Torah Portion Summary
Deuteronomy 7:12 says, “Then it shall come about, because [ekev] you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you His covenant and His lovingkindness which He swore to your forefathers.” Usually the word ekev means “heel.” In fact, this word shares the same three-letter root as the name Jacob (Ya'akov, יַעֲקֹב), whose name actually means “heel.” He was born holding onto Esau’s heel. However, in Deuteronomy 7:12, the word ekev means “on the heels of” or “because of.” This portion of Deuteronomy speaks of the rewards that will come to Israel on the heels of keeping God’s covenant and commandments.
In Parashat Eikev, Moses continues his final speech to the Israelites just before they were to enter the Promised Land. It begins: "And it will be (v'haya) because (eikev) you heed these judgments, and guard and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers." In other words, as long as the Israelites obey the commandments of the Torah, they will prosper in the land they are about to conquer, just as the LORD promised to their forefathers.
Haftarh Portion Summary
The Haftarah for Parashat Eikev (Isaiah 49:14-51:3) is called the "Second Haftarah of Consolation," which begins with a lament from Zion, the City of Jerusalem: "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me." The LORD responds with a beautiful metaphor of His love for Israel. Even if the unconditional love a mother has for her child should somehow fail, God's love for the Jewish people would not. No, the LORD has "engraved Jerusalem upon His palms" (a midrash states that the LORD wears tefillin with promises to Israel inscribed upon them), and one day Jerusalem will be restored to its originally intended glory.
Despite the calamity of the exile and the destruction of the Temple, Jerusalem will be rebuilt and overflowing with Jewish people. In that day, the nations will "carry the sons and daughters" of Israel upon their shoulders and give homage to the Jewish people. If those nations refuse this homage, the LORD will vanquish them and make them "drunk with their own blood." All the world will know that the LORD is the redeemer and Savior of Israel: the Mighty One of Ya'akov.
In chapter 50, the LORD responds again to charge of abandonment. Where is the "get" or divorce document? The divorce (mentioned in Jeremiah 3:8) was initiated on account of the sins of the Jewish people; but should they repent, the decree will be null and void. The remainder of the haftarah is prophetic of the Mashiach Yeshua, who "gave his back to those who strike, his cheeks to those who pull out the beard; and did not hide his face from disgrace and spitting" and "set his face like flint" in order to be the Redeemer of Israel.
B'rit Chadashah Portion Summary
The reading from the book of Hebrews is linked to the Haftarah. Just as Abraham is described as "looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God," and Sarah is described as conceiving Isaac through faith, so we too, as followers of the Mashiach Yeshua, are ger v'toshav - strangers and sojourners upon the earth - eagerly anticipating the revelation of the LORD at the end of days. We, too, await the future glory of Jerusalem, when the LORD Jesus will reign as the King of Israel during the millennial kingdom, and all the promises given to national Israel are fulfilled.
The passage from Romans 8 is a triumphant paean of confidence in the LORD to fulfill His word and keep His promises. Nothing in all of hell, earth, or heaven can separate us from the love and purposes of the LORD, who works all things together for good to those who are called out to be His own am segulah (treasured people). May His great Name be praised forever and ever.