"And the final result (same letters as Hebrew word for heel) will be, that if you can hear these "mishpatim" and keep and do them, that the Lrd your Gd will keep the covenant and the mercy that he swore to your fathers" (Devarim 7:12). But why are all of the commandments referred to here as "mishpatim"? The Torah usually distinguishes between commandments that are accessible to our understanding (mishpatim) and those that are beyond our comprehension (chukim). The answer is that there are those individuals, even now, who touch the light of redemption that will come at the end (the heel) with the coming of Mashiach. And the revelation for everyone at that time will be so great that even the meaning of the chukim will be clear to us as the mishpatim are now. Because as we live our lives in the light of Hashem we can see how the commandments manifest Gd's highest wisdom guiding us in this world. (see Mei Shiloach on the parashah.)
The supreme joy a person can have is symbolized by the wedding dance, when a person lifts up his heels in happiness for man and woman, Heaven and earth, that are united through Torah. The inverse of this is when the legs that connect us to earth become entangled in the nether regions of worldly desire. Rebbe Nachman says that the fixing for such fallenness is by taking the choicest, which is called wine (intoxication), and returning it to its root in joy through the dance of mitzvah. Because the essence of mitzvah is connecting the world to its spiritual source. Through this he is able to take the dinim, his attachment to external seductions, and rectify them within. And we see that doubling the numerical value of Gd's name, E-lokim, which represents the Divine aspect of judgment according to a person's actions, has the same numerical value as ekev, heel. Because a person has the power to shake off the outer forces that keep him bound in judgment by lifting up his heels in dancing the joy of mitzvah. (See Lekutei Moharan, Lesson 41)
Ekev
Reb Shlomo Minyan HarNof
(R. Raphael, email: [email protected])
Laws Of The Heart
It's written in this week's parashah, "You shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart and no more be stubborn. For the Lrd your Gd is Gd of gods, and the Lrd of lords�"(Devarim 10:16) But later, the Torah says, "The Lrd your Gd will circumcise your heart�to love the Lrd your Gd with all your heart and all your soul for the sake of your life" (Devarim 30:6). The two pasukim seem to contradict one another. Why does the Torah use the term milah, circumcision, in describing the spiritual work that we have to do and why is it now us now Hashem who does this? A profound explanation of this is given by the Baal HaTanya in Igeret HaKodesh 4.
The mitzvah of circumcision on the eighth day includes two procedures that give the Jewish male his final physical form: milah and peri'ah. The milah means removing the thick outer covering of skin while the peri'ah takes away the fine inner membrane. This is compared to the process of revealing the spiritual sensitivity of the heart, which is subjected to both course and subtle appetites clouding over the Divine fire that rests in the heart. Like the actual circumcision, one who overcomes only the obvious appetites without freeing himself completely from the subtler slavery of his desires, fails to reveal the inner point of the heart, his strongest desire for Gdliness, which remains hidden by a fine covering that keeps it a captive in exile.
In Tehillim 27:8 it says, "My heart said, 'Seek My face (panai)'" and the deep understanding is that the person hears from his heart to seek its penimiut - its purest, innermost point. Because there is an outer as well as an inner spiritual fire of the heart. While the outer fire is aroused through contemplating the understanding of Hashem's greatness, the inwardness of the heart transcends that which we can reach through knowledge. We could compare its power to those parts of a person's life that touch his innermost feelings. Like it says in Tehillim 130:1, "From the depths I called out to You." Because there are moments of spiritual arousal that reach to the spark of Divinity in the soul.
In order to reach the subtle powers of the inner fire, one must first remove the outer covering of the heart. For as long as this is covered over by worldly desire, which is called the exile of Babylon, the soul remains in a state of exile and captivity. It is in regard to this outer servitude that the Torah says, "You will circumcise you heart." But the revelation of the innermost point of the heart is beyond the will of most of us. It depends on an arousal from above, an opening of the gates of holiness that will only come in the time of Mashiach when Hashem will remove the coverings of insensitivity from our hearts so that the strongest fire of spiritual desire will flame up there.
This is why the second pasuk that says that Hashem will circumcise our hearts. And the pasuk concludes, "for the sake of your life." Because the innermost fire of the heart comes when a person feels that Hashem alone is his whole life, and this is a kind of love that is beyond any rational understanding, where a person thinks about doing good for the Creator before considering even himself.. This is why it says that Mashiach only comes when we have reached beyond our expectations (hesech hada'at), because the revelation will be so powerful that it will enflame even the innermost point of our heart that is beyond rational thought.
And sometimes when a person is deep in prayer he reaches this level called "for the sake of your life." Through his supplications, his heart is aroused with great passion, releasing it from exile and captivity. At that moment the sparks of Divinity in his soul take him beyond the power of understanding. And this is a gift from above, the radiating of the Supernal Face, as it says in the blessing of the Kohanim, "May Hashem shine His countenance upon you." And this is like what it says above, that "Hashem will circumcise your heart."
But the arousal from above only follows after the awakening below. And this is connected to what it says in Tehillim, "A person's charitable deeds proceed in front of him"(85:14). Because when a person takes from the money he has earned through toiling in this world ("damim," money, has the same letters as the Hebrew word for "blood" which contains the life energy of the person) and he gives from it to the needy, he transforms judgment into kindness. Because a person only needs to labor in this world because of the curse of Adam for taking selfishly from the world before the time was ripe. Thus, when a person toils for his survival and then turns around and gives from this to another, he rectifies the sin of attaching too great an importance to outward desire and "makes peace" with Hashem. Through this opening of his hand he unveils the outer covering of his heart and this in turn generates an arousal from above, redeeming us in our greatest inwardness through the light of Hashem's face.
Final Fixing Of Man
In the time before Mashiach the souls from the lowest part (the heel) of Adam HaRishon come into the world. It's a time of history when there is the greatest materiality in the world. This is because the spiritual rectifications that must be done at this time are both the simplest and most difficult. Like the heel that touches the ground and therefore becomes desensitized, so the souls of the time just prior to Mashiach are caught up in a world thickly covered with material concerns. The task of these souls, as spoken out in Tanya, is to do simple acts of charity. Because although our giving may be branded as na?ve even by ourselves, we need to overcome the callousness of the heel and nourish our own souls and the souls of others. Through these small steps we are making a way in the wilderness of materiality for the coming of Mashiach.
Mitzvot
According to Sefer HaChinuch there are eight commandments in parashat Ekev.
At A Glance