Eikev
Are we on the "heels" of better times?
Reflection by Ariel Dominique Hendelman, the Or HaLev Team
"The Torah Portion of Eikev, which literally means `heel,` describes a list of proscriptions & promises to Am YIsrael as they prepare to enter into the land of Israel. The Infinite One reminds them of the miracles they experienced during their time of wandering in the midbar -- `The clothes upon you did not wear out, nor did your feet swell these forty years` (Deut 8:4). Am Yisrael is encouraged to keep the commandments, `For your God יהוה is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams and springs and fountains issuing from plain and hill; a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey...When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to your God יהוה for the good land given to you` (8:7-10).
There are two main threads being interwoven here - trust that the long & winding journey, sometimes arduous & sometimes miraculous, has been leading up to this point here & now; & that this point is where the Creator brings us somewhere not only good, but better than anything we have ever experienced before. There is a subtle warning in there as well -- don't forget Who sent you to this land of your wildest dreams once you get there & are enjoying it. Remember always to walk humbly & give thanks.
Our sages teach that the opening phrase of this portion, `Eikev tishmaon` — `It shall come to pass when you heed....` alludes to our present era, the time when Moshiach’s approaching footsteps can be heard.
But this does not necessarily mean that Moshiach is a particular person, someone coming to save us. Rather that the time we are living in is right on the verge of a collective higher consciousness that will subsume the earth like the waters of the sea. The heel, the toughest part of the foot, is essential for walking upright. These times we are living in are tough, yet perhaps that signifies that we are on the heels of a consciousness rising that will have all of us remembering the bounty of the earth & not taking it for granted; that will have every single creature living a life free from suffering, & knowing their essential connection in the wholeness of creation. May we merit to see the land with new eyes, with good eyes, & may we remember that we are its sacred stewards."