In the Third section of the Chumash of Deuteronomy, Moses continues his second farewell address to the Jewish People.

He stresses the importance of observing even what appears to be a minor commandment, which a person may figuratively speaking trample with his heel (Eikev, in Hebrew).

Moshe tells the Jewish people, “if you will heed (G-d’s commandments, safeguard them and perform them….” (7:12)

If G-d were to bestow His goodness on us even when we do not deserve it, He would not be doing us any favours. Firstly, we would feel like small children whose parents overlook their childish behaviours, as adult behaviours cannot be expected of them. Worse still, it would undermine our belief in Divine justice; we would just live lives of shame and confusion.

The rewards for observing G-d’s commandments are so great that they are out of proportion to the effort required to fulfil them. Even so, for the above stated reasons, G-d made the bestowal of reward dependent upon our efforts, and the bestowal of their infinite reward dependent upon effort that specifically mirrors their infinite, unlimited nature.

Therefore, we must take care to fulfil the seemingly less important commandments with the same devotion with which we fulfil the seemingly more important commandments. This shows us that, what matters to us most, is that G-d wants us to observe these commandments, not based on our own evaluation of which ones are important. G-d then bestows His goodness upon us beyond the strict dictates of what we have earned.

Have a peaceful and meaningful Shabbat, followed by a successful week.

Enjoy your summer break, travel and stay safe – sensitive to others!