Just because – Ekev
Parents don’t have an easy time. If they want a child to do something the retort is often, “Why?” A detailed logical answer takes time and thought and sometimes all one can do is to say “Because!”
It reminds me of a grandmother and grandson I saw on a bus. The grandmother asked the child to stand up and give his seat to an old person. The response was “Why?”
The explanation seems easy for us but there wasn’t time to spell it out in detail so the grandmother simply said, “Because! Just because!”
It didn’t quite work, nor does it when we look too superficially at this week’s Torah reading (Deut. 7:12) where God has trouble (as usual) with the people and tells them to obey Him Ekev – “Just Because”, though He goes further and gives what amounts to a one-liner explanation – “Do the mitzvah because I do so many mitzvot for you!”
The full wording is, “Because you keep the commands, God will keep His covenant with you and will love, bless and multiply you” (Deut. 8:12-13).
