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Parsha Behar-Bechukosai

Etched in Stone

By Rabbi Heschel GreenbergMay 19, 20172 min read

Torah study is the preeminent influence in our lives. Mitzvos are external; Torah is internal. While Mitzvos make us holy, Torah study defines us. BECHUKOSAI BECHUKOSAI

Redundancy

This week’s Torah portion of Bechukosai begins with the following statement:

If you shall follow My Statutes and keep My commandments… then I will give you rains in their season…

Rashi notes the redundancy in this verse. What is the difference between following G-d’s statutes and keeping His commandments?

Rashi’s answer is that the reference to Statutes is not to the commandments but to the toil in the study of Torah.

The question still persists. Why would the Biblical text refer to the intellectual pursuit of Torah study as “following G-d’s statutes?” Is this not a term usually reserved for those commandments which are not based on rational thought?

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Difference between Torah and MItzvos

The answer lies in the root of Hebrew word for statutes: “Chukim,” or, as it appears in this week’s Torah portion: “Bechukosai,.” which is “engraved,” or “etched in stone.” This can have a dual meaning. It could refer to a Divine order which is issued without reason or explanation. For those who might resist their observance, the Torah refers to them as Chukim, as if to say, “these commandments are etched in stone and cannot be changed to suit one’s intellectual preferences.

There is, however, a deeper meaning to the concept of a commandment being “engraved.” Words which are written or printed on paper are separate from the paper. Words engraved in stone, by contrast, are an integral part of the surface in which they are etched.

This describes the difference between a Mitzvah and Torah study. When we observe a Mitzvah, no matter how enthusiastic and committed we are, it is always something we do, not something we are.

When we toil in the study of Torah, however, the words and ideas of Torah become BECHUKOSAI indelibly imprinted on and engraved within our mind and soul. We do not just act Torah, we become Torah. When this occurs, the observance of the commandments which follow are on a totally higher level than the Mitzvos observed without prior study.

The lesson is obvious. Judaism is not content with the strongest commitment to doing good. The Torah demands of us to employ our minds in the dedicated study of Torah, to the extent that we become “walking Torah’s.” Our very being becomes one of refinement and holiness, making all of the Mitzvos we perform more meaningful and exciting.

Preparation for Geulah

This also explains why the best preparation for the future Redemption is Torah study.

Whereas a Mitzvah has the power to save the world; Torah saves the person from the intrusion of exile forces. Only Torah which becomes an inseparable part of our identity can take our minds out of the Galus perspective and Galus mentality.

BECHUKOSAI

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From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Behar-Bechukosai by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.

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Rabbi Heschel Greenberg Teacher, scholar and author of Tefillin — Judaism’s Crown. About the Rabbi

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