Parashat Hashavua: BeHar-BeChukotai

How numerous must we be in order to defeat our enemies? Or, zooming out a bit, what does it take for good to prevail against evil? Amidst the mix of brachot and klalot – blessings and curses – in BeChukotai, the second parsha of this week’s reading, we find the bracha that “you shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Five of you shall pursue one hundred, and one hundred of you shall pursue ten thousand; your enemies shall fall before you by the sword / וּרְדַפְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־אֹיְבֵיכֶ֑ם וְנָפְל֥וּ לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם לֶחָֽרֶב׃ וְרָדְפ֨וּ מִכֶּ֤ם חֲמִשָּׁה֙ מֵאָ֔ה וּמֵאָ֥ה מִכֶּ֖ם רְבָבָ֣ה יִרְדֹּ֑פוּ וְנָפְל֧וּ אֹיְבֵיכֶ֛ם לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם לֶחָֽרֶב׃.” (Lev. 26:7-8) The clear message of these pesukim, thankfully, is that God enables us to defeat those much greater in number than we are.

Additionally , many commentaries note that the two ratios – 5:100 and 100:10,000 – are disproportionate. Rashi, quoting the Midrash, asks: “But is this the right proportion? Surely it should have said only ‘100 of you shall pursue 2000!’ However, a few who follow the Torah cannot compare with the many who follow the Torah / וְכִי כָךְ הוּא הַחֶשְׁבּוֹן? וַהֲלֹא לֹא הָיָה צָרִיךְ לוֹמַר אֶלָּא מֵאָה מִכֶּם שְׁנֵי אֲלָפִים יִרְדֹּפוּ, אֶלָּא אֵינוֹ דּוֹמֶה מֻעֲטִין הָעוֹשִׂים אֶת הַתּוֹרָה לִמְרֻבִּין הָעוֹשִׂין אֶת הַתּוֹרָה.” (Lev. 26:8) In other words, the Torah – or, thinking more broadly, the possession of strong positive values, or goodness – is a force multiplier when fighting against one’s enemies. As Nechama Leibowitz puts it, “the vitality, influence and virtue of the few faithful does not increase in strict mathematical proportion to their numbers, but gains momentum out of all proportion to the increase.” (VaYikra p. 279) This helps explain, she adds, why Avraham argued with God that only ten men could save the city of Sdom. (p. 281)

I am also reminded here of that section of the Haggadah which is a source of consternation – and, I daresay, boredom – for so many: the hermeneutic competition among Rabbi Yossi, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva to see who can prove the greatest number of plagues. Perhaps what they are debating is how much of a force multiplier God is against evil.

There are two final points worth mentioning based upon the teaching of Leibowitz. First, that the Rabbis understood the section of brachot and klalot to be teaching us that “the attribute of goodness exceeds the attribute of punishment / מִדָּה טוֹבָה מְרוּבָּה מִמִּדַּת פּוּרְעָנוּת.” (Sotah 11a) While this is not evident – to me at least – from the plain meaning of the text, we are meant to understand it this way, and it is my tefillah that the world can and will exist this way.

Second, even as we struggle in our world, and when we find peace and security, we must remember that the physical world is not meant to be an end in itself, but rather a means to an end. Leibowitz quotes the following beautiful passage from Maimonides: “May it always be good for you in a world that is all good, and may you live long in the world that is everlasting. Thus will you find yourself meriting two worlds: a good life in this world that brings you to life in the World to Come / וְיִיטַב לְךָ לָעוֹלָם שֶׁכֻּלּוֹ טוֹב, וְתַאֲרִיךְ יָמִים לָעוֹלָם שֶׁכֻּלּוֹ אָרֹךְ. וְנִמְצֵאתֶם זוֹכִים לִשְׁנֵי הָעוֹלָמוֹת: לְחַיִּים טוֹבִים בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה הַמְּבִיאִים לְחַיֵּי הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא.” (Hilchot Teshuva 9:1) Ken yehi ratzon, may it be God’s will.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Jack Nahmod
Middle School Rabbi and Judaic Studies Head (Ivrit/Limudei Kodesh/Tefillah)