Is there a connection between our acts and blessings?

B’Har/ Bechukotai

Lev. 25:1 – 27:34

Précis: B’Har begins with a description of the Sabbatical Year and the Jubilee (Yovel) Year. In the 50^th (Jubilee) Year, we are to “proclaim liberty throughout the land” and property is restored to its ancestral owners. The parasha continues with the prohibition against unlimited slavery, as well as the rules for the treatment of those who are slaves.

Bechukotai, 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 then 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. 26:14-45 “But if you will not hearken unto Me, and will not do all these commandments, and if you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors my ordinances....”

In this concluding section of Vayikra, the people are first promised rewards if they follow the commandments, and then the text offers a series of almost unimaginable curses which will take place if the People violate the laws. This section is called the “tochacha” (admonition) and the message is clear: God will reward the just and punish the wicked.

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The idea that a People as a whole were to be judged by God was a unique contribution of the Jews. Rabbi Plaut explains in his commentary that it was common throughout the ancient Near East for people to believe that the welfare of the nation depended on whether or not the king pleased the gods. He suggests that Jewish thought “democratized” this concept to the behavior of the entire People. The concept that our fate is linked to our behavior is a central tenet of traditional Jewish thought.   

            Today, except for some on the extreme fringe of religious ideology (those, for example, who claim that hurricanes are caused by the recognition of gay marriage), most have  difficulty in accepting that disasters of the type mentioned in the tochacha are linked to societal behaviors. Clearly, these verses do not speak to us in the way 

​they were 

understood by our ancestors.

            On the other hand, don’t we still want to believe that there is a connection between a just society and God’s blessings? Perhaps we should read this section with just a slightly different point of view: God wants us to follow the precepts that have been laid down for us because they lead to a healthy, moral, and just society. In other words, living a good life is its own reward.

Honoring Hashem

Emor

Lev. 21:1 - 24:23

Précis: This parasha is divided into four sections. First, it reviews procedures for the Priests to use to remain ritually pure. Second, it outlines the festival and holiday calendar. Third, it explains the use of the oil, and the bread on display on the altar. Finally, there is a brief narrative about a blasphemer who is condemned to death.

Leviticus 22:32 “You shall not profane My holy name, that I may be made holy in the midst of the Israelite people, I Adonai who sanctify you.” 

The entire Book of Leviticus is about “holiness.” While the Hebrew root for the word (kidusha) has an implication of separation or setting apart, most of the commentary over the ages has focused on the idea of separating or setting apart for very specific reasons.

            In the verse we read above, we read the important commandment not to profane God’s name (in the Hebrew “Chilul HaShem”). Not specified but clearly implied is a second commandment: that we are to engage in acts which sanctify God’s name (Kiddush HaShem). Profaning God’s name (“Chilul HaShem”) is explained by Rabbi Plaut as “any act that brings public disgrace on Jews and Judaism, [because it] diminishes God’s stature, tarnishes God’s reputation, and shames God's people in the eyes of the world.” As a result, a Jew who profanes God’s name in public ways (lying, cheating, etc.) violates the Covenant and reduces the ability of the Jewish People to succeed in its mission of being a “light to the nations.” We have seen all too frequently situations of “Jews acting badly” and the blame which comes to be associated with all Jews by the acts of a few.
            If profaning God’s name includes actions which reduce God’s light in the world, then acts to sanctify God’s name (“Kiddush HaShem”) enhance God’s light in the world.  Both concepts suggest that there is a dynamic relationship between Man and God, and that it is our responsibility not only to avoid improper acts which reflect badly on  Jews (and thereby on God); it is also our task to take affirmative steps to take affirmative actions which reflect well on ourselves and our fellow Jews, thereby enhancing God’s light in the world. The recent story of Israeli aid to the victims of the Nepal earthquake is an immediate and notable example of bringing honor to God thorough acts of chesed.

            The tragedies of Jewish history, especially the tales of martyrs who died to sanctify God’s name, have unfortunately left us with a slanted view of Kiddush HaShem. The main mitzvah as Rambam codifies it, is not to die for the sake of God, but to live for the sake of God, to sanctify His Name through our actions. Kiddush HaShem involves doing heroic and wonderful things as individual Jews and collectively as a people bringing honor to God.