NAALEH.COM and YU TORAH Covenant Considered Parshat Behar - Bechukosai 5773 By Shira Smiles

Among the many verses highlighted in the High Holiday liturgy (and indeed as part of the daily morning prayers) are these verses from the end of Parshat Bechukotai: “I will remember My covenant with Jacob and also My covenant with Isaac and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember, and I will remember the land.” These verses raise multiple questions. First, why do they appear in the middle of the rebuke and the promised punishment for the sins of Bnei Yisroel, with curses both preceding these verses and continuing after them. Even more glaring, why is the order of the covenant between Hashem and the patriarchs reversed, beginning with the covenant with Jacob, continuing with the covenant with his father Isaac, and concluding with the covenant with our first patriarch, Abraham. Finally, if we examine the Hebrew spelling of Yaakov in these verses, we sill note that it is one of only five times that the names is spelled “full”, with the letter “vov” for the vocalization of the vowel sound “O”. CLICK HERE FOR Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein.