The book of Leviticus ends with two lists – one of blessings, one of curses. The shorter list is the blessings, which come from God for following God’s laws. The longer – much longer – is for when we don’t follow the laws.

Both lists are communal, which means that we are all in this together. Usually, I’m all about dedication to community and communal responsibility. But this time I’m not so certain. If I do something awful, do others have to suffer? If I’m excellent at following the commandments but others aren’t, do I have to suffer?

I have always joked that I’m happy that I’m not perfect, because perfect is boring. I would hate to have my entire world fall apart because of my imperfections. Or from anyone else’s. 

One of the promised blessings for living a good life is both beautiful and extravagant. The Torah says, “I will set My Sanctuary among you and My spirit will not reject you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people.” (Leviticus 26:11-12)

Putting anthropomorphism aside, the idea that God could and would dwell among us is lovely. This is a God that wants to be in relationship with humanity. It aligns with the Jewish mystical idea of shefa, a flow of God-energy that God sends to earth and we send back to God, in an endless flow between God and humanity, strengthening every time we send it back to God.

The God of the curses does reject God’s people, and subjects them to a desolation that is both physical and psychological. It is a God that quite literally says, just a few verses later, “I will set my face against you.” (Lev. 26:17)

I have long had problems with believing in God, and it’s taken me many years to find a way to be my own pragmatic and practical self, and still believe in a Deity.

But I cannot believe in a God that is loving one moment, then cruel and vindictive the next. A God that would turn nature against humankind to punish them, which is exactly what happens in the curses.

I do not believe in a God that singles me out from everyone else, for good or for bad. And I certainly don’t believe in a God that would punish me individually or humankind collectively  because we’ve screwed up.

My imperfections are my strengths, my incentive to strive to be my highest, best self, even though I know I will never achieve my goal. I choose to believe in a Deity that is cheering us on, hoping for us to succeed at being our best. And if God decides to dwell among us, I’m OK with that too.