• | Print |
•  Email

Parshat Behar-Bechukotai
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו 

Bonding with the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land 

"מעשר הארץ"

"Our Father, our King! Have mercy upon us and answer us, for we do not have proper deeds. Grant upon us charity and kindness, and save us!”

Our Sages teach us that they deliberately instituted that the blessings and curses of parshiot Bechukotai and of Ki Tavo to be just before day/s of judgment. In regard to Ki Tavo, all know that Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, that come about a week or two later, are days of judgment. However, less known is the identity of Shavuos as being a day of judgment, for which reason the blessings and curses of Bechukotai are read just before it. The motive in this enactment is to awaken the people to take their actions seriously and realize the ramifications of their actions, so that they repent before these days of judgment. Nevertheless, this enactment is still not well understood, considering the fact that there are other days of judgment mentioned by our Sages, such as Sukkot - the day of judgment on water, or Pesah - the day of judgment on grain.

This matter can be explained by contemplating our Sages ascertation that Shavuos is the day of judgment on fruits of the tree, while Rosh HaShana is a general day of judgment on all deeds. If we take a glimpse at the difference between the blessings and curses of Bechukotai versus those of Ki Tavo we find that Bechukotai has more emphasis on the importance of Torah learning in the coming of the blessings or the curses, as our Sages explain 'if you go by my laws' refers to Torah learning, in which one pursues and 'goes' through the pathways of the Torah even if one is not yet able to reach their practical fulfillment. In Ki Tavo, in contrast, the term 'going by my laws' is not used, but rather the more practical-sounding term 'if you listen to my laws to keep and do, etc.' Based on these sources we may more greatly understand our Sages' enactment as expressing the two primary times of judgment running parrallel to the two primary fundamentals of Judaism, the study of Torah (with the contemplative aspects of Judaism in general) and its practice.

This follows beautifully when we contemplate Shavuous - day of judgment on the fruit of the tree, to also hint to the fruit of the Tree of Torah, called in Mishlei 'the Tree of Life'. Of course, this fits perfectly with Shavuous being the Holiday of the Giving of our Torah. Rosh HaShana, in contrast, is a general day of judgment on all deeds in general, and puts the emphasis on seeing ourselves as servants who serve the King of Kings. One of the explanations for Shavuos being the day of judgment for the fruits of the tree is due to the fact that this holiday occurs at the main season that fruits become ripe (in the Land of Israel). Interestingly, the ripeness of fruits is also a decisive halachic factor in the obligation to take Maaser, which is also mentioned, as in our title quote, at the end of this week's parsha Bechukotai which is always juxtaposed to Shavuos as explained.

As such, this parsha is also always juxtaposed to Hebron (Liberation) Day - Erev Rosh Hodesh Sivan. The Zohar explains that 'Hebron' connotes Torah, since one who occupies oneself with it is considered a 'haber', a member of the class of Torah scholars. Interestingly, here too the concept 'haber' is most greatly discussed specifically in context of their scrupulousness in the laws of Maaser both in the Mishna Demai and in the Rambam Hilchos Maaser. We may say that the 'haber' is not any person who studies Torah, but rather the mature or 'ripe' Torah scholar whose Torah study plays a distinguishing factor in their behavior, food, dress and the like, just like a ripe fruit is distinguished from other fruits. Thus, on such a scholar-Haber shines the glow of his great ancestors, the holy Patriarchs, the light of Hebron. Upon him HaShem says: ' You are my servant, Israel by whom I will be glorified.' (Isaiah 49, 3) 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Real Stories from the Holy Land #118:

“One day, I made a special effort to learn hevrusa with a specific friend at Maaras HaMachpela. After doing so, I 'happened' to 'bump into' this friend an additional number of times on that same day in various places in Kiryat Arba.”

Sources: Megila 31b, Rambam Maaser ch. 5, Meiri Rosh HaShana 16a

Comments, questions, and/or stories, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.