Ekev (Because) Deut 7-11
Torah Portion: Ekev (Because) D’Varim (Deuteronomy) 7:12-11:25
HafTorah: Isaiah 49:14-51:3
This week we read a Torah portion that contains many spiritual lessons like the second paragraph of the Shema as well as Moshe’s speech about what G-d expects of the people when they cross over into the Land.
One glaring difference is in the personal pronoun used mainly in this portion as compared to last week. For example, the first part of the Shema from last week’s portion was written with the singular pronoun, “you.” This week we read the second paragraph and see it written with the plural pronoun, “you.” I would like us to explore this and see what it might say to us spiritually. This is especially important given what happened in Israel this past week and what is going on in our country and communities each day. Deut. 7:12-13 is an example of this, when Israel as a nation kept G-d’s Torah He would bless them and multiply them.