Eikev - Heel
In these hard times, we must rally together, persevere, and never give up.
The name of our parsha, Eikev, is used in place of the more common word with a similar meaning, im, which means "if," as in, "If you listen to God, you’ll be rewarded." Many commentators ask why the Torah made this substitution, using the word Eikev instead of im.
It's hard to ignore that the word Eikev shares its root with the name of our central forefather, Yaakov, which is derived from the word akev (heel). As we know, Yaakov was given this name because he gripped his twin brother Esav’s heel as they were emerging from the womb. As a young man, Yaakov acted decisively to seize the bechora (birthright) from his brother Esav, his archrival, and followed his mother’s command to secure the blessings that Yitzchak intended for Esav.
Moreover, Yaakov emerged victorious after wrestling throughout the night with Esav’s angelic representative, saro shel Esav, whom the Zohar identifies as the yetzer hara, the powerful evil inclination. Yaakov achieved what seemed physically and spiritually impossible—he overcame his origins, attained the status of the first-born, and vanquished the yetzer hara.
The Zohar teaches that the yetzer hara assumed the physical form of the serpent in Gan Eden. Notably, the pasuk says about the serpent, ואתה תשופנו עקב, "you will bite [man's] eikev (heel)." This suggests that Yaakov's vulnerability to the bite of the serpent may be another reason he was named "heel." In other words, he was particularly susceptible to the antics of the yetzer hara. But through his tenacious struggle, Yaakov, the "heel," earned the additional name Yisrael—the fighter.
When Yaakov recognized his vulnerability, he responded by taking action. Therefore, it is fitting that the two primary themes of Eikev, mitzvah and bracha, embody this idea. It's clear that the term mitzvah connotes action because it generally refers to a good, noble deed or activity. But bracha also connotes action.
In Masechet Brachot 7a, the Gemara tells a story, made famous by the Avraham Fried song "Tanya," about Rabbi Yishmael Kohen Gadol, who entered the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur. God asked him, Yishmael b’ni barcheini—"Yishmael, my son, grant me a blessing."
The Nefesh HaChaim cites this Gemara, along with many other proofs, to support the remarkable explanation that bracha (blessing) represents the power God gave us to enable Him to shower the world with blessings. A blessing teaches us that God is unable to send out His blessings unless we first give our blessing for Him to do so.
Thus, both mitzvah and bracha represent our power to accomplish incredible things in this world. They teach us that to succeed, we must act—not half-heartedly, but with absolute determination. If we are intent on reaching a goal, nothing will stop us but our own hesitation.
Our failure to acknowledge this remarkable potential was the catalyst for the incident of the spies, which we commemorated two weeks ago on Tisha B’Av. The Gemara in Masechet Sotah 35a teaches that the Jewish people believed the spies when they said, כי חזק הוא ממנו—the power of their foes was even greater than God’s, and so they gave up. They refused to see the incredible strength we inherited from Yaakov, the original Eikev. If only they had persevered, they could have triumphed, as Yaakov did in his time.
This message is especially relevant now, as we approach the anniversary of October 7 and still see no clear end to Israel’s existential struggle and our never-ending battles against antisemitism. It is in these dark times, when we sometimes feel tempted to give up, that we must rally around one another, persevere, and never give up, because we have the power of Eikev within us.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Eliezer Hirsch