1
May 4, 2013
PARASHAT B’HAR - B’CHUKOTAI
(“AT THE MOUNTAIN - MY LAWS”)
1ST Aliyah (P. 531)
Leviticus 1:1 states that God spoke to Moses “from the Tent of
Meeting”; but here, in this section, God speaks to Moses “on Mount
Sinai.” According to many scholars, Leviticus 25 represents an
independent tradition. It was written by those reform-minded Priests
who were influenced by the works of the prophet Isaiah and who were
trying to reform the imbalances of ancient Israelite society. By
claiming that these laws came from Sinai, it gave the laws greater
importance, thereby making it easier to reform the economic and
social injustices of Israelite society. Breaking these rules constituted
breaking the Sinai covenant. Let us read Leviticus 25:1-17. At the
heart of this Parashah is the visionary concept of returning land to
original owners at the end of seven sets of seven years. This is
designed to prevent the polarization of a society into two classes—
wealthy, powerful landowners on the one hand and permanently
impoverished people on the other hand. In an agrarian society, a
farmer who sold all the land to pay debts had no prospect of ever
being anything but a servant. Anticipating the human misery and
social instability to which this would lead, the Torah provides a plan.
In the 50th year, the Jubilee Year, families would reclaim the land they
had originally held and later sold. Behind this plan are two religious
assumptions. Because all the earth and all its inhabitants belong to
2
God, human beings cannot possess either land or the people in
perpetuity. And no human being should be condemned to permanent
servitude. This concept certainly applies to our difficult times when
many people are out of work, have lost their retirement funds and
even their homes. Leviticus 25 is as relevant today as it was in
ancient times. The question remains, however, how should our
country try to avoid becoming a two tier society?
2nd Aliyah (Sha ne) (P. 534, verse 19)
Two famous lines come from this Parasha. They are: “You shall
proclaim liberty [release] throughout the land for all its inhabitants”,
which is, of course, the verse on the Liberty Bell; and, “Do not wrong
one another, but fear Your God...” (Leviticus 25:10 and L25:17). We
have, in these verses, two far thinking prophetic views. Upon reading
these social reforms the modern reader is almost taken aback by the
sweeping quality of the social idealism of the Jubilee Year laws.
Freedom, giving back the land, human dignity, and the land belongs
to God are noble ideas. The underlining theoretical philosophy,
stated in B’har, must be the standard of any society. Rabbi Kook
taught that the purpose of the Jubilee was primarily spiritual, not
economic. But as we Jews know, the spiritual affects the physical.
Can you give any examples of this? That’s the point of Leviticus!
Living in the world is not easy. In today’s world, jobs, banks, investing,
buying property, credit cards, education and working occupy people’s
lives. To maintain human dignity, in a capitalistic society, it is
necessary to combine the spiritual with the way people live. Leviticus
doesn’t separate its rituals from its moral laws. The ideal society
envisaged by the prophets is one in which each person is able to sit
‘underneath his/her own vine and fig tree’ (Micah 4:4). This should be
3
a lesson for our society. Holiness, including the way we treat others,
must be part of our laws and our every day existence.
3rd Aliyah (Shileshe) (P. 535, verse 29)
Judaism, according to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, is a religion of a people
born in slavery and longing for redemption; and the great assault of
slavery against human dignity is that it deprives that person of the
ownership of the wealth he/she creates. At the heart of the Hebrew
Bible is the God who seeks the free worship of free human beings.
One of the most powerful defenses of freedom is private property as
the basis of economic independence. The free economy uses the
fuel of competition to sustain the fire of invention. The market
economy is the best system we know for alleviating poverty through
economic growth. However, the market economy is better at
producing wealth than distributing it equitably. How does health care
fit into a free society? In the words of Ha-Joon Chang, a Korean
economist, ‘a capitalistic economy needs careful regulation and
steering’. At the heart of these laws should be a profoundly humane
vision of society. The Biblical authors drew on ancient traditions and
memories when they formulated their proposals for economic and
social reform. The Biblical legislation presented, in this portion, tells
us that an economic system must exist in a moral framework. It need
not aim at economic equality but must respect human dignity. No one
said it better than Isaiah:
Seek justice, encourage the oppressed,
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
Plead the case of the widow…
4
4th Aliyah (Rive-e) (P. 536, verse 39)
Slavery was a universal institution in the ancient world and no one,
even the Torah, proposed abolishing it. Some consciences in Israel
were troubled by it. Most slavery of the Israelites in the Torah is
referring to an indentured servant. A person who is in dire straits may
sell himself or a member of his family in a type of labor contract. As
we can see in Deuteronomy 15:1-10, the person’s debt is cancelled in
the seventh year. In Leviticus, after 50 years, all slaves or indentured
servants are set free and all lands revert to their original owners. This
Torah attitude toward slavery is revolutionary. It moderated, at that
time, a necessary evil. There was no Social Security or security
blanket. Most people were on their own, subject to the difficulties of
the natural environment. The Torah offers the indentured servant a
way out. It also forces the slave owner to moderate his behavior.
The slave, the indentured servant, could not work on Shabbat. He or
she had to be treated with respect. Moreover, the Torah penalizes
the slave owner for grossly mistreating his slaves. The Torah,
although not banning slavery, is pointing in that direction and is a
document calling for change. Still, there are places, in today’s world,
who haven’t heard the Torah’s call for human dignity and freedom.
Can you give any examples of these places? The Hebrew Bible has
been used by future minded people to outlaw slavery. When society
was ready to abolish slavery, the Hebrew Scriptures were able to act
as a blueprint.
5
5th Aliyah (Ha meshe) (P. 543, verse 10)
B’Chukotai presents an epilogue to the Book of Leviticus as a whole.
God addresses the Israelites who are about to enter the Promised
Land, assuring them of great rewards if they follow God’s instructions
and threatening them with a series of increasingly severe
punishments if they disobey. Two major principles of Biblical religion
find their expression in this epilogue—the concept of free will and the
doctrine of reward and punishment. Obedience to God’s brings
reward; disobedience brings dire punishment. The choice is left to the
people and their leaders. Is there truth in these statements? The
curses, in this section, are known as the “Tokhehah” (reproach). The
curses are spelled out at length, in the hope that they will put fear into
the hearts of those who cannot be persuaded to do what is right by
any other means. In many synagogues it is customary to read the
Tokhehah in an undertone, perhaps because its vision of disaster is
so frightening. The idea of collective responsibility is at the heart of
this section. The stability of a nation depends largely upon the
honesty of its citizens and justness of its institutions. Just look at the
stock market and banking crash we recently experienced. Individual
immoral behavior affected entire societies. Personal integrity leads to
group integrity. The recent events at the Boston Marathon verify a
breakdown in moral behavior not only by the terrorists but also by part
of the Muslim community which fails to speak against those, in their
community which preach hatred. If we, indeed, have free choice, evil
must exist, even if it hurts the innocent. If the mitzvoth are followed,
however, God states, “I will look with favor upon you…” This is very
comforting and may be the best way to control earthly events.
6
6th Aliyah (She she) (P. 547, verse 2)
This section discusses various endowments pledged to the
Sanctuary. It is interesting, sociologically, to read. A male from 20 to
60 years of age gives fifty shekels of silver; a female gives 30
shekels. If the age is from 5 years to 20 years, the equivalent is 20
shekels for a male and 10 shekels for a female; for a child one month
to five years for a male is five shekels of silver and three for a female.
We can apply this ancient concept of tithes, for the Sanctuary or
Temple, to our own lives. Do you believe that Jews have an obligation
to join and support the synagogue as well as other Jewish Institutions,
just as in ancient times when tithes supported the Temple? It doesn’t
stop there. There are many secular charities that also need support if
we are to walk in God’s way. It is in the moral realm that God cannot
function alone. God found a partner in Abraham, the father of the
Jewish people. Adonai (nigh) needs us to spread His message and to
help repair the world. Over and over again, the Torah enjoins us to
act and to do. By offering money and our time and by acting morally,
we are representing God and, in a sense, raising ourselves to a status
of Holiness. By following the mitzvoth we are personally renewing the
Covenant with Adonai (nigh) and we are making God’s presence
known.
7th Aliyah (Shive e) (P. 548, verse 16)
Leviticus 26: 14-45, is a frightening description of a people suffering
for not following the Holiness of Adonai (nigh). In this description, is a
very insightful and poetical verse: “A sound of a driven leaf shall put
7
them to flight.” Image being so fearful that even the soft fluttering
sound of a leaf is frightening. Fortunately, at the end of Leviticus 26,
the words reassure the nation of Israel by saying, “Then I will
remember the covenant of Jacob…Yet even then, when they are in
the land of the enemies, I will not reject them or spun them: for I am
Adonai (nigh) their God. I will remember in their favor the covenant…”
Vayikra or The Book of Leviticus has reached its conclusion and next
week we will begin B’Midbar or the Book of Numbers. Julie Silver
wrote a marvelous song commemorating the ending of a book of the
Torah. It is entitled, “Chazak, Chazak”.
Candles burn in the window on this Friday night.
Listen close and look within; be part of our light.
We’re singing joyfully, passing love along.
Shabbos keeps our family; week by week we’re going strong.
CHORUS
Chazak, chazak v’nitchazeik (2X), Be strong, be strong and
we will be strengthened. Chazak, chazak v’nitchazeik.
As we’re teaching our children they’ll be teaching us too.
Book by book from the Torah; each one reads like new.
The tree of life is growing; it started from a seed.
We give it love and caring; it gives us the strength we need.
CHORUS
8
Grass grows through the sidewalk between the tiny cracks.
Sun pokes through on the grayest day and shines upon our
backs.
Strength comes not from power; strength is being whole
Fall asleep feeling empty; wake up with a brand new soul.
CHORUS
Life may offer you hurdles; stumble, bruise your pride,
Pick yourself up; now you know the strength you need comes
from inside.
Maftir (P. 550, verse 32)
Haftorah (P. 551)
“Ya-a-mode, Ya-a-mode, Ele-e-ezar ben Daveed v’Shrona, Maftir
Chazak”
or:
“Ya-a-mode, Ya-a-mode Ben ben Moshe, Maftir Chazak”