Drash Cards for Eikev (5761)

• In this long and rambling continuation of Moses’s discourse I want to discuss the motivation for grace after meals and the second paragraph of the Shma.

• About Chaper 10, v12, the Rabbis say that everything is in the hands of Heaven but the fear/awe of Heaven

• The word used is often translated as ‘fear’ but Art Green suggests that a better description is awe, which he considers to be the beginning of religion.

• Ch 10, v 17 suggests that it is easy to stand in awe of God.  How do we do that?  Via prayer

• In the Tanach, prayer is supplication. Today we use the word Tefillah for prayer, meaning praise (especially the weekday Shomne Esrei)

• Why does this great God, Lord of Lords, need our praises? Herschel notes that God is the loneliest creature in the Universe

• Thus, the roles of Torah and Tefillah are to indicate to us how we should behave and to make God feel less lonely