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14
Orchard of Delights # Bechukotai
#
showcased one of the specific tribe’s positive aspects, most of which The resolution to the first two paradoxes may be hinted at by another
were mentioned in Jacob’s blessing to his sons. meaning attributed to the verb associated with the word “chok,”
“lechokek” (to engrave). Once we accept the commandments either
Yet what was it about the heavenly banners that aroused such
deep spiritual feelings in the Jews? To answer this question, we need as private individuals or as part of the Jewish nation, they become
to understand what the flags symbolize to the heavenly host. Since engraved on our consciousness so completely that we no longer really
angels have no free will their entire beings reflect their essential have a conscious choice. Thus on a homiletic level the verse, “if you
nature, the divinely appointed tasks they have been given to perform. walk in My decrees” implies that once we make the choice, we will
The Sages teach that an angel can only have one task at a time. For without thinking continue walking in that direction; indeed, just as
instance, Rashi explains that three angels appeared to Abraham and our legs walk without our consciously directing their every step, so
Sarah shortly after Abraham’s circumcision because three specific too performing mitzvot becomes an unconscious act (a habit) that
tasks had to be accomplished: the announcement of Isaac’s birth, requires no conscious choice.
Abraham’s healing after his circumcision, and the destruction of The Ishbitzer Rebbe explains that choice takes place on three
Sodom and Gomorrah. Each of these angels was appointed to carry distinct levels. At a young age, nature and nurture determine how
out one task. The Slonimer Rebbe explains that the heavenly flags people act. Children are not really given a choice about their lifestyle or
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were so attractive because they symbolized purpose and meaning, not religion as they naturally follow their parents’ or teachers’ examples.
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purpose and meaning that are offhandedly accepted, but purpose and Later on in life, as people mature and come into contact with the
meaning that define the mission a person is completely at one with wider world, they realize that there are many options open to them.
and completely given over to fulfilling. This type of purpose elicits They determine their core principles and establish a certain belief
pride – holy pride. It was this deep sense of mission and attachment system and lifestyle. We might assume this second stage to comprise
to fulfilling a purpose that inspired the Jews who witnessed this the quintessential act of free choice. However, the Ishbitzer Rebbe
vision of the angels with banners. teaches that there is an even higher level of free choice that comes
into play when we realize that our choices have become so much a
After the World War Two, Victor Frankel, a survivor of the
Nazi death camps, wrote a highly influential book Man’s Search for part of us that we paradoxically no longer have a choice at all.
Meaning describing how a sense of purpose in life often made the For example, young people who are raised in non-traditional or
difference between those who held on to life against all odds and non-observant Jewish homes and never have the opportunity to
those who succumbed to the brutality and inhumane conditions the experience Shabbat are not really making a choice when they choose
Nazis forced upon them. Although all animals are programmed for not to observe Shabbat. However, when as teenagers they are
survival and pleasure, only human beings are programmed to search introduced to Shabbat by friends or youth groups and are fascinated
for a higher spiritual purpose in life. by its beauty and profound underlying concepts, they now have a
choice. They can now continue to live lives that preclude any idea
Notably, these banners were revealed to the Jewish people at the
Giving of the Torah – at the very moment when their mission as a of Shabbat observance or explore the newly found option of making
people was revealed to them. The collective covenant the Jews entered Shabbat a part of their lives. Deciding to actually adopt Shabbat
into at Mount Sinai and the accompanying mission that would guide observance may come relatively easily or may be a decision they will
them remain unique in the annals of history. The vision of the banners wrestle with for years or even for the rest of their lives. But if they
and the Jewish people’s desire to also have flags represent humanity’s adopt Shabbat and in fact become observant Jews, eventually one
deepest desire to have a life of meaning and significance, as well as the morning they will wake up and realize that they no longer really have

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