BS"D Parshath Behukothai by Yitzhak Kolakowski ------- "If you walk in My statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them..." (Leviticus 26:3) ------- My dear friends, what is the purpose of walking? Generally speaking, when we walk, we do so to go forward. Isn't it incredible that Hashem has blessed us with such an ability, to grow and to go forward. Sometimes when we grow, it is against our will. We don't decide if we want to be taller or not. However, when we go forward, it is our own decision. We make ourselves go forward. All of the goodness of the world can come from going forward. If a person just stays still, he has no rest. A person who has nothing to do might just go crazy, because the essence of a human being is action. As long as a person is active, going forward, he is content and fulfilled. If a person has no purpose, no motivation, no movement, he becomes filled with self-worthlessness and, G-d forbid, depression. The greatest gift Hashem, in His awesome love, could give us, is this most human ability to grow and to become greater. How could any sense of reward be attached to being stagnant and just receiving "goodness" for free? Especially from G-d, Who is far greater than any of His creations, (including us, of course). By being growers, we are vessels to receive goodness from its Source. This is because, even though we can never reach G-d, we can always feel like we are getting closer and closer, and thus become greater and greater through the realization of how much smaller we are than we had thought, yet despite that smallness G-d Himself lovingly cares about every detail of our life. The problem is that people think they are either much bigger or much smaller than they are. Either they think that they do everything and forget that there's a G-d, walking "b'keri", coldly, as though all is up to chance. Or, they think that what they do is meaningless, insignificant, because G-d does everything. Of course G-d does everything, but in His infinite love for us He gave us this gift (and responsibilty) of being able to, in a sense, do things, in His world. This is an incredible gift that Hashem has given us, to be able to do. No other creation can accomplish anything. The ant is the same ant it's always been and the frog is the same frog it's always been, even the angel is the same angel, but not so with Man. At first, the Original Man was perfect, but Hashem gave him the gift of being able to fall - and get back up. The ability to fall and to get back up gives man the ability to go higher than he was before; and this time it's his own work, not a free gift. This ability to go back to Eden, this is the greatest gift of all (if we choose it), the gift of being a 'self-made' person - by going back to the way we were first made by ourselves, the state of full awareness of G-d. It's the gift (and huge responsibility) of being partners with G-d in Creation. "...Asher bara Elokim LA'ASOTH." - "...Which G-d created TO DO." (Genesis 2:3) (Now we've got to do it!) This is why the verse says "if you walk in my statutes", because 'walking' means going ahead, never staying still, always growing. "...And keep my commandments, and do them." "And do them..." 'Doing', this is the essence of humankind, to be a doer. And if you do this you will be blessed with more doing: "And your threshing will continue to the time of the vintage, and your vintage will continue to the time of the sowing..." (Lev. 26:5), you won't be cursed with inactivity, but when you finish one act you'll be given another to do. "And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword..." (ibid. 7) Our strongest foe, the yetzer hara (evil inclination) is most effective upon an idle person, but if you're constantly active in serving G-d you won't quickly sin, our enemy with fall by the sword of activity and growth. Our service of Hashem is like a living thing - as soon as an organism stops growing it begins to die. If (in your service of Hashem) you are always walking and growing, and doing, you will get all the best: all the blessings of peace promised in the parsha. If, G-d forbid, one stops growing and stops believing that G-d runs everything, then that person will be cursed with the horrible curses mentioned in the parsha. But if we keep growing, we'll become upright. Please, rembember that everything is from Hashem. The One, True G-d Who is so far from us, and yet so close. The One, True G-d Who wants us to keep going, keep reaching back to Him, keep growing, keep living, forever, who wants us to be upright. Don't think that inactivity will give you rest. (If you ask, 'what about Shabbos?', the menuchah of Shabbos is an act in and of itself, and every second of resting is an act of growing.) If you keep walking and growing in Hashem's Torah and Mitzvos, then Hashem promises "and I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid." It is the going and doing which gives a person peace. (And it is the Torah, which teaches us to act and what actions to do, which will give peace in the Land.) "And I will set My Mishkan among you, and My soul will not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your G-d, and you will be My people. I am the L-RD your G-d Who took you out of the slavery of the land of Egypt ... and made you walk UPRIGHT." (ibid. 11- 13) May we keep growing and going higher, being blessed with the trust we place in Hashem, our cleansing Hope and Healer, until we have true, healthy, pure peace in the land, with His Mishkan among us, we'll keep going up until we walk upright, right up to that very Sanctuary where He will be our G-d and we will be His people - please G-d, may it be sooner than we think. Gut Shabbos ----- (c) 2001 J.M. Kolakowski. All rights reserved. Copying and distribution is permited and encouraged.