The haftarah1 for Bechukotai (and Behar-Bechukotai when they are together) is from the book of Jeremiah. In it, you will find a prayer, prophecy, words of rebuke and warning about not putting our trust in G‑d and not keeping the sabbatical years. But you also find words of hope, faith in G‑d and healing.

The connection to our parshah is that Bechukotai (and Behar-Bechukotai) speaks of the sabbatical year, telling us that we can trust that G‑d will provide for us in the years our fields lay fallow. Blessing will be showered upon us for trusting in G‑d and keeping the sabbatical years; punishment will come for not keeping them.

The haftarah begins with Jeremiah saying, “G‑d is my strength and my stronghold, and my refuge in times of trouble.”2 The opening words of the haftarah, in essence, are the central message of the haftarah. G‑d is always there for us, especially in times of trouble. All we need to do is trust in Him.

Of course, the consequences for not trusting in G‑d are clearly defined in the haftarah. When we put our trust in people or in ourselves—thinking our abilities and strengths will take care of us, and forgetting that everything we have and will have is from G‑d—we will inevitably fail.

The haftarah describes this with the words, “Cursed is the man (gever) who puts his trust in man (adam), relying on flesh for strength, and turns his heart away from G‑d.”3 But why does the verse use two different names, gever and adam, to say “man?”

Gever refers to physical and emotional strength of man. Adam denotes the intelligent and spiritual makeup of man.

The verse is telling us a deeper message here. When someone thinks that his gever (emotional strength) comes from his adam (intellect) because he has a great soul, it becomes a slippery slope. Eventually, he will be “relying on flesh for strength; meaning, he will convince himself that his emotional strength comes because he has a highly refined body. He thinks so highly of his body and soul that he doesn’t think that he needs to work on himself. He becomes locked in his ego, and he “turns his heart away from G‑d.”4

This teaches us that even one who is learned and at a high spiritual level has to continue working on himself to get closer to G‑d.

When he thinks that he has reached the top and he doesn’t have to work on himself anymore, he is separating himself from G‑d, and he is alone by his own doing.

The haftarah continues: “Blessed is the man who puts his trust in G‑d, and G‑d will be his trustee. And he will be like a tree planted by the water, who sends its roots into the rivulet, it is not affected when the heat comes and its leaves remain green, it doesn’t worry in a year of famine, and it doesn’t stop producing fruit.”5

The contrast here is clear. Putting our trust in G‑d and recognizing that it is all from Him is a path to continuous growth and blessing in our lives.

The haftarah continues to say that it is silly to think “who will know [where my trust is]?”6 G‑d knows! Neither is it wise to be dishonest because you will be found out, and “you will be [exposed] as a scoundrel”7 and lose the dishonest gain,

Now the haftarah concludes, “G‑d is Israel’s hope, all who abandon You will be ashamed, those who turn away from Me will be inscribed into the earth because they abandoned the source of living waters, Havaya (G‑d). Heal me and I will heal, save me and I will be saved, because You are my praise.”8

Why is our connection with G‑d called the source of living waters? How does the second verse about healing and saving fit in? Why the double expression “heal me and I will heal, save me and I will be saved”? How do the words “because you are my praise” fit in this verse?

We have to realize that G‑d is our hope. When we forget that, it separates us from the source of living waters. This is spiritual illness. That is where the second verse comes in; it is explaining the process of healing this spiritual illness through teshuvah.

First, we have to understand what the illness is, and then it can be healed. The illness is understood through the metaphor of “abandoning the source of living waters.”

“Living waters” is another name for a natural spring of fresh water. Spring water goes through three stages after it comes out of its source. The first stage is flowing down the stream or river to the sea. In this stage, the water is revealed. Then there is water that flows underground in various channels making its way to the mouth of the spring. In this stage, the water is hidden. The final stage is when it breaks out of the ground, again revealed. These three stages signify the stages of G‑d’s creative energy coming into the world, from his name Havaya, the source.

The first kind of existence is in the spiritual realm known in Kabbalistic teaching as the world of Beriyah (Creation). Since it is the first step of creation ex nihilo (from nothing to something), it is full of G‑dliness, and its existence isn’t complete. The angels of the World of Beriya, called Seraphim, are angels of great wisdom. Since they experience their source, Havaya, they are totally nullified in His presence. They therefore say, “Holy holy holy is Havaya of Hosts.”9 They also understand that our part is the most important as we fill the world with G‑dliness by learning Torah and doing mitzvahs. And so they say, “the whole earth is full of His glory.”10 Since Beriya is filled with G‑dliness, the experience in that world is a revealed one, just like the river going to the sea.

The second realm is the World of Yetzirah (Formation). In this world, the existence is total; it doesn’t experience Havaya because it is creating something from something. Its source is hidden; therefore, the G‑dly experience in the world of Yetzirah is hidden.

The final realm is where we are, the world of Asiyah (Action). As mentioned earlier, our job is to reveal G‑dliness down here through learning Torah and doing mitzvahs. The revelation that we can accomplish is far greater than the world of Beriya because mitzvahs are rooted in a higher place, in the Source itself, prior to Beriya, in G‑d’s essence. So the experience in Asiyah is of the essence of Havaya breaking out and being revealed in the world.

By studying Torah and doing mitzvahs, we are not only drawing living waters but drawing from the Source of living waters, G‑d’s essence prior to existence. And we fill the world with this great revelation, greater than any angel could.

When a Jewish person has fallen to a spiritual low, where he is not learning Torah and doing mitzvahs, he has abandoned the source of living waters. He is spiritually ill.

How does he become healed? G‑d takes the first step: “Heal me, G‑d,” an inspiration from above. Now that he is inspired, his job is to do teshuvah from his own effort, “and I will heal.” And in this way, he reconnects with the Source.11

How far will this connection go? That is where the praise comes in. Praise is an amazing thing. When you praise someone, you bring out hidden strengths and abilities that they never knew they had. Praise is even more powerful, it could bring new strengths and abilities that they really did not have. By praising G‑d, we are able to draw G‑dliness from a place beyond our abilities. Not only do we reconnect, but we connect deeper than we could have imagined.12

Writing this article was very meaningful to me because it is about G‑d being our strength and refuge, and it is about trust, hope in G‑d and healing. Somehow, writing about these things strengthens these ideas in me, and I am grateful.

By putting our hope and trust in G‑d, He becomes our strength, our refuge, the One we can rely on. We bring blessing in our lives and spiritual healing, which brings physical healing beyond anything we could imagine.

May we all find the strength to weather this exile and overcome every challenge, knowing that G‑d is always with us. And may we merit the coming of Moshiach soon. The time has come.