How do Blessings Release the Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Yoke so we Can Walk Upright?

 

Parashat B’Har/B’Chukotai
How do Blessings Release the Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Yoke so we Can Walk Upright?

The Power of Blessing
“Please bless me that I will be able to write well!” I ask my husband and son every Friday, the only time available to devote to writing my weekly blog. “May the words flow from you, to write beautiful Torah that will inspire many women!” replies my son, and with this blessing, I’m empowered to focus on the challenging work of writing a cohesive parasha article incorporating a spiritual healing exercise. When I need a break, I jump to the much more enticing work of doing some dishes, cleaning the floor, or picking greens. Yet the words of the blessing continue to reverberate until I triumphantly greet the Shabbat queen all done! “Do not take the blessing of a commoner lightly” (Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 15a). Understanding its immense power, I always close an EmunaHealing treatment with a blessing. How much greater are the Divine blessings that open Parashat B’Chukotai. The first letter of the blessings is an א/alef – from the word אִם/im – ‘if” – “If you walk in my statutes.” The last letter of the blessings is a ת/taf – from the word קוֹמֲמִיּוּת/komamiyut – ‘upright,’ which concludes all the blessings in the parasha. The fact that the blessings begin with alef and conclude with taf teaches us that the Torah blessings depend on keeping the entire Torah from alef to taf (from A-Z). Thus, the lack of blessings reflects a blemish in mitzvah observance. This confirms the EmunaHealing principle that every hardship we face has a spiritual root. Although there are only eleven verses of blessings but thirty verses of curses, Rabbeinu Bachaya explains that the blessings are nevertheless the main thing because they encompass the entire alphabet beginning with the first letter alef and ending with the last letter taf. In contrast, the range of the curses in Parashat B’Chukotai is truly short, as their first letter is a ו/vav while their last letter is ה/heh, the letter that stands next to vav. Moreover, describing blessings requires fewer words, since each blessing includes a vast expanse as Pardes Yosef explains that a blessing must be completely good without any lack. For example, if a person is blessed with good health, perhaps she is lacking sustenance, if she has both, she may lack children, etc. If one detail is lacking the blessing is not considered a true blessing. This is not so with the curses; each curse adds an additional hardship. The numerous curses are actually a blessing in disguise, as their purpose is to bring us back to the straight path. Therefore, Hashem brings the lightest curses first to give people a chance of teshuva, if that doesn’t work, He gradually intensifies the curses step by step until the person does teshuva. Yet, when it comes to blessings, they are all available to us all at once as long as we walk in Hashem’s ways.

Releasing Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Blocks
Hashem’s blessings are always available to us if we would only overcome the blocks that prevent us from receiving them. Just as we learn in EmunaHealing, there are physical, emotional, and spiritual blocks, so do the blessings pertain to each of these three realms.  

ויקרא פרק כו פסוק ג 

אִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי תֵּלֵכוּ וְאֶת מִצְוֹתַי תִּשְׁמְרוּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם: (ד) וְנָתַתִּי גִשְׁמֵיכֶם בְּעִתָּם וְנָתְנָה הָאָרֶץ יְבוּלָהּ וְעֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה יִתֵּן פִּרְיוֹ:

“If you walk in My statutes and keep My mitzvot and do them, I will give your rains in their time, the Land will yield its produce, and the tree of the field will give forth its fruit” (Vayikra 26:3-4).

The three conditions for receiving the Divine blessings are:

1. Walking in Hashem’s statutes 2. Keeping the mitzvot 3. Doing them.

It seems to me that these three have the ability to overcome the three realms of blocks:
1. Walking in Hashem’s statutes, which are beyond the comprehension of the human mind, requires abundant emunah. This overcomes the spiritual block which includes lack of: Hashem’s Light, Tefilah (prayer), Emunah (faith), etc.
2. In order to be able to accept keeping the mitzvot we must overcome the emotional blocks such as fear, lack of commitment, bitterness, lowliness, and depression, which are all emotions that impede a person from making serious commitments to take positive actions.
3. Carrying the mitzvot out into action requires overcoming physical obstacles such as sickness, tiredness, lack of means etc. 

It is interesting to note that the blessings themselves pertain to these three realms:

Physical (blessings of sustenance): “I will give your rains in their time, the Land will yield its produce, and the tree of the field will give forth its fruit. Your threshing will last until the vintage, and the vintage will last until the sowing; you will eat your food to satiety, and you will live in security in your land” (Vayikra 26:4-5).

Emotional (eradicating fears, and rectifying interpersonal relationships): “I will grant peace in the Land, and you will lie down with no one to frighten [you]; I will remove wild beasts from the Land, and no army will pass through your land; You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you; Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you. I will turn towards you, and I will make you fruitful and increase you, and I will set up My covenant with you. You will eat very old [produce], and you will clear out the old from before the new” (Vayikra 26:6-10).

Spiritual (closeness with Hashem, becoming an abode for the Divine): “I will place My dwelling in your midst, and My Spirit will not reject you; I will walk among you and be your G-d, and you will be My people” (Vayikra 26:11-12).

The Rise of Humanity
The last verse of the blessings incorporates all three realms of human rectification as a result of overcoming physical, emotional, and spiritual blocks that will allow us to grow to reach our perfected state of uprightness:

ספר ויקרא פרק כו פסוק יג 
אֲנִי הָשֵׁם אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִהְיֹת לָהֶם עֲבָדִים וָאֶשְׁבֹּר מֹטֹת עֻלְּכֶם וָאוֹלֵךְ אֶתְכֶם קוֹמֲמִיּוּת:

“I am Hashem, your G-d, Who took you out of the land of Egypt from being slaves to them; and I will break the pegs of your yoke and lead you upright” (Vayikra 26:13).

Just as we came out of the Egyptian slavery to freedom, at the future redemption we will be free from the angel of death – the yetzer hara (negative impulse) – corresponding to “I will break the pegs of your yoke.” Since there is no greater yoke than the yoke of the yetzer hara, only when we break this yoke can we become “upright in our land.” (Chatam Sofer, Vayikra 26:13). Based on our correlation between the blessings and the three realms of human experience, physical, emotional, and spiritual, we can understand that Hashem will empower us to break “our yoke” which encompasses our blocks in each of these realms respectably. Perhaps this is why the verse states “…break the pegs of your yoke…” Each peg could refer to one of these three kinds of blocks which will disintegrate, to allow us to walk upright in our land. The Talmud explains that the word קוֹמֲמִיּוּת/komamiyut means a double stature, which refers to the rectification of Adam and Chava to each grow to their full stature of height (Based on Babylonian Talmud, Chagiga 12a). This will only be fulfilled in the future (Rabbeinu Bachaya). At that time there will be no more hindrance to our physical, emotional, and spiritual freedom. Therefore, we will no longer be bent over, burdened by the various blockages that weigh us down. Rather, we will walk with a healthy posture, with our heads completely erect (Based on R. Yosef Bechor Shor).

EmunaHealing Exercise for Releasing the Pegs of our Yoke and Walking Upright

1. Make yourself comfortable and take several deep breaths. Get in touch with your body. How do you feel? Do you experience any tension anywhere? Perhaps in your shoulders? Does your lower back ache or are your feet sore? Breathe into these body parts, and on the out-breath release any tension or soreness, let them completely disintegrate.  
2. Envision yourself performing a mitzvah with enthusiasm and vigor. It may be a mitzvah that has been difficult for you to connect with. Imagine yourself excited about serving Hashem even through this less preferred mitzvah. Engage your body in the action of doing the mitzvah and allow yourself to feel how keeping this mitzvah energizes every part of your physical being.
3. Now imagine receiving the blessings of abundance. You will eat your food to satiety, and you will live in security in your land. Open yourself to receive all these blessings that Hashem is offering you and let them fill you and heal your body completely.
4. Shift your awareness once more to your breath. Do you feel any fears or other negative emotions? Allow yourself to bring any emotional block to your awareness. Perhaps you have low self-esteem because you grew up with a critical mother. Or perhaps you are afraid of certain kinds of people due to being bullied as a child? Inhale divine light into your fears and any negative emotions such as jealousy or anger and release them with your exhalations. Breathe in divine light and breathe out any negative feelings, breathe them out, out, out, out!
5. Envision yourself making a serious commitment to entering a covenant with Hashem. Imagine the excitement you experience by manifesting your love of G-d and feeling G-d’s love of you. Like in a marriage, you are lovingly happy to tie yourself to serve your Creator. Feel how your commitment opens your heart and disintegrates your fears and any other negative emotions.
6. Now envision yourself receiving the blessings of emotional freedom. There will no longer be any reason to fear, for “I will grant peace in the Land, and you will lie down with no one to frighten [you].” Imagine how any fights, arguments, or disconnect from people in your life gradually become transformed to the deepest, most caring, and loving relationships. Your heart is warming towards these dear people in your life. Communication will flow easily between you, engendering mutual understanding.  
7. Shift your awareness back to your breathing. Is there anything holding you back from truly believing in Hashem and walking in His statutes, even those which are totally beyond your comprehension? Allow yourself to bring any doubts and worries to your attention. What is the root of these doubts? Do you allow yourself to let go of these spiritual blocks and infuse yourself with complete emunah? Breathe the lights of emunah into your keter (crown) on top of your head and offer a silent prayer to Hashem to let your doubts disintegrate to allow yourself to rely on no one but Hashem.
8. Now envision yourself becoming infused and illuminated by the light of emunah – total faith in Hashem and His Torah. Breathe into any doubts and worries and allow them to release on the out-breath. Meditate on the verse, “I will place My dwelling in your midst, and My Spirit will not reject you.” Can you feel Hashem dwelling within you? Perhaps in your heart or in your womb? Hashem won’t reject or abhor you. If you feel any disgust with yourself, let it go as you know that it is not G-dly. “G-d has promised that He will never reject you.”
9. Become aware of your posture and straighten yourself. Feel Hashem’s light pulling you upward as if through an invisible string from your toe to your head, pulling you close to Himself. Lift your head upward and stand erect and upright. Rise to your higher self!