Expansive Gratitude: Parashat Eqev

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Parashat Eqev
Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25

So that the Children of Israel may eagerly anticipate entering the Promised Land, a land he knows that he, himself, will never enter, Moses describes the land of Israel in glowing terms. It is a gorgeous, good land, abundant in many types of produce, so that the Israelites, once there, will never lack for anything. (Deut. 8:7-9) Moses becomes excited and predicts our good fortune and our gratitude for it: ”And you shall eat and be satisfied and you shall bless the Eternal, your Almighty God, for the good land that God gave to you!” (v. 10) This elated vision expresses Moses’ own fullness of heart in his contemplation of our future.

But our Sages did not let Moses’ rapture remain his own personal fantasy. They transformed the verse from a dream into a commandment. This verse is the basis for the obligation to thank God after we eat a meal. It is the Biblical source for the practice of offering Grace After Meals – Birkat Ha-Mazon. This is quite a move. The emotional intensity of a dying man’s vision has been turned into a source of obligation. But, because it is an obligation, is all too often a prosaic religious routine. Many of us chafe at its burden and flee it in haste, as if we were escaping Egypt.

But if we can remember the source of our obligation we can enrich the recitation of these blessings. Every time we are fortunate to enjoy a meal we should recall that this experience is one that Moses dearly wished for but was enjoined from having. His hope that we would reap this benefit, even though he did not, is a classic example of every parent’s dreams for their children. Perhaps, with that in mind, we can allow ourselves a couple of minutes of expressing thanks.

But the transformation of the meaning of this verse goes even further. The very explicit message of the verse is that the people of Israel are to enjoy a unique gift – a unique land given over to their exclusive enjoyment. The plain meaning of this verse is that we will be satiated from the bounty of this land that God gave to us – and to no one else – and we will be happy.

How extraordinary it is, then, to pay attention to how this verse is employed in the Birkat Ha-Mazon. First of all, the obligation to thank God was expanded to apply even outside the land. It was not to be constricted to thanking God only for the food of Israel, but for the gift of sustenance everywhere. Furthermore, the Sages insisted that the obligation to express our gratitude for our personal good fortune, an obligation founded on this verse, must be preceded with a reverential acknowledgment that God is good to everyone, and not just to us. The blessing praises God for “nourishing the entire world. God gives bread to all flesh, for God’s love is for the whole world…” It concludes by praising God as “the One who nourishes all.” Only after reminding ourselves of God’s universal love can we then locate ourselves within that overall picture. Only then do we mention the gift of the land through God’s covenant with Israel.

How I wish that the ruling regime in Israel could possess just a fraction of this understanding! Instead it passes laws that dismiss the good and welfare of all of God’s children, and replaces a humble and expansive gratitude for the land with a selfish and arrogant proclamation of its exclusive ownership. This is not Moses’ dream. This is a nightmare.


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image: “Figs” by Ricardo Bernardo is licensed under CC BY 2.0

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