Behar Bechukosai
You And Real Estate
A field can be redeemed until Yoval. At Yoval it reverts to its original owner. So it is with a house in an open city. A home in a walled city is different: one is allowed only one year to redeem the home, thereafter it belongs forever to the buyer. This applies to cities that are not Levite cities, which can be redeemed forever because ‘they are their inheritance’. What accounts for these laws?
A city is altogether different than a field. A man’s field is completely his. A house in the city, however, is a partnership – one is a partner in the city and its institutions. This has its many advantages – but it also means that he is not the exclusive owner of his own home. A neighbor wants to build, causing hardship, noise and disturbance to the homeowner. Yet that neighbor is within his rights. Had the people living nearby wanted a place all to themselves, they can build a house in the forest. Choosing to live in a city, means choosing to live with others, sometimes with expense.
Perhaps this belies the laws here; owning a house in the city means less than owning a field. Therefore he has no rights on it after a year. The Levi’im are different; their cities are their true inheritance, so they they can always buy back what they have sold.
These laws underscore the value the Torah places on having an inheritance, a parcel of land belonging to him forever. He has extraordinary rights on that land, and can buy it back against the wishes of the one who has it. Perhaps part of a person’s psyche is occupied with worry about his future: how will he provide for himself? Someone who has land that can support him feels that he has some security in his life. This is an important part of being a mentch.
Family Matters
The Land of Israel was parceled out to the original settlers according to families. Certainly within few generations, as the original portions were divided and subdivided, whole clans were living together. When Yoval came around and each man returned to his field, there was a reuniting of the family too. (Perhaps this is an additional level to the pasuk ‘and each to his family return: He will return to his family group’.
Living together as an extended family is a positive Torah value, a beautiful person-building thing that Hashem loves.
What Exactly Was Given At Sinai?
‘…just as Shmitta was said with all it’s detail at Sinai, so were all the Mitzvos given in all their detail at Sinai’ -Rashi.
Some Mitzvos, such as writing a sefer Torah and the laws of inheritance, the laws of kashering non-kosher vessels and so on, seem to have been given later on: they were said in response to certain situations that first arose years later. The Torah seems to indicate that new laws were given in response to the situation, and Moshe was not already aware of them. So how can it be said that all was given in detail at Sinai?
Perhaps Rashi refers only to those Mitzvos written about in two or more places in the Torah. The question arises: were these Mitzvos done in installments, or was the general Mitzvah said at first and the details later, or was it all laid out at Sinai and later merely repeated? About these Rashi explains that those that were said at Sinai were given in full detail. Other Mitzvos were not said at Sinai at all.
Jewish Monopoly
A. If one buys a field, it reverts back at Yoval. B. A slave goes free at shmitta, and C. it is the buyer’s obligation to provide for the family of the slave in the interim. D. We must leave the fields free for all every seventh year and D. lend money for no charge. E. We are prohibited from making large profits (ona’ah) and F. houses are only bought with the stipulation that they can be redeemed at the buying price. And so on. These are just some of the many economic limitations on amassing a monopoly. The Torah puts up major roadblocks against anyone gaining unusual wealth. It seems that the Torah ideal is that instead of one person making it big, everyone should be able to make ends meet.
The message seems to be; more is not better. Just as someone who gathers suits is simply a junker collecting stuff he will never use, so too someone collecting too much money is a packrat, collecting excess baggage he will never use. Life’s focus ought to be on collecting virtue, and collecting chessed. The Torah is keeping us focused by discouraging excessive money-making.
Social Justice The Torah Way
When a Jewish slave leaves his Jewish master ‘his children shall leave too’. Why are his children there in the first place?
Rashi comments that Rabbi Shimon says this teaches us that the master has to provide room and board for the slave’s children too. Not only that, but he provides for the wife/mother as well! (I suppose that when one buys a slave he figures this all into the price…)
Another law relating to a Jewish slave is that when he leaves the master must make a present to him. It needs to be significant and substantial gift. Why?
This is family at the end of it’s rope, completely down and out. Ruined. (One may only sell himself as a slave if he lacks food to eat). The simple truth is that they need to be rehabilitated, and set on their feet. We cannot force any single person to take this family on as their project: it means a tremendous investment. So instead, we sell the fellow as a slave. He will be giving the owner back for what he receives from him. It is set as a trade. However, what is really happening is chessed, chessed on a grand scale.
Therefore a slave is considered almost a partner to his owner, receiving a gift at the end of his service to signify that he shares the blessing his host has received over the slavery period, and the owner also provides for the slave’s entire family. It seems like its business, but really its pure chessed – even the fact that it seems like a business deal is a chessed, for it provides the slave the dignity of not needing a handout!
The basis is clearly set out: ‘For to Me the Jews are servants: they are My servants, for I have taken them out of Egypt’ Jews are essentially un-ownable, Hashem possesses them. Slavery is but for appearances, which the unique laws governing Jewish slavery highlight.
This applies, albeit in a partial fashion, when the Jew is bought by a gentile. As the Torah informs us ‘… and he shall leave by Yovel, he and his sons with him’, implying that until then the gentile had been providing for them all.
They belong to Someone!
The Talking Sword
One of the curses promised if we do wrong is ‘the sword, avenging the covenant’ (Targum: i.e. avenging not keeping mitzvos). Obviously the sword avenges the covenant, indeed, all the catastrophes mentioned are punishments for sin. Why is the sword singled out?
The Jews have been under attack many a time. Their attackers claim many reasons, frequently contradictory: ‘Jews are capitalists’ / ‘Jews are communists’. ‘Jews are too religious’ / ‘Jews are atheists’. Common sense is to dismiss their hate-talk as meaningless blabber.
The Torah is teaching otherwise; Want a hint as to WHY Hashem is angry with you? Listen to the talk of those who would kill you. If they claim Jews are money grubbers, check your tzeddakah habits. If they Jews corrupt, check your honesty.
The idea is that Hashem is putting thoughts of our shortcoming into their minds in order to avenge it. So the sword is CHARACTERIZED as revenge for not keeping Mitzvos. The point is not WHY the sword is sent: that part is indeed obvious. The point is that the NATURE of the sword will be an avenging sword, one advertising why it comes. And we should read those advertisements if we want insight into why we are being punished.
Righteous Suffering
The Torah promises blessing to Mitzvah keepers, and curses to transgressors. The talk is about grass, grain and food; concrete plenty. Yet it seems to us that many do-gooders are not getting great things, while wicked people enjoy immense prosperity. How does this reconcile with the Torah promise?
A person can eat bran for breakfast, doesn’t smoke, and exercise regularly yet die early of heart attack. Do these things bring on heart attacks? Certainly not – they help prevent them. Sometimes despite the prevention, other forces (genetics, a weak heart etc.) conspire to bring on a heart attack.
So too, doing mitzvos and keeping away from sin does generate prosperity. However, it is not the only player on field. Other factors account too. Sometimes it may be good for us that things are tight financially, or our health be broken, so we may need Hashem. Sometimes we owe Hashem, for He has bestowed upon us more than our fair share, and payback time is come. Although doing good is the greatest factor in boosting our comfort, it is not the only one.
©2013
kollel parshah | Tiferet Ramot 83-21, Jerusalem, Israel, 97290
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