Leadership and the destination postcard: Parshat Ekev

Abstract

In this week’s Torah reading, Ekev, we are given a beautiful set of images to describe the land of Israel: “Your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams and springs and fountains issuing from plain and hill; a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey; a land where you may eat food without stint, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you can mine copper” (Deut. 8:7-9). It’s a compelling picture of the future and one that might have helped the Israelites complete the journey ahead with greater enthusiasm and inspiration. It’s also a sharp contrast to the negative images of danger communicated by the leaders who reconnoitered the land as told in Numbers 13.