Parashat Behar-Bechukotai
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“Parashat Behar-Bechukotai”
Vayikra - Leviticus
25:1 to 27:34.
Introduction:
“Behar” provides us with hope that our lives and on the whole our society can be fair, that is if we build it on “good values” and obey and institute the Laws given unto us in the Torah.
Behar, speaks about the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, laws regulating commerce and the redemption of slaves.
Elohim commands Moshe - Moses regarding the She’mitah (Sabbatical) and Jubilee years. Every seventh year is a Sabbatical year, when it is forbidden to work the land (in the Land of Israel). After seven sets of seven years a Jubilee year is proclaimed by a blast of the Shofar (a Ram’s Horn) on that year’s Yom Kippur. During Jubilee years all the laws of the Sabbatical year apply, and, in addition to the Sabbatical laws, all slaves are set free and all lands revert to their original owners.
We are also commanded to conduct our business ethically. As all land reverts to their original owners during the Jubilee year, the amount of years remaining until the next Jubilee year must be taken into account whenever a real-estate sale is conducted, and the price set accordingly.
However, the
people address a certain concern: “What will we eat in the seventh year
if we do not sow our gather our grain?” Of course Elohim,
blessed be He, reassures
us that He will bless the sixth year’s harvest, and that it will produce
a sufficient amount to provide for three years, until the crop of the eighth
year is ready to eat! Our blessed Torah then gives the rationale for the prohibition against
selling land for perpetuity (alternatively, land can only be
“leased” but only until the Jubilee year), for Elohim
said; “Because the Land belongs to Me; you are
strangers and residents with Me.”
יְהוָה told Moshe at Mount Horeb to tell all of Yisrael the following:
“And יְהוָה spoke unto Moshe in mount Horeb, saying: ‘Speak unto the children of Yisrael, and say unto them: When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a Sabbath unto יְהוָה. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the produce thereof. But in the seventh year shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath unto יְהוָה; thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of itself of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, and the grapes of thy undressed vine thou shalt not gather; it shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. And the Sabbath-produce of the land shall be for food for you: for thee, and for thy servant and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant and for the settler by thy side that sojourn with thee; and for thy cattle, and for the beasts that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be for food.” Vayikra - Leviticus 25:1-7. (MEC) = ‘Mechon-Mamre.org’.
We now
move to “Bechukotai”:
Even though “Bechukotai” contains severe warnings, it also provides us the promise that Elohim, blessed be He, will never reject us as His people Yisrael! Both of these ideas provide us with hope for the long-term future of our faith and all those who will uphold it as was given in the Torah!
Parashat Bechukotai is where we come to the conclusion of Vayikra - Leviticus and it ends with one of the most terrifying passages in the Torah. Sadly it describes what will happen to us the Hebrews if having received the Covenant from יְהוָה Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, however, should they break it’s terms, that is why we were given the following warning in Vayikra chapter 26: verses 23 to 38. (MEC).
“And if in spite of these things ye will not be corrected unto Me, but will walk contrary unto Me; 24 then will I also walk contrary unto you; and I will smite you, even I, seven times for your sins. “And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute the vengeance of the covenant; and ye shall be gathered together within your cities; and I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread again by weight; and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. And if ye will not for all this hearken unto Me, but walk contrary unto Me; then I will walk contrary unto you in fury; and I also will chastise you seven times for your sins ... And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your sun-pillars, and cast your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you. And I will make your cities a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours. And I will bring the land into desolation; and your enemies that dwell therein shall be astonished at it. And you will I scatter among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you; and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste ... And as for them that are left of you, I will send a faintness into their heart in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a driven leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as one fleeth from the sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. And they shall stumble one upon another, as it were before the sword, when none pursueth; and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies. And ye shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up”. Vayikra - Leviticus 26:23-38. (MEC).
To this day we read this passage, which somehow became traditionally known as the “To’cha’chah”, or “the admonition” which proved to be so difficult for many to internalize and imagine. It is all the more fearful given what we sadly know about our later rather defiant Hebraic history re their lack of faith.
Tragically, more than once, it certainly came true, as we have had more than its share of sufferings and persecutions. It had much to do with commitment to the terms of the blessed Covenant - to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” which was and sadly still is anything but safe. Of the people He claimed as His own, Elohim is demanding and when Yisrael does His will, they are lifted to great heights. However, when they did not, sadly our people were plunged into great depths. We should understand that the way of holiness and righteousness is supremely challenging, but can be obtained!
At the very climax of the long list of curses in this Parashat, there comes a passage that is surpassing in its assurance:
“But when the time finally comes that their stubborn spirit is humbled, I will forgive their sin. I will remember My covenant with Ya’akov - Jacob, as well as My covenant with Yitzhak - Isaac and My covenant with Avraham - Abraham, and I will remember the land ... Thus, even when they are in their enemy’s land, I will not reject them or spurn them, bringing them to an end and breaking My covenant with them, because I am יְהוָה their Elohim. Vayikra - Leviticus 26:41-44.
The people of the eternal Elohim will itself be eternal. Believe me, there is in our ‘Mosaic literature’, no greater promise than this.
Although it is repeated in the prophetic literature by the man often thought of as the most pessimistic of all the prophets, Yirmyahu - Jeremiah. He spent much of his career as a prophet warning the people of impending disaster. It was an unpopular message, and he was imprisoned and nearly killed for it. Yet He also in the midst of his gloom told the people that they would never be destroyed:
“Thus saith יְהוָה, Who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirreth up the sea, that the waves thereof roar, יְהוָה of hosts is His name: If these ordinances depart from before Me, saith יְהוָה, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me for ever”. Yirmyahu - Jeremiah 31:34-35. (MEC).
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We the Hebrew’s mentioned on ancient Egyptian Stones:
Today in the Cairo Museum stands a huge slab of black granite and it is known as the “Merneptah stele”. Originally it was installed by ‘Pharaoh Amenhotep III’ in his temple in western Thebes, but it was removed by a later ruler of Egypt named ‘Merneptah’, who reigned in the thirteenth century BCE. Inscribed with hieroglyphics, it contains a record of Merneptah’s military victories. It’s interest might have been confined to students of ancient civilizations, were it not for one fact: this ‘stele’ contains the very first reference about the people of Yisrael. The inscription lists the various powers crushed by ‘Merneptah’ and his army. It infers that ‘Merneptah’ believed that the Hebrews were restless and a small people.
Whilst the ‘Merneptah stela’ covers pharaohs chroniclers, on it shows that
the Hebrews were now a footnote to his history, for
they had not only been “defeated” but they had been
“obliterated”. Really?
Photograph by the
author
A close up o the Slab with the inscription re Yisroel
Photograph by the
author
Here is another close up view of the Slab with the inscription re Yisroel
By the “Cairo Museum”
Thus what the stele really stated: “Yisrael is laid waste, his seed is not.” Meaning that we were destroyed and we were completely destroyed! Of course the Egypt of ancient times has disappeared, and we Jews are still going strong!
But that stone contained the first reference to us the Hebrews outside of the Torah and yes it was a sort of ‘obituary notice’ for us.
Although another Basalt slab dating from the 9th century BCE,
which is now located in Louvre at Paris, France. It is known as the “Mesha stele”, and it records the triumphs of “Mesha”, king of Moab. The king thanks his deity
‘Chemosh’ for handing victory to the
Moabites in their wars:
The Mesha stele stone includes the following ...
“As for Omri, king of Israel, he humbled Moab for many years, for ‘Chemosh’ was angry with his land. And his son followed him, and he also said, ‘I will humble Moab.’ In my time he spoke thus, but I have triumphed over him and over his house, while Israel has perished for ever.” - (Once again we were “obliterated”).
It is known that in certain parts of the world we are known as being a “peculiar people”, as we were always separated from the other people in the world, and thus we have been called “Hebrew’s” or the “Jews” or the “Jewish people”. We as a people were not only of remarkable antiquity but we had also lasted for a singularly long time! For whereas the peoples of Greece, Italy, Sparta, Athens and Rome, as well as others who came so much later have perished long ago, yet we Yisrael still exist, despite the efforts of so many powerful kings, rulers’ and the church who have tried a countless times fought to destroy us, as historians will testify, and as can easily be judged by the natural order of things over such a long spell of years. Yet somehow we Hebrew’s have always been preserved, and even that was foretold in this Parashat!
If we look at the current Parashat, we will also find a portrayal of Elohim’s power over nature but also as a timeless reminder of the irrevocable covenant between Elohim, blessed be He, and Yisrael. When Jeremiah declared that Elohim would ...
However, we know well from history that many attempts have been made, over the course of the centuries, to prove the existence of Elohim. Theologians have argued on the basis of philosophy. Yet the Torah speaks of a different kind of proof altogether: regarding the history of Yisrael.
Of course there has been much pain in our history. Yet it remains astonishing that the curses of the “To’cha’chah” sadly came true, but then again, so did the consolation. No nation has been attacked more than we the Jewish people. None attracted so much irrational hostility and empire after empires pronounced our destruction. And even though at times we, when the world tried to cast us off into oblivion, yet we the people Israel are still living a life of faith, be it whilst we are most vulnerable, yet is still those who are rebellious. The simple truth is that despite all the odds it came true: yet we the people of יְהוָה Elohim have become known as being the people of “eternity”! For remember what we were told?
“If these ordinances depart from before Me, saith יְהוָה, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me for ever”.
“And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant with them; for I am יְהוָה their Elohim. But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their Elohim: I am יְהוָה”. Vayikra - Leviticus 26:44-45. (MEC).
What we have learnt from this amazing Parashat is that we have read passages that reinforce the truth that there is Covenant between Elohim and Yisrael and that it is perpetual.
In addition the reading of this Parashat concludes as follows;
“These are the commandments, which יְהוָה commanded Moshe for the children of Israel in mount Horeb”. Vayikra - Leviticus 27:34. (MEC).
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The
Rabbi’s Motto is: “The More
Torah, the More Life”
Dr.
Rabbi Reuven Ben Avraham.
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