Parashat Bechukotai — A struggle to gain knowledge

Parashat Bechukotai  —  A struggle to gain knowledge

June 1, 2024

The parasha opens with an “if” statement, if you follow my statutes, then I will reward you with favorable weather for your crops. This section along with a section in Devarim 28 are called in Hebrew תוכחה (warning or admonition). Misbehaving has its consequences. The warning does not make a difference between laws bein adam l’havaro (between people and society) or ritual laws that are between people and God. Many of our mitzvot (such as honoring our parents, acting with kindness and respect, learning, welcoming guests, visiting the sick, and providing for those in need) help create a peaceful and just society. However, the exact execution of some mitzvot require laws and standards.

Some reformers wanted to reduce Judaism to the laws concerning ethics and tikkun olam (repairing the world) however, without the ritual we are not a complete people. Without “walking with the LORD” we have no higher law that enforces the ethics.  In Micha 6:8 we read “only do justice and love goodness and walk with God and then you will achieve wisdom.”  While the meaning is open to multiple interpretations, it seems that Micha says that wisdom is connected to behavior. In Talmud 127a we read: “Honoring one’s father and mother, and acts of loving kindness, and bringing peace between a person and another, and Torah study is equal to all of them.”  The precise meaning is open to many interpretations, but my interpretation is that Jewish education teaches us how to observe the laws. One can’t observe the Shabbat or holidays without studying the laws, customs and history connected to them.

When it comes to ethical laws, we can’t know the best solutions without studying the world of science, sociology and law. The hard sciences help us understand how the world works so that observing the ritual laws can be done in the proper spirit of the Torah. Studying the social sciences help us understand how people work. The study of Torah and science is intertwined with the need for completeness of men Torah study requires engaging in the text and learning critical thinking skills. One who has not toiled and struggled in their learning cannot appreciate that we stand on the shoulders of giants and our eyes see the future.

Balancing the need for knowledge, the struggle to gain knowledge and the application of knowledge is the human struggle for justice, love and peace.