PARSHAT BEHAR

8/6/2019 PARSHAT BEHAR

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PARSHAT BEHAR

The Parsha begins with the one Mitzvah that every college professor keeps: "The Sabbatical"! Every

7th year there is to be no agricultural activity in the entire Land of Israel. The introduction to this

Mitzvah is "God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai" - and the rabbis ask: What is the connection

between the Sabbatical year and Mount Sinai? (Similar to the proverbial "price of tea in China?")

The answer is, just as we find all the details of the Sabbatical year mentioned here, so too God

taught Moses all the details of all the Mitzvot on Mount Sinai. Judaism believes in the reliable

transmission of the Oral Law by the sages of every generation, as opposed to the common

misconception of "an evolutionary process" in which the oral law went through a series of

modifications until it "evolved" to its present form.

The existence of an oral transmission is obvious from the text of the written Torah. We are

commanded to don the Tefillin and Tzitzit - without the text describing precisely what they are! We

are forbidden to work on the Shabbat - without the text defining "work"! And we are told to "pain"

ourselves on Yom Kippur - without the text informing us that it means to "fast" (rather than sticking

needles in our bodies)!

All this points definitively to an oral tradition handed down directly from Moses which filled in all the

details of Tzitzit and Tefillin, of Shabbat and Yom Kippur, etc. This Oral Law was faithfully transmitted

from generation to generation.

When archeologists discovered a Mikveh on Masada, the mountain fortress from Roman times, an

expert on the laws of Mikveh went to examine it. After taking precise measurements, he concluded

with a big smile that this Mikveh - lost in the desert for 2,000 years - was exactly Kosher! ("Masada"

by YigalYadin)

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SHMITA: SABBATICAL YEAR

Just as Shabbat proclaims the world belongs to the Almighty and we must utilize it to perform His

Will, so too the Sabbatical year declares that the Land of Israel specifically belongs to God and it is

only with His permission that we live on it. We must beware of the "pride of possession" on this

"real estate" that was given to us for the purpose of fulfilling His commandments alone. When we

don't fulfill His will, the land expels its inhabitants.

How is Shmita observed in practice today? We may eat fruits that grow in the 7th year, as long as we

don't show "ownership" by harvesting and marketing like all other years. The farmers' gates must

remain open for all to partake of the produce, including wild beasts.

The owner may take home whatever he needs for his family, as long as there is still enough produce

in the field for others. When the produce on the field ends, he must take out whatever is in his

house and renounce ownership of it. At this point anyone can take it (including the former owner!).

In order to facilitate matters, the courts may appoint workers (usually the owners of the field) to

harvest the field and distribute the produce at cost price (meaning you pay for the labor and not for

the produce itself).


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Produce of the 7th year from a Jewish field in Israel has holiness to it, and it must be consumed in its

normal manner and not wasted in any way. According to most authorities, these laws apply today,

(when we don't have a Temple and do not live in our ancestral inheritance) only rabbinically.

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THE JUBILEE YEAR

The Jubilee year only applied in Temple times. Every 50 years, we "proclaim liberty throughout the

land to all the inhabitants thereof" (Leviticus 25:10). If this verse sounds familiar, it's probably

because you've seen it on the Liberty Bell!

This verse refers to the Hebrew servant (see ParshatMishpatim). Even one who refused to leave his

master after 6 years of service, must go free when Jubilee arrives!

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FIELDS OF INHERITANCE

When the Israelites entered the Land of Israel, it was divided among all the tribes (except the tribe

of Levi). Every family received a field which was then inherited by the sons when the father died.

These fields were not supposed to be sold unless the owner was desperate for cash, in which case

the fields remain in the buyer's possession for at least 2 years, after which the seller may redeem it

at cost price (minus the years of use). When the Jubilee arrives, all fields resort to their original

owners.

Since fields return to their owners during Jubilee, every sale of these fields is considered as "rented"

for the years remaining until Jubilee, and after 2 years the seller can buy it back at the original cost

(minus the amount of years used). This system prevents rich landowners from exploiting the poor

serf by buying his last remaining fields for a pittance. In order to make it more difficult for the sellerto buy the field back, the buyer will not negotiate for the lowest price. At the end, he ceases to be

the big landowner because all of the fields return to their original owners.

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IMPORTANCE OF JUBILEE

Rabbi Hirsch explains that the Jubilee is a civil rebirth of the nation every 50 years. It is a social and

political rebirth designed to cure the wrongs of social inequality, of different classes of opulence and

wretchedness, independence and dependence that unequal distribution of wealth has brought to

the social life of the nation, in order to reach a pure social condition.

The shofar is sounded on the Yom Kippur of the Jubilee year to proclaim in the name of God (not a

human political measure) that all people have a fundamental right of possession. Since this is in the

name of God, an additional Sabbatical year is required to bring home the fact that it is His land.

(Leviticus 25:11)

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NO CHEATING!


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In the case where someone forgets how many years it is until Jubilee (to the detriment of the buyer

or seller), the Torah forbids misleading this fact.

This Torah prohibition includes any form of cheating, but it also includes "cheating with words"

which means hurting someone's feelings by insults or references to mistakes of his past.

"Cheating with words" also includes falsely raising someone's hopes - e.g. asking a merchant theprice, when you have no intention to buy.

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WALLED CITIES

The Torah also serves as an ideal city planner. To avoid the congestion and lack of serenity of big

cities - and conversely the loneliness and lack of culture in small towns - the Torah suggests forming

middle-size cities. These cities contain a border around them that serves as a park, which could not

be planted or contain homes. This limits the size of the city.

According to this plan, the fields were outside the border. The residents would work in the fields byday and return to the culture of the city at dark. Thus we have an agricultural economy with an

urban population. If the population got too large, they would have to build a new city.

The exception to this was walled cities that remained from the Canaanite occupants. These cities

served as fortresses during wars. Since the inhabitants of these cities were aware of the military

secrets involved (such as secret passages, etc.), the Torah discourages mass turnovers of population.

If one sold his home in a walled city, he had one year to redeem it - and from there onward it

remained in the hands of the buyer permanently.

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PROHIBITION OF CHARGING INTEREST

One Jew may not lend money to another Jew for interest. However it is permitted to lend with

interest to a non-Jew. Why? Because there is nothing wrong "per se'" with interest. I can rent you

my house or car, so why shouldn't I be able to rent you my money? I could have invested it and

made profit, you will invest it and make profit. Shouldn't I get a percentage as well?

The Torah tells us that when your "brother" needs a loan, it's different. Although it is true that all

mankind are the children of Adam and Noah, we must first develop a special relationship to our own

family. Then we expand that to fellow Jews. Only then is it possible to view all of mankind as our

"brothers." (heard from Rabbi Noah Weinberg)

When your brother needs a loan, you don't think "what will I gain from this?" Jewish communities

always had "free-loan societies." If one cannot obtain a free loan, there is a document called

"permission to do business" issued by the Jewish courts (used by all Israeli banks) that states that

this transaction should not be considered a loan, but rather a joint business venture in which we

share the profits and losses (quite accurate in the case of a bank).

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HEBREW SERVANTS

We learned in ParshatMishpatim that a Jew who steals and cannot repay is sold by the courts as an

indentured servant for 6 years. This also applies to a poor person who cannot support his family,

who may sell himself. Here, this is extended to selling himself to a non-Jew.

The rabbis explain the juxtaposition in our Parsha - that this is a result of not observing Shmita. Firstyou will have to sell your field, then your home, then borrow with interest, then sell yourself, and

finally to an idolater!

Although God is very displeased with this sale and commands all relatives and friends to redeem him

as soon as possible (in order that he shouldn't learn from his master's idolatrous practices), the

"ends" do not justify the "means." You may not cheat anyone and must reimburse him in full.

If the relatives are not able to redeem him, then he must remain indentured until Jubilee - yet the

Torah implores him "do not follow in your master's ways!"

Author Biography:

Rabbi Avi Geller has been a senior lecturer at AishHatorah since 1980. He is an alumnus of

Lakewood, Be'er Yaakov and Mir Yeshiva and gives a very popular weekly Parsha class in Jerusalem's

Old City. Over 80 tapes are available at Aish audio center, including 50 tapes on the entire Chumash,

Mitzvah series, and Holiday series. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife and 8 children.

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PARSHAT BEHAR