Parashat Bechukotai tells us about the idea of reward and punishment, or in other words, the blessings and the curses. The pasuk says that if the Jewish people fulfill their duties and obligations ordained by Hashem, things will be good, and the land will be fertile and will deliver its fruits, and we will be victorious in our wars. But, if we don’t, G-d forbid, follow Hashem’s commandments, things will be bad, and the land will not provide sustenance, and we will be defeated in our wars.
There are so many questions we can ask on this section of the parasha, like the redundancy found in the first pasuk of the parasha. However, I would like to briefly focus on two fundamental questions we have in this parasha that the mefarshim discuss in length.
We learn in Pirkei Avot, in the second chapter, instructions given by Antigonos. He says, “Don’t be a servant of Hashem in order to receive a reward, but rather serve Hashem without intention of receiving a reward.” This clearly flies in the face of the psukim we learn in this parasha, and in others, that say that if you follow the laws of the Torah, you will have it good, and if you don’t, you won’t have it good.
The answer is very simple: We are now getting close to the Chag of Shavuot. Shavuot is like our wedding day. Between both the Chatan and Kallah, there are rights and obligations. The Ketuvah is all about the rights of the Kallah. But, can we really say that this is the essence of the wedding? Of course not. The essence of the wedding is the closeness between the couple, and the love they share for each other.
Imagine if a Kallah would get married only because the Chatan promises a large sum of money in the Ketuvah. This marriage would be a disaster from the very beginning.
The same thing here in our parasha. The reward and benefits that we mention in this parasha are a result of the close relationship we have between us and Hashem. But, of course, to protect the marriage, there is a punishment that is included if we stray far from Hashem.
Based on this, we can explain the redundancy we have after the first pasuk. If it says that we will have an abundance of grain, and the land will produce fruits, we can assume that this is from an abundance of rain. Why do we redundantly add that we will have a lot of rain? The answer is that the rain will be in its proper timing, and Chazal teach that this timing is on Friday night. On Friday night, everyone is inside enjoying the Shabbat meal. Thus, we will receive the rain, but it will not bother us. This is a blessing that shows the love and closeness that Hashem has for us, as Hashem worries about even the smallest inconvenience of being out in the rain, despite the fact that He already is blessing us with the abundance of rain in the first place.
May we merit to serve Hashem with love and devotion, and may our connection to Him be strengthened through our observance of His commandments.