Leviticus B'har/B'chukot (Double Portion)

B’har/B’chukot (Double Portion)
Leviticus 25:1 – 27:34

I. Summary

A. B’har = (God spoke to Moses on) “Mount” (Sinai) v. previous Leviticus parasha taking place in Israelite camp in Sinai wilderness; B’chukot = (If you) “follow” (My laws …). “Blessing and curses” section of Holiness Code.

B. God instructs Moses to tell the Israelites that in every seventh year (sabbatical year), the land shall observe a Sabbath of complete rest when fields are not be sown and nor vines pruned. (25:1-7)

C. God instructs Moses to tell the Israelites about
1. Celebration of Jubilee year every fifty years (after seven 7-year periods) when i) land must lie fallow (combining with seventh sabbatical year to create a two-year fallow period), ii) all the land that had been sold during that time must be returned to its original owners and iii) Israelite slaves must be freed,
2. determination of selling prices used in redeeming property (value of harvests remaining until end of then current seven-year sabbatical period),
3. families recovering land sold under duress by family member,
4. limited redemption period for houses in walled cities (one year following sale but then cannot be redeemed even in jubilee year),
5. special redemption rules for Levites (subject to perpetual redemption) and
6. treatment of fellow Israelites who are in straits (prohibition against charging them interest on debt, not ruling over them ruthlessly, releasing them from servitude and redemption by family member). (25:8-55)

D. God promises blessings to the Israelites if they follow the God’s laws but also warns of curses that will befall them if they do not observe God's laws. (26:1-46)

E. God sets out rules for three types of gifts made to the Sanctuary:
1. erech - contribution of money (amount determined by age and sex of person).
2. hekdesh - contribution of cattle or real estate.
3. cherem - contribution of proscribed human or beast (meaning questionable especially since 27:29 requires proscribed human to be put to death) … forever remains sanctuary property v. hekdesh gifts which could be sold by sanctuary authorities or redeemed by donor. (27:1-34)

II. Commentary (Plaut, URJ & Aish websites, Jewish Study Bible, Hevreh discussions)

A. Rationales for Sabbatical and Jubilee years -1. Prevent poverty - For H (holiness school) writers, liberty and freedom require that a society live within an economic balance. The jubilee year is therefore intended to prevent Israelites from becoming permanently enslaved after having exhausted all their collateral other than their very bodies and those of their children.
2 Prevent extreme wealth - Just as the jubilee system was to prevent an extreme of poverty, it was also to prevent people from accumulating too much wealth.
3 Rest land - Leviticus 25 sees both the sabbatical year and the jubilee year as times for the land to rest and replenish itself, i.e. an expression of the Sabbath rather than (as well as) agricultural practicality.
4. Requirement for safety - Twice we are granted a promise of living in security if we keep the laws of the Jubilee year (Lev 25:18 and 19), i.e. if we promote liberty as per Jubilee year laws, we will reap the benefit of living securely on our land.

B. Jubilee rules re: land probably not followed - Talmudic sources suggest laws in effect only when all tribes are resident in their respective territories. Accordingly, when tribes of Reuben and Gad exiled, rules of property redistribution not enforced. Further, letting land lie fallow for two full years would have resulted in “ruin and famine”.

C. Seventh year rules earlier in Torah – Deut 15:1-10 cancels debts in seventh year (though abrogated via legal fiction of prosbul) and (Ex 23:10-11) requires land to lie fallow in seventh year.

D. God owns all land and sets conditions for “temporary” use of land – “… the land is Mine; you are but strangers resident with Me”. (Lev 25:23) – Challenges concept of personal ownership of land … more like income rights (Lev 25:15-16 = price based on income from harvests during years until Jubilee). Reinforced by God making Israelite access to Promised Land conditional upon Israelites following word of God.

E. Limited rights over others and responsibility to take care of ourselves - "For the Children of Israel are servants, My servants whom I took out of Egypt; I am Adonai your God." (Lev 25:55) rationalizes the freeing of Hebrew slaves in Jubilee year and means that our rights over others is limited. In fact, our right to treat ourselves poorly, whether physically, spiritually, or emotionally, is limited so as not to deny our true Owner the very best service we can give.

F. Rationales for God’s punishment – Despite Plaut noting that God’s punishments cannot be rationally defended, consider the following rationales:
1. Applies not to individuals but to the Jewish people as a whole.
2. Focuses our attention on our human capacity and our obligation to make choices—not just any choices but choices that result in a blessing (though blaming the victim still a problem).
3. Reward and punishment are not meted out in this world but the next (so stuff that happens while we are alive is not a function of God rewarding or punishing us).
4. Behavior has serious consequences ... reinforces God demanding that we act justly since nations thrive and prosper, or suffer and fall, because of the way in which they treat the weakest members of society.
5. God shares our pain so everything we do makes a difference not only to us but also to God.

G. What useful and positive purpose does God’s punishment option serve for the Israelites (and all Jews today)?1. Reinforces authority of God and need to fear as well as be in awe of God? Arguably justifies destructive acts of God as a way to avoid God’s threats as being viewed as empty threats, i.e. God will really do bad stuff if God’s words are not followed.
2. Reinforces fact that it is our choice to follow God’s word or not? Contra, choice would exist even without punishment option.
3. Sends message to enemies of Israelites that God is on our side and is a reason for those enemies to fear Israelites? History has proven this rationale to be false … enemies of Israel perhaps respect military might of Israel but it has not stopped those enemies from acting.
4. There is such a purpose but we just can’t fully understand God’s ways? The ultimate cop-out.
5. There is none? Creates major difficulty since acceptance of God’s words becomes a selective process. Leads to next issue.

H. Faith of partial believer - Can one maintain faith in God while at same time rejecting validity of punishment option (rightfully) being within God’s powers?

I. Fundamental requirement to treat less fortunate with respect and honor tie into Maimonides' Ladder of Tzedakah:1. To help someone else to become self-sufficient.
2. To give so that neither the person giving nor the receiver know each other's identity.
3. To give anonymously (donor knows recipient, but recipient doesn't know donor).
4. To give w/o knowing who is receiving (recipient knows donor, but donor doesn't know recipient).
5. To give without being asked to give.
6. To give what is needed, but only after being asked.
7. To give less than one should, but with compassion and in a friendly manner. 8. To give grudgingly, reluctantly or w/o wanting to give and not in friendly manner

J. Liberty Bell – Parasha B’har includes approximation of the verse inscribed on the Liberty Bell … “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” (Lev 25:10 actually says “Proclaim release throughout the land . . .”).

K. Relative assessments - Lev 27:2-7 assesses (in shekels) the comparative worth of men and women of various ages were they to dedicate their labor to the sanctuary. This assessment is made in the context of creating a culture of interdependence, crafting a free society of individuals who choose how to serve one another and how to serve God.

L. Mutuality of covenant? - “… you break My covenant” (Lev 26:15) suggests Israelites may break covenant v. Priestly view that only God can break covenant.

III. Lessons for us today

A. Obligation to preserve environment - “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for Mine is the land; for you are merely residents with Me" (Lev 25:23) taught Israelites that they were only tenants on God's land and had the land only as stewards. This means we are obliged to treat the land as a sacred trust from its Owner. We must protect it from ruin, keep it fruitful, and hand it on to others, often other generations, so that it would still produce its fruit and grain.

B. Obligation to help needy with dignity and honor - Parasha tells us (four times) that when any relative or kin stumbles and becomes impoverished, we have an obligation to come to our kin's aid (Lev 25:25, 35, 39 and 47). This commandment is proactive and requires us to treat needy with dignity and honor (a major part of tzedakah).

C. Temper materialistic desires - We should learn from the model of the jubilee year to make some economic arrangements that reign in our desires for more things and to look around and see at whose expense we have had our fill (tzedakah focuses on disposal of wealth … more aggressive approach = shifting efforts away from accumulation of wealth in order to act for benefit of others).

D. Motivation for doing mitzvot - Be motivated to perform righteous acts by benefit realized from such acts rather than to avoid punishment for not performing such acts.

(Revised 5/13/09)