קדש עצמך במותר

This week we read פרשת עקב, which is filled with moral lessons of discipline. One of these lessons comes from the word, “עקב” itself. The Netivot Shalom points out that we must change around the letters of this word to “ק” then “ע” and then “ב”. What we are left with is the idea of קדש עצמך במותר, sanctify yourself with what is permitted. This coincides with the teaching of the Rambam, that it is wrong not to partake of the pleasures of this world. We are encouraged to fall in love and get married. We are allowed to live in a nice house, and where nice clothes. The message here is that these apparent worldly pleasures are permitted to us, when we sanctify them. This sanctification comes when we do everything in line with the Torah. Every mundane act becomes holy when G-d becomes part of the equation. We don’t sleep or exercise only because we enjoy sleep and exercise. We sanctify these two activities so that we will have healthy bodies, to “walk” and not crawl in the ways of Hashem . This is the lesson of עקב, to find a way to sanctify Hashem with what is permitted, by never forgetting that we are in this world to serve Him in all that we do.