The name of this Sidra has attracted the attention of our commentators because it is open to a number of interpretations. The most straightforward, and literal meaning of the word EKEV is ‘the impression we make in the sand with our steps as we walk”. Therefore, this sentence means ‘as consequence of your obedience’. Consequently, the best translation of the first verse is: “If you will obey these rules and observe them faithfully, the Lord your God will maintain for you the gracious covenant that he made with your fathers.” Nachmanides, however, suggests a less literal explanation. He says that, since the heel is at the very bottom of the human body, the name of the Sidra means ‘end’, just as Rosh, which is the head, means ‘the beginning’. In other words the first sentence means: “If you obey the rules, your end will be good”. In other Biblical passages EKEV means reward. The syntax for this meaning is not straightforward, but if we accept it, the first sentence would mean: “If you will listen to these rules and do them, the following wonderful blessings will be your reward.”
There are also a number of HOMILETICAL interpretations. Rashi suggests that the word EKEV alludes to rules and regulations that people tend to trample upon with their feet, i.e. treat them lightly or ignore them. In line with this explanation, Moses warns the people that all the commandments, customs and traditions deserve their utmost respect, and should not be disobeyed. This applies to us as well. We should not decide the relevance and respective importance of our many religious practices. Every law and custom has become hallowed by tradition and contributes to the richness of our lives.
The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic Movement, who lived between the years 1700 and 1760, follows Nachmanides’ interpretation. On the basis that the word EKEV means END, he explains the first sentence as conveying the teaching that we should consider, every mitzvah that we perform, as the last one in our lives. Therefore, we should regard it with the utmost importance and give it a most meticulous attention.
In the first part of the Sidra, Moses mentions the need to be grateful a number of times. He reminds the people not to take anything for granted. He tells them they should always remember how they suffered in the desert and that the Almighty gave them everything they needed; food, water, clothing and protection from dangerous creatures. At the conclusion of the first portion, he mentions one of the most celebrated Mitzvot in the Torah; the Mitzvah of reciting the Grace after Meals, after eating bread. The former Chief Rabbi of Israel, and now chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, writes that this is one of the commandments in the Jewish religion which we would have wanted to observe, even if it hadn’t been given to us in the Torah. We would have understood that it is essential and natural to express our thanks for the gifts of life and for God’s daily miracles.
In the climax of this part of his speech, Moses is emphatic when he declares: Don’t ever say to yourselves, ‘my own power and might of my own hand have won this wealth for me. Remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you the power to acquire wealth, in fulfilment of the covenant that he made on oath with your fathers, as is still the case’”.
In chapter 9 verse 7, Moses continues to give a most dramatic account of the People’s rebelliousness particularly at Mount Sinai, after the giving of the Torah. He mentions the terrible sin which they committed when they built the golden calf while he was on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights. In verse 20, he refers in particular, to the fact that, in His great anger, God was about to destroy Aaron, who had organised the building the calf. Moses affirms that it was his prayer on Aaron’s behalf, that had saved him.
The commentators are surprised that the reality about Aaron’s grave situation was not recorded in the first account of the sin of the Golden Calf, in the book of Exodus. At the time that it happened, Moses hadn’t wanted to emphasise Aaron’s role in the crime. He appreciated that Aaron had saved the people from an even greater betrayal and that as high priest, he had a very important function. However, at the time of this speech, Aaron had already died. It was now appropriate to mention again the great danger in which the entire nation had been, including Aaron himself.
Rashi explains that God’s threat to destroy Aaron referred to wiping out his four sons. As a result of Moses’ fervent prayer, Aaron’s two younger sons, Ele’azar and Itamar, were spared. Sadly, his two older sons, Nadav and Avihu were killed by fire, on the day of their induction into office. According to Rashi, we have to understand that the tragedy in Aaron’s family took place after the first account had been recorded. This is why it was not mentioned. Now, in his farewell speech, Moses was compelled to mention it. After all, it was one of the greatest tragedies that occurred during the forty-year journey through the desert.
Towards the end of the Sidra, Moses reiterates his hope that the Israelites would keep the Commandments and remain in the Promised Land for as long as the heavens remain above the earth. He emphasises that the Promised Land has a special need for God’s care and attention. Israel needs rain more than Egypt, where water is supplied by the Nile and whose distribution is dependent on human effort. In the land of Israel this is not the case. The only source of water is rain which depends entirely on God’s will to supply it. In one of the most beautiful biblical verses about the land of Israel, Moses sums up this thought: “It is a land which the Lord your God looks after, on which the Lord your God always keeps His eye, from the year’s beginning to year’s end.” Indeed, Israel’s dependence on rain is most striking because rain can only fall in a 40 to 60 day period, in a season which stretches from October to April. If it doesn’t fall in that time span, then it does not fall at all. This can cause grave economic damage, drought and famine. Indeed in ancient times Israel experienced famine quite frequently. It is for this reason that the prayer for rain on Shemini Atzeret is one of the most vital and important prayers of the year.