And it will be, because you will heed these ordinances and keep them and perform, that the L-rd your G-d, will keep for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers.
וְהָיָ֣ה | עֵ֣קֶב תִּשְׁמְע֗וּן אֵ֤ת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֥ם וַֽעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם וְשָׁמַר֩ ה' קלקיך לְךָ֗ אֶת־הַבְּרִית֙ וְאֶת־הַחֶ֔סֶד אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖ע לַֽאֲבֹתֶֽיךָDevarim 7:12
Rabbeinu Bechayei writes that the parshah starts of with the word 'Eikev' as a warning: to those that step on mitzvot with their 'heel' (עקב) and treat them lightly. That is, there are some that disregard certain mitzvot, considering them insignificant in their eyes, and in a figurative sense, step on them with their heel.
Our sages have already revealed to us that for those that step on mitzvot in this world, then that act will come to them on their day of judgement, as it says in Tehillim - "The iniquity of my heels surrounds me"
Why should I fear in days of misfortune? The iniquity of my heels surrounds me.
ולָ֣מָּה אִ֖ירָא בִּ֣ימֵי רָ֑ע עֲוֹ֖ן עֲקֵבַ֣י יְסוּבֵּֽנִי
Tehillim 49:6
This shows how the mitzvot that he treats lightly, and quite figuratively, steps on, he will eventually be judged on.
Running to Mitzvot
This verse also comes to caution us about treating lightly those mitzvot that we literally have to walk to with our feet (heel) like walking to shul or the beit medrash, visiting the sick, escorting the dead, and to comfort the mourners. These are all mitzvot involving walking and they entail great reward.
Running on Shabbat
Our sages said about how we act on Shabbat, that we need to run to shul and run to hear Torah lectures, even on Shabbat. For it says:
R. Helbo, in the name of R. Huna, says [further]: When a man leaves the Synagogue, he should not take large steps. Abaye says: This is only when one goes from the Synagogue, but when one goes to the Synagogue, it is a pious deed to run. For it is said: Let us run to know the Lord.11 R. Zera says: At first when I saw the scholars running to the lecture on a Sabbath day, I thought that they were desecrating the Sabbath. But since I have heard the saying of R. Tanhum in the name of R. Joshua b. Levi: A man should always, even on a Sabbath, run to listen to the word of Halachah, as it is said: They shall walk after the Lord, who shall roar like a lion, I also run. R. Zera says: The merit of attending a lecture lies in the running.
Brechot 6B (Soncino translation)
The Sin will Follow Us
And when we don't fulfill these mitzvot, these mitzvot based on our own footsteps, then that very act of negligence, that sin, will follow us to our own day of judgement. That is the essential meaning of the verse "עֲוֹ֖ן עֲקֵבַ֣י יְסוּבֵּֽנִי", that, literally, The iniquity of my heels surrounds me, that where we walk will be judged.
Walking to Sin
And all the more so, not just to neglect to walk to an important mitzvah, but should we actually purposefully walk out to do an aveirah - an act of sin - then for sure our action, the sin of our heels, will come back to testify against us.
And so we see how this little word - Eikev - comes to have such important meaning and impact for our lives. It is from the lowliest part of the body, the heel - not the heart or the mind, that literally our fate hinges on.
And all the more so, not just to neglect to walk to an important mitzvah, but should we actually purposefully walk out to do an aveirah - an act of sin - then for sure our action, the sin of our heels, will come back to testify against us.
And so we see how this little word - Eikev - comes to have such important meaning and impact for our lives. It is from the lowliest part of the body, the heel - not the heart or the mind, that literally our fate hinges on.
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