Parashat Bechukotai: Learning Continuously From Every Experience

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.

SAN DIEGO — This week’s parasha is the 33rd weekly Torah reading we’ve been learning from this year. With this parasha, we complete the reading of Sefer Vayikra, the book of Leviticus. It reads with a direct — or so it seems — promise that if we follow Hashem’s commandments, we will have prosperity and if not, we face rather chilling punishments.

Let’s look closely at the words inside of the Torah.

אִם־בְּחֻקֹּתַ֖י תֵּלֵ֑כוּ וְאֶת־מִצְותַ֣י תִּשְׁמְר֔וּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָֽם “If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments…”Notice the Hebrew words for “my paths,” chukotai, and “mitzvot,” chukim. The root of these words relates to something being carved or engraved, suggesting that if we follow Hashem’s path, His pathways will be engraved on us. When something is engraved upon us, it sits deeply within us. The mitzvot of Hashem are placed deeply within us. Since Saadya Gaon, chukim have been identified with the commandments of the Torah which we follow even if we are unable to understand the rationale behind them.

When something is engraved upon us, it’s there wherever we look, just as Hashem is there wherever we look. He is inscribed within us, imprinted within us, and as a result this mindful awareness helps change our experience of the world. Carrying the teaching of Hashem wherever we are, allows us to learn continuously from every experience. Every problem is an opportunity. It’s as if the entire world is our beit medrash.

Is that the reward we obtain when we follow in His pathways, recognizing that His commandments are emblazoned upon our hearts? It seems that doing mitzvot first helps build the trust and faith that blessing, that plentifulness, is on our horizon. Taking on mitzvot, malchut shamayim, the encumbrance of the kingdom of Heaven, brings us to welcome the Shechina, Hashem’s dwelling place. This in turn connects our attention to the presence of Hashem and adds fuel to our spiritual lives.

Our Torah is not a still, passive, experience. It is a daily, weekly, lifelong process. Look at the word halacha, “Jewish Law.” It means a path, which suggest something we walk or move through, holech, not something we simply stand still on.

The study and behavioral practice of the psycho-ethical-spiritual movement known as Mussar, dates back to the 19th century. It commonly means “correction or instruction,” for our “way of life,” and enables us to refine our character traits, to move ourselves along the path of wholeness and, through realizing our highest spiritual potential, to live happier, more trusting and loving.

We are taught in this week’s parasha and in others, “to be holy,” that our sole purpose is to become whole and holy, as spiritually refined as possible. We are taught in Bechukotai to dedicate ourselves and be of service to the needs of others. By doing so, we refine and elevate our own inner life, nourish our soul, and bring light to the world around us. We do so by aligning our words and our deeds. We do so by being authentically inclusive and accepting, not simply preaching to others how they are to be.

Reb Yisrael Salanter, founder of the Mussar movement, was troubled by his noticing how those who practiced Judaism were more often concerned about a drop of blood in an egg and less concerned about the blood that escalates in someone’s face who has been embarrassed, judged, or hurt by another’s behavior or words. Bechukotai hints at the importance of what Reb Yisrael referred to as keihah, the darker part of our psyche and how we can bring our brighter side to rule this, through Mussar. The Chofetz Chaim for example, in Ahavat Chessed, teaches that one of the main purposes of our laws is to help us realize our capability to perform acts of chessed and to imitate Hashem’s ways, to walk in His path

Along these lines, another word leaps out for me in this week’s Torah reading, “Ve’im-telchu imi keri velo tovu lishmoa li veyasafti aleychem makah sheva kechat’oteychem.” The word קֶרִי is often translated as “hostile.” It has not appeared anywhere else in the Torah until this week’s parasha and does not turn up anywhere else in the Torah. This seems to be saying that Hashem is more upset about our coldness, our hostility, than our simply disobeying Him. It’s how we do something, not simply that we do it. Can we learn from this about our interpersonal relationships? Being cold to others is destructive. It’s certainly not walking in His ways. Yet, there are those who fool themselves into believing they are better than others. We are a coat of many colors, none better than another.

Onkelos sees the word קֶרִי as connected to coldness from the root “koof-resh-resh” meaning coldness. Ask an Israeli about his/her refrigerator and you’ll hear the word “mekarer,” cold. To add to this notion of acting coldly to Hashem and to others, Rashi on this pasuk writes, “Our Rabbis said that the word ‘keri’ means ‘irregularly,’ ‘by chance,’ something occurring only occasionally so here it means ‘if you follow the mitzvot only occasionally.”Acting coldly, thinking of others only infrequently, irregularly, or intermittently, causes harm. Genuine warmth is more essential than anything, the parasha is teaching. This applies to loving ourselves as well.

Before contemporary pop psychology came along to promote the idea of “self-esteem” (most harmful, but that’s for another article), our tradition taught the importance of loving and unconditionally accepting ourselves and others. Then we are in a place to love family, friends and co-workers warmly, fully, and genuinely.

There are clear consequences to our actions, large and small. We learn from an analogy brought by the Chofetz Chaim of someone who travelled on a dangerous, high, narrow mountain path. The man decided to wear a blindfold because of how frightening it was to see the potential harm that would come if he fell. Imagine how ludicrous this is. The man added to his danger by making himself unaware of the actual situation. And many do the same thing daily in life.

By being mindful enough to realize the consequences of our behavior, positive and negative, we will be better able to safeguard our actions and place ourselves in a position to gain significantly. If we follow in His path, open-mindedly, we gain immensely.

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Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D., prepares a weekly D’var Torah for Young Israel of San Diego, where he and his family are members. They are also active members of Congregation Adat Yeshurun. He may be contacted via michael.mantell@sdjewishworld.com