Parashat Bechukotai

Torah Portions

Bechukotai (“In My Laws”), the final Torah portion in the book of Leviticus, describes blessings that follow obedience to God's laws and curses that come with desecration of them. It ends with the laws of vows and consecration of people and property.

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Blessings of Obedience

TANAKH

In the Torah, material blessings are promised to those who observe God's commandments. Parashat Bechukotai details those rewards.

If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments, I will grant your rains in their season, so that the earth shall yield its produce and the trees of the field their fruit. Your threshing shall overtake the vintage, and your vintage shall overtake the sowing; you shall eat your fill of bread and dwell securely in your land. I will grant peace in the land, and you shall lie down untroubled by anyone; I will give the land respite from vicious beasts, and no sword shall cross your land.

Leviticus 26:3-6

The Consequences of Disobedience

TANAKH

In contrast to the blessings promised for obeying God's commandments, the Torah threatens punishment for disobedience. Parashat Bechukotai details the curses that will befall the people if they fail to follow God's commandments.

But if you do not obey Me and do not observe all these commandments, if you reject My laws and spurn My rules, so that you do not observe all My commandments and you break My covenant, I in turn will do this to you: I will wreak misery upon you—consumption and fever, which cause the eyes to pine and the body to languish; you shall sow your seed to no purpose, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set My face against you: you shall be routed by your enemies, and your foes shall dominate you. You shall flee though none pursues.

Leviticus 26:14-17

Valuations and Vows in the Temple

TANAKH

According to the Torah, a person can pledge their value to the Tabernacle or Temple. Parashat Bechukotai gives specific valuations based on age and gender, as well as provisions for those who cannot afford the set amounts.

Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When any party explicitly vows to יהוה the equivalent for a human being, the following scale shall apply: If it is a male from twenty to sixty years of age, the equivalent is fifty shekels of silver by the sanctuary weight; if it is a female, the equivalent is thirty shekels. If the age is from five years to twenty years, the equivalent is twenty shekels for a male and ten shekels for a female. If the age is from one month to five years, the equivalent for a male is five shekels of silver, and the equivalent for a female is three shekels of silver.

Leviticus 27:2-8

The Power of Communal Observance

COMMENTARY

Among other blessings, God promises the people of Israel that if they follow God's commandments, they will experience military strength over their enemies. Rashi, a renowned 11th-century northern French commentator, uses midrashic sources to explain a puzzling aspect of this promise.

‎חמישה מאה ומאה מכם רבבה FIVE [OF YOU SHALL PURSUE] A HUNDRED AND A HUNDRED… TEN THOUSAND — But is this the right proportion? Surely it should have stated only “and a hundred of you shall pursue two thousand (and not ten thousand)!? But the explanation is: a few who fulfill the commandments of the Torah cannot compare with the many who fulfill the commandments of the Torah (i. e. the greater the group of those loyal to the Torah, the greater is the morale and, under God’s blessing, the physical strength of each individual belonging to the group) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 2 4).

Rashi on Leviticus 26:8:2

The Blessing of Timely Rain

MIDRASH

One of the blessings that God promises the people of Israel in Parashat Bechukotai is "rains in their times." Vayikra Rabbah, a fifth-century midrash on the book of Leviticus, explores what it looks like for rain to come at the right time, using narrative examples from Jewish history.

Another matter, “I will give your rains at their time,” at night. In the days of Herod, the rains would fall at night. In the morning, the wind would blow, the clouds would disperse, the sun would shine, the land would dry, and the laborers would go out and engage in their labor knowing that their actions were pleasing to their Father in Heaven.
Another matter, “I will give your rains at their time,” on Shabbat nights. There was an incident in the days of Shimon ben Shataḥ and in the days of Queen Shlamtza, that the rains would fall on Shabbat nights until the wheat became like kidneys…

Vayikra Rabbah 35:10

Balancing Blessings and Curses

COMMENTARY

Parashat Bechukotai seems to list more curses than blessings. Ibn Ezra, a renowned 12th-century biblical commentator, provides insight into the balance of blessings and curses.

The empty heads say that there are more curses than blessings. However, they do not speak the truth. What Scripture does is to speak of the blessings in general terms. However, it lists the curses in detail in order to frighten and scare the listeners. What I say will be clear to the one who reads the text carefully.

Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 26:14:1

A Long-Lasting Curse

MIDRASH

One curse in Parashat Bechukotai is that God will "unsheath the sword" against the people of Israel. The Sifra, an ancient midrash on the book of Leviticus, discusses the meaning of this curse.

7) "and I will draw out the sword after you": The sword drawn out after you will not soon return (to its sheath), as spilled out water, which does not return to its vessel.

Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 6 7

Redemption Through Sanctification

CHASIDUT

Why do the laws of valuations for the Temple follow the curses for disobeying God's commandments? Mei HaShiloach, a chassidic commentary by Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner, explores the connection between rebuke and redemption in these sections of the Torah.

“Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, a man who makes a vow to give the estimated value of a person to Hashem.” (Vayikra, 27:2)
After the verses of stern rebuke, God gave Israel a stronghold in the section dealing with values, namely, that a man can redeem himself from anything. Four kinds of redeeming are mentioned: houses, fields, people, and animals. This corresponds to the four times the word “seven” is written in the verses of rebuke. “Seven” represents how God is exacting down to a hair’s breadth. For this, He gave us four ways to redeem ourselves…

Mei HaShiloach, Volume I, Leviticus, Bechukotai 6

The Sacred Tenth

MISHNAH

Parashat Bechukotai instructs the Israelites to tithe every tenth animal. The Mishnah, the first codification of Jewish law from the early third-century land of Israel, provides a detailed account of the procedure for tithing.

In what manner does one tithe the animals? He gathers them in a pen and provides them with a small, i.e., narrow, opening, so that two animals will not be able to emerge together. And he counts the animals as they emerge: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine; and he paints the animal that emerges tenth with red paint and declares: This is tithe. Even if he did not paint it with red paint, or if he did not count the animals with a rod in accordance with the verse: “Whatever passes under the rod…

Mishnah Bekhorot 9:7