Parshat Bechukotai speaks about the blessings that will be bestowed upon the Jewish people if they follow the commandments as well as the curses that will befall them if they don’t observe the mitzvot.

Two blessings that took place in Israel this week specifically stood out in my mind:

The first blessing was to hear an interview on the radio with Eden Dadon, the fifteen year old girl that was severely injured in the #12 bus bombing in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem in April. Eden, who had been sitting closest to the suicide bomber, was severely burned and unconscious after the attack. She regained consciousness two weeks later and she is now on the road to recovery.

The second blessing was that Yehuda Glick, a survivor of an attempted assasination, was sworn into the Knesset this week. Yehuda was shot four times in the chest by an Islamic Jihad terrorist (who lived in Jerusalem and worked at the Begin Museum) when leaving an event at the Begin Museum in October 2014. Yehuda Glick is unique in the fact that he is known for ascending the Temple Mount and defending the rights of members of all religions who wish to pray there. I had the honor of meeting him this past fall.

The greatest blessing in Parshat Bechukotai is in Vayikra 26:6: “I will grant peace in the land; you will sleep without fear. I will banish evil beasts from the land, and no sword shall pass through your land.”

Rashi comments that from here we learn that peace is equal to all of the other blessings.

May we be blessed with peace in Israel and throughout the world.