Bechukotai, Bechukosai, or B'hukkothai (בְּחֻקֹּתַי — Hebrew for “by my decrees,” the second word, and the first distinctive word, in the parshah) is the 33rd weekly Torah portion ("parshah") in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the 10th and last in the book of Leviticus. It constitutes Leviticus 26:3–27:34. Jews in the Diaspora generally read it in May.
The lunisolar Hebrew calendar contains up to 55 weeks, the exact number varying between 50 in common years and 54 or 55 in leap years. In leap years (for example, 2011, 2014, and 2016), parshah Bechukotai is read separately. In common years (for example, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2018), parshah Bechukotai is combined with the previous parshah, Behar, to help achieve the needed number of weekly readings.
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God promised that if the Israelites followed God’s laws, God would bless Israel with rains in their season, abundant harvests, peace, victory over enemies, fertility, and God’s presence. (Leviticus 26:3–14.) But if the Israelites did not observe God’s commandments, God would wreak upon Israel misery, consumption, fever, stolen harvests, defeat by enemies, poor harvests, attacks of wild beasts, pestilence, famine, desolation, and timidity. (Leviticus 26:15–38.)
Those who survived would be removed to the land of their enemies, where they would become heartsick over their iniquity, confess their sin, and atone. (Leviticus 26:39–41.) God promised then to remember God’s covenants with Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, and the ancients whom God freed from Egypt. (Leviticus 26:42–45.)
God told Moses to instruct the Israelites that when anyone vowed to offer God the value of a human being, the following scale would apply:
But if a vower could not afford the payment, the vower was to appear before the priest, and the priest was to assess the vower according to what the vower could afford. (Leviticus 27:8.)
If the vow concerned an animal that could be brought as an offering, the animal was to be holy, and one could not exchange another for it, and if one did substitute one animal for another, the thing vowed and its substitute were both to be holy. (Leviticus 27:9–10.) If the vow concerned an unclean animal that could not be brought as an offering, the vower was to present the animal to the priest, the priest was to assess it, and if the vower wished to redeem it, the vower was to add one-fifth to its assessment. (Leviticus 27:11–13.) No firstling of a clean animal could be consecrated, for it already belonged to God. (Leviticus 27:26.) But a firstling of an unclean animal could be redeemed at its assessment plus one-fifth, and if not redeemed, was to be sold at its assessment. (Leviticus 27:27.)
If one consecrated a house to God, the priest was to assess it, and if the vower wished to redeem it, the vower was to add one-fifth to the assessment. (Leviticus 27:14–15.) If one consecrated to God land of one’s ancestral holding, the priest was to assess it in accordance with its seed requirement. (Leviticus 27:16–17.) If the vower consecrated the land after the jubilee year, the priest was to compute the price according to the years left until the next jubilee year, and reduce the assessment accordingly. (Leviticus 27:18.) If the vower wished to redeem the land, the vower was to add one-fifth to the assessment and retain title, but if the vower did not redeem the land and the land was sold, it was no longer to be redeemable, and at the jubilee the land was to become the priest’s holding. (Leviticus 27:19–21.) If one consecrated land that one purchased (not land of ancestral holding), the priest was to compute the assessment up to the jubilee year, the vower was to pay the assessment as of that day, and in the jubilee the land was to revert to the person whose ancestral holding the land was. (Leviticus 27:22–24.)
But nothing that one had proscribed for God (subjected to cherem) could be sold or redeemed, and no human being proscribed could be ransomed, but he was to be put to death. (Leviticus 27:28–29.)
All tithes from crops were to be God’s, and if one wished to redeem any of the tithes, the tither was to add one-fifth to them. (Leviticus 27:30–31.) Every tenth head of livestock was to be holy to God, and the owner was not to choose among good or bad when counting off the tithe. (Leviticus 27:32–33.)
Leviticus 26:9 addresses God’s role in the creation of children. While Leviticus 12:6–8 required a new mother to bring a burnt-offering and a sin-offering, Leviticus 26:9, Deuteronomy 28:11, and Psalm 127:3–5 make clear that having children is a blessing from God; Genesis 15:2 and 1 Samuel 1:5–11 characterize childlessness as a misfortune; and Leviticus 20:20 and Deuteronomy 28:18 threaten childlessness as a punishment.
The Sifra asked whether the words “If you walk in My statutes” in Leviticus 26:3 might refer to observing religious duties. But the Sifra noted that the continuation of Leviticus 26:3 says, “and keep My commandments, and do them,” and that must cover observing religious duties. Thus the Sifra concluded that the words “If you walk in My statutes” must mean laboring in the Torah. (Sifra Bechukotai 260:1:2.)
The Mishnah taught that they read the blessings and curses of Leviticus 26:3–45 and Deuteronomy 28:1–68 on public fast days. The Mishnah taught that they did not interrupt the reading of the curses, but had one person read them all. (Mishnah Megillah 3:6.)
A Baraita taught that several of the curses in Leviticus 26:16–35 result from particular transgressions. Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Judah read the word “behalah” (“terror”) in Leviticus 26:16 as “be-challah” (“on account of challah”) to interpret Leviticus 26:16 to teach that as punishment for the neglect of the challah tithe, God fails to bless what is stored, a curse is sent on prices, and people sow seed but others eat the harvest. The Baraita interpreted Leviticus 26:22–23 to teach that as punishment for vain oaths, false oaths, desecration of God’s Name, and desecration of the Sabbath, wild beasts multiply, domestic animals cease, population decreases, and roads become desolate. Using Jeremiah 33:25 to equate the word “covenant” with the Torah, the Baraita interpreted Leviticus 26:25–26 to teach that as punishment for delaying judgment, perverting judgment, corrupting judgment, and neglecting Torah, sword and spoil increase, pestilence and famine come, people eat and are not satisfied, and people eat their scarce bread by weight. And the Baraita interpreted Leviticus 26:30–35 to teach that as punishment for idolatry and failure to observe the Sabbatical (Shmita) and Jubilee (Yovel) years, the Jews are exiled and others come to dwell in their land. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 32b–33a.)
Just as Leviticus 26:19 attributes famine to sin, the Mishnah taught that a famine from drought comes when some of the people do not give tithes, a famine from tumult and drought comes when all decide not to give tithes, and a famine of annihilation comes when they decide (in addition) not to set apart the dough offering. Just as Leviticus 26:25 attributes the sword to sin, the Mishnah taught that the sword comes to the world for the delay of justice, for the perversion of justice, and because of those who interpret the Torah counter to the accepted law. And just as Leviticus 26:25 attributes pestilence to sin, the Mishnah taught that pestilence comes to the world for failure to execute judgment in capital crimes and for violation of the laws governing the produce of the Sabbatical year. (Mishnah Avot 5:8.)
The Mishnah taught that the coming of the sword, as in Leviticus 26:25, was one of several afflictions for which they sounded the ram’s horn (shofar) in alarm in every locale, because it is an affliction that spreads. (Mishnah Taanit 3:5; Babylonian Talmud Taanit 19a.)
The Gemara reconciled apparently discordant verses touching on vicarious responsibility. The Gemara noted that Deuteronomy 24:16 states: “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers; every man shall be put to death for his own sin,” but Exodus 20:4 (20:5 in NJPS) says: “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children.” The Gemara cited a Baraita that interpreted the words “the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them” in Leviticus 26:39 to teach that God punishes children only when they follow their parents’ sins. The Gemara then questioned whether the words “they shall stumble one upon another” in Leviticus 26:37 do not teach that one will stumble through the sin of the other, that all are held responsible for one another. The Gemara answered that the vicarious responsibility of which Leviticus 26:37 speaks is limited to those who have the power to restrain their fellow from evil but do not do so. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 27b.)
A midrash noted that everywhere else, Scripture mentions Abraham before Isaac, and Isaac before Jacob. (E.g., Genesis 50:24; Exodus 2:24; 3:6, 15–16; 4:5; 6:3, 8; 33:1; Numbers 32:11; Deuteronomy 1:8; 6:10; 9:5, 27; 29:12 (English 29:13); 30:20; 34:4.) But Leviticus 26:42 mentions Jacob before Isaac, and Isaac before Abraham, to teach that the three were on a par. (Genesis Rabbah 1:15.)
In Leviticus 26:41, the heart is humbled. A midrash catalogued the wide range of additional capabilities of the heart reported in the Hebrew Bible. The heart speaks (Ecclesiastes 1:16), sees (Ecclesiastes 1:16), hears (1 Kings 3:9), walks (2 Kings 5:26), falls (1 Samuel 17:32), stands (Ezekiel 22:14), rejoices (Psalm 16:9), cries (Lamentations 2:18), is comforted (Isaiah 40:2), is troubled (Deuteronomy 15:10), becomes hardened (Exodus 9:12.), grows faint (Deuteronomy 20:3), grieves (Genesis 6:6), fears (Deuteronomy 28:67), can be broken (Psalm 51:19), becomes proud (Deuteronomy 8:14), rebels (Jeremiah 5:23), invents (1 Kings 12:33), cavils (Deuteronomy 29:18), overflows (Psalm 45:2), devises (Proverbs 19:21), desires (Psalm 21:3), goes astray (Proverbs 7:25), lusts (Numbers 15:39), is refreshed (Genesis 18:5), can be stolen (Genesis 31:20), is enticed (Genesis 34:3), errs (Isaiah 21:4), trembles (1 Samuel 4:13), is awakened (Song of Songs 5:2), loves (Deuteronomy 6:5), hates (Leviticus 19:17), envies (Proverbs 23:17), is searched (Jeremiah 17:10), is rent (Book of Joel 2:13), meditates (Psalm 49:4), is like a fire (Jeremiah 20:9), is like a stone (Ezekiel 36:26), turns in repentance (2 Kings 23:25), becomes hot (Deuteronomy 19:6), dies (1 Samuel 25:37), melts (Joshua 7:5), takes in words (Deuteronomy 6:6), is susceptible to fear (Jeremiah 32:40), gives thanks (Psalm 111:1), covets (Proverbs 6:25), becomes hard (Proverbs 28:14), makes merry (Judges 16:25), acts deceitfully (Proverbs 12:20), speaks from out of itself (1 Samuel 1:13), loves bribes (Jeremiah 22:17), writes words (Proverbs 3:3), plans (Proverbs 6:18), receives commandments (Proverbs 10:8), acts with pride (Obadiah 1:3), makes arrangements (Proverbs 16:1), and aggrandizes itself (2 Chronicles 25:19). (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 1:36.)
A midrash interpreted the words, “And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them,” in Leviticus 26:44 to teach that the Shekhinah accompanied Israel into exile. (Exodus Rabbah 23:5.) Samuel of Nehardea interpreted the words, “I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God,” in Leviticus 26:44 to teach that God did “not reject” the Jews in the days of the Greeks, nor “abhor them” in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, nor “destroy them utterly” in the days of Haman, nor “break [God’s] covenant with them” in the days of the Persians; “for [God will be] the Lord their God” in the days of Gog and Magog. Similarly, a Baraitha taught that God did “not reject” them in the days of the Chaldeans, for God sent them Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; God did not “abhor them” in the days of the Greeks, for God sent them Simeon the Righteous, the Hasmonean and his sons, and Mattathias the High Priest; and God did not “destroy them utterly” in the days of Haman, for God sent them Mordecai and Esther; and God did not “break [God’s] covenant with them” in the days of the Persians, for God sent them the house of Rabbi and the generations of Sages; “for [God will be] the Lord their God” in the time to come, when no nation or people will be able to subject them. (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 11a.)
Tractate Arakhin in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of dedicatory vows in Leviticus 27:1–33. (Mishnah Arakhin 1:1–9:8; Tosefta Arakhin 1:1–5:19; Babylonian Talmud Arakhin 2a–34a.)
The Mishnah taught that the law of valuation sometimes tended toward leniency, and at other times tended toward stringency. The law valued equally the handsomest and the ugliest men in the country; either one owed 50 selas. (Mishnah Arakhin 3:1; Babylonian Talmud Arakhin 13b.)
The Mishnah taught that to secure a vow to the Temple, they seized property from the one who made the vow. (Mishnah Arakhin 5:6; Babylonian Talmud Arakhin 21a.) But they let the one who made the vow keep food for 30 days, garments for 12 months, bed and bedding, shoes, and tefillin. If the one who made the vow was a craftsperson, they left two of every kind of tool. If the one who made the vow was a carpenter, they left two axes and two saws. Rabbi Eliezer said that if the one who made the vow was a farmer, they left a yoke of oxen. If the one who made the vow was a donkey-driver, they left a donkey. (Mishnah Arakhin 6:3; Babylonian Talmud Arakhin 23b.)
Tractate Temurah in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of substituting one sacrifice for another in Leviticus 27:1–33. (Mishnah Temurah 1:1–7:6; Tosefta Temurah 1:1–4:17; Babylonian Talmud Temurah 2a–34a.)
Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai taught that just as the texts “He shall not break his word” in Numbers 30:3 and “Defer not to pay it” in Ecclesiastes 5:3 apply to vows, so they also apply to valuations, and thus Moses exhorted the Israelites in Leviticus 27:7: “When a man shall clearly utter a vow of persons to the Lord, according to your valuation . . . .” (Leviticus Rabbah 37:2.)
Interpreting the instruction of Leviticus 27:8 that “according to the means of him that vowed shall the priest value him,” the Mishnah taught that this was done according to the ability of the one who vowed. The Mishnah taught that if a poor person vowed to give the value of a rich person, the poor person would pay only the valuation for a poor person. But if a rich person vowed to give the value of a poor person, the rich person still had to pay the full value of a rich person. (Mishnah Arakhin 4:1; Babylonian Talmud Arakhin 17a.) Citing Leviticus 27:8, the Gemara explained that the Merciful One made the obligation dependent upon the means of the one who vowed. (Babylonian Talmud Arakhin 17a.) The Tosefta taught that while the valuation of a rich man was 50 selas as stated in Leviticus 27:3, the valuation of a poor man was one sela. (Tosefta Arakhin 1:5.)
According to Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are 7 positive and 5 negative commandments in the parshah:
(Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 3:461–517. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1984. ISBN 0-87306-297-3.)
The haftarah for the parshah is Jeremiah 16:19–17:14. The blessings and curses in Leviticus 26 are matched by a curse on “the man that trusts in man” in Jeremiah 17:5 and a blessing on “the man that trusts in the Lord” in Jeremiah 17:7.
The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:
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