Humility on the Mountain

In a double Torah reading such as we have this week with Behar/Bechukotai, the two parasha's are joined at the 4th aliya, when verses are read from the end of the first parasha and beginning of the second, without a pause in-between. The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that this is also how we may view them: taking a message from each parasha individually, and from both of them combined.

First, Behar - literally, "on the mountain" - teaches us to transcend the travails of the world. Even though we are "the least of the nations" (Deut. 7:7), the Torah elevates us, so we should not allow the world to affect us. Bechukotai opens with the verse "if you will follow my laws"(ibid. 26:3) and refers to all Torah commandments. Yet why does the Torah use the specific word "chukim" for laws, as opposed to the more general word "mitzvot"? "Chukim"refers to commandments that do not have apparent reasons, like keeping kosher, or not wearing wool and linen together. Just as we observe these commandments only because G‑d commanded them, without comprehending their reason, so too we must observe all of the commandments - even the ones that are apparently rational - solely because G‑d commanded them.

Now it would appear that these two ideas are contradictory. Behar connotes a strong sense of self, albeit in holiness, while Bechukotai connotes self-negation. The lesson, however, is that we require both realities. We need a strong self-image to engage the world. We must impose our reality on the world, and not let the world impose its reality on us. Secondly, we cannot deceive ourselves by believing that we have to understand each detail in Judaism before living according to Torah. Rather we should fulfill the commandments in a way of "do them first and then you will come to understand". Through perseverance, we will eventually attain the level where Behar is done in a way of Bechukotai, surmounting the world's challenges because G‑d commanded it; and Bechukotai is performed in the way of Behar, performing all of G‑d's commandments with vigor and confidence.

The first verse of parashat Bechukotai states, "If you follow my laws....I will give you rain at their correct time." (Deut. 26:3-4) Why does the Torah emphasize these physical rewards; shouldn't it focus on spiritual rewards in the afterlife? Rebbe Michel of Zlotshuv is even more astounded and asks, "Why does G‑d promise us anything at all? Are we not supposed to serve the Almighty without the expectation of receiving any reward (see Avot 1:3)? If this is the case, it does not matter what is promised! Any promise only confuses the situation. Isn't it preferable not to mention any rewards at all, and preclude the need for rabbinic warnings not to serve G‑d with the intention of receiving a reward. Blessings will come on their own to those who deserve them."

Rebbe Michel answered that any person who serves G‑d is most certainly blessed for his efforts with all manner of physical and spiritual blessings (as all the commandments are conduits for blessings). Nevertheless, this service has to be done sincerely for G‑d's sake, with great love, awe and modesty - without even a trace of an ulterior motive, of "serving the Master for the sake of receiving a reward". If someone is prompted by the thought of gain, he will not be rewarded, because he is motiovated personal benefit. This is the meaning of the words "If you will follow My laws and keep My commandments": If you serve G‑d properly, as a result, there will be for you a sign, an indicator, viz., the rains will fall at the proper time and the earth will bear fruit. You will see that the blessings come as a result of executing the commandments properly, only for the sake of Heaven. As I heard a young woman recently comment, "It is important to know that G‑d is listening."

Lag B'Omer commemorates the cessation of the plague that wiped out Rabbi Akiva's students, who were punished for their lack of respect for their colleagues. Rebbe Shmuel Shmelke of Nicholsberg explained how to love a person who has done you harm. All of us are one integrated entity, because we are all small parts of the original soul of Adam, the first man. We can be compared to parts of a body. Sometimes a person may unintentionally hurt himself, by dropping something on his foot or by walking into a pole. If we would then take a stick and vengefully hit the offending part of the body, we would really be in pain. So it is with when someone else harms you. It is only because of a lack of understanding of how we are all connected. If we just hurt him back, we are only doing ourselves more damage. Rather, we should remind ourselves that we deserved what we got, and the Almighty has many messengers. If this thought does not suffice, we should try meditating on the other person's soul, "a portion of G‑d from Above", which has fallen so low, and we should have compassion for His holy spark.