Kevin Bemel ·
The Reason You Have to Work for What You Deserve
Parsha Nugget Eikev – Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25
Often I use the metaphor of G-d as our heavenly parent. And like every good parent there are things He gives us simply because we're his children. But since the Almighty is omnipotent, it seems like He could be much more generous. Parshas Eikev explains why life entails so much hardship and toil:
“The Lord your G-d will safeguard for you the covenant and kindness that He swore to your forefathers.” (Deuteronomy/Devarim 7:12)
In this week’s parsha Moses talks about the reward the Children of Israel will reap if they stay true to the mitzvahs (usually translated commandments). He warns them against being seduced by prosperity and reminds them of their history.
The above verse says iG-d rewards us because we are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This makes sense when eikev translates as “because” or “when.” However, eikev can also mean "heel." Often people don't care about what seems to be unimportant things G-d wants them to do. They tread upon them with their heel. In that sense, the same verse says G-d rewards us for our behavior.
Which is it? Do we receive the Almighty’s protection and favor as offspring of our forefathers or because we earn it? Put another way, does G-d have a choice how He rewards us?
To be sure, the Creator bestows His bounty either because our behavior merits it or through fulfillment of the covenant with our forefathers. He can also do so as an undeserved act of pure kindness. But it seems that the covenant negates the other two, requiring G-d to show us favor.
Indeed because of the covenant, G-d protects us even when we are unworthy. But at times He does not need to do so because our conduct, performing even those mitzvahs that are sometimes treated lightly, merits His guardianship.
People Most Enjoy What They Work For
When we are given an undeserved reward we often feel guilty. G-d wants to spare us from shame. So, He decreed that benefits must be earned, even those we would otherwise receive by right according the covenant.
When we do earn it, G-d’s kindness makes His beneficence truly limitless, far exceeding what would be a just reward based on our merit. So it turns out that there are no “minor” acts for G-d. We must perform all of the Creator’s will, even those aspects that we usually relegate to our eikev/heel, in order to truly feel the satisfaction of earning the Almighty’s favor.
When have you felt G-d’s reward was justified or purely an act of kindness?
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Every year beginning on Simchas Torah, the cycle of reading the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, ends and begins again. Each Sabbath a portion known as a sedra or parsha is read. Its name comes from the first significant word or two with which this weekly reading begins.
Do you have a question about the Old Testament? Ask it here and I will answer it in a future Parsha Nugget!
