Parshas Behar-Bechukosai: Be a Mentch

 Dedicated to a refuah shelaima for Moshe Aaron ben Necha Itta, Binyamin ben Simcha, Sharon bas Shoshana, and Chaya Sarah bas Esther Leah

 

Bein adam l’chavero, the mitzvos between one person and another, are the bedrock of civilization. More than that, these Torah’s mitzvos are – to be blunt – fascinating in their constant application to every aspect of life.

 

This week’s parsha, Behar-Bechukosai starts with the laws of Shmittah, during which the Jewish nation demonstrates their deep trust in Hashem and their Divinely imposed respect for the land. It then moves on to the laws of the years of Yuval, Jubilee, and through that discusses the many limitations of selling property in the Holy Land. Basically, in summary, one can really only lease land on a pro-rated scale as it must revert to its original portioning at the coming of the Yuval.

 

Through these discussions of real estate, however, comes the very significant commandment of Al Tonu Eish Et Ahav – you must not cheat one man to another.

 

From here come the laws connected to Onaas Devarim, using words to hurt another. These laws cover such subtle issues as misleading a salesman that you might have the intention to buy something when, in all honesty, you are simply price comparing. You cannot give a fellow Jew the impression that you are going to give them business on false pretext. That, of course, is just one example. The unfortunate “opportunities” for onaas devarim are…multitudinous, almost as vast as the opportunities for lashon harah and rechilus, and the primary reason for this is that most of us have an incredibly difficult time being truly mindful of our speech and actions.

 

The idea of “vexing” – of causing hardship or wrongness – is so important that it is mentioned twice in the same perek, which seems a little odd. In pasuk 14, it says: “When you sell property to your neighbor, or buy any from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another.” Three pasukim later, in verse 17, it states: “Do not wrong one another, but fear your God; for I Hashem am your God.” This verse uses different language than Pasuk 14. It uses Lo instead of Al. Both are Hebrew words, and both share a basic word meaning foundation (indeed, they are both composed of only an aleph and a lamed), but they are subtly different.

 

In the first verse, it is an immediate command – Al Tonu – Thou shalt not. When you are in the middle of your land deal, when you are thinking about how much profit you can make or what corners can be cut, there is a mandate upon you to think of what is being done to the other person.  

 

In the second verse is Pasuk 17: “Do not wrong one another,” Lo Tonu puts that onus on the person to prepare to avoid ways of hurting others. The first verse could lead one to mistakenly think that this injunction against “wronging” is only connected to business, to real estate specifically, but Pasuk 17 comes to make certain it is clear that it is remembered throughout all aspects of life.

This might leave the question of why there are two pasukim when the second covers it all. This goes back to the subtle difference between al and lo. Al is a reminder in the moment, when an “impossible-to-resist” opportunity is sitting in front of you and you know you can make a clear profit, but that profit will be to the excessive cost to your fellow. That is when you must remember that our goal in life is to emulate Hashem, to do good in the world…not to make the most profit.

 

In the plethora of laws that are laid down in the Torah, simple statements like “Do not wrong one another” are easy to pass over. We read it and almost shrug in our conviction that this is not something that we do anyway. But in our day to day lives, amid the constant navigation of family, friends, community, and business, it is easy to focus on ourselves and our needs. We need to prepare ourselves to not be the type of person who would wrong another and also be prepared to stop ourselves when our needs or our wants push forward against those of another to the point that we might forget our fellowship with them.

 

It is significant to note that the next pasuk says: “You must carry out My rules and safeguard My ordinances and perform them. You will then live on the land securely.” The laws set down in the Torah that seem to be about land or business or rule of law are guidelines and shields to the most important laws that underline the Torah world: Think about the other person. Do not put yourself first. Be a mentch.

 

I wish you all a beautiful Shabbas.

Time and Community (Behar)

This week’s Dvar Torah is about keeping track of time and the Torah’s overall goal of personal accountability. The Torah states: “You shall count off seven weeks of years…seven times seven years” (Vayikra 25:8). You shall count off - Is it odd that the instructions are so obscure? When I stopped and thought about it, I realized I would have expected the instruction to be more objective, something like: and it will be after seven weeks of years… But this makes one think about time. In the Torah, as noted by Rabbi Sacks pointed out, we have a lunar cycle (months) and a solar cycle (seasons) and then we have Shabbat, which is not attached to any celestial cycle. Shabbat is the seventh day, the day we count to from the end of one into the next. Day One is Sunday, Day Two is Monday, and etc and so forth.

The interesting thing about Shabbat is that it is up to us to count those days, to pay attention and remember what day it is. This is the heart of the hypothetical conversation of what does one do if one is not certain what day it is (if one is cut off from the community…the answer is, of course, ask your local Orthodox Rabbi).

When you think about it, there are actually quite a number of counting exercises in the Torah. We count for Shabbas. We count the Omer every year. We count the years til Shemittah. And we count for the Yoval.

To be quite honest, this can be challenging on one's own. However, much of the challenge is alleviated by living in a larger community that works together so that we can all keep track of our time-mitzvos. If I lose track of the Omer, I am surrounded by people I can ask. As Shemitta year approaches, I get announcements and updates.

Hashem expects us to be able to take responsibilities for ourselves, so he gives us responsibilities. But Hashem also knows that the best way for us to meet those responsibilities is as a team, a community, and, interestingly enough, He gives us guidelines for being a good team throughout Parshas Behar, the very parsha in which He instructs us of our longest counts (Shemitta and Yoval). Here are some of the significant pasukim in Parshas Behar:

1) “When you sell property to your neighbor, or buy any from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another” (25:14).

2) “Do not wrong one another but fear your God: for I the Lord am your God” (25:17).

3) “If your kinsman, being in straits, comes under your authority, and you hold him as though a resident alien, let him live by your side. Do not extract from him advance or accrued interest, but fear your God. Let him live by your side as your kinsman” (25:35-36).

Our society is made up of a great swath of people. Some people are very on top of things, so to speak. They have no trouble keeping track of time or objects. Others are more, shall we say, broadly focused, but that same laxness in time keeping may make them easier among people. The point is, we are one nation, one people, one collective group, and Hashem helps us stay that way by reminding us that the land is our privilege and our responsibility, and the only way to keep the privilege of our land is by taking responsibility for its mitzvot which occurs when we, klal Yisrael, think of ourselves as a wonderfully single whole, a complete unit.

As we head into Behar-Bechukosai, let us remember that it is our bond as a community that is our strength and lets us continue to work hard to be present for one another.

Raise Up (Behar)

In the commentaries of the Me’am Loez it is written: “When your brother becomes impoverished and loses the ability to support himself in the community, you must come to his aid. Help him survive, whether he is a proselyte or a native” (25:35).  There is an important phrase in discussing how we are to help other people: “to which he is accustomed.” This is the standard to which one should help support another person. This means that a person who is used to dressing nicely should have access to nice clothes, as an example. The basis of this idea is that it protects the honor of the person, that they are not demeaned or degraded because of their trying circumstances.

Helping the poor is a value in most civil societies. Every major North American city has shelters where the poor can find a bed, a warm shower, and something to eat. And there are many people who participate in programs to help the poor with a sincere heart, but....

It is very important in the context of Jewish law that one is honest with one’s intentions. For instance, do I write this dvar Torah to get lots of likes and attention and praise, or do I write it out of a sincere desire to write divrei Torah? The intentions behind my actions matter. This verse seems to make it clear In that one should come to the aid of one who has become impoverished not because you pity him, not because you want to be praised for doing so, but because you need to look at him “as your brother.” Look at him not as a separate entity but as your brother, a fellow tzelem Elokim, creature in the image of God.

Another interesting point that Rashi brings down is that this verse is actually an injunction: “Do not leave him by himself so that he comes down in the world until he finally falls altogether when it will be difficult to give him a lift, but uphold him from the very moment of the failure of his means.” We can’t live in this world oblivious to others. We should not be so wrapped up in ourselves that we miss the beginning of our brother’s fall, but, hopefully, we catch him before he reaches dire straits.

The parsha may be talking about financial matters, but the idea of catching a fellow before he falls is applicable to many things. A person can struggle in many areas of life. Be aware of your friends and neighbors, look at them as you look at yourself, and reach out to them before they need to reach out to you - and that can start with a simple smile, a pleasant hello, or a sincere inquiry into their welfare.