Parashat Bechukotai: Why work hard?

This week’s Torah portion, Bechukotai, primarily focuses on the covenant between the people of Israel and God. This covenant can be summarized in a simple sentence: “If you do good, good things will happen to you; if you do not do good, bad things will happen.” 

Although this covenant is written at the end of the Book of Leviticus, most commentators believe it was established during the Sinai Revelation described in the middle of the Book of Exodus. The portion begins with:

“If you follow My statutes and observe My commandments and perform them...” (Leviticus 26:3)

What does it mean to “follow My statutes”? Rashi notes that it cannot mean the observance of the commandments, as this is stated separately: “and observe My commandments and perform them.” Rashi, basing his explanation on the Midrash of the Sages Torat Kohanim, answers this question with a new interpretation: “If you follow My statutes – that you should toil in Torah.”

According to this interpretation, following God’s statutes is related to Torah study. However, Rashi emphasizes that this does not refer to simple and easy learning but rather to a study that involves toil and effort.

Toil in Torah study

When people toil in Torah study, meaning they do not settle for superficial understanding but strive for a deep comprehension of the roots of the laws and the foundations of faith and ethics, it can be assumed they will arrive at more accurate conclusions than those who quickly read selected texts. As in any field, effort is a condition for achieving the most accurate understanding.

However, in Torah study, there is an additional purpose to the toil. Torah study is not theoretical wisdom. It is meant to influence people – their behavior, their traits, their worldview, and their interpersonal relationships. Torah that is occupied with theology detached from practical influence misses its purpose.

After a deep discussion, a practical instruction always follows – how to implement in human life the profound insights we have discovered in Torah study.

To connect the Torah to a person’s life, the person himself or herself must connect to the Torah – emotionally engaging with it, feeling closeness to the Torah, and thereby being influenced by it.

For example, we find in the Talmud a teaching on a verse from the first Psalm that describes the righteous person: “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night” – the word “His” was interpreted by Rava, one of the great sages in Babylon in the fourth century, in the following way: “In his law – that of the student – he meditates day and night” (Kiddushin 32).

This means the personal connection created by a Torah student with the Torah is unlike his/her connection with any other study material. The unique quality of the Torah is that the learners create a strong bond with it, innovating new insights and understandings until they feel the Torah is “theirs” and they are partners in its creation.

Toil in Torah is one of the important values in Judaism, and much can be learned from it. For example, the Talmud tells a story about Rava, the same sage who interpreted “in his law,” who studied Torah with such intensity that his fingers were placed under his legs, and from being so engrossed in his study, he pressed his fingers until they bled!

In a few days, we will celebrate the holiday of Shavuot, “the time of the giving of our Torah.” There is no more appropriate preparation for Shavuot than profound Torah study, a study that will transform us into people of Torah, and the Torah into our Torah – truly ours.

The writer is the rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites.