High Heels
Reaching the 100 mark from 99 can be more dramatic than reaching from 1 to 99!
Why was Moses Denied?
This week’s parsha continues Moses’ final words to the Jewish nation in which he recounts the events of the past and prepares them for their eventual entry into the land; entry that he was denied, as recounted in last week’s parsha..
When reading these dramatic words, about the eventual conquest and settlement of Israel by the Israelites then and by their descendants in the future, one cannot help asking the questions, why and how? Why was Moses, the greatest person in history— despite the “sins” that are attributed to him —denied the opportunity to enter into the Promised Land? And how are we—who in comparison to Moses are so apparently insignificant—worthy of achieving that which was denied Moses?
The Answer: Ekev
The answer to these questions is actually provided for in the very title of this week’s parsha —Ekev. The opening verse reads:
“And it will come to pass, that because [Ekev] you will listen to these judgments and you will guard them and observe them, that G-d, your G-d, will keep His covenant, kindness that He swore to your fathers…and He will bless you on the land that He swore to your fathers to give you.”
The choice of Ekev to mean “because” is problematic, at first glance. There are many other words in Hebrew to denote the word because. Furthermore, the text could have simply stated: “If (or when) you will listen etc.”
Some commentators translate the word Ekev here as “in the end,” meaning that in the end—before the coming of Moshiach—you will listen. However, it could have used more common words for “the end,” such as Miketz.
A third interpretation is based on the translation of the word Ekev as a heel. Thus the Torah says: When your awareness of, and commitment to G-d, permeates your entire being, until it reaches your very heel, then G- d will keep His promise.
Intertwining Translations
How do we combine all of these translations/interpretations of the word Ekev? a-”Because”; b-”In the end of days”; c-”When your devotion reaches the heel”?
Instead of looking at history as a conglomeration of loosely connected events, the Torah views all of history as one organic unit that consists of a head, heart and all the organs—vital and otherwise—of a body, down to the lowly heel.
Kabbalah (See Tanya Chapter two) teaches us that the Patriarchs, Moses and the other progenitors of the Jewish people were the heads of all subsequent generations. Other great leaders paralleled the heart and other vital organs of the body, without which we could have not survived as a vibrant nation, with a mission and purpose.
These greats, from Abraham and Moses, through Kings David and Solomon, the Prophets and Talmudic Sages, were the heads, hearts and nerve centers of the Jewish continuum of history.
By contrast, the most recent generations including our own, represent the tail-end of history, its “heel.”
Most Important Mission
And while it may seem that by designating our generation as a “heel” in comparison with the earlier ones, we are denigrating our generation and its accomplishments, Kabbalah teaches us that the opposite is the truth.
Our mission is by far the most important one, because our mission is to complete the journey of history and make the cosmic body complete. Our responsibility is to instill G-dly awareness into the entirety of our beings until it reaches the lowest aspects of our historical and national “anatomy”—our “heels.” Reaching this “modest” goal brings about the end of days, the coming of Moshiach and the final Redemption.
Each “organ” of the “body” of history was charged with the responsibility of making that particular organ function to its full capacity. In addition, the “head” and “heart” generations were not only responsible for their own welfare, but they were also responsible for directing, inspiring and energizing future generations. Without a healthy head and heart, the rest of the body including the heel cannot function well.
Moreover, the cumulative energy generated by our forebears never dissipated, but continues to be a source of inspiration and spiritual energy for us. Our ability to make the “heel” of history a holy heel, we get from the successful effects our ancestors had on the “head” and “heart” of history.
Why weren’t You Zushe?”
Our generation, however, was not asked to act and be like a brain. Instead, we are asked to fulfill our mission as healthy “heels.” As Rabbi Zushe, the famed Chasidic master, exclaimed that he was not concerned that he will be taken to task in the next world for not being like Moses, for he was not Moses. He was concerned that they will ask him why he was not Zushe, and for that he had no adequate reply.
We are Unique!
We can now understand the connection between all the different interpretations and translations of the world Ekev. Why is it that G-d will keep His covenant with us? What makes us unique? It is because we are at the end of the continuum of history. We are the “heels” of creation and our task is to complete that which was prepared for us in the past. On a scale from 1 to a 100, Moses and our other forebears reached the number 99. Our task is to reach the 100 mark by extending their influence to the heels.
We are not expected to scale the greatest heights. We are asked to find ways of making even the quotidian aspects of life holy. Using modern technology to teach Torah and its timeless values is one way we bring G-d down to the heel. But, more generally, we distinguish ourselves, because despite the way we might have been downtrodden and reduced to a “heel” in the physical sense, we still remain faithful to G-d. And despite the many assaults that were launched against Judaism and morality to the point that our spiritual level is that of a heel, we still have not lost our connection to Torah. This is bringing G-d down to the heel.
Moses may have been denied entry then, because Moses was a head without its heel. In our generation, Moses will be granted entry into the Promised Land, vicariously, through his influence on us, the “heel” generation. And according to the Midrash, Moses will personally return to lead his generation—the generation that perished in the desert—into the Promised Land.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Ekev by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
