Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal

The curses that are mentioned in this week’s portion are not extraordinary. This is what happens to an ordinary nation. If you have a special relationship to God then prove it by your actions.

The punishments mentioned in this week’s portion are really what will happen if we do not have a just society.

The reason that we lost the Bar-Kochba revolt was that we did not respect one another. This is the lesson we should take from the loss.

Many people will refuse to do something because “It’s not my job”. This is not a Jewish idea. It does not matter to the Torah. When something has to get done then it is everybody’s job.

It is no accident that the successful revolutions put God at the center and the revolutions that degenerated into dictatorship put man at the center.

Pesach Sheni is the second chance for those who could not bring an Passover offering during Passover but were unable to. The fact is that one has to do the right thing. Saying I’m sorry is not enough, action is required.

While we Jews believe that Jewish law was given at Mt. Sinai, we recognize that the rabbis are entitled to interpret that law as they understand it.

The Jubilee year is the great reset of society. The command for it contains the famous phrase, “Proclaim liberty throughout the land and to the inhabitants thereof.” This means that we have equal opportunity to succeed.

Keeping the Sabbatical year is showing that one believes in God by refraining from work on the land for a year. Much like keeping the Sabbath and kosher is showing one believes in God.

The story of the blasphemer seems out of place until we realize that the message that the Torah is sending us is that any society that is not based on the Bible is transitory. Morality and law must be constant.