This week’s parsha is Bechukosai, the final parsha in the book of VaYikra (Leviticus). The parsha begins with: “If you go in My laws, and guard My mitzvot and perform them. Then I will send down My blessings….”
Rashi (ad loc.) states, “Going in My laws…” means toiling in Torah. Simple. Or is it?
Toil means hard work. So, it’s not so simple. It means exerting oneself to study HaShem’s Torah and to perform His mitzvot. Well, no one ever said, “It’s easy to be a Jew!”
But it really is not that hard. Actually, it really is simple. Simple because toiling in Torah encompasses everything that we do to stay alive and live. It means that everything I do can be connected to the toil of Torah.
If I go to work and know that I must work because I have to feed my family, I have to afford our Shabbos table, I have to pay tuition for my children’s studies, etc., then I am toiling for Torah. If I travel to and from work, if I spend precious time eating, walking for health reasons, sleeping, bathing, and watching my family to ensure they are following a path of Torah, then I am toiling in Torah.
The basic understanding is that whatever I am doing is for the sake of HaShem. Certainly, the study of Torah itself requires “toil.” Torah is not a wisdom like other wisdoms. Look at universities today and see what they are studying! Nothing that’s of real value. Where are the college students going with their knowledge?
Torah, on the other hand, is from HaShem. It is God’s wisdom, encapsulated in a format that leads us on the path of honesty and integrity. It gives us knowledge to face the rigors of this world and instills in us a feeling of morality and righteousness. Simply put, it gives us street smarts and valuable life lessons.
So, toil we must. But we must toil anyway throughout life; there is no escape from hard work. This is our choice. Do we toil like everyone else? Or do we toil for HaShem?
Have a great Shabbos!
