July 31, 2026 – Eikev

Gentle Hearts: A Prayer for Parshat Eikev

“Cut away the thickening about your hearts and stiffen your necks no more. For the ETERNAL your God is God supreme and Sovereign supreme, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who shows no favor and takes no bribe, but upholds the cause of the orphan and the widow, and befriends the stranger, providing food and clothing. — You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”  Deuteronomy 10:16-19)

Growing a thick skin is a double-edged sword. We need enough toughness to absorb criticism, laugh at ourselves and pick ourselves up from disappointment. But toughness is not an attribute if it desensitizes us to the pain of others, dulling our perception and diminishing our empathy. Our ancestors had to grow thick skins to survive slavery and the desert journey. Surviving such things does not afford much room for fragility.

This week’s Torah portion correctly articulates an emotional truth. Enduring suffering is no guarantee of being kind to others. We must be instructed, reminded and actively encouraged to view surviving injustice not as license to perpetuate or permit suffering but as a duty to prevent it happening to anyone.

This beautiful and brutal world demands toughness and tenderness. May we never allow what our people have endured to serve as an excuse for hard hearts and stubborn minds. May we practice mercy, charity, compassion and righteousness whenever and wherever it is needed. May our hearts be moved to kindness, and may kindness cut away the thickening of our hearts.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi David Wirtschafter