20 May PARASHAT BEHUKOTAI: THERE’S NO SUBSTITUTE FOR KNOWLEDGE

The opening
verses of Parashat
Behukotai describe
the beautiful
blessings that G-d
promises to bestow upon Beneh
Yisrael in reward for their compliance
with the Torah’s laws. The Torah
introduces this section by saying, “Im
Be’hukotai Telechu, Ve’et Misvotai
Tishmeru” – literally, “If you follow
My statutes, and you observe My
commandments…”
The Or Ha’haim Ha’kadosh
(Rav Haim Ben-Attar, 1696-

1743), remarkably, offers forty-
two interpretations of this verse,

uncovering for us the deeper layers
of meaning behind this seemingly
straightforward sentence.
In presenting one of these explanations,
the Or Ha’haim cites the Mishna’s
famous teaching in Pirkeh Abot (2:5),
“Ve’lo Am Ha’aretz Hasid” – “An

ignoramus is not a pious person.”
The plain meaning of the Mishna is
that one cannot properly observe the
Misvot without educating himself,
without investing time and effort into
the process of learning so he knows
what the Torah wants of us. The Or
Ha’haim adds a deeper reading of
the Mishna, explaining that it refers
to acts of piety and measures of
stringency beyond the Torah’s strict
requirements. The Or Ha’haim writes
that a person cannot be a “Hasid,” a
devoutly pious person, who observes
additional stringencies, without
learning Halacha, without properly
understanding his basic obligations.
If a person decides to adopt
stringencies without learning, the Or
Ha’haim writes, these stringencies
might actually lead him to grievous
transgressions, because the person
will not know what Halacha allows
and what it doesn’t.
The Or Ha’haim explains on this

basis the opening verse of Parashat
Behukotai. The phrase “Im Be’hukotai
Telechu,” as Rashi famously writes,
refers to the study of Torah. The second
phrase, “Ve’et Misvotai Tishmeru,”
speaks of additional safeguards and
stringencies, as the root of the word
“Tishmeru” – “Sh.M.R.” – means
“guard” or “protect.” The Torah here
teaches us that only “Im Be’hukotai
Telechu” – if a person devotes time
and effort to the study of Torah – is
it then appropriate for him to take
on voluntary stringencies (“Ve’et
Misvotai Tishmeru”). Piety must
be pursued only with knowledge of
Torah law. A person who thinks he can
decide for himself how to be “pious,”
how to be holy and G-d-fearing, he
will end up making terrible mistakes
and transgressing grave violations.
The Or Ha’haim here conveys to us
the message that there is no substitute
for knowledge. If we want to achieve
spiritual greatness – which, of course,

we all should – then there are no
shortcuts. Our intuition and “gut
feelings” are not good enough. We
cannot serve Hashem by doing what
seems right to us, what we intuitively
sense is noble and spiritual. We need
to learn, to ask questions, to consult
with Torah scholars, to seek guidance,
and to make the time to acquire the
knowledge we need to act the way the
Torah wants us to act.