Ekev 5776 - English

Rabbi Gustavo Kraselnik

Congregacion Kol Shearith Israel

Nearly at the end of Parashat Ekev, we get the second of the three paragraphs from the Torah that make up the Shema Israel, which is known by its initial words: Vehaya Im Shamoa (Deut. 11:13-21). 

According to the Mishnah (Tamid 5:1), the three passages from the Shema were recited daily in the liturgy of the Second Temple.  

Rabbi Joshua ben Karha explains in the Talmud (Brachot 13a) that the first paragraph of the Shema (Deut. 6:4-9) precedes the passage in our Parashah because the person needs to accepts first the yoke of the kingdom of heaven, “Ol Malchut Shamayim”, meaning the recognition of divine sovereignty, to then be able to accept “Ol Hamitzvot”, the yoke of the precepts.  

In a similar way, the RamBam (Maimonides, XII Century) states that the proclamation of the unity of God and the mandate to love Him appear in the first paragraph because these are the fundamental principles upon which all the others depend, while in Vehaya Im Shamoa, we are ordered about the rest of the precepts.  

The second paragraph of the Shema has two themes.  The first one (verses 13 to 17) is the reward or punishment for the observance of the laws of the covenant, and the second one (18 to 21) references the mandate to keep the “words” of God. 

Here we see the same rules as in the first paragraph of the Shema (to recite the Shema, teach our children, wear the Tefillin and place the Mezuzah) with two differences.  One is not so relevant (they appear in a different order) but the other is fundamental: here they appear in plural form (addressed at “all of you”), while there they appear in singular form (addressed to one “you”). 

The retribution for the observance of the commandments has long been discussed in our tradition.  The theodicy (divine justice) is one of the most recurrent concepts in ancient religious thought.  In fact, we still hear many people today convinced that if they do the right thing, God will reward them, and if something bad happens, it is a diving punishment due to an offense.  

Our sages –aware of the complexity of the subject and of a reality that does not coincide with such a simple pattern- produced plenty of alternative readings.  The creation of the concept of Olam Habah, the world to come, is an acknowledgment that divine justice does not work exactly like the Torah suggests.  The Tanna Ben Azai proposes another more earthly answer (and one of my favorite texts) in Pirkei Avot (4:2): “The reward for complying with a Mitzvah is the possibility of fulfilling another Mitzvah.”  No more and no less.  

Then, how should we understand the Vehaya Im Shamoa?

I think the key is in the verbs, addressed at a plural audience.   

It is interesting to note that when the Torah speaks of a prize or a punishment, it refers to whether or not there will be rain (back then, a fundamental factor for a good crop in the land of Israel).  Rain does not fall with surgical precision on the fields of good people.  It does not rain only in my land (since I fulfill the Mitzvot) and then stops raining over my neighbor’s land (because he is not as observant). 

The rain (or the lack thereof) affects the entire group.  

Thus, the reward is not the consequence of individual action, but has to do with the collective behavior. In this sense, it is pretty obvious that even without divine intervention, a society formed by committed, just and supportive people will receive the great reward of living in that setting, while those who reside where egotism, apathy and arrogance rule, will be doomed to an unhappy reality. 

In the end, it is our actions and the social dynamic we build around us that will make us worthy (or not) of the blessings of God, which are no more than the possibility of leading a full life.  

Shabbat Shalom

Gustavo