Hello and welcome to another episode of Covenant and Conversation with me, Rabbi Sachs.

In each new episode, we'll explore a Jewish idea from the Hebrew Bible based on the terror reading of the week.

Akev, the politics of memory. In Akev, Moshe sets out a political doctrine of such wisdom that it can

never become redundant or obsolete. He does it by way of a pointed contrast

between the ideal to which Israel is called and the danger with which it's faced. This is the ideal.

Observe the command of the Lord your God walking in his ways and revering him, for the Lord

your God is bringing you into a good land,

a land with streams and pools of water, with strings flowing in the valleys and hills,

a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey,

a land where bread will not be scarce and you will like nothing.

I like land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

When you have eaten and are satisfied, bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

That is the ideal.

This is the danger. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God,

failing to observe his commands, laws and decrees that I'm giving you today. Otherwise, when you eat

and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large

and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become

proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt out of the land of

slavery. You may say to yourself, my power and the strength of my hands

have produced this wealth for me, but remember the Lord your God for it is he who gives you

the ability to produce wealth. And so confirms his covenant which he swore to your forefathers

as it is today. These two passages follow directly on from one another.

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