The Promise of fertility

Ekev

Deut. 7:12 - 11:25

Précis: Moses continues his recapitulation of the commandments to the people, reminding them to be obedient to God’s laws in their forthcoming struggle with the Canaanites. He describes in detail all of the blessings which God had already provided them, and reminds them to bless and thank God for the bounty they receive. On the other hand, they should follow the rebelliousness of their fathers, including the incident of the Golden Calf, punishment will occur.

Deut. 7:12-14 “And if you do obey these rules and observe them carefully, the Lord your God will maintain faithfully for you the covenant that He made on oath with your fathers: He will favor you and bless you and multiply you; He will bless the issue of your womb...You shall be blessed above all other peoples: there shall be no sterile male or female among you or among your livestock...”

            As noted by Rabbi Lauren Eichler Berkun (MyJewishLearning.com 7/27/10) the themes of fertility and barrenness are at the center of much of our biblical narrative. Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Hannah, and the Shunamite woman are examples of this theme. Here, the covenant between God and Israel is presented as one based on fertility, and within this parasha, the blessings of Birkat Hamazon and the Sh’ma both include references to fertility as well. The Exodus itself is a story of God’s leading the people from “barren” wilderness to a “fertile” new land.

            But the People, in their new land, would prosper only if they adhered to the commandments; even the rain depended upon their faithfulness. God is portrayed as fundamental to life and its survival, particularly with regard to fertility of both the land and its people. From this perspective, the biblical narrative’s emphasis on barrenness is a natural complement to the text here. We create human beings out of our own bodies, but it is God who opens the womb.

            The text is a powerful reminder that while we are God’s partner’s in the creation of life, it is God who brings life, and sustains it. 

Reconcile the stories

D’varim

Deut. 1:1 - 3:22

Précis: The Book of Deuteronomy (D’varim – “words”) takes the form of a series of lectures by Moses to the People as they prepare to enter the Land. Together, these instructions constitute Moses’ farewell address.  D’varim is sometimes called the “Mishneh Torah”, literally, the “second teaching of the Torah” (this is where we get the Greek name of the Book) because it contains repetitions of previously enunciated laws. The Book has a strong focus on the centrality of the Temple in the Promised Land, as well as many of other rituals found at the center of Jewish life. The Book is also sometimes referred to as the “Priestly Code” by those who ascribe its origin to the Priests of the First Temple era.

           

Deut. 1:22-26 “Then all of you came to me and said, ‘Let us send men to reconnoiter the land for us and bring back word on the route we shall follow and the cities we shall come to. It looked good in my eyes, and so I selected twelve men, one from each tribe… and they gave us this report: ‘It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving to us.’ Yet you refused to go up and…you sulked in your tents.”

Matt Plen, writing in Torah Sparks (8/12/16) notes that Moses’ account of the story of the spies differs from the version we read in B’midbar (chapter 13).  There God commanded Moses to send princes from each of the tribes, and here, Moses states that the idea came from the people. In B’midbar most of the spies return with a negative view of the Land, and actively spread pessimism among the Israelites.  In this telling, Moses states that the spies brought a short, positive report about the land, but the people sulked in their tents.  

            How to reconcile these two different versions? Nahama Leibowitz’s argues that rather than seeing these stories as contradictory, we should think of them in terms of chronology.  Moses' speech in D’varim comes 38 years after the sin of the spies, when the people of Israel are ready to take possession of the land. The first time, the people failed. Moses wants to make sure that they succeed this time. So he doesn't stress the sin of the various tribal leaders, but rather the personal responsibility of every member of the community. “The listener,” says Leibowitz, “has the choice of turning a deaf ear to evil words or of allowing himself to be misled by them.  It is his duty to resist.”