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
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 dedication 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
גשם, ארץ, חדש, ישן, הרבה, קרה, ביקור
Hebrew Tools for Everyday Use
The Parasha’s emphasis on the elements and
the land and its potential blessings (of produce) in response to obedience,
yields words such “eretz” – land, earth, ground – “geshem” – rain – and
“chadash” and “yashan” – new (produce) and old (produce). By the way, “yashan”
for “old” does not pertain to living beings, whether human or animals. “Revava”,
“ten thousand”, which we encountered above, stems in the much used root r.v.
(“rav” meaning “much” and “great), with “harbeh” – many – being very common in
modern speech. In examining the rare term “keri” we encountered the verb “to
happen” (“koreh” and in the infinitive “li’krot”), which does not mean “to
read” in spite of the similar sound (different spelling). We will complete this
week’s list with a “visit”.
Much rain fell on the ground
Harbeh geshem yarad al ha’aretz
What’s new? What’s happening?
Ma chadash? Ma koreh?
The seeds (are) not new, they are old
Haz’ra’eem lo chadashim, hem ye’sha’nim
I am visiting Israel
Ani me’vaker be’Yisrael (masculine)
Ani me’va’keret
be’Yisrael (feminine)
She is visiting Israel
Hee me’va’keret
be’Yisrael
He is visiting Israel
Hu me’va’ker be’Yisrael
Recording: http://vocaroo.com/i/s0P05xERZhI7
(To listen, highlight, copy
and paste on web)
