By: Chaya Sora Jungreis-Gertzulin

Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow…

Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead…

Just walk beside me, and be my friend…

And, together we will walk in the way of HaShem…

An all-time Uncle Moishy favorite that I sang to my children when they were little. A song with a message that resonates with both young and old. A message of friendship. A message of walking in the path of HaShem. A message we find in this week’s parsha.

This Shabbos, we read the double Torah portion of Behar-Bechukosai. Bechukosai opens with the words “Im Bechukosai teileichu, If you will walk in the way of My decrees…” The pasuk continues, “And observe My commandments and perform them…” (Vayikra 26:3). Im, if – if the Jewish people follow the Torah, they will be blessed with peace and prosperity. An obligation to study, to learn and to live Torah. To really envelop our entire being in the study and keeping of the Torah. As we say each morning in Shacharis, “V’sein b’libeinu bina, And instill in our hearts wisdom, to understand, to comprehend, to listen, to learn, to teach, to observe, to perform and to fulfill all the words of your Torah with love.”

A story is told of a man who came to Rav Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, known as the Kotzker Rebbe, (1787-1859) lamenting how despite his efforts, he was far from a Torah scholar. The Rebbe explained that it’s not the accumulation of knowledge, but what we do with the knowledge that really counts. Strive to live a Torah life. To walk the walk – bechukosai teileichu, to walk the Torah path, putting one’s learning into action.

The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh, Rabbi Chaim Ibn Attar, (1696-1743) in his commentary on Bechukosai, lists 42 life lessons from the Torah words “to walk in the path of my decrees.”

Of the many teachings is that we should always have Torah thoughts with us, even when “walking”, going on our way, be it to work, at home or on vacation – wherever life takes us. As it is written “u’ve’lech’teh’cha ba’derech, and when you walk on the way” (Devarim 6:7). To make Torah our source of direction, our GPS, as we travel life’s journey.

Another understanding is that HaShem did not create man to remain stationary, stagnant, stuck in the present. Rather, we should always be growing, progressing and ascending to greater heights, thereby improving and strengthening our relationship with HaShem.

As an aside, man is called a “holeich” – a being that is always on the move, always on the go. In contrast, melochim, angels are called “omdim” – those who are stationary, who stand still, remaining in one place, without the potential of reaching higher planes.

Man doesn’t remain still. He either rises to greater heights, or sadly, stumbles and falls. We need to get on the Torah path, seize the opportunities before us, and utilize every moment as an occasion for self-development and improvement.

The Ohr HaChaim cites a pasuk from Mishlei, “When you walk, it will guide you.” (Mishlei 6:22). He explains that when the neshama departs from this world, it typically travels through a place of darkness. However, if Torah and mitzvos accompany the neshama, it illuminates the path. The Ohr HaChaim supports this concept by citing yet another pasuk, “Your word is a lamp at my feet, a light for my path” (Tehillim 119:105)

There are so many lessons among the 42 teachings of the Ohr HaChaim on the words Im Bechukosai teileichu, lessons we can learn by walking on the path of Torah and mitzvos.

The Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760) teaches that as Bnei Yisroel experienced forty-two journeys and encampments in the desert, so too, each of us experiences forty-two life journeys, from birth to death. As they faced challenges at each stop, and had to make moral and ethical decisions, so too, we have our dilemmas and difficulties at different phases in our life.

Each stop was an opportunity for growth and development. Each stop another rung on the spiritual ladder of life.

Both the Baal Shem Tov and Ohr HaChaim teach that 42 is not just a random number, but 42 opportunities to achieve spiritual greatness. The Baal Shem Tov recalls the 42 stops that our ancestors endured. A wandering and uncertainty we are still experiencing today. The Ohr HaChaim teaches us 42 valuable lessons about the importance of making that journey a Torah journey. 42 walks on the path of acquiring Torah and refining one’s character.

Every generation has its challenges, its difficulties, its pain. Some more, some less. When the generation of the Baal Shem Tov experienced troubles, he would go to a secret place in the forest, light a mystical fire, and turn to HaShem with a special tefilla. The danger was removed.

In a later generation, when once again the Jews were threatened, the Maggid of Mezeritch (1704-1772), a disciple of the Baal Shem, would go to the very same spot in the forest. He would say, “Ribbono Shel Olam, I don’t know how to light the fire, but I can say a tefilla.”

Years later, the Maggid’s disciple, Rav Moshe Leib of Sassov (1745-1807), would go to the same place in the forest. There he would say, “Ribbono Shel Olam, I don’t know how to light the mystical flame, or say the special tefilla of the Baal Shem. But, I did find my way to the forest, and that must be sufficient”.

Even later, when the people in the generation of Rav Yisroel of Rizhin (1796-1850) needed Divine assistance, he would sit in his chair, his head in his hands, and said, “Ribbono Shel Olam, I no longer know how to light the fire or how to say the special tefilla. I don’t even know where to go in the forest. But I can tell the story, and that must be enough.”

And it still is.

We are living through dark days. Eretz Yisroel is still at war, surrounded by enemies on all fronts – and even far beyond its borders. Every day, in countries thought to be “safe” (is there really such a place), acts of violence and worse are occurring again and again.

Teileichu. And you should walk on the way. Sometimes it’s a smooth path. At other times, it’s rocky and hilly, with bumps along the way. How do we navigate our lives? From where do we derive strength?

We no longer know the place in the forest. We no longer know how to light the mystical fire. And, we no longer know the special holy tefilla. But we do cling to the memories. We hold on to the stories we believe in. We are fortified by the merits of our ancestors. We travel the road, accompanied by Torah, mitzvos, and our emuna and bitachon in HaShem.

This Shabbos, as we say Chazak, let us all be strengthened with ameilus baTorah, to toil in Torah, a labor of love. Let us ask ourselves, what will walking the walk look like for us this week?

Shabbat Shalom!

Chaya Sora

Chaya Sora can be reached at [email protected]

This article was written L’zecher Nishmas / In Memory Of HaRav Meshulem ben HaRav Osher Anshil HaLevi, zt”l and Rebbetzin Esther bas HaRav Avraham HaLevi, zt’l