Eikev
Mitzvot for Our Sake
Adapted from Rabbi Shlomo Kluger
Parshat Eikev is the source
of the second paragraph of the daily reading of the Shema. "V'hayah im shamoa-tishmi'u el
mitzvotyÖIf you will earnestly heed the mitzvot I give you todayÖ"
(Devarim/Deuteronomy
11:13).
The daily reading of the
Shema (keriyat shema) is preceded by a blessing affirming God's love. The Shema itself includes the famous
one-sentence declaration of God's unity, followed by three paragraphs: the
first directing us to love God always, the second describing the consequences
of heeding or not heeding the mitzvot, and the third directing us to remind ourselves using tzizit, fringes.
Why did our sages want
us to "warm up" for the message about consequences by speaking of
God's unity and God's love? What
theological point were they trying to make?
First, the Shema
affirms that God is complete and perfect. Thus it teaches that God does not need us to perform
mitzvot. Second, the Shema
directs us to love God in response to God's love for us. It describes a relationship of mutual
love in which God wants the best for human beings.
The Shema thus sets us up
to realize that the mitzvot exist for the sake of human beings. Some mitzvot help attune us spiritually,
others direct us to behave ethically, still others teach us how to heal the
earth and its inhabitants. If we attend to the mitzvot, we gain in all of
these areas; if we ignore them, we lose.
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