28 Jul EKEV: PRESSING THE “DELETE” BUTTON

Parashat Ekev begins by
promising great reward
for observing the
mitzvot:
Vehaya Ekev Tishmaun…
It shall be that as a result of your heeding
these laws…Hashem will keep for You the
covenant and the kindness and He promised
to your forefathers
Rashi’s comment on this pasuk is among the
most famous passages in his entire Torah
commentary. He writes that the Torah uses
here the word ekev as an allusion to the akev –
heel. Meaning, the Torah here speaks of those
who observe the mitzvot which people tend to
“tread on with their feet.” There is special
reward promised for those who ensure to
observe these particular mitzvot.
The common understanding of Rashi’s
comments is that he refers to mitzvot which,
for whatever reason, are commonly neglected,
that people often disregard entirely, or
perform them casually, mindlessly, as though
“trampling” them with their feet. We are
urged to pay special attention specifically to
the mitzvot that people generally tend to
neglect.
But there is also another explanation of

Rashi’s comment.
There are three ways to perform mitzvot –
with the head, with the heart, and with the
“feet.”
Performing mitzvot with the head means that
one fully understands the importance of
serving Hashem and obeying His commands,
and he lives with a clear perception of his goal
and purpose in the world. This is, of course, a
very high level, which not many people
achieve.
The second way is to serve with one’s heart,
with the emotions, because he feels inspired
and driven. The problem with this approach is
that our emotions are inconsistent and
unpredictable. Sometimes we feel inspired
and excited about mitzvot, but at other times
we feel down and dispirited, and we lack the
ambition and enthusiasm that we should
ideally feel toward the mitzvot.
The third way is to perform mitzvot out of
habit, as our daily routine, like getting up and
walking.
The ideal, of course, is to fully understand
that the purpose of life is to serve Hashem,
and to always be filled with love and devotion
to Hashem. Realistically, though, we cannot
always expect this to happen. And so the

Torah assures us that even if we serve Hashem
with our “feet,” as naturally as we walk,
because this is what we’re used to doing and
what we’ve accustomed ourselves to doing –
this has great value. Even for this we will be
rewarded.
What’s true in our relationship with Hashem
is true also in people’s relationships with one
another.
In an ideal world, people would always speak
to one another with their “mind” and with
their ‘heart,” thinking very carefully about
when to speak, what to say, and how to say
it. In reality, though, people often speak with
their “feet,” without thinking carefully
enough about whether, what, and how they
should speak. For many different reasons,
people often say things they shouldn’t. It
could be fatigue, it could be stress, it could be
anxiety, it could be simply that they just have
lots on their mind so they’re not thinking
carefully enough.
The problem is that we take unwisely spoken
words too seriously, that we turn them into
something much bigger than they really are.
The thing so many people don’t realize is that
our minds – like our computers – have a
“delete” button that just erases things that we
don’t want to keep.

Words spoken from the “feet,” without
proper thought and consideration, should just
be “deleted.” When that parent, child, sibling,
spouse, in-law, friend, or whoever says
something they shouldn’t have said, we don’t
have to respond. Actually, we don’t even have
to think about it. We can just press the “delete”
button, and it’s gone, forever.
So-called “hurtful comments” only hurt if we
allow them to. They hurt only if we keep them
in our minds instead of just “deleting” them.
Let’s remember – if someone says something
we don’t like, it’s not so terrible. They didn’t
really mean it. They’re speaking from their
“feet,” mindlessly, without thinking. It’s not a
big deal unless we make the decision to make
it a big deal. And the wise decision is to just
“delete” it and move on.