Is This Another Akeidah?

Parshat Eikev opens with Moses telling the Israelites some conditions for when they enter the land of Israel. He says: “Eikev tishme'un because you listen to God’s laws..." God will bless you, He will make you fruitful, He will make your crops grow, He will protect you against enemies, and more. When we listen closely to these words, they may start to sound familiar. They actually remind us of another time that God promised to dole out blessings – a promise that is also introduced with this unusual word eikev. It's the promise that God made to Abraham at the Akeidah, the binding of Isaac: Eikev asher shamata b'koli, "because you listened to My voice."

And that raises a couple of questions. First, is Moses somehow trying to evoke the Akeidah? And if so, why? And second, why is Moses saying that these blessings are conditional on the actions of the Israelites? That God is only going to bless them if they fulfill certain conditions? The Akeidah was a one-time, extreme act of devotion by their ancestor, and in response God promised Abraham that He would bless his descendants. But now it seems like the Israelites need to earn these blessings all over again! What happened? Isn’t a promise a promise? If God made a promise to Abraham, why isn't He keeping His word? How are we supposed to understand this?

In this Parsha Lab episode, Ami Silver and Daniel Loewenstein explore these questions and more, in search of a new picture of what the legacy of the Akeidah really means for Abraham's descendants.

Watch more:

What Does It Mean To Make A Covenant With God?

Abraham's Struggle With Loyalty

Akeidah: Was The Sacrifice Of Isaac Heroism Or Murder?