Parshat Bechukotai: Iron and Copper
This week's Parsha of Bechukotai has always terrified me. It contains the first Tochecha, or warning, given by Gd to the Bnei Yisrael and is repeated in even greater detail in Parshat Ki Tavo. Bechukotai lists forty-nine curses and tragedies which will befall the Jewish people if they fail to follow the Torah's teachings. The number is doubled to ninety-eight in the latter Parsha. It is no coincidence that the first warning is read shortly before Shavuot and the second a few weeks before Rosh Hashanah. One of the explanations given by Chazal is that the warnings are strategically placed at these times of the year to prepare us for the respective festivals. They say that if you are given a gift you would not wish to place it into a soiled container. As we approach the festival of Shavuot, we read the Tochacha to cleanse ourselves spiritually, so that we can receive the Torah again, aware of what could and tragically did happen when our ancestors didn't take heed