Upright Utopia
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
Parshat Bechukotai begins with a list of blessings Hashem will bestow on Bnei Yisroel if we follow His Torah. The list of blessings concludes with, “I am Hashem your God Who took you out of the land of Egypt from being their slaves. I broke the motot uleichem/staves of your yoke and led you komemiyut/erect.” We have here translated komemiyut as an erect posture, according to Rashi’s interpretation of the word. Is this statement an integral, additional blessings, or is it a commentary on all the preceding blessings?
Rabbi Schrage Grossbard z”l considers this the final blessing, viewing the blessing as ascending in importance from economic stability, to national security, to personal family fulfillment, to fulfilling Hashem’s covenant with Bnei Yisroel to reside among us, that He will be our God and we will be His nation. The greatest blessing, then, was that by taking us out of the slavery of Egypt, He broke the staves of the yoke that bound us in servitude to the Egyptians and led us out erect. The Modzitzer Rebbe z”l, on the other hand, translates komemiyut as possessions or wealth, interpreting the phrase to be that Hashem took us out of Egypt with wealth.
Rav S. R. Hirsch z”l interprets this phrase as separate from the preceding blessings. Rav Hirsch z”l focuses on a seemingly additional word used here, motot/staves. Did Hashem break the yoke to free us or not? What are staves? According to Rav Hirsch, Hashem left the yoke on our necks when we left Egypt, but he removed the poles attached to the main shaft of the yoke and from which the loads were hung. By removing only the staves, Hashem left the possibility that we could still be enslaved to another culture, if not physically, then morally or socially. Only by accepting the Torah and accepting the yoke of Heaven could the social, moral, political yoke itself be removed. Hashem led us to Sinai to accept the Torah. Then we would walk erect.
Standing erect usually implies a haughty attitude. How can we reconcile Hashem’s abhorrence of arrogance with Rashi’s interpretation that Hashem led us erect, asks Rabbi Schwab z”l ? Rabbi Schwab z”l sees no contradiction, for he sees the erect posture as someone stretching to achieve his greatest height and potential, the height Hashem elevated us to at Har Sinai. And when we ask Hashem in our prayers that He should lead us back to our land komemiyut, we ask that we should not have to wait until Olam Haba to stand spiritually upright in Eretz Yisroel.
But standing erect has another, beautiful level of meaning, explains Rabbenu Tam in Sefer Hayashar. Rabbenu Tam contrast the stance of the animals with that of man. Animals face downward toward the earth from which they received their life. But man faces upward for, although man’s body is derived from the earth, his life source comes from above, from God. [If you are not familiar with Edwin Markham’s poem The Man with the Hoe and Millet’s painting that inspired it, find it, read it, and think. I always cry. CKS]. Man’s soul yearns to return to its Source and faces upward in anticipation. Upon man’s death, his body will return to the earth, but his soul will return to God. This, explains Rabbenu Tam, is proof that souls are eternal
When one is enslaved, one looks downward, and one can be enslaved to things as well as to people. In this vein, Onkeles translates komemiyut as freedom. Hashem redeemed us from Egypt so that we could hold our heads erect in freedom, for the greatest freedom is to be a servant of Hashem. As Rabbi Weissblum notes, at Har Sinai, Moshe told Bnei Yisroel that Hashem brought us here lenasot etchem/to raise you up, to give us spiritual greatness. This, then, is the ultimate blessing.
The Alshich Hakdosh z”lbrings a different perspective to our subject. At Har Sinai, Hashem raised us up so high spiritually that we could be totally erect not as a sign of haughtiness toward Hashem, but because His presence was so manifest that it was impossible to be haughty. We had reached the level of Adam Harishon before the sin when we were so spiritually free that the Angel of Death had no power over us. And, according to the Alshich, this will again be our level in the days of Moshiach when all will acknowledge that it is Hakodosh Boruch Hu Who straightens [the backs] of those who are bent over.
Rabbi Wolbe z”lagrees that at the Messianic Age we will walk upright with pride. Tehillim 47, which we read seven times on Rosh Hashanah before hearing the shofar blasts, tells us that in that future time when the shofar will blast, all the nations will recognize God, and acknowledge Israel as the nation chosen to lead them and that Hashem has given us the Land to Israel. At that time, Yaakov will stand up tall and proud in our belief.
In the future, adds the Ksav Sofer, z”l Hashem will break the bonds not only of the nations that rule over us but also of the yetzer horo who tries to control us, for the yetzer horo will no longer have power over us. At that time, writes the Ramban,z”l it will be man’s nature to do what is proper and right.
There is a medrash cited by Rabbi Grossbard z”l in Daas Schrage that must prompt us to think of our identity as Jews. When Nebuchadnezzer exiled the Jews and they walked along the banks of the River Babylon, they walked upright, Nebuchadnezzer found this posture offensive and ordered burdens to be put on the backs of the Jews. The Jews cried out to Hashem Who was so moved by the tears of the Jews that He wanted to return the world to chaos. Hashem refused to be comforted. Instead, he told His angels to remove the burdens.
What triggered such an emotional response from Hakodosh Boruch Hu? More than the cries themselves, it was the very posture of the Jews that their captor found so offensive; even as they were being driven into exile, Bnei Yisroel carried their Judaism proudly, impervious to the taunts of their tormentors. This is the heart of this blessing, that in spite of everything, we can be proud of what Judaism represents. And this is what concerned Hakodosh Boruch Hu, would Bnei Yisroel be able to stand upright and proud among the nations? This is what the blessing means, writes Rabbi Dunner.z”l We will get Hashem’s help in this. We must keep our heads held high and teach our children to be proud Jews. Even today, in a country where we can practice our religion freely, do we wear our religion with pride? This is spiritual pride, notes Rabbi Wolbe z”l. Do we stop to observe the mitzvoth in public? Do we stop to wash for bread, or to say Birkat Hamazon/Grace after Meals in a restaurant? Why should we be hesitant to ask for kosher food at a business meeting or other function when vegetarians are not embarrassed to ask for a vegetarian menu?
Do we constantly strive for a connection with Hakodosh Boruch Hu? Rav Shapira, the Aish Kodesh, hy”d cites two verses from Shir Hashirim to clarify our relationship with Hakodsh Boruch Hu. The first verse is well known, “Ani ledodi vedodi li/I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me. Later we have a similar verse, yet the emphasis is different, Ani ledodi ve’olai teshukato/ I am for my Beloved and His desire is on me. The Aish Kodesh explains that the first verse is the beginning of the relationship. But as I continue to prove that I am to Him, His “desire” for me grows. It is no longer to me, but upon me, for His desire is greater than mine could ever be, and it elevates me to greatness.
How can I demonstrate my constant desire for Him? Rav Shapira z”l presents an analogy. We eat only a few times a day for short periods of time. Yet, especially for women, the day seems to revolve around thoughts of food: What shall I prepare for dinner? Let me defrost what is necessary, or shop for ingredients. The food may simmer on the fire for hours with the wife checking in only from time to time, but she is always aware of it. Similarly, even though we may pray only three times a day, and may spend only limited time studying Torah while we take care of other obligations, thoughts of Hashem should permeate our day.
How do we become greater and achieve more stature? Rabbi Friefeld zt”l offers a guideline based on the first verse in the most common Ashrei we recite: “Ashrei yoshvei vesecha od yehallelucha selah/ The praises of those that sit and dwell in Your house, more will they praise You forever.” Focusing on the word od/more, Rabbi Friefeld z”l explains that we become more, or greater, not through wealth or fame, but through an expanded state of being, when we dwell in Your house, when we use our divinely endowed abilities to dwell in His house, to study Torah. When we embrace Torah, our heart expands and we become “more”.
Rabbi Uziel Milevsky z”l notes that our passage with its blessings begins with the aleph of the first word Im and ends with the tof of komemiyut, alluding to the promise that if we walk in Hashem’s ways, He will bless us with all the blessings, from aleph to tof/A to Z. Then the Ner Uziel refers to the Ashrei Psalm we’ve discussed, a psalm that is part of each of the three daily prayers. The verses of Ashrei are arranged according to the Hebrew alphabet and seem to imply a logical, causative order, but that order is so only because Hashem decrees that it be so.
The blessings in our Parsha are all natural blessings, for rain, abundance, no fear of beast or enemies. These blessings do not appear to be miraculous. But recognizing Hashem’s hand in nature and in supplying our daily needs brings the awareness of Hashem into this world without waiting for olam haba. When I can see Hashem’s guidance and providence in my weekly paycheck and thank Him instead of my boss, when I realize that providing the paycheck is no less miraculous than winning the lottery, then I can be very proud, for I know that I am subservient neither to nature nor to man.
Why is yetziat Mitzrayim/exodus mentioned here again, asks Rabbi Gamliel Rabinowitz in Tiv Hatorah? Precisely for this reason, to recognize that both the big miracles and the miracles of nature all come from God.
In Birkat Hamazon, notes the Ohel Moshe, we have a verse similar to the verse in our parsha: “Horachamon Hu yishbor uleinu meial tzavoreinu v’Hu yolicheinu Komemiyut leartzenu/The compassionate One! May He break the yoke of oppression from our necks and guide us erect to our land.” At our redemption from Egypt, Hashem broke the staves, but we still retained the yoke itself, for we were destined to go into exile again. But in the future, when Moshiach comes, the yoke itself will be broken, for we will not go into exile again.
On Birkat Hamazon, Halekach Vehalebuv comments that there there are so many Horachamon/ requests of the compassionate One here. We have just completed the mitzvah of saying the Grace After Meals. Any time we observe a mitzvah is an auspicious time to make a request of Hakodosh Boruch Hu, similar to the requests a woman makes after lighting the Shabbat candles. Here we are asking Hashem to completely break the yoke upon our shoulders, to bring the full redemption, and to lead us fully into our land, ready to live up to our full potential as proud Jews. Break not just the staves, but the yoke itself so that we may walk upright always looking upward to You.