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Torah Portion -
behar
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Written by yehuda katz
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BEHAR
"If your brother becomes impoverished...............(25:35)
The first half of Parshat Behar deals with various laws regarding "Shmita" . In short, the commandment of "Shmita" is that in the 7th year all agricultural activities ceases, and the land of Israel lies fallow.( There are numerous laws regarding "Shmita" which is beyond the scope of this Parsha sheet.) The Parsha then continues regarding numerous laws of the poor. A questioned is asked, whats the connection between "Shmita" and the laws of charity? If the Torah places them next to each other, then we assume a connection exists? I would like to , BEZRAT HASHEM, propose the following original answer: When the farmer reaches the 7th year , he is confronted with a dilemma regarding "Shmita". It's often very difficult to allow one's source of income to lie dormant, namely one's land. This takes much faith and courage. Yet, it can cause a person much anxiety about one's livelihood. G-d is keenly aware of this fact, and promises in verses 25:19-22 that the person that keeps "Shmita" will be blessed with abundance
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Torah Portion -
behar
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Written by d fine
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As we pointed out, Shmittah is an intesnive emunah course. Not only that, but it is one of the proofs that the Torah is, indeed, from HaShem - and that it could not have been made by man. How so? For it seems impossible that humans could have made up the mitzvah of Shmittah. How could we get together and tell people that they must keep their lands fallow for a year, promising that God will give them three years’ worth of crop from the sixth year? If such a thing could not be guaranteed then anyone who observed this law would die of starvation - there would be no-one left to keep this mitzvah! Only HaShem could command such a mitzvah and give people the necessary crop yield to survive the year. And this promise has been fulfilled countless times across history. For example, in 1957 the Jewish Agency decided to plant orchards in kibbutz Moshav Kommemiut, which the Moshav accepted on condition that they would observe the Shmittah. At the end of the Shmittah of 1959, a representative from the Ministry of Agriculture told the Moshav’s Rabbi (Rav Mendelsohn) that their orchard had flourished more than all the orchards which had been worked during the Shmittah year. And a similar story is told about a farmer who kept Shmittah during the 1950s and miraculously saw that the tremendously destructive widespread locust infestations of those times did not descend upon his field.
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Torah Portion -
behar
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Written by Daniel Sandground
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Parashas Behar/Bechukosai – The Gift and The Curse :
This week we have another double Parasha which also happens to be the final instalment from the book of Vayikra. Parashas Behar begins with the rules of the Shemittah and Yovel year (the 'sabbatical' and 'jubilee' years for the land) and then moves on to give over the rules concerning the selling and purchase of land (within Israel), the redemption of this land during the Yovel year (will discuss more below) and eventually we are told guidelines pertinent to preventing poverty which includes the prohibition against charging interest to a fellow Jew and generally trying to help him. Parashas Behar ends with some directions on slaves and in particular the treatment of Jewish slaves and the mitzvah to try and redeem one if he comes into the hands of non-Jews. Parashas Bechukosai
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Torah Portion -
behar
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Written by D Fine
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The opening pasuk of Behar singles out that the mitzvah of Shmittah - and all of its details - was relayed to Moshe at Har Sinai. Though this was true of all mitzvos, Shmittah has one difference to it. Whilst the full details of other mitzvos were told to Moshe on Har Sinai and later fully relayed to the people from the Ohel Mo'ed, in the case of Shmittah the entire mitzvah was told at Har Sinai. Why is Shmittah different?
One answer is that Shmittah is an intensive bitachon-course. In leaving one's field fallow for a whole year at HaShem's Command, one shows utter and complete reliance upon HaShem and recognition of Him as the ultimate
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Torah Portion -
behar
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Written by Administrator
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