Parshat Eikev - Little Things
by Rabbi Lobel

The word “Eikev” comes from the word Ahkave, which means the heel of a foot.

Properly translated (using Rashi’s commentary), this week’s Torah portion begins “And it will be because of your listening to the commandments that you trod upon, that a person does not take seriously, watch them and perform them... then G-d will love you and will bless you.” (Deuteronomy 7: 12-13)

“Eikev” references the commandments that we do not take seriously and we trod upon them with our heels.

The Medrash Tanchuma (Eikev 1) says G-d gave us six hundred thirteen commandments. Some commandments are obviously severe and some we do not treat seriously because they seem minor. However, King David was very fearful of minor commandments. “G-d, I do not fear the severe sins, rather it was the minor sins that I do not know if I violated because of their nature. You, G-d, said be weary of all sins as if they were severe.” (Tanchuma citing Psalms 49:6)

King David, the author of Psalms, understood that it is easy to heed the serious sins because of their severity. Rather, it was the minor sins we treat so casually that he feared.

But the depth of G-d's judgment is not limited to severe sins. The Ramchal tells us: “G-d will bring every deed into judgment. (Ecclesiastes 12:14) As G-d does not allow any good deed, small as it may be, to go unrewarded, so does He (G-d) not permit any bad deed, however small, to go unjudged and overlooked.” (Path of the Just, Chap 4)

Just as it would be a mistake to think G-d might overlook any of the good we do, no matter how big or small, so would we be wrong to believe G-d ignores the minor misdeeds we commit.