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Parashat Behar
Leviticus 25:1 - 26:2

Topics (click on any link)
Synopsis of the Torah portion
Spiritual insights into Parashat Behar
Key verses
Creative Midrash for Parashat Behar

Synopsis                                return to top
The concluding chapters of Leviticus deal with details not previously covered namely the laws of shmitta; the blessings for those who observe the commandments and the curses for those who do not; and certain vows made to the Lord.
Chapter 25
The laws of shmitta (allowing the fields to remain at rest during the seventh year) are explained followed by the rules regulating the Jubilee (the fiftieth year) when the Israelites are to proclaim release throughout the land.
A discussion now arises about when kin are in financial straits and must sell holdings to the nearest redeemer. Conditions are negotiated when the seller has or has not the funds to redeem his property and how it is affected when the Jubilee arrives. Regulations are explained on how to treat a kinsman when he is in financial straits. Distinctions are made on treatment between Hebrew slaves and Israelite brothers. All debts are relinquished at the Jubilee.

Chapter 26
As we approach to the end of Leviticus, we find perhaps the most famous and meaningful verses of the Torah, the second paragraph of the Shema. We are essentially being told that if we follow God's laws and faithfully observe His commandments, God will grant rain at the proper time so that we will enjoy a full bounty of harvest; and terrible events will occur if we persist in ignoring them. The entire chapter is essentially a catalog of blessings, if we keep God's commandments and curses, if we disobey them.


Spiritual insights into Parashat Behar                                return to top
In the previous Parashah, Rosh HaShanah was ordained by these words, "In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts (the Shofar)" (Lev. 23:24). Notice that the Torah emphasizes the seventh month. Now in Behar, the discussion centers around the land that the Israelites are about to inhabit, and the people are instructed to allow the land to observe a Sabbath. "But in the seventh year, the land shall have a Sabbath of complete rest; you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard" (Lev. 25:4). It's natural to ask where food will come from if the seed cannot be sown and the vineyard cannot be pruned. God had already taken that into consideration by providing an extra yield in the sixth year.
Following the Sabbath of the land, the Israelites are instructed to count off seven weeks of years--seven times seven years for a total of forty-nine years and on the fiftieth year we proclaim a release or liberty for all the inhabitants in the land--the Jubilee. In this year of Jubilee everything returns to the clan and each person shall return to his family.  God makes it clear that the land doesn't belong to the landowner; he is just leasing it; the land belongs to God. Just as the land must rest in the seventh year, like we must rest on the seventh day, suggesting that the land is alive as well.

 Key Verses                                return to top
This page is not a commentary on the text, but a chance for you to express your own comments and feelings in order to gain deeper insight into your own life.

Leviticus 25:3-4
Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather in the yield. But in the seventh year the land shall have a Sabbath of complete rest, a Sabbath of the Lord: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.
Food for thought:
1. If people are supposed to observe the Sabbath, why is it that it must be observed by the land also?
2. How does the land benefit from a complete rest for a year?
3. How does God expect people to cultivate food for the people in the seventh year if the fields and fruit trees must rest?

Leviticus 25:13
In this year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his holding.
Food for thought:
1. How does the Torah compute the Jubilee?
2. If smittah, the year in which farming is suspended, is the seventh year, why is the Jubilee not the forty-ninth year, seven times seven years?
3. What do you think takes place at the Jubilee?

Leviticus 25:54
If he has not been redeemed in any of those ways, he and his children with him shall go free in the Jubilee year.
Food for thought:
1. The Torah offers remedies for people in financial straits to sell property or themselves in order to remain liquid. Why would slaves and their children go free in the Jubilee year?
2. What is it about the fiftieth year that causes anyone or anything to go free?
3. What happens to debts that have accumulated before the Jubilee?

Leviticus 26:3-4
If you follow my laws and faithfully observe my commandments, I will grant your rains in their season, so that the earth shall yield its produce and the trees of the field their fruit.
Food for thought:
1. These verses continue with good things that will come upon the Israelites if they follow God's laws. Do you believe they will accumulate for you too if you observe God's commandments?
2. Do you think that "rains in their season" is symbolic of other benefits we may receive if we follow the commandments?
3. How do you think that observing the commandments may benefit you directly?

Additional questions to ponder:
1. What is it about the story, a verse, a word that seems to resonate with some aspect of your life?
2. Is there something about the story that rings a bell?
3. Can you recall experiences in your life when you have experienced something similar to this story?
4. How would you describe the characters in the story? Who do you know who's like them?
5. Can you personally identify with any one of the characters in the story? Which one?
6. Can you find a similarity between yourself and all the characters in the story?
 

Reflections:
The Rabbis of old would meditate on such questions, sometimes for weeks at a time, to help find deeper meaning in the verses. You may wish to contemplate just one or a few of these questions at a time, rather than tackling them all.
In what ways we any of your responses to the questions personally meaningful?

Suggestion:
Some of the questions here are of a personal nature which in some cases could be emotionally upsetting. If so, try relaxing your body as much as possible and takes long slow breaths of air. That usually helps to relieve anxiety.

We would like to know if you find this method of Torah study particularly helpful to you. Click here to let us know 

Creative Midrash on Parashat Behar                                return to top
 
Leviticus 27:34
These are the commandments that the Lord gave Moses for the Israelite people on Mount Sinai.

The Rabbis of old would create parables, stories and narrative connections around such selected verses. What do you see between the lines, the sentences and the letters. The following questions can provide a launch pad upon which to create your own meanings of the Torah.

What have you learned from the Book of Leviticus? What are the benefits of observing commandments? What would happen if we didn't observe them? How many should we actually observe? How do the laws of sacrifice affect us today? Is sacrifice relevant in some way even though the Temple has been destroyed for nearly two thousand years? Do you think that the rituals of sacrifice are metaphors for something meaningful for us today? How do you relate to the laws of purity? Does it help you in someway understand the meaning of sin? How would you define sin? Are "clean" and "unclean" meaningful terms to you? Do you think your life would be different if you were "clean" more of the time? Or is the Book of Leviticus simply an historical document with no value for modern day life?
 

Spend some time thinking about these questions. After you mentally process them for a day or two, it could be helpful to record your conclusions in a journal. It's not important to have correct answers; it's more important to wrestle with the narrative. In time this process can teach you to change many of your unproductive thoughts and beliefs for new ones that work more effectively.