It’s hard to believe: we’re at the beginning of June, and the end of the book of Leviticus.
When we hear the end of a book of Torah chanted in synagogue, the reader chants the last verse and then follows it: “Hazak, hazak, v’nitkhazek!” [Be strong, be strong, let us be strengthened!]
Jewish tradition calls attention to the many tensions and balances in human life.
We are individuals (“Be strong!”)
and we are members of a community (“Let us be strengthened!”)
We are responsible for ourselves (“Be strong!”)
and responsible for each other (“Let us be strengthened!”)
We are people of action (“Be strong!”)
and people who are continual, lifelong learners (“Let us be strengthened!”)
Tonight we shall begin another book of Torah (“Be strong!”)
but today we enjoy the fact that we have again read Leviticus. (“Let us be strengthened!”)
Divrei Torah on Parashat Bechukotai:
A Shabbat for the Earth – Rabbi Rachel Barenblat
B’chukotai with Rabbi Ellie – Rabbi Eleanor Steinman (VIDEO)
Rebukes Remind Us That We Must Work Together – Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild
We Live in God’s Neighborhood – Rabbi Mark Borovitz (VIDEO)
On Civilization, Culture & True Wisdom – Rabbi Aubrey Glazer
Torah, Consequences, and the Akiba Clause – Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan
A Sense of Direction – Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
