Parashat Behar (Leviticus 25:1 - 26:2)
May 11 - 17, 2008
by: Michael Raileanu, M.A. Ed

In Parashat Behar, Leviticus 25:1 - 26:2, the Torah gives us some very important rules about caring for the earth. We also get some very important rules about how to deal with people who have fallen on hard times.

• The Torah tells us (Lev 25:3ff) to let the land sit untouched every seventh year. Why? What happens to land if you farm it too actively and for too long? How do we get around that problem these days? Why couldn't the farmers of Torah times use the same system? Is the modern system necessarily better? Why or why not?


• We are told to let the land sit for both the 49th and 50th years. Why would this be good? Why would it be bad? How would this effect the lives of farmers? What would they need to do during the 45th - 48th years to get ready? Could a farmer necessarily save up enough during those years to get by? What could be done in years of drought or flood?


• 25:23 says, "And the land shall not be sold permanently; the land is Mine..." What does that mean? Would there be any advantages to living where no one owned the land? Who would be "in charge" of the land if it all belonged to God? What are the disadvantages to this system?


• the 50th year is called the Yovel, Jubilee year. What does jubilee means to us now? Are there any similarities between the use of that word in the Torah and the way we use it now?


• There is an extended discussion about what to do with Jewish people who get into so much debt that they sell themselves into slavery. What do you think about that? How would you suggest that those people pay off their debt? Does temporary slavery seem like a good idea to you? Why or why not? How long should the person remain a slave? What would you do with the children who are born while the person is a slave?