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Overview
of the Torah Reading
To be read on Shabbat
Behar/Bechukotai, 26 Iyar 5785/May 24, 2025
Shabbat Mevarchim -
Blessing the New Month
Torah: Leviticus 25:1-27:34; Haftorah: Jeremiah
16:19-17:14 (rebukes, as in Behukotai)
Pirkei
Avot: Chapter Five
Behar is
the 8th Reading out of 10 in Leviticus and it contains 2817
letters, in 737 words, in 57 verses
Bechukotai
is the 9th Reading out of 10 in Leviticus and it contains
3992 letters, in 1013 words, in 78 verses
Behar
(Leviticus 25:1-26:2) begins with laws concerning the sabbatical and jubilee
years. These include the laws concerning the redemption of fields and
houses. These are followed by the laws enjoining us to help fellow Jews
and forbidding us to charge interest. Behar concludes with the mitzvot
regarding Jewish and non-Jewish servants.
Bechukotai
(Leviticus 26:3-27:34) opens with a description of the physical rewards
that we reap for fulfilling G-d's commandments. This is followed by an
outline of the consequences resulting from disobeying G-d, and the eventual
repentance and forgiveness that will come in the future. The last sections
concern endowment valuations of people, animals, real estate, and crops
to G-d (consecrating their monetary value to the sanctuary). With the
conclusion of B'chukotai, we also complete the book of Vayikra (Leviticus)-and
so upon the close of its reading in synagogue, we proclaim, "Chazak, chazak,
v'nitchazek!"
 An
essay from Rabbi
Shaul Yosef Leiter, director of Ascent
(for a free
weekly email subscription, click
here)
"And
G-d spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai". (Lev. 25:1)
What does this teach us regarding our service to G-d? The Lubavitcher
Rebbe writes that in all aspects of Judaism, one is required to stand
firm like a mountain that can not be moved from its place, unaffected
by all the surrounding difficulties. This is akin to the statement by
Rabbi Shalom Dov Ber of Lubavitch: "Never did the soul go into exile".
There is a part of
us that never was and never will be truly affected by this world. Furthermore,
the Talmud says (Shavuot 47), "The servant of a king is himself a
king". Every Jew is a servant of G-d. It is therefore forbidden to
relinquish our own honor - not because we are concerned with our own prestige,
but rather because we are responsible for the honor of the King of Kings,
the Holy One, blessed be He.
The first Torah
portion of this week's double portion discusses the laws of shemita,
of "release". Just as we keep a weekly day of Shabbat, so too,
once in seven years there is a Sabbatical year for the Land, called shemita,
when it is released from activity. Rashi asks why is shemita the
first commandment discussed after the words "…at Mount Sinai"?
He answers that this is to tell us that just as the details of the mitzva
of shemita, which are written here, were given completely at Mt.
Sinai, so too the details of all the laws of the Torah, even if not written,
were given completely there.
Rabbi Eliezer Lipman,
in the book Otzar Maimarim, comments on the 32nd chapter of Tanya,
where the concept of loving your neighbor is discussed.
The Tanya explains
that the key to fulfilling the whole Torah is by elevating the soul over
the body. Loving others and loving G-d is only possible when we disregard
the false divisions created by our worldly consciousness and focus on
the true spiritual unity of our souls. Those who make their body primary
and their souls secondary are incapable of truly loving. Rabbi Lipman
explains that from this lesson we learn that it is impossible to truly
fulfill any mitzva unless one has first attained the level of "loving
your neighbor". Without loving others, we cannot truly love G-d,
the basic requirement for doing all of the commandments.
This is the message of Rashi's first commentary on Behar: As the laws
of shemita were given completely at Mt.Sinai, so too all of the
laws of the Torah were given completely there. The only way to do any
mitzva is "from Sinai". When the Jews gathered at Sinai,
they had attained true unity, real love for each other. So too in our
generation, if we begin by loving our fellows, we are then capable of
loving G-d, and then any commandment is easy.
The Torah predicts
the Jews' reaction to the shemita year: "What will we eat
in the 7th year?" G-d answers that He blesses the produce of the
6th year to be threefold (one for the 6th year, one for the shemita
year, and one for the 8th year when the farmers await the produce to grow
and become edible). Yet why would there be a doubt as to G-d's blessing;
didn't it happen just a few years before, too?
The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that any farmer knows that with each passing
season, a field becomes less fertile. By the 6th year, the land should
be "maxed-out"! What are the chances of that same field producing
its normal yield, let alone three times as much?
Obviously, such a feat is only miraculous, surpassing any natural, logical
explanation. When something defies our logic, we are left asking, "What
will we eat…?" Shemita laws teach us to let go of our
logic and personal expectations, and rely on G-d and His commandments.
We nullify ourselves before Him. Nevertheless, one's sense of self cannot
be totally nullified.
Therefore, each time shemita approaches, the doubt rises anew.
So too, in our lives when we repeatedly hesitate or react in a certain
way to a challenge, this does not mean we have not made any progress.
It just means that we should persist and keep moving ahead!
Shabbat Shalom,
Shaul
(for a
free weekly email subscription, click
here)
For last year's essay by Rabbi Leiter on this week's Reading, see the
archive.
FROM
THE SAGES OF KABBALAH ON KabbalaOnline.org
Specifically,
for an overview of the recommended articles in the columns:
Holy Zohar, Holy Ari, Mystic Classics, Chasidic Masters, Contemporary
Kabbalists, and more,
click to Behar
- Bechukotai
Contemporary
Kabbalists
Intermediate
Three Levels of Shabbat
By Rabbi Avraham Brandwein
There are three levels of this ascent of the worlds. First is the Shabbat
after six weekdays, when every person receives an additional soul. Second
is the Shabbat of the Seventh Year, where the land, corresponding to the
sefira of malchut, ascends a level. Third is the Shabbat of Yovel; the
worlds from the sefira of malchut ascend to the sefira of bina, also called
the World of Freedom.
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