Below are some excerpts from the Parashat Bechukotai, focusing primarily on one of the curses God will send upon the people of Israel if the people do not follow the commandments.
I would like to focus on the issue of fear. Some question to think about as you read these texts. How is fear used?
What is the purpose of the terror?
What, in the end, are the people afraid of?
Why is this curse so terrible?
I would like to focus on the issue of fear. Some question to think about as you read these texts. How is fear used?
What is the purpose of the terror?
What, in the end, are the people afraid of?
Why is this curse so terrible?
We will bring in the texts from Numbers and the Sifra during our discussion.
Vayikra 26:3-8
אם־בחקתי תלכו ואת־מצותי תשמרו ועשיתם אתם׃ ונתתי גשמיכם בעתם ונתנה הארץ יבולה ועץ השדה יתן פריו׃ והשיג לכם דיש את־בציר ובציר ישיג את־זרע ואכלתם לחםכם לשבע וישבתם לבטח בארצכם׃ ונתתי שלום בארץ ושכבתם ואין מחריד והשבתי חיה רעה מן־הארץ וחרב לא־תעבר בארצכם׃ ורדפתם את־איביכם ונפלו לפניכם לחרב׃ ורדפו םכם חמשה מאה ומאה םכם רבבה ירדפו ונפלו איביכם לפניכם לחרב׃
Leviticus 26:3-8
If you walk in the ways of My laws and you keep My commandments, and do them, I will give you rains in the proper season, and the earth will give its produce, and tree-bearing fruit will give its fruit. Your threshing will last until the vintage, and the vintage will last beyond the sowing, and you will eat your bread to contentment and live in security in your land. In addition, I will bring peace to the land and you will lie down and none will terrify you, and I will bring a respite to the land from dangerous animals, and the sword will not pass over your land. You will pursue your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword.
If you walk in the ways of My laws and you keep My commandments, and do them, I will give you rains in the proper season, and the earth will give its produce, and tree-bearing fruit will give its fruit. Your threshing will last until the vintage, and the vintage will last beyond the sowing, and you will eat your bread to contentment and live in security in your land. In addition, I will bring peace to the land and you will lie down and none will terrify you, and I will bring a respite to the land from dangerous animals, and the sword will not pass over your land. You will pursue your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword.
Vayikra 26:14-16
ואם־לא תשמעו לי ולא תעשו את כל־המצות האלה׃ ואם־בחקתי תמאסו ואם את־משפטי תגעל נפשכם לבלתי עשות את־כל־מצותי להפרכם את־בריתי׃ אף־אני אעשה־זאת לכם והפקדתי עליכם בהלה את־השחפת ואת־הקדחת מכלות עינים
ומדיבת נפש וזרעתם לריק זרעכם ואכלהו איביכם׃
Leviticus 26:14
If, however, you do not heed Me, and do not hearken to all these commandments, and if you reject My laws and if your soul neglects My laws, so that you do no perform all My commandments and you break My covenant, thus will I do to you…
If, however, you do not heed Me, and do not hearken to all these commandments, and if you reject My laws and if your soul neglects My laws, so that you do no perform all My commandments and you break My covenant, thus will I do to you…
Vayikra 26:36-38
והנשארים בכם והבאתי מרך בלבבם בארצת איביהם ורדף אתם קול עלה נדף ונסו מנסת־חרב ונפלו ואין רדף׃ וכשלו איש־באחיו כמפני־חרב ורדף אין ולא־תהיה לכם תקומה לפני איביכם׃ ואבדתם בגוים ואכלה אתכם ארץ איביכם׃
Leviticus 26:36-38
As for those remaining (after the destruction of the land) I will bring weakness into their hearts in the land of their enemies. The sound of a driven leaf will purse them, and they will flee as before the sword, and they will stumble, though there will be no pursuer. They will fall over each other as though before the sword, but there will be no pursuer, and you will not have the power to stand before your enemies. And you will be lost among the nations; the land of your enemies will consume you.
As for those remaining (after the destruction of the land) I will bring weakness into their hearts in the land of their enemies. The sound of a driven leaf will purse them, and they will flee as before the sword, and they will stumble, though there will be no pursuer. They will fall over each other as though before the sword, but there will be no pursuer, and you will not have the power to stand before your enemies. And you will be lost among the nations; the land of your enemies will consume you.
Bamidbar 13:31-32
והאנשים אשר־עלו עמו אמרו לא נוכל לעלות אל־העם כי־חזק הוא ממנו׃ ויוציאו דבת הארץ אשר תרו אתה אל־בני ישראל לאמר הארץ אשר עברנו בה לתור אתה ארץ אכלת יושביה
Numbers 13:31-33
The people who had gone up with him (Caleb and Joshua) said: “We can not go up to this people, for it is stronger than we!” They spread evil words about the land they had scouted among the people of Israel, saying, “The land that we scouted and traveled is a land which devours its settlers!
Sifra* Bechukotai Parasha 2
“And the sound a driven lead will pursue you.” Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Karcha said: ‘Once we were sitting among the trees and the wind blew and leaves rattled against each other and we stood and ran. We said, ‘woe is us lest we be killed!’ After some time we turned behind us and saw nobody! And we sat in our places and we wept and said: ‘woe to us that through us the verse ‘and the sound of a driven lead will pursue you’ is fulfilled...
*The Sifra is an early halakhic midrash on Leviticus. It often referred to as, "Torat Kohanim" which is confusing, because the book of Leviticus itself is also sometimes call "Torat Kohanim." Such is life.
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