Taste of Torah
A Bima-Ready D'var Torah
20 Av 5781
Parashat Eikev
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Torah Portion: Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25
Haftarah Portion: Isaiah 49:14-51:3i
Shalom!
This week's Taste of Torah is from our archives, written by Rabbi Jeremy Simons.
This week's Taste of Torah is from our archives, written by Rabbi Jeremy Simons.
We learn from Pirke Avot that “Everyone who quotes a statement in the name of the one who said it brings deliverance into the world.”ii The verse teaches us the importance of giving credit where credit is due. In that spirit a disclaimer is in order: This d’var torah is not an entirely original work. We’ll get to the implications of this statement a little later, but first let’s check in with the Israelites as they camp alongside the Jordan River, on the cusp of entering the Promised Land.
The Israelites have spent a generation wandering through a barren desert, guided by Moses and his promise of a land “flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 33:3). Now they can finally see that land and soon they will actually feel it under their feet. In the meantime, Moses offers a description of what lies ahead: “a land with streams and springs and fountains issuing from plain and hill; a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey; a land where you may eat your food without stint, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you can mine copper” (Deuteronomy 8:7-9).
In short, the land is paradise. These impoverished children of slaves are about to be richer than they could have imagined. But there was also a trade-off. No longer will they rely on the miracles of water from a rock or manna from heaven. With their new land comes a new relationship with prosperity. Their food and wealth will now come from their own sweat and toil.
At first this seems like a good thing, however there’s a hidden danger in this self-sufficiency, which Moses imagines long before the first barley seeds germinate in the holy ground: the people run the risk of crediting themselves for work they did not do. Moses warns them of this danger explicitly, saying, “Beware lest… you say to yourselves, ‘My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me’” (Deuteronomy 8:14-17).
In his commentary on this verse, the commentator Nachmanides explains that “so this power too, by which you gained your wealth, was a gift to you from Adonai.”iii Everything the Israelites produced was thanks to God, who gave them both their freedom and the land on which to exercise it. Even future generations were beholden to God for this eternal gift.
As Jews, this Divine gift still holds true today, and we still recite prayers of thanksgiving daily in our liturgy. But even for those that aren’t Jewish, or those Jews who don’t feel beholden to this gift, there are still reasons to give thanks. We all owe a great deal to those who came before us.
We’re the products of our communities and our histories. Just as there would be no iPhone without the ingenuity of Alexander Graham Bell, there would be no Taste of Torah without the groundwork of rabbinic commentators like Nachmanides. [...]
Still, there’s something uneasy about crediting this work fully to them, just as there is something uneasy about crediting God for the bounty of the land without acknowledging the human contribution. Even if it was a Divine gift, the Israelites broke their backs in order for it to bear fruit. So too do we take an active role in our success.
So what do we make of these verses commanding the Israelites to credit God for their success? The Torah warns us not to fall into the egotistical trap of thinking we don’t owe anybody or anyone anything. But we can still take credit for our accomplishments, provided we use the proper perspective. Rabbi Isaiah Di Trani explains that we indeed achieve a tremendous amount based on our own merit, and almost always surpass previous generations. But, as he teaches, our ability to understand more and to see further is because “we stand astride the shoulders of giants.”iv
Our Jewish communities thrive because of parents and teachers, but they are not the only ones. So many of our synagogues exist because of lay leaders long forgotten who proudly laid cornerstones long since weathered. Reminders of their contributions exist all around us, from the siddurim in our sanctuaries to the silver on our Torahs. And for every physical contribution, there are countless intangible offerings that shape our Jewish communities. [Let's] take a moment this Shabbat and consider the people whose shoulders [we] stand upon. But the chain doesn’t end with us. What will [our] contribution be? What will [we] leave behind? No matter the contribution, it will continue a sacred transmission that, if we look back far enough, begins at this moment in Torah, with Moses and Israel, forming a covenant with God that still exists today.
The Israelites have spent a generation wandering through a barren desert, guided by Moses and his promise of a land “flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 33:3). Now they can finally see that land and soon they will actually feel it under their feet. In the meantime, Moses offers a description of what lies ahead: “a land with streams and springs and fountains issuing from plain and hill; a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey; a land where you may eat your food without stint, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you can mine copper” (Deuteronomy 8:7-9).
In short, the land is paradise. These impoverished children of slaves are about to be richer than they could have imagined. But there was also a trade-off. No longer will they rely on the miracles of water from a rock or manna from heaven. With their new land comes a new relationship with prosperity. Their food and wealth will now come from their own sweat and toil.
At first this seems like a good thing, however there’s a hidden danger in this self-sufficiency, which Moses imagines long before the first barley seeds germinate in the holy ground: the people run the risk of crediting themselves for work they did not do. Moses warns them of this danger explicitly, saying, “Beware lest… you say to yourselves, ‘My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me’” (Deuteronomy 8:14-17).
In his commentary on this verse, the commentator Nachmanides explains that “so this power too, by which you gained your wealth, was a gift to you from Adonai.”iii Everything the Israelites produced was thanks to God, who gave them both their freedom and the land on which to exercise it. Even future generations were beholden to God for this eternal gift.
As Jews, this Divine gift still holds true today, and we still recite prayers of thanksgiving daily in our liturgy. But even for those that aren’t Jewish, or those Jews who don’t feel beholden to this gift, there are still reasons to give thanks. We all owe a great deal to those who came before us.
We’re the products of our communities and our histories. Just as there would be no iPhone without the ingenuity of Alexander Graham Bell, there would be no Taste of Torah without the groundwork of rabbinic commentators like Nachmanides. [...]
Still, there’s something uneasy about crediting this work fully to them, just as there is something uneasy about crediting God for the bounty of the land without acknowledging the human contribution. Even if it was a Divine gift, the Israelites broke their backs in order for it to bear fruit. So too do we take an active role in our success.
So what do we make of these verses commanding the Israelites to credit God for their success? The Torah warns us not to fall into the egotistical trap of thinking we don’t owe anybody or anyone anything. But we can still take credit for our accomplishments, provided we use the proper perspective. Rabbi Isaiah Di Trani explains that we indeed achieve a tremendous amount based on our own merit, and almost always surpass previous generations. But, as he teaches, our ability to understand more and to see further is because “we stand astride the shoulders of giants.”iv
Our Jewish communities thrive because of parents and teachers, but they are not the only ones. So many of our synagogues exist because of lay leaders long forgotten who proudly laid cornerstones long since weathered. Reminders of their contributions exist all around us, from the siddurim in our sanctuaries to the silver on our Torahs. And for every physical contribution, there are countless intangible offerings that shape our Jewish communities. [Let's] take a moment this Shabbat and consider the people whose shoulders [we] stand upon. But the chain doesn’t end with us. What will [our] contribution be? What will [we] leave behind? No matter the contribution, it will continue a sacred transmission that, if we look back far enough, begins at this moment in Torah, with Moses and Israel, forming a covenant with God that still exists today.
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Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Caroline Sim Director of Rabbinical Services Please share this message with family and friends and when your congregation gathers for services we invite you to read this Taste of Torah from the bima. As always, please be in touch. We would particularly appreciate hearing about simchahs, (moments of joy) like births, birthdays, engagements, anniversaries, graduations as well as illnesses or other challenges in your family or community. |
i. From this week through Rosh Hashanah, we read a series of special Haftarot called "Haftarot of Consolation." This week is the Second Haftarah of Consolation.
ii. Pirke Avot 6:6.
iii. Nachmanides on Deuteronomy 8:17.
iv. Tosafot Rid, #62
ii. Pirke Avot 6:6.
iii. Nachmanides on Deuteronomy 8:17.
iv. Tosafot Rid, #62
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