Rabbi Konigsburg's Blog

The English language is riddled with strange turns of phrase whose explanations are not readily available. When we say it is “raining cats and dogs” then we know that there is a significant downpour outside. If we say that something was a “piece of cake” then we understand that it was easy to do. Or apparently, in Georgia one could say that something is a “hill of beans” which means that whatever you are talking about isn’t worth much. (You are welcome to email me your favorite turns of phrase). When we sit down to read Parshat Eikev, we immediately encounter an unusual turn of phrase. The first sentence of our portion says, “וְהָיָה עֵקֶב תִּשְׁמְעוּן אֵ֤ת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים” (Deuteronomy 7:12). This can be translated as “And if you do obey these rules…” which objectively is an accurate and good translation of the intended meaning of the Hebrew phrase. It’s similar to how I might translate “he lost his marbles” as “he’s confused”. It’s a fair translation, but it fails to acknowledge the idiom! Similarly, in our Parsha’s case, Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzchak (Rashi, 1040-1105) points out that a more apt translation of the first words might be “If you obey the heel (עקב) of these rules.” Rashi goes on to explain that perhaps this turn of phrase was used because Moses is pointing out that we should keep all the rules, even the ones that we might be tempted to squash under our heels. 

However, as I read this particular turn of phrase, I can’t help but to connect the Hebrew word eikev (heel, עקב) to our patriarch Yaakov (Jacob, יעקב). He is named Yaakov because he was born holding on to the heel of his older twin brother. So instead of reading the word as heel or as we commonly translate simply as “surely do”, perhaps we can read it as a noun that points back to Yaakov, the Patriarch. Thus, the verse "וְהָיָה עֵקֶב תִּשְׁמְעוּן אֵ֤ת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים" might translate to something like, “and Jacob, if you should obey these laws.”

Taking it one step further, we were just primed in the previous Torah portion with the words of the Shema, where the Israelites say “Listen up, Israel” and then declare the oneness of God. One school of rabbinic thought teaches that this line was originally said by the twelve sons of Jacob on his deathbed. Using the other name his father received from God after wrestling with the angel, the twelve sons try to appease their father’s angst about them not being God fearing once their father dies. They are saying, “Listen up Dad, Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai alone.” Now we have the reverse. If you, Jacob (יעקב) listen (תִּשְׁמְעוּן) ּto these laws. As if to say that we make the declaration, and now Moses says – if you truly are sincere, then “God will maintain faithfully for you the covenant that He made on oath with your fathers” (the end of our verse, Deuteronomy 7:12).

Apparently, the peculiar turns of phrase we have in life came about because of real-life circumstances. There used to be a time when people had animals living in their thatch roofs and when it really poured the animals would scurry out and slip off the top of houses falling to the ground. Perhaps too, our text uses this particular phraseology because it is thinking about our declaration a few chapters prior. In this very focused reading of our text, we can acknowledge that even if I say all the right things, the words might still be empty without any follow through. Knowing what you have to do is very different from actually getting it done. Thus, perhaps Moses’s words can serve as a reminder to us that we shouldn’t just talk the talk, but we also have to walk the walk. Sometimes it’s not about what turn of phrase we say, or what words we use. Rather, it's more about what we mean with our words, and if our words are truly meaningful.

Shabbat Shalom