by Rabbi David Walk

We Jews don't really have much to say about God. Most of our religious literature is legal rather than theological. The few philosophical statements we make about Hashem tend to be about what we don't know. He isn't this or He isn't that. So, when there is unanimity about a positive attribute of the Creator we should hold it dearly, and eliminate any contradictions to it. The attribute I have in mind is mercy. We always say God's mercy outweighs His justice. He may curse until the fourth generation, but He blesses for 2000 generations. The Maharal MiPrague says God never brings punishment which is more than one's sin based on the verse, "He is a faithful God, Who never does injustice" (D'varim XXXII:4).

We have a major problem in this week's Torah reading. In the section of the curses it says, "I will additionally afflict you seven (fold) for your sins" (Vayikra XXVI:18). How can Hashem punish seven times for a sin? Doesn't this fly in the face of one of the few definitive ideas we have about Him? I'm not the first to notice this problem.

Rashi on the verse immediately says, "Seven troubles will be brought for the seven sins enumerated above." The seven we're being punished for is in direct proportion to our actions. This is in keeping with the principle of "measure for measure." The seven sins are: 1) they didn't listen 2) they didn't do 3) they demeaned my laws 4) they reviled my judgments 5) they prevented others from keeping the mitzvot 6) they abrogated my covenant and 7) they closed their ears to Hashem's pleas to do t'shuva. This list is taken from the Ohr Hechaim based on the previous verses in this section. The math works out; there's no punishment greater than the crime. Rabbeinu Bachaye adds, "that is to say, seven difficulties for your sins which are seven." In other words these extensions of Rashi are explaining that every sin is seven fold and deserves such a multiple punishment. Every sin includes "not listening to Hashem," "not doing them," "demeaning the laws," etc. Since we have transgressed seven principles to activate our sin, it is fitting we receive a seven fold punishment.

Rav Ya'akov Zvi Mecklenberg in his Hachtav v'Hakabala posits another approach, which he claims is the literal meaning of the verse. He says, "Seven is not a number connected to a mathematical reality, but is an expression of increase and hyperbole." Rav Ya'akov adds that's why the world is reported to have been created in seven days. It's a symbolic number describing the quality of the process rather than its quantity. He then quotes Rav Avraham Ibn Ezra who says the number seven represents completeness. At this point Rav Mecklenberg goes on to say that's why many sources refer to the eventual age of the earth as multiples of the number seven, because it represents both a large number but also a finite amount. By saying seven is complete it implies boundaries. This explains a connection between the words sheva for seven and s'via for sated (Which have the same Hebrew letters.). In summary, saying that the punishment is seven means it is great in extent, but also limited and sufficient. Seven means it does the job, perfectly calibrated to cover the circumstances of the crime.

I would like to suggest a radical approach. The expression of seven fold punishment appears four times in the curses of this week's parsha. So, there must be a reason not only for the number seven but also for the number four. It turns out that in the three chapters preceding this one there are four mitzvot in which we count to seven. They are : 1) Shabbat ("six days shall you work and on the seventh day will be a cessation" Vayikra XXXIII:3) 2) S'firat HaOmer ("seven full weeks shall you count" Ibid. verse 15) 3) Shmitta ("six years shall you plant your fields...and in the seventh year shall be a rest" Ibid. XXXV:3-4) 4) Jubilee ("and you should count seven sabbaths of years seven times" Ibid. verse 8). I believe the key to understanding the seven fold punishments is within these mitzvot.

When we say that one should work for six days and then rest, what is the relationship between the work days and the Shabbat? Some would say that if you don't work during the week the Shabbat is somehow lessened. According to some there is a requirement of work; "You shall work six days" is a mitzvah. But I believe, without discounting that view, that the perspective can be changed. If one doesn't observe Shabbat what does that say about the rest of the week. We think of the Shabbat as the culmination of the week. It could be that a profanation of Shabbat cheapens the entire week. If one doesn't sense a reliving of the epiphany at Sinai on Shavuot, perhaps the entire s'fira period is somehow forsaken. The logic works equally well for shmitta or yovel. When the final requirement isn't observed the entire enterprise is diminished.

Maybe that's the seven fold punishment. When you don't observe Shabbat you also profaned Wednesday and deserve punishment for that result. My Shabbat is a reflection on my entire week. My shmitta is a mirror on the six previous years. These mitzvot cap a period of time; they don't stand aloof. We who live within time and its constraints must see it as a continuity. We're not just saying that everything is judged by the end product. We're saying the entirety is the product.

When we say, "today is the x day of the week," we're noting a continuity in our week and in our lives. A similar concept is embodied in the s'fira process. We must see our lives as a seamless sanctity. We can't take time out from kedusha. The way we spend our week contributes to our Shabbat, and the way we observe Shabbat reveals the meaning in our weekday activities. We must see all our actions as building towards sacred goals. We're always preparing for Shabbat, for Shavu'ot, for Shmitta, for Yovel, for destiny.

Comments, ideas, questions? Send Rabbi Walk a note at:rwalk@yhol.org.il

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