“It’s like déjà vu all over again” – Yogi Berra
This week’s parsha (Bechukotai), tells of the consequences that Bnei Yisrael will face if they don’t listen to Hashem. It is a truly chilling list, traditionally read in an undertone during the public Torah reading. Interestingly, these consequences are told as sequential stages, with a number of “breaks” that begin with some variation of the phrase “And if you *still* don’t listen to Me, then…”It seems shocking that even the first punishments would not lead to immediate reflection and change; how could it be that the negative behavior would continue despite all of these signs that something *needs* to change? Much of the difficulty could stem from the fact that change is *hard*.
In the rules of human behavior, it’s almost always easier to stay the course, to stick with the familiar. This is often true even in situations in which we are paying a price for that supposed “steadiness”. We will often keep things the way they are due to a fear of what change might bring, how difficult change creation might be, just the fact that it is unknown.
Sometimes, our hesitancy to change is so great that we may not even be fully in touch with our reasons. It could stem from a deep feeling of not being good enough, messages that we’ve received in the past that have undercut our confidence, or even a fear that no one will want to be with us. Often, being able to discuss our feelings regarding change with someone else can increase our self-awareness and break the patterns that have been rigidly held for years.
Near the end of the list of consequences, we are told that Hashem will remember the covenant with Yaakov, Yitzchak and Avraham and end our suffering. Perhaps His remembering of our great ancestors also helps remind *us* of who we are and our potential for greatness and change.
