Introduction to Parashat Hashavua
Yeshivat Har Etzion

PARASHAT BECHUKOTAI

The Section of the Admonition

By Rav Michael Hattin

INTRODUCTION

With the reading of Parashat BeChukotai, Sefer VaYikra is completed. Fittingly, the volume of the Torah that is most replete with mitzvot is concluded with the striking of a formal covenant between God and the people of Israel. In return for their sincere fidelity to His teachings and genuine fulfillment of the obligations that the mitzvot place upon them, He promises them consummate blessings and overriding success (26:3-13). Conversely, however, in consequence of Israel's treachery and their abrogation of His word, harsh execrations will overtake them. This latter section, known in Rabbinic tradition as the "Tokhecha" or "Admonition," actually dwarfs in size the section of the blessings (26:14-46), and is read publicly during the Shabbat service with much foreboding and dread.

In a similar vein but chronologically separated from our parasha by a period of about forty years, Parashat Ki Tavo (Devarim Chapter 28) introduces the final section of the Book of Devarim. Like Sefer VaYikra, Sefer Devarim also abounds with mitzvot, though not quite as many as are spelled out in Sefer VaYikra. Unlike Sefer VaYikra that conveys for the first time the many mitzvot communicated to Moshe at Mount Sinai and at later at the Tent of Meeting, Sefer Devarim is in the main a review and restatement of existing legislation and themes. But Moshe's concluding remarks there, concerning the people's formal acceptance of the Torah's commands in a covenantal ceremony, is quite similar to the close of our Parasha: "Moshe, the Kohanim and Leviim addressed all of Israel, stating: 'Be attentive and listen, Israel, for on this day you have become a people to God your Lord. Hearken to the voice of God your Lord, perform His commands and decrees that I enjoin upon you this day'" (Devarim 27:9-10).

In Parashat Ki Tavo, Moshe then enjoins upon the people to convene an assembly immediately after they have crossed the River Jordan and entered the land. Gathering in the valley of Shechem located between the summits of Mount Gerizim and Mount Eval, they are to listen attentively as the Leviim loudly proclaim the list of so-called 'Blessings' and 'Curses', and then acknowledge their assent by declaring 'amen!' (Devarim 27:11-26). The brief and succinct inventory, in the main detailing infractions concerning idolatry, veiled breaches of trust, and sexual immorality, is then followed by a concise passage spelling out the national blessings to be expected and enjoyed if the people of Israel observe the Torah. A much lengthier section describing the dire consequences that will befall the people of Israel if they fail to hearken to the Torah's words, follows this in turn (Devarim 29:1-69).

TWO SIMILAR ADMONITIONS

Externally, then, the two parashiyot are quite similar. In both sections, we have a structure of blessings and curses pronounced to the people of Israel as a nation, with an emphasis on the ominous results of non-observance. In both cases, the passage in question is presented as the conclusion to a lengthy and detailed collection of mitzvot, is introduced in the context of a public assembly as a formal and binding covenant, and utilizes graphic descriptions and images to impress upon the people the necessity of adherence.

Naturally, the similarities of setting, form, and theme invite us to compare the two passages, and this the commentaries do with thoroughness. This week, we shall consider the words of the Ramban, the great 13^th century Spanish commentator. Although we have already noted many general similarities between the passages, the Ramban takes interest in pointing out both the glaring as well as the more subtle differences. As a result of these differences and with the benefit of more than one thousand years of hindsight, the Ramban posits that the two passages actually refer to two completely different historical periods. Though the Ramban comments on both sections, his more thorough treatment of the subject is to be found on our Parasha of BeChukotai, from which we shall quote as necessary. Readers are recommended to follow along in their own text of the Chumash since the relevant Scriptural passages are quite lengthy.

(1) KEY FEATURES OF PARASHAT BECHUKOTAI

The "Admonition" as spelled out in Parashat BeChukotai is almost fifty verses long. It begins with a brief paragraph outlining the national blessings to be experienced "If you follow My decrees and observe My commandments to perform them" (VaYikra 26:3). These include abundant rainfall, bountiful harvests, peace and security, triumph over enemies, and the overarching experience of God's presence, especially at His sanctuary. This in turn is followed by a menacing description of calamities that will befall the people if they abrogate the Torah, including sickness and disease (26:16), oppression by enemies (26:16-17), draught (26:19-20), attack by beasts, famine and conquest (26:22-26), destruction of the Sanctuary (26:29-32), banishment and dispersion (26:33-35), and terrible uncertainty in the lands of their exile (26:36-39).

A) CLIMACTIC PROGRESSION

Significantly, the structure of the section is climactic, for it describes a progression of calamities of increasing severity, culminating in the destruction of the state, the devastation of the Temple, and the exile of the people to far-off lands. Each section is introduced with a similar refrain: "If you still refuse to hearken to Me, then…," implying the possibility of arresting the process by abandoning wrongdoing and again embracing the Torah's commands. Significantly, the passage doesn't only speak in generalities concerning Israel's non-observance of the mitzvot, but spells out two particular transgressions. The first of these is idolatry – "I will demolish your high places and destroy your sun images. Your corpses will be strewn upon your abominable idols, and I will detest you!" (VaYikra 26:30). The second is the failure to observe the "Sabbatical Year," the seventh year of the agricultural cycle during which most farming activities are curtailed – "…while you are in the lands of your enemies, the land will have its Sabbaths. In desolation, it will have the Sabbaths that it did not have while you were upon it" (VaYikra 26:34-35) .

B) FIRST PERSON SINGULAR NARRATION

It must be pointed out that the entire section is phrased in the first person singular, for although it is Moshe who convenes the people and conveys the "Admonition" to them, it is God who is presented in the text as the Speaker: "If you do not listen to ME…I will bring the sword upon you…I will make the land desolate…I will bring fear into your hearts…" Of course, the dominant message of the section would not have been substantially different had it been presented in third person. Nevertheless, the use of the first person implies an intimacy and a directness that would have been otherwise lacking: "If you do not listen to God…He will bring the sword upon you…He will make the land desolate…He will bring fear into your hearts."

C) REPENTENCE AND RESOLUTION

Remarkably, the section concludes on an optimistic note, for it holds out to the people the promise of repentance and restoration: "They shall declare their transgression and that of their ancestors who trespassed against Me…and I shall remember the covenant that I made with Ya'acov, Yitzhak and Avraham, and I shall remember the land…Thus, even when they are in the lands of their enemies, I shall not reject them nor repulse them entirely to annihilate them, to abrogate My covenant with them, for I am God their Lord. I shall remember the earlier covenant for which I took them out of the land of Egypt for all of the nations to see, in order to be their Lord, I am God" (VaYikra 26:40-46). Thus, the Torah states that the people of Israel will return to God and He will restore their fortunes, for even though they rejected His Torah, God NEVER abolished His covenant with them. The overall effect of the "Admonition" in the Book of VaYikra, therefore, is to foster an anxiety and a dread that are nevertheless underpinned with hope. By describing the harsh consequences of the people's renunciation of the commandments as the potential catalyst for their eventual return to God and the land, the passage is able to provide a reassuring sense of closure and resolution.

(2) KEY FEATURES OF PARASHAT KI TAVO

The "Admonition" of Parashat Ki Tavo is almost seventy verses long. Like its counterpart at the end of Sefer VaYikra, it begins with a section of godsends that address every aspect of personal and national life. These include agricultural bounty, fertility, victory over enemies, renown, abundant rainfall, and the promise of ongoing success in all endeavors. Again, these are followed by a much lengthier section of disasters that will unfold if the people reject God's word, including disease, draught, defeat in battle, stark and fierce oppression by external enemies, constant failure of crops, attacks by merciless foes that precipitate acute famine and eventual dispersion among hostile nations.

A) A DOWNWARD SPIRAL

In contrast to Parashat BeChukotai, the passages here are not climactic in structure. Rather than describing a single progression of famine, conquest and exile, with each step introduced by the possibility of arresting the process, the text in Ki Tavo rather describes a number of repetitive cycles that spiral inexorably downwards. Although there are no paragraph divisions in the text itself, it is possible to break up the passage into a number of parts based upon content. Thus, the first section speaks of sickness, draught and defeat before one's enemies (Devarim 28:15-26). The second speaks of being struck with the terrible "boils of Egypt," and of experiencing all manner of oppression at the hands of foreign powers that seize possessions, property, loved ones, and the harvest (28:27-34). The third section again contains a reference to "evil boils" and goes on to describe the exile of people and king to a far-off land (28:35-37). The fourth describes consecutive crop failures, children taken captive, economic depression and foreign domination (28:38-48). It is only the lengthy fifth section that appears to be predicated upon a model of progression, for it spells out the arrival of a bitter foe from "far off, from the edges of the earth," an enemy that speaks a foreign language that is unknown to the people. That foe will lay siege to all of their cities, and the resulting famine will be so severe that parents will mercilessly consume the bodies of their own children. The defeated Jews will be scattered among all of the nations "from one end of the heavens to the other," and will be ignominiously returned by sea as captive slaves to Egypt, there to be sold to the surrounding peoples (28:38-68).

B) THIRD PERSON AND LACK OF SPECIFICITY

The "Admonition" of Ki Tavo is composed in third person, for though it certainly describes God as the source of the disasters, He is not the speaker in the passage: "God will visit the curse upon you…God will take you and your king… God will scatter you among all of the nations…" In contrast to Parashat BeChukotai, the use of the third person implies a sense of distance, describing a God who is far way and inaccessible, an indifferent God who is remote. In another departure from the passage in VaYikra, the "Admonition" of Parashat Ki Tavo fails to spell out any specific transgressions that are the cause of the national downfall, and instead limits itself to a very general pronouncement: "This is because you did not serve God your Lord with joy and gladness of heart, although you had all (Devarim 28:47)."

C) THE DESPAIR OF EXILE

Most disturbingly, the passage of Ki Tavo ends with no resolution, for its final words are instead a declaration of despair: "Your life will be suspended before you, for you shall be fearful night and day and shall have no stability. In the morning you will say 'if only it were evening!', and in the evening you shall say 'if only it were morning!', because of the fear in your heart and because of the sight before your eyes. God will return you to Egypt in barges, along the route concerning which I had said that you would never see it again, and there you shall sell yourselves as slaves to your enemies, but not shall want to buy" (Devarim 28:66-68). The promise of a brighter future, of an opportunity for renewal, of the eventual rehabilitation of Israel's fortunes and their restoration to the land is entirely absent from the passage.

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE RAMBAN – BECHUKOTAI

Based upon many of the comparisons and contrasts outlined above, the Ramban arrives at a startling conclusion. He suggests that the two separate sections in fact address two different historical events that are recounted by the Torah chronologically: the destruction of the First Temple at the hands of the Babylonians some 2500 years ago, and the destruction of the Second Temple at the hands of the Romans about 500 years later.

Carefully reading the account of the "Tochecha" in Parashat BeChukotai, Ramban singles out the two main themes of exile and redemption. As the passage in our Parasha suggests, that first exile is precipitated by both idolatrous conduct as well as gross immorality, cardinal transgressions singled out for ample censure in the prophetic writings of the times. That exile to Babylon is linked in the text to a failure to observe the Sabbatical Years, as in fact Yirmiyahu, the First Temple prophet of doom, intimated: "The remnant from the sword was exiled to Babylon…until the fulfillment of God's word to the prophet Yirmiyahu that the land would enjoy its Sabbaths, resting during its desolation until the completion of seventy years" (Divrei HaYamim/Chronicles 2:36:20-21). Conversely, the redemption foretold in Parashat BeChukotai speaks of a remembrance of the covenant and of a return, but does not mention a complete ingathering of exiles or the founding of a restored ideal state. Indeed, as we know from the later books of Tanakh as well as from external sources, a remnant did return from Babylon, "few in number and representing only some of the tribes, indigent and captive to the Persian kings who gave their consent…" (Ramban, commentary to VaYikra 26:16).

Of course, the Ramban's interpretation is helpful in explaining other features. The "Admonition" in BeChukotai is composed as a climactic progression, with a refrain that raises the possibility of arresting the process. In fact, it is well documented in the writing of Yirmiyahu that almost until the Babylonian war machines were breaking down the gates of Jerusalem, there were frequent opportunities to avert the disaster, if only the people would have turned to God in sincerity! How they had been told repeatedly to mend their evil ways, but they hearkened not! And spineless Zedekiah, the final Judean King who wavered mightily between attentiveness to the words of Yirmiyahu and destructive devotion to the words of his jingoistic advisors, had been advised by the prophet not to court invasion by withholding tribute, but he refused.

The immediacy of God's presence, the hallmark of the First Temple period, was signified in the text by the use of the first person, and by the recurring references to His Sanctuary. A world steeped in idolatry at least understood the importance of relating to the gods, and even human hearts of the time that fumbled in ignorance and darkness sought out an experience of the divine. In parallel and paradoxical fashion, the potential to apprehend the God of Israel, the True Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, was correspondingly higher in an exclusively idolatrous age, and the destruction of His Temple was thus understood by His defeated people to signal the end of His overt involvement in the world of men.

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE RAMBAN – KI TAVO

Thus, the references in Parashat Ki Tavo to a far-off conqueror whose language was unknown but who would soar like the eagle, were apt descriptions of Imperial Rome. Located over the western horizon of the Great Sea (the Mediterranean), Rome must have indeed seemed very remote and far away, especially to a people for whom Latin was an incomprehensible and non-cognate language. But the predatory eagle, proudly borne aloft on the standards of the Roman legions, eventually landed in the state of Judea, when Pompey was invited to mediate in an internal dynastic struggle between the two Hasmonean brothers, Yochanan Hyrcanus, and Yehuda Aristobulus, both of whom vied for the throne of Judea. Intervene Pompey enthusiastically did, soon besieging the walls of Jerusalem in 63 BCE and bringing the Jewish state under a continuous state of Roman domination until the Second Temple's destruction in 70 CE. There is a direct line connecting the inexorableness of exile that seems to color the "Admonition" in Ki Tavo to the partisanship, strife, and infighting that was a permanent feature of the Judean landscape from the eve of Pompey's infamous arrival, until the charred embers of the gutted Temple went out some 130 years later.

In contrast to our earlier analysis, however, the Ramban claims that the "Admonition" in Ki Tavo DOES conclude joyously, for the tidings of redemption so glaringly and devastatingly missing from its immediate verses are to be found in a later parasha: "When all of these things come to pass, the blessing and the curse…God will return your captivity…even from the edges of the heavens…and you shall be wealthier and more numerous than your ancestors ever were…" (Devarim 30:1-10). This is a pledge, explains the Ramban,

CONCLUSION

This week, we carefully compared the two passages of "Admonition" in the Torah, and considered the explanation of the Ramban who assigned them to different historical events. In both cases, the failure of the Jewish people to live up to their national destiny was the cause of their downfall. At the same time, the unfolding narratives implied a providential foreknowledge of the events that seemed to dictate the outcome. This seeming inevitability should not, however, be misconstrued as necessarily precluding human initiative and choice, but only in confirming what omniscient God already knows. As we continue to live out the very process of ingathering and redemption that Ramban claimed was really the disconnected conclusion to the "Tochecha" of Ki Tavo, let us hope and pray that we may merit to experience the fulfillment of its final and triumphant declaration: "God will grant you plenty of increase in all of your endeavors, your children, your animals, and your produce for the good. God will again rejoice over you for the good, just as He rejoiced over your ancestors. For you will hearken to the voice of God your Lord, to observe His commandments and decrees that are recorded in this Book of the Torah, for you will return to God your Lord with all of your heart and with all of your soul."

Shabbat Shalom