Parshas Eikev Shabbos Times Erev Shabbos Shabbos Day Candle Lighting 5:20pm Latest time for Shema 9:49am Shkiya 5:37pm Shabbos Ends 6:21pm Avos Ubonim at Home Avos Ubonim 7:20-8:05pm Join us on Zoom at 8:05pm for this week's RAFFLE Avos Ubonim has been kindly sponsored by Eli and Tammy Nossbaum on the occasion of Josh's birthday Treat - Hot Chips!! TO BE PICKED UP SUNDAY LUNCHTIME Siyum on Meseches Shabbos The Shaarei Daf Hayomi Shiurim will be making a Siyum on Tuesday Night IYH - VIA ZOOM More details to follow ... Short Vort on the Parsha The opening of the parsha brings a rare word to the fore; Ekev, as in the possuk 'If you shall listen to these commandments." Rashi points out that the word ekev is from the root 'heel' and therefore the possuk is referring to when one does the smallest of the mitzvos that one might ordinarily stamp down with their feet. The Torah then goes on to describe the rewards/blessings that will be given to us if we keep these mitzvos. Why is there such great reward given for keeping the smallest mitzvos that the Torah should dedicate an entire section to it? Some answer that Rashi does not mean solely these small mitzvos, but rather he means that if one even keeps the small mitzvos, ie. and certainly keeps the other and more important ones. Thus, this section is another of those enumerating blessings given when we perform the entire body of mitzvos correctly. However, perhaps Rashi does actually mean to refer to specifically the small mitzvos (the Ramban does seem to understand Rashi this way). If so, perhaps we should try to understand the value and importance of the smallest/'unimportant' mitzvos. The value of a single mitzvah is beyond our full comprehension; a mitzvah corrects part of the world. In fact Rav Dessler explains the phrase in the gemorah 'there is no reward for a mitzvah in this world' to mean that all the pleasures of this world that have ever been and will ever be experienced by the total quantity of people in this world will still not be enough to bestow the full reward for one mitzvah. As the mishna says (Avos 1;2) 'we do not know the reward giving for mitzvos and how each one is weighed.' This is because we live in a world of action as opposed to thought. So, when we think of a 'small mitzvah,' we think of a mitzvah which involves little action; smiling for example. But mitzvos are not only measured via action; there are other criteria too - for example how selfless/pure one's motivations are in doing the mitzvah (lishma), and how much the mitzvah is done b'simcha , b'ahava, and how much exertion one goes through in order to do the mitzvah (Avos 5;26), etc.