Beth Shalom
Oceanside Jewish Center

Curses or Consequences: How Should We Read the Tochecha?
May 24, 2003  -  22 Iyar 5763

Parshat Bechukotai
By Rabbi Mark B Greenspan

Our first response is to say that life isn't fair. And our second is to blame God for all the evils around us. How can God allow the innocent to suffer? How can our so-called deity let children die of disease or helpless people suffer from plagues and catastrophes not of their own making? Why does God permit the world to be filled with so much injustice and pain? "Where is God?" we ask. And why is God silent when we need God most? Who hasn't asked these questions at one time or another?

Rabbi Harold Kushner suggests that these questions are not really questions at all. They're really cries of anguish and not attempt to make a profound theological statement. When someone has just lost a loved one, or is in pain, they're not looking for an explanation. They're crying out to be heard and to receive comfort. They need a hug and not a dissertation. Yet somewhere down the road we all ponder the question of evil. "Why do bad things happen to good people?" as Rabbi Kushner put it.

Reading this week's Parshah, we come face to face with this problem. Parshat Bechukotai contains the "Tochecha," literally, the "Reproof." With almost geometric symmetry, the Torah suggests that the world is really a very simple place. When we obey God's commandments we receive a reward and a blessing, and we disobey God's commandments we're punished with suffering and pain. It's that simple. Case closed.

Only it's not so simple, is it? And the truth is the Rabbis already knew this a long time ago. Not only that, but the authors of the Bible were well aware that there is no simple equation to explain pain and suffering. Job challenged God, only to be greeted with a resounding, "Silence!" "How can you understand my ways?" asks God, "Were you there when I created the world?"

So it's not at all strange that we should find ourselves uncomfortable when reading today's Torah portion. "Im bechukotai taylachu v'et mitzvotai tishmiru…If you follow my laws and faithfully observe my commandments… I'll grant you the rains in their seasons …you shall dwell securely in your land …v'im ad ayleh lo tishmi'u lee…but if you do not obey me…I will assign upon you panic, swelling, lesions, and burning fever…you will be struck down before your enemies…your land will not give its produce nor will the trees give their fruit."

Our tradition is so uncomfortable with this seemingly simple formula for suffering that it was suggested that when reading the Tochecha, we should do so in a whisper and as quickly as possible. To say these words out loud was almost obscene. At the very least, it would be tempting fate to read them clearly. These words were too painful because time and again in our long history we've be the subject, or maybe I should say the object of these curses.

So what are we to do with the Tochecha? How are we to make sense of this passage? First, we must begin by acknowledging that there's no mathematical equation which will help explain why there is suffering in the world. This is not meant to be an indictment of God nor a denial of the Torah. It's a simple statement of fact. In the words Ben Sira, "You've been shown more than you can understand."

A colleague and friend, Rabbi Michael Gold, suggests that the Tochecha was written during Israel's childhood. He writes, "Children must learn to behave properly. Often the only way to teach children right from wrong is the most simplistic. Good behavior will be rewarded and bad behavior punished." Similarly, early in their history Israel could only understand their obligations with promises and threats. But as the Jewish people grew up, these warnings and threats became less necessary.

So what do they mean for us today? I'd like to suggest that "The Tochecha" is more understandable if read not as a list of threats or warnings, but as a simple statement of consequences. Human actions, the Torah tells us, often have inevitable consequences. That is a truth that we are loath to admit to ourselves. Again, this is not to suggest, that every tragedy is a product of human action. Sometimes bad stuff just happens. More often than we care to admit, however, human suffering is a product of the how we live and what we do.

We wring our hands in dismay about all the suffering in the world and yet we never stop to consider that so much of this unhappiness and pain we inflict on ourselves. Our excesses and indulgences, not to mention our greed, too often give birth to the suffering we experience in the world around us.

For instance, countless lives are destroyed each year and families are torn apart because of addictions. Innocent people are killed by drunk drivers. Families are impoverished by people who are victims of gambling addictions. Yet we continue glamorize the very evils that give birth to this suffering and we actually encourage people to indulge in practices that can potentially destroy them.

Cigarette ads portray smoking a something the young and cool do. And alcohol advertisements appear everywhere, from the subway cars to the daily paper. These ads send a message that drinking is the key to a life of fun - not to mention good sex. Who wouldn't want to drink? In the end we encourage indulgence and then bemoan the consequences of these actions.

Rather than acting in a fiscally responsible way, our governor suggests that the solution to New York's economic woes is to encourage people to gamble even more than they already do. Off track betting may offset our state deficit but what price will we pay for this money which is gained by indulging people's bad habits?

Cancer is the scourge of society and we bemoan the fact that good and even young people are often victims of this disease. Yet we are either unwilling or incapable of considering the fact that it may very well be a product of the chemicals we put in our bodies or the pollution which is the blight of our environment. Tobacco companies continue to suggest that nicotine is not a factor in causing cancer or in causing addiction, and society at large is not willing to look at the consequences of its own unhealthy life styles.

And what about Judaism? We bemoan the problems facing the Jewish people today and yet we are unwilling to make any significant changes in our life style to encourage and promote Jewish continuity. Personal fulfillment always seems to take precedence over the interests of our faith or community. Why can't people see the consequences of their actions? One can't say one is proud to be a Jew and yet be unwilling to make any type of significant commitment to make Judaism a meaningful part of one's life. Judaism can only exist if we're willing to make sacrifices for the greater good of our community, and if we're willing to acknowledge that we are part of a larger community that cannot thrive if we only care about our self indulgences?

For me, then, the significance of the Tochecha is to be found not in its details but in the more general message it conveys. It reminds us that there are consequences to almost everything that we do. Sometimes the consequences are positive; sometimes they're damaging. Sometimes we can see them and sometimes we can't. That is the price we pay for living in the world. Just a rock will fall if I drop as a consequence of gravity, so my every action will produce effects and ripples throughout the world. More often than we care to admit the consequences are all too apparent and obvious. And yet we blind ourselves to these consequences even when they turn out to be a curse.

Moses does not threaten the children of Israel in the Tochecha. He simply states a fact. He tells the people to consider the consequences of their actions. And because this is a consequence, the possibility of change and teshuvah is always present. If one action has a negative consequence, another may have a positive consequence.

Does that explain this complex world in which we live? Not completely. Sometimes the inexplicable happens. Yet, if we think about it the consequence of so much of we do is often obvious and self evident. No action goes unanswered. It's as simple as that.