Parasha: Bechukotai · Aliyah: First (Chesed)

אם בחקותי תלכו, "If you walk in My statutes, etc." In Torat Kohanim they explain this as follows: "if the Torah had spoken only about בחוקותי, I would have assumed that what was meant were the מצות. Now that the Torah added the words ואת מצותי, the word בחקותי cannot apply to the מצות seeing the Torah already wrote about them. The additional word בחקותי therefore teaches us that that one has to toil in order to get Torah knowledge." The reason the Torah refers to toiling over Torah by using the expression חקה is because there is a commandment to study matters again and again even if one had already studied them several times and they have been well absorbed. G'd wants us to study Torah out of a fondness for it and this is why He formulated a statute to that effect. We find that our sages in Kohelet Rabbah 3 state that G'd decreed that we will forget part of what we learned in order that we should sit down and learn it repeatedly.

The reason the word חקותי, "My statutes," is in the plural is an allusion to the two aspects of Torah, i.e. the oral as well as the written Torah. We have a tradition not to spell the word חקתי with the letter ו between the ק and the ת (which would normally indicate that the word is in the plural) in order to emphasise the essential unity of the oral and the written Torah. Another allusion in the plural ending of the word בחקתי is to the instruction G'd gave Joshua in Joshua 1,8 to study (review) Torah by day and by night. We must allocate time to Torah study both by day and by night. This makes Torah-study a dual activity. According to the traditional spelling the study occurs on the same day (date) (i.e. the day following the night) so that essentially we study Torah twice daily. Moreover, the plural hints at the fact that in order to observe G'd's commandments two elements are essential. One has to study Torah and teach it to others as the Torah says in Deut. 11,19: "teach them (the words of Torah) to your children, etc." The word בחקתי therefore refers to both of these activities forming part of walking in G'd's statutes. Moreover, there is the aspect of performing positive commandments and not violating negative commandments. These latter two activities are covered by the words את מצותי תשמרו ועשיתם.

The reason the Torah uses the term הליכה, walking, when speaking about the חקים is to remind us that one needs to be occupied with matters of Torah even when engaged in walking on one's way, much as when the Torah said in Deut. 6,7 ובלכתך בדרך "and when you walk on the way."

A second reason why the Torah uses the expression of "walking" in G'd's statutes is based on an interpretation of Vayikra Rabbah 35,1 of the verse in Psalms 119,59: "I have considered my ways and have turned back to Your decrees." According to the Midrash David had considered daily to do "his own thing" but had found that invariably his feet brought him to the Torah academy or the House of prayer. The lesson is that when one applies oneself to Torah and its precepts diligently one's very organs will automatically help one to head in the spiritually correct direction. You may translate the line: "if according to My statutes, you will find yourselves walking in the right direction."

A third meaning of the simile "you will walk" is based on the Zohar volume 3 page 202 that Torah can be studied on four different levels, the פשט, רמז, דרוש, and סוד. These four methods between them account for what our sages call the 70 facets of the Torah. Each of these 70 facets is perceived as being a "path" one walks in the study of G'd's statutes. The lesson is that the approach to Torah study should be along a variety of paths.

A fourth meaning of the word תלכו is based on Proverbs 3,6: בכל דרכיך דעהו, "In all your ways acknowledge Him." Maimonides writes in chapter 3 of his treatise Hilchot Deyot that "a person should set his mind on having a perfect body in order to possess the physical strength to devote himself to Torah study for it is impossible to properly evaluate and understand Torah and G'd's objectives when one suffers from hunger, thirst or physical pain. When one follows the path I suggest regularly, one is a servant of the Lord." Thus far Maimonides. This is the meaning of our verse "if you walk in the path of My statutes," i.e. if your walking is designed to comprehend My statutes. All your physical activities should be guided by the desire to better observe My commandments.

A fifth reason for the Torah's choice of the word תלכו may be understood in light of Sanhedrin 34 that people studying the Torah have been given permission to offer their respective commentaries and to explore a variety of paths in doing so. [The simile used by the Talmud is that when one beats with a hammer on an anvil the sparks fly in all directions. Ed.] An experienced scholar will elicit new insights through studying the text repeatedly in accordance with his mental capacity. The words ואת מצותי תשמרו ועשיתם אותם are perceived as the framework for investigative Torah exploration. As long as the purpose of Torah study is to lead to performance of G'd's commandments, the Torah encourages the pursuit of diverse paths of study. Under no circumstances must the pursuit of novel ways of Biblical exegesis result in what our sages call מגלה פנים בתורה שלא כהלכה, "revelation of aspects of the Torah which conflict with traditional rulings." That which has always been known as impure must not be declared pure nor vice versa. If Torah study results in such abnormal results it is clear that the approach of the scholar was defective, flawed. This is why we are told in Avot 3,11 that anyone who reveals that he has reached a result in his Torah study which upsets traditional הלכות will not enjoy a share in the life after death.

A sixth reason why the Torah used the word תלכו may be understood in light of Avot 2,6 that an unlearned man cannot truly be pious. This is interpreted to mean that it is forbidden for such a man to practice the lifestyle reserved for the truly pious who impose a variety of restrictive practices upon themselves. The reason is that such a person while thinking that he imposes a restriction upon himself which is pleasing in the eyes of G'd actually contravenes Torah law through his ignorance of what the rules our הלכות are based on. An example of ignorance leading the most well meaning person astray is that the ignorant person knows that it is a commandment to sleep with one's wife on the night following her ritual immersion. He may therefore do so on the night of the Day of Atonement when this is forbidden. For this and simliar reasons the sages forbade the עם הארץ to practice what is called לפנים משורת הדין so that by adhering to the law i.e. בחקתי תלכו walking in My statutes he will perform the מצות properly.

A seventh reason for the Torah's use of the word תלכו may be related to the statement of our sages in Avot 4 to exile oneself to a place where Torah is to be found. One needs to beat a path to Torah centers in order to study there, hence the Torah speaks of תלכו, "you shall walk." There is a story in Chagigah 5 about a certain Rabbi Idi who used to have to travel 3 months in one direction to attend to his business and three months back home in order to spend a single day in the house of his Rabbi. The Torah suggests here that even if one has the opportunity to study at home it is better to to leave home in order to study and to fulfil the commandment to "walk in My statutes."

As to the words ואת מצותי תשמרו, these may be understood in light of a comment by our sages in Shabbat 31: "Rabbi Yannai proclaimed: 'how sad if a person who does not own a courtyard constructs an entrance-gate to such a non-existent courtyard.' He referred to people who do not have reverence for G'd and yet study Torah. The important thing is to observe the commandments. Unless studying Torah has as its objective performance of its precepts, such study is of questionable value. When the Torah speaks of בחקותי תלכו it referred to study whereas it admonishes us that this must be in order את מצותי תשמרו ועשיתם אותם, 'to observe and perform My commandments.'" We have a statement in Berachot 17 according to which if someone studies for unwholesome reasons he would have been better off if he had never been born. Tossaphot question this statement in light of the well known principle that it is acceptable to do things for the wrong reason because this leads to one eventually doing the right thing for the right reason. They answer that there are two ways of doing things for the wrong reason. 1) To find a reason to criticise G'd's Torah; 2) to gain personal fame due to one's Torah knowledge. If one studies Torah in order to criticise G'd and the Torah scholars it is better if one had not been born at all; if, on the other hand, one had ulterior motives such as wanting to be called Rabbi and the like, we may assume that eventually one will study Torah for the right reasons without ulterior motives. The Torah here assures us that if one does not pursue Torah study for the wrong reasons תשמרו ועשיתם אותם, you will observe and perform My commandments even when confronted with temptation, etc. The Torah you have studied for the right reasons will protect you against the pitfalls and the temptation by Satan. Sotah 21 is on record that Torah protects and saves from the evil inclination; Avodah Zarah 17 tells of Rabbi Chaninah and Rabbi Yonathan who were faced with the choice of either passing a house of idol worship or a whorehouse. They debated which was the worse temptation and decided to pass the house of ill-repute in order to merit the reward for resisting the temptation to enter there. When they reached the house in question the harlots withdrew to the inside. One Rabbi asked the other how they had merited to not even have to come face to face with temptation. The colleague answered by quoting Proverbs 2,11: "Foresight will protect you, understanding will preserve you." If one is on one's guard against temptation one will be fortified against it. Rava concluded that the word מזמה (which we translated as "foresight") refers to matters of harlotry against which Torah study is an effective defence. The word ועשיתם is also understood by Kidushin 39 as follows: "When a person sits still, not committing a sin, he receives the reward due for performing a commandment; they understood this to mean that when a sin approaches him he will be saved from committing it; we learn from here that though a person was only passive in abstaining from wrongdoing it is accounted for him as an activity, i.e. ועשיתם אותם.

It is true that in Pessachim 50 the Talmud interprets the difference between the expression: "for your kindness extends to the Heavens" (Psalms 57,11) and Psalms 108,5 "for Your kindness extends beyond the Heavens" to mean that the former refers to a person studying Torah שלא לשמה, but to gain honour for himself. The reason for this is not that G'd is so delighted with this kind of Torah study but He is confident of the eventual impact Torah study makes on the student, refining his character and changing his outlook in life. This kind of Torah study does not possess the power to protect the person studying against the temptation by the evil urge. This fact helps us answer the statement of Rabbi Yoseph that Torah protects the student both at the time he is busy studying as well as at other times. The world asks that if this statement is true how was it that the Torah study of Doeg and Achitophel did not protect them against the evil urge in their time? According to our approach we can answer this simply by assuming that their Torah study was not לשמה but that they had ulterior motives and this is why the merit of their Torah study did not act as a shield against the יצר הרע, the evil urge.

An eighth reason why the Torah wrote the word תלכו in our verse may have been illustrated by the story we related earlier about Rabbi Chaninah and Rabbi Yonathan debating which path to take (Avodah Zarah 17). The Rabbi who had suggested to take the path leading past the house of idolatry did so because he did not worry about the evil urge to commit idolatry, that evil urge having already been destroyed by G'd (compare Sanhedrin 64). The other Rabbi who was prepared to walk by the house of ill-repute was aware of the existence of the temptation but wanted to earn the merit for not succumbing to it. This Rabbi probably relied on having learned Torah לשמה something which would protect him in such situations. He interpreted the three words אם בחקתי תלכו, as a promise by G'd to be able to walk calmly into any situation firm in the knowledge that he had studied G'd's Torah לשמה, for the Torah's sake and not for his own personal reasons. In fact he interpreted the words ועשיתם אותם as an encouragement to face difficult situations rather than to avoid them in order to receive the appropriate reward.

A ninth reason why the Torh wrote the word תלכו may become clear when we recall a statement in Avot 6,3 that the Torah may be acquired in 48 different ways. This means that not every person who wishes to can "acquire" Torah; there are only 48 different ways in which Torah can be acquired. Our verse warns the potential Torah student that one of the preconditions for acquiring Torah is that one observes G'd's commandments. All the details listed in the Mishnah for successful Torah study are summed up in this one line.

The tenth reason for the word תלכו is the Torah's desire to communicate to us the exalted nature of Torah study and preoccupation with Torah. It is an activity which cannot be compared to the preoccupation with any other commandment. When a person is preoccupied with the performance of any other commandment, he may or may not succeed as due to some sin he may fail to observe it correctly. When a person studies Torah for the right reason he need not worry that his purpose will be thwarted because of anything wrong he did in the past. Rather, his righteousness will accompany him as we know from Sotah 21 that "a sin may extinguish a מצוה one is in the process of performing; it will not, however, extinguish Torah. This merit will accompany its student on the way to the Hereafter. See what I have written on the subject on Leviticus 18,4: ואת חקתי תשמרו ללכת בהם.

The eleventh reason why the Torah wrote the word תלכו in our verse is related to the Talmud's (Shabbat 63) interpretation of the verse אורך ימים בימינה, (Proverbs 3,16) "that the "right" side of the Torah offers its student long life." It means that people who keep to the "right" of Torah will enjoy life in the hereafter, whereas the ones keeping on Torah's "left" will enjoy their reward only in this life. The same idea is expressed in our verse, i.e. "if your preoccupation is with My statutes, it should not be for the sake of what Torah has to offer in this life, but תלכו, it should be for the sake of what a Torah student has to look forward to in the hereafter i.e. the group of people who are called the "rightists."

A twelfth reason for the Torah's use of the word תלכו is connected to the admonition in Avot 3,9: "if a person abuses his acquired wisdom to neutralize his fear of committing a sin, he will find that his wisdom does not endure." The reverse is true also, says the author of that Mishnah. Our verse alludes to the same idea when the Torah writes that the governing consideration in one's effort to acquire Torah wisdom must be to observe the commandments which ensure that one does not commit a sin.

A thirteenth reason for the word תלכו is based on the first Mishnah in פאה that of all the things for which the Torah did not set a minimum quantity in order for a person to be able to claim that he had fulfilled that particular commandment the study of Torah is the prime example. The word תלכו describes an activity without setting a specific objective to be reached. As long as one is on the way, i.e. studies G'd's statutes, one has complied with the requirement.

A fourteenth reason for the Torah's use of the word תלכו in our verse is linked to Leviticus 7,37 זאת התורה לעולה למנחה ולחטאת. "This is the law for the burnt-offering, the gift-offering and the sin-offering, etc." Our sages in Menachot 110 explained on this verse that if a person studied the Torah portion dealing with a burnt-offering it is accounted for him as if he had personally offered an animal as a burnt-offering. This is based on Hoseah 14,3: "let us pay with our lips instead of with bulls." This is not the only instance in which Torah study compensates for the performance of a specific commandment. Whenever a commandment is not capable of fulfilment by a person (such as all the legislation involving the priesthood for non-priests) study of the relevant portion in the Torah is accounted for the person studying it as if he had personally fulfilled that commandment. Accordingly we understand אם בחקתי תלכו followed by ואת מצותי תשמרו to mean that "if you study the commandments which you can only study, then you will be considered as having fulfilled My commandments." The word תשמרו means you are anxiously awaiting an opportunity to physically fulfil such commandments. As a result -ועשיתם אותם, you will not only receive the reward for studying the laws in question but for having fulfilled them physically.

A fifteenth reason for the word תלכו may be the reverse of the coin. A person should not use his study of G'd's commandments as an excuse not to perform them physically. The words ואת מצותי תשמרו, refer to the negative commandments which you have to observe. The only commandments one is relieved from observing as a result of Torah study are the ones which are incapable of fulfilment either temporarily or permanently.

A sixteenth reason for the word תלכו may be connected to a statement in Berachot 14 that a person must not set out on a journey until he had studied some words of Torah. [My text only says that one must not do one's thing before one has prayed. Ed.] The Zohar volume 1 page 69 writes that if people engage in a journey together without exchanging words of Torah between them they are endangering their lives. Accordingly we may understand the word in our verse to mean: "if you study Torah, i.e. go in My statutes, you will travel safely seeing that the merit of Torah study accompanies and protects a person."

A seventeenth reason for the word תלכו is based on Shabbat 63 where the Talmud speaks of someone who had intended to perform a commandment but was prevented from doing so by forces beyond his control. The fact that the Torah speaks in the future tense in our verse is understood as an allusion to just such a situation. The Torah therefore assures such a person that G'd will consider the good intention as actually having been executed. You will be rewarded as if you had performed the commandment.

The eighteenth reason for the word תלכו is related to Sukkah 45 where the elite (people experiencing some revelation of the שכינה) of the Jewish people are divided into three levels. The lowest level is the group granted what is termed a "blurred vision." The next higher level of the elite are the people who are granted a "clear vision." The highest level of the elite are those who enjoy such communications without first having to obtain special permission from G'd. I have explained Job 3,19 קטון וגדול שם הוא ועבד חפשי מאדוניו, "both the small and the great are there and the slave is free of his masters" in a similar sense. The "small" refers to the person granted a blurred vision, the "great" to the the person granted a clear vision, and the slave who is free of his masters refers to the person who does not need to ask permisssion in order to receive a communication from G'd. The word קטון is an allusion to the "small luminary," the moon in Genesis 1,16, whereas the word גדול is borrowed from the same verse where it refers to the sun. I would not be sure what are the criteria by means of which a human being achieves the great honour described in that verse. This is why the Torah here defined the rules by saying אם בחקתי תלכו, to tell us that Torah study, performance of its precepts, and the manner in which we do so is the key to achieving this level of communication with G'd.

The nineteenth reason for the word תלכו in our verse is related to Sanhedrin 102 where the Talmud describes G'd asking Jerobam king of Israel, to repent so that both G'd, Jerobam, and David could stroll together in Paradise. Kabbalists explain that the "strolling" the Talmud had in mind is hyperbole for the most intimate and delightful communication. Hail to a human being who is granted this kind of intimacy with the Divine. The way to achieve such a goal is via אם בחקת תלכו, walking in the paths of G'd's statutes, etc. Torah is the means enabling a human being to penetrate areas closed to normal individuals.

The twentieth reason why the Torah saw fit to write אם בחקתי תלכו may be appreciated in conjunction with Yalkut Shimoni item 831 on Psalms. We are told there that when G'd created man He did not do so in order for man merely to remain stationary in this present world forever and not to commit a sin. In fact, such an existence would in itself represent spiritual decline and be sinful. It had always been G'd's intention for man to ascend to the celestial regions just as did the prophet Elijah (Kings II 2,11). Due to the original sin, man has to have his skin removed and his body remains behind in this world when his soul ascends to Heaven. Our verse informs us that by means of intensive preoccupation with Torah he may overcome the pain involved in separation of body and soul but to feel like a person who walks from one place to another when that day arrives. In other words: אם בחקתי, if you are deeply engrossed in My statutes then you will merely walk from the physical domain to the celestial domain. [The relevant passage in Psalms is chapter 82 verse 6. Ed.] The Zohar volume 2 page 174 states that the truly righteous do not feel the pain of dying and that this is what Solomon alluded to when he said in Kohelet 5,11: "sweet is the sleep of the labourer." When someone labours on behalf of G'd his sleep i.e. his death is sweet and he accepts it with joy. Elijah is living proof that if one intensifies one's Torah study even one's body does not die.

The twenty-first reason for the word תלכו in our verse is related to a statement in Avot 4,22 that man had no control over his being born, nor does he have any control over when he may die. The Rabbi meant that man does not die voluntarily even if he wants to die (at a certain point in his life). Alternatively, if he expresses a wish to die he is not free to do so. We are told in Niddah 36: "When Rav was about to die he told Rabbi Assi to instruct a certain Shilo that he had changed his opinion about a certain ruling he had given. The latter refused to believe this and told his wife to prepare his תכריכין, the gown he was to be buried in, as he wanted to die and confront Rav in Heaven concerning this halachic ruling. His wife complied and he died, etc." We see from this incident that on occasion man is in control as to when he wants to die. Our verse אם בחקתי תלכו teaches us what are the criteria which determine who is of such stature that G'd honours his wish to die at a certain time even though it is not the time at which G'd had originally intended for that person to die.

The twenty-second reason why the Torah wrote the word תלכו in our verse is to teach us about the exceptional usefulness of profound Torah study. A person preoccupied with Torah constantly pines for ascent to a higher world because he appreciates the value his personality will derive from sitting in the celestial regions close to G'd. I have explained Psalms 49,16 in that sense. The Psalmist says: "But G'd will redeem my life from the clutches of שאול, Hades, for He will take me. Selah." The author, one of Korach's sons, means that when a person is certain that he will not be consigned to שאול but will enjoy גן עדן after he leaves this world, he becomes filled with the desire to proceed to that sphere, i.e. יקחני סלה. These words are a prayer to G'd. You may compare Yalkut Shimoni in Parshat Massey item 787 that when Aaron ascended Hor Hahor on the way to die he said to Moses that if he had known the manner of his death beforehand he would have volunteered to die sooner. This is what is alluded to in our verse אם בחקתי תלכו, "if you follow My statutes by toiling in your application to Torah study, you will be willing to march, תלכו, towards death."

The twenty-third allusion in the words אם בחקתי תלכון is found in connection with a comment of the Zohar volume 3 page 91 on Leviticus 22,27: "when an ox or sheep is born, etc." The author points out that the essential difference between man and beast is that "once a beast always a beast;" man, on the other hand, is able to refine himself into something far superior to what he is at birth. Man's deeds are the key to his spiritual elevation. Man is endowed with greater and greater potential in accordance with the merits he accumulates. The Torah here provides the key as to how these merits may be earned. This is the meaning of אם בחקתי חלכו, study of and immersion in Torah enables one to progress, תלכו.

A twenty-fourth approach to our verse is based on the Zohar's comment in volume 1 page 175 on Proverbs 6,22: "When you walk it will guide you." The paths by means of which you will experience spiritual ascent when you leave this world normally lead to a region of darkness and the shadow of death. These regions abound with rebuke by G'd. If, however, a person leaves this life equipped with Torah, it will light the path for him as we know from Psalms 119,105: "Your word is a lamp at my feet, a light for my path." The Torah's recommendation is therefore אם בחוקתי, if you are equipped with My statutes, you will walk, you will proceed." If not, your fate is expressed by Proverbs 4,19: "the path of the wicked is like darkness."

A twenty-fifth lesson to be derived from the word תלכו in our verse is that the Torah refers here to a commandment known as חקה, i.e. the commandment to wear phylacteries. In Exodus 13,10 the Torah specifically refers to this commandment as a חקה, statute, when we read: ושמרתם את החקה הזאת, "you shall observe this statute." Prior to that statement the Torah had spoken (verse 9) about placing phylacteries on one's head and one's arm as a commemoration of the Exodus and G'd's part in it. When the Torah describes performance of the commandment with the word תלכו, you must remember that in former days the average Jew wore his phylacteries all day long, on his way to prayer, on his way to study, etc. In fact, we are told in Sukkah 28 that Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai and Rabbi Yehudah Hanassi did not use to walk a distance of eight feet without first putting on their phylacteries. This is what the words אם בחקתי תלכו are all about. When the Torah adds ואת מצותי תשמרו this refers to the regulations governing the wearing of phylacteries such as that one must have a clean body in order to be permitted to wear תפלין. Shabbat 49 makes a point of warning us against passing gas while wearing phylacteries. One must not fail to be conscious of wearing phylacteries and what this implies. The Torah adds: ועשיתם אתם the word otam being spelled attem "you." This is a hint that by wearing phylacteries and fulfilling the regulations attached to that you will refine yourselves so that G'd's Presence will come to rest upon you. This is what is meant by Deut. 28,10: "and all the nations will observe that the name of G'd is proclaimed upon you."

A twenty-sixth allusion to be found in these words can be gleaned from Bereshit Rabbah 44,12 on Genesis 15,5: "please look at the sky." G'd meant that Abraham should look beyond a universe governed by horoscopic influences. The words חקתי in our verse mean that if we concentrate on G'd's statutes instead of on what are perceived as the laws of nature as reflected by horoscopic influences, תלכו, "you will be able to proceed" beyond what you think is the limitation imposed on your fate by astrological factors. Abraham succeded in doing so and that is why he was able to father children although he had thought that the horoscopic constellation under which he was born made this impossible. The Torah adds: ועשיתם אתם. Isaiah 41,2 refers to צדק יקראהו לרגלו when speaking about Abraham. According to the Talmud in Shabbat 156 G'd asked Abraham if he thought that his fate was governed by the star צדק, Jupiter. Clearly, Abraham was occupied with astrology and had examined what his chances were to father children else he would not have said to G'd that He had prevented him from having them. How would he have known if not through a study of astrology? He did, however, give G'd credit for having arranged the constellations even at that stage of his development. We have to understand the words ועשיתם אתם as an instruction how to re-arrange the laws of nature in our favour through observance of G'd's statutes. This is the real meaning of the saying of our sages there that אין מזל לישראל, "the fortunes of the Jewish people are not irrevocably determined by astrological factors." Another way of interpreting the meaning of the words ועשיתם אתם, is based on Isaiah 66,22: "just as the new heaven and the new earth which I shall make will stand before Me;" G'd did not speak of something He had already made,עשיתי, but about something He would do. This teaches that Torah study and performing of its precepts lead to the creation of an entire new universe (compare Zohar volume 1 page 5). The Torah tells us that it is up to us to bring this about, i.e. ועשיתם אתם.

A twenty-seventh approach to our verse is connected to the statement in Shabbat 156 that a person born under the constellation Venus would tend to be lecherous. Another statement we find there is that the Chaldaens told the mother of Rabbi Nachman that her son was going to be a thief. She made sure he always had his head covered as a reminder that he had a G'd above him to whom he was accountable. These and other examples seem to prove that our sages thought that Israelites are subject to the influence of horoscopic constellations during the hour of their birth! G'd was very conscious of the fact that if we were allowed to think along those lines we would use our mazzal as an excuse to claim that we were predestined to be evil and could not be held accountable. This is why the Torah had to write אם בחקתי, if you rely merely on the laws of nature such as astrological constellations,תלכו, you will cause yourselves to walk along a path that does not free you from accountability; but ואת מצותי תשמרו if nonetheless you will observe My commandments then your מזל is subject to change just as happened to Rabbi Nachman, i.e. ועשיתם אתם, you will be the architect of reversing the horoscopic influences you were born under.

A twenty-eighth way of interpreting the wording of our verse. We again refer to folio 156 in Shabbat. We are told there that someone born under the constellation of Mars [the hour when that constellation predominates, Ed.] will be a bloodthirsty man. Rabbi Ashi suggested a variety of ways for channelling such tendencies into something harmless and useful, such as such people becoming butchers or physicians concerned with performing bloodletting, or performers of circumcisions. According to that approach the words אם בחקתי refer to channelling a predeliction to engage in a nefarious vocation due to the horoscopic influences under which one has been born into something acceptable so that one can neutralise these influences. This is why the Torah exhorts את מצותי תשמרו ועשיתם אתם, to channel what were perceived to be negative traits into something positive, i.e. Torah study and a vocation involving מצוה-performance.

A twenty-ninth way of explaining the wording in our verse reflects something we have learned from Sifri Ha-azinu that a person has to learn a moral lesson from observing the laws of nature in operation. We observe the planets all performing G'd's directives joyfully, never deviating from their orbits. The Torah speaks of אם, "if" you walk in My statutes; the lesson the Torah teaches is that if, like the planets, we will approach G'd's statutes with an attitude similar to that of the planets in their orbits, we will succeed in observing all of G'd's commandments both the negative ones and the positive ones. Our inspiration should be derived from the planets who obey G'd although they do not receive a reward for their loyalty nor do they face penalties for non-compliance.

A thirtieth way of looking at our verse is based on Avot 3,17 that "where there is no prosperity Torah cannot flourish, whereas where there is no Torah you cannot expect economic prosperity." I have explained that Mishnah to mean that the words "if there is no flour" mean that when you observe that G'd grants His blessing you may be certain that the reason for this is the presence of Torah. This is what Moses had in mind in Deut. 32,2 when he said: "let my doctrine drop as the rain." Just as rain is caused by G'd alone, so in accordance with the amount He wishes to supply, our economic prosperity is due to our absorbing and living in accordance with G'd's doctrine. On the other hand, when you observe lack of economic prosperity you may similarly attribute this to the fact that Torah is not being studied and observed by the multitude. When the Torah speaks about אם בחקתי this means that if you want to be the beneficiary of My statutes, i.e. the causal relationship between economic prosperity and G'd you must observe My commandments. The words ואת מצותי תשמרו are similar to the word לקחי used by Moses as the measure of the rain G'd will allocate in the verse we quoted from פרשת האזינו above. The Torah added the words ועשיתם אתם as a reminder that if we want prosperity to be constant we must be constant in מצוה-performance.

A thirty-first meaning of the words in our verse is related to Psalms 72,5: "Let them fear you as long as the sun shines, etc." our sages in Berachot 29 comment on this verse that the time for all creatures to perform their service for the Lord is in the morning, the time allocated for our morning prayers. The next time for the creatures to perform their service for G'd is when the sun sets. We may understand the meaning of אם בחקתי תלכו as reflecting Psalms 55,15: "let us walk together in G'd's house when there is turmoil (outside)." The words ואת מצותי תשמרו refer to the practice of the early חסידים who used to assemble an hour before prayer in order to prepare themselves emotionally (Berachot 29). The words ועשיתם אתם are to be understood as a medicine against natural disasters involving the sun and the moon (eclipses and the like which are interpreted as harbingers of catastrophes) The premise underlying this concept is that misconduct by the inhabitants of the "lower" part of the universe will have an impact on the conduct of the planets, especially those influencing our daily lives such as the sun and moon (compare Sukkah 29).

The thirty-second allusion found in the words אם בחקתי תלכו is related to the word חקה being applied by the Torah to animal sacrifice as we know from Leviticus 6,11 and 7,36. The words then mean that these sacrifices will be acceptable only if they are the result of observing the commandments pertaining to these sacrifices, i.e. ואת מצותי חשמרו. A stolen animal is not fit to be offered as a sacrifice as we have the principle of מצוה הבאה בעברה, that the fulfilment of a commandment is worthless if one had to commit a transgression in order to fulfil it. Even if the person from whom such an animal was stolen had already abandoned hope to retrieve it such an animal is not acceptable to G'd as a sacrifice. A stolen animal is in the same category as one that is physically flawed, such as a lame animal. Sukkah 30 quotes Rabbi Yochanan interpreting Isaiah 61,8: אני ה׳ אהב משפט שונא גזל בעולה, "I the Lord love justice and hate robbery in a burnt-offering" to mean that G'd hates a burnt-offering consisting of a stolen animal. He compared such an offering to a king who passed the customs house telling his subjects to join him in paying the duties required. The servants asked him: "do not the proceeds of all duties belong to you anyway? The king answered that the travellers were to learn from his personal conduct not to engage in smuggling. Similarly, G'd hates a sacrifice which is a stolen animal although in the last analysis all animals belong to Him. We have learned in Kidushin 39 that if someone is presented with an opportunity to commit a sin and is saved from committing it, he is rewarded as if he had performed a positive commandment. This is the reason the Torah does not want a stolen animal as a sacrifice. We are to train ourselves to escape from anything which smacks of robbery (even if according to legal yardsticks the animal in question had become ownerless prior to its being a sacrifice due to its former owner having mentally given up on ever getting it back). The Torah calls failure to offer such an animal מעשה, a deed, i.e. ועשיתם אתם, even though in the literal sense of the words no deed had been performed.

A thirty-third way of explaining the words אם בחקתי תלכו in our verse has to do with the perception of ordinary people when they evaluate מצוה-performance. Most people believe that unless they understand the deeper significance of a commandment they perform such performance is as useless as a body without a soul. In fact the Ari Zal is reported to have said something to this effect according to Likutey Torah Parshat Eykev where the author quotes him as saying that a deed which lacks proper concentration is comparable to an empty vessel seeing that the most important element of the commandment are the thoughts which accompany its performance. Accordingly, the words אם בחקתי תלכו mean that if you have the right thoughts when about to perform My statutes you may consider that you have performed My commandments in the manner G'd wanted you to perform them. The plural of the word מצותי then refers to the various aspects of מצוה-performance. A person might then conclude that if the thoughts accompanying the performance are all important, why did he have to perform the deed itself? The Torah warns you not to jump to such a conclusion by completing the verse with the words ועשיתם אתם, i.e. the thoughts count in your favour only when you also performed the actual deed. G'd only considers the thought as sufficient when you are prevented from carrying out the deed through forces beyond your control.

A thirty-fourth reason for the wording of our verse is based on Rabbi Karo's (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim) ruling in Hilchot Tefillin 32,18. This is what he writes: "If a letter in the parchment is attached to an adjoining letter so that there is no space separating these two letters, the phylactery is unfit for use." [The difficulty with the writing of phylacteries is that the letters must be written in the order in which they appear in the Torah and are not subject to correction once they were not written in the proper order. Ed.] The Rosh in his discussion of the laws pertaining to the writing of a Torah scroll writes that if two letters touched each other this results in the Torah scroll being unfit to read from; however, if the scribe succeeds in separating these two letters through rubbing out the area where they are attached, the Torah scroll is fit to be used. We learn from the above two quotations that whereas one may rub out part of the letter in the Torah scroll the same is not allowed in a parchment intended for use in the phylacteries. Our verse alludes to this ruling if we understand the word בחקתי as a reference to חקיקה, a form of erasure. The Torah tells us תלכו you may "go ahead," i.e. erase some of My statutes whereas you must strictly preserve מצותי תשמרו, other commandments of Mine, i.e. the laws of the phylacteries, by not erasing any part of them even if it is only the area where two letters touch each other. The words ועשיתם אתם may be understood as reflecting a ruling by the Rosh in his responsum number 16, principle number 3. He writes: "When the open letter מ (as opposed to the final letter ם) has accidentally been written in a manner which makes it appear as if it is closed, it may be completely erased [literally to hollow out, לחקק Ed.] and a new letter מ may be written in its place. [This refers to the rules about writing a Torah scroll. Ed.] If instead of following the procedure indicated the scribe "erased" the part of the original מ which was closed so that it now appears as a regular מ as intended originally, this does not make a usable letter of it as it violates the principle of חק תוכות, "hollowing out instead of writing." We have been taught in Gittin 20 that one must not write by means of hollowing out a blot of ink so that one winds up with the outlines of the letter one wanted to write. All this is derived from the directive ועשיתם אתם, not to hollow it out but to scrape off the whole letter and rewrite it.

A thirty-fifth reason for the Torah writing the words אם בחקתי תלכו may reflect what later authorities such as Magen Avraham write in chapter 143 of the Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim. We find the following comment: "If one finds two letters stuck together in a Torah scroll one may continue to read from it and does not have to take out another scroll from the Holy Ark to continue reading." The reason is that the imperfection is capable of being remedied by the simple expedient of erasure of the offensive area. We therefore apply the well-known principle of כל שראוי לבילה, that if there is enough oil in a mixture of flour and oil for an offering to thoroughly wet all the flour through proper mixing, we consider all the flour as having been wetted although the mixing had not been carried out (Menachot 103). Other authorities such as the author of Turey Zahav on chapter 32 in the Orach Chayim point out that although the letters had been noticed on the Sabbath, a day on which no repair could be made due to the nature of the day, this still does not prevent us from continuing to read in that Torah scroll because the inability to make the repair is not due to the nature of the Torah scroll itself but only to the day which happens to be the Sabbath. What does all this have to do with our verse? The Torah writes אם בחקתי, that if something is subject to being "erased," i.e. the place where the two letters touch, תלכו, you have permission to give a permissive ruling, i.e. you may continue to read without having to take out another Torah scroll. This is so even at a time when you cannot make the correction because of מצותי i.e. the restriction on writing due to the Sabbath. The reason that you are allowed to carry on reading is ועשיתם אתם, because in principle you are permitted to make the necessary correction as soon as the Sabbath is over.

A thirty-sixth meaning of our words is connected with the ruling of Rabbi Karo in Yoreh Deyah 276,11. This is what he writes: "if a letter was attached to another letter forming the name of G'd, it may be erased." Mordechai comments in Menachot on this subject that although the halachah not to erase the letters of the name of G'd is derived from Deut.12,4 "you must not do so to the Lord your G'd," in this instance we are concerned with an erasure in order to achieve a correction. This is the meaning of the words אם בחקתי תלכו, i.e. "even though I have forbidden you to 'erase' (חקק), when such 'erasure' serves the purpose of making a correction you may proceed." The word תלכו is used in a sense similar to Exodus 18,20: "and the way they are to walk." The additional words ואת מצותי are a condition to touch only the area where the two letters touch each other but not to erase either of the letters themselves. The reason the Torah wrote מצותי in the plural is because two letters are involved. Perhaps one may also see in these words an allusion to what we learned in Shavuot 35 that it is forbidden to erase a suffix attached at the end of the name of G'd. This may be the reason that the Torah employed the word מצותי in the plural, i.e. not only G'd's name must not be erased but also the suffix must not be erased. When a letter of the next word is attached to such a suffix it must not be erased as it has been hallowed by the name of G'd preceding it. The words ועשיתם אתם provide the background to the comment of the Mordechai that one may erase the area in which the letters are joined seeing that when one does this it is something constructive, i.e. ועשיתם. This expression may also be the justification for a halachah in Massechet Sofrim chapter 5 that if the scribe's ink spilled onto a letter of the name of G'd already written, he may erase that inkstain because his intention is to restore the name of G'd not to erase it. Bet Yoseph quoting Ri of Ascandrani writes that even if one of the letters is lost (damaged) the scribe may erase the rest of it in order to restore it. We may base this on the word אותם in the expression ועשיתם אותם, i.e. even if the letter itself has to be erased this is acceptable. The condition we read into the words ואת מצותי is applicable when the only problem we have to deal with is that the area where two letters are attached to one another, something that can be fixed by thinning the letters through a slight erasure at the place they are joined. When we are dealing with an inkstain blotting out part of the letter this restriction does not apply.

A thirty-seventh reason for the words אם בחקתי תלכו in our verse may be something we learned in Rosh Hashanah 21. Rav Hunnah bar Avin sent an instruction to Rava: "When you observe that according to the Jewish calendar the winter season [which ends with the equinox on the 22nd of March in our solar calendar, Ed.] would end later than the 16th of Nissan, extend the year (add an extra month of Adar) in order to comply with the Biblical requirement that the Passover festival is to occur in spring i.e. after the equinox (Deut. 16,1)." Our verse speaks of אם בחקתי תלכו meaning that you should apply the calculations on which you base your calendar to comply with the laws of nature, i.e. astronomical considerations based on interaction between solar and lunar orbits. The word אם is conditional, i.e. ואת מצותי תשמרו so that you will also be able to fulfil My commandments, i.e. that פסח is to occur during spring. The words ועשיתם אתם are your authority to manipulate the calendar so that you can do justice to both requirements, as per the instructions of Rav Hunnah bar Avin to Rava.

A thirty-eighth reason for the wording in our verse may be to provide backing for something we learned in Shabbat 156. "Two scholars, Shemuel and the Gentile scholar Avlet, were sitting together when they observed certain people walk towards a lake. Avlet pointed to a certain man in that group and said that the individual in question would not reach that lake alive. A snake would bite him and he would die. Shemuel replied that if the person in question was a Jew he would reach his destination alive. It so happened that the person in question reached the lake alive. When the man in question passed the two scholars on his way back from the lake, Avlet examined his rucksack and found a snake in it which had been crushed to death. Shemuel questioned the man to find out what merit he had which had saved him from imminent death. The man told him that the group he belonged to would usually eat lunch together, each one unpacking his lunch-box and throwing the contents into a common pool. On that particular day one of them had not brought a lunch and he felt embarassed about not having anything to contribute to the common pool. The person who had the snake in his rucksack pretended to take bread from the rucksack of his companion who did not bring any food and threw his own bread into the common pool so as to save his friend from embarassment. Shemuel complimented him on the noble deed. The story indicates that although according to hososcopic influences the man in question would have died on the way, the fact that he had accumulated a merit saved him from the death horoscopic influences would have foreshadowed. This is the meaning of אין מזל לישראל, that Jews need not be the victims of horoscopic influences. The words in our verse provide the condition under which we can free ourselves from unfavourable horoscopic influences. The so-called חקות, horoscopically decreed laws, are inoperative if את מצותי תשמרו, you will observe My commandments.

A thirty-ninth reason why the Torah chose the wording it did in our verse has to do with what we learned in Pessachim 56. We are told that King Chiskiyah destroyed the copper snake Moses constructed (Numbers 21,9). The reason he did so was because he observed people making an idolatrous symbol out of it. The construction of the snake at the time had been a חקה, statute, which G'd had legislated in order that by looking at the copper snake people would demonstrate their trust in G'd. When people started to relate to it in the opposite manner, believing it had magic qualities, the time had come to destroy it. Chiskiyah interpreted our verse simply as follows: "as long (אם) My statutes serve spiritual progress i.e. תלכו, it was alright to look at that copper snake. If, however, this was no longer the case, then the overriding consideration became ואת מצותי תשמרו the need to observe G'd's commandments.

A fortieth justification for why the Torah wrote these words in our verse may be that the Torah speaks here about the people eating untithed produce. We find that people who do this are guilty of death, and that even a priest who does so is guilty of the same. You have good reason to wonder why it is that a priest who is allowed to eat the tithe (תרומה) itself, should be forbidden on pain of death to eat from a quantity of produce which by definition is a mixture of both תרומה, the tithe due to a priest and ordinary produce which has no status as something sacred? We must conclude that the law is in the nature of a חוקה, statute, concerning which G'd has not revealed a rationale. Our verse tells us that if the priest will walk in G'd's statutes not to eat from untithed produce he will contribute to the fulfilment of את מצותי תשמרו ועשיתם אתם that the produce will become permissible to eat for the Israelite once the commandment of tithing it has been performed on it.

The forty-first reason the Torah has written the words אם בחקתי תלכו in our verse may be connected with the advice we are offered in Avot 2,10 to repent one day before one's death. If one heeds this advice one is a penitent all one's life. The Torah therefore says אם בחקתי תלכו if you will be constantly conscious of My statutes that man is bound to die then you will surely be motivated to observe My commandments so that you can face the Day of Judgment.

A forty-second meaning for the words אם בחקתי תלכו in this verse may become clear when we look at a passage in Baba Metzia 85 where one of the scholars was given a sign by the prophet Elijah how to recognise the chair of Rabbi Chiyah because the latter did not require angels to lift his chair to the celestial regions. Rabbi Chiyah's chair ascended unassisted. The reason Rabbi Chiyah merited this was his unequalled vigor in studying Torah and teaching it. The word תלכו alludes to this energetic approach to Torah study. When a person studies and teaches with the vigor of a Rabbi Chiyah his chair will ascend all by itself, i.e. תלכו.

ונתתי גשמיכם בעתם, "And I will provide your rains at their proper time." We must first understand why the verse commences with the letter ו seeing the verse is not preceded by another promise that this verse adds on to. If you accept my interpretation of the word תלכו itself being the promise in the last verse, there is no need to wonder about the letter ו at the beginning of this verse.

The letter ו may also be justifiable in light of the plain meaning of this verse appearing to promise that there is a reward for observing the commandments in this life and that this reward is the beneficial rainfall. One might assume therefore that G'd has discharged His promise of rewarding us for מצוה-observance with economic prosperity. The letter ו indicates that prior to promising any benefit for our observance in this life the Torah had already promised reward in the hereafter in the previous verse. I have alluded to this in one of my commentaries on the words אם בחקתי תלכו. Alternatively, the key to the verse is the suffix כם in the word גשמיכם, "your rains." Normally, we would have considered that seeing the rain comes from heaven it is G'd's rain. The Torah had previously promised a reward in the hereafter, which is something no one in this world can experience. The Torah therefore wanted us to know that there is something over and beyond that in our world but that it emanates from the celestial spheres. In order that we should not look upon these rains as a reward for Torah observance G'd describes them as "your rains." It is something that is ours not as a result of our מצוה-observance but because the Torah scholars are the pillars of the world. Anyone who studies Torah is entitled to view them as something belonging to him. Perhaps it is this consideration which led Baba Kama 38 to conclude that since the Israelites can lay claim to the whole world based on this consideration, the properties of the Gentiles legally belong to them. [The Talmud there bases the ruling that the Jewish owner of an ox which gores an animal belonging to a Gentile does not have to pay compensation, on Chabakuk 3,6. Ed.]

Another reason why the verse commences with the letter ו may be G'd telling us that although we receive the rain as a gift from Him, He does not consider it as belonging or having belonged to Him but as belonging to "you."

The Torah is careful to use the word: "And I will give," to underline that it is the exclusive domain of G'd to provide rain both quantitatively and qualitatively. He alone can judge how much rain is needed by the earth in the land of Israel. This is the meaning of Vayikra Rabbah 28,3 that while man lies down to sleep G'd is busy gathering the clouds to provide rain.

The word גשמיכם may be understood as a collective term for food or nourishment, both the kind which is required for the earth, and that which is required for the creatures inhabiting it. There is both spiritual and physical nourishment. The earth is recipient of nourishment in the form of rain or dew. I have explained all this in my commentary on פרשת בהר.

והשיג לכם דיש את בציר. "And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, etc." This is the blessing applicable to the crop after it has been harvested. Our sages in Baba Metzia 42 have taught that when one enters one's barn in order to measure the size of one's crop one is to recite an appropriate prayer invoking G'd's blessing. If G'd would not bless the crop also after man had harvested it such a prayer would be inadmissible as one must not ask G'd for something that has already been determined. Please read my comments on Leviticus 25,21 on the words ועשת את התבואה.

ואכלתם לחמכם לשובע, "and you will eat your bread to your satisfaction." This is the blessing G'd bestows on the food after we have eaten it and it is within our bowels as stated in Torat Kohanim who write "one eats a small amount and it is blessed within one's entrails."

Another meaning of these words is that you will not suffer from a fairly common phenomenon that in spite of large quantities of food intake one does not feel satiated; G'd promises that one will feel completely satiated.

Another meaning may be related to Megillah 7 where we are told of a popular proverb according to which the stomach is always able to accomodate an additional amount of good tasting food and although one previously had one's fill one can still enjoy this.

The emphasis on the word לחמכם means that there is no need for relishes and other additions but that the bread itself will taste so well a person will not look for any additional condiments.

There may also be a veiled promise here that even if one eats over and beyond what is needed such eating will not hurt one as opposed to Gittin 70.

Still another lesson contained in our verse is related to Sotah 48 where the Mishnah describes the quality of fruit in the land of Israel as having declined dramatically both in taste and food value after the destruction of the Temple. The Mishnah meant that when the fruit contains what is described as שומן, a person eating thereof will experience the feeling of being sated. The reverse is the case when that element called שומן is absent. The Torah promises here that the feeling of satiation will be experienced even if one merely eats bread as G'd has endowed the grain with the element called שומן.

וישבתם לבטח בארצכם, "and you will dwell securely in your land." This promise is most important because all the preceding promises are esentially meaningless unless one can live free from worry that an enemy will invade one's country. G'd promises continued prosperity uninterrupted by the need to defend one's country at the expense of growing crops. The word בארצכם underscores that the whole world will recognise that the land of Israel is rightfully yours.

Another aspect of the blessing contained in this verse is that foreigners will perform the heavy labour in our country whereas the Israelites will "sit securely in your land," not even worrying that the foreign labourers may steal and cheat them out of their harvest.