Parashah & Haftarah Study

Parashat Ekev & Haftarah

What Does the LORD Require of You?

Parashat Ekev presents Israel with a profound question: “What does the LORD your God ask of you?” The answer brings together fear, love, service, obedience, memory, and the transformation of the heart.

Before the class, students were invited to choose among several themes from the Torah portion and Haftarah. These included the manna, the Golden Calf, the Seven Species and the Land of Israel, and Zion’s cry in the Haftarah: “The LORD has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.”

The selected topic was Deuteronomy 10:12–13 and its central question: What does God require of His people? We examined the five infinitive forms in the passage, the rhetorical force of the question, and the claim that the commandments are given “for your good.”

We then placed this requirement within the larger story of the Golden Calf, Moses’ intercession, the second tablets, the exclusive worship of God, divine love for the ancestors, and the command to circumcise the heart.

This class explores how biblical obedience moves from grammar to theology and from external commandments to inner transformation. God’s requirement is not one isolated religious act, but an entire covenantal life shaped by reverence, love, loyalty, service, and an open heart.

Video 1

Ekev and the Commandments Beneath the Heel

The name of the Torah portion and the student-selected topic

We began with the name of the Torah portion: Ekev—עֵקֶב. In Deuteronomy 7:12, the word introduces the consequences that will follow when Israel listens to and observes God’s commandments.

Rabbinic interpretation also connects ekev with the Hebrew word for the heel. This produces the image of commandments that a person may casually “trample beneath the heel.”

These are not necessarily the dramatic commandments that receive the most attention. They may be the ordinary responsibilities that people overlook or treat as less important, although they remain part of the same covenant.

We also reviewed the possible subjects offered in the weekly poll: the manna, the Golden Calf, the Seven Species and the Land of Israel, and the Haftarah’s powerful words: “The LORD has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.”

The class selected the question from Deuteronomy 10: “What does the LORD your God ask of you?” This became the organizing theme of the lesson.

Main idea: Covenant is expressed not only through the most visible religious obligations, but also through the commandments and responsibilities that people are most likely to overlook.

Video 2

What Does the LORD Ask of You?

Deuteronomy 10:12–13 and the five infinitives of covenantal life

We read Deuteronomy 10:12–13, beginning with the rhetorical question: “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you?”

We examined the participle שֹׁאֵל—“asks” or “is asking.” The form presents God’s requirement as active and immediate. The question is not only what God asked in the distant past, but what He continues to ask of Israel.

The answer is constructed around five infinitive forms:

לְיִרְאָה — to fear
לָלֶכֶת — to walk
לְאַהֲבָה — to love
לַעֲבֹד — to serve
לִשְׁמֹר — to keep

The expression כִּי אִם, often translated as “only” or “except,” initially seems to reduce the demand: What does God ask except this?

Yet the five infinitives show that the requirement is not small. It embraces the whole person: reverence, conduct, love, worship, obedience, heart, and soul.

We also discussed the final words: לְטוֹב לָךְ—“for your good.” The commandments are not presented as supplying something that God lacks. They are intended for the good of the person and the community that live by them.

Main idea: The question sounds simple, but its answer describes an entire covenantal way of life: fear, walking, love, service, and obedience.

Video 3

After the Golden Calf

Forgiveness, covenant renewal, and Moses’ three periods of forty days

To understand the requirements of Deuteronomy 10:12–13, we returned to the preceding verses and the aftermath of the Golden Calf.

Moses recalls remaining on Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights. God listened to his intercession and did not destroy Israel.

According to Jewish tradition, Moses ascended Mount Sinai during three periods of forty days.

During the first period, Moses received the first tablets.
During the second, he pleaded that God would not destroy Israel after the sin of the Golden Calf.
During the third, he received the second tablets, marking forgiveness and the renewal of the covenant.

The breaking of the first tablets is traditionally associated with the Seventeenth of Tammuz. The third period concludes on Yom Kippur, the day connected with forgiveness and the reception of the second tablets.

We also examined the words: קוּם לֵךְ—“Rise, go,” followed by וְיָבֹאוּ וְיִירְשׁוּ—“and they shall come and inherit.”

The command is followed by yiqtol forms that extend the intention of the speaker. Moses must rise and lead, so that the people may enter and inherit the land.

Main idea: The question “What does God require?” is asked after failure, intercession, forgiveness, and restoration. Obedience is the response of a forgiven people whose covenant has been renewed.

Video 4

The LORD—Him Alone

Deuteronomy 10:20 and the topicalization of the object

We read Deuteronomy 10:20:

אֶת־יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ תִּירָא
אֹתוֹ תַעֲבֹד וּבוֹ תִדְבָּק

“The LORD your God you shall fear; Him you shall serve, and to Him you shall cling.”

The grammatical object אֶת־יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ—“the LORD your God” appears at the beginning of the sentence rather than in its expected position after the verb.

This allowed us to distinguish between the grammatical subject of a sentence and its discourse topic or focus.

The construction may be described as object fronting or topicalization of the object. The unusual word order brings the object into focus and gives it restrictive emphasis.

The verse therefore means more than simply “fear and serve.” It emphasizes that it is the LORD—and no other god— whom Israel must fear, serve, and cling to.

The same principle appears in the command to swear by His name, rather than invoking the names of other gods.

Main idea: Biblical Hebrew word order can communicate theology. By placing the object first, the verse emphasizes the exclusive worship of the LORD.

Video 5

Loved Before Being Commanded to Love

Deuteronomy 10:15, the ancestors, and the covenant “today”

We read Deuteronomy 10:15:

רַק בַּאֲבֹתֶיךָ חָשַׁק יְהֹוָה לְאַהֲבָה אוֹתָם

“Yet the LORD was attached to your ancestors, to love them.”

Israel is commanded to love God, but this command is grounded in a prior act of divine love. God first loved and chose the ancestors.

We examined the verb חָשַׁק, which expresses attachment, desire, and affection. Israel’s love is therefore not the beginning of the relationship, but a response to the love that preceded it.

We also considered the biblical method through which the blessing of Abraham would spread. The covenant would continue through the family Abraham established and through his descendants.

The family becomes the vehicle through which blessing, identity, responsibility, and covenant are carried from one generation to the next.

The verse concludes with the recurring Deuteronomic expression: כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה—“as on this day.”

This language presents the covenant as both permanent and continually renewed. Every generation is invited to hear the covenant as though it were being established again today.

Main idea: Israel’s love of God is a response to divine love, and the ancient covenant becomes present and renewed in every generation.