Behar: Proclaiming liberty throughout the land

By Rabbi Yehiel Grenimann on May 15, 2008 - י' אייר תשס"ח

This week’s Torah reading, BeHar deals with the subject of the Shmittah year and the Jubilee year. This is a very pertinent and relevant theme of Torah for our time as well.

In Leviticus Chapter 25,verse 6 it says:

“But you may eat whatever the land during its Sabbath will produce – you, your male and female slaves, the hired and bound laborers who live with you …”

(i.e. restrictions of private property ownership do not apply)

Rashi comments: This applies also to “the nations”, i.e. the non-Jews

The entire framework of social welfare/justice associated with and learned from Shmitta in its simple Biblical sense refers to all the inhabitants of the land, Jews and non-Jews.

This teaching is strengthened in verse 10 of the same chapter where the Jubilee is the subject:

“and you shall hallow the fiftieth year. You shall proclaim release (Liberty) throughout the land for all its inhabitants”

(i.e. no one shall remain enslaved – Jew or non-Jew!)

Twice the text tells us clearly that the application of social benefits of the shmitta and jubilee years are for all the inhabitants of the land. (Note: it is the Land, not the State we are talking about here!)

Just as the social justice legislated by the weekly Sabbath in which everyone is to be free from enslavement to work/toil, commerce and material concerns includes every person – Jewish or not, living in the midst of the Jewish people, so too do the social correctives of the Shmitta /Jubilee law apply to all the inhabitants of the country without distinction, social, legal and civil status notwithstanding.

Rabbi Yehuda says in Tractate Rosh Hashana, page 9, side b (Babylonian Talmud) that “Dror” (“release” –JPS translation) is liberty, and liberty is the right and ability of a person to live where he/she chooses and to .carry merchandise from one place to another without hindrance.(i.e. to make a living ) To spell it out clearly – if we are to live by Torah then we must insure that Beduin, refugees, non-Jewish residents and most of all Palestinian farmers and city dwellers under our rule are able to move and make a living in our midst.

It says in Pirkei Avot and popular parlance that

“He who owns a slave, owns a master”.

As long as we enslave and repress others, we also remain repressed and enslaved ourselves!

Rabbis for Human Rights recommends that you read these articles in Behar

Behar: Human Rights and Social Justice - May 16th, 2008
Behar: Proclaiming liberty throughout the land - May 15th, 2008
Behar: Not standing idly by - May 10th, 2007
Behar: A vision of a just and caring society - May 19th, 2006
Behar: From Slavery to Freedom - April 28th, 2006

Categories: Behar
Tags: Bo, ease, human rights, palestinians, rest, settlers