Parashat Ekev- Look Ahead, Not Back
In the opening verse of Parashat Ekev, Moshe tells Benei Yisrael of the great material and spiritual rewards they will receive should they observe the Torah's commandments. Moshe begins this discourse with the word "Ve'haya" – "It will be" – and the Rabbis teach that this word generally introduces a joyous topic, as in this Parasha. The connotation of "Ve'haya" directly contrasts with that of the similar term "Vayehi," which usually serves to introduce an inauspicious or calamitous series of events.
The reason for the different implications of these two terms stems from the simple grammatical distinction between them: "Ve'haya" speaks in terms of the future ("it shall be") whereas "Va'yehi refers to the past ("it was"). Happy, content people are generally those who lead future-oriented lives, who focus their attention on their hopes and aspirations for the future, and what needs to be done in the present to achieve those goals. Unhappy, discontented people usually tend to be emotionally preoccupied with the past, delving upon their failures and frustrations that have long since passed. The upbeat connotation of "Ve'haya" relates to the focus on the future, the hope and promise that the future holds. The past tense of "Va'yehi," by contrast, sets a bleak, solemn tone as it refers to the tendency to indulge in unhappy memories of days gone by.
Although the process of Teshuva (repentance) undoubtedly entails the uneasy feeling of remorse and contrition for the mistakes of the past, it is characterized primarily by working towards the future. Just as a person carrying a heavy load cannot easily move forward, so is a sinner incapable of making significant progress so long as the burden of his inauspicious past weighs heavily on his back. Growth and progress are possible only if a person is willing at some point to let go of his past mistakes and set his sights upon a more successful future.
A person once tried encouraging his friend who felt despondent over a certain failure, but to no avail. The friend insisted, "I feel I have to make the past better." This is the wrong attitude with which to approach failures and mistakes. The past can never be changed, while the future is still ours to shape. The contrasting implications of "Ve'haya" and "Va'yehi" thus teach us the importance of directing our attention away from past mishaps and focusing our minds and energies onto actualizing the great potential that the future holds.
