Bechukotai | Avraham's Path

Bechukotai | Avraham's Path, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The first 11 verses of Parashat Behukotai comprise the "berakha", the promised reward for the people's obeisance of the covenant at Sinai. The opening phrase אם בחקתי תלכו is puzzling and has led to a range of interpretation; building from this notion of "walking" as a description of a way of life and charting the history and development of this semantic meaning in Humash demonstrates that it is an Avrahamic term, appropriately fitting Avraham's constantly journeying, from the first command לך לך to the crescendo לך לך on the way to הר המוריה. We follow the terms of the blessing and identify each of them with a significant factor in the Avraham story. Our conclusions from this clear case of intertextuality make up the core of the shiur. Source sheet >>