2024/5784

The main theme of this week's Parashah, Parashat BeChukotai, is the Tochacha where Hashem outlines for Bnei Yisrael that if we follow the Torah’s mitzvot, we will be blessed with many berachot on our land. Conversely, if we do not follow Hashem's ways, we face numerous curses. If you take a closer look at the pesukim, you notice that while there are only ten pesukim containing the berachot, there are a staggering forty-nine pesukim with curses. Why is this so? Why wouldn’t Hashem put a heavier emphasis on the more positive aspect of following his commandments? A famous Chasidic story can help us better understand why it is put in this manner. Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe and founder of Chabad, always read from the Torah on Shabbat. One year for Parashat BeChukotai, he was not in town and someone else substituted. During the reading, Rav Shneur Zalman's son and future successor, Rav Dov Ber, fainted and even after waking up, he was deeply distressed and stayed sick for days. When his father came back and saw him ill, he asked what had happened? Rav Dov Ber responded that he fainted because of the great distress that was caused by hearing the vivid details of the Tochacha which terrified him. Rav Shneur Zalman was confused because his son had heard his father read the Tochacha  every year. What made this year different? Rav Dov Ber explained that when he heard his father, he “only heard blessings”. According to Kabbalah and Chasidut, the afflictions described in the Tochacha are blessings in disguise. For instance, Rav Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev interpreted the curse “you shall sow your seeds in vain” as a blessing, meaning the produce and grains would grow so abundantly on their own that there would be no need to sow the fields. But why then are the blessings phrased as curses? Wouldn't it be much easier and simpler to describe them as blessings?

This deep teaching of our Parasha reflects the reality of our imperfect world. Unfortunately, many experiences can impact our lives negatively, affecting our mood and physical state in harmful ways. At times, it seems that darkness overwhelms the light in our lives. With these experiences, we can either accept the situation as our unavoidable fate, or we can see them as opportunities given to us by Hashem to actively confront them as obstacles. Obstacles are here to make us stronger and greater, consequently changing their negative impact into the most positive circumstances.