Behar-Bechukosai - 1st Portion

Join me as we learn the kitas for Sunday parasite. The two Torah readings, the last and final two Torah readings of the book of Leviticus, beginning with chapter 25 and verse one. Today we're going to learn about the laws of the sabbatical year and the jubilee year. And God spoke to Moses continuing to communicate him at the foot of Mount Si saying weren't all commandments said at Mount Si. Why does specifically this law pertaining the sabbatical year tell us that it was said at Mount Si? burned all the commandments at Mount Si. Ella's coming to teach us just like where we see over here now the sabbatical years all its rules and details and its uh and its fine-tuned details were said at so to all the laws were said in its general rule and its detail and its fine details were all discussed and learned at Sinai. This is the way it's learned in. And it seems to me that this would be the explanation because we don't find by other be because we do find by other commandments when we talk about uh the different details that are mentioned. So why does it say these commandments? So he says because we don't find about the sabbatical year mentioned again in the plains of Moab in the book of Deuteronomy over here what we're seeing over here something unique about this is that when it comes to the laws about the sabbatical Here we do not find that it was repeated again in the book of Dvar. We know that in the book of Dvar, Moshe repeats many of the commandments. In fact, they adding on many as well about the details and the laws of the uh that were given to the Jewish people. So therefore, we know that all the details were also said here to Moshe on Mount Si. If so, why does it say the wordi in this case? Meaning that the verse is telling us that whenever all the mo mitzvah that were given to Moshe, all of them were said for Mount Si. The general details were said at Mount Si and then were repeated by the plains of Moab in the right before Mosha's passing in the book of Deuteronomy verse two speak to the Jewish people say to them'll come to the land that I'm going to give you. Shabas and the land must rest the Sabbath to God. Shabasm for the sake of God is as it says also by the Shabas by the day of Shabas in the book of Genesis that the seventh day is a day of rest for God. So too the sabbatical year is a year of rest for God. Interesting to note that the Reba mentions here when you look at the verse it seems like that already the first year is the sabbatical year when only later on the next verse that tells us that six day six years you would work and then the seventh year you rest and this is telling us that when a person goes out to work he has to have in mind that the old purpose of work is that on the seventh day that he should be resting. The so too in a person's own uh micro world in so too in a person's own life even though he has to deal with the mundane he should realize that the ultimate goal is to have that rest is to spend the time shabas have a sabbatical with god verse three for six years you will plant your field and for six years you will prune your vineyard and you will gather the land's produce verse four and in the seventh the year. You must give the land a complete rest a rest for God. your field you will not sow nor your pr nor will you prune your vineyard not only to the field to the fields and to the vineyards that they would usually trim the vines to make it better so it should be able to grow better and as the says you should not cut it we find a similar terminology that the thorns that were that dried up very quickly that it was burnt very quickly that the uh giving talking about the Jewish people that are in exile amongst the nations of the world like the vines that are cut and become very quickly um fuel for fire next the next verse sorry verse five do not you may not reap the aftergrowth you shall not reap And as well as the grapes you may not pick, you shouldn't pick it must be a year of rest for the land. Even if you didn't plant it, that means it's growing wild to grow it from the seeds that fell during harvest. Those are called meaning things that grew on its own, the aftergrowth. Not that you're not allowed to cut it at all. Meaning they to cut it that it should be completely yours like all the other harvests on a regular year. But it has to be anybody is allowed to take it separated that you separated it and you did not allow others to take and meaning that you did not make it did not make it available for everybody. You shouldn't collect them. Those you should not collect. You haven't cut. What can you take for yourself? Only things from that you made that you made for everybody to take equally as yourself. As well, it's important to point out that during the sabbatical year, one was not allowed to plow. So even if he was going to make it hear though here it's telling us what a person's allowed to take. What he was harvesting he can harvest from himself anything that he made for everybody available as well. Verse six and it will be a Sabbath for the land and you'll be able to eat it for your servant the one you hire. the one that lives with you. The ones that live with you. Even though I told you the harvest, I did not prohibit you from eating or enjoying it. Just don't act as ownership over it. It's equally available for everybody. Everybody should be able to get it. you, the hired one, the one that's living there, the resident, everybody has equal opportunity to be able to take it. You cannot show any ownership of it as at all. You have can eat from the ones that are part of the sabbatical year, but you cannot eat from things that you set aside and you haven't made it. You haven't made it available for everybody and that are prohibited for you to eat from it unless you make it available for everybody to eat. because it says in the book of Exodus that the poor people will eat it. I would think I would think that rich people may not eat from it. Therefore, the Torah tells us you're allowed to have it servant. The owners, the servants, the maid servants, everybody's allowed to have it. And it's not only available for the poor people meaning including the non-Jews. Verse seven and to your animals. All the produce must be available as well as for your animals and for your domestic animals undomesticated animals that you're in your land. All the produce will be available for them to eat. What is it telling us? If it's telling us for the domesticated animals, the non-domemesticated animals, what's the Torah teaching us here? If a non-domemesticated animal, which you're not obligated to give its food, shouldn't your own animal which you are obligated to give it food that you have to give it food for sure should be able to allow to eat it. Why does the verse have to tell me and to your domesticated animal? It compares a domesticated animal to an undomemesticated animal because as long as you're allowing the undomemesticated animals to eat from your field, you can then give from this exact food to your own animals that you have put aside in your home. But then what happens if now there's no more food for the animals to eat in the field? Then you have to take out all the leftover food that you have in your home that you put aside and make it available for all animals as well. Verse eight. Now we go on to learn about the laws pertaining the jubilee year. You will now count for yourselves seven sabbatical years. That means seven cycles, seven times as we see upon seven cycles, seven times. Then the this time period of the seven sabbatical cycles will thus amount to 49 years. What does this mean? So Rashi explains why the Torah has to go through this enumeration. Can't we just make the math on our own? Seven sabbatical years. That means seven times seven. I would have thought just do not not just one but just do seven years consecutively and then have a jubilee right afterwards. You have to have it seven times, seven cycles. You have to have each one of those seven cycles. Each one of those sabbatical years. So you have seven sabbatical years. And after the seventh sabbatical year, then you have the 50th year becomes the jubilee year. Why does the Torah have to explain to you the cycle and the totality of the 7* 7 to teach you? What happens if a person thinks, well, I didn't count. I didn't observe those 49 years. You still have to observe the Jubilee year at the end of the 49 years. this and the simple interpretation is as follows. The simple interpretation is that you're going to count seven times seven sabbatical years which is seven years of seven sabbatical years which will give you the number of 49 because later on he's going to say you should make the 50th year holy. So therefore he tells you after that first the 49 and once you have the 50th after the 49 that's the one that becomes holy. Verse n Regardless if you observe the sabbatical years during that 49 year period or not, you must proclaim the by chauffeur blast and you will make a chauffeur blast in the seventh month on the 10th day of that month. You must proclaim the chauffeur throughout your land which is on the day on the day of the day of atonement. You must proclaim at the chauffeur throughout your land. What is the word comes from the same terminology that they made? They announced it in the camp. It's a terminology of announcing saying that it's a jubilee year. Why does if the Torah tell me that it was the 10th of the seventh month? If it's the 10th of the seventh month, I know it's kipper. And if he tells me it's kipper, I know it's the 10th of the seventh month. Why the redundancy? Why does it have to say the 10th month? The 10th of the month to tell you to tell you that even though it's called a shabas on the jubilee year sounding of the chauffeur would supersede the shabas wherever it may be. However, when it comes to rashashana on rashash shana when we sound the chauffeur is throughout the land of Israel and throughout any other place other than the holy temple or only on the other than the bin they would not sound the chauffeur like we know when shabas comes out in rashana rashana comes out in shabas we don't sound the chauffeur over here he's telling you however when it comes to the jubile year coming out then we would sound the chauffeur in all places while rashad would only be done in the best in the rabbitical Verse 10, you must sanctify the 50th year. And you will call and you must proclaim freedom throughout the land for all its inhabitants. Talking about the Jewish bondervants. This is considered the jubilee year will be for you. And each person will return back to his homeland. And each person will then also return to his family. Rashi, who are we talking about here? When are you going to sanctify it? On the first day of the jubile year, you would make it holy, which is the best says this year is holy. This year is sanctified. And it makes it through the sanctification. Even though that the actual sounding of the chauffeur only happened 10 days later but on the beginning of the first day of the year they would say this is a special sanctified ear will call freedom for who for the servants that would go out to freedom. So whether the person had his ear pierced because this is talking about a servant that did not want to leave after six years and therefore he had to have his ear pierced and they be and he said I want to stay with my servant so when it comes to jubilee year he goes free regardless. Whether it's a person who was just recently sold and even six years have not yet been completed. He also goes out by the jubilee as well. Huda says, "Why does the Torah say, why does he say the word for freedom?" This is means to tell us like a person. This is now that every person can live where he wants and he does not have to answer or be in any other person's domain. Telling us that a servant is freed from his master's home, telling him that he can go live where he wants. this year is going to be different from all the other years with giving its name that now it has a different name. It's called by something else. What is the name that we are going to call it? the Jubilee year by the fact that it was sound of the chauffeur which also means a yo the chauffeur is called a yo the sound of the yo and therefore as we find by the mount s it says when the sound of the chauffeur that's when they went up on the mountain so therefore this year is called the jubile year which is referring to the chauffeur that was sounded that the fields will go back to the original owner as we're going to learn later on as well And each person goes back to his family which includes the person who had his ears pierced that at this point he goes back regardless whether he worked six years or not. Whenever yo comes he returns to his family. Verse 11. This is the jubilee year in the 50th year will be for you. You will not plant. You will not harvest the leftover uh the aftergrowth. and you may not pick up the grapes that have set aside for yourself. Why does it have to repeat it again if we just said it's the 50th year? Because he says that you should sanctify the 50th. I would think that maybe it's from Russia and therefore you're just adding 10 days. But because the freedom of the slaves only happen on yum kipper. So therefore so therefore it tells us as it's explained therefore the Torah again points out that the jubilee year is only in the 50th year and not more as it's explained in rash and in the leftover grapes. The grapes that fell that you've set aside those grapes that you set aside for yourself. You're allowed to pick from those that you made that everybody can collect. It's just like the laws are mentioned in the seventh and sabbatical year. So to the laws apply by the jubilee year. What do you find over here comes out. You have two years which are sanctified and holy one right after the other. test the 49th year which is the sabbatical year and then the following year the jubilee year which will be as well applies all the laws of the sabbatical year too. Verse 12 because it is the it should remain sanctified for you. You will eat from the field. You may eat any particular type of produce from the field that you that you have stored away as long as this produce is available for everybody. As we mentioned previously with the laws of Hefkar sanctified meaning that these fruits of the sabbatical year as well as the fruits of the Jubilee year are considered holy items, holy fruits. meaning because the same way this is um the same way any other item that they would use if somebody would sell them he would have to pay to be able to redeem it and then he would have to whatever money would been bought that thing becomes holy with it as well. So with the same ideas also the idea is that the money makes the item holy. I would say I would think that that in itself should be able to by the very fact that you sell it should now not be considered something holy. It stays the way it was originally. That means it will always stay holy. And the very fact that it was grew in the sabbatical year, it will always stay holy. Even though um you may redeem it and you have sold something with it, whatever you will buy with its money will always be considered holiness. The holiness will stay with it forever with it. Because of the field, you will eat it. Meaning because the very fruit is now in the field and anybody can eat it. Therefore, you are not now allowed to eat it as well. Means if in your home you still have food from that kind and the animals don't have anything to eat then you have to take it out of your home as well and make it heer make it available for everybody. The same laws that are by the sabbatical years Allah applied laws by the jubilee year verse 13. During this jubilee year, you must return the land to its you must return to his land property. Each person goes back to their own property. Hasn't it already mentioned that in verse 10 everybody goes back to his land. It's coming to include if somebody sold his field and his son came back and then redeemed it that it goes back to the original owner to his father being that it's now the Jubilee year. He has even though the son redeemed it for his father but now it goes back to his father in the jubilee year. Verse 14. Now, as we mentioned before that being that it was commercially uh forbidden to produce on the sbatical or jubilee year, what happens if a person does some type of transgressors this prohibition? What is then the law and how do we go about it? As the Torah continues concerning the laws pertaining the Jubilee year, if when you sell the movable possessions to your fellow Jew or you have bought it from a fellow Jew, you must not cheat one another. Rashi, what does this mean? And what are we referring to here? Simple interpretation. The meaning if a person sells something to somebody else, as the Torah goes on to say, don't cheat from one another. When you sell something, sell to a Jew and not to a non-Jew. When you come to sell, try to sell, keep business between each other. When you need to buy something, it's better to buy from a Jew and not from the non-Jew. Therefore, the Torah says you bought it from your friend. Over here, the Torah is telling us that it's preferred that you buy and sell from one of your own. Alto, do not cheat. The word cheating over here many times the word can also mean to hurt somebody with words and saying something which may be offensive to a person. But in this case, we're talking about a nos m which is cheating with money. That a person should make sure that he should not cheat another person with money causing him to lose an extra amount price gouging or whatever it may be as we're soon going to see verse 15. So when you are purchasing, you may purchase from your fellow Jew according to the number of years that have elapsed or that will be since the previous jubilee year. amount the years after the jubilee year will buy from your friend. And therefore he will also he must sell you in according to the number of years that expected for the crops to grow until the next such sabbatical or jubilee year. The simple interpretation to be able to explain the according to its simple interpretation over here the Torah is explaining what does it mean cheating when you're coming to buy or sell a land calculate how many more years into Jubilee year see how much crop this field is able to make and based done this. This is what the guy will sell and that's what the person will buy. The end of the day, he's going to have to return it back to the original guy. So, it's more of like a lease than a sale. If there's only very few years left until this guy's going to sell it for a lot of money, then you're cheating the buyer. If there's many years from a lot of wheat then you're cheating the seller. So therefore he has to buy it according to whatever evaluate how much time is left. Therefore it says an amount of wheat that it will be able to be make it to you. You go according to the amount of years that this property will be able to produce wheat and based on that is what you're going to sell it to the buyer. The rabbis have learned from this as well that if somebody sells his field, he's not allowed to go and redeem it and buy back and he has to allow the buyer to have the at least two years. that even though that he sold it to him while the wheat was still standing, it hasn't been harvested. That means he's getting it for two years, but three crops still in all he's not allowed to he has he's allowed to keep it for at least two years and he should not be able to go and redeem it two years to guarantee to be able to make produce from this field. The meaning even according to the second interpretation that one should not redeem it for two years also stays in its simple interpretation. Meaning which is a minimum amount of two years in not years of when there is um you know a plague or something of the nature which causes a drought which will not allow the wheat to go grow properly and that that is not part of those years. The minimum amount because it says can mean literally two. The minimum amount is two. Verse 16. The more remaining years is the more you may increase your sale. According to the fewer years, you may decrease your offer of the purchase price because the bottom line is he's selling you not the land outright, but the number of crops that you'll be able to produce on that field. And therefore, it's considered more of a lease. sell it for more. You buy it for less. Verse 17, you should not cheat man, his fellow. You should be fearful of God because I am God your God. Here, even though we already mentioned about cheating a person with money, over here the Torah is continuing to add about hurting a person with words. He should not pain his fellow. We should not give him advice which is not appropriate for him. He should make sure that he would be able to when he gives him advice and he tells him something he should be able to make sure that he should be able to profit from it and he should be able to be for the benefit of that individual. One may ask who knows maybe I can say I meant to tell him the right thing if I meant to say bad or not. Therefore, the Torah says, "You will fear God. He knows what you're thinking." He knows if you really had the guy's good intention or not, the best thing for the guy in mind or not. Anytime we find something which is dependent or which you will only know what's in a person's heart, the Torah uses the terminology. they should fear God. That God knows what's truly in your heart and what you truly intended. Did you mean to hurt the person or not? Verse 18. And you will do my laws. And you will then safeguard my ordinances. And you will do them and you'll be able to live on the land securely. Because if they don't keep the laws of the sabbatical year, this will cause them to be exiled from the land. As we see later on in verse 26 when it talks about the repercussions that happened, the consequences that happened to the Jewish people. It says only then will the land want and desire its sabbatical years. Meaning that because of the lack of observance of the sabbatical year, that's why they were exiled. If you look at the 70 years that the Jewish people were exiled in the Babylonian exile, which is the period between the first and second temple, that was for the 70 sabbatical years that the Jewish people did not properly observe. This concludes the Torah reading for Sunday Pares Bahar Behosai.