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In this week’s parshah, we discover what we will receive if we fulfill t
he mitzvot properly and the consequences if we do not. The Torah delineates all of the blessings that will be showered down upon us for following the directions of God and all of the terrible curses that await us if we don’t fulfill our responsibilities.
The Torah uses an interesting terminology when it introduces the potential blessings. It states, “Im bechukotai teleichu” – if you travel with my laws, then you will receive these blessings. Why does the Torah use such an unusual phrase to express the idea of fulfilling the laws of God? Why doesn’t it simply say, “if you follow my laws?” What message is the Torah trying to convey? Continue reading Parshat Bechukotai – Traveling with the Torah
In the beginning of this week’s Parshah, the Torah states that after a woman gives birth she becomes tamei, ritually impure. If she gave birth to a son, she waits for seven days, at which point she immerses in a mikvah, a ritual pool. Thirty-three days later – a total of forty days after the birth – she brings an offering in the Temple and fully regains her spiritually-pure status. If a woman gives birth to a baby girl, however, the first period lasts for fourteen days and the second period lasts for sixty-six – a total of eighty days after the birth. One might think that there is something ‘wrong’ with an infant girl that causes her mother to become ritually impure for forty days longer than a baby boy would! 
During the days of the ancient Jewish kingdom in Israel, the focal point of the nation was the Temple. The Temple was a place where the glory of God was revealed on a daily basis; our Rabbis teach us that ten ongoing miracles took place there. One of those miracles was that regardless of how much it may have rained, the rain was never successful in extinguishing the fire that was always present on the altar.
cites a special blessing called Birchat HaGomel in place of the Thanksgiving Offering.