Bechukothai: Causality

Bechukothai: Causality

אִם־בְּחֻקֹּתַ֖י תֵּלֵ֑כוּ וְאֶת־מִצְוֺתַ֣י תִּשְׁמְר֔וּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָֽם׃ 

If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments, 

This  parsha is used as an exemplar of the Hebrew Gd of Vengeance.  There is a promise of prosperity as a reward for going in the path of the edicts and guarding the commandments.  This section is followed by a much longer passage, whispered in the public reading, that describes the consequences of rebellion against these edicts and commandments. 

The rules that are to be followed are called חֻקֹּ, chok. The  arbitrary  is strongly implied by the word chok. It is an edict that does not require, and may defy, explanation. 

 An allowance is called a chok. Thus, in the story of the Egyptian famine, which Joseph capitalized upon  to acquire almost all the land of Egypt: 

רַ֛ק אַדְמַ֥ת הַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים לֹ֣א קָנָ֑ה כִּי֩ חֹ֨ק לַכֹּהֲנִ֜ים מֵאֵ֣ת פַּרְעֹ֗ה וְאָֽכְל֤וּ אֶת־חֻקָּם֙ אֲשֶׁ֨ר נָתַ֤ן לָהֶם֙ פַּרְעֹ֔ה עַל־כֵּ֕ן לֹ֥א מָכְר֖וּ אֶת־אַדְמָתָֽם׃ 

Only the land of the priests he did not take over, for the priests had an allotment (chok)from Pharaoh, and they lived off the allotment (chok) which Pharaoh had made to them; therefore they did not sell their land.

Chok also comes to mean a law of nature. Newton's laws are חוקי ניוטון, chukei Newton.

The consequences described in the parsha do not require agreement or understanding. The consequences are contained in the actions, for good or ill. Our failure to comprehend the connection is a flaw in human perception. Why should a jet engine, simply by forcefully expelling gas, propel its container? Why does the Pythagorean theorem ( a² + b² = c².  ) work? Even theorems that can be proven are not instinctually obvious. We live in a world that is made so pleasant, entertaining and comfortable by secret, hidden processes whose causal essences  we do not expect to grasp.

The admonition  in the parsha need not be seen as a declaration of power.  It can be a revelation about nature (חֻקֹּתַ֖י, Gd's edicts). In the complex systems of agriculture and politics, things need not remain  the way they are. They can change for the better or worse. Human actions can impact the future in mysterious ways. The commandments provide a path through the mine field. 

We live on an allowance.