Topics in this digest:
Bechukotai 5763 “If you walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and
do them”…Lev 26:3
“If you will walk in my statutes.” This is a rather odd sounding
statement. It’s not exactly a commandment to obey the commandments. Here it
says “IF you will walk in my statutes…The Kli Yakar points out that we do
not find a commandment anywhere that says we should walk in the statutes. So
how do we understand this odd statement?
The Slonimer Rebbe teaches that there are two aspects to the Torah. There
are the commandments that are explicitly made in the Torah. The rules for us
to obey. Do not have other Gods. Honor the Sabbath. Honor your mother and
father. Do not steal or murder. The Slonimer tells that these explicit
commandments are not the whole story, however. There is also a spirit of the
Torah. If study the Torah, we will find that there is a spirit of the Torah,
and a way of the Torah.
In Hebrew the verse tells us talachu, you will walk, in my statutes.
Talachu is a different grammatical form of the word halacha, which is the
term used for Jewish law—the implication being that Jewish law is a path, a
“way to walk.” Similarly, when the Slonimer speaks of the way of Torah, he
uses the phrase derech haTorah. Derech also means street or path, or way.
This language of “walking in a way” is very similar to the language we hear
in other traditions, such as Taoism, whose main text is the Tao Te Ching,
“the Way of Life.”
And this is the point of “if you will walk in my statutes.” That we should
follow not just the rules in the Torah, but also the spirit and Way of the
Torah. All of our actions in life should be infused with the spirit of Torah
and a desire to serve God. The verse tells us to bring a “Torah mentality”
into our lives, an awareness that the world was created by God and our
mission is to serve God. In this way we will follow the Torah not only in
things that are specifically commanded to us, but we will also live our
lives aligned with the Way of Torah.
If we become aware of the “Way of Torah,” everything we do can become a
vehicle for connecting with and serving God. As my friend and teacher Rabbi
Yosef Levin put it, going to the grocery store is a spiritual experience if
you do it knowing that the purpose of going to the grocery store is to buy
food to nourish our bodies so that we can do mitzvot and serve God. Not only
that, but we can find there is a “Torah Way” to buy groceries—perhaps that
means being courteous to other people, or putting some money in the box at
the checkout stand which supports food for poor people, or trying to find
packaging that is less wasteful and damaging to the planet.
Rashi, the medieval commentator par excellence, explained that by “toiling
in Torah” we can reach this level where all of our halichot olam, our
walking in the world, our living our lives, will be for the sake of Heaven.
How can we walk in the “Way of Torah” if we don’t know the Torah?
One of my teachers in rabbinical school, Rabbi Ed Feinstein, told us that
you could teach someone the nuts and bolts of how to be a rabbi—leading
services, officiating at bris’s, bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings, funerals,
giving sermons, etc.,--in about six months. So why does it take five years
to become a rabbi? He told us it is because we need the time to marinate in
Torah, and learn to think like a rabbi. In other words, to learn not just
how to look up laws in a book, but we need to learn the “Way of Torah.”
The language Rashi uses, “toiling in Torah,” is perhaps not very helpful
in a contemporary context. It makes Torah study sound like something
tedious, a difficult chore, but something we must do. Not exactly the kind
of inviting language that will encourage people to expand their horizons and
include some Torah study as part of their daily routine.
Torah study actually can be a great joy. When I “toil in Torah” I feel
like I am straining to hear God speaking to me. There are many different
ways of being spiritual. Most of us have had a spiritual experience at
special times in our lives, whether it sitting on a mountaintop at dawn, or
being present at the birth of child. However, as Jews, we have a special way
of being spiritual, of connecting with God: through the written and spoken
word. Through learning. Through “toiling in Torah.”
Education is a very important value in Judaism, and it is one that we Jews
seem to have gotten the message on. I couldn’t find a number for Canada, but
in the States, about 70% of all Jews over the age of 25 are college grads,
many with post-graduate degrees. This compares with less than 25% of the
non-Jewish white population. One of the ironies of the Jewish world is that
despite this very high level of secular learning, and the great value we
place on learning in general, many Jews are relatively ignorant about
Judaism.
When I was growing up, for all intents and purposes my Jewish education
stopped at age 13, and didn’t resume again until I was almost 40. Four
university degrees including a PhD, yet I was totally clueless about the
foundations of Judaism. If you had asked me when I was 25 what the Jewish
picture of God was, I probably would have said “an old white man sitting on
a throne in heaven.” Little did I know that our great rabbi Maimonides said
a thousand years ago, that anyone who holds such a notion is a FOOL! I
couldn’t have told you whether Jews believe in heaven and hell, or what
Judaism teaches about the soul, or why we should observe the Sabbath or
dietary laws. I couldn’t have told you much of anything about Judaism’s
ethical teachings—like obligations to pay one’s workers on time. I would
have been hard pressed to come up with more than five or six of the ten
commandments.
Sadly, my experience is not at all unusual. I’m sure some of you sitting
here today had a similar experience. What I want to tell you is that it’s
never too late. The door to learning is always open. By setting aside some
time on a regular basis to learn something about Judaism, we can all learn
how to walk in the Way of Torah.
In the Midrash it says “All beginnings are difficult (Mechilta Yitro,
Bachodesh 2).” If you are interested in learning more about Judaism but
don’t know where to begin, there are many paths to explore. “Learning Torah”
does not just mean picking up the Bible and reading…as worthwhile as that
may be, it’s not the best path for many people. If you were skimming the
Hertz chumash in front of you during the service, I will understand if you
say it wasn’t the most inspiring experience you’ve ever had. “Torah”
includes a lot more than the five books of Moses…all forms of Jewish
learning can be included in the phrase “Torah.” The Talmud tells us that a
person should study those subjects that speak to his heart. The internet
makes getting started easier than ever. If you go to the Beth Tikvah web
site, btikvah.ca, and click on Rabbi’s Study, you will find a list of
recommended books, with some comments on each. If you go to your favorite
search engine—I use Google—and type in “Jewish Learning” you will be led to
all sorts of sites which have learning opportunities available. The Jewish
Theological Seminary in New York has many online courses available at
jtsa.edu. The new Conservative Chumash, Etz Chayim, is a wonderful resource.
There are organized programs to study a chapter of the Bible, or a chapter
of Mishnah, or for the ambitious a page of Talmud every day. If you’re not
“online” copies of my recommended book list are available on the table in
the hallway. Give me a call and I’m happy to talk about Jewish learning and
make personal suggestions.
This week’s Torah portion also tells us the benefits of “walking the Way
of Torah.” It includes a number of blessings we will receive from following
the path of Torah, and a long list of curses that will befall us if we don’t
follow the path of Torah. The Slonimer Rebbe tells us that these blessings
and curses aren’t meant to be understood in a physical sense—we only have to
look at the world around us to see righteous people suffering and wicked
people prospering. We need to understand the blessings and curses in a
spiritual sense. If we learn Torah, and follow not just the rules in a
mechanical way, but really learn how to walk in the Way of Torah—learn how
to be a Jew, to serve God and to love God—we will have many spiritual
blessings and will find great fulfillment.
And remember: as the great rabbi Hillel said, “do not say ‘when I have
leisure, I will study—‘ for you may never have leisure.