D’var Torah Parshat Behukotai 5771, May 21, 2011, Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann

At the end of a long series of laws and instructions in which the Israelite people are instructed to be an “am kedusha,” “ a holy nation,”Moses gathers the people around and impresses upon them the seriousness of instructions that God has given them. 

“Im B’hukotai telechu, v’et mitzvotai tishm’ru va’asitem otam…”

“If you walk in God’s ways and observe these mitzvot and do them…” then things will go well with you: you will be granted blessing and sustenance, satisfaction, security and tranquility, peace and strength, and a sense of God’s presence. 

If you do not, well, let’s just say: things will not go well for you.  You will be spurned, cast down; you will suffer! 

Many people over the centuries have taken issue with this torah portion, with its conception of Divine reward and punishment and its chastisements.  I certainly agree believe there are theological assumptions in this text that we do not share and I recognize that the descriptions of the curses for non-compliance feels weighty and harsh. 

At the same time, this torah portion seems to be sounding an alarm—maybe a sort of shofar blast— with a message that we as a society need to hear, especially at this moment in time.  It is a message about the way we are to create and structure our society, about the way we are to treat one another-- and the blessings or curses that flow forth from our choices in this regard.

I read this passage as God calling forth the people, exasperated, with one more chance to get the message across, saying:

“YO!  Hey you!  Since you have left Egypt, I have been telling you over and over again how to live together, righteously.  Remember when I told you in no uncertain terms that ‘you should not oppress the stranger, the orphan or the widow?’  Remember all those times I told you to create dignified means by which people that have less can take care of themselves, like being able to go into the vineyards of those who are prospering and take what they need to survive and thrive, without fear?  Remember all those things that I have been telling you—if you do them, you are going to create a kind, compassionate society in which even those with less can experience some abundance.  But if you don’t, you are going to suffer and cause suffering.  I have given you the tools, now you choose.”

This message cannot be timelier than it is right now.  In the past few months, as the country has begun its efforts to rein in spending and states are trying to balance their budgets, we have seen an alarming trend of proposed and real cuts that affect the middle and lower classes, especially those who are most vulnerable: seniors, children, and the poor.  This situation has hit home especially in the past month, as threats to our public school system in Philadelphia become more and more real.  This affects those of us who are line for those schools with resources but even more those who are already underserved. 

I want to be clear that I understand in a difficult economy that sacrifices need to be made.  And I understand that it not healthy or responsible for us to amass deficits that future generations will have to contend with.  That said, the fact that the balancing of those budgets and the “tightening of the belt” seems to automatically fall on the working class and on those who are most vulnerable is deeply troubling and unacceptable— AND it is against the values and instructions that our Torah outlines.

“Im Buhukotai telechu, v’et mitzvotai tishm’ru va’asitem otam…”  If you follow my paths, my instructions, they will lead to blessing. What are those paths, those mitzvot that are outlined by our discerning ancestors in the torah?  What are some of those ways in which we are instructed to create a flourishing society?

“You must not ill-treat any widow or orphan.  If you mistreat them, I will heed their outcry.” (Exodus 22:21-22)

“You shall not subvert the rights of your needy in their disputes.”(Exodus 23:6)

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God.”(Leviticus 19:9-10 & 23:22)

“When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him.  The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Leviticus 19:33-34)

“You shall hallow the fiftieth year.  Proclaim release throughout the land for all its inhabitants.  It shall be a jubilee for you: each shall return to his holding and each shall return to his family.” (Leviticus 25:10)

“Do not wrong one another, but fear your God; for I the Lord am your God.”        (Leviticus 25:17)

The Torah is unequivocal when it speaks about the vision for society.  Parshat Behukotai becomes an alarm or a shofar blast, reminding us of the power of our choices.  We can choose to continue to move down the path we are on, of balancing our budgets on the backs of those who need the most, but if we do, we should be warned: people will suffer, and because we are connected to everyone else, we all suffer. 

Or we can choose to move in a new direction, where our concerns for fiscal responsibility are balanced with an ethos of compassion and caring, especially for those who are most vulnerable.  We we can try to lessen the disparities between the most wealthy and the most needy.  We can try to address the system causes of hunger and poverty and set up some basic security measures for all people.  And if we do, then people will thrive and then, we as a society can truly be an am kedusha, a holy people.