Bechukotai
Lev. 26:3
- 27:34
Précis: The
final parasha in Vayikra begins with a statement promising blessings
if the People follow Adonai’s ways. The blessings are discussed in detail. But,
if the People disobey, terrible punishments will be visited upon them, and
these, too, are listed in agonizing detail. The Book of Leviticus concludes (as
it opened) with regulations regarding the upkeep of the Sanctuary, from
voluntary tithes, land gifts, firstborn redemption, and the tithes of flocks.
Lev.
26:4-6 "I will give your rains
in their time, the Land will yield its produce, and the tree of the field will
give forth its fruit... you will eat your food to satiety, and you will live in
security in your land, and I will grant peace in the Land."
Jonathan Neril has written [MyJewishlearning.com
(5/13/14)] that praying for rain is a part of the spiritual life of a Jew.
From Shmini Atzeret through Passover, our daily liturgy includes a prayer for
rain; for the other half of the year, we pray for dew. Praying for rain is not
enough, however. In the cited verses, we observe that rain, so necessary for
our survival, comes from God. It is only when we do God’s will that we are
rewarded with rain. This has been at the core of our tradition.
Scientifically, few can really
doubt that human activity has interfered with the natural patterns of rainfall,
be it acid rain resulting from manufacturing, or global climate change caused
by the enhanced amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane since the
start of the Industrial Revolution. (I admit that there are some who do doubt
this; I choose to be informed by the facts, instead of by political denials.)
With the changes in weather patterns, we observe floods in some places, the destruction
of coral reefs in others, and decades-long droughts in other areas. Aquifers
which provide water for human consumption and for farming are drying out at
unprecedented levels. Human interference has upset the natural processes with
unexpected and impossible to predict changes.
As humans continue to urbanize and build roads and other elements of
infrastructure, one of the unintended consequences is increased runoff. When
there is less land and more concrete, more rain winds up back in the ocean, increasingly
contaminated with the detritus of urban life.
Kabbalists suggested that God established the laws of nature, and that when
human beings violate those laws, they are punished by nature. We cannot and
should not disregard the connection between our actions and what is happening
in the world. We are required by God’s law to live in balance with our physical
world if we are to receive the bounty we have been promised.
Our prayers for rain are important and should lead to actions consistent
with our prayers.
