Parashat Bechukotai פָּרָשַׁת בְּחֻקֹּתַי

Courtesy of Chabad:  
The Parsha includes the Tochecha-a litany of curses that can terrify anyone reading them.

Curse:    “You shall flee though none pursue.”
QUESTION:  Would it not be much worse if they were fleeing and someone was really pursuing them?

ANSWER: A pursuer who intends harm is called a “rodeif.” The one being chased is called a “nirdaf.” King Shlomo in Ecclesiastes (3:15) says: “veha’Elokim yevakeish et nirdaf” —”G‑d always seeks the pursued.”    According the Midrash Rabbah (27:5) this is true even when a righteous man is running after a wicked man.

Consequently, if the enemies of B’nei Yisrael are really chasing them, G‑d forbid, they retain the hope that even if they are wicked Hashem will come to their defense. The curse is that “Those who hate you shall rule over you” and you will be fleeing. However, inherent in the curse is the fact that Hashem will not defend you against them because you are not in the category of “nirdaf,” since nobody is actually pursuing you.

Curse:    “I will make your heaven like iron and your land like copper.”
QUESTION: Why in the admonition (tochachah) in Devarim does Moshe say the reverse? “Your heavens over you will be copper and the land beneath you will be iron”

ANSWER: This admonition refers to the sins that led to the destruction of the first Beit Hamikdash, and the one in Devarim is for the destruction of the second Beit Hamikdash (see Ramban).

The first Beit Hamikdash was destroyed because the Jewish people worshipped idols, and the second one was destroyed because of (sinat chinam) unwarranted hatred. Thus, the sins committed in the time of the first Beit Hamikdash were between man and Hashem in Heaven, and the sins in the time of the second Beit Hamikdash were between man and man on earth.

Iron is much stronger than copper. Since the crimes perpetrated during the first Beit Hamikdash were primarily against Heaven, Hashem warned, “I will make your heaven like iron.” However, in the second Beit Hamikdash — since the sins were against man on earth, the earth would receive the main blow and “the land beneath you will be iron.”

May we pray for the time when none of the curses apply and only the blessings that preceded it in the Parsha of Bechukotai.