Eikev

Moshe speaks to the people, reminding them of all the blessings they will get by listening to & performing the Mitzvos. ‎He goes on to remind them of all the things Hashem had done for them throughout the years in the desert.  
Then he goes back even further & shows them how far they came by saying, בשבעים נפש ירדו אבתיך מצרימה , with seventy soul your forefathers went down to Egypt, ועתה שמך ה אלקיך ככוכבי השמים לרב ,and now Hashem made you plentiful  like the stars in the sky. 

The בן איש חי notes that this posuk is similar to other pesukim which refer to the Jews in singular, בשבעים נפש , seventy soul, as opposed to שבעים נפשות, seventy souls. On the other hand, the nations of the world are referred to in the plural, as it says by Eisav, ויקח עשו את נשיו ואת בניו ואת בנותיו ואת כל נפשות ביתו & Eisav took his wives, his sons & daughters & all the souls of his household. What's the difference? Why are the Jews referred to in the singular whereas ‎the nations of the world are called נפשות, souls, in the plural?

‎The עוללות אפרים once came before the king in order to benefit the Jews of that country. However, a minister who was an enemy of the Jews didn't want to let the rabbi speak to the king. He badmouthed the rabbi by saying that the gemara states, אתם קרויים אדם, you are considered man & the nations of the world are not considered man. Continued the minister, they consider us animals & then they come to ask us for favors!?

The rabbi answered remarkably, "how great are the words of our sages who said that it's forbidden for a goy to learn Torah, for he reads the words but doesn't understand them. True it says that we are called אדם & not the goyim but what's the intention of the gemara? There are four different names that refer to man,  איש, גבר, אנוש, אדם. Three of them have plurals: אישים, גברים, אנשים; however, אדם has no plural. 

This is what the ‎gemara means when it says that the Jews are called אדם and not the nations of the world. The nations are אנשים, in the plural for the people are all individuals. What connection do the people of one city have to the next? Do they care if someone in another town whom they don't know is hungry or in pain? It makes no difference to them. However, the Jewish people are called אדם, for we are one nation & if one of our people is in pain - no matter if we know them or not, no matter what country they live in - we all feel his pain for we are one.  

The king, when he heard these words, realized how correct he was. Whereas you might have random acts of kindness between the nations, it's nothing compared to the selflessness of the Jewish people for one another. 

This understanding helps us interpret what it means when the posuk says, "guard the mitzvos of Hashem by going in His ways & fearing Him." According to the Chafetz Chaim, fear is the lowest level of getting close to Hashem. This posuk instructs us that even to reach the lowest level of fear of Hashem, you have to "go in His ways" - being merciful and kind, being one who does chesed for other people. 

We have to realize that the way to get close to Hashem is by doing kindness & feeling for other people. That's what makes us unique & one as a people. Let's take this opportunity to strengthen our love for one another and to care about each other. By so doing, we will climb one level at a time until we reach the highest level of clinging to Hashem!