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Bechukotai
Sidra Summary
1ST ALIYA (KOHEN) – VAYIKRA 26:3-5
G-d promises that if we keep His laws, then He will provide rain, the Land will give plenty of produce and we will not suffer any physical threat from enemies.
2ND ALIYA (LEVI) – 26:6-9
More blessings are promised if we follow G-d’s will. Wild beasts will withdraw from the Land and our enemies “will fall before us”. G-d will make us fruitful and multiply our numbers.
3RD ALIYA (SHLISHI) – 26:10-46
This aliyah opens with further blessings
26 MAY 2022
“Any tithe of cattle or of the flock, any that passes under the staff, the tenth one shall be holy to G-d” (Vayikra 27:32)
if we choose the right path – a huge abundance of crops and a tangible sense of G-d’s presence amongst us: “I will walk among you, I will be G-d unto you and you will be a people unto Me”. However, it then continues with the tochacha, the Passage of Retribution, which is recited in an undertone by the person reading from the Torah. If we do not listen to G-d and do not observe the mitzvot, the consequences will be grave. Five stages of punishments are listed. These include: being captured by enemies, the Land being unproductive, livestock being destroyed, famine, hunger and being chased from the Land but finding no comfort on foreign soils. Eventually, however, G-d will remember His covenant with the forefathers. He will never fully reject Israel. Point to Consider: With which transgression does Rashi associate the onset of the retribution? (26:14)
4TH ALIYA (REVI’I) – 27:1-15
One is able to make a vow pledging to give one’s monetary value or the monetary value of someone else, to the Temple. These gifts are referred to as erechin (‘valuations’). The amount is based on a list of fixed values depending upon age and gender. After designating an animal to be brought as an
offering, one is not allowed to try to switch its status to another animal.
5TH ALIYA (CHAMISHI) – 27:16-21
The Torah details how to ‘redeem’ a house or field, as first discussed in the 3rd and 4th aliyot. This includes calculating the amount of time left until the Jubilee year (Yovel) at the point of redemption.
6TH ALIYA (SHISHI) – 27:22-28
A firstborn animal is dedicated from birth to be a Temple offering. If a person dedicated a non-kosher animal to the Temple, he must redeem it and bring its monetary value instead, after adding a fifth to its value.
7TH ALIYA (SHEVI’I) – 27:29-34
Certain types of agricultural tithes can be redeemed if an additional fifth of the original value is added. This is the closing part of the book of Vayikra. We stand for the final verse and after it recite: “chazak, chazak ve’nitchazek”, a phrase asking for continued strength for our study of the Torah.
HAFTARAH
The prophet Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) admonishes the people for worshipping
idols and forecasts the downfall of those who turn their hearts away from G-d. In contrast, Yirmiyahu encourages those who trust in Him, comparing them to “a tree that is planted near water, which will spread its roots alongside brooks and will not see when heat comes, whose foliage will be ever fresh”.
Bechukotai RABBI DR RAYMOND APPLE
A WALK IN THE STATUTES
The Sifra is puzzled about the opening statement that says we should “walk in G-d’s statutes”. To tell us to *fulfil the commandments* would be obvious, but the fulfilment of the mitzvot is actually stated separately in the same sentence as the one we have quoted. The idea of walking must have a particular purpose if it is given independent mention. What the Sifra is telling us is that statutes (blunt rules for which the text gives no elaborate explanation) require a special kind of activity. We have to obey such laws without too much discussion or debate. They are clear and unambiguous. What G-d is telling us is, “Do this, don’t do that, don’t argue about it! Take this path, walk the way I tell you, don’t make a fuss about it: I know what I am doing, My wisdom is reliable; don’t think you can find a better way!”
A MISPLACED PERORATION?
“These are the statutes, ordinances and
laws which HaShem gave the Children of Israel” (Lev. 26:46). The Alshich finds it strange to have a summing up of this kind placed at the beginning of a section of the Torah. It seems more logical, he thinks, to make this the peroration of the whole Torah. The explanation is that it is the heading of the solemn message which Moses has brought down the mountain with him. It is the introductory announcement of the agenda that both he and the people of Israel will henceforth have to live by in the wilderness and then in the Promised Land. There was certainly a case for a good peroration at the end of the Torah but the list of the laws needed a heading.
REAPING A REWARD
Judaism insists that reward and punishment are determined by human action. If you obey G-d you will be rewarded, if you disobey you will be punished. The general principle is beyond debate, but the details are a problem. How do we define reward (or punishment)? Are we rewarded financially, agriculturally, climatically, intellectually, emotionally, psychologically? Is the reward (or punishment) in this world or the next? Are there personal consequences of our deeds, or are the
consequences communal? Who gets the reward or punishment, me or my society or mankind as a whole? What does the word “obey” (or “disobey”) connote – believing in G-d, fulfilling a ritual mitzvah, being ethical? An unexpected approach comes in Pir’kei Avot 4:2, where Ben Azzai says that the reward of a mitzvah is a mitzvah and the punishment of a sin is a sin. Maybe this means that the reward of a mitzvah is the thought and feeling that you have done a good thing. Maybe it means that the reward of a mitzvah is the opportunity of going on to do the next mitzvah.
THE SIGH OF RELIEF.
Regular synagogue-goers tend to breathe a sigh of relief when the Torah readings come to B’chukkotai. Weeks and weeks have been occupied by the Book of Vayyikra; Temple rituals, priests and sacrifices have been our weekly agenda. This Shabbat, however, Vayyikra comes to an end, and the “interesting” parts of the Torah resume next week. However, the Torah itself does not seem to share this approach. It states in this week’s portion, “These are the statutes, the ordinances and the laws which HaShem ordained between Him and
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the Children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses” (Lev. 26:46). Nothing is said about the Book being replete with boring material. Instead it assures us that the sacrificial laws and the other allegedly boring stuff derive from Sinai and must be treated with respect. Possibly one explanation is that the sacrificial system has an underlying symbolism which dare not be minimised. A philosophy which remains in the realms of theory has little chance of building and changing people’s lives. A set of principles that does not translate into detailed actions has neither excitement nor inspiration. A cause that does not evoke a spirit of sacrifice can never draw people to its service. Belief in G-d requires day-to-day commitment. Rabbi Raymond Apple was for many years Australia’s highest profile rabbi and the leading spokesman on Judaism. After serving congregations in London, Rabbi Apple was chief minister of the Great Synagogue, Sydney, for 32 years. He also held many public roles, particularly in the fields of chaplaincy, interfaith dialogue and Freemasonry, and is the recipient of several national and civic honours. Now retired, he lives in Jerusalem and blogs at http://www.oztorah.com
