Long & many – Ekev
Part of the sidra is the passage we know as the second paragraph of the Shema. Its ending reminds us of the fifth of the Ten Commandments.
Both say that righteousness is rewarded by days. But in the Shema it is, “that your days may be many upon the land”, whereas the fifth commandment says, “that your days may be long upon the land”.
One reward is quantity, the other quality. If your days are many, you have quantity of life; but even without quantity, your days can be long if they stretch to enable you to use each moment to the full. Hence the saying, “Only God can give days to our lives but we can give life to our days”.
But for some people time hangs so heavily that they say, “The days are too long!” If you sit waiting for something to happen, for someone to call you, for anything to relieve the tedium of existence, your days are not filled with value because you are not stirring yourself to find places to go where your smile will make all the difference. people you will enrich because of your concern, experiences to welcome that will be enhanced by your interest.
Make vourself busy and your days will expand to enable it all to fit in.
