Parshat Behar – May 9, 2025 / 11 Iyar 5785

“To put it simply: earth and those that inhabit her are often exhausted.

The Torah knew the risk of exhaustion. God rested on the seventh day and made it holy. In parshah Behar, we are exposed to the idea of the Shemitah, the “Sabbath-year.” God said, “Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather the produce thereof. But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land” (Lev. 25:3-4). The freedom of the individual is a fundamental principle of the Torah, as is the freedom of the land from absolute ownership of human beings. We have free will, so we can choose to do good with it, as leaving a corner for our fellows, or we can do the most unthinkable evil, as we have too often seen. God made it very clear that every seventh year, the land should be used primarily for the feeding of the poor who needed it, and the wild animals who would come across it.. We must take pause to care for one another; to feed one another with food and with ahavah (love). Both are so important, so vital to survival. We must take responsibility. 

In Leviticus 25:23, God says, “…The land is Mine; for you are strangers and settlers with Me.” We as human beings, contrary to how many would think and behave in the modern world, do not own the land. We have rested upon the land that has been provided to us by the Divine, and we must respect it, cherish it, and we must also cherish and respect the beings who co-habitate with us on our rental. When terrible events occur, we know that the world is feeling the negative impact of our presence. We pour salt in her wounds, and she is upset. We must listen.

We must remember the Sabbath-year. How can we be a partner in giving respite? What can we do? 

To be Jewish is to understand that we are to work with the precious earth and inhabitants we have been given and blessed to be surrounded by, not against her wishes. We must find a way to provide the earth with something akin to a Sabbath-year again, even in our own micro fashion. We must remember that no person is a slave. Our Torah tells us that people in servitude are to be released in the 7th year. If they choose to remain, they must be released during the “shemittah,” or the Jubilee year, after 7 cycles of 7 years. No one is a lost cause. Our land is not a tool for our mindless use. We can live Shutaf Elohim, in partnership with God. I pray that we all can find our own way of partnering with the Divine, and with one another to truly repair what is broken. We can do this with a joyful spirit, even amidst pain, knowing that we are ultimately and deeply cherished. We have power- the power to allow for rest, recuperation, and the restoration of people and our land to its full potential. Let’s start now. 

Shabbat Shalom!

– Rabbi Josh Gray