Mitzvah d'var

Have you ever done something simply out of fear? For example, not doing homework because of fear of getting a bad grade, or doing a chore because you don’t want to get in trouble with your parents, face consequences, or having fear of a bad reputation. Not doing things one should do, makes people think of you as being irresponsible and unreliable.

The first section of my Torah portion, Bechukotai which means my rules or the way of G-d, sets out a set of rules that when followed lead to positive outcomes.  God states “I will give you rain so you can grow food and so the earth will yield produce, I will grant peace in the land, there will be no vicious beasts, you will multiply, I will stay with you and protect you. I will do this because I am your G-d.”

However, in the 2nd part of this portion, it turns dark and gruesome. God states: “If you fail to obey my laws, I will wreak misery upon you” and then it goes into great detail about what that looks like. Misery, fatigue, sadness, pain, infertility on both the people and land, and much, much more. You don’t want to know. The land will produce nothing. The trees will not grow fruit. God will send vicious beasts to roam the land. Even death. It's bad. 

Why does G-d go this dark? Do we need to be given negative consequences because that is the only way we listen? Are we really looking at the positive outcomes if we obey G-d like happiness and nature and many more things or are we more motivated by the negative repercussions? Do we take the positive for granted? What are we really motivated by?

Of all these questions, the main question I have is: Would people still follow G-d’s laws and commandments if they were not frightened into doing so? For instance, let’s talk about when Moses received the Torah. G-d knew the right thing to do would be to give Moses the holy book. However, Moses didn’t necessarily know that the Torah would help him a lot with his life or the life of his people. When the rabbis retell the story of receiving the Torah, they say that G-d turned the mountain upside down and put it on top of the heads of Moses and the Israelites. G-d flipped the mountain and put it right above their head. Imagine if you were underneath a floating mountain. Would you obey something so this mountain wouldn’t fall on you? I assume we all would. If they didn’t receive the Torah, then the mountain would most definitely be dropped on them. G-d used fear to make sure Moses and the Israelites would take the Torah and obey G-d’s commandments. In my opinion, G-d’s decision to give Moses and the people of Israel the Torah would turn out to have a positive effect, even though they received it out of fear.

In some ways, people being scared into doing these certain things could be a good thing. G-d does just want the people of Israel to do the right thing. However, some people may not obey these laws so they have to make them obey the laws by generating consequences. G-d doesn’t want them to have to face these punishments, G-d wants them to just do the right thing. In this case fear is good. However, if you are just using fear in ways to generate power, then it may not be a good thing.

It seems like G-d only wants to direct you one way, towards the good. The rabbi Sforno says that the laws in my Torah portion are like laws given by a King or Queen, meaning that you are required to follow them whether you like it or not.  Sforno goes on to say that the opening words of my Torah im bechukotai teilechu, meaning, “if you follow my laws”, really means “if you walk in the right direction by following my laws you will get positive rewards.” The Hebrew word for Jewish Law is halachah, which actually means “walking.”  Walking is something you do every day to get somewhere.  Laws are also something that you have to follow every day that also help you get somewhere. 

One violation of the law could create a bad outcome.  G-d may just want us to take one path. G-d doesn’t want us to go left or right, or take a turn. However, sometimes it can be good to take a turn, or a risk, when we feel it’s the right thing to do. Obviously these risks can have a negative effect, but they can also have a positive benefit. A positive benefit of following G-d’s laws are gaining G-d’s trust and rewards from G-d. When you take a turn, or a risk, you may make a mistake or face some consequences. However, you learn from the mistakes every single time and learn what to do and what not to do.

This Torah portion has really made me think about some examples of situations I have been in where people, meaning my parents, use fear or consequences to influence my behavior. I thought about a job at home, like a chore. At home, I need to take the dog for a walk. That’s what my parents ask me to do. If I do this job and take my dog out, everything will be fine. I am expected to do it because it contributes to my family. Walking the dog contributes to my family and my dog's well-being and it teaches me how to function in a community. But if I do not take the dog out, there will be negative consequences. I will get into trouble, I may lose a privilege, and I will probably also end up having to do the job in the end, and there will probably big a mess to clean up inside.

My parents do a lot for me and they are responsible for teaching me how to be a responsible member of the family by following rules.

Meanwhile, if my parents asked me to do something, like wash the dishes, and if I asked them “what happens if I don't'' and they said “nothing would happen,” I probably wouldn’t wash them. Also, then there would be no clean dishes and my family would have to do more work. Sometimes, without meaningful consequences people don’t do things because they are lazy or not commited. 

I think we all can take what has happened in this Torah portion and use it in our everyday lives. First, we have to make decisions that we feel are right. We know something is right when we understand the concept behind the decision.  What are the benefits to me, others and the community as a whole.  We have to take into consideration what might be the negative consequences if we made a different decision? 

 Fear of negative consequences may influence our decisions but when we feel that we are doing something simply out of fear we should think about it. Doing something strictly out of fear may result in us not understanding the benefits of doing the act in the first place.  

The rules in Bechuchotai and the consequences for not sticking to these rules are pretty straightforward - take care of the earth otherwise there will be a global environmental crisis, take care of each other or there will be major health problems, take care of the people of the world or there will be wars.  But other rules in the Torah are not as straightforward and neither are the consequences. What would happen if you disagree with the Torah? It seems on the face of it G-d doesn’t give us room to disagree. However as a Jew I am able and encouraged to disagree, yet there are many things in the Torah that I disagree with, such as, criticism of homosexuality, and the encouragement of an eye for an eye, suggesting it’s always appropriate to retaliate with equal force. Even the Rabbis themselves disagreed with the Torah, and what the laws were and their intention. However at JCOGS and in our community we are able and encouraged to disagree without fear of repercussions. That is one of the many great things about Judaism and why I am honored to become a Jewish adult today.

Shabbat Shalom!