Eikev
When do we fall into delusion?
Reflection by Ariel Yisraelah Hendelman:
"There is an old adage that every person secretly believes they created themselves. This week's Torah portion of Eikev comes as a salve to this unconscious delusion to which so many of us fall victim.
The entire book of Devarim is Moshe retelling our story back to us so that we might remember it, and thereby re-member ourselves collectively and individually. Moshe, as the Divine mouthpiece, tell us to:
וְזָכַרְתָּ֣ אֶת־כׇּל־הַדֶּ֗רֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֨ר הוֹלִֽיכְךָ֜ יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ זֶ֛ה אַרְבָּעִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר׃
Remember the long way that your God YHVH has made you travel in the wilderness these past forty years... (8:2).
It's strange that just after emerging from 40 years of wandering, we should be told to remember it. That was a very significant time; how could we forget? Moshe goes on to warn us about what might happen when we actually enter the land of promise:
וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ בִּלְבָבֶ֑ךָ כֹּחִי֙ וְעֹ֣צֶם יָדִ֔י עָ֥שָׂה לִ֖י אֶת־הַחַ֥יִל הַזֶּֽה׃
And you say to yourselves, 'My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me.' (8:17).
Okay, so now we can understand what Moshe is driving at here. It's not that we'll forget everything that we've been through in the previous four books of the Torah, it's that we have this tendency, when we're out of really difficult times and not feeling so vulnerable anymore, to think that we saved ourselves.
We forget that we are always living in partnership with the One.
We remember this in our meditation practice. When we return again and again to the anchor of the breath that keeps us alive in all of its subtle, steady beauty, we see that it is not by our own strength or effort that the rhythm of our breath keeps us alive, or that our heart keeps beating. There is something larger and more mysterious going on here.
Our practice allows us to surrender to that truth, that we are blessedly not in control. The Jewish people, standing on the banks of the Jordan, ready to cross over to fulfill God’s promise, are not in control of that promise or when it will be fulfilled. Instead of falling into delusion, we can keep showing up to each moment with a loving and humble presence, asking: how can I be close to you? How can I be of service?
These questions too are promises."