parshat Ekev

"...In his commentary on the Mishna, Maimonides attributes equal weight to the study of Hebrew and to the joy we must feel on the Festivals - and even to the mitzvah of circumcision..."

Our Sedra is famously known as "Parshat Eretz Yisrael." While virtually every Sedra in the Torah stresses the centrality of Israel, Ekev makes it crystal clear that G-d, Torah & Eretz Yisrael form the 3-legged stool upon which the Jewish People eternally rests.

I mistakenly recited al hamichyah, when I was required to bensch. Am I now required to bensch?

“If only you would listen to these laws …” (Deut. 7:12). These words with which our Parsha begins contain a verb that is a fundamental motif of the book of Devarim. In fact, this verb appears no less than 92 times in Devarim as a whole.

In this week's portion, the Torah indicates that there is a simple formula for Jewish life. If we follow the commandments of God and observe the laws of the Torah, the Jewish people will be showered with blessings.

Moshe asked: "What does Hashem ask from you but to fear Him?" The Gemara points out that unlike for most people, this was a trivial task for Moshe. Actually, the purpose of the giving of the Torah is fear of Hashem.

A look at commentaries on the second paragraph of the Shema found in this week's Torah reading Ekev to discover that Mitzvot (commandments) mean more when they are performed in the Land of Israel.