Parashat Bechukotai is the concluding portion of the Book of Leviticus (וַיִּקְרָא), which is the central book of the Torah. In light of all that God had done for the Jewish people - from their great deliverance in Egypt to the ordination of the priesthood in the Tabernacle - God expected them to live up to their high calling as His chosen people: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy (Lev. 19:2). Therefore, some of the sages say that the central point of this concluding portion is the tochachah (i.e., the warning of punishment) rather than nechamah (i.e., comfort). In other words, the focus is not, If you walk in my laws (Lev. 26:3), but rather, if you do not listen (shema) to me (Lev. 26:14). Indeed, the rebuke portion of the tochachah begins with the statement, vim lo tishmeu li (וְאִם־לא תִשְׁמְעוּ לִי), if you do not listen to me (Lev. 26:14), which recalls the Shema and the duty to love the Lord bekhol levavkha, with all your heart. If the people walk carelessly (i.e., keri: קְרִי) with God, then God will afflict them with the troubles of love (i.e., yissurei ahavah: יִסּוּרֵי אַהֲבָה).
Posted on: Sat, 17 May 2014 00:38:04 +0000
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