Introduction to Parashat Hashavua
Yeshivat Har Etzion

PARASHAT BEHAR

"God Spoke to Moshe at Mount Sinai…"

By Rav Michael Hattin

INTRODUCTION

Parashat Behar is the penultimate reading of Sefer Vayikra. With its almost single-minded attention to the Sabbatical and Yovel laws, to the matters of selling land and purchasing it, to the issues of houses and fields and the workers that toil for their bread, the Parasha begins to focus the gaze of the people of Israel upon the destination of their terrestrial journey: the land of Canaan.

But it was not always the case that Canaan had been uppermost in the minds of the people. Recall that it was instead the building of the Mishkan that capped the climactic events of the Revelation at Sinai, the fashioning of an earthly abode for the experience of God's presence that consumed the latter half of Sefer Shemot. The vision of the Promised Land had necessarily faded somewhat into the background as the sturdy, gilded boards of Mishkan rose to their full height and the sacrificial service of the newly-invested Kohanim filled the desert air with the pungent smell of sacrificial smoke. Sefer Vayikra introduced a new location from which the Divine will went forth, for throughout the book, God invariably spoke to Moshe "from the Tent of Meeting" (1:1). Many of the book's provisions tightly revolved around the double nucleus of Temple and Priest, and so much of its legislation related to constructing a body politic that celebrated and venerated the Mishkan at its core. Even the jagged peak of Sinai, its craggy crown of flame-red granite towering above the arid and bleak landscape, was eclipsed by the refreshing shadow now cast by the Mishkan's billowing tent-like curtains.

INTRODUCING THE LAND

But the notion of the land was never forgotten or abandoned. In fact, from the moment that the aspiration of freedom and redemption had been first introduced to the people of Israel, even while they pitifully still languished under the harsh yoke of Egyptian servitude, Canaan was squarely placed in their sights:

And even in the midst of Sefer Vayikra's great holiness code, the parashiyot of Acharei Mot and Kedoshim, the land was inserted into the discussion, presented as the ultimate testing ground for the people's allegiance to God's stern demands for sanctification and self-restraint:

RESTATING PRIORITIES

But for the most part, the land of Canaan constituted an understated subject of Sefer Vayikra, whose attention was more often than not taken up by other matters of importance, the vast majority of these matters relating either to the Mishkan or else to the service of the Kohanim that minister within it.

Enter the conclusion of Sefer Vayikra to restate priorities and to reemphasize objectives. The Mishkan, a temporary tent-like structure constructed of building elements that were eminently suited for wilderness journeys but utterly unfit for settled permanence, was now revealed to be the mere instrument that had been intended from the outset, a vehicle for the revelation of the Divine to be borne by the people only until they would reach their destination. But once in their land, a new building would one day rise, an eternal edifice constructed of stone and iron and timber, founded upon the bedrock of Canaan and not upon the shifting sands of the wilderness of Seen:

Could this shift in focus, from desert to destination and from tabernacle to terra firma, be the reason for the otherwise inexplicable prelude to the Sabbatical laws, namely that God spoke of them to Moshe not from the Tent of Meeting, but rather at "Mount Sinai" (25:1)? For while Rashi and the other commentaries labor mightily to explain this curious and otherwise unattested-to usage, a curious substitution for the ubiquitous formula of "God spoke to Moshe from the Tent of Meeting" that invariably presents the rest of the Book's pronouncements, perhaps the matter is startlingly straightforward. In essence, we must consider Parashat Behar not only as the finale of Sefer Vayikra but also as the preamble to Sefer Bemidbar!

LINKING SINAI TO CANAAN

With the Book of Bemidbar about to commence, the odyssey away from Sinai and towards the Promised Land is finally about to be engaged, and the centrality of the Mishkan AS THE PRIMARY MEDIUM FOR THE EXPERIENCE OF THE DIVINE must therefore now be correspondingly downplayed. The people of Israel will soon enter the land, settling its verdant slopes and planting its fertile soil. They will till its valleys and cultivate its hills, they will drink its wine and enjoy its fruits. The laws of the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee, the laws of land purchase and indenture, the laws of economics and of supply and demand, will suddenly become real and meaningful and concrete. God will be with the people of Israel not only as they walk reverently in the hallowed precincts of the Mishkan but also as they turn over the black clods of Canaan's earth and buy and sell the produce of their toils. The Torah will truly become not only the inspiration for the priests and the special preserve of the prophets but also the inheritance of all of Israel upon their land. Sinai, it will then become clear, was not the ultimate destination of the people of Israel but only the critical starting point for their momentous journey.

The strongest link, then, is not that one joining Sinai with the fashioning and operation of the temporary Mishkan but rather that which brings together Sinai and the Sabbatical, the link that binds the revelation of God's Torah at Mount Chorev with its tangible implementation in the land of Canaan, as the people of Israel embark upon the task of building their state. Sefer Vayikra is thus fittingly concluded with some of the most pertinent instruction that the people of Israel need to hear at this time, a message stressing the need for them to settle their new land in devotion to God's teachings, in recognition of His supremacy and with concern and compassion for those who will inevitably not be successful in "making the transition" from the old life to the new. But it is a message that thunders forth from Sinai, from the moment of the Torah's revelation. Therefore, the text indicates that God spoke these laws to Moshe not from the Tent of Meeting like all of the other provisions of the book that followed the Mishkan's construction and dedication, but rather much earlier "at Mount Sinai". The narrative has reserved them, so to speak, for the conclusion of the book in order to highlight their centrality for the task at hand and in order to deliberately link the giving of the Torah with the settlement of the land thus emphasizing the great potential that attends the people's journey that is shortly to commence.

THE TOPICS OF THE PARASHA

If our analysis is correct, then the subject matter of the parasha becomes eminently comprehensible. Many earlier parashiyot of the book are exclusively devoted to a single topic, be it the sacrifices, the laws of tum'a and tahara, the contingency of tzara'at, or else the matter of holiness and moral development. Parashat Behar, as well, though it seems to address a plethora of unrelated topics, actually is concerned only with one: conscious and compassionate living upon the new land. Thus, it begins with a discussion of Shemitta (25:1-7), emphasizing the futility of acquisition and the emptiness of attempting to amass earth in perpetuity. This theme is then developed further by the provisions of Jubilee (25:8-24), an observance that stresses not only relinquishment of control over people and things but also atonement and return to oneself. Within these laws of the Jubilee, the Torah spells out fair practices of land sale and purchase (25:14-17). Next, we are informed about the desperate situation of one who is forced due to debts to sell his land inheritance, and how he may fairly reacquire that land from the purchaser (25:25-28). The laws of house purchase within walled cities are then detailed by the Torah, with special provision made for the option of repurchase within the first year as well as for sale in perpetuity thereafter (25:25:29-30). House purchase in unwalled cities follows (25:31). Then the text turns to the unique circumstance of Levite-owned land, and the necessary limitations concerning purchase that must be introduced in order to safeguard their interests (25:32-34). In short, the scope of these laws aims to strike a balance between the needs of the marketplace and the attendant natural desire of human beings to possess and to acquire, with the fair and compassionate treatment of the one who by dint of circumstances is forced to sell.

These matters of compassionate acquisition of real estate are reinforced in the Parasha by the economic and financial laws that follow: interest and usury are outlawed (25:35-38), humane treatment of indentured bondsmen is demanded (25:39-46), and redemption of Israelite slaves from foreign ownership is enjoined (25:47-54). The entire section is fittingly concluded with a reference to Israel's own servitude in Egypt and God's corresponding concern for their welfare: "For the people of Israel are servants to Me, they are My servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt, I am God your Lord" (25:55). Finally, as if to once again indicate that the destination now is the land of Canaan and the objective is the crafting of an ideal and permanent state, the section ends with a fleeting reference to ritual laws that pertain especially to the Temple one day to be built: "You shall not make for yourselves idols nor erect idolatrous pillars, you shall not set down dressed stones in your land upon which to bow down, for I God am your Lord. You shall observe My Sabbaths and revere My sanctuary, for I am God" (26:1-2).

The thrust of the whole matter, then, is to inform us that when Israel enters the land of Canaan and builds their new state, they are to behave towards their God, towards their land and towards their fellow in a manner that is consistent with the noble instruction vouchsafed to them at Sinai. Possession can be a powerful desire, control of others a consuming fire. Only by observing, in letter as well as in spirit, the provisions of the Parasha can Israel succeed in settling the new land and in achieving permanence upon its soil.

Shabbat Shalom