The topic of the important
place accorded to the Land, which we examined in Parashat B’har with its varied
ramifications, continues in Parashat B’chu’kotai ("In My Statutes"), as seen in 26:3-13.
Keeping YHVH's statutes is destined to be reflected in the natural conditions of
the Land of
Yisrael
In 26:5 we read, “…and your
threshing shall reach [or overtake] the vintage, and the vintage shall reach [or
overtake] the sowing time; and you shall eat your bread to satisfaction, and
live in your land securely.” This is especially pertinent in light of Parashat
B’har’s sh’mita-year promise: “Then I will command My blessing on you in the
sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years” (Lev. 25:21
italics added). In a prophecy pertaining to a latter day, the Prophet Amos
echoes this “overtaking”: "The plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the
treader of grapes him who draws along seed" (9:13). Moreover, we are also
reminded of 25:22 (in the previous Parasha: “and [you] shall eat of the old
crop… until the coming in of its crop; you shall eat of the old"), by 26:10:
"And you shall eat very old provision, and clear away the old because of the
new." In other words, not only will there be a long and lasting overabundance
which will remain fresh and usable for the entire time period, but even before
it is fully consumed there will be a fresh crop!
Having examined in Parashat
B’har one of the words for "interest" - “marbit” (whose root is r.v/b.a), we
will now take a look at another word that shares the same root - “r’vava”
(which we also encountered in Parashat Cha’yey Sarah in Gen. 24:60). In 26:8 we
read, "…and one hundred of you shall pursue ten thousand (“r’vava”)…" (emphasis added).
These promises are sealed
with the familiar: "I am YHVH your Elohim, who has brought you out of the land
of the Egyptians, from being their slaves.” It then continues: “And I will break
the bars of your yoke, and I will make you walk upright" (26:13). "Walking upright" is “ko'memi'yoot,” of the root k.o.m (kof, vav,
mem), meaning to “rise or get up." In Parashot Va'ye'tze (Gen.
28:10-32:2) and Vayishlach (Gen. 32:3-Ch. 36) we noticed the significance of
Ya'acov's "rising up," as well as that of the special "place" - ma'kom (of the
same root) - where he experienced some of his ‘rising.’ Here the sons of this
Patriarch are promised "an upright walk," providing they do so in Elohim's
chosen paths. Additionally, in 26:37 we encounter the word “t’kuma,” translated "power to stand" (“you shall have no power
to stand before your enemies”), with its more modern usage being "resurrection"
and "recovery."
But if Yisrael chooses to
“..despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not
perform all My commandments, but break [invalidate] My covenant” (26:15 italics
added), a long list of punitive measures follow. “Abhor” here is “tig’al” (root g.a.l gimmel, ayin, lamed),
being the first time this word is mentioned (26:11). Some may recognize the
similarity of this verb to “ga’al” – redeem (gimmel, alef, lamed), a minor change in spelling
and sound (ayin versus alef), and yet a world of difference! Making void the
covenant signifies removing one’s self from under the protective umbrella of
redemption, rendering it no longer operational. Further in verse 18 we read:
“if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.”
The chastisement of “seven times over” is also mentioned in verses 21, 24 and
28. As part of YHVH’s covenant with His people, provision for national
atonement for sin was made available by the high priest sprinkling seven times
the blood of a goat on the mercy seat on the Day of Atonement (ref. Lev.
16:14). Hence, nullifying of the covenant would result in a similarly
seven-fold outcome.
Thus YHVH will not "make
them walk uprightly" (as we saw above), but instead will inflict upon them a
series of blows. Moreover, He will also "walk contrary" to them (ref. 26:24).The
expression "walking contrary" is used nowhere else except in this chapter, where
it appears… seven times! The word used for "contrary" – keri - probably stems from the root k.r.h
(kof, resh, hey), meaning "to happen." Rashi comments on this: “Our rabbis said:
‘This word signifies irregularity, by chance, something that happens only
occasionally. Thus [meaning], 'if you will follow the commandments irregularly…’
Menahem explains it as an expression for refraining… ‘refrain (hoker) your foot
from your neighbor's house’ (Prov. 25:17), or of a refraining (va'yikar)
spirit…."1. “Keri,” therefore, may refer to an avoidance of performing YHVH’s
Word, along with a casual and nonchalant attitude which was also condemned by
Yeshua in Revelation 3:15,16, where we read: "I wish you were cold or hot… So
then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot I will spew you out of
my mouth" (italics added), leading us to the curse of eventually being spewed
out of the Land (26:32 – 39, and
also Lev. 20:22). Thus the “contrary walk” incurs a “seven-fold chastisement.”
The list of curses
(26:14-46) is somewhat parallel to the list of the blessings, albeit much
longer. It is divided up into several progressive categories: diseases, defeat,
drought, carnivorous animals, and a combination of wars, plagues and famines,
which will cause parents to consume their own children's flesh. Finally, after
the destruction of the idols and pagan images, there will be a dispersion of the
People of Yisrael among the Gentile nations. Under these conditions, and once
the Land has been emptied of its inhabitants, its Shabbats will be repaid (as
the Israelites did not keep the Sabbatical years that we read about in the last
Parasha). These Shabbats will "appease" the land, with the word used here being
“tirtzeh” (of the root “ratzon” -
“will or acceptance”). Thus, the land "will be appeased" (v. 34, 35) and “accept” its
inhabitants. Accordingly, the "year of acceptance" (Is. 61:2) is “sh'nat
ratzon.” The same word for “acceptance” appeared in Parashat Emor, where we
read in Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:11 about the Omer: "And he [the priest] shall
wave the sheaf before YHVH, to be accepted [lirtzon'chem] for you…" (italics added).
As we saw above, negligence to observe the Shmita on the seventh year, is what
makes the figure ”seven” stand out, relative to sin and the penalties
subsequently incurred. The usage of seven here reminds us of some of the
commands which the Israelites will be transgressing, commands that are related
to the figure seven, such as the seventh day of the week, the seventh year of
rest, and the seven years multiplied by seven leading to the Jubilee, the 50th
year of release of all debts and property.
The last part of Parashat
B’chu’kotai deals with laws concerning vows of dedications to YHVH (27:2-29),
while the final verses pertain to tithes. Verse 2 introduces the subject of the
vows by not merely stating “if a man/person takes a vow…” (literal translation),
but curiously qualifies the vow by the verb “yaflee”, rooted in “pele” - y.p/f.a (yod, pey/fey, alef), which
means “wonder, wonderful,” such as in “Wonderful
Counselor” (Is.9:6). This verb renders these vows as very special. The verse
continues to say (regarding those who were to be subject of the vows) “souls
according to your evaluation to YHVH.” In other words, these are vows concerning
the dedication of souls to YHVH whose ‘worth’ the person taking the vow is to
determine. In so doing he has to be aware of the awesomeness of his responsibility, hence
the unusual usage of the verb “yaflee” above. The “evaluation” (erech, ayin, resh, chaf) of souls continues
all the way through verse 8, having been defined at the very beginning by the
usage of “pele,” which denotes the enormity of the task.
As mentioned, verses 32-33
deal with tithes: “And all the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, all that
passes under the rod, a tenth
shall be holy to YHVH. He shall not search whether it is good or bad; neither
shall he change it…” (italics added). Y’chezkel (Ezekiel) 20:37-38 echoes the
terms we encounter here, applying them to YHVH’s sheep and to the land of their
inheritance: “And I will cause you to pass
under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
And I will purge out from among you the rebels and those who sin against Me. I
will bring them out from the land where they reside, and they shall not enter
into the land of
Israel
The final verse, which is
similar to the opening verse of Parashat B’har (referring to Mount Sinai) seals
off the Parasha, and indeed the book of Vayikra (Leviticus) with the words:
"These are the statutes which YHVH made between him and the children of Israel
in Mount Sinai by the hand of
Moses" (v. 34 italics added).
[1] New Studies in Vayikra,
Nechama Leibowitz, trans. Aryeh Newman. Eliner
Library, Department
for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora. Hemed
Books Inc.,
Brooklyn , N.Y.
Some of the word meanings
were gleaned from:
The New Brown, Driver,
Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon, Francis Brown, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody , Mass.
Theological Wordbook of the
Old Testament, ed. R. Laird Harris, Moody Press, Chicago,
1980
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