Bichukothai: What part of obey don't you understand?

This weeks parsha, the finale of the third  book, is shocking .  We are introduced to the blessing and  threat  paradigm for  eliciting obedience.  This model  will be repeated in the remaining books of the Moshe. Generally a few verses about how wonderful it would be  if the  commandments were kept  is followed by a long passage that describes the consequences of breaching the commandments in holocaust-like detail.

The images this evokes include the shtetl (the time of joy in obedience?) and the death camp ( where you eat your children) and the kibbutz ( the reconciliation).  In the shetetl, the ordinances were commonly observed  extraordinarily carefully.  But the rules are (purposely) vague,  Errors are  made; every heart is rebellious. The rules can never be followed perfectly.  So the punishment is always deserved.  And the punishment leads to resentment and more punishment. Until the cycle is complete.  Until Aushwitz and Treblinka and the founding of the state of Israel. 

Toward the end of the parsha,  the monetary value of a human, as a function of gender and age, is stated.  Humans have value.  It can be expressed in shekels.