Parashat BeHukotai

"The gateway of the heavens"

Regarding the redemption of the Land and Jerusalem

Rav M. Elon

Parashat BeHukotai seems to be out of place in its context of Sefer Vayikra, for in its main part it deals with "If you will walk in My laws," (Vayikra 26:3), which then results in "I will lead you upright," (ibid. v. 13); and if we do not walk in the laws of God then this will result in a curse from God.

We will aim to illustrate how Parashat BeHukotai speaks of the redemption, and if we are unworthy, then exile – all this primarily in relation to the concept of the Mikdash, the Temple.

In other words, Sefer Vayikra, Sefer ha-Kedushah (The Book of Sanctity), begins with the laws of the sacrifices, and then deals with the sanctity of man – the various ailments and afflictions he may suffer. Then Sefer Vayikra deals with the sanctity of time which is expressed in the appointed Festivals, and then in Parashat BeHukotai the sefer moves on to speak of the blessings and the curses, primarily in relation to the Beit Mikdash. We may in fact say that the Beit Mikdash is the climax of Parashat BeHukotai. It is this point that we will examine and seek to reveal in our parashah.

Firstly, we may surmise that the curses are brought upon us when we violate our commitment and duty towards the Land, the Land of God. As we noted previously on last week’s parashah:

"The land shall not be sold forever; for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me."

(Vayikra 25:23)

Therefore the Land must rest, this being a "Shabbat to God," a "Sabbath to God."

"And God spoke to Mosheh at Mount Sinai, saying: ‘Speak to Benei Yisr’ael, and say to them: "When you come into the land which I give you, (then) the land shall observe a Shabbat to God."’"

(ibid. v. 1,2)

Thus if the land does not observe its Shabbat, it will vindicate this wrong:

"Then the land shall enjoy her Shabbatot, as long as it lies desolate, while you are in your enemies' land; then the land shall rest, and enjoy her Shabbatot. As long as it lies desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your Shabbatot when you dwelt upon it."

(ibid. 26:34,35)

This is an expression of the bond and relationship between the nation – through its land – and its God; a relationship that can only exist Erez Yisra’el. In the Diaspora, outside of Erez Yisra’el, this union has no meaning.

How does this relate to the Beit Mikdash?

Let us examine the various promises regarding "If you will walk in My laws."

Firstly we encounter the promise of agricultural abundance:

"Then I will give your rains in their due season, and the land shall yield her produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall last to the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last to the sowing time; and you shall eat your bread to satiation, and you shall dwell in your land in safety."

(ibid. v. 4,5)

After this we learn of the promises regarding ‘national security’ – the peace from our enemies, and the might of Yisra’el’s reaction to these blessings which oversteps all natural limits:

"And I will give peace in the land, you shall lie down and none shall make you afraid; and I will remove evil beasts from the land, and the sword shall not pass through your land. And you shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword."

(ibid. v. 6-8)

Then we find the promise of personal spiritual connection and bond.

"And I will turn myself to you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you."

(ibid. v. 9)

And then following this:

"And I will place My Tabernacle among you; and My soul shall not be repulsed by you."

(ibid. v. 11)

Rashi comments on this verse:

"‘And I will place My tabernacle’ – this is the Beit Mikdash."

(Rashi, ibid.)

We must recall that these verses were related to Am Yisra’el when Benei Yisrael were in the desert and the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, was in their midst. The obvious question, then, is what is the fundamental difference between the reality in the desert with the Mishkan and the ‘Mishkan in Erez Yisra’el’ which is the Beit Mikdash?

Let us first consider Rashi’s commentary to the conclusion of the verse, "and my soul shall not be repulsed you," before answering this question.

Rashi says:

"My spirit will not deplore you."

(ibid.)

Rashi then explains the concept of ‘repulsion’ mentioned in the verse,

"…every (term of) repulsion indicates expelling that which is absorbed in something else."

(ibid.)

This is akin to Hag’alat kelim, literally "the expulsion of vessels," which is the kashering of utensils by an act which expels the various prohibited tastes absorbed in them. These ‘tastes’ are intangible invisible entities which are very real and existent in the vessels, so too "I will place My tabernacle among you" has as its direct result – "My soul shall not be repulsed you."

The Torah coninues:

"And I will walk among you, and I will be your God, and you shall be My nation. I am God your Lord Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; and I have broken the bars of your yoke, and I will lead you upright, ("komemiyut")."

(Vayikra 26:12,13)

The curses, however, demonstrate the alternate reality that may take hold:

"And I will break the pride of your might; and I will make your skies like iron, and your earth like bronze; And your strength shall be spent in vain; since your land shall not yield her produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruits."

(ibid. v. 19,20)

How does Rashi understand the term "the pride of your power?"

"‘The pride of your power’ – this is the Beit Mikdash; as the verse states: ‘[Thus says the Lord God:] Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, the pride of your might,’ (Yehezkel 24:21.)"

(Rashi, ibid.)

Once again the point of crisis relates to the Beit Mikdash, the result being:

"And your strength shall be spent in vain; since your land shall not yield her produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruits."

The terminology of "And your strength shall be spent in vain" signifies that so much effort will invested, yet the results these tremendous efforts will yield will be in no way on a par to them. Life may continue yet it will be lacking its core force, it will be lacking "The pride of your power."

Let us emphasize the content of these verses: when our behavior is defined as "If you will walk in My laws" the result is "And your threshing shall last to the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last to the sowing time." This is not merely an expression of agricultural blessing and surplus, but since "I will place My tabernacle among you" rivers of plenty and blessing will be granted to Am Yisra’el.

We thus appreciate that the core of the blessing and the source of the curse are embedded in the Beit Mikdash which exhibits God’s presence among us, or in its desolation and ruin leads to "your strength shall be spent in vain." There is strength and energy, yet they are spent in vain.

Sefer Vayikra, the Sefer Kedushah, deals with the movement towards kedushah, towards sanctity. First it deals with the sacrifices which in their offering bring us closer to our Father, then it continues to the sanctity of man and then the sanctity of time. Then Vayikra deals with the sanctity of the land, which stems from the fact that this is the land of God, and this sanctity is expressed in the Shemittah, the Sabbatical year, and then we reach the core of God’s Presence in the material world – the Beit Mikdash.

I would like to begin our analysis of these issues with an incident that we have already mentioned in the previous shiurim. On Pesah, approximately one-hundred families were guests of Yehivat ha-Kotel, families whom we would term "secular." Their stay at the Yeshivah encompassed two wondrous and fascinating days, and towards their conclusion we held a combined meeting discussing various issues and questions.

One person, we’ll call him Re’uven, stood up and stated the following:

"Rav Elon, these were two of the most fascinating days, we all felt greatly uplifted, we reached heights that we have never previously experienced, and therefore I would like to ask you a question. My daughter and I looked from the windows of Yeshivat ha-Kotel towards the Kotel ha-Ma’aravi (Wester Wall), and then we were joined by a man and his son.

The man said to his son: ‘Do you see the Kotel? Above it is the Temple Mount, and next year, God willing, we will merit to see the Beit Mikdash standing in its appointed place. We will come with a sheep, one year in age, and we will offer it as the korban Pesah, (Pascal Sacrifice.)’

Rav Elon, why is it so crucial that we fight for this one place? Why don’t we move the seat of the Beit Mikdash a little westward to an area which is undisputed – for here is the prime location of our dispute with our neighbours?"

In last week’s shiur we dealt with two types of dreams of independence, we explained how the tensions and points of friction between these two dreamers arose; those who dreamed of the land which would be a safe haven for the Jews, as opposed to those who dreamed of God returning the captivity of Zion to Erez Yisra’el. On this level of understanding our land we see that the dispute is not merely a political disagreement as to the correct political policy, but rather an essential, moral debate as to the very nature of the land itself. [Cf. the shiur for Parashat Behar, 5765.]

We might rephrase Re’uven’s question as follows: Why do we curtail everything to such close confines in the land? Why not speak of a more universal God who is not limited or bound by any physical location? It is with this question that we will open our analysis of the issues mentioned above.

If we were to speak of the modern appreciation of the term "komemiyut" – "sovereignty" – that is to say independence in all planes of our existence, we would expect to see this appear in the verses that deal with the berakhot (blessings), somewhere after "And your threshing shall last to the time of vintage," and after "And you shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword." It would certainly be apt to speak of independence and liberation at this point.

However God’s Torah does not speak of "komemiyut" until after "And I will place My Tabernacle among you," and on the other hand when God states: "And I will break the pride of your might," then it is impossible to achieve the verse "And I will lead you komemiyut, (literally also "upright" i.e. upright, proud, sovereign and independent.)"

Let us consider our matters in ‘three dimensions.’ As we well know, if we draw something on paper it will lack a vital aspect that if we are to add it then makes the drawing more real and authentic – the third dimension. We will not discuss this topic now, but the third dimension adds great depth to any object, and in the Hassidic literature – as well as many other sources – this is the concept of the number ‘three’ on a deeper level.

Whenever the Mishnah states, for example: "The world depends on three things," (Avot 1:2) or "Consider three things and you will never sin," (ibid. 3:1) the number ‘three’ mentioned here is not merely the sum total of concepts mentioned in the Mishnah. Certainly we need no assistance in counting a listing of items in the Mishnah! The purpose of the number ‘three’ is to emphasize a deeper dimension, very simply - the dimension of depth. We know that one’s perception of a two-dimensional form is the perception of one who stands on the outside looking in. The move to a three-dimensional perception allows one to penetrate the matter on a higher cognitive plane. The third dimension allows one to live the form from within, as opposed to the exterior glimpse offered by the bi-dimensional.

The same can be said of our three Forefathers.

Hazal (Our Sages) teach us that Avraham termed God "mountain," Yizhak termed God "field," whereas Ya’akov termed God "home," (Cf. Pesikta Rabati 39, s.v. harninu, et. al.) Indeed Avraham was the first to reveal God in the dark pagan world. It was Avraham who scaled the mountain and at its peak called all of mankind to behold God. It was from this peak which can be seen from everywhere, and also from which everywhere can be seen that Avraham gathered so many into Am Yisra’el, many of whom were not even fit to be a part of the nation, for instance Yishma’el and "the souls they had made in Haran," (Bereshit 12:5.)

Yizhak was the concept of "field" – for in a field one’s perspective is far more limited, yet one does obtain greater spacial appreciation on the flat plane of a field. Yizhak comes into contact with the Philistines, he endures conflicts and disputes with them, yet once again his family and descendants include those who are not at all suitable to Am Yisra’el.

In contrast to these two forefathers we find Ya’akov. Ya’akov calls God "bayit" – "home" or "house." Even a house with windows has set limits, walls, and is a defined entity. This is the third dimension which Ya’akov sees in his dream of the ladder with its feet set firmly in the ground and its head reaching the skies. The ladder illustrates the movement (the angels) and the connection between these two dimensions. In other words, Ya’akov takes the entire world from a two-dimensional perception, a world with a God and with man who talks to Him from afar, to a world of three dimensions wherein a person lives the Divine message in his own life, in his very being, and in his home. In Ya’akov’s dream he sees the ladder with angels of God ascending and descending upon it, together with God Who appears together with the ladder. Thus Ya’akov declares:

"This is no other than the house of God, and this is the gateway of the heavens,"

(Bereshit 28:17).

Ya’akov establishes that there is a house, and just as a material house so too a spiritual house has an entrance and an exit as well as various rooms which differ in their importance and the level of their privacy. Ya’akov sees the angels of God ascending and descending, yet in reality he knows that it will be the kohanim, the levi’im and the yisra’elim who will ascend and descend through this gate – a gate which exists on earth with its opening open towards the heavens.

This dimension of depth will not be even be lacking from within the house, the house will hold the Holy of Holies, as well as the Holy, and then the general courtyard, and so on. Ya’akov, then, moves the world from an appreciation of two-dimensions to an appreciation of depth, the three-dimensional world of particular definition. As long as there are solely two-dimensions we have not reached "and I shall place my Tabernacle among you," yet when there is a house then God’s presence can be manifest, for then – as with the ladder:

"And, behold, God stood above it."

(ibid v. 13)

In our generation when the entire world has become one ‘global village,’ it is difficult to appreciate the value of any specific location. The obvious question is why we truly need to curtail the Divine, why must we have the Divine relate to any particular place, thereby confining its universal manifestation?

However the truth is in fact completely the opposite! It is specifically such an immense God that is not connected with any specific location, who has no house calibrated to the gateway of the heavens that is alienated and distant. And his immense magnitude actually curtails him, diminishing him to diminutive proportions, for he is irrelevant. [We find an expression of this in the Christian theology which gave its God such great proportions of universal magnitude that in fact man’s deeds became irrelevant, and mere abstract faith and theoretical beliefs became sufficient.]

Thus, Avraham revealed the two dimensions of the world. To the lowly world he revealed that there, on the mountain top, if they were to only raise their heads, they would behold great outbursts of Divine benevolence. Yizhak revealed the very same dimension from a different perspective: there is no need to elevate oneself or rise to a peak of a mountain, one must simply overcome the trials and tribulations of the field. [This greatness is the essence of the attribute of "gevurah" – "might."]

Ya’akov took both of these dimensions and added the depth of the third dimension and established a home. This house is not comprised of Ya’akov and Esav, but rather it has twelve rooms, twelve partners, each with his own place and his own path to the gateway of the heavens.

This offers us a basis to understand the words of Hazal:

"Whoever lives outside of Israel is akin to one who has no God."

(Ketubot 110b)

This does not mean that one who lives in the Diaspora actually has no God, but rather "is akin" to one who has no God. In other words he feels that there is a God, yet he has his own life and the two do not necessarily meet. Outside of Israel there is no ethical internal value to the cultivation of the earth nor to the structures of state and government. It is impossible for the appreciation of the sovereign ‘kingdom’ to reach its fruition as "a kingdom of priests," (Shemot 19:6); a state wherein the holy becomes manifests in every facet of the administration from the army to the economy as well as in the social structures. Therefore one may say that life in the Diaspora removes man’s ability to experience the dimension of sanctity in every aspect of life. True, sometimes people prefer a more "virtual" existence over life in Erez Yisra’el with the Intifadas and continued struggles, yet ultimately we must recognize that in Erez Yisra’el we are dealing with life itself, while in the Diaspora one merely moves on a path parallel to that of real life.

These, then, are the three dimensions, something which is expressed in:

"The world depends on three things: on Torah (study), on the service (of the sacrifices), and on benevolent deeds."

(Avot 1:2)

The Torah is the heavenly dimension, service of the sacrifices is the movement from earth to heaven, yet these two are insufficient without the third dimension which brings all three factors together – the dimension of benevolent deeds. Gemillut Hasadim – benevolent deeds – illustrate how in earthly activities we employ heavenly modes of behavior.

This is also the content of Mosheh’s reponse to the angels when he ascended to the heavens to receive the Torah. As we recall, the angels said to him:

"What does he borne of a woman do amongst us?"

(Shabbat 88b)

God tells Mosheh to answer them, yet Mosheh fears them and remains silent. Then God says to Mosheh:

"Grasp My throne of glory and respond to them."

(ibid.)

Mosheh does so and then answers them that unlike man, angels have no parents to honor in fulfillment of the commandment, "Honor your father and your mother," (Shemot 20:11) and so on. The basis of Mosheh’s claims is the fact that the angels have no physical bodies and therefore the Torah is irrelevant to them.

The underlying truth of God’s statement to Mosheh – "Grasp My throne of glory" – is that solely you humans, solely you, Yisra’el, can build God’s throne. For only Am Yisra’el can add the dimension of depth to the world, the third dimension. Only those who encounter the daily reality and who live the word of God in even the darkest corners of this material world may merit that treasure. Indeed, God hands Mosheh the correct response to the angels’ claims, and it is after his that Mosheh is able to bring solid examples as to this concept in his rebuttal of the angel’s arguments.

It would seem that this desire to build a home, to live life with an added dimension of depth is deeply embedded in our hearts, and it is this which brought even the greatest socialists to reject the Uganda Plan when it was raised prior to the establishment of the state. Instead they only desired Erez Yisra’el – for deep in their sub-conscious hid the desire to see the heavens eventuate through the earth and the specific location which would then form the gateway to the heavens.

Therefore it is the Beit Mikdash which God says will lead Am Yisra’el to a loftier level, to the level of "komemiyut." Even when the "gateway" does not stand in its fully constructed form, throughout the world every Jew prays knowing that the pathway for his prayers goes to the holy city of Jerusalem and the Beit Mikdash.

Then, at the end of days when the Beit Mikdash will stand in its appointed place, the prophet Yeshayahu envisioned that time as follows:

"The word that Yeshayahu the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the mountain of the God’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it."

(Yeshayahu 2:1,2)

The nations of the world understand that God has a home, a house, a place of residence for His presence, and they thus desire to come to this place.

"And many nations shall go and say: ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of God, to the House of the God of Ya’akov; and he [the Messiah] will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for Torah shall go forth from Zion, and the word of God from Jerusalem."

(ibid. v. 3)

From the term "House of the God of Ya’akov" Hazal derive that:

"Not as Avraham who termed Him ‘a mountain’ and not as Yizhak who termed Him ‘a field,’ but as Ya’akov who termed Him ‘a house.’"

(Midrash Tehillim 81, s.v. 2 davar aher)

This is quite apparent in light of all we said thus far.

The nations reflect on Avraham and say that they were ‘at peace’ with Avraham, for he ascended the mountain, yet they were able to remain as they were previously, the children of Ketura (Avraham’s second wife, Cf. Bereshit 25:1). With Yizhak, too, they were able to come to terms, even though it was more difficult. Yet Ya’akov, who closed himself in and built a house, the House of Israel, was extremely difficult to accept. Yet now the nations understand that indeed a gateway to the heavens exists, there is a house, and this lowly world is as a reflection of the supernal world. The earthly Beit Mikdash is directly calibrated with the heavenly Beit Mikdash, and then the nations of the world will declare "for Torah shall go forth from Zion, and the word of God from Jerusalem."

"Ziyyon" – "Zion" stems from the word "ziyyun" – "mark." For it is the mark and indicator of the location whereby one may reach the heavens, it is from this clearly-marked place that "Torah shall go forth." It would seem logical that at that Zionist Congress that the Uganda Plan was raised as a feasible option there were those who preferred Uganda over the Middle East and its ‘hospitable’ native residents.

Yet opposing them stood those from all sides of the spectrum who vehemently opposed this option. Even they did not fully realize that their opposition stemmed from the desire and yearning to grasp to the gateway to the heavens. Should one claim that their opposition stemmed from the historical perspective of our nation’s past – we may respond that no distant historical experience would compel a nation to pay the heavy price in blood and lives that they must certainly have known would be expected of them in choosing this land. This choice was firmly rooted in a deeply-embedded internal ethic.

From "Ziyyon" we then move on to Jerusalem. The word "Yerushalayim" concludes with the plural suffix "ayim" which denotes a pair: "yadayim" – "hands," "enayim" – "eyes." Here too exists a pair, the supernal, heavenly Jerusalem, and the earthly Jerusalem, each attuned to the other in complete calibration.

The result, therefore, is:

"And he [the Messiah] shall judge among the nations, and he shall adjudicate for many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; (a) nation shall not lift up sword against (another) nation, nor shall they learn war any more."

(ibid. v. 4)

When peace reigns between the heavenly and earthly Jerusalems – then universal, international peace becomes evident.

In summation, then, Sefer Vayikra deals with God and with man, yet it does not deal with God’s presence among mankind. Then we understood that Erez Yisra’el holds within it Divine content, and then we came to the fundamental conclusion that when the Beit Mikdash stands in its appointed place in Erez Yisra’el, then God descends upon us, and then we may experience "komemiyut" – upright independent sovereignty.

The truth is that when we sometimes forget the purpose of the Land and its inner content and worth – the Land can become a form of idolatry. Yet we must remember that in God’s presence amongst us it becomes possible for our heart, our Beit Mikdash to beat with full strength. We must therefore recall the words of Rabi Yehuda ha-Levi:

"With the destruction of our Mikdash we became ill and we were sickened, may our hearts return to their renewed strength with the construction of the Beit Mikdash."

Translated by Sholem Hurwitz.

Copyright Keren Yishai/Rav M. Elon