracles alone, but by our own choices and our very own
behavior and deeds.
While recently driving on a New York City highway – an exercise in
patience and utter futility – I missed the exit that I was supposed to
turn off on. Miles and a quarter of an hour later I was able somehow to
retrace my journey and exit at the proper place. I felt that it was a
miracle that I was able to do so. It was, in fact, my negligence of not
exiting correctly from the highway originally that forced the necessity of
of this “miracle.” Moshe teaches us that this is truly a daily occurrence
in our lives. His message to us is as clear and cogent today as it was to
our forbearers in the desert of Sinai long ago.
Shabat shalom.
Rabbi Berel Wein
Rabbi Berel Wein- Jewish historian, author and international lecturer offers a complete selection of CDs, audio tapes, video tapes, DVDs, and books on Jewish history at www.rabbiwein.com
Text Copyright © 2007 by Rabbi Berel Wein and Torah.org
Visit www.rabbiwein.com for a complete selection of Rabbi Wein's books and tapes.
