Eikev: Entitlement

 Eikev: Entitlement

What is this chapter really about? It starts with the complex sentence: 

וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ עֵ֣קֶב תִּשְׁמְע֗וּן אֵ֤ת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֥ם וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם וְשָׁמַר֩ יְ

יךָ לְךָ֗ אֶֽת־הַבְּרִית֙ וְאֶת־הַחֶ֔סֶד אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖ע לַאֲבֹתֶֽיךָ׃

And if (aikev, in exchange for ) you do obey these rules and observe them carefully, the ETERNAL your God will maintain faithfully for you the covenant made on oath with your ancestors:

Gd had made a promise to the ancestors, but there is a (new?) stipulation added to the agreement: the heirs must obey a (complex) set of rules to the satisfaction of the donor. 

Near the end of the parsha, we have the second paragraph of the "shema," one of the three sections of the Torah that are recited at least twice daily.  The section in Aikev, similar to the section in last week's parsha, contains the phrase: 

וְלִמַּדְתֶּ֥ם אֹתָ֛ם אֶת־בְּנֵיכֶ֖ם לְדַבֵּ֣ר בָּ֑ם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤ בְּבֵיתֶ֙ךָ֙ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ֣ בַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וּֽבְשׇׁכְבְּךָ֖ וּבְקוּמֶֽךָ׃ 

and teach them to your children—reciting them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up;

The text asks for its repetition "when you lie down and when you get up;" Thus , it is recited in the morning and evening service (at least). 

This paragraph makes  the stipulation that opens this week's parsha explicit: 

וְהָיָ֗ה אִם־שָׁמֹ֤עַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־מִצְוֺתַ֔י אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם 

If, then, you obey the commandments that I enjoin upon you this day, 

...

וְנָתַתִּ֛י עֵ֥שֶׂב בְּשָׂדְךָ֖ לִבְהֶמְתֶּ֑ךָ וְאָכַלְתָּ֖ וְשָׂבָֽעְתָּ׃ 

I will also provide grass in the fields for your cattle—and thus you shall eat your fill.

But if you do not, the rains will not come and you will be destroyed.

The first chapter of the shema (last week's parsha) commanded that the supplicant love Gd 

בְּכָל֯־לְ֯בָבְ֒ךָ וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁ֒ךָ וּבְכָל־מְאֹדֶֽךָ

all your heart and with all your soul and with all your possessions.

This week's paragraph goes into the practicalities. The seasonal rains are a manifestation of Gd's love.  Their absence and the consequent drought comes from Gd's anger at failure to (adequately) keep the commandment(s).   

All of this surrounds the core issue: What entitles the Israelites to the good life and the land? There is a telling sentence (9;4) 

בְּצִדְקָתִי֙ הֱבִיאַ֣נִי יְ

 לָרֶ֖שֶׁת אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֑את וּבְרִשְׁעַת֙ הַגּוֹיִ֣ם הָאֵ֔לֶּה יְ

 מוֹרִישָׁ֥ם מִפָּנֶֽיךָ׃

And when the ETERNAL your God has thrust them from your path, say not to yourselves, “GOD has enabled us to possess this land because of our virtues”(; it is rather because of)/ and  the wickedness of those nations that GOD is dispossessing them before you.

There is controversy over the proper translation of this sentence. Is  the combination of Israel's  inflated idea of their righteousness AND  the exaggerated perception of the evil of the "those nations" insufficient to prompt Gd to favor Israel (Rashi)? In that case, certainly Gd's anger with the nations that will be dispossessed is not sufficient to allow the Israelites entry into the holy land.  Or is it, indeed, the evil of the current inhabitants of the land that justifies Gd evicting them, not the  righteousness of Israel ( Ramban)? Blaming the dispossession on the bad tenants forces the awkward translation of vav ( and ) as "rather." Regardless, the righteousness of Israel is certainly not the reason for their entitlement to the land and all its goodness. 

Inheritance, Jewish privilege,  seems to be the major component of Israel's entitlement.  Gd loved the patriarchs and matriarchs; and Gd made them suffer. They ( and the generations that followed them) suffered and succeeded in their trials. They merited rewards that exceeded mortal capacity.  Gd Promised goodness to their offspring but the generations receiving the reward would need to deserve it. 

 The justice of  inheritance is not simple.  Ecclesiastes 2;22

י־יֵ֣שׁ אָדָ֗ם שֶׁעֲמָל֛וֹ בְּחׇכְמָ֥ה וּבְדַ֖עַת וּבְכִשְׁר֑וֹן וּלְאָדָ֞ם שֶׁלֹּ֤א עָֽמַל־בּוֹ֙ יִתְּנֶ֣נּוּ חֶלְק֔וֹ גַּם־זֶ֥ה הֶ֖בֶל וְרָעָ֥ה רַבָּֽה׃ 

For sometimes a person whose fortune was made with wisdom, knowledge, and skill must hand it on to be the portion of somebody who did not toil for it. That too is futile, and a grave evil.

The material inheritance that offspring receive is not entirely just, sensible or beneficial. The tradition and values that prepare children for the tests that life will bring are a more valuable inheritance

I live in a world that is confused about entitlement. I want to be rewarded for my efforts by passing a level of security and comfort to my children. I want that for myself and I justify it by wanting it for everyone. 

I have been taught that toil and suffering should be compensated. People are paid for work. People are paid for damages inflicted by others. 

In Gd's world of universals, good is rewarded  for one thousand generations. The downtrodden are lifted up from the ash heaps, regardless of  how they got there. 

I was brought up to believe that I do not deserve the good that Gd shows me. That is my real inheritance. It is an approach of constant improvement.  

There is no Yiddish word for fun.