Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Vayikra
- Bechukotai
"If you will walk in My ways (follow My decrees) & observe My Mitzvot, and if you will perform them, then I will……"
When people think of our Sedra of B’Chukotai, they automatically think of the Tochacha, the punishments, rebukes or "curses" that come about when we stray from living a life in accordance with Hashem’s directives. And certainly the 28 p’sukim that comprise the Tochacha are the highlight – or "low-light" - of the Parsha, & we should take their ominous warnings to heart.
But we must also be careful not to neglect or gloss over the first part of the Sedra, the opening 11 verses that catalogue the blessings, the gifts that Hashem showers upon s
(literally!) when we stay faithful to Him & to the Torah. Just note how grateful we should be for all the Brachot that we have merited to enjoy in our own day:
"I will send you rain:" This winter in Israel we enjoyed rain in abundance, the most in more than a decade! The rivers & waterfalls were flowing, the Kinneret rose significantly as we ended 5 ears of drought conditions.
"The land will give its produce; the field its fruit. You will eat your bread, & you will be satiated." The bounty of Israel is amazing! Every type of fruit or vegetable is available in ample supply; no one goes hungry here. Just take a day to stroll through Tel Aviv’s Shuk Ha-Carmel or Yerushalayim’s Machane Yehuda & see the array of products there, a largesse unparalleled in our history.
"You will pursue your enemies; a hundred of you will vanquish ten thousand of them." Out-numbered though we may be, our valiant IDF armed forces continue to protect us from danger, deflecting the hostile forces on our borders on a daily basis & keeping us safe from harm.
"I will make you fruitful, & you will multiply." Israel is B"H growing! We have the highest fertility rate in the OECD, by far, & the highest number of multiple births per capita of any country; 185,000 babies were born in the last year! We are fast approaching having the majority of Jews in the world living here (if we haven’t already surpassed it!).
We bow in humble thankfulness for all these wondrous blessings we enjoy. But we are not done yet; there is another, vital promise which has yet to be fully realized: "And I will provide peace in the land…I will banish the wild beasts & no sword (violence) will pass through your land." We await the great day when the beasts of terror that periodically plague us will be completely eradicated, & full, lasting peace will reign over our nation & the world.
This blessing will come when there will be a "mirror-image" of the relationship between G-d & the Jewish People: If you (Am Yisrael) will walk in my statutes……I (Hashem) will walk among you. So, people, let’s get busy & walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
Jewish Laws and Thoughts Shul “etiquette:” can we honor Hashem while respecting our fellow congregants?
Rabbis in Midrash
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part I
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Our King on Rosh Hashana, Our Father on Yom Kippur.
Based on Aroch Siach, p. 221 (Rav Shaul Yisraeli)
