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D'var Torah by Brenda Ducloux - July, 2010
Parsha Eikev

Because

In this Parsha, Moses is about to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, after them being in the desert for 40 years. Moses proceeds to talk about some essential demands that God has made of them, to prepare them to lead a life amongst strangers. How to deal with idolatry, how living in accordance with God's will, Israel will reap many rewards. He reminds them of their repeated trespasses and how God wanted to abandon them but Moses interceded on their behalf and promised that they would keep the covenant. And a testament to this is that through the centuries we, the Jewish People have survived.

Cannot we draw a parallel to our lives in America, where we live amongst other peoples & have our commitment to God & to Judaism tested daily? To follow the Ten Commandments, seems like a simple straightforward way of living, a code of ethics & yet it is not always easy for us, as humans, to follow. Life, particularly in America, as Reform or Conservative Jews, presents many challenges. There are so many distractions, so much to choose from. so much to turn our focus away from what is important. Idolatry, in modern interpretation may not necessarily mean the worship of a different God or a graven image, but what drives our lives - have we put material acquisitions, the accumulation of wealth, (the golden calf) the id & the ego higher than the basic tenets of Judaism? Or are we committed to leading our lives with the purpose of bettering our family & the community in which we live. Just as the Israelites had choices they needed to make so do we, as modern Jews, have choices to make.

"Impress these words upon your very heart & let them serve as a sign on your hand & let them serve as a symbol on your forehead." Reform & Conservative Jews rarely put on tefillin, and yet when we say these words we think of them figuratively & we still say them because of what they represent to each of us individually.

How appropriate that Eikev is prior to Rosh Hashannah & Yom Kippur, when it gives us pause & allows us to reflect on how we have lived this past year, daily, weekly & monthly. How responsible have we been to the covenant between us & God?

We adhere to the basic tenet of Judaism, Hear O Israel Adonai is our God, Adonai is One. Shma Israel Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad.

What are our responsibilities to the covenant & to God?