BY: GOLDIE GUY
Parshat Bechukotai opens by presenting us with a basic formula for success: keep the laws of the Torah and invest in Torah study, and you will get blessings of prosperity, secure dwelling in the land of Israel, and Hashem`s protection. Choose not to follow the laws and not to labor in the Torah learning and the land won`t bear fruit, our enemies will pursue us, and G-d`s protection will not always be with us. This seems fairly straightforward, but could it really be that easy? Obviously it is by no means easy to keep to the letter of the law or to be extremely disciplined in one`s Torah study. But if we are successful in those endeavors, is this really the key that opens the door to all of G-d`s blessing?
Parshat Bechukotai opens by presenting us with a basic formula for success: keep the laws of the Torah and invest in Torah study, and you will get blessings of prosperity, secure dwelling in the land of Israel, and Hashem`s protection. Choose not to follow the laws and not to labor in the Torah learning and the land won`t bear fruit, our enemies will pursue us, and G-d`s protection will not always be with us. This seems fairly straightforward, but could it really be that easy? Obviously it is by no means easy to keep to the letter of the law or to be extremely disciplined in one`s Torah study. But if we are successful in those endeavors, is this really the key that opens the door to all of G-d`s blessing?
In the list of the good things G-d will give us in response to dedication to Him, the verse says:
ו וְנָתַתִּי שָׁלוֹם בָּאָרֶץ, וּשְׁכַבְתֶּם וְאֵין מַחֲרִיד; וְהִשְׁבַּתִּי חַיָּה רָעָה, מִן-הָאָרֶץ, וְחֶרֶב, לֹא-תַעֲבֹר בְּאַרְצְכֶם**
And I will grant peace in the Land, and you will lie down with no one to frighten [you]; I will remove wild beasts from the Land, and no army will pass through your land; (Leviticus 26:10)
In the preceding verses, Hashem already promises property, plenty, and security if we study the Torah and follow its laws. Rashi`s implicit question on this verse is as follows: If G-d provides the nation with everything they could need materially, doesn`t that imply a peaceful existence? What is included in "peace" that is not included in physical security and well being?
I don`t think this question can simply be answered with the oft-cited division of physical and spiritual needs, by saying "Sure, you have everything physically, but "peace" refers to the spiritual well being of the people", because it seems pretty clear from the context of the verse that "peace" also refers to the physical state of the nation. My personal understanding, a non-literal reading though it may be, is that "peace" is a state of mind. Call it yishuv hada`at (tranquility), or "bitachon" (trust in G-d), or whatever other phrase you might, but what I think that`s all summed up in "peace" as is an internal state of balance and clarity. Rashi cites this question in his commentary on our verse. Rashi writes:
ונתתי שלום: שמא תאמרו הרי מאכל והרי משתה, אם אין שלום אין כלום, תלמוד לומר אחר כל זאת ונתתי שלום בארץ, מכאן שהשלום שקול כנגד הכל. וכן הוא אומר עושה שלום ובורא את הכל:
"And I will grant peace": Perhaps you will say, 'we have food and drink, but if we haven`t peace, we haven`t anything!' So the verse says after all this "And I will grant peace in the Land." From here we learn that peace is equally weighed against everything. And so it says: "He who makes peace and creates everything"***
I particularly like the way Rashi expresses the value of peace by putting the words as an objection in the mouths of Bnei Yisrael: 'If we haven`t peace, we haven`t anything!' According to Rashi, the Torah is teaching a lesson that needs to be ingrained within us, that without the proper frame of mind to properly appreciate what you have and all that Hashem has given you, all the material success and security in the world isn`t worth anything. The blessing of shalom/peace is the ability to put things in perspective, to recognize the source of everything, and be appreciative and thankful for all we have. This is an ability which is ultimately dependent on G-d`s blessing, but nonetheless, just as we work hard to keep mitzvoth and study Torah, we must work hard to cultivate this attribute of peace of mind.
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*lyric from Lennon, John & McCartney, Paul. ""I`m So Tired"" Rec. 8 Oct. 1968. The White Album. The Beatles.George Martin, 1968. CD.
**Hebrew text from mechon-mamre.org, http://www.mechon-mamre.org/i/t/t0326.htm, translation from Chabad.org Parsha with Rashi
***text from Chabad.org, the translation of Rashi is my own.
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