AUGUST 3 • 2023 | 41
SPIRIT
Holy ‘Heeling’
T
he aftermath of Tisha
b’
Av always feels some-
what counterintuitive.
After mourning the loss of
our Temples, we feel the void
of our personal and commu-
nal Judaism; and we
go right back to the
routines of our exilic
lives. We return to our
morning runs, our
coffee breaks, our usual
entertainment; and
we move on from the
mourning, despite the
fact that nothing has
filled that void.
While we continue
to mention and yearn
for the rebuilding of
Yerushalayim every
day, multiple times a day in
different prayers, the pain and
discomfort of the Tisha b’
Av
has somehow dissipated.
Rashi (Devarim 7:12)
comments on the beginning
words of the parshah that
Hashem is specifically asking
us to take care of the “easy
mitzvot,
” those which some
people “trample upon with
their heels” (hence the word
Ekev). The Sfas Emes extends
this analogy to the entire
body. There are mitzvot that
correlate to the head, which
people consider as the most
weighty of obligations. There
are mitzvot of the heart or
other limbs, which are import-
ant to people, albeit less so
than those of the head. And
then there are the mitzvot of
the heel, which are the least
significant to people. And
yet, explains the Sfas Emes,
we also know that the heel is
that with which we create our
foundation, which allows us to
stand upright. It is with these
“insignificant” mitzvot that
we establish our true Jewish
identity.
And so it is in most areas of
life. We often invest much of
our energy in big activities, the
momentous occasions.
But if we think about
how much more time we
spend in the day-to-day
interactions, the every-
day routine of life, what
we realize is that who we
are is truly determined
in those “insignificant”
moments: in the greet-
ings to our co-workers,
in the patience with
our children, with the
thoughtful gesture for
our spouses and with our
daily prayers and blessings.
Perhaps our shift from Tisha
b’
Av back to our routines is
not a neglect for the cavernous
void of the Temple, but instead
a recognition that, if we don’t
have the big stuff, then it’s our
responsibility to make the
most of the small stuff.
If we are yet to merit the
experience of three pilgrimag-
es to Yerushalayim, of the Yom
Kippur service or the Sukkot
celebrations, then we must set
our sights on the smaller activ-
ities that we still can achieve.
We will continue to recall the
loss of our Temple, but we
will do what we can to bring it
back, by focusing on building
our foundation — its founda-
tion — through the “smaller”
deeds of everyday life.
Once we appreciate the
importance of the small stuff,
we’ll then realize that they are
really the big stuff.
Rabbi Shaya Katz is rabbi of Young
Israel of Oak Park.
TORAH PORTION
Rabbi
Shaya Katz
Parshat Ekev:
Deuteronomy
7:12-11:25;
Isaiah
49:14-51:3.
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