This week’s Torah portion (i.e., Bechukotai) promises blessings for those who obey God’s law and curses to those who do not. In the opening verses of portion we read: “If you walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them” then great blessings will follow (Lev. 26:3-ff). The sages comment that the phrase “if you walk in my statutes” (אם־בחקתי תלכו) does not refer to the regular commandments (i.e., ha’mitzvot: המצוות), but instead to the study and love of the Torah (לימוד התורה), the wisdom of which is a “Tree of Life” (עֵץ־חַיִּים) to those who take hold of it (Prov. 3:22). To “walk in the statutes” of Torah is to meditate upon it day and night, so that you will be rooted as a tree beside streams of water, bringing forth fruit in abundance and blessing (Psalm 1:3).
The portion continues by warning that if, on the other hand, you neglect God or are careless about keeping the commandments, you will experience the curse: all kinds of trouble, sickness, sorrows, exile, and (worst of all) alienation from God. The sages emphasize that the cure to the various curses of the law (i.e., tochachah) is the study of the Torah, by which they mean not simply intellectual study but also the careful practice of its principles in your daily life. Torah study, in this sense, is likened to medicine that heals the soul…
Now while it is assuredly true that the practice of Torah – walking in the decrees of God – is the ideal for people, and the imperatives of Scripture, if obeyed, direct the soul to life and blessing, the problem of indwelling sin is so incurably radical that it no amount of resolution of the will nor reformation of character will suffice to transform the fallen estate of human nature and thereby reverse the curse of death given to the sons of Adam, and therefore a cure that comes from beyond the realm of human nature must be found, a heavenly cure that is otherwise called the “righteousness of God” (צדקת האלהים).
We are being educated for eternity, and the life of faith is a long lesson in obedience — learning to suffer God’s will, to accept whatever happens, and to endure in hope. Practically speaking this means “laying aside” your desires and surrendering yourself — all that is within you — in trust of God’s plan for your life, even (and especially) in the most harrowing of moments… Indeed, in light of suffering what we really need is perseverance, or what the New Testament calls hupomone (ὑπομονή), a word that means “remaining [μένω] under [ὑπο]” the Divine Presence while being tested (the word “suffer” comes from the Latin word sufferre, from sub- (under) + ferre, to carry, and therefore denotes “bearing under” difficulty). Laying aside our desires is a form of suffering that calls for patience and wisdom as we learn to endure our own frailty and to trust God for what is best…
It is not “I obey, therefore I am accepted,” but rather, “I am accepted, and that is the obedience (ὑπακούω) of faith.” The opposite of sin is not virtue but faith, as Paul said: πᾶν δὲ ὃ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως, ἁμαρτία ἐστίν, “whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). Putting it the other way around, trust is the means of attaining God’s righteousness and blessing (Eph. 2:8, Rom. 3:20-27). Paul calls this the “law of faith” (i.e., torat ha’emunah: תּוֹרַת הָאֱמוּנָה). Accepting that God is “for you” and “with you,” and trusting that you are accepted — despite your unacceptability — is the first and most fundamental step of faith, since this honors the love and blessing of God. It is not your wisdom or cleverness that enlightens your way in the truth, however, but the miracle of disclosure from heaven. It is all a gift: you need God to even see that you need God! Right thinking is indeed a path to God, but it is the givenness of truth that enables the seeker to seek; it is the reality of the Teacher (the Savior) that is all-important. By itself true belief does not conjure divine favor, and indeed it may hide the deeper truth that the heart exists in untruth despite the head’s “true” doctrine. Likewise, while goodness is indeed a path to God, true goodness is found in God’s righteousness that makes the way right for the trusting heart… Genuine obedience to the truth of God – inner connectedness rather than merely outer obedience – marks the divine mercy of transformation.
Consider for a moment how your thinking defines your inner reality and the quality of your spiritual life. Thinking is inextricably linked to faith, and therefore we are responsible not only for what we believe, but for how we think (Acts 17:30-31). Sinful thinking creates “negative energy” that brings pain to yourself and others. Left unchallenged, such impaired cognitive function leads to slavery of the mind, hopeless addictions of thought, and distressing captivity. The first step to freedom is to confess our sin, acknowledging the reality of our own negativity – and bringing that truth to the light. Therefore teshuvah – turning to God – involves cheshbon hanefesh (חֶשְׁבּוֹן הַנֶּפֶשׁ), accounting for our soul and yielding it to the love of God for rectification: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). For freedom we have been set free, and that means freedom from the power of the lie. If we are blind to our own sin, we cannot confess the truth to find healing (James 5:16).