Meant To Be | Rabbi Stewart Weiss | Beit Midrash

Torah Portion and Tanach
Ekev

קטגוריה משנית

Call it kismet, Divine providence, fate or b'shert. We Jews do not believe in randomness. No, we are convinced that whatever happens in the universe happens by design, & not by chance. The toast is always going to fall on the buttered-side only. And if it doesn't? Well, that just means that we must have buttered the wrong side of the bread.

My Bar Mitzva parsha was scheduled to be parshat Pinchas. But, sadly, my Zayde passed away & my mother was in her 11th month of aveilut when I turned 13 & so our rav, David Lieberman zt"l (who would later become chief rabbi of Antwerp) advised the family to wait a month, so that festivities then could be held with no restrictions. As a result, I was Bar-Mitzvahed (yes, it's also a verb) on parshat Ekev, known widely as Parshat Eretz Yisrael. It was an early sign that I would have the z'chut to live in Israel, the only member of my immediate family to do so.

This Sedra is the key to understanding, appreciating & surviving the challenge of Aliya. A few insights:

"œV'Zacharta et kal ha-derech;" you shall remember all the road. Hashem laid out a path for us: It began in Gan Eden - which by tradition is in Israel - & the 1st command given to the first Jew, Avraham, was to pick up & move here. Though we would stray from that road numerous times, there was always only one final destination. So, it's crucial to keep your eye on the road!

It is an "œEretz Tova," a good land. But can a land be "œgood?!" No land can – except the Land of Israel. It has a life of its own; it "œbehaves" when we treat it well & perform Mitzvot upon it, but it reacts harshly when we dishonor it with our poor behavior or sinful conduct. It has both œbika'a & har, valleys & mountains: here we may, unfortunately, experience war & terror, the lowest of lows, but we also will celebrate the highest highs as well.

"œLo techsar kol ba," you will lack for nothing. Israel, as small as it may be, has a bit of everything: sun, sea, sand, even snow. The pasuk highlights the plentiful bounty of the earth, including fruits & vegetables, iron & copper, & we can now add natural gas, even oil to the list. It's a question of our ability to appreciate all that we have here, and not always look over our "global shoulder."

But all this comes with a caveat: "œLo b'miskanut tochal ba lechem," do not eat your daily bread like a œ"miskayn," with gripes, complaints & negativity. Learn to appreciate the miracle right before our "eyes; just note the nations that surround us on all sides & envy all that we have built & how amazingly well we live.

"œV'achalta v'savata," go, eat, be satisfied with what you have, & then there is only one thing left to do: "œU'varachta et Hashem Elokecha al ha-aretz ha-tova asher natan lach," bless Hashem for this amazing land that G-d gave us.

Ekev