Parashat Bechukotai

Shabbat Shalom! Tonight we count Day 42 of the Omer, which has the mystical meaning of Malchut of Yesod, majesty in foundations. In this realm, we experience revelation as a part of our spiritual foundation and seek stability or comfort in the presence of Shekhina.

Shavuot is fast approaching, during which time we will celebrate the revelation on Mount Sinai, the receiving of the Ten Commandments, and the Earth-shaking potentiality of God's power.

In this week's Torah portion, Parashat Bechukotai, we hear about statutes and laws. The word chok (“statute” or “decree”), which gives the Parshah of Bechukotai its name, literally means “engraved.”

Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi said, "The Torah comes in two forms: written and engraved. On the last day of his life, Moses inscribed the Torah on parchment scrolls. But this written Torah was preceded by an engraved Torah: the divine law was first given to us encapsulated in the Ten Commandments, which were etched by the hand of G‑d in two tablets of stone. When something is written, the substance of the letters that express it—the ink—remains a separate entity from the substance upon which they have been set—the parchment. On the other hand, letters engraved in stone are forged in it: the words are stone and the stone is words. By the same token, there is an aspect of Torah that is “inked” on our soul: we understand it, our emotions are roused by it; it becomes our “lifestyle” or even our “personality”; but it remains something additional to ourselves. But there is a dimension of Torah that is chok, engraved in our being. There is a dimension of Torah which expresses a bond with G‑d that is of the very essence of the Jewish soul."

As we count down our last week of the Omer and prepare to celebrate the festival of our theophany, I encourage you all to start thinking about which pieces of Torah are inked onto your being and which are engraved. When have you experienced joy of learning Torah or known the right thing to do by Jewish values, and when have you experienced true revelation, Divine inspiration, or out of body awareness of Truth? How do you carry these moments through your life and how will you teach of them to those who after? May you find joy in your revelations, majesty in your foundations, and peace in your souls. Amen and Shabbat Shalom.