Bechukotai - Failsafe

Our response to failure shapes our destiny.

We’re approaching the holiday of Shavuot, a joyful occasion, so it’s surprising that this week’s parsha, which the Gemara in Mesechet Megillah 31b says must always precede Shavuot, seems at first glance like a downer. It’s one of only two times that the Torah relays a tochecha/admonition, declaring curses that God will inflict upon us. In this tochecha, the Torah tells us explicitly that we will be punished because we failed to keep the mitzvah of Shmita (the Sabbatical year,) and fittingly threatens a 7-fold punishment for these sins, parallel to the 7 year shmita cycle.

אָז תִּרְצֶה הָאָרֶץ אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתֶיהָ כֹּל יְמֵי הׇשַּׁמָּה וְאַתֶּם בְּאֶרֶץ אֹיְבֵיכֶם אָז תִּשְׁבַּת הָאָרֶץ וְהִרְצָת אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתֶיהָ

Then shall the land make up for its sabbath years throughout the time that it is desolate and you are in the land of your enemies; then shall the land rest and make up for its sabbath years. [Levitcis 26:34]

But one can’t help but wonder why our loving God would allow us to be punished so harshly. There must be an important lesson to be learned from all this horror.

To compound the negativity, our parsha repeatedly mentions the word קֶרִי / keri

וְאִם־בְּזֹאת לֹא תִשְׁמְעוּ לִי וַהֲלַכְתֶּם עִמִּי בְּקֶרִי

But if, despite this, you disobey Me and remain indifferent to Me [Leviticis 26:27]

which means coincidence or indifference. Since קֶרִי shares a root with the word ויקרא, it suggests a link between the beginning of the book of Vayikra and its final parsha.

In Parshat Vayikra, Rashi explains that God called Moshe with the term "vayikra" to express deep affection for Moshe and the Jewish people. Rashi contrasts this with God’s call for Bilaam, "vayikar," from the same root as "keri," a term reflecting God’s indifference toward Bilaam.

ויקרא אל משה. לְכָל דִּבְּרוֹת וּלְכָל אֲמִירוֹת וּלְכָל צִוּוּיִים קָדְמָה קְרִיאָה, לְשׁוֹן חִבָּה, לָשׁוֹן שֶׁמַּלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת מִשְׁתַּמְּשִׁין בּוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וְקָרָא זֶה אֶל זֶה (ישעיהו ו'), אֲבָל לִנְבִיאֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם נִגְלָה עֲלֵיהֶן בִּלְשׁוֹן עֲרָאִי וְטֻמְאָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וַיִּקָּר אֱלֹהִים אֶל בִּלְעָם

All oral communications of the Lord to Moses whether they are introduced by דבר or by אמר or by צו were preceded by a call (קְרִיאָה)… a way of expressing affection, the mode used by the ministering angels when addressing each other… To the prophets of the nations of the world, however, God revealed himself in a manner which Scripture describes by an expression ordinarily used for denoting events of a casual character and of uncleanness, as it is said, (Numbers 23:4) “and God happened to meet (ויקר) Balaam” (the term ויקר, from the root,קרה, is connected with מִקְרֶה which denotes “chance”, “occurrence”, and also has the meaning of “uncleanness” (cf. Bereishit Rabbah 52:5).

It is disheartening that the book of Vayikra, which begins with an allusion to caring, ends on the sour note of 'keri,' or indifference. This conclusion, which somehow links us with Bilaam, does not leave us feeling that we are heading in the right direction.

But there is another way to view this sequence of events. According to the Midrash, Moshe complained to God after the sin of the golden calf, asking, "How else did You think this would turn out?" Moshe likened the situation to a setup, like a father who prepares his son for his greatest vice and then drops him off in front of a house of ill-repute, expecting his son to refrain from transgressing. God made no reply to Moshe, seemingly reflecting His tacit agreement that Moshe’s observation was correct—that the transgression of the golden calf by the Jewish nation was almost inevitable.

Interestingly, Adam made the same accusation against God in the Garden of Eden, complaining that he was set up to bring death into the world since death was created long before Adam.

The truth is, the entire Chumash can be viewed as a story highlighting a litany of our failures, hinting at a life where we are guaranteed to violate God’s rules.

If our transgressions are inevitable, how is it fair for God to punish us? This question gets to the heart of the matter. Faced with the certainty of failure and its consequences, how should we respond? Many people react to their inevitable failures with "keri," becoming angry, apathetic, or nihilistic. They reject God because they are frustrated by what feels like a cruel game in which they are set up to fail. Conversely, the Torah guides us to approach this predicament with grace and humility, teaching us to accept the reality that in God’s world, we are all destined to experience failure at times.

As the Ba’al Haturim explains, the aleph in the word "Vayikra" is small because the letter aleph refers to "I" or "me"—as an individual. This signifies that by making yourself small and being humble, you can transition from a state of "keri," or indifference, to "Vayikra," a relationship based on love and caring. In a world where we will inevitably fail, only with humility can we turn to the God who set us up to fail, and focus on our relationship with Him. This relationship can become our greatest motivation to persevere and aspire to succeed.

I believe that is why Vayikra ends with the tochecha, the terrible repercussions of our transgressions. The deeper lesson here is that after the natural cycle of trial, failure, and its aftermath, our reaction is within our control. We can forgive God and choose to build a relationship with Him, even though the debacles we face are, in a way, set up by God.

Thus, we complete Sefer Vayikra with the stirring declaration, chazak chazak, v’nitchazek, be strong, be strong and strengthen one another, because after we read about our inevitable mistakes, it is precisely in that moment that we have the mandate to move forward tenaciously.

This declaration is a fitting introduction to Shavuot because it teaches us the important lesson that genuine strength is built on a foundation of humility. That is the secret to a passionate life with Torah that was given to us on Shavuot, and the antidote to apathy.

With this spirit, we devote ourselves to studying Torah throughout the night of Shavuot. Our deep-seated passion for our relationship with God ensures that no obstacle, no matter how daunting, can dissuade us from engaging with our cherished Torah and developing a closer and more caring relationship with our Creator.

This same resilience and fortitude will enable us to overcome the current grave challenges of antisemitism and the existential threats facing Israel. As our tradition assures us, the transformation will occur k’heref ayin— in the blink of an eye. May we all merit to experience that transformative moment very soon.

Shabbat shalom.