Behar-Bechukotai: Stand Upright for Israel

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This week was a whirlwind: the inspiring bravery of Yuval Rephael, the painful rhetoric of some Israeli leaders, and a tragic antisemitic attack in Washington, DC. One word in Parshat Behar-Bechukotai offers timely insight into how we confront antisemitism and draw the line between legitimate critique and harmful condemnation of Israel.

Vayikra 26 outlines the blessings and curses that hinge on our faithfulness to God’s laws. The blessings include prosperity, military strength, security, peace in our land, and the feeling of God’s presence among us. The curses are lengthy and severe, ending in estrangement from God and our land. One image recurs throughout the blessings: the act of walking, and specifically, walking upright. “If you walk in My statutes,” God says, “I will walk among you.” The blessings conclude with a powerful reminder: God broke the yoke of our enslavement in Egypt and enabled us to “walk upright.” Why this emphasis?

The Hebrew word komemiyut – uprightness – comes from the root k.u.m, meaning to rise or stand. The Targum Onkelos translates it as freedom. Rashi explains it as standing tall, and Rashbam adds, “when the yoke is removed, one can hold their head high.” Sometimes, to hold our heads high, we must remember the long walk of our history, and the dangers of bowing our heads instead of standing tall and proud in who we are.
We pray daily for God to bring us komemiyut l’artzenu – upright to our land. In modern Hebrew, komemiyut connotes sovereignty, and it appears in the very first line of Israel’s Declaration of Independence. As we mark Yom Yerushalayim, may we each find the courage – wherever we are – to walk and speak uprightly in our Jewish and Zionist identity. May the memories of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim be for a blessing. Shabbat Shalom -Karen Miller Jackson

Parshat Behar: Bring Them Home!

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Today is day 31 of the Omer and day 231 of praying for the return of the hostages. Parshat Behar highlights the significance and impact of quantifying time.

When the Torah tells us to count time, it uses the language: “count for yourself/yourselves.” This connotes taking responsibility. The Sifrei teaches that in order to fulfill the mitzvah of sefirat ha-omer, each individual has to count for himself. Additionally, the ritually impure zav and zavah, must count the days until they may immerse in a mikveh. Our parsha contains the command to count seven times seven years, until the Jubilee (yovel) year, when debts were forgiven and slaves freed. Here, the beit din counts for the people. 

What do these countings have in common? All three signify a transformation, individually or nationally. Today, the zavah count is preserved in the seven clean days counted by a woman in niddah. As she moves into a state of taharah, there is renewed opportunity for new life or renewed love in the husband-wife relationship. Similarly, the Sefer HaChinuch teaches, as we count the omer days between Pesach and Shavuot we undergo a process of preparation to receive and recommit to the Torah and its values. Yovel, according to Rabbbenu Bahya, is an opportunity to pause and look back at previous generations and focus on a return to our roots, a reset, so to speak. It is a time to undertake a societal tikun, and refocus our commitment to God and the land, and to our origins and national beginning.  
As we count each day in prayer for the hostages, let’s apply the lesson of the yovel year and draw on our common bond with our land and our people, until they please G-d return home soon. Shabbat Shalom -Karen Miller Jackson

* photo of the 5 tatzpitaniyot hostages from ynet.

Behar: Good and Bad Ripple Effects

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Parshat Behar contains a number of mitzvot which at first glance don’t seem to be clearly connected: Shmita and yovel (the sabbatical and jubilee years), the prohibition against mistreating others financially and verbally and the mitzvah of tzedakah. Yet, the commentaries point to a common theme which runs through these mitzvot. 

Starting with Shmita, the Rashi (citing the Talmud) sees a chronological connection which results in a downward spiral of consequences: One who is not careful about observing shmita and benefits from the produce of the seventh year, will lose his land in the yovel year when it is returned to the original owners (in biblical times). This may lead to taking financial advantage of others in selling property. Soon after, one will become destitute and eventually sold into slavery.  

Similar negative ripple effects occur with regard to verbal mistreatment, as seen in the Talmudic story about the shaming and ostracism of Rabbi Eliezer. As a result of the verbal mistreatment he endured, Rabbi Eliezer’s tears caused damage to the world and to others. The message: the effects of ona’at devarim, verbally mistreating others can lead to limitless consequences of hurt and pain. 

Also, the language “if his hand falters,” is understood by the midrash as the mitzvah to give tzedakah quickly, to stop a downward spiral of poverty before it gets too far. It is likened to a load on the back of a donkey – if the load falls partially it is easier to pick up than if it falls all the way down to the ground. So too, with helping others. 

Parshat Behar is the great equalizer. These mitzvot share the message that the world ultimately belongs to God and by gently recalling our origins as strangers and slaves it is a reminder to act ethically and show compassion to those who are alienated and vulnerable. Shabbat Shalom -Karen Miller Jackson