Bechukotai Speech

Shabbat Shalom!

My Parashah, Bechukotai, is the last parashah in the book of Leviticus. Leviticus

consists of a long list of laws, and this collection of laws ends with a statement of
consequences. The parashah then goes on to describe the different blessings and curses. If
you follow God’s rules and commandments, God will give you many blessings. But if
you do NOT follow God’s rules and commandments, the God will bring upon you many
curses, which the Torah goes on to describe. However, it also states that God will never
annul the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and thus their descendants will not
be completely rejected; they will always have a second chance.

One of the issues raised by this parashah is the issue of rewards and punishments
or blessings and curses. In particular questions about how and why this system of curses
and blessings works. Although it may seem that generally God rewards the good and
punishes the bad, we also recognize that this is not always how it works. I wonder why
do good things happen to bad people while bad things happen to good people?
Many commentators have written on this question. But a few have really stood
out in my mind.
Rabbi Harold Kushner explains that being human means having free will. That
leaves us free to hurt each other and ourselves, and God cannot stop that without taking
away our freedom of choice.
Rabbi Robert Gordis offers another perspective. He sees the universe as a work of
art in which we are up close. Like with any picture, if we are up close you can’t see the
fullness of the picture. My interpretation is that we are so close that we are actually the
paint in the picture and therefore we are too close to understand or see the entirety of
life’s picture. Only God has the perspective to view the big picture.

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 Haftorah Speech

My haftorah comes from the book of the prophet Jeremiah. The prophet begins by
describing how the nations will come to God asking for forgiveness for praying to idols,
and how the Lord will teach them who indeed the Lord is and what is His power and
might. However the prophet also describes how the Israelites have been disloyal to God
and have worshipped idols. The prophet declares “The guilt of Judah is inscribed with a
stylus of iron, engraved with an adamant point on the tablet of their hearts, and on the
horns of their altars.”
This means that the guilt is evident everywhere – in all their actions. Just like in
the torah portion, Jeremiah goes on to describe all the consequences, whether good or
bad, of obeying or disobeying God’s laws. The prophet then presents two contrasting
pictures: First, the person who doesn’t trust in God. He is like a bush in the desert. As he
has no source of sustenance, he has no future. Second is the person who does trust in
God. He will be like the tree planted near water – sustainable, fresh, and beautiful. My
haftorah concludes with the prophet’s prayer to God.

I would now like to thank a number of people who helped me get through this
experience. First, my teachers, Cantor Subar and Cantor Levinson who have helped me
learn all that I have chanted today. I would like to thank Cantor Bielak who has followed
me in check ups for the past four months – more often I’m sure than he would have liked.
Thank you Rabbi Popky, for your guidance and teaching. I learned a lot from you. I
would especially like to thank my Mom and Dad for their support, guidance, and material
help. And of course, I would like to thank my friends, for their understanding and
support.
Shabbat Shalom!