TORAH SPARKS ניצוצות תורה
פרשת בהר
PARASHAT B’HAR
May 14, 2011 – 10 Iyar 5771 – י’ אייר תשע"א
Annual: Leviticus 25:1 – 26:2 (Etz Hayim, p. 738; Hertz p. 531)
Triennial: Leviticus 25:1 – 25:38 (Etz Hayim, p. 738; Hertz p. 531)
Haftarah: Jeremiah 32:6 – 27 (Etz Hayim, p. 759; Hertz p. 539)
Prepared by Rabbi Joseph Prouser
Baldwin, New York
Parashat Behar begins with an extended discussion of the sabbatical year, the last in an ongoing seven-year cycle. During the seventh year – similar to the weekly Sabbath on the seventh day – the land is given a “rest” – it is not sown or planted, reaped or pruned. What grows naturally is permissible for use. After seven such seven-year cycles, the fiftieth year is observed as a jubilee. In addition to observing the restrictions associated with the sabbatical year, the jubilee also is marked by restoration of property to its original owners and by the manumission of Hebrew slaves who have not yet been redeemed from servitude. Sellers and buyers alike are told to be scrupulously fair in real estate transactions, accurately adjusting costs and values as they draw closer to the jubilee.
Parashat Behar’s most famous verse – “Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof” (Leviticus. 25:1), the inscription on the Liberty Bell, refers to the jubilee year. Reflecting the spirit of our Torah reading, the bell was cast in
1751 not just as a celebration of colonial hopes for independence but as an expression of a jubilee observance. 1751 marked the fiftieth anniversary of William
Penn’s “Charter of Privileges” – an important early American statement of religious liberty. The famous bell actually was not called the “Liberty Bell” until 1839; the
name was inspired by the poem “Liberator” by the abolitionist William Lloyd
Garrison. Another interesting connection between the Liberty Bell and the Israelite jubilee is the fact that under the threat of British occupation in 1777, the bell was
hidden in the aptly named Zion Reform Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
The mandate for economic justice and fair business practices associated with the sabbatical and jubilee years is extended to everyday treatment of people in financial straits. It is forbidden to charge advance or accrued interest on loans, and is an indigent Israelite should enter into servitude, he must not be subjected to harsh or demeaning labor. Such indentures are dissolved at the onset of the jubilee.
Behar concludes with a stern restatement of the prohibition against idolatry and a renewed prescription to “keep My Sabbaths and venerate My sanctuary.”
Theme #1: “Wrong Way, Do Not Enter”
“Do not wrong one another, but fear your God; for I am the Lord your God.”
Leviticus 25:17
Derash: Study
“Scripture is warning us against wronging another verbally, namely, that a person
must not provoke his fellow, nor may you offer advice to him that is unsound for him though appropriate in the life – or to the benefit – of the advisor. If you say,
‘Who can tell whether I had evil intent?’ – it is for this reason that the Torah says,
‘And you shall fear your God.’ The One Who knows all thoughts – He discerns all matters of the heart, (ostensibly) known only to the individual who bears this thought in his mind. Of such an individual it is said, ‘And you shall fear your God.’” Rashi
“Any taking advantage of someone’s weakness, whether it pertains to buying and selling of fields, or raising false hopes, or in making tactless and derogatory remarks is not the Torah way.” Rabbi Norman Schloss
“Whoever does wrong, wrongs himself; whoever does injustice, does it to himself, making himself evil.” Marcus Aurelius
“After the passing of the Baal Shem Tov, his most devoted disciples gathered and
repeated words of Torah they had heard from him, each according to his own understanding. Not many days later, the Baal Shem Tov appeared to a number of his students in a dream, and said to them: You turn your hearts only to my words of Torah, but you pay no attention to my fear of heaven!” Livnat Ha-Sapir
“Shame arises from the fear of men; conscience from the fear of God.” Samuel
Johnson
“Only he can take great resolves who has indomitable faith in God, and fear of
God.” Mahatma Gandhi
Questions for Discussion
Our verse appears in the parashah in the context of business and real estate transactions – especially as they will be affected by the unique conditions of
the jubilee year. Yet the dual injunction to refrain from harming others and
to fear God applies in countless scenarios and situations. What does the structure and context of the verse tell us about what it means to be God- fearing? How does the story of the Baal Shem Tov relate to this question and elucidate our verse?
It may fairly be said that Rashi’s description of God as knowing the secrets of every heart is the very essence of faith. To what extent are we – our characters, our contributions, our legacies, who we truly are – defined by
popular perception and reputation, and to what extent by the hidden truth
known only to God? How do we balance these motivational forces in charting a personal course of action?
Rashi, citing the Talmudic Tractate Baba Metzia, makes it clear that the ways in which we wrong others can be very subtle, perhaps even unintended. Are there situations in which a God-fearing person must
recognize that what is appropriate or desirable in his or her own life would
ill-serve another, and that a very different course should be undertaken? What are the limitations on this principle?
What is the difference between Johnson’s “conscience” and Gandhi’s “great resolves,” each said to arise from fear of God? Which is to be more highly prized?
“Fear” has very negative connotations, especially as an incentive to religious faith or piety. How is “fear of God” different from other uses of the term “fear”? Is there a more appealing or suitable way to express this concept? “Religious awe”? “Consequential faith”?
Theme #2: “This land is My land”
“But the land must not be sold beyond reclaim, for the land is Mine; you are but strangers resident with Me.” Leviticus 25:23
Derash: Study
“Life can only be perfected through affording a breathing space from the bustle of everyday life. The individual recovers from the influence of the
mundane at frequent intervals, every Sabbath day. What the Sabbath achieves regarding the individual, the sabbatical year achieves with regard
to the nation as a whole. A year of solemn rest is essential for both the
nation and the land, a year of peace and quiet without oppressor and tyrant. It is a year of equality and rest, in which the soul reaches out towards divine justice, toward God. There is no private property and no punctilious privilege, but the peace of God reigns over all in which there is the breath of life.” Rabbi Abraham Isaac Ha-Kohen Kook, Shabbat Ha-Aretz
“This portion, Behar, includes key evidence of the dignity of the earth. The earth breathes, labors, and requires rest. Resources are not to be squeezed out of the earth on the seventh day, and the land requires a ‘sabbath of the Lord’ in the seventh year. The Sabbath of the land expresses a covenant between humankind and nature. The earth is lent to human beings, but not as if they were lords of the land, but as stewards of the Lord’s estate.” Rabbi Harold Shulweis
“This implies a prohibition – that we may not leave the land permanently in the hands of the gentiles. If we sell our bodies to the gentiles, we are commanded to regain them from their possession, and the Torah explains why: ‘For the Children of Israel are servants to Me’ (Lev. 25:55). Similarly, we are commanded to take possession of the land and not leave it in their possession. The Torah gives the same reason here as it does in reference to our bodies. That is, because the land belongs to Him.” Nachmanides
“The land was in general and in principle not to be sold, because it was Yahweh’s property, which men might not dispose of as private property. For men – in this case the Israelites – were merely in the position of foreign
guests or squatters, who could be entrusted with the use of something
without establishing a claim to ownership. But as land was in fact
bought and sold in Israel, v. 23a is so phrased that a purchase or sale might
not take place to the exclusion of a claim of ownership (semitut, from smt,
really
‘pledge to silence’, that is, prohibition of a claim. Yahweh, as owner, exercised this claim through the law of reversion in the year of jubilee.” Martin Noth
Questions for Discussion
Rav Kook stresses the renewal of our relationship with God as the focus of the sabbatical year, while Rabbi Shulweis stresses “a covenant between humankind and nature” as the meaning of the observance. Which seems
more to reflect the laws conveyed in parashat Behar? How might these two
themes be combined? How might a congregation devote an entire year to divine justice, or to the breathing space that Rav Kook asserts is necessary to the perfection of the human soul?
What are some of the moral implications of our recognition that we are all but temporary tenants in our careers, in our communities, in the temporary safeguarding of Jewish tradition? Is our role as “temps” confining or liberating (or are the two not mutually exclusive)?
Why might Nachmanides (who famously moved to the Land of Israel, settling in Jerusalem in 1267, exactly 700 years – or 100 Sabbatical cycles – before the reunification of the Holy City) have chosen this particular verse for his proto-Zionist commentary?
To what extent is this verse (and Ramban’s interpretation) relevant to the question of territorial compromise in the course of Israeli peace negotiations? How might the verse be cited by both proponents and
opponents of land-for-peace proposals?
Professor Noth draws a distinction between the land of Israel, which ultimately is God’s, and private property, of which mere mortals may divest themselves at will. To what other aspects of Jewish tradition might we apply this distinction? What is left to our personal discretion, and what, in the final analysis, is God’s domain, not to be surrendered or traded away beyond reclamation?
Historic Note
In parashat Behar we read about the sabbatical and jubilee years – laws applicable
only in the land of Israel (“The land that I assign you” – Leviticus 25:2) – on May
14, 2011, the sixty-third anniversary of the declaration of the State of Israel on May
14, 1948.
Halachah L’Maaseh
Observing the sabbatical year presents onerous difficulties for Israeli farmers in the
modern economy. Rabbi David Golinkin rules that in addition to observing the sabbatical year to the extent possible (if imperfectly) in modern Israel, farmers should undertake a number of symbolic observances, including leaving one field where all the laws of the sabbatical year will be observed fully, participating in public study sessions on the meaning and laws of the sabbatical year in rabbinic literature; and donating a percentage or fixed amount of the year’s profits to the poor.