As a Torah reader who likes the long ones, I regularly find myself in the rotation to read the tochechah, the litany of curses that appears at the end of the book of Vayikra, which we read from this week. (A longer tochechah section appears toward the end of Devarim, in Parashat Ki Tavo - I frequently read that one too.) As you might expect, reading this section is a troubling pursuit. Reading of the horrifying punishments that will befall the Israelites, and us by extension, if we do not follow God’s ways is bad enough on its own. But to chant those words to the community in my own voice is another proposition altogether.
Recently, I learned that one of my children didn’t understand how the threat of negative consequences was supposed to work. After offering him lots of opportunities to correct a particular behavior, and after him not taking me up on any of them, I would tell him that he would be losing a privilege if he didn’t stop whatever he was doing *now.* I was surprised time and time again that this threat often didn’t get him to stop the offending behavior. Instead, he would break down, becoming extremely upset at the thought of losing the privilege, as if he had no power to stop it. Some good conversations taught me that he believed that the threat of negative consequences wasn’t meant to inspire a change in behavior. He thought it was simply a tool for punishing him, and that there was no turning back from it once it was raised as a possibility. What an amazing insight into the way my kid was thinking! While our conversations have helped significantly in these kinds of situations, the whole matter is really making me think about the value of negative consequences overall, whether they are actually imposed or merely meant to inspire change. As a teacher, I typically stay away from them. Assigning punishments like detention doesn’t really make sense to me and I only give them out in response to the most egregious behavior. Looking at the text of the tochechah, I am always reminded of the times throughout Jewish history when our people have undergone these kinds of devastating experiences and seen them as God meting out punishment. Framing political upheaval, war, famine, and natural disaster as punishment puts our relationship with God in a precarious position. This is not the way I want to relate to God. As a parent, teacher, and person of religious sensibility, logical and natural consequences seem so much more appropriate and can be so much more effective. Using a toy as a weapon? You can’t play with that toy. Neglect to study for your vocabulary quiz? Earn a poor grade. Why then, does the Torah provide us with not one, but two, lengthy examples of curses and punishments that will come if we disobey God’s commands? On a basic historical level, the Torah is often similar to other texts of the time and place. Law treaties of the Ancient Near East ended with hyperbolic lists of curses. This was done so that both parties felt the significance of their agreement as well as the promise of utter destruction if they did not follow through on their part. At the very least, the inclusion of curses and punishments in these treaties sent a strong message about the irrevocable nature of the agreement. This may have been effective at that time, but it strikes a dissonant note for my contemporary ears. Remaining faithful to God’s ways out of fear of unspeakable consequences is not a theology that works for me. The threats are indeed terrible and they don’t support the development of a relationship with the divine that I want for myself or my community. At the same time, I’m not advocating for excising the tochechah from our public readings. Here’s how I make my peace with it: I find meaning in this section in the way we read it. Traditionally, the Torah reader chants each tochechah in an undertone, making their way through the text quickly and quietly. You’ll hear me read it this way on Shabbat if you’re able to be in shul. The tochechah is also bookended on each side by promises of blessing and success. We read these sections at full volume and regular speed, sharpening the contrast between the punishment and the reward. Our way of chanting this section serves as a reminder - to us and perhaps even to God - that our preferred way of being in relationship with each other is not built upon a foundation of threats and curses, but one of blessing and love. Shabbat shalom.
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