BEHAR_LEVITICUS XXV:1-XXVI:2 – BECHUKOTAI_LEVITICUS XXVI:3-XXVII:34

According to Harav Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveitchik, the Tora was given at Har Sinai with Kolot uverakim, “thunder and lightning,” so that humanity would learn that the Jewish people deserved Divine attention and, in this way, Kavod, honor, was returned to the people who were gradually losing humanity’s appreciation. While Avraham gained the respect of many, this feeling diminished in the case of Yitschak and even more so with Ya’acov and his sons, who ended up under the yoke of Egyptian slavery. 

The Divine revelation at Sinai was intended to restore to the Hebrews the esteem of the nations. It was heard at that time that God had chosen the Jewish people. A kind of Kiddush Ha’Am, “the sanctification of the nation.” In previous chapters, we had read about Kiddush HaShem, the obligation to sanctify the Name of God, and the prohibition Velo techalelu et Shem Kodshi, “and do not go and profane My Sacred Name,” a fact that obliges one to offer one’s life in certain fundamental cases, violation of the laws of incest, murder, and idolatry. The Jew must choose death and not transgress the three imperatives mentioned.

However, the Talmud questions that if a person flouts the imperative Yehareg ve’al ya’avor, “choose death and not break the law,” in the case of idolatry for fear of being sentenced to death, can he be considered to have violated the prohibition to serve an idol? The answer should be obvious: in the case of idolatry, the person must choose death. The fact that the Talmud raises the question suggests, according to Soloveitchik, that the problem lies not so much in the idolatrous act as in the transcendent effect of the action on the public.

Throughout history, when Jews were forced to publicly renounce their faith, even when it was not a question of violating one of the three previous statements, the obligation was not to succumb, even to offer one’s life, if necessary. According to Maimonides, Chananya, Misha’el, and Azarya chose to throw themselves into the flames of a furnace rather than prostrate themselves before Nevuchadnetsar. With this act of courage, which consisted of refusing to bow before the wicked king, they were publicly proclaiming Kiddush HaShem, the Sanctification of God’s Name.

During the tragic Holocaust, many cases of Kiddush HaShem did not correspond to incest, idolatry, or murder. There is the case of a group of young women who chose suicide not to be turned into a kind of harem for the carnal pleasure of Nazi officers. Those same executioners who mocked their victims by questioning whether their God was there to defend them had to face the courage and ardor of those who preferred death to indignity and immorality.

Although there are precise rules concerning Kiddush HaShem, this imperative also depends on the specific situation, for example, when a public renunciation of the faith is demanded, as happened during the autos-da-fe practiced in the various religious persecutions, especially during the period of the Inquisition. 

For centuries there was Chilul Ha’Am, contempt for the people and irreverence for their nature. The maximum expression of this nihilism occurred during the Nazi period when an attempt was made to dehumanize the Jew, tattooing him with a number to identify him and ignoring his right to a name that qualified him as a human person.

The establishment of Medinat Israel can be framed under the concept of Kiddush Ha’Am, the return of honor, and the sanctification of the Name of the people of Israel. For this and many other reasons, the State of Israel is both an ideal and a reality that belongs to the Jewish people, even those who do not reside within its geographical limits.

MITZVA: ORDINANCE OF THE TORA IN THIS PARSHA

CONTAINS 7 POSITIVE MITZVOT AND 17 PROHIBITIONS

1. Leviticus 25:4 Do not work the land during the Sabbath year.
2. Leviticus 25:4 Do no work with trees in the Sabbath year.
3. Leviticus 25:5 Do not reap what grows spontaneously in the Sabbath year.
4. Leviticus 25:5 Do not gather the fruit of the tree in the Sabbath year the way it is harvested each year.
5. Leviticus 25:8 Count 7 cycles of 7 years.
6. Leviticus 25:9, 10 Blowing the Shofar on Yom Kippur in the Jubilee Year (on Rosh Hashana the obligation is to ‘hear’ the blowing of the Shofar).
7. Leviticus 25:9, 10 Sanctifying the Jubilee Year.
8. Leviticus 25:11 Do not work the land in the Jubilee Year.
9. Leviticus 25:5 Do not reap what grows spontaneously in the Jubilee Year.
10. Leviticus 25:11 Do not gather the fruit of the trees in the Jubilee Year the way it is harvested each year.
11. Leviticus 25:14 Doing justice between seller and buyer.
12. Leviticus 25:14 Do not cheat in buying and selling.
13. Leviticus 25:17 Do not verbally oppress a Jew.
14. Leviticus 25:23 Do not sell land in the Land of Israel permanently.
15. Leviticus 25:24 Return the land in the Land of Israel to its original owners in the Jubilee Year.
16. Leviticus 25:29 Redeem an inherited property in a city in the year (of its sale)
17. Leviticus 25:34 Do not disturb the empty grounds around the cities or fields of the Levites.
18. Leviticus 25:37 Do not charge interest when lending to a Jew.
19. Leviticus 25:39 Do not force a Hebrew slave to do degrading labor like a Cana’anite slave.
20. Leviticus 25:42 Do not sell a Hebrew slave at auction.
21. Leviticus 25:43 Do not force a Hebrew slave to do hard labor.
22. Leviticus 25:43 Permanently maintain a Cana’anite slave.
23. Leviticus 25:53 Do not allow a Hebrew slave to be forced to work in extreme ways by his non-Jewish owner.
24. Leviticus 26:1 Do not prostrate yourself on an engraved or carved stone, even in the veneration of God.

BECHUKOTAI_LEVITICUS XXVI:3-XXVII:34

CONSEQUENCES OF COMPLIANCE AND CONTEMPT

The conclusion of one of the books of the Tora constitutes a singular event. Generally, the rabbi of the synagogue is invited to read that text, and before reciting the last verse, the congregation stands to hear the concluding words of the book. A sign that it is a time for reflection on the content of the Tora, which begins with BereshIt, the Genesis of the universe, although it is not a history book. 

Apparently, all the accounts of the Tora have a sobering purpose; they point out what the person’s behavior should be. Moreover, the Divine revelation at Mount Sinai is the sacred text’s epicenter, the raison d’être. The life of the patriarchs and Egyptian slavery constituted the necessary preparations: the development of the seventy souls who descended into Egypt and then multiplied to reach a number greater than 3,000,000 among men, women, the elderly, and children.

But two events occurred that changed the course of history and the destiny of the Hebrew people. Just a few days after the revelation at Mount Sinai, the people built the Egel Hazahav, the golden calf, an effigy representing a cult directly opposed to the ethical principles heard at Sinai. 

The second event occurs on the border of the Promised Land. After sending 12 emissaries to explore the land, the people conclude that they are not ready for conquest. Both cases demonstrate a serious lack of faith in the Divine Providence. These events show that the people had not internalized the fundamental message, the Brit, the covenant between God and the Hebrew people. This covenant must be manifested through the obedience that the people owe to God through the fulfillment of the different Mitsvot, so that simultaneously God may protect the people He chose to carry the message of monotheism to Humanity.

The warning contained in these chapters is clear. The fulfillment of the Mitsva, the word of God, leads to a successful and fulfilling life on the personal and national levels. Even the earth reacts to human behavior. The abundance of rain results from obedience to the Word of God, and drought is the consequence of disobedience.

According to Harav Samson Raphael Hirsch, the fulfillment of the Mitsvot presupposes the study of the Tora. “Lo am ha’arets chasid,” “the ignorant cannot be pious,” the Talmud states. In other words, the study is indispensable to know what Tora expects of the individual and what constitutes appropriate behavior. Hirsch argues that when a person stops studying violating the Mitsva, he progressively develops a series of conjectures and rationalizations for different behavior, not following the Tora. 

Moreover, that person begins to look down on those who comply with the dictates of tradition, all to justify his actions. “Mitsva goreret Mitsva and Avera goreret Avera,” “by fulfilling a Mitsva the possibility of performing another Mitsva is promoted, while non-compliance promotes another disobedience”, according to the Talmud. That is why the biblical text warns that defiance of the word of God can have very serious consequences, far beyond what the first disobedience is. As an alternate attitude, the fulfillment of the Mitsva is encouraging because every good deed promotes another similar action, all due to the study of the ordinances contained in the Tora.

MITZVA: ORDINANCE OF THE TORA IN THIS PARSHA

CONTAINS 7 POSITIVE MITZVOT AND 5 PROHIBITIONS

1. Leviticus 27:2 Whoever promises to give the estimated value of a man must give the value written in the Tora.
2. Leviticus 27:10 Do not substitute consecrated animals as sacred offerings.
3. Leviticus 27:10 If a consecrated animal is replaced by another animal, both are consecrated.
4. Leviticus 27:11, 12 Whoever promises the value of an animal must give the value that the Kohen assigns.
5. Leviticus 27:14 Whoever promises the value of a house must give the value that the Kohen assigns plus an additional fifth.
6. Leviticus 27:16 Whoever promises the value of a field must give the value that the Tora assigns.
7. Leviticus 27:26 Do not substitute consecrated animals of one kind for another.
8. Leviticus 27:28 If one promises through Cherem part of his property, it will be given to the Kohanim.
9. Leviticus 27:28 Land under Cherem must not be sold; it will be given to the Kohanim.
10. Leviticus 27:28 Ground under Cherem must not be redeemed.
11. Leviticus 27:32 Tithing of kosher animals must be given annually.
12. Leviticus 27:33 The tithe of animals must not be sold; it must be consumed in Jerusalem.