In this weeks Parsha, Eikev, Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25, G-d is telling us if we do our part, He will do His part. Simple. As a result of you keeping the commandments, I will love you, I will keep the covenant for you. I love Hebrew because it speaks volumes compared to the English. While Eikev does mean "as a result", it also means heel. What? Yes, it means heel. This is why the Hebrew is so awesome. When we take a step the first part of our foot to touch the ground is our heel. Why is this significant? We just said we would not step on an elephant, but we would step on an ant. Is the elephant more important than the ant? No. Its just bigger. Translate this to the commandments. Big and small, or important and not so important. Sounds harsh to think of some commandments as not so important. Thats because it is harsh.
What seems to be the smallest commandment carries just as much weight as what may seem to be a bigger and more important commandment. Its the details, the little things, the behind the scene action that also carries significance, importance.
I met someone who told me they assist the Chevra Kaddisha (Jewish Burial Society) by helping to prepare the body for burial. Another person explained the importance of washing their hands (ritually) before eating bread every time, someone else kisses the mezzuzah without fail when they leave or enter a building. Someone shows up every morning for prayers to ensure a minyan in case kaddish needs to be said, a person warmly welcomes strangers into the synagogue to make them feel at home. Which one of these could we step on with our heel?
My mother in law took care of her mom in her last few years with us. I would sometimes tuck Nana into bed when my mother in law was out. One night I turned out the light and said goodnight, walked down the hall and then heard her voice. I was sure she was calling me so I walked back towards her room. She was not calling me, she was saying Shema (in Hebrew) and asking G-d to watch over everyone in her life-she named them by name, one by one, she took her time. I didn't mean to eavesdrop on her prayers but it was beautiful, it brought tears to my eyes. Was she an observant woman in the way of the "big" mitzvoth?" No. But that did not keep her from trampling on this supposed minor one with her heel.
If we are not keeping kosher, we should not let that stop us from saying shema, if we are not keeping Shabbat we can still kiss the mezuzah-these things keep us and spur us on to more things. In addition, if we are keeping the so called "big" mitzvoth, we should not forget about the little things-these count just as much if not more.
If we feel we can't do any of the mitzvot, we need to think again, start "small". Starting small can be the biggest step we make, and then we will not be able to crush any of the mitzvot under our heels!
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