Subj:Netvort : parshas Bechukosai, 5763 Date:05/23/2003 12:09:12 AM Eastern Daylight Time From:Netvort To:JoshHoff BCC:UncleYitz Being Real By Rabbi Joshua (authentically known as The Hoffer) Hoffman The Talmud directs us to read from the section of blessings and curses in Vayikra, contained in this week's parsha, Bechukosai, before Shavuos, and the somewhat similar section in parshas Ki Sovo before Rosh Hashanah, to indicate our desire for the old year and its curses to end, and the new year and its blessings to begin. The Talmud then marshals evidence to demonstrate that Shavuos is, indeed, considered to be a new year. Besides the message in regard to our fortunes in this world, however, I believe that this section of parshas Bechukosai has specific relevance to the theme of Shavuos, as the holiday on which we celebrate the giving of the Torah to the Jewish nation. The Talmud tells us that when Moshe ascended to heaven to receive the Torah, the angels complained, saying that the Torah should not be given to humans, but should rather stay with them in heaven. God told Moshe to reply, and he told the angels that the laws of the Torah are not relevant to them because they do not have parents to whom they owe honor and respect, they do not work six days so that they need to observe the seventh day as Shabbos, etc. In other words, the Torah is uniquely suited to the human condition, and to the lives of the Jewish people, specifically. I believe that this aspect of Torah is brought out in a number of places in parshas Bechukosai. Many commentators have asked why the blessings that the Torah promises for those who observe the mitzvos are restricted to physical rewards to be enjoyed in this world. Don't the sages tell us that the reward reserved in the next world far exceeds anything that can be achieved in this world? Why, then, didn't the Torah spell out that greater reward, rather than the mundane rewards, such as rainfall at the proper time, that are promised in the sections of blessings? We have, in the past, mentioned the approach of the Rambam, who says that the rewards mentioned in the Torah do not constitute the ultimate reward we will receive. Rather, these mundane blessings are merely enablers, giving us the ability to continue and perform more mitzvos. However, I would like to focus, for the purposes of our discussion, on the answer given by Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra in his commentary to parshas Ki Sovo (32:39) . He writes that the world to come is a profound concept that most people cannot grasp, and the Torah wished to speak in terms that are understandable to everyone, so that all sectors of the people will be motivated to observe the mitzvos of the Torah. We thus see, following the Ibn Ezra's comments, that the Torah was written in a way that is meaningful for people here in this world. Included among the blessings promised the people if they observe the Torah and its mitzvos is the statement, "And I will place my dwelling among you, and My soul will not be disgusted with you" (Vayikra 26:11). One may ask, doesn't this verse seem to be a bit incongruous? If God will dwell among us, He will certainly not be disgusted with us? How do the two halves of this verse fit together? Rav Ovadiah of Bartinora explained that there is a common problem of familiarity breeding contempt. The more we become accustomed to someone's presence, the more we take it for granted, and eventually tire of the person. Therefore God tells us that He will dwell among us and never tire of us. Rav Henoch Leibowitz, in his Chidushei HaLev, asks, why would this possibility arise in our minds? Granted, a human being acts this way, but should we expect this of God, as well, to the extent that the Torah needs to tell us that He will not act in that way? Rabbi Leibowitz answers that although it should be obvious that God is different than man in this regard, still, we as human beings view our relationship with God through the prism of or own experience, and expect Him to act in a similar way. Here again, then, this time in the realm of relationships, the Torah takes into consideration the way human beings think and feel. Finally, the punishments that the Torah mentions for transgressing the commandments are very graphic, and refer to things that will happen in this world. The idea behind these warnings is to instill the fear of God into us. Rabbi Avigdor Miller, in a posthumously published article, points out that though there are two levels of fear of God, the lower being the fear of punishment and the higher being a sense of awe before God's greatness, and, we all need to aspire to the higher level, still, the Torah addresses itself to the gut instincts of man, in order to arouse him to act in a proper fashion. Interestingly, although the Rambam writes in his Mishneh Torah that the fear of punishment is a lower level of fear of God that is fit for children, and more mature people should be in awe of Him, still, he writes in his Sefer HaMitzvos that the mitzvoh of yiroh - fear of God - is to have fear of divine punishment. My teacher, Rav Aharon Soloveichik zt"l, explained that to inculcate fear of God in a person, one needs to start at the basic level, and only once this level of fear is achieved can the person strive to achieve the higher level. Thus, by using graphic descriptions of this-worldly punishment for transgressing its laws, the Torah, in parshas Bechukosai, which is read publicly as the holiday of the receiving of the Torah approaches, again demonstrates that it is specifically geared toward people who abide in this world. Please address all correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com. 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