עקב |Eikev

Gilah Yelin Hirsch, Canada/USA

Parashat Eikev deals with a host of significant issues as the Israelites are midway between Egypt and the Promised Land. Much like a father meting out “tough love” to his teenaged child who has transgressed, Moses has been charged with reprimanding his people after the debacle of the Golden Calf, but he gives them incentive to reform. If they heed the commandments of God, they will journey beyond the many hardships of the desert to realize the abundance in Canaan. The splendors of the land of milk and honey are clearly delineated. After so many years of a sparse, dry diet, a colorful smorgasbord of seven life-enhancing, ripe, redolent, and delicious foods are stipulated and assured. 

Professional Background  Gilah Yelin Hirsch is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist, writer, filmmaker, and scientist whose work spans the fields of art, psychology, philosophy, psychiatry, medicine, anthropology, and architecture. In her book Cosmography: The Writing of the Universe (1995), she developed a theory about alphabets and their similar natural scientific origins. While Hirsch holds the position of Professor of Art at California State University, Dominguez Hills (Los Angeles), and resides in Venice, California, her far-ranging work is sourced in both solitary wilderness sojourns and exploration of world cultures.