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This week’s Torah portion features 49 terrible curses awaiting the Jews if they separate from G-d’s Torah.
But strangely the name of this portion, ‘Bechukotai’ indicates the opposite: The word Chuk means ‘carved in’. And Bechukotai refers to the essence of the Torah where its letters, laws and spirit are ‘carved’ and UNIFIED into the Jewish soul. Like the Ten Commandments were carved and unified in the Tablets.
So why all the curses?
In addition, this week was the holiday of Lag B’omer when the great Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the author of the mystical work The Zohar passed away some 1,800 years ago. Rabbi Shimon was a true example of how the Jews and Torah are; ‘carved and united’; he was the ultimate Jew uniting the goodness and blessing of G-d with tShe world.
Has this got a connection to the 48 curses?

To understand this, here is a story. (HaChozrim Btshuva, by Y. Klapholtz pg.161)

In, in the ‘enlightenment’ days of Europe 200 years ago, despite the mass movement of many Jews from Judaism there remained Tzadikim (holy men) and one of them was the ‘Chozeh’ (Seer) of Lublin.
His erudition and love for mankind was matched only by his ability to bless and to ‘see’. Past, present and future lay before him like an open book. But he and his Chassidim (followers) were poor.
A tragic example of this poverty was Avraham Mordechi of Pintshov; a virtual pauper who now desperately needed means to marry off his three daughters. He was now standing before ‘the Chozeh’ begging for help.
The Rebbe gave him a few coins and said “Go to the town of Kreshnik and there you will be saved.”
Avraham Mordechi ran home, packed a bag, told his wife what the Rebbe said and set off to the obscure distant town of Kreshnik with no idea what to do there.
Three days later he arrived, checked in to the only Jewish guest house and only after he slept off his weariness from the journey did it hit him that he had no plan of action. The only thing the Rebbe told him was to go but not what to do once he arrived.
So he began wandering around the town. Every day after morning prayers he would wander aimlessly for an hour or two, return to the hotel to eat open a book and read for an hour or so and then wander some more till late at night.
After a week of this he was beginning to wonder what would be with him. Every day was just like the ones before it… nothing was happening except his money was running out and his daughters were getting older.
Then, one night as he was getting ready for bed there was a knock at his door. “Who is it?” he asked.
“Can I talk to you” was the answer through the door in Yiddish. He opened the door and a religious Jew about forty years old entered, closed the door behind him, sat down and when Avraham sat opposite him, leaned anxiously forward and spoke quietly as his eyes filled with tears.
“I won’t tell you my name.” He said, “Please don’t ask. But I have something I want you to give to the owner of this hotel. Here.”
He produced an envelope from his coat, opened it and took out a stack of large denomination bills. “It’s ten thousand rubles. It’s a fortune. But it belongs to the hotel owner Mr. Grois (pseudonym). I want you give it to him. Will you do this? Please?
The man saw that Avraham Mordechi was confused and he began to explain.
“I am telling you this …. because….. because I want to confess my sin.” He still spoke quietly but took out a handkerchief blew his nose and wiped his eyes occasionally after each paragraph.
“Ten years ago, I worked here for Mr. Grois. He needed a teacher for his children so I took the job and taught Torah to his five wonderful sons for several years.
We were like family, best friends, he trusted me implicitly, gave me anything I wanted. Everything was perfect until the devil mixed in.
One day I was teaching his youngest son and noticed that when he entered his office in the adjoining room, he unintentionally left the door ajar. I couldn’t help peeking in and noticing that he took a large stack of money from his pocket, put it in an envelope in his desk drawer, locked it and put the key behind a picture hanging on the wall. I thought it strange that he didn’t put the money in the safe but the strangest part was that he didn’t notice me watching … not at all.
“It planted an evil seed in my heart. I wanted that money. Every time someone with fine clothes or expensive jewelry entered the hotel I thought ‘why not me? At first, I pushed it off as foolishness, but it didn’t go away. Until I became insane, I needed the money!
“Finally late one night when everyone was out of the house for a wedding I went to the office door, turned the knob and when I found it unlocked I entered, found the key, opened the drawer, took the money and a minute later I was in the back yard putting it in the hole I had prepared there to hide it and … it was done.
“The next day I acted as though nothing had happened and in fact he didn’t discover the robbery until a few weeks later.
He opened the drawer and it was empty! He really took it hard. He held his head in his hands and actually began to cry. I was shaken and that night I even considered ‘finding’ the money and put an end to it. But in no time it was too late ….  He called the police! And before I could think the house was crawling with them.
“Of course no one suspected me. It never even arose in their minds! I was the epitome of faith and honesty… the last one in the world that would steal!! I told them that I had been sleeping and neither saw nor heard anything.
“Anyway, after a month or so everything died down, he got over the loss and life returned to normal. I worked for another year or so, told them I had work elsewhere and we parted the best of friends.
“But my conscience bothered me. A hundred times, a thousand times I thought of returning the money but I didn’t. I didn’t even dig it up. I was afraid maybe someone would catch me digging. Or maybe the owner would get mad when I confessed and have me put in jail.
“Of course, I considered giving it to him through someone else like I’m doing now with you but I had a problem; I couldn’t trust anyone. I figured that if I could be a thief then maybe whoever I chose to return the money would also be dishonest and take it for themselves. Now, believe it or not… for ten years I have been going insane from regret. Until a week ago something told me the time had come.
I came back here in the middle of the night, dug up the money and waited till the morning in front of the hotel wondering what to do next. Then, when I saw you come out and then return after prayers, I decided that you are the one. Now, please help me clear my conscience. Help me erase my sin…. Please, I beg you. Tell Mr. Grois not to ask any questions and give him the money back for me.”
Avraham Mordechi stared in wide eyed disbelief. He had never been involved in such a thing and he was trying to digest it. Was the man lying? Should he do it? Maybe he would get into trouble himself! But something inside told him this man was genuinely repenting …. and he agreed.
The next morning, he introduced himself to the hotel owner, asked if they could speak in private and when they were seated in his office introduced himself and said.
“Just tell me please, do you remember if ten years ago a large sum of money was stolen from you?”
At first he didn’t recall but then his eyes opened wide. He raised his head and almost whispered… “You don’t mean the ten thousand rubles?! Yes! About ten years ago about ten thousand rubles went missing… but ….”
Avraham Mordechi pulled the wad of bills from his pocket and put it on the table. “Here it is. Someone gave it to me to give to you and requested that you ask no questions.”
“But who?” the owner caught himself. “No questions? Are you sure? All right, all right! I can’t believe this is happening!” He picked up the money, began to count it and when he was finished looked up and, still under the impression of this dreamlike experience, wiped his brow and said.
“But can I ask who are you? What are you doing here? I’ve seen you leave and enter and have heard that you just wander the streets. Why are you here?”
Suddenly Avraham Mordechi snapped back into his dismal reality and told him who he was and how the Rebbe, the Chozeh of Lublin, had sent him for a solution for his three daughters.
Mr. Grois understood. He immediately counted out one thousand rubles and handed it to him. “Here is enough money to marry off your daughters and buy them houses as well. And I would like to see your Rebbe and thank him personally for the miracle and for the chance to give charity.”
When Avraham Mordechi returned to the Chozeh and told him what happened the Rebbe just replied. “I had to do it this way…the power of the repentance of that teacher didn’t allow me to sleep at nights!”

This answers our questions about the curses, the carved letters and Lag B’Omer.

Our Torah portion contains crushing curses which, unfortunately, the Jews have experienced constantly through the years. But this is no contradiction to the fact that it also indicates the essence of the Jewish soul in which is unified and carved’ the Torah.
Because only through crushing can this essence be revealed.
Like in our story, only through Avraham Mordechi’s poverty, Mr. Grois’ loss and the teacher’s repentance was the true nature of everyone involved revealed.
So it is in our generation. As we said, the Jews have already received a more than enough curses to ‘squeeze’ us.

And this is the connection to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochi.

It is though learning the secrets of the Torah that he revealed in the Zohar can we realize what we are missing and crush ourselves; NEVER rest until we put an end the darkness and suffering in the world by following the directions of today’s ‘Chozeh’ the Lubavitcher Rebbe do everything we can; even one more good deed, word or even thought to bring…

Moshiach NOW!
Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad, Israel

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