D'var Torah

Shabbat shalom friends. This week’s Torah portion (Behar-Bechukotai), concludes the Book of Leviticus with a litany of blessings and curses on the Jewish people for following (or not following) the commandments. Did you know that there are more curses listed (36) than blessings (11)? That’s a pretty big difference! The blessings come into play if the Israelites are faithful to God and the commandments. Those blessings include peace, loyalty, abundant crops, etc., while the curses for not following the commandments include misery and suffering.

Why so many more curses?

One thought is the no-pain, no-gain principle. That is, we build our resilience and identity through pain and challenges. Without being challenged, we would not be so fully committed to loving God or growing as a people. On the other hand, do we deserve the pain? Why can’t fulfilling the commandments be all about love and reassurance? Moses and God are really pouring on the Jewish guilt and letting us know that the concept of reward and punishment is important in the Torah, even though I personally don’t care much for this principle.

The early rabbinic scholars wrote a lot about reward and punishment. Rabbi Eleazar illustrates this view by claiming that God presented the Jewish people with a package from heaven, containing the Torah and a sword.

“If you choose what is written in the Torah,” God told the people, “then you will be saved from the sword. If you do not live according to the Torah, then you will be destroyed by the sword.”

There is also a story about a man who falls from the deck of a ship into the sea. The captain throws him a line and says, “Grasp it tightly. Don’t let go. If you do, you will lose your life.” The Torah, the rabbis say, is the lifeline of the Jewish people. If they grasp it faithfully and practice its commandments, then they will be rewarded and live. If they let go of it, pay not attention to it, then they will perish. Rewards and punishments have to do with the choices that they make.

God did give us free will to make those choices, but the decisions we make, according to the Torah have consequences. That’s what life’s about as well. All of our decisions have consequences, and those consequences can help us grow and feel good about meeting those challenges the next time.

Of course, we can also feel good through the blessings we are given in our life just for following the rules and being good people. My hope is that all of us find blessing and strength to face life’s challenges and see the good that can come from being loving, kind, compassionate, and faithful humans. 

Shabbat Shalom,

Cantor Michael Shochet