Parsha for Kids: Bechukotai 2023
Below is the transcript for the past week’s episode of Parsha for Kids, Bechukotai 2023.
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Season 3 Episode 10:
Hello! My name is Chana and this is Parsha for Kids. The Parsha of the week is Bechukotai. Bechukotai means “in my statutes” which is a fancy way of saying “in my laws.” God is explaining that if we, members of Bnei Yisrael, follow His laws, He will reward us in many ways.
How will He reward us?
He will give us the rains in their right time (which means when it is good for the harvest and won’t destroy the crops.) Our food will last us and we will eat our fill. We will have peace in the land of Israel. Wild beasts will not frighten us, and foreign armies will not pass through our land. We will pursue our enemies and we will win against them. Even when we are few in number, we will be able to conquer enemies who are mightier and more numerous than we are.
God will also walk amongst us, filling our spaces with His presence and His spirit.
TRANSITION
However, there is also a flip side. If we do NOT keep God’s covenant, which means we choose not to keep the Torah and its laws, we will suffer the consequences of our actions. God will bring plagues and diseases upon us. Our enemies will rule over us and frighten us. The land will not produce good fruits or good crops so people will be hungry. The hope is that when we see all these terrible things happening, we realize that we have done something wrong and do teshuva, returning to God and connecting with Him once more.
But if we do not return to God, God will intensify the punishments against us. Our land will be overtaken, our cities ransacked and destroyed. We will be exiled, which means that we will have to leave the land of Israel and will be forcibly resettled in the lands of our enemies. We will live with constant fear, such that the sound of a rustling leaf will make us scared, because we will think it is our enemies coming for us.
However, even this punishment is not permanent. God promises us He will never reject us, and there will come a time where He will find us again. Sometimes God may hide His face, and it may feel like He is far away, but He is never truly gone.
TRANSITION
The parsha then addresses the idea of consecrating items to God, whether these are possessions or animals (for sacrifices). Consecrating means to set something aside for a holy purpose. In this case, it would refer to setting aside property, money or animals for God. The Torah explains that certain types of property cannot be consecrated- for example, a non-kosher animal cannot be given to God as a sacrifice. But if someone did accidentally consecrate a non-kosher animal, they would have to pay the value of that animal to the Mishkan or Beit Hamikdash instead.
It is important to recognize that if someone consecrates a possession of theirs to God, it is that possession which must be given to God. The person cannot change their mind and decide that they would rather give a different cow to God if they had specifically said they were planning to give God the black cow with the white spot. This teaches us to be careful about what we say or promise, and to make very sure that we are willing to give the item that we have said we are willing to give.
TRANSITION
Have you ever heard the word maaser? It means one tenth. In this week’s parsha, we learn that Jewish farmers must give a tenth of their newborn animals to God. A Jewish farmer who owns cows, sheep or goats must give God every tenth new born. These animals were brought to Jerusalem, slaughtered and their inner parts were burned on the mizbeach. The rest of the animal could be eaten by its owner.
The Midrash explains this mitzvah had benefits for the Jewish farmer. God wanted to make sure the farmer woouldn’t become so busy with planting, plowing and harvesting crops that he forgot about his connection to God. Mitzvot like maaser helped the farmer need to make a time that he would visit Jerusalem. Visiting Jerusalem would enable the farmer to meet experts in Torah learning. The farmer would be able to have any of his Torah questions answered and also to remember how important it was to study Torah.
TRANSITION
So here’s what we learned this week!
Consequences are based on our actions. If we as a nation serve God properly, God will reward us with rain, good crops and security in the land of Israel. But if we turn aside from God, for example, through worshiping idols, God will turn away from us, allowing plagues, wild beasts and other bad things to happen to us.
There is always hope. Even when God is punishing us, He wants us to return to Him. And even if we fail to return, He will never break His covenant with us.
It’s important to be careful with our words. If we consecrate something to God, it’s not so easy to simply change our minds. So we should speak carefully and only after we have thought about whether what we are about to say is something we really believe and want to act upon.
God designs mitzvot for our good. For example, the mitzvah of maaser helps the farmer strengthen his connection with God since it forces him to visit Jerusalem.
Parshat Bechukotai is the last Parsha in Sefer Vayikra. In Ashkenaz synagogues, we will conclude this week by saying “Chazak Chazak V’Nitchazek,” be strong, be strong and may we be strengthened.
It has been a pleasure learning Sefer Vayikra with you, and I look forward to beginning Sefer Bamidbar next week!
If you have any questions or comments on this week’s episode, please email me at parsha4kids@gmail.com. That’s parsha the number 4 kids at gmail.com. Good Shabbos!
