[Par-lite] Parshat Behar - additional shiur

Thu May 8 12:29:54 EDT 2014

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     THE TANACH STUDY CENTER
[http://www.tanach.org]

          In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag

     Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem
Leibtag

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      PARSHAT BEHAR -  SIGNIFICANT SUMMARIES

     In Parshat Behar we find three 'summary
psukim' that may

appear to be superfluous. In the following
'mini-shiur' we

attempt to explain their importance.

AN OVERVIEW OF PARSHAT BEHAR

     Let's begin with short outline of
Parshat Behar, in order

to identify where these three summary psukim
are located, and

their significance.

I. The LAWS SHMITA & YOVEL

     A. The "shmita" cycle  (25:1-7)

     B. The "yovel" cycle & guidelines
(25:8-22)

   * SUMMARY PASUK - reason for shmita &
yovel (25:23-24)

II. LAWS RELATING TO THE YOVEL CYCLE

     A. Helping your neighbor who had to sell
his field

          1. one who sold his field to a jew
(25:25-28)

          2. one who sold his house
(25:29-34)

          3. one who sold his field to a
non-jew (25:35-38)

       *SUMMARY PASUK - the reason (25:39)

     B. Helping our neighbor who had to sell
himself

          1. as an "eved" [servant] to a jew
(25:39-46)

          2. as an "eved" [servant] to a
non-jew (25:47-54)

       *SUMMARY PASUK - the reason (25:55)

     This outline clarifies the progression
of topics in the

entire Parsha, showing how the laws of shmita
& yovel are

followed by several applications of these
laws.  Even though

the economic system created by the laws of
"yove" is designed

to protect the poor (from the rich), the
Torah also commands

that society must provide additional
financial assistance for

a neighbor in distress.

     Pay attention as well to summary psukim
that delimit each

unit.  In our shiur, we will discuss their
significance.

THIS LAND IS 'HIS' LAND

     Let's begin with the first summary
pausk, which concludes

the laws of yovel and explains their
underlying reason:

  "And the land shall not be sold [to anyone]
forever, for

  the Land is Mine, for you are like GEYRIM
v'TOSHAVIM

  [strangers and residents] with Me.
Throughout - ERETZ

  ACHUZATCHEM - the land or your inheritance,
you shall give

  the land redemption"  (25:23-24)

     Even though God has 'given' the land to
Bnei Yisrael for

their inheritance, this statement highlights
how the true

ownership remains His.  In other words, God
remains sovereign,

while He allows Bnei Yisrael the right to
work the land as

though it was theirs.  To emphasize this
'arrangement', once

every fifty years the land must return to
God.  [Sort of like

a 'fifty year lease'.]

     To appreciate the wording of this pasuk,
let's compare it

to a similar statement made by Avraham Avinu
when he

approached Bnei Chet to buy a burial plot.
Note the textual

parallels:

  "And he spoke ot Bnei Chet saying, I am a
GEYR v'TOSHAV

  among you, please allow me to buy an
ACHUZAT KEVER [burial

  plot] from you" (Breishit 23:3-4)

     Even though Avraham was a resident in
the land, he was

not the sovereign power; rather Bnei Chet
were.  As the land

was not yet his, Avraham must purchase from
them an ACHUZAH

(note again parallel with "eretz achuzatchem"
in 25:24), a

'hold' in the land, even though Bnei Chet
control it.

  Therefore, when Bnei Yisrael receive the
Torah at Har

Sinai, as they prepare to conquer "eretz
canaan", these laws

of "yovel" will help them appreciate the
dialectic nature of

their forthcoming sovereignty over the land.
In relation to

the surrounding nations, once Bnei Yisrael
achieve conquest -

they will become the sovereign power.
However, in relation to

God, they must constantly remember that the
land still belongs

to God.  He has granted to them only towards
the purpose that

they become His nation. The laws of "yovel",
which affect the

very nature of property transactions during
the entire fifty

year shemita and yovel cycle, will serve as a
constant

reminder that God has given them this land
for a reason (and

purpose).

     This background can also help us
understand what may be

the underlying reason for the laws of
"Terumah" - the small

tithe that must be taken from the produce of
land, and given

to the "kohen".

  Just as the resident of any land must pay a
property tax to

the country's sovereign power, so too Bnei
Yisrael must pay a

'tax' - i.e. TERUMAH - to God, in recognition
of His

sovereignty over the land. Ultimately God
gives this TERUMAH

to the kohanim (His servants), but note how
the Torah

emphasizes how there are two stages in this
process. First,

the "terumah" is given to God:

  "And when you eat from the bread of the
land, you shall

  lift up a TERUMAH for GOD..."(see Bamidbar
15:17-21)

  Then (and only afterward) God awards this
"teruma" to the

"kohanim":

  "And God told Aharon, behold I am giving
you My TERUMAH

  that I am keeping that Bnei Yisrael have
set aside..."

  (see Bamidbar 18:8)

  [This also explains why terumah must be
eaten "b'tahara",

  for the kohen is eating food given to him
by God.  In

  contrast, "maser rishon" the ten percent
tithe given by the

  Yisrael to the Levite has not "kedusha" -
for it serves as

  a direct payment for the services that
shevet Levi renders

  to the nation.]

RELATED LAWS

     After explaining the reason for yovel,
the Torah

continues with several related laws. As we
noted in our

outline, these laws divide into two distinct
sections, each

containing examples of when one is forced to
sell either:

  1) His field, or

     2) Himself.

     Each set of examples focuses on the need
to lend

assistance for those in financial distress,
and is concluded

with a special summary pasuk.

  Let's see how each pasuk is special.

ERETZ CANAAN IS NOT FOR SALE

     After the laws relating to how we must
help someone who

was forced to sell his own field, the Torah
reminds us:

  "I am the Lord your God who took you out of
the land of

  Egypt to give you the LAND OF CANAAN,
L'HIYOT LACHEM

  L'ELOKIM - to be your God" (see 25:38)

     To appreciate this pasuk, we must return
to our study of

"brit Milah" (see Breishit 17:7-8), and the
key phrase of that

covenant:  L'HIYOT LACHEM L'ELOKIM (see 17:7
& 17:8).

Furthermore, it was specifically in that
covenant that God

promised ERETZ CANAAN to Avraham Avinu, and
in that very same

pasuk, the Torah refers to the land as an
ACHUZA (see 17:8).

     Based on these parallels (compare them
once again to

Vayikra 25:38 & the word "achuza" in 25:25),
we can conclude

that this summary pasuk relates to "brit
milah". Let's explain

why.

  Recall how "brit milah" focused on the
special close

relationship between God and His nation, and
how Eretz Canaan

was to become the land where that
relationship would achieve

its highest potential. [The mitzvah of "brit
milah" serves as

an "ot" [a sign] to remind us of this
covenant.]

     As Eretz Canaan serves as a vehicle
through which Bnei

Yisrael can better develop this relationship,
it is important

that each person receives his 'fare share' of
this land.

Certainly, we would not want the ownership of
the land to fall

into the hands of a wealthy elite. The laws
of "yovel" in

chapter 25 help assure that every individual
keeps his share

of the land.

     It also becomes everyone's
responsibility to make sure

that anyone who becomes less fortunate
remains able to keep

his portion in Eretz Canaan.

  This explains the cases where one was
forced to sell his

land, and its summary pasuk.  Now we must
proceed to the next

section, which discusses cases where one was
forced to sell

himself.

WE ARE SERVANTS OF GOD, NOT MAN

     Bamidbar 25:39-54 describes cases when
someone becomes so

poor that he must sell himself (not just his
land) to his

creditor; and how we are obligated to help
him buy back his

freedom. These psukim conclude with the
following pasuk:

  "For Bnei Yisrael are servants to Me, they
are My servants

  whom I have taken them out of the land of
Egypt, I am the

  Lord your God." (25:55)

     Now, it becomes obvious why this summary
pasuk focuses on

servitude, rather than land. Servitude to a
fellow man would

take away from man's ability to be a servant
of God.

Therefore, the summary pasuk of this section
relates directly

back to the events of Yetziat Mitzraim.
[From a this

perspective, this summary pasuk can be
understood as a

'flashback' to "brit bein ha'btarim", for in
that covenant,

God had already foreseen the events of
Yetziat Mitzraim (see

Breishit 15:13-18).]

     Even though man is free and enjoys the
right to own land

and determine his own destiny; he must
remember that his

freedom is a gift from God, and hence it
should be utilized to

serve Him.  But even those who have achieved
freedom share the

responsibility to assist those in financial
crisis, in order

they too can remain 'free' to serve God.

               shabbat shalom

               menachem

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