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From the Rabbi:
Last week we suggested that the Sefirah of Yesod (which we're counting this week) would have concluded the serenity prayer with "and the integrity to walk with You always". "Walking with" is one of the primary expressions of this Sefirah. We see that expression going all the way back to Noach of whom it says (Gen 6:9) "Noach walked with God".
Walking is a combination of the functions of the two feet, Netzach and Hod. Netzach is the foot in the air, aspiring to growth, never static and always reaching higher. Hod meanwhile is always present, on the ground stable and lingering in the joy of each moment. Walking then is always a combination of these two dynamics, and if you pay attention while walking, you'll notice that you always have exactly one whole foot in the air and one whole foot on the ground; as one comes down the other comes up.
But Yesod brings something new into the dynamic. Walking WITH. There's a big difference in a person when you're walking with someone. That faculty of connection, of with-ness is the vital function of Yesod. Our ability to connect with one another - and with Hashem is an expression of our trait of Yesod. And wouldn't you know it, "Walking with" is the primary theme of our second parsha this week, Parshat B'Chukotai which concludes the book of VayikrA.
B'Chukotai seems like it belongs in the book of Devarim. "If you keep my commandments, they'll be blessings; if not..." is a familiar dynamic and features heavily throughout Devarim like in the second paragraph of the Shma. But here in Vayikra, it's not really about the results, it's about our awareness of the process of "walking with Hashem".
The culmination of the blessings is (26:12) "And I will walk among you, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people." Can there be a greater blessing than the bliss of God's company as we walk through life? The curses on the other hand (foot?) also are replete with "walking with" but in a different way. The phrase repeated again and again throughout the seven phases of suffering outlined in the curses is "If you walk with me in keri, I'll walk with you in keri".
This word “keri” connotes both coldness קר and coincidence מקרה. It's also the very opposite of the 'calling' - קריאה which opened the book of VayikrA. Rather than answering the call and living in God's presence, walking in keri is like going on a walk together but pretending you're "not with him". Walking coldly with God, as if it were just a coincidence that we're both here. Giving God the cold shoulder. When we walk in keri, we refuse to see our suffering as Hashem reminding us of His Presence, nudging us back towards His path of righteous delight. 'It’s all just a coincidence. These things happen'. Like Pharaoh, we harden our heart against God because of our suffering… So he has to nudge harder. So it goes further… We suffer more. We get colder and colder. Until we deny God even exists. But that doesn't help, does it?
The secret is that at every step in the process God says to us. “If you continue to walk with me in Keri, I will walk with you in Keri.” Even in keri, God walks with us. Even if we pretend 'not to know Him' He's still with us at every step. The ultimate punchline of the book of VayikrA is that really, there's no escape from God's presence. That little silent Aleph which calls us never turns off. Where do you think you could be walking that He isn't there?
The only question is how do we experience His Presence. Do we feel His presence as a blessing or as a curse? Are we called or cold? Living in His Presence - walking with God takes practice. We call that practice Halacha. You can do it right without doing it well, putting your feet in all the right places, but still walking coldly feeling alone. But we're never alone, we walk with God. The better we get at it, the more we embrace it the better it feels.
Shabbat Shalom,
Reb Shlomo
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