Bechukotai, בְּחֻקֹּתַי  "In My Statutes"   Leviticus 26:3-27:34

Statute Of Life

Poetic notes on parashat Bechukotai*

Searching for Adam,

G-d found Abraham and his seed

Then G-d said,

The roots of the holy tree of the holy field

will be cultivated 

The tree of life will give forth its fruit,

as in the Garden of Eden

Egypt and the nations shall witness this 

The child who became a slave

now has a new master

She has become a holy slave

As the holy slave matures, 

her old master shall closely observe 

that she now does as the Holy One decrees,

never missing a beat nor a back beat,

living in concert with the inspiration

of the Holy One’s symphonic Torah, 

even while she sits by the rivers of the mystery Babylon

For it is there that she waits

for her new master to come to claim her

By the rivers of mystery Babylon

the holy slave has learned

to become the master reader

of the orchestral score of heaven and earth

She sees throughout all of heaven and earth

She sees the statute of life written there

She sees yesterday, today and tomorrow

and about all that she sees she sings,

waiting by the rivers of mystery Babylon

It is the eye of her covenant faith 

that skilfully reads the notes

that were composed by the eternal Hand of Life

Consider that Jew’s faith that hears the silent voice

of the wind of the Conductor’s mighty wand!

Many eyes are blinded by a veil of fears

Ears cannot hear that which is to them alien and unknown

Abraham's faith listens and hears the Faithful One

A trusting child does not say to the faithful parent

Leave me alone! Let me do it myself!

A trusting child says to the loving parent's eyes

Watch me closely! Do not leave me!

I will do it myself to please you!

David's faith sees the colour of the music of angels 

Reason has no foundation

except faith in the Author of reason

But if reason stands alone without authority from Above,

its one foot stands upon the other

The holy ones who follow orders,

and toil to learn and understand, are prepared

and they receive understanding like rain

They receive the rain with channels,

like the channels of anointing oil on Mashiach's head

The holy servants follow instructions like angels

They will leave mystery Babylon; they will leave

the city that demands to know good only with evil

They demand to know how things work or do not work,

and try to know how heaven and earth stands or falls

They think they know how to be free to go their own way,

to build worlds their own way

to please or appease God, if they must, their own way

Humble children are not like them 

They are hollowed vessels

Israel is a vessel ready to hear, 

prepared to be filled with the word of God,

made strong and courageous,

able to build a dwelling place for God  

One who builds without authority is a thief 

Children of the estate do not

take authorization to build for granted

If they took authorization for granted,

it would be as if they disowned their inheritance

Even the stars to the end of the heavens

wait for the revelation of the heirs of God

What decrees has the Holy One

given to the nations to obey?

One nation alone under heaven

wears tefilin and tzitzit

One holy nation

holds a red heifer in its heart of hearts

One nation alone toils in Torah

meditating in it day and night

One nation alone,

because the G-d of Israel is G-d alone

He set apart one branch from Adam

through which to reveal holiness through judgment,

through which to reveal the justice of his mercy

The hollowed out soul

is engraved with love for the Holy One

What pleases the parent?

It is when the parent see their child stand on its own

It is when the parent sees their confidence, 

as they look up with trust and love for their parent,

knowing with no shadow of doubt

that their parent will look on the work they have done

with pride and love and approval

The holy child, inspired by the word of God, 

feels the musical score of the universe

Creation stands tall,

with its theme of moral of existence

In the study of this score

its children rise up and lay down to sleep

The nations point a finger at them,

saying, Who are they?

We do not recognize them!

And they are driven away

But they are the congregation

of the Master of Prayer

And they are all children of the One Most High, 

the Lord of Lovingkindness

In answer to the request

of the students of the Master of Prayer 

the nations live and do not perish

For their immersion is in the river of atonement

They are immersed in the tears of the Prayer Leader,

who selflessly obeys the decrees of the Holy One

The God of Israel decrees for the world

decrees of life and not of death

For when the heart of Adam

had turned hard as stone,

the Jewish Messiah did not say to the ailing brother,

about the bones that do not heal,

about the heart that cannot sustain itself,

about the bruised reed,

that God has no interest in what is mortally damaged

To the little child's mind that tries to smile in the face of fear,

but can barely think or move,

whose heart is already hard with loneliness,

Israel's Messiah says, Be strong and of good cheer,

simply open your eyes and begin to see salvation!

Look!  You will see Jews all around you!

Help yourself! Take ahold of their garments!

Adam tripped and fell

and their heart became hard and calloused

This is when wisdom from the Holy One came

in waves of grace and softened it and broke it

and healed it, to be as strong as eternal life

Many great minds have probed God

with multiple filters and shields,

to withstand the brilliance of the Holy One's glory

Their shields fell away and their filters failed

God Himself has laid all souls to rest

He has buried his world

and is nursing it back to life

We need not attempt to teach an ear filled with noise,

the ear unprepared by the Divine Spirit to be taught

It is those who have laboured hard to learn 

who will be sat down as children at the table

to hear a true word, 

a story of the great understanding

of the Concealed Presence

For the concealment is a measure,

measured by the understanding of the Master, 

according to the level of the need of the student

The mind that approaches truth without fear

approaches endless delusion

When one becomes wise and has laboured

and has mastered their world's whole orchestral score,

then one obeys the voice of the wind of the silent wand 

of the Composer and Conductor of the music of all worlds

Then one learns obedience with perfect faith,

as if it were the first command heard in childhood

Listen! Hear, floating on the wind, the song of the Jews 

who sit by the rivers of the mystery Babylon