Parashat Behar
Iyar 10, 5771 ~ May 14, 2011
by Joel Ackerman
MINIDRASH: BEHAR 2011
Dan Cohen’s mini-drash on last week’s parasha, Kedoshim, highlighted the theme of that parasha, that we are all interconnected, and must empathize with our fellow human beings and take other’s needs into consideration in our actions with them. This week’s parasha, Behar, continues in that vein, partly in general interactions with others and, in addition, with respect to the land in Israel.
The major part of the parasha establishes that both the land of Israel (ch. 25 v. 23) and the people of Israel (ch. 25 v. 42) belong to G-d – not to any person or people. Accordingly, G-d issues rules for how the Israelites are to treat the land and each other. This occurs through the media of the shmittah, the yovel and rules about treatment of Jews who have sold themselves into servitude.
There are four general commandments regarding the shmittah. They are:
- To work the land for six years.
- To not work the land in the seventh year.
- To make any seventh-year produce of the land available to all, including animals. In addition, one must eat of it oneself.
A rather un-Jewish commandment – to not worry that the land might not produce enough food in the seventh and eighth years to feed all (ch. 25, v. 20-22).
So, first and foremost the interconnectedness of all is highlighted by the requirement not only to allow others to eat the produce of one’s land but in fact to also eat it oneself so as to share that produce with others. Furthermore, one must work the land for six years to provide that sixth-year produce that will help sustain others in the next two years. One is not allowed to permit the land to rest during any of those first six years. In addition, the Meam Loez teaches that a major purpose of the shmittah is to teach the rich how much grief is present in the lives of the poor; how much concern and difficulty there is in obtaining enough to live on. Nehama Leibowitz quotes sources that teach that by causing sharing of the produce the shmittah promotes unity and peace, and that it promotes generosity towards others.
Then there is the yovel (jubilee), the fiftieth year, following seven shmittah cycles, in which any land that had been purchased is returned to its original owner and any Jews who had sold themselves into servitude are freed. To mark the yovel, shofars are blown throughout the country on Yom Kippur, even if it falls on a Shabbat. Some have noted that the Torah states that the yovel proclaims liberty for all who are in the land, not just those in servitude. Ergo, some freedom must come to those who are not slaves – those who have owned slaves and others who are neither slaves nor masters. One suggestion is that it frees one from being the owner of a Jewish slave (which comes with a host of responsibilities), but frankly that sounds a bit too simplistic.
A more useful answer is that, coming on Yom Kippur, the yovel doubles the opportunity for freeing oneself from constraints that prevent attaining tshuvah, prevent improvements, prevent attaining one’s potential.
The parasha also goes into the manner in which the owner of a Jewish slave is required to treat him, particularly in order to maintain his dignity.
This is all well and good, if we were living 2000+ years ago, in the land of Israel. But we no longer have shmittah years, the yovel, or Jewish slaves. So what can the parasha hold for us today?
Only two words: Lo tonu.
Lo tonu, repeated (ch. 25 ver. 14 and 17), variously translated as “Do not cheat”, “Do not harass”, “Do not wrong”, “Do not victimize” one another. Rashi: the first instance means not to victimize one another in business transactions – the seller should not overcharge and the buyer should not seek to unduly minimize the price- and the second instance means “do not vex with words”. It enjoins us regarding verbal harassment – that one should not annoy his fellow nor give him advice that is not appropriate for him but on the other hand is for the benefit of the advisor.
Nehama Leibowitz sums it up: The prohibition “Lo tonu” thus embraces: offending, showing up weaknesses, embarrassing, raising false hopes, and disappointing. Quoting the Sefer ha-Chinuch., she adds “Nothing should be said to an Israelite that may hurt or grieve him and leave him frustrated.…But why commit a sin that leaves no benefit? Have not our Sages declared that no man offends unless he gains something by it? It is … in the sense of superiority experienced by the one who lectures to his fellow man, or preaches to an afflicted person”.
Yes, indeed; Rashi hit the nail on the head. Speech that demeans or diminishes our fellow human beings while allowing us to feel smug and/or superior is very tempting, especially when we claim to carry it out out with the intent to benefit the other. We probably need a yovel – a double dose of tshuvah - to free ourselves from such a practice. However, we don’t have the yovel anymore and, in any case, once every fifty years wouldn’t be very effective. No, we somehow have to find another way.
Shabbat shalom.
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