Do We Deserve This Land? Parshat Ekev and the Test We’re Failing

This week’s parshat Ekev and its haftarah hit uncomfortably close to home. They promise blessing, protection, and victory—if we remain faithful to God. But they also force us to confront an unsettling truth: the gravest danger does not come from our enemies, but from ourselves.

I begin with two passages from the parsha and one from the haftarah:

From the Parsha:

“You shall destroy all the peoples that your God יהוה delivers to you, showing them no pity. And you shall not worship their gods, for that would be a snare to you. Should you say to yourselves, ‘These nations are more numerous than we; how can we dispossess them?’ You need have no fear of them. You have but to bear in mind what your God יהוה did to Pharaoh and all the Egyptians” (Deut. 7:16–18).

“Your God יהוה will dislodge those peoples before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them at once, else the wild beasts would multiply to your hurt. Your God יהוה will deliver them up to you, throwing them into utter panic until they are wiped out. [God] will deliver their kings into your hand, and you shall obliterate their name from under the heavens; no one shall stand up to you, until you have wiped them out” (Deut. 7:22–24).

From the Haftarah:

“As for your ruins and desolate places, and your land laid waste—you shall soon be crowded with settlers, while destroyers stay far from you. The children you thought you had lost shall yet say in your hearing, ‘The place is too crowded for me'” (Isaiah 49:19–20).

THE HARDEST BATTLE COMES AFTER VICTORY

Parshat Ekev and its haftarah speak with relevance to recent events in Gaza. The Torah promises that if we keep God’s covenant, we will be blessed, protected, and our enemies will be struck with disease. But reality reminds us that suffering and disease do not respect borders; they afflict all populations, not only those we call “enemies.” History shows that isolation and indifference often breed more harm—even toward those who think themselves immune.

The parsha’s promise is inspiring:

“And if you obey … your God will maintain faithfully for you the covenant … God will bless you … and multiply you … in the land sworn to your fathers … God will ward off from you all sickness; God will not bring upon you the dreadful diseases of Egypt, but will inflict them upon all your enemies” (Deut. 7:12–15).

But the reality we see—especially the human suffering in Gaza—shows that blessings and afflictions are not always so clear-cut.

LAND IS NOT A TROPHY

One of the most troubling verses in Ekev calls for wiping out the inhabitants of the land, “showing no pity.” Many see these as ancient ideals, not literal commands for today. But now we have the power to destroy for real—and we are using it. Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has drawn condemnation and raised fears of more displacement, famine, and violence. Self-defense is a right; losing our moral compass is a danger. Victory is not assured, and “security” may come at a cost we cannot bear.

The Torah offers a sobering reminder against arrogance:

“It is not because of your virtues … but because of the wickedness of those nations … and in order to fulfill the oath that God made … Know, then, that it is not for any virtue of yours … for you are a stiff-necked people” (Deut. 9:5–6).

If Israel acts wickedly, it faces the same fate as the nations it condemns. Recent acts of violence by Jewish extremists in the West Bank are not “patriotism”; they are terrorism. To justify massacres or hate as God’s will is to destroy our moral standing—and our soul as a people.

Moses knew the hardest test comes not in struggle, but after power is won. Civilizations rarely fall from weakness alone; they collapse from arrogance, excess, and moral decay. After nearly two years of devastating war, Gaza’s future is uncertain. Israel says it will not keep Gaza but will hand it over to “alternative governance” excluding Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. Meanwhile, starvation, disease, and mistrust deepen.

A WARNING FROM THE PAST

Today, as in the past, a zealous and radical minority is dragging the nation toward ruin. The danger comes not only from without but from within. Religious extremism feeds on crisis. The greater the threat, the stronger the pull toward simplistic divisions: “us and them,” “the righteous and the traitors.”

Worse still, zealotry sanctifies power as an end in itself. Acting under the guise of “patriotism,” its agenda is transfer, denial of others’ rights, and the dismantling of the justice system. It spreads conspiracy theories and seeks to silence dissent, labelling voices of reason as traitors. And too often, the public finds itself drowned out when it calls for sanity and responsibility.

The lesson of Ekev—and of Gaza today—is this: triumph can blind. Power without humility leads only to ruin. This land is not a trophy for the righteous; it is a trust from God. It will remain ours only if we uphold justice.

As we learn from Eicha–Lamentations which we read on Tisha B’Av:

“Let us search and examine our ways, and turn back to the LORD” (Lam. 3:40).

If we exploit the vulnerable, neglect the needy, or oppress the stranger, we forfeit not only our moral claim but the very right to dwell here. The litmus test before us is not whether we can win wars—it is whether, when the dust settles, history will find us worthy of victory.

This is a decisive hour. If the people do not awaken, stand firm, and speak with courage, we will end up where we have been before: in a place where no outside enemy is needed for destruction, because it rises from within. And when that happens, there will be no refuge.

P.S. Since this is the second week of the “comforting” haftarot, I’ll end on a quasi-cheerful note. In one of my groups today, someone remarked, “I’m going to be optimistic today—because who knows what tomorrow will bring.”

Shabbat shalom, Naomi