Eikev:: Don't tread on me

Eikev:

The first mention of  the word eikev is the target for the serpent of Eden. הוּא יְשׁוּפְךָ רֹאשׁ, וְאַתָּה תְּשׁוּפֶנּוּ עָקֵב.they shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise their heel (Gen 3:15).

Eikev is the root of Yaakov (prior year), Akivah and Akavia ( ben Mehallalel).  All founders of our belief system

Eikev is the pivot of the deal between Gd and Israel, The  crux, ( displaced posteriorly),  the vulnerable point of Achilles ( and Esau?)

Eikev is the heel, the place where the body ends and the foot begins, the point in which all of the body’s weight is concentrated and where a person, normally,  digs into the land. The mitzvoth interact with gravity to acquire the land through the eikev.

The parsha often refers to walking - the wanderings in the desert, the paths of mitzvoth, remembering Gd when you walk in your own path. The eikev  - heel- is the part of  walking that represents the past, the burden of the body that needs to be carried.  The foot that stems from the heel defines direction of the path of the future..

The Gadsden flag ( N.B. two tribes of Israel Gad and Dan) is depicted.  It was (possibly) a candidate for the flag of the 13 (tribes?) colonies..  It was adopted by the Marines  ( the vanguard for conquering lands) .I am reminded of it by a Grateful Dead song with the lyrics:

   ...well I declare, have you seen the like?
Their walls are built of cannonballs, their motto is
Don't tread on me. 

 Where should I tread? How lightly?