{"id":1253,"date":"2017-08-07T11:18:03","date_gmt":"2017-08-07T11:18:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/batkol.info\/?p=1253"},"modified":"2017-08-07T11:18:03","modified_gmt":"2017-08-07T11:18:03","slug":"parashat-eikev","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/2017\/08\/07\/parashat-eikev\/","title":{"rendered":"Parashat Eikev"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Shabbat Table Talk<\/p>\n

Parashat Eikev, \u00a0Erev Shabbat 11 August, 2017<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Week of 6-12 August, 2017<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Torah portion: \u00a0\u00a0Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Haftarah: Isaiah 49:14-51:3<\/p>\n

Download<\/a><\/p>\n

Moses\u2019 Second discourse contains the reminder that God has chosen this nation for a special purpose… to live as a holy people according to God\u2019s commandments. (Frankel, p. 258). Re-reading Eikev several phrases caught my attention, phrases that encourage us today to live as a holy people whether we are Jewish or live according to another tradition. Today the description of \u201cchosen people\u201d might also be read as \u201cwho brings us near to God\u2019s service\u201d (Frankel, p.260)<\/p>\n

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-7:13 \u201cfavor you and bless you\u201d, literally \u201clove you and bless you\u201d. A.J. Heshel says, only a blessing that flows from love deserves to be called a blessing. (Lieber, p. 1037)<\/p>\n

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-8:7 \u201cA Good Land..\u201d \u00a0The phrase is a repetition, like a refrain, and its descriptions of fruits and blessings easily jump into our memory and never cease to create a feeling of wonder and promise. The people, the land and God are all related to each other. (Klein, p.49)<\/p>\n

-8:10 \u201cWhen you have eaten your fill\u201d, Shlomo of Karlin says, when one eats in a spirit of gratitude, whether there is much food or little, the meal is satisfying! (Lieber, \u00a0p.1041)<\/p>\n

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-9:7 \u201cremember, never forget\u201d\u2026we are not so virtuous, we are prone to defiance of God! We note again, when there is a repetition, it is important to pay attention. Humility is a necessary quality, (Plaut, p.1226).<\/p>\n

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-9:12 \u201cthe people you (Moshe) brought out of Egypt\u201d, God shows irritation to our defiance.<\/p>\n

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-9:26 \u201cYour very own (G-d\u2019s) people\u201d, Moshe, as mediator\u2026 appeals to G-d (Lieber, p. 1046)<\/p>\n

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-10:8 \u201cto bless in His name\u201d, i.e. that is to pronounce the priestly benediction<\/p>\n

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-10:19 \u201cyou too must befriend the stranger\u201d, the \u2018stranger\u2019 is a word describing the resident alien in the land. \u00a0\u201cBefriend\u201d or the literal translation \u201clove\u201d sets a high standard. \u00a0In today\u2019s world with many refugees and individuals searching for a better life away from their native country, this call to me seems the challenge of the times. The fact that \u201clove the stranger\u201d is used 36 times in the Scripture probably reflects that this is a difficult thing to do and that therefore we need reminding! (Plaut, p. 1244). The essay on the \u201cThe Good Land\u201d concludes with this \u201cThus, the esteem for and love of the stranger is a reflection of God. In the alien, we are first and foremost bidden to discover the presence of the redeeming G-d and thereby to reinforce our bonds with all humankind.\u201d (Plaut p.1245)<\/p>\n

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-11:13 \u201cLoving the Lord your G-d and serving Him with all your heart and soul\u201d. This passage is part of the prayers recited after the Sh\u2019ma Ysrael in prayer services. The connection of loving the Lord and obeying all the commandments leading to the rains that will water the land and its crops is stated here in the plural (unlike Deut.6:5-9 where the same phrase is stated in singular). Lieber in footnotes (p.1052) writes \u201cthat righteous communities will tend to thrive and bestow blessings on all their members, the good and the less good alike.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For Reflection and Discussion: \u00a0Love or befriend; righteousness and blessing; gratitude and humility; your people or My people; Consider how a set of such phrases interact and affect your own lives.<\/p>\n

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Bibliography: \u00a0Frankel, Ellen, The Five Books of Miriam, San Francisco 1996; Klein, Joyce, The Sahbbat Book, Israel, 1997; Lieber, Etz Hayim, Torah and Commentary, New York, 2001; Plaut, The Torah, A Modern Commentary (New York, 2006) \u00a0<\/p>\n

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This week\u2019s teaching commentary was prepared by<\/p>\n

MariAnn (Marjan) Saenen, B.A. M.A. Michigan State University,<\/p>\n

Lay Minister, Diocese of Saginaw, MI<\/p>\n

Bat Kol alum 1999-2000; 2002, 2010, 2015, 2016<\/p>\n

marjansaenen@hotmail.com<\/p>\n

[Copyright \u00a9 2017]<\/p>\n

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Parashah commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. The commentaries, along with all materials published on the Bat Kol website, are copyrighted by the writers, and are made available for personal and group study, and local church purposes. Permission needed for other purposes. Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.<\/p>\n

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Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem<\/p>\n

1983-2017<\/p>\n

\u201cChristians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Website: www.batkol.info \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Parashat Admin: gill@batkol.info<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Shabbat Table Talk Parashat Eikev, \u00a0Erev Shabbat 11 August, 2017 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Week of 6-12 August, 2017 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Torah portion: \u00a0\u00a0Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Haftarah: Isaiah 49:14-51:3 Download Moses\u2019 Second discourse contains the reminder that God has chosen this nation for a special purpose… to live as a holy people according to God\u2019s commandments. (Frankel, p. 258). Re-reading Eikev several…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":1254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1253"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}