Bechukotai
Leviticus 26:3 – 27:34
The final parasha of Leviticus opens with the Tochachah — a dramatic passage of blessings and curses contingent on Israel's fidelity to the covenant. If Israel walks in God's statutes, the land will yield abundance, peace will reign, and God's presence will dwell among them. But if they reject the commandments, a cascading series of punishments will follow: disease, defeat, famine, exile, and desolation. Yet even in exile, God will not utterly destroy them — the covenant endures. The book closes with laws of valuations, tithes, and dedications to the Temple.
Key figures
- Moses — Delivers the blessings, curses, and concluding laws to Israel
- God — Author of the covenant who promises both reward and consequence
Famous verses
- 26:3-4 If you walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them;
- 26:12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be My people.
- 26:44 And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant with them; for I am Hashem their God.
Haftarah: {'ref': 'Jeremiah 16:19-17:14', 'connection': 'Jeremiah contrasts trust in God with trust in mortals, echoing the blessings and curses of Bechukotai — blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem, cursed is the one who turns from Him.'}
Total gematria: 292,596.