Beautiful Bliss
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
In Parshat Bechukotai Hashem promises us that if we walk in/follow His decrees and commandments,... then vehithalachti/He too "will walk among you and be a God unto you and you will be a people unto Me." Rashi explains hithalachti as taking a stroll with you in Gan Eden, as two good friends who are comfortable with each other and yet respect and are in awe of each other. In elucidating this idea, ArtScroll explains that the Torah is speaking in human language, that it will appear as if Hashem is walking among us, an experience that will only happen in the future, in the spiritual dimension of Gan Eden.
Actually, the Torah spends a full nine verses recording many blessings Hashem will bless us with if we follow in His ways. This particular verse, the subject of our discussion, is the climax of these blessings and therefore must be considered the summation and most important of all the blessings. As such, writes Chochmat Hamatzpun, it must refer not to the ephemeral pleasures of this world, but to the permanent pleasure of the future world when the connection to Hakodosh Boruch Hu is most intense. Or, as Ramban says, in the days of Moshiach Hashem will "stroll" with the tzadikim in the future, in the time of of human perfection.
Hashem can be with us in two different ways, writes Rabbi Goldwicht. He can stand alongside us, or He can walk with us as the ultimate dynamic of having His presence with us. We pray for both, for the Beit Hamikdosh, when Hashem's presence will be felt throughout the Land and when everyone will be involved in learning Torah and doing mitzvoth.
Parshat Bechukotai is always read two weeks before Shavuot, as we are preparing to again receive the Torah as at Har Sinai. Our purpose and focus must be to develop that closeness with Hakodosh Boruch Hu inherent in taking an intimate stroll, says Rabbi Wachtfogel. This is the greatest enjoyment and pleasure, a joy that can only be experienced to its fullest extent in olam habo/the future world.
Except for four distinct kinds of people - scoffers, liars, flatterers and speakers of loshon horo - all all members of Bnei Yisroel will greet Hashem and experience Hashem's presence in olam habo as they did at Sinai. The righteous will sit with crowns on their heads, experiencing the radiance of God's presence. What do we need to do to be worthy of this ultimate connection and still maintain a sense of awe of Hakodosh Boruch Hu, asks Rabbi Beyfus in Yalkut Lekach Tov.
Rabbi Sternbach tells us to look internally, for we create our own personal future Gan Eden through our thoughts and actions in this world. The closeness with Hakodosh Boruch Hu we build down here is what builds the relationship above.
The Gemarrah states that even the "empty" among Bnei Yisroel are filled with mitzvoth as a pomegranate [is filled with seeds]. How could that which is empty be densely packed with seeds? In Olam Ha'avodah Rabbi Kestenbaum clarifies this seeming contradiction. He explains that the purpose of doing mitzvoth is not to check all the boxes on our list, but to create closeness with Hashem. A person may indeed be observing all the mitzvoth, fulfilling each obligation and checking it off, but if he doesn't seek closeness to Hashem with each mitzvah, they remain as separate as the seeds in a pomegranate, never being integrated into the final goal of creating the close relationship with Hakodosh Boruch Hu they were meant to achieve.
Interestingly, Rebbetzin Smiles points out we read Parshat Bechukotai in the fifth week of the seven weeks we count toward re-enacting the Sinai experience. Citing Rabbi Zvi M. Zilverberg, Rebbetzin Smiles notes that each week of sefirah corresponds to one of the seven species Eretz Yisroel is known for. The fifth species listed in the Torah is the rimon/pomegranate, the focus of this discussion and of our work during this time. Further, the fifth of the seven sefirot, the emanations through which Hashem is manifest is this world is hod/splendor and humility, the traits associated with the fifth ushpizin/guest we invite into our succah. This is Aharon the High Priest who represents Hashem's presence on earth through his service in the Beit Hamikdosh. Fittingly, it is on the fifth day of the fifth week that we celebrate Lag B'Omer, the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the author of the Zohar, the magnum opus of Kabbalah. Rash"bi is buried in Meron, itself an anagram or rimon. All these connections allude to the power of our prayers on Lag B'Omer, a time to enter our personal Beit Hamikdosh and build our personal, unique relationship with Hakodosh Boruch Hu.
But the work for our future olam habo must take place in this world, continues Rabbi Kestenbaum. We must unite the individual seeds and create a central core that focuses on the relationship. When our mindset is to create the relationship, the walls separating the individual seeds come down. We get to get a taste of olam habo through savoring the taste of the mitzvoth, performing them slowly and lovingly. If we do not infuse mindfulness into our mitzvah performance, the mitzvoth remain tasteless. Perform the mitzvoth with both awe and joy, for we are in the presence of Hakodosh Boruch Hu and experiencing His closeness, writes Rabbi Wolbe.
When the Torah here states, "I will walk among you," Hashem is reassuring us that His presence will not be confined to the Sanctuary, but will walk with us, wherever we may be, writes the Seforno. The Sifsei Chaim explains that the walk itself is meaningful irrespective of any destination. [Rebbetzin Smiles beautifully compared this to a parent walking back and forth with her baby in her arms. The bond is being created.]
Hashem has promised that wherever His Name is remembered and revered, wherever the tzadikim will be, there will Hashem walk with us.. Since the destruction of the Beit Hamikdosh, Hashem continues to reside among Bnei Yisroel in the places that tzadikim reside. According to Chazon Ish, such a place was Poland during the life of the Chofetz Chaim when many yeshivot thrived there. Hashem removed prophecy, but not His presence from the righteous of the generation.
It is unlikely that we are all great tzadikim, but Rav Hirsch reassures us that Hashem's promise to walk among us extends to every family and to every individual, for we will be His people.
Nevertheless, how can we reconcile the first half of Rashi's interpretation, that Hashem will stroll intimately with us, with the second half of his interpretation, in Gan Eden? In Tiv Hatorah, Rabbi Rabinowitz teaches us that we can indeed create a semblance of Gan Eden in this world. If we focus on Him, if we act and think as if we are in His presence, under His watchful eye, we will already achieve that intimacy. We are already living with Him beside us.
The Ner Uziel cites the Talmud that states that one can earn a place in Olam Habo by reciting Ashrei three ties a day. What is the power of Ashrei? Rabbi Uziel Milevsky explains that there are two factors in Ashrei that give it this power. First, the Psalm is full of praise of Hashem for sustaining the world. Further, these verses of praise are delivered in the order of the aleph bet, indicating a natural order and system. By combining these two elements, we acknowledge that Hashem causes nature to be orderly, that nature itself is both miraculous and systematic, as Hashem wills it to be so. With this in mind, Rabbi Milevsky translates olam habo as the world that is always coming, as the present world. As such Hashem can "walk with us" even in this world. And certainly, as Tiv Hatorah reminds us, we can experience Hashem's presence with us on every Shabbos. [He is sitting at your table, enjoying your zemirot. CKS]
Hashem wants to be with us in this world. but it is up to us to create that environment, especially on Shabbos, Shabbos inherently having some of the flavor of olam habo, writes Rabbi Reisman. But we are tasked with creating our Gan Eden in this world. In a beautiful interpretation of the creation of Adam, Rabbi Mordechai Ezrachi reminds us that Adam was created outside Gan Eden, and then Hashem "took"him and placed him in Gan Eden, and commanded him to guard it and work/service it. According to Rabbi Ezrachi, Adam did not know Gan Eden, and Hashem had to persuade him, "take Him" with words into Gan Eden. It was Adam's task to create Gan Eden and nurture it, being careful not to destroy or corrupt it. And this remains our task to build our personal Gan Eden through our service to Hashem and guarding ourselves from sin. That is why we can bless a bride and groom that Hashem should gladden them as He gladdened Adam and Chavah in Gan Eden. The blessing is that they merit creating Gan Eden in the home they are now building together, just as the first couple were tasked with building the first Gan Eden.
If you will walk in My statutes, if you will be involved in Torah in everything you do, everywhere you go, you are promised Gan Eden, writes Rabbi Schorr in Halekach Vehalebuv. As the Mishneh of Tana Dvei Eliyahu says, "Whoever reviews halachot/Torah laws/Torah paths daily, he is assured of being a ben olam habo/one who lives in olam habo, not in the future, but in the present world.
The Modzitzer Rebbe, in a beautiful and profound interpretation of this Rashi, turns it around completely. While our Gan Eden is in heaven, Hashem's Gan Eden is here on earth, for He wants to dwell among us. We can each create our personal Gan Eden by allowing Him space to enter through our Torah, our own prayers, through our own actions, through our own longing for His presence, each of us according to our personal ability.
We are now approaching Shavuot, on the path, walking toward re-accepting the Torah at Sinai. Let us invite Hashem in to walk with us.