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Leah”s Blog Ekev – 2025
Ekev – August 2025
My fondest childhood memories are of the challah, the wine, the Shabbat lights- our Shabbat table. Challah- representing the grain of Israel, wine representing the sanctification of the libation, Shabbat lights- the early olive oil lamps in the Temple. The land of Israel has been symbolically represented as the Shabbat table all through our exile, preserved from generation to generation.
If someone from ancient times had landed on these mountains not ten years ago they would have encountered thousands of grey boulders and stones, a sea of thorn bushes and a few unlikely fig and olive trees scattered across the wasteland. They would have been witnessing a devastation. But see- Lo and behold- NOW- only a few years later the landscape proclaims a soft curtain of green evoking a strong sense of déjà vu- perhaps it looked this way, the way it was THEN. The cycle of life returns after the terrifying abandonment and the long wait. You feel present in this scene as the ever growing hillsides are shaved tan and then hundreds of metal poles protrude from the ground. Soon trellises of grapevines adorn the mountainside. Faster now, not in years- or months – in days, popping up on every mountainside. This is the homecoming.
Sprawled close to this scene is the hilltop youth in their muddy boots and distinct side locks. Thrown together, they have one goal in mind: Guard this land. Driven by intent zealous for Zion love and obedience- they will ensure prophesy yes does happen here. Brown and roughened by the sun yet glorious smiles crinkle their faces, innocent to the hullabaloo said about them. They are changing reality, toiling the soil in humility. In their casual yet steadfast grip on the land, their energy and defiance will seal this time of history. The saga of the vineyards of Israel is age old. Wine is mentioned 141 times in the Torah. Archeologists found exclusively in just the area of Megiddo alone 117 wine presses from the Bronze Age. There were two methods – foot pressed or wood and stone. The evidence of stone paved cellars, pits, operational facilities of agricultural industry are revealed on every hill and dale here. They don’t just have local significance but national historic and global significance. This is where the kingdom of Israel stood!
Parshat Ekev- putting your heels into this earth.
“For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of streams, of springs, and underground waters flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord for the good land he has given you.”
The seasons here always unfold into another in different types of bounty. At the cusp of spring, the green wheat fields turn golden – harvest is gathered, then it becomes hot (like today) strong chamsin winds blow and you wonder at the bounty u experience at the market- the mangos, corn, nuts, dazzling food and tasty in a way that only here you can ever know. The end of summer has the olive trees full and ready for picking just as soon as sukkot ends. The dates hang in clusters just waiting for your pleasure, dripping with honey. The glamourous high tech towers that glisten in the setting sun off the coast of Israel set a backdrop for a more rural and rustic drive east. Up to the mountains of the heartland, the Promised Land is acquired through obligation in still tilling its soil. The spiritually uplifting landscape here reminds us that working the land serves G-d faithfully through effort and persistence. Pay attention- the world is obsessed with it. Why? A land flowing with milk and honey does not mean it is meant for every man to sit under his fig and grapevine passively. Aside from cultivating, pruning, and sweating we in essence labor in our proclamation of being wedded to it, guarding it and keeping it.
This is where the kingdom of Israel stands!
Shabbat shalom dearest friends xoxoxoxo Leah
Enjoy the pictures of the Pinini farm planting new vines and picking grapes!
Devarim – Leah’s blog – July 2025
Events seem to always coalesce in the Torah, even right down to time of year. Different scenes from historical layers of time, one flake of ancient sand pressed into one of clay; forged together what we now hold in our hands- our Torah, our rock. This parsha, Devarim is always read on the Shabbat preceding Tisha B’Av – the day of our national mourning. It is not by chance that what we read in this portion touches upon the message we need to hear right now.
Starting at the beginning, the doomed ninth of Av was that burning hot day that Yosef was sent from Chevron to Shechem to seek his brothers. An image of intense heat almost had Yosef seeing a mirage, stumbling as he asked “Have you seen them?”- Yosef, who was able to “see” everything, tripped his way through Shechem – there is potential devastation foreshadowed here. Indeed, his brothers saw him from afar and plotted to kill him. He was not valued for his dreams and visions, the man known for his natural magnetism, morality, goodness of character. In fact, they hated him for that. He was sold as a slave on this day- a day of eternal shame and disgrace that broke the unity of the family of Yisrael, a day of baseless hatred.
Parshat Devarim recalls another tragedy that happened on this day- the sin of the spies. Evoking a similar event to the Yosef story line- Eretz Yisrael is viewed by most of the spies who are representing the tribes (descendants of the original brothers of Yosef) in a cynical, defeatist, pessimistic and hopeless stance to the Promised Land. The place that was intended to be the protective energy field of blessing was described as desperate and unlikely. Instead of conveying the fortunate luck of entering this Divine place on earth, a bad report had the children of Israel crying and dying in the desert- the only two to make it into the Land of milk and honey were the spies Joshua and Caleb who said “The Land is good- VERY good!”
Taking the story line of Kamtzah Bar Kamtzah- a person thrown out of the party which led to the eventual destruction of our Temple(s). Baseless hatred that had us sold as slaves and banished from our Land. There are also painful reminders of this day in our modern history- the day thousands of Jewish people were banished from their homes in Gaza and the northern Shomron. Viewing through the lens of the expulsion- the painful knowledge that any five year old knew more about the devastating affect it will have- above those politicians and generals who were driven by baseless hatred. No less than an atrocity, this story only augments what we know in the Yosef story- contrasting righteousness and evil. Until we return to Yosef’s territory- to the rock holding down this land, this country- the rock of our eternal covenant and implement full control of the place where Yosef was laid to rest- right in the exact heart of Israel, we will continue to mourn on this day. Brothers do not sell brothers. October 7 2023 was the result of this crime. How can we expect to win this war when Yosef is surrounded by monsters.
Known as the Yesod- “the foundational rock” which everything is built upon, this ancient story of Yosef is a precursor for all to come. When Yosef watched his brothers later squirm and sweat in their seats in complete humiliation at what they had done – it was for their own good. This rectified them selling their brother out. Then and ONLY when they reached the level of understanding of what they had done, he felt compelled to reveal himself.
YOSEF REPRESENTS TURNING BAD SITUATIONS AROUND! AND HE BELIEVES IN OUR DESTINY!
Our destiny is our tikkun- its about being together- all of us.
Shabbat shalom dear friends- MAY THIS BE THE LAST YEAR WE HAVE TO FAST-
Blessings always! Leah
Mattot – Masei – Leah’s blog July 2025
The story of Israel is an ever evolving one. The building up to its place of preeminence is the paradigm. The ideas and happenings that occurred at the beginning come back in a full circle now at this time. The story of Abraham is one of movement, of leaving your comfort zone and into a journey saying “hinieni- I am here” all the way. G-d could have chosen him in the place he was, given him an epiphany, having the story line begin and end in the same place, however that is not the course of the story of Israel. Abraham has to leave, travel, escape and reconquer the place that was planned from the day the world was created- the very center of the earth, connecting all countries and all nations, Eretz Yisrael.
The book of Berieshit is all about a pre-national state in which we see individuals dealing with danger, famine, thirst, and human flaws such as betrayal-(specifically focused in the Yosef story) which is a lead in into the next chapter of the story of our first exile in Egypt. We also meet angels and people who are so secure in their faith that what others see for bad they view as for good because it is all under the guiding hand of Providence. We learn about obedience in the face of trial. Those that challenge it fall away and dissipate, not part of the story anymore. The mantra of the story repeats itself, first through the stepping stones of our forefathers, their stamp and seal is imprinted on every place they walked and lived here. The implications of the origins echo memories as we later return as a nation.
Our story defies logic- no nation has lived so long and survived. Eretz Yisrael is a place we GO TO in order to plug in. It requires pro action.
There is “back to the start” programmed into the story, all nuances and lessons of deep esoteric meaning for us – how it originated and how it applies to this very day.
In these portions we learn in detail about Israel returning to and eventually entering the Promised Land. There are many theories that allude to the fact that parts of Transjordan which had been incorporated into the Greater Kingdom of Egypt during the rule of Yosef. (During the great famine) These conquests had been legally part and parceled to Menasseh and Efrayim by Yosef during that time, a time BEFORE “A new king took over Egypt who did not know Yosef.” In fact, later part of the territory on both sides of the holy Jordan River are bequeathed to the tribes of Yosef. The strong leadership of these tribes was able to overcome the fortified walled and gated cities of Sichon and Ogg easily perhaps because at an earlier time during the dominance of Yosef they had already been claimed; they knew the layout of the territory. This is why Moshe R’ perhaps declares zero issues with Menasseh settling half of their tribe here. They were simply reclaiming their heritage.
Yet another fascinating part of the parcel Efrayim and Menasseh come to inherit, is the area of Shechem and Dotan – there are two distinct stories that happened in these places. The original territory that Yosef had to pass when he was sold down to Egypt by his brothers. On a deeper look into this area, we also know that Yosef’s wife, Asnat was the daughter conceived by Dina, Yosef’s sister after having been raped by Shechem. Thus, the primordial hard stories of coping in the face of baseless hatred, as in the sale of Yosef, or as in Shechem Ben Hamor -a foreign beastly population that comes to kidnap and rape, prompting Efrayim and Menasseh to leave before the official time of the exodus taking a call to action in rectifying these evils by returning to those very same places. These places happen to be their inheritance that eventually become the territory generations later of an everlasting Land Covenant with Joshuah on Mount Grizim and Eval.
Every circle closes at its original point.
Now too we are struggling with similar issues as we come close to the time of the expulsion of Jews from Gaza and the northern Shomron at the hands of other Jews, when we have hostages STILL languishing in terror tunnels with hard evidence of rape and other atrocities happening to them -in our time – EXACTLY THE SAME THEME OF STORIES- but there is always tikkun, managing and overcoming these extremely hard things- the prototypes are all read and re read every Shabbat for us to learn and live the ideal archetypical responses like those displayed by Efrayim and Menasseh.
The state of Israel is nothing less than a miracle. There were Jews that came prior to the time it legally became a country of its own. They helped in forming the foundational level of what it is today, draining out the swamps, providing the first desperate attempts at infrastructure, they are the first part of the story of Zionism because they felt the urgency to return.
With 71 Knesset members approving the resolution affirming Israel’s right to sovereignty in Judea and Samaria as part of our people’s historic spiritual homeland and everlasting Land Covenant we are on the way to the next phase of the final redemption. Looking back over our long history and reading these Torah portions only reminds us of the self -sacrifice and dedication it takes to be a part of it.
Shabbat shalom dear friends!
Blessings, Leah
