BEHAR-BECHUKOSAI, 25:1-27:34, JERUSALEM DAY
In Behar-Bechukosai we read about proper conduct to a fellow Jew:
At 25:17 -
“And you shall not wrong, one man his fellow Jew, and you shall fear your God, for I am the Lord, your God”.
At 25:25 -
“If your brother becomes destitute and sells some of his inherited property, his redeemer who is related to him shall come forth and redeem his brother's sale”.
At 25:35 -
“If your brother becomes destitute and his hand falters beside you, you shall support him [whether] a convert or a resident, so that he can live with you”.
At 25:36 –
“You shall not take from him interest or increase, and you shall fear your God, and let your brother live with you”.
At 25:37 -
“You shall not give him your money with interest, nor shall you give your food with increase”.
At 25:39 -
“And if your brother becomes destitute with you, and is sold to you, do not work him with slave labor”.
At 25:43 -
“You shall not work him with rigor, and you shall fear your God”.
At 25:47-48 -
“If a resident non Jew gains wealth with you, and your brother becomes destitute with him and is sold to a resident non Jew among you or to an idol of the family of a non Jew.
After he is sold, he shall have redemption; one of his brothers shall redeem him”.
Being a Member of the Tribe is not a bad deal.😃
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At 25.23 we learn just who the Land of Israel belongs to:
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In years where there is a single Parsha the Haftarah portion is from Chapter 32 of the Book of Jeremiah which contains 52 chapters in all. The Prophet Jeremiah is a person who has the courage to be disliked. By contrast, many of us go out of our way to be likable, to be popular, and to not upset the apple cart. We excel in maintain the status quo…not so Jeremiah:
The episode in the Haftarah portion takes place about one year prior to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar destroying Jerusalem or about 587 BCE. The setting is in a prison yard where Jeremiah has been incarcerated for speaking out against King Zedekiah.
I don’t know how prison yards looked 2,600 years ago or say 1500 BCE. However you and I have watched enough thriller movies to picture the yard:
There is at least one huge muscular guy working out with an impossibly heavy barbell. Many of the inmates have separated into groups, such as white supremacist skinheads or blacks or Latinos or whatever. And often there is one inmate who has been tasked with assassinating the good guy.
Returning to the reality of Jeremiah we learn that Hashem tells the Prophet that he will be visited by a close kinsman who will ask Jeremiah if he is interested in purchasing some family property located in the village of Anathoth, about 2.5 miles north of Jerusalem. It is up for sale. Jeremiah has been selected as a potential purchaser because 900 years prior at Mt. Sinai we were commanded by Hashem to keep our lands within our family, and not to sell our lands to someone outside of the family. This commandment is found in Leviticus 25:25 and evidently was and is the rule of the Land:
כִּי-יָמוּךְ אָחִיךָ, וּמָכַר מֵאֲחֻזָּתוֹ--וּבָא גֹאֲלוֹ, הַקָּרֹב אֵלָיו, וְגָאַל, אֵת מִמְכַּר אָחִיו.
“If your brother becomes destitute and sells some of his inherited property, his redeemer who is related to him shall come forth and redeem his brother's sale”.
The commandment takes more importance in purchasing back land from a non-Jew who had acquired previously owned Jewish land. We have this today 2600 years later, particularly in Jerusalem, where Jewish individuals such as Irving Moskowitz, z’l, or Jewish organizations purchase land from Moslem landowners.
Jeremiah’s situation is somewhat different. He has been commanded by Hashem to purchase land that for all intents purposes is worthless. It is only a matter of time that Jerusalem will fall, many of us will go into exile and the real estate market will be in shambles. This not a matter of buying low and selling high. It is a matter, however, that Hashem will right the wrong, and Nebuchadnezzar’s days are limited, which is indeed what happened. In just a short time later, Cyrus the Great defeats the Babylonians and welcomes Jews to return to the Land.
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GETTING UP IN THE MORNING
When we first wake up in the morning the following prayer is recited:
מודה אני לפניך מלך חי וקיים שהחזרת בי נשמתי בחמלה
רבה אמונתך
“I thank you, living and ever living king, for You have returned my soul within me with pity. Great is your faithfulness”.
MORE GRATITUDE - JERUSALEM DAY
The evening of May 25 marks the beginning of Jerusalem Day. It commemorates that in 1967 Israel gained control over the entire city as part of the Six-Day War.
Jerusalem Day a religious holiday as is Yom Hashoah, Yom HaZikoron, and Yom Hatzmaut. The day is very much celebrated by Israel's Religious Zionist community with parades and additional prayers in many synagogues.
The military victory over the surrounding Arab armies is regarded as a bona-fide miracle worthy of thanksgiving.
This victory clearly affects the entire Jewish people. Israel is a place of refuge for all Jews , and serves as a source of deep Jewish pride throughout the world.
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