The Weekly Sedra – Bechukosai – Our True Worth

A little girl once asked her mother, “How did the human race appear?”

The mother answered, “Well, dear, it is very simple. I told you about my side of the family and your father told you about his.”


This Shabbos we conclude the book of Leviticus with the reading of Bechukosai. Fraught with terrifying warnings of unimaginable consequences, triggered by the wanton abandonment of Torah law, it’s no wonder that this portion is commonly referred to as the Parsha of “Tochacha” – rebuke. Each curse is more bone-chilling than the one preceding it.

Indeed, throughout the generations it has always been a challenge to find someone willing to be called to the Torah for the Aliyah in which these somber verses are read. In fact, it is the custom in many Synagogues for the Baal Korei – the one reading the Torah – to quietly take the Aliyah for himself without even being called up, so that no one is insulted.

It is curious to note that after concluding this petrifying section of rebuke, the Parsha abruptly shifts gears to a section dealing with the laws of “Arachin” – the dedication of the value of oneself or another person to the Temple. This narrative seems completely misplaced. What is the relevance of these laws to the rebuke which dominates the rest of the parsha?

Rav Mordechai Kamenetzky recounts an inspiring story which tends to shed light on this puzzle. During the Holocaust, when many of the horrifying curses of this week’s parsha were manifested before our very eyes, the Germans derived a particularly sadistic pleasure in torturing and disgracing the great Rabbis who served as mentors and pliers of inspiration to the Jewish community in those harrowing times. The suffering endured by these righteous leaders is unfathomable.

In one particularly gruesome incident, a number of malicious Nazi officers beat the Klausenberger Rebbe to the brink of death. After enduring seemingly endless blows, the officers asked the bleeding and barely-conscious Rebbe if after all of this suffering he still believed that the Jews are G-d’s chosen people. He responded unequivocally in the affirmative.

Infuriated by what they considered to be the Rebbe’s stubborn arrogance and audacity, they beat him some more. When the Rebbe continued, in between blows, to affirm his unshakeable belief in being one of G-d’s chosen people, the miserable, frustrated officers scoffed in outrage: “Look at you! You are laying here on the ground bloodied and bruised; scarcely alive, and you call yourself chosen! Is this your idea of chosen?”

To this the Rebbe replied: “As long as I am down here on the ground declaring my unwavering faith in my G-d and my principles, while you are up there doing what you’re doing – as long as I am able to maintain and express my faith in the face of cruel oppressor of innocent victims, such as yourselves, I am indeed part of the chosen people.”

Applying the lesson of this story to our original question, the Kotzker Rebbe explains that after reading the terrifying curses contained earlier in the parsha and seeing how they have tragically been fulfilled throughout history; the Jew might begin to lose faith in his intrinsic value and self-worth.

As a nation, we have been persecuted more than any other people throughout the ages. Such intense personal and national suffering could easily cause a person to lose hope.

In order to counter this mistaken conclusion, the section outlining the painful times which will befall the Jewish people is immediately followed by the section dealing with the laws of Arachin. This section details how much a person is required to donate if he chooses to dedicate the “value” of himself or another Jew to the Temple.

This juxtaposition comes to remind us that even in the darkest moments, after enduring the most inhumane suffering fathomable, having been striped of all respect by our vicious oppressors, our intrinsic worth in Hashem’s eyes is eternal and unchanging.

In fact, as difficult as it is to say, our true worth in the eyes of G-d and man, would never and could never have been fully realized in absence of our tenacious faith and conviction in face of the brutal oppression and suffering throughout the millennia.

We have now passed the test by all accounts. We have demonstrated to G-d and the world that our priorities are intact and that our faith is unshakable. In doing so, we’ve bequeathed humanity with the ultimate gift – proof that there is a higher existence that can never be denied or suppressed – a truth more real and critical than life itself.

At the same time we’ve adorned G-d with the ultimate glory and honor – the purpose for which the universe has actually been brought into existence.

Our precious value is now known to G-d and man beyond a scintilla of doubt. The mission has been accomplished – the test is over – the Golus has run its course. It’s time for Moshiach.

We have earned our reward and it is indeed commensurate with our true worth!