The Hidden Power of Parashat Bechukotai: Understanding the Blessings, the Curses, and the True Path to Peace

Parashat “Bechukotai” is also known as the “Parsha of Admonition”.
In this portion, the Torah presents tremendous blessings that will come upon the Jewish people if they follow the path of Torah, and harsh words of rebuke if, God forbid, they abandon it.

When examining the blessings and the curses, one notices that the Torah briefly lists the blessings, whereas it greatly expands on the curses. Why is this so? Shouldn’t the Torah elaborate on the blessings and shorten the curses?

The Ibn Ezra addresses this question and writes: “Empty-headed people say that the curses are more than the blessings. They do not speak truth. The blessings are stated in general form, while the curses are detailed in specifics, in order to instill fear and awe in the listeners. Anyone who studies carefully will understand this.” (Vayikra 26:13)

His meaning is that although the Torah uses fewer words for the blessings, their quality is immense — each blessing contains a world within it. The curses, however, are spelled out detail by detail to make their severity more vivid.

One of the blessings mentioned is: “I will grant peace in the land, and you shall lie down with no one to frighten you; I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword shall not pass through your land.” (Vayikra 26:6)

A question arises: Why does the Torah repeat itself? If there is peace in the land, then surely no sword will pass through it.

The Ibn Ezra explains: “‘I will grant peace in the land’ — meaning peace among yourselves.” If there is peace between Jews internally, then it is guaranteed that “the sword shall not pass through your land.”

The Ramban also writes: “That there will be peace among you, and you will not fight one another.” If there is inner peace, there will be external peace.

Rashi famously comments: “From here we learn that peace is equal to all (other blessings combined).”

Are these blessings rewards? Are the curses punishments?

The Rambam teaches that the blessings and curses mentioned in the Torah are not the actual reward for mitzvah observance, nor the true punishment for transgression. After all, the Sages say many times that “the pleasures of this world are not enough to repay even one mitzvah,” and “There is no reward for mitzvot in this world” (Kiddushin 39b). Real reward is given in the World to Come — “today to do them, tomorrow to receive their reward.”

So what are the blessings and curses? Hashem promises that if we follow His mitzvot, He will grant us the conditions needed to perform even more mitzvot, including good health, prosperity, and peace. If not, Heaven forbid, the opposite will occur, making spiritual life more difficult. (Rambam, Hilchot Teshuvah 9)

This is the meaning of the Mishnah: “The reward for a mitzvah is a mitzvah, and the reward for a transgression is a transgression.”
(Avot 4)

Fulfilling a mitzvah draws a person close to Hashem, and that closeness pulls him to another mitzvah. A sin, however, distances a person, which naturally leads to further wrongdoing.

What holds us close to Hashem?

At the end of the blessings and curses the Torah states: “These are the statutes, laws, and teachings that Hashem gave between Himself and the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai through Moshe.” (26:46)

The wording is unusual. It should say “that Hashem gave to the Children of Israel,” not “between Hashem and Israel.” What does it mean that the Torah is between God and the Jewish people?

The explanation, as brought in Likutei Sichot Mussar (Rabbi Yitzchak Sher), is that the mitzvot themselves are the bond between the Jewish people and God. They are the connecting thread.

If we keep the mitzvot, the connection is strong, and we merit goodness. If however we neglect them, they become a barrier between us and Hashem, resulting in distance and hardship. The choice is in our hands.